1028 



The Cornell Reading-Courses 



Every human being is responsible for making his own part of the world 

 as beautiful as possible — by causing a flower to bloom where none had 

 bloomed before, by ridding a doorway of unsightly weeds, by painting 

 a weather-beaten surface of the house, by hanging a picture that will 

 mean something in the life of the observer. This desire to beautify seems 

 to be common to mankind; the person who has not this inclination may 

 have become too absorbed in arduous duties to allow it to develop. 





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Fig. I . — Nature an effective standard in decoration 



It is not enough that houses be merely built; after they are built they 

 should be made homelike by means of serviceable furniture and purpose- 

 ful decoration. The taste and knack of the housewife may make even 

 the commonest home attractive and restful. All women cannot be artists. 

 They may never have used the brush and pencil, but every day they make 

 a picture; they try to bring their rooms and their furnishings into one 



