242 HOW TO MAKE A COUNTRY PLACE 



on a hot summer day, exampled in some giant horse chestnut whose 

 branches and leaves green-swathe trunk and limbs from base to 

 topmost twig. 



In one boudoir we reveled in framed tapestries, the frame form- 

 ing a door head within which were shepherdesses, cupids, green fields, 

 and purling brooks. Again, the outside trim member was carried to 

 the picture molding which, being in the same design, formed a frame 

 in one instance for plaster cast, in another for a painting or burnt 

 wood panel over a window head. 



Where windows and doors were near together and in line, one 

 long piece of trim over two or more incidentally made a frieze 

 member, and in a number of rooms we built the usual wooden panels 

 over doors and under windows, sometimes decorating the former 

 with composition or dental work against cap and pediment. 



Home-Made Ornaments. 



Home-made ornaments, such as fire hoods, latches, hinges, door- 

 plates, mantel fronts, hooded or plain, flat strips of wood covered 

 with sheet copper outlining the hearth, and burnished brass on kitchen 

 table top, shelf, and service door footings radiated cheer especially 

 in the flickering light of that wonderful, glowing driftwood blaze 

 that danced back and forth against polished andirons dented by 

 long service and reflected in wall-hung warming pan so prized by 

 our forefathers as to be often scheduled in last will and testament. 

 Comfort and convenience, the tests every house must stand, were 

 the first consideration, for a true home should be a haven of rest. 

 The mantel, an essential factor in the appearance of a room, in 

 strong measure keys decoration and furnishing, for structural beauty 

 is lasting. 



Armored Knights. 



A complete suit of armor stood at each end of the mantel shelf, 

 and over balcony and high in entrance hall hung rare old tapestries, 

 lending charm to other furnishings. 



Craving originality, as all do, it is a bit of a setback to find 

 that the other fellow's idea has preceded that of today by centuries, 

 but there is comfort in knowing that at least the "bump on a log" 

 stage of the world is passed, even if efforts are horn ycombed with 

 mistakes. The Twentieth Century average man thinks "it is better to 

 be a has-been than a never-was, a never-will-be, or a roi faineant." 



Animal Lawn Mowers. 



It seemed a novelty to some of our visitors that the lawns 

 were kept closely cropped by a trio of Angora goats and a 

 small flock of sheep, close rivals to the up-to-date motor lawn mower, 

 and far more picturesque. An interlocking movable wooden fence 



