It was of the most
solid construction, and had but one window, a very large affair,
consisting of three casements set one inside the other and provided with
heavy plate glass panels. This triple window was never opened when Mr.
Pulitzer was in the room, the ventilation being secured by means of fans
situated in a long masonry shaft whose interior opening was in the
chimney and whose exterior opening was far enough away to forbid the
passage of any sound from the street. At intervals inside this shaft
were placed frames with silk threads drawn across them, for the purpose
of absorbing any faint vibrations which might find their way in. In this
bedroom, with its triple window and its heavy double-door closed, J. P.
enjoyed as near an approach to perfect quietness as it was possible to
attain in New York.
I saw very little of J. P. when he was in New York. He was much occupied
with family affairs; he was in constant touch with the staff of The
World; and the deep interest he took in the prospects of the
presidential election of 1912, which was already being eagerly
discussed, brought an unusual number of visitors to the house.
The extent of my intercourse with J. P. at this time was an occasional
drive in Central Park, during which we talked of little else but
politics, and on that topic of little else but Mr.
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