284 POT-POURRI FROM A SURREY GARDEN 



hooks that held these draperies, silks from Italy, and no 

 doubt many other things, are still to be seen in the waUs. 

 As the French Court moved from chdteau to chdteau, all 

 this material moved with them. 



If bookcases can be made to order, they are much 

 better raised a certain height on the wall. This is more 

 convenient, as grubbing on the floor for the book one 

 wants is very tiresome. Besides, in this way you can 

 have the large books at the top, with a wide sheU above 

 them, and the small ones below, the shelves gradually 

 diminishing both in height and depth from the waU. 

 Mr. Morris advocates, in his lectures, the painting of 

 deal ; the only other way of treating it is simply to oil it. 

 Mr. Morris, I think, says nothing about painting the 

 floors. But that seems to me the best solution ; at any 

 rate, for three feet round the room — red, green, black, and 

 above aU white as often as you Uke, especially for bed- 

 rooms. Nothing is so clean, the paint wants no scrub- 

 bing and no soda ; tepid water and a cloth make every- 

 thing as clean as new. Staining, though a little cheaper; 

 wears less well, will not wash, and looks common. 

 Indian matting and felt look weU in the country, but 

 are not so clean in London. Both collect the black 

 dust, and the former cannot be taken up. You want to 

 be really rich to have polished floors of oak or teak. 

 English housemaids cannot clean them, abroad it is 

 always done by men. In London it has to be done by 

 an upholsterer two or three times a year. 



If economy is an object in furnishing, one of the best 

 ways of reducing the outlay in bed-rooms is by dispensing 

 with the modern washing-stands. The old-fashioned ones 

 are often too small for comfort ; our ancestors cleaned 

 themselves with httle room and less water. A large 

 unvarnished deal table with the legs painted to suit the 

 room is what I recommend. For cheapness it can be 



