226 What We Lose 



elaborately ornamented, but would be of pine, 

 perhaps stained." 



Well, suppose it were. I am inclined to think 

 that the greater use of common material, stained 

 pine and other cheap wood, in the houses of 

 people of taste is a distinct indication of a 

 needed reform. Take the little music-stand in 

 illustration. Its purpose is to hold a number 

 of music books and loose sheets of music. It 

 has three or four shelves, and is so made as to 

 stand in a corner near the piano and take up 

 but little room. It is made of mahogany, 

 highly polished, and is ornamented, as most 

 people would call it, with a sort of stucco- 

 beading, which to me is distasteful. But it 

 cost money, and therefore has its reasons for 

 being in certain eyes. I have forgotten what 

 it cost me probably from fifteen to twenty 

 dollars. Thanks to the growth of good taste, 

 I can to-day pick out from half a dozen books 

 I know of a little design for a music-stand, or 

 sketch it myself, and the nearest carpenter will 

 make the thing in a day at a cost of two or 

 three dollars for wood, labor, and staining. 

 The result will be something which is pleasanter 



