FURNISHING. 53 



sible we may ripen into very uncomfortable old people, to 

 demand much more of patience and devotion than we as 

 children yield. 



The Old People's room should he as pleasant and 

 homelike as possible. Let the old-fashioned furniture 

 and the old-fashioned ways prevail in it. I think no one 

 thing could delight the old hearts more than an open 

 fire-place, with some ancient andirons, and a crane with 

 its pendant tea-kettle ! These fire-places are rapidly 

 becoming extinct, but to most old people living in the 

 present generation they would be radiant with pictures of 

 youth and early love. A fire like this is not only a de- 

 light to the aged, but a pleasant care. How the old 

 mother, who was such a thrifty housewife in her " day," 

 enjoys polishing the brass heads of the fire-dogs, brush- 

 ing the tidy hearth, and brewing the special cup of tea 

 in the little old pot that looks so entirely "at home" 

 upon the glowing coals ! And with what solicitude does 

 grandfather prepare the wood and kindlings for this be- 

 loved hearth-fire I How he enjoys stretching his aged 

 hands to the ruddy blaze, while he croons some quaint 

 old hymn in concord with the singing kettle ! What a 

 vast amount of poking and reconstructing the sticks 

 require, and how important it is that when the early, old- 

 fashioned bedtime comes, there must be just the right sort 

 of coals for the morning fire ! Think of giving the Old 

 People a grim looking, air-tight stove that swallows a huge 

 chunk in the morning, and then, like an anaconda, re- 

 quires nothing more until its big lunch is digested ! 

 Provide the stove, if the severity of climate demands it, 

 but have the open fire for love's sake ! Aside from the 

 good cheer and the companionship which it offers, it 

 swallows up the dust, assists to ventilate the room, and 

 adds so much to the physical well-being of the occupants 

 that it should be instituted for this reason alone if its 

 poetical side seems of little value. 



