FURNISHING 279 



pretty well certain not to be I admit that a small carpet 

 which can be bundled out of the room in two minutes will 

 be useful : and we must also take care that it is beautiful, 

 or it will annoy us terribly. Now, unless we are 

 musical and need a piano, in which case, as far as beauty 

 is concerned, we are in a bad way, that is quite all we 

 want, and we can add very little to these necessaries 

 without troubling ourselves and hindering our work, our 

 thought, and our rest.' After this description, think how 

 very rare it is to see a room on these lines at all. One of 

 the most disfiguring and vulgar forms of modern 

 ornamentation is sticking about quantities of photographs 

 masses of men and women of our acquaintance, or 

 royalties and celebrities. I do not mean that we should 

 not have one or two framed photographs, of dear friends or 

 relations ; for certainly, in a small degree, photographs of 

 those we love do fulfil Dr. Johnson's description of 

 portrait-painting : ' That art which is employed in diffus- 

 ing friendship, in reviving tenderness, in quickening the 

 affections of the absent and continuing the presence of 

 the dead.' 



Mr. Morris spoke of the fireplace as such an im- 

 portant thing in our climate ; it is so indeed. One of the 

 first essentials is that it should not smoke or be ugly, and 

 another is that it should give out much heat with little 

 consumption of coal. I consider the greatest increase of 

 delight possible in any kind of fireplace, no matter of what 

 size or make, is to have a very broad hearth of tiles, or 

 bricks, or stone, or marble, or anything of that sort that is 

 hard and fireproof, and then do away with every form of 

 fender or raised rim round the hearth. People have an 

 idea that this is not safe ; but that is an entire mistake. 

 To be able to stand easily on the hot tiles is an immense 

 joy added to life, and one much appreciated by men. 

 Even for children instead of tumbling over the low fender, 



