2l6 LIBERTY AND A LIVING. 



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 

 to my eye, and I will venture to say to the eyes of 

 nine out of ten persons of educated taste. The 

 other fifteen or sixteen dollars saved may be 

 devoted to books, pictures, music any of the 

 things which really add something to life. The 

 music-stand of stained pine will do its work 

 just as well as the one made of mahogany, 

 inlaid with stucco beading in fact it will do 

 it better, for it will not need a periodic 

 rubbing on the part of the parlor-maid to keep 

 it bright and polished, and it can be moved 

 about when occasion demands, as it weighs but 

 little. It is as strong as the other, and it will 

 last a hundred years. ' 



