THE LADIES' FLORAL CABINET. 
125 
in far better taste than those of millionaire aristo¬ 
crats. 
We wish people who live in our houses to be comfort¬ 
able and refined , consequently when you enter tbe par¬ 
lor you will not find the chandelier of brightest brass 
and cut-glass, the paper covered with Sun-flowers, the 
center-piece of the rug an elephant recruiting in the 
jungle, or a Royal Bengal tiger in the act of springing 
upon his prey, and the pictures of the kind that bring 
forth the exclamation: “Oh! what a handsome 
frame! ” 
In considering the furnishing of a room, the arrange¬ 
ment of the floor comes first. If you are going to put 
down a carpet, the greatest care should be taken to se¬ 
lect one that is agreeable in pattern and color. Small 
patterns are preferable, especially if the room is small, 
and quiet, low tones of color are more desirable than 
vivid shades. We have a fancy ourselves for rugs in 
the center, with wood-work—either the plain boards 
painted with some good color, or parquetry—showing 
at the edges. 
For walls, almost everything is preferable to leaving 
them a blank, staring white. Just now wainscoting is 
much in vogue. High wainscotings are almost always 
found in houses of the Neo-Jacobean period, loosely 
termed the “ Queen Anne ” style, to which public favor 
seems so markedly, and indeed so justly, to incline at 
present. Wainscoting, three or four feet high, either 
of plain or panelled wood-work, the walls above painted 
some pale, neutral tint such as will make a good relief 
for pictures, with a heavy band of deeper color at the 
junction of the walls and ceilings, are also very tasty 
and artistic in some rooms. Instead' of wainscoting, 
many persons prefer a line of low “dwarf” book-cases 
not more than five feet high. This style of dado will 
do very well for a library or living-room, and tbe plan 
has the additional advantage of giving a good shelf 
upon which to arrange ornaments and articles of vertu 
with effect. 
However, as most people prefer to cover every square 
inch of wall just as they prefer to cover the entire floor 
with a carpet, the best and cheapest covering is wall¬ 
paper of graceful pattern. In these days, when we 
have such exquisite designs, there is no excuse for one 
that is ugly. If you wish a cool, restful room, how 
many delicate grays there are all twined over with run¬ 
ning tendrils. If you desire simple brightness, what 
lovely sprays of moss rosebuds. Suit your own taste, 
only have your whole room in accordance with your 
paper, and remember to have the pattern, which, nine 
times out of ten, should be small, correct and pleasing 
in design. 
It is desirable to have, in both paper and carpet, 
enough warmth to make the room look comfortable. 
In the north rooms lavish your warmest, cheeriest 
colors, for these require artificial brightness. The south 
rooms, though draped in coldest blue or gray, will 
be beautiful in the mellow sunlight. 
As for the drapery, that should be in harmony with 
the tones of the carpet and the wall-paper, though this 
harmony should never be overstrained. Lace curtains 
look pretty in some rooms, damask in others. A kind 
of curtain that will be found to give a pleasing effect in 
almost any kind of room is a heavy breadth of some 
soft, rich material, cotelon, or raw silk, dependent from 
rings attached to a small brass or wooden rod. In 
winter, the warmth of crimson or maroon contrasts 
well with the snow. 
In purchasing furniture for your rooms, throw fashion 
to the winds, only bearing in mind that if you buy 
nothing but which is suited in size, form and weight to 
the purpose it is intended to serve, you are not straying 
far from the canon of art. Do not, I advise you, buy 
old furniture just because it happens to be old and an¬ 
tique. Fine old furniture is very nice to have if you 
have inherited it, or if you know exactly why you have 
bought it; otherwise one would be apt to fill his house 
with promiscuous lumber. Comfort, utility and com¬ 
mon sense are more important than mere appearance or 
fashion in good furniture, and all these should be con¬ 
sidered. 
In the middle ages, people had the enviable faculty of 
combining the useful and the beautiful in a remarkable 
degree. In the fine mediaeval furniture one idea im¬ 
presses you, and that is how perfectly every object, 
utensil or fabric serves the purpose for which it was de¬ 
signed. Straight lines had a value then; the square and 
the circle in the hands of clever artists contained an in¬ 
finity of ornament, and durability was assured by hon¬ 
esty of construction. Probably the time will never be 
seen again when everything from a cathedral to a nail- 
head will be an evidence of universal art and skill. 
We can, however, learn enough of the old designers to 
make'us independent of fashion, and to avoid mistakes 
in the purchase of objects d’art. 
The pictures —I suppose in every house is felt the need 
of good pictures as well as of books, Trashy pictures 
are worse than useless, and in this age of engraving, 
photography, the autotype, and similar processes, the 
humblest household can own the masterpieces of art. 
We would find a corner for the “ Mater Doloroso,” and 
for Ary Scheffer’s “Dante and Beatrice;” but for a 
cheery, happy home choose gladsome pictures, at least 
for the sitting-room, where so much of your time is 
spent. Little bits of landscape, touches of sunrise and 
beautiful head-pieces are better than the sad, morbid 
imaginings of poets and artists. As when a friend 
smiles into our faces, we smile in return, so pictures are 
reflected back on our moods, spirits and faces. 
Let this run through all our choice, that there must 
be balance and harmony in all things to make a sym¬ 
metrical whole. And in the arrangement of everything 
there should be just enough art, “art’s device to con¬ 
ceal,” in order to render all perfect. 
These principles can be applied to every home. One 
can select pretty papers and carpets among cheap ma¬ 
terials. One may arrange their rooms according to the 
laws of light and shade, health and comfort, whether 
rich or poor. If one cannot afford a work of one of the 
great masters, a chromo or a pretty print will do. If 
one cannot indulge in choice flowers, let him beautify 
his windows with Geraniums and Ivy. And this is the 
true mission of Household Art: to foster refinement, 
grace and dignity of life. It need not necessarily be 
confounded with higher things, but no one who has 
felt its benign sway will deny that art has a power— 
and a peculiar power of its own—to cheer and comfort 
us on our way through life. 
Clinton Montague. 
