66 
House & Garden 
Seeds with 
a Lineage 
T he famous gardens of 
Great Britain and 
Europe all know Carters 
Tested Seeds. The beauty 
of the wonderful lawns and 
estates gives yearly testi¬ 
mony to their excellence. 
For generations these seeds 
have been selected and 
tested with patient care. At 
Raynes Park, London, the 
celebrated Carter trial 
grounds, seed experts con¬ 
tinually are working to im¬ 
prove the present strains 
and to produce new va¬ 
rieties. 
Carters Tested Se’eds have 
given exceptional results in 
the United States proving 
entirely suited to our varied 
soils and climate. They will 
produce the same results in 
your garden. 
We will send free on re¬ 
quest our 1917 catalogue 
“Garden and Lawn.” It 
is profusely illustrated in 
color giving the exact re¬ 
production of many of the 
varieties listed. 
Carters Tested Seeds, inc. 
127 Chamber of Commerce Bldg. 
Boston, Mass. 
Branch of James Carter & Co., 
Raynes Park, London, Eng. 
The Mantel Shelf and Wall Above 
{Continued from page 64) 
its surroundings. Otherwise one- 
half the effect of the mantel garni¬ 
ture is likely" to sink into the wall. 
Jangling, riotous contrasts that hit 
one in the face are not desirable, 
but it is always possible to secure an 
agreeable result like one of the fol¬ 
lowing :—a pre-Raphaelite picture in 
a Florentine frame against a ground 
of dull greenish, loose-woven old 
brocade; a Chinese painting in re¬ 
verse on glass, in a teakwood frame, 
against a rough grey plaster wall; a 
small carved oak dole cupboard, 
flanked by plain silver candlesticks. 
against a full-colored old brocade, 
embroidery or bit of verdure tapes¬ 
try ; a square-topped and triple- 
paneled William and Mary mirror 
against cream white woodwork; and, 
finally, bronzes against dull grey 
plaster wall. 
Every mantel, of course, offers its 
own individual problems and no cat¬ 
egorical, patent medicine directions 
can be given to suit every case, but 
a faithful application and rational 
interpretation of the principles just 
presented may be depended upon to 
bring a successful issue. 
Why Is An Antique ? 
(Continued from page 16) 
where, I priced antique jewelry. 
Everywhere, I was taken for a dealer 
in antiques. When I asked Mr. Gold¬ 
berg if the proprietors of old curi¬ 
osity shops haunted his lair, he 
answered, “Sure!” 
Naturally, not all the “unredeemed 
pledges” at Goldberg’s represent the 
handiwork of Second-Story Bill. 
Naturally, not all the antiques at 
Carney’s reputable establishment ar¬ 
rived there by way of Goldberg’s. 
Mr. Carney professes never to have 
met Mr. Goldberg. But Mr. Carney 
has opened his heart to me with great 
candor, and added little to the charm 
of “associations.” “Where do we get 
our stuff? off liars.” 
The Heir in Heirlooms 
I hesitate to crown Mr. Carney 
with honors he may not deserve, and 
yet I sincerely believe him to be the 
most finished connoisseur in liars 
anywhere at large. They come, bring¬ 
ing their wares. To bull the market, 
they tell heartbreaking tales. “My 
sainted Aunt Keziah gave me this on 
her death-bed.” 
“This I have cherished since my 
squalling infancy. My great-great 
grandmother received it from an 
uncle who fought at Plymouth 
Rock.” 
Or possibly, “On my bended knees 
— boohoo !—I promised my grand¬ 
father never, never, never to part 
with this sacred memento, but, but—■” 
whereas the individual looks pros¬ 
perous, and Mr. Carney is tempted 
to inquire, “Honestly, now, were you 
really so stuck on Gramp?” 
In some cases, doubtless, the tales 
are true. So much the worse. Your 
gain is the other chap’s irreparable 
loss. In vain will you salve your con¬ 
science regarding the acquisition or 
say in the words of Miss Alay Irwin, 
“Tain’t tainted.” 
Tainted it remains, if not with 
crime or with humbug, then with 
calamity or with vulgar indifference. 
For heirlooms, precious keepsakes 
that have “never been outside fam¬ 
ily,” I entertain a cordial affection. 
For even purchased antiques, I have 
a liking no ghastly revelations can 
wholly uproot. Goldberg will not. 
Neither will Second-Story Bill. And, 
curiously, this liking—or remnant 
of a liking—is in itself an affair 
of association and feeds on sentiment. 
I cherish a reminder of the olden 
times. I especially cherish a re¬ 
minder to which clings a beauty not 
capable of reproduction. Most of 
all, I cherish things made with hands. 
As all this sounds inconsistent, let 
me reason with myself out loud and 
discover why I feel as I do. 
If abominable discomforts in my 
hundred year old house constrained 
me to move away, remember please, 
that the house was not mine, also 
that I should welcome a chance to 
buy it, even now, and move back, and 
make it livable. Despite its faults, 
I love it still. And I have more 
than once coveted for my wife the 
antique necklace Peirson White res¬ 
cued from the unclean clutches of 
Mr. Goldberg. As a specimen of 
lapsed craftmanship, how charming! 
As a masterpiece of beauty, how 
rare I I can overlook the taint. And 
I love antiques for loving hands that 
wrought them. Work was joy in 
those golden days. At the week's 
end, the workman could almost say, 
“A shame to take the money!” In¬ 
spiration, enthusiasm, the art-impulse 
and a passionate yearning for perfec¬ 
tion made labor delicious. Each man 
began the thing himself, watched it 
grow beneath his touch, finished it 
himself, and glowed with satisfaction. 
Every moment brought a thrill. 
Whereas, our modern machine driver 
repeating the same process (or a mi¬ 
nute fraction of a process) from 
morning till night, puts into it only 
one earnest idea, namely, “When will 
the whistle blow?” 
The Rom.^nce of Time 
With the rest, I feel the vague ro¬ 
mance of time itself. In my dining¬ 
room stands an antique mahogany 
table from Carney’s—semi-antique, to 
be exact! I am fully conscious that 
Carney got it “off a liar.” When it 
came into my possession, it was 
marred by kitchen knives—had been 
despised. I do not relish recalling 
those who once despised it. And yet 
I greatly relish imagining the un¬ 
known worthies to whom it was long 
and fondly beloved and the good 
cheer it groaned under and the sto¬ 
ries and laughter and hilarities it 
heard from the lips on which today 
“the mossy marbles rest.” Very pos¬ 
sibly they were people I should not 
have cared to know. I am not forget¬ 
ting that. But time, with its myste¬ 
ries, makes them romantic. 
Then, too, there is the glee of col¬ 
lecting. I understand from Mr. Car¬ 
ney that collectors alone are worth a 
small fortune to him every year. 
From the ends of the land they come. 
Yesterday, a Texan purchased a tea¬ 
cup completing a set and can now die 
happy. When it is an adventure of 
the twelfth teacup, a Texan will mort¬ 
gage his baby. 
Would you like to get rich? Then 
buy a twelfth teacup at the Five and 
ten Cent Store, and wait. Eventu- 
(Continued on page 68) 
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