1891.] ESSAYS. 97 



middle, as the dude parts his hair, but wherever the arrange- 

 ment of the rooms will best allow ; the chief feature of this hall 

 should be a broad staircase of easy ascent, and I much prefer 

 that it should not be one straight ascent, but possess a couple of 

 broad stairs and turns at right angles. These broad stairs are 

 like " thank ye marms" on a long hill, and rests those whose 

 powers are feeble, besides being more pleasing to the eye. Our 

 old houses can many of them be improved in this way, by sim- 

 ply opening partitions and hanging portieres over them, such 

 rooms can l)e furnished according to our fancy, and here comes 

 in the charm of a home ; we show our individuality in this ; we 

 can make the pleasantest of houses stiff and formal, or we can 

 take rooms naturally a little forbidding and make them bright 

 and genial, if we are gifted by what is generally termed taste. 

 Expensive furniture is not necessary, but it must possess a cer- 

 tain degree of artistic taste, and must be appropriate to the 

 uses of the room. There are three decorative features that are 

 always attractive to all classes of people and lend an air to a 

 room that nothing else will. Books, pictures and plants. 

 These are not expensive and are within the reach of nearly all 

 our people. When Massachusetts equalizes her taxes, as I 

 understand she is trying to do, taking one-half the present bur- 

 den off the rural dweller, the farmer will have a little money 

 each year to invest in books; just think what twenty-five dol- 

 lars a year judiciously invested in books would do in furnishing 

 a house and furnishing the minds of the occupants. I fear it 

 would produce a mental earthquake in numerous instances, so if 

 you report anything about this paper breathe this gently. Pic- 

 tures are but reproductions of real life or nature, and the nearer 

 they come to the actualities thereof the more pleasing. The 

 picture of a home scene, groups of horses, sheep, or cattle, are 

 always admired ; so also of a quiet lake, reflecting shades of 

 hill and woods with cattle on the shore, or deer feeding on the 

 lily pads in the shallow ; year after year they attract our 

 attention ; and such pictures ready framed can be purchased for 

 a very small outlay. How much better to give such presents 

 for Christmas gifts, than to spend twice their money value in 

 worsted materials and develop an artistic monstrosity, which 



