/o Old and New Homes. 



that were never used were piled in order, while a pair of tawdry vases 

 ornamented the ends of the mantle-shelf A cheap, gay carpet covered the 

 Hoor ; and a painted window-shade, which must always be down in order t)o 

 exclude the sun, completed the picture. This was the " company " room, 

 into which the family, when alone, rarely entered, except to sweep or dust it. 

 In su.mmer, if opened often, the flies would enter; and in winter it was con- 

 sidered unnecessary to keep fire in it : so the kitchen was made the general 

 living-room for all day-purposes the year round. They pursued the study 

 of the practical and profitable, as they best understood the terms, rather 

 than the beautiful. 



Our house was originally modelled upon the same plan, and had been 

 owned and occupied by those who held the same utilitarian views ; but 

 a few tasteful touches, a little effort at home embellishment, with cheap 

 materials, had quite transformed the once-homely interior. A neat, inex- 

 pensive paper upon the walls of our little front parlor gave it a very clean 

 appearance ; and the numerous pictures hung around looked far better 

 upon such a background than they would have done upon the gay figures 

 of the old pattern. Then our furniture, though plain and well worn, was 

 comfortable ; and the centre-table was always covered with books, maga- 

 zines, and newspapers, and furnished with an excellent study-lamp, around 

 u'hich the family was nightly gathered. The corner book-shelves, which 

 my brother had made, and I had ornamented with leather grapes and leaves, 

 looked as well as if they had been much more costly, and contained a 

 number of choice standard volumes. 



The white curtains at the windows, made of simple spotted muslin, were 

 neat and unpretending, if not elegant ; and, with our green blinds outside, 

 we were able to darken the room at pleasure. Useless and unnecessary as 

 these trifles may have appeared to our differently-educated neighbors, yet 

 lO us they were indispensable ingredients in the formation of a true home- 

 feeling, and entirely compatible with a farmer's pursuits and interests. 

 Had we been extravagant in the amount of such expenditures, the case 

 would have been altogether different. H. 



Burlington, N.J. 



