FINISHING. 39 



or season-landscapes, from the great chromo-field, cut 

 them out nicely and gum them upon the glass face down- 

 ward, covering the whole with a coat of paint in soft 

 shades of blue, lavender, or sea-green. The " right " side 

 of the glass then bears a very fair resemblance to a china 

 painting. These tiles are easily and inexpensively made, 

 and when fastened upon the wood-work, with narrow black 

 moldings, have almost as good an effect as those costlier 

 ones " from over the sea." 



For a tire-board take paper that will not quarrel with 

 the prevailing color of the room, and paste it smoothly 

 into the space between the wood-work and the mantel. 

 This may be varnished and left plain, or a group of ferns, 

 a wreath of autumn leaves, or a spray of ' ' decalcomania " 

 flowers may first be applied and then covered with two 

 coats of varnish. If neatly and tastefully done this will 

 agreeably brighten up an otherwise plain mantel. 



If one is so fortunate as to possess a long narrow mir- 

 ror, of the sort that, with a green halo of asparagus boughs 

 about them, used to adorn our grandmothers' best rooms, 

 it can be placed lengthways upon this mantel, neither 

 tipped backward nor forward, but fastened flatly to the 

 wall, and the effect will be excellent. The frame, doubt- 

 less more or less tarnished, will require a rubbing with 

 sand-paper and a coat of black paint and varnish like 

 the mantel ; or it maybe necessary to reframe it in black 

 molding of a width to make it as long as the shelf on 

 which it rests. If one has no such mirror, it will not 

 cost a great sum to purchase one, without frame, and fit 

 it into place. It will reflect the sunlit windows by day, 

 and the lamps by night, and greatly increase the beauty 

 and cheerfulness of the apartment. 



HALL WINDOWS. 



If there are glass panels in the hall-door, or windows 

 above or beside it, there are ways for making them orna- 



