From the Introduction
The ballroom one of the most prominent and representative parts of a mansion. This one is certainly a good example. The mansions owner has not spared any expanses. The floor is tiles with imported marble of various colors while the walls are paneled with two kinds of polished hardwood. New fashioned gas lamps, the latest craze, provide illumination. Their brass provides a contrast to the marble and wood, as does the brass railing of the wide double flight of stairs leading down into the park like garden surrounding the mansion. High windows made of the clearest glass available at the time allow guests to gaze out into the garden as well. A small number of small but exquisite glass tables and frail looking but sturdy chairs allow exhausted revelers to recover their breath or eat and drink some of the little treats customarily provided by the waiters on staff before diving back into the wide open dance floor.