CHAPTER VIII. 



ART AND PICTURES. 



We are art lovers, not artists, yet possessed 

 of the artist spirit, and because of it have gath- 

 ered a valuable art library and many fine pic- 

 tures. It is the one home luxury and dominates 

 the right of way. Pets are so apt to do it. But 

 its real value to us is a perpetual inspiration 

 to see and feel appreciatingly the best things of 

 life. It is of daily use and has gradually edu- 

 cated our vision, clarified our tastes, trained 

 our judgments, multiplied our sources of joy 

 and enhanced the ministry of Beauty in every 

 possible way. We do not indulge in the cost- 

 liest oils and water colors, conditions forbid. 

 We are ever on the watch at picture stores and 

 take advantage of the markets. Our friends 

 wonder but our walls are decorated and our 

 portfolios grow weighty. We often have pic- 

 ture evenings, usually the stormy ones. We 

 turn on the light and revel in art vision and feed 

 on beauty, studying form and technique, color 

 and tone, quality and personality, and com- 

 paring artists' earlier and later work, and their 

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