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diff --git a/41922-8.txt b/41922-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 8ad63e0..0000000 --- a/41922-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2553 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Bedroom and Boudoir, by Lady Barker - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Bedroom and Boudoir - -Author: Lady Barker - -Release Date: January 26, 2013 [EBook #41922] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BEDROOM AND BOUDOIR *** - - - - -Produced by Pat McCoy, Chris Curnow and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - -THE BED-ROOM AND BOUDOIR. - - -[Illustration] - - - - - THE - BED-ROOM AND BOUDOIR. - - BY - LADY BARKER. - - [Illustration] - - LONDON: - MACMILLAN AND CO. - 1878. - - [_The Right of Translation and Reproduction is Reserved._] - - - - - _FIFTH THOUSAND._ - - LONDON: R. CLAY, SONS, AND TAYLOR, PRINTERS. - - - - -PREFACE. - - -Too much attention can scarcely be expended on our sleeping rooms in -order that we may have them wholesome, convenient and cheerful. It is -impossible to over-estimate the value of refreshing sleep to busy -people, particularly to those who are obliged to do much brainwork. In -the following pages will, we hope, be found many hints with regard to -the sanitary as well as the ornamental treatment of the bed-room. - - W. J. LOFTIE. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - CHAPTER PAGE - - I.--AN IDEAL BED-ROOM--ITS WALLS 1 - - II.--CARPETS AND DRAPERIES 15 - - III.--BEDS AND BEDDING 26 - - IV.--WARDROBES AND CUPBOARDS 44 - - V.--FIRE AND WATER 57 - - VI.--THE TOILET 70 - - VII.--ODDS AND ENDS OF DECORATION 80 - - VIII.--THE SICK ROOM 94 - - IX.--THE SPARE ROOM 110 - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. - - - PAGE - - A CORNER WARDROBE _Frontispiece_ - DUTCH BEDSTEAD 27 - BEDSTEAD AND TOILET STAND 30 - OAK BEDSTEAD 32 - CHILDREN'S BEDSTEADS 37 - AN INDIAN SCREEN 41 - WARDROBE 45 - ANTIQUE LOCK-UP 48 - BUREAU 49 - TRAVELLING CHEST OF DRAWERS 51 - CHINESE CABINET 55 - FIRE-PLACE 58 - CHAIR AND TABLE 59 - BEDSIDE TABLE 62 - FIRE-PLACE 63 - CANDLESTICK 65 - FRENCH WASHING-STAND 66 - CHINESE WASHING-STAND 67 - CORNER-STAND 68 - SHRINE "À LA DUCHESSE" 71 - ANTIQUE TOILET TABLE 72 - CHEST OF DRAWERS 73 - A SIMPLE TOILET TABLE 76 - CANE ARM-CHAIR 81 - CANE SOFA 82 - OAK SETTLE 83 - LARGE ARM-CHAIR 84 - CORNER FOR PIANO 85 - PRINT-STAND 88 - SOUTH AMERICAN PITCHER 91 - INVALID TABLE 107 - DESK 112 - - - - -THE - -BED-ROOM AND BOUDOIR. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -AN IDEAL BED-ROOM.--ITS WALLS. - - -It is only too easy to shock some people, and at the risk of shocking -many of my readers at the outset, I must declare that very few bed-rooms -are so built and furnished as to remain thoroughly _sweet_, fresh, and -airy all through the night. This is not going so far as others however. -Emerson repeats an assertion he once heard made by Thoreau, the American -so-called "Stoic,"--whose senses by the way seem to have been -preternaturally acute--that "by night every dwelling-house gives out a -bad air, like a slaughter-house." As this need not be a necessary -consequence of sleeping in a room, it remains to be discovered why one's -first impulse on entering a bed-room in the morning should either be to -open the windows, or to wish the windows were open. Every one knows how -often this is the case, not only in small, low, ill-contrived houses in -a town, but even in very spacious dwellings, standing too amid all the -fragrant possibilities of the open country. It is a very easy solution -of the difficulty to say that we ought always to sleep with our windows -wide open. The fact remains that many people cannot do so; it is a -risk--nay, a certainty--of illness to some very young children, to many -old people, and to nearly all invalids. In a large room the risk is -diminished, because there would be a greater distance between the bed -and window, or a space for a sheltering screen. Now, in a small room, -where fresh air is still more essential and precious, the chances are -that the window might open directly on the bed, which would probably -stand in a draught between door and fireplace as well. - -I take it for granted that every one understands the enormous importance -of having a fireplace in each sleeping-room in an English house, for the -sake of the ventilation afforded by the chimney. And even then a sharp -watch must be kept on the house-maid, who out of pure "cussedness" -(there is no other word for it) generally makes it the serious business -of her life to keep the iron flap of the register stove shut down, and -so to do away entirely with one of the uses of the chimney. If it be -impossible to have a fireplace in the sleeping-room, then a ventilator -of some sort should be introduced. There is, I believe, a system in use -in some of the wards of St. George's Hospital and in the schools under -the control of the London School Board, known as Tobin's Patent. -Ventilation is here secured by means of a tube or pipe communicating -directly with the outer air, which can thus be brought from that side of -the building on which the atmosphere is freshest. If report can be -trusted, this system certainly appears to come nearer to what is wanted -than any with which we are yet acquainted, for it introduces fresh air -without producing a draught, and the supply of air can be regulated by a -lid at the mouth of the pipe. A sort of double-star is often introduced -in a pane of glass in the window, but this is somewhat costly, and it -would not be difficult to find other simpler and more primitive methods, -from a tin shaft or loosened brick in a wall, down to half a dozen large -holes bored by an auger in the panel of the door, six or eight inches -away from the top, though this is only advisable if the door opens upon -a tolerably airy landing or passage. If it does not, then resort to some -contrivance, as cheap as you please, in the outer wall leading directly -into the fresh air. In most private houses it is generally possible to -arrange for those to whom an open window at night is a forbidden luxury, -that they should sleep with their door open. A curtain, or screen, or -even the open door itself will ensure the privacy in which we all like -to do our sleeping, but there should then be some window open on an -upper landing, day and night, in all weathers. Believe me, there are few -nights, even in our rigorous climate, where this would be an -impossibility. Of course common sense must be the guide in laying down -such rules. No one would willingly admit a fog or storm of driving wind -and rain into their house, but of a night when the atmosphere is so -exceptionally disturbed it is sure to force its way in at every cranny, -and keep the rooms fresh and sweet without the necessity of admitting a -large body of air by an open window. - -Supposing then that the laws of ventilation are understood and acted -upon, and that certain other sanitary rules are carried out which need -not be insisted upon here,--such as that no soiled clothes shall ever, -upon any pretence, be kept in a bed-room,--then we come to the next -cause of want of freshness in a sleeping-room:--Old walls. People do not -half enough realise, though it must be admitted they understand a great -deal more than they once did, how the emanations from the human body are -attracted to the sides of the room and stick there. It is not a pretty -or poetical idea, but it is unhappily a fact. So the only thing to be -done is to provide ourselves with walls which will either wash or clean -in some way, or are made originally of some material which neither -attracts nor retains these minute particles. - -Nothing can be at once cleaner or more wholesome than the beautiful -wainscotted walls we sometimes see in the fine old country houses built -in Queen Anne's reign. A bed-room of that date, if we except the bed -itself, and the probable absence of all bathing conveniences, presented -a nearly perfect combination of fresh air, spotless cleanliness, and -stately and harmonious beauty to the eyes of an artist or the nose of a -sanitary inspector. The lofty walls of panelled oak, dark and lustrous -from age and the rubbing of many generations of strong-armed -old-fashioned house-maids, were walls which could neither attract nor -retain objectionable atoms, and ventilation was unconsciously secured by -means of high narrow windows, three in a row, looking probably due -south, and an open chimney-place, innocent of "register stoves" or any -other contrivance for blocking up its wide throat. Such a room rises up -clearly before the eyes of my mind, and I feel certain that I shall -never forget the deliciously quaint and hideous Dutch tiles in the -fireplace, nor the expressive tip of Ahasuerus' nose in the tile -representing his final interview with Haman. How specially beautiful was -the narrow carved ledge, far above one's head, which served as a -mantelpiece, over which simpered a faded lady with low, square-cut -boddice, her fat chin held well into the throat, and a rose in her pale, -wan little hand. A dado ran round this room about five feet from the -floor, and I used to be mean enough, constantly, to try if it was a -dust-trap, but I never could find a speck. That was because the -house-maid had been taught how to wipe dust off and carry it bodily -away, not merely, as Miss Nightingale complains, to disturb it from the -place where it had comfortably settled itself, and disperse it about the -room. - -But what I remember more vividly in this room than even its old-time -beauty, was the thorough _conscientiousness_ of every detail. The -cornice might fairly claim to rank as a work of art, not only from its -elaboration, but from its finish. The little square carved panels on -each side of the chimney, serving as supports to the mantelpiece, held -but one leaf or arabesque flourish apiece, yet each corner was as -sharply cut, each curve as smoothly rounded, as though it had been -intended for closest scrutiny. The wood of neither walls nor floors had -warped nor shrunk in all these years, and the low solid doors hung as -true, the windows opened as easily, as if it had all been built -yesterday. What do I say? built yesterday? Let any of us begin to -declare his experience of a new, modern house, and he will find many to -join in a doleful chorus of complaints about unseasoned wood, -ill-fitting joists, and hurried contrivances to meet domestic ills, to -say nothing of the uncomfortable effects of "scamped" work generally. In -spite of our improved tools, and our greater facilities for studying and -copying good designs, I am convinced that one reason why we are going -back in decorative taste to the days of our great grandmothers is, that -we are worn out and wearied with the evanescent nature of modern -carpenter's and joiner's work--to say nothing of our aroused perceptions -of its glaring faults of taste and tone. Unhappily we cannot go back to -those dear, clean, old oaken walls. They would be quite out of the reach -of the majority of purses, and would be sure to be imitated by some -wretched sham planking which might afford a shelter and breeding-place -for all kinds of creeping things. No; let those who are fortunate -enough to possess or acquire these fine old walls treasure them and keep -them bright as their grandmothers did; not _whitewash_ them, as actually -has been done more than once by way of "lightening" the room. And who -shall say, after that, that the Goths have ever been successfully driven -back? - -I dwell on the walls of the bed-room because I believe them to be the -most important from a sanitary as well as from a decorative point of -view, and because there is really no excuse for not being able to make -them extremely pretty. You may tint them in distemper of some delicate -colour, with harmoniously contrasting lines at the ceiling, and so be -able to afford to have them fresh and clean as often as you choose, or -you may paint them in oils and have them washed constantly. But there is -a general feeling against this cold treatment of a room which, above all -others, should, in our capricious climate, be essentially warm and -comfortable. The tinted walls are pretty when the curtains to go with -them are made of patternless cretonne of precisely the same shade, -manufactured on purpose, with exactly the same lines of colour for -bordering. I am not sure, however, that the walls I individually prefer -for a bed-room are not papered. There are papers made expressly, which -do not attract dirt, and which can be found of lovely design. A -bed-room paper ought never to have a distinct, spotted pattern on it, -lest, if you are ill, it should incite you to count the designs or -should "make faces at you." Rather let it be all of one soft tint, a -pearly gray, a tender sea-shell pink, or a green which has no arsenic in -it; but on this point great care is requisite. You should also make it -your business to see, with your own eyes, that your new paper, whatever -its pattern or price, is not hung _over_ the old one, and that the walls -have been thoroughly stripped, and washed, and dried again before it is -put on. - -Bed-room walls, covered with chintz, stretched tightly in panels, are -exceedingly clean and pretty, but they must be arranged so as to allow -of being easily taken down and cleaned. The prettiest walls I ever saw -thus covered, were made of chintz, with a creamy background and tendrils -of ivy of half a dozen shades of green and brown artfully blended, -streaming down in graceful garlands and sprays towards a dado about four -feet from the ground. It was a lofty room, and the curtains, screens, -&c., were made to match, of chintz, with sprays of ivy, and a similar -border. I know other bed-room walls where fluted white muslin is -stretched over pink or blue silk (prettiest of all over an apple-green -_batiste_). I dislike tapestry extremely for bed-room walls; the -designs are generally of a grim and ghostly nature, and even if they -represent simpering shepherds and shepherdesses, they are equally -tiresome. There is a Japanese paper, sometimes used for curtains, which -really looks more suitable and pretty when serving as wall-hangings in -the bed-rooms of a country house. I know a whole wing of "bachelors' -quarters" papered by fluted Japanese curtains, and they are exceedingly -pretty. The curtains of these rooms are of workhouse sheeting lined and -bordered with Turkey red, and leave nothing to be desired for quaint -simplicity and brightness. I must ease my mind by declaring here that I -have a strong prejudice against Japanese paper except when used in this -way for wall-decoration. The curtains made of it are not only a sham, -pretending to be something which they are not--a heinous crime in my -eyes--but they are generally of very ugly patterns, and hang in stiff, -ungraceful folds, crackling and rustling with every breath of air, -besides being exceedingly inflammable. - -Of course the first rule in bed-room decoration, as in all other, is -that it should be suitable to the style of the house, and even to the -situation in which the house finds itself. The great point in the -wall-decoration of a town bed-room is that you should be able to replace -it easily when it gets dirty, as it is sure to do very soon if your -windows are kept sufficiently open. I _have_ known people who kept the -windows of both bed and sitting-rooms always shut for fear of soiling -the walls. I prefer walls, under such conditions, which can be cheaply -made clean again perpetually. There are wall-papers by the score, -artistically simple enough to please a correct taste, and sufficiently -cheap not to perceptibly shrink the shallowest purse. - -But in the country it is every one's own fault if they have not a lovely -bed-room. If it be low, then let the paper be suitable--something which -will not dwarf the room. I know a rural bed-room with a paper -representing a trellis and Noisette roses climbing over it; the carpet -is shades of green without any pattern, and has only a narrow border of -Noisette roses; the bouquets, powdered on the chintzes, match, and -outside the window a spreading bush of the same dear old-fashioned rose -blooms three parts of the year. That is a bower indeed, as well as a -bed-room. Noisette roses and rosebuds half smothered in leaves have been -painted by the skilful fingers of the owner of this room on the -door-handles and the tiles of the fireplace as well as embroidered on -the white quilt and the green cover of the writing-table. But then I -acknowledge it is an exceptionally pretty room to begin with, for the -dressing-table stands in a deep bay window, to which you ascend by a -couple of steps. Belinda herself could not have desired a fairer shrine -whereat to worship her own beauty. - -The memory of other walls rises up before me; even of one with plain -white satiny paper bordered by shaded pink ribbon, not merely the stiff -paper-hanger's design, but cut out and fixed in its place by a pair of -clever hands. This border of course looked different to anything else of -the kind I had ever seen; but according to strict rules of modern taste -it was not "correct." Yet a great deal depends on the way a thing is -done. I see the Misses Garrett frowning as I go on to say that here and -there a deep shadow was painted under it, and its bows and ends drooped -down at the corners of the room, whilst over the fireplace they made the -bright, circling border for a chalk drawing of a rosy child's head. But -it _was_ a pretty room, notwithstanding its original faulty design, and -I describe it more as an illustration of the supremacy of a real genius -for decoration over any hard and fast rule than as an example to be -copied. Rules are made for people who cannot design for themselves, and -original designs may be above rules, though they should never be above -taste. - -I might go on for ever describing bed-room walls instead of only -insisting on their possessing the cardinal virtues of cleanliness and -appropriateness. Whether of satin or silk, of muslin or chintz, or of -cheapest paper, nothing can be really pretty and tasteful in -wall-decoration which is not scrupulously clean, without being cold and -glaring, and it should be in harmony with even the view from the -windows. Every room should possess an air of individuality--some -distinctive features in decoration which would afford a clue to the -designer's and owner's special tastes and fancies. How easy it is to -people old rooms with the imaged likeness of those who have dwelt in -them, and how difficult it would be to do as much for a modern bower! - -If I had my own way, I would accustom boys as well as girls to take a -pride in making and keeping their bed-rooms as pretty and original as -possible. Boys might be encouraged to so arrange their collections of -eggs, butterflies, beetles, and miscellaneous rubbish, as to combine -some sort of decorative principle with this sort of portable property. -And I would always take care that a boy's room was so furnished and -fitted that he might feel free, there at least, from the trammels of -good furniture. He should have bare boards with only a rug to stand on -at the bed-side and fireplace, but he should be encouraged to make with -his own hands picture-frames, bookcases, brackets, anything he liked, to -adorn his room, and this room should be kept sacred to his sole use -wherever and whenever it was possible to do so. Girls might also be -helped to make and collect tasteful little odds and ends of ornamental -work for their own rooms, and shown the difference between what is and -is not artistically and intrinsically valuable, either for form or -colour. It is also an excellent rule to establish that girls should keep -their rooms neat and clean, dust their little treasures themselves, and -tidy up their rooms before leaving them of a morning, so that the -servant need only do the rougher work. Such habits are valuable in any -condition of life. An eye so trained that disorder or dirt is hideous to -it, and a pair of hands capable of making such conditions an -impossibility in their immediate neighbourhood, need be no unworthy -addition to the dowry of a princess. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -CARPETS AND DRAPERIES. - - -In the very old-fashioned, stately rooms of Queen Anne's reign the -carpeting was doled out in small proportions, and a somewhat comfortless -air must have prevailed where an expanse of floor was covered here and -there by what we should now characterise as a shabby bit of carpeting. -In fact a suitable floor-covering or appropriate draperies for these old -rooms is rather a difficult point. Modern tastes demand comfort and -brightness, and yet there is always the dread of too glaring contrasts, -and an inharmonious groundwork. Quite lately I saw a fine old-time -wainscotted room, whose walls and floor had taken a rich dark gloss from -age, brightened immensely and harmoniously by four or five of those -large Indian cotton rugs in dark blue and white, to be bought now-a-days -cheaply enough in Regent Street. The china in this room was of Delft -ware, also blue and white, and it had _short_ full curtains of a bright -French stuff, wherein blue lines alternated with a rich red, hanging in -the deep windows, whilst colour was given in a dusky corner by a silken -screen of embroidered peonies. A Turkish carpet is of course -inadmissible in a bed-room, and the modern Persian rugs are too gaudy to -harmonise well with the sober tone of a wainscotted bed-room, but it is -quite possible to find delicious rugs and strips of carpeting in -greenish blue copied from Eastern designs. The difficulty is perhaps -most simply met by a carpet of a very dark red, with the smallest -possible wave or suggestion of black in it, either in strips or in a -square, stopping short within two feet or so of the walls. I know a -suite of old-fashioned bed-rooms where the floor is covered with quite -an ecclesiastical-looking carpet, and it looks very suitable, warm and -bright, and thoroughly in keeping. In a house of moderate size there is -nothing I like so much as the whole of a bed-room floor being carpeted -in the same way--landings, passages, dressing-rooms, and all--and on the -whole, taking our dingy climate into consideration, a well-toned red -carpet or nondescript blue will generally be found the most suitable. - -[Illustration] - -Strange to say, next to red carpets white ones wear the best, but they -make such a false and glaring effect, that they cannot be considered -appropriate even for a pretty bowery bed-room, half dressing-room, half -boudoir. With ordinarily fair wear white carpets only take a creamy tint -as they get older, and then their bouquets and borders, have a chance of -fading into better harmony. But most of the designs of these carpets are -so radically wrong, so utterly objectionable from the beginning, that -the best which can be hoped from time is that it will obliterate them -altogether. It is true we flatter ourselves that we have grown beyond -the days of enormous boughs and branches of exaggerated leaves and -blossoms daubed on a crude ground, but _have_ we escaped from the -dominion of patterns, more minute it is true, but quite as much outside -the pale of good taste? What is to be said in defence of a design which, -when its colours are fresh, is so shaded as to represent some billowy -and uneven surface, fastened at intervals by yellow nails? or spots of -white flowers or stars on a grass-green ground? The only carpet of that -sort of white and green which I ever liked had tiny sprays of white -heather on a soft green ground, in the miniature drawing-room of a -Scotch shooting-box. _There_, it was so appropriate, so thoroughly in -keeping with even the view out of the windows, with the heathery chintz, -the roe-deer's heads on the panels of the wall, that it looked better on -the floor than anything else could possibly have done. Morris has -Kidderminster carpets for bed-rooms, in pale pink, buff, and blue, &c., -which are simply perfect in harmony of colour and design. - -People who consider themselves good managers are very apt to turn the -half worn-out drawing-room carpet into one of the bed-rooms, but this is -not a good plan, for it seldom matches the draperies, and is also apt to -become frowsy and fusty. I am not so extravagant as to recommend that a -good carpet with plenty of possibilities of wear yet in it should be -thrown away because it is not suitable for a bed-room. There are many -ways and means of disposing of such things, and even the threadbare -remains of an originally good and costly carpet can find a market of its -own. What I should like to see, especially in all London bed-rooms, is a -fresh, inexpensive carpet of unobtrusive colours, which can be -constantly taken away and cleaned or renewed, rather than a more costly, -rich-looking floor-covering, which will surely in time become and remain -more or less dirty. But light carpets are seldom soft in tone, and I -should be inclined to suggest felt as a groundwork, if the bare boards -are inadmissible, with large rugs thrown down before the fireplace, -dressing and writing-tables, &c. These should of course contrast -harmoniously with the walls. If you have a room of which the style is a -little too sombre, then lighten it and brighten it by all the means in -your power. If it be inclined to be garish and glaring, then subdue it. - -People cannot always create, as it were, the place in which they are -obliged to live. One may find oneself placed in a habitation perfectly -contrary to every principle of correct taste as well as opposed to one's -individual preferences. But that is such an opportunity! out of -unpromising materials and surroundings you have to make a room, whether -bed-room or boudoir, which will take the impression of your own state. -As long as a woman possesses a pair of hands and her work-basket, a -little hammer and a few tin-tacks, it is hard if she need live in a room -which is actually ugly. I don't suppose any human being except a gipsy -has ever dwelt in so many widely-apart lands as I have. Some of these -homes have been in the infancy of civilisation, and yet I have never -found it necessary to endure, for more than the first few days of my -sojourn, anything in the least ugly or uncomfortable. Especially pretty -has my sleeping-room always been, though it has sometimes looked out -over the snowy peaks of the Himalayas, at others, up a lovely New -Zealand valley, or, in still earlier days, over a waving West Indian -"grass-piece." But I may as well get out the map of the world at once, -and try to remember the various places to which my wandering destiny has -led me. All the moral I want to draw from this geographical digression -is that I can assert from my own experience--which after all is the only -true standpoint of assertion--that it is possible to have really pretty, -as well as thoroughly comfortable dwelling-places even though they may -lie thousands of miles away from the heart of civilisation, and -hundreds of leagues distant from a shop or store of any kind. I mean -this as an encouragement--not a boast. - -Chintz is what naturally suggests itself to the inquirer's mind as most -suitable for the drapery of a bed-room, and there is a great deal to be -said in its favour. First of all, its comparative cheapness and the -immense variety of its designs. Cretonnes are comely too, if care be -taken to avoid the very gaudy ones. If there is no objection on the -score of difficulty of keeping clean, I am fond, in a modern bed-room, -of curtains all of one colour, some soft, delicate tint of blue or rose, -with a great deal of patternless white muslin either over it or beneath -it as drapery to the window. This leaves you more free for bright, -effective bits of colour for sofa, table-cover, &c., and the feeling of -the window curtains can be carried out again in the screen. A bed-room, -to be really comfortable, should always have one or even two screens, if -it be large enough. They give a great air of comfort to a room, and are -exceedingly convenient as well as pretty. The fashion of draped -toilet-tables is passing away so rapidly that they cannot be depended -upon for colour in a room, though we get the advantage in other ways. So -we must fall back upon the old idea of embroidered quilts once more to -help with colour and tone in our bed-rooms. They are made in a hundred -different and almost equally pretty designs. Essentially modern quilts -for summer can be made of lace or muslin over pink or blue batiste or -silk to match the tints of the room; quilts of linen embroidered with -deliciously artistic bunches of fruit or flowers at the edge and -corners; quilts of eider-down covered with silk, for preference, or if -our means will not permit so costly a material, then of _one_ colour, -such as Turkey red, in twilled cotton. I have never liked those gay -imitation Indian quilts. They generally "swear" at everything else in -the room. - -But there are still more beautiful quilts of an older style and date. I -have seen some made of coarse linen, with a pattern running in parallel -strips four or six inches wide, formed by pulling out the threads to -make the groundwork of an insertion. The same idea looks well also when -carried out in squares or a diamond-shaped pattern. Then there are -lovely quilts of muslin embroidered in delicate neutral tints, which -look as if they came straight from Cairo or Bagdad, but which have never -been out of England, and owe their lightness and beauty to the looms of -Manchester. - -One of the prettiest and simplest bed-rooms I know had its walls covered -with lining paper of the very tenderest tint of green, on which were -hung some pretty pastel sketches, all in the same style. The chintzes, -or rather cretonnes, were of a creamy white ground with bunches of -lilacs powdered on them, and the carpet, of a soft green, had also a -narrow border with bouquets of lilacs at each corner. The screens were -of muslin over lilac batiste, and the quilt of the simple bedstead had -been worked by the owner's own fingers, of linen drawn out in threads. -The very tiles of the fireplace--for this pretty room had an open hearth -with a sort of basket for a coal fire in the middle--and the china of -the basin-stand as well as the door-handles and plates, were all -decorated with the same flower, and although essentially a modern room -in a modern house, it was exquisitely fresh and uncommon. This was -partly owing to the liberal use of the leaves of the lilac, which are in -form so exceedingly pretty. - -In an old-fashioned house if I wanted the draperies and quilt of my -bed-room to be thoroughly harmonious I should certainly go to the Royal -School of Art Needlework in the Exhibition Road for designs, as they -possess extraordinary facilities for getting at specimens of the best -early English and French needlework, and they can imitate even the -materials to perfection. I saw some curtains the other day in a modern -boudoir from this Royal School of Art Needlework. They were of a -delicate greenish blue silk-rep, which hung in delicious round folds and -had a bold and simple design of conventionalised lilies in a material -like Tussore silk _appliqué_-d with a needlework edge. Of course they -were intended for a purely modern room, but there were also some copies -of draperies which went beautifully with Chippendale chairs and lovely -old straight up and down cupboards and settees. - -There is rather a tendency in the present day to make both bed-rooms and -boudoirs gloomy; a horrible vision of a room with walls the colour of a -robin's egg (dots and all) and _black_ furniture, rises up before me, -and the owner of this apartment could not be induced to brighten up her -gloom by so much as a gay pincushion. Now our grandmothers understood -much better, though probably no one ever said a word to them about it, -how necessary it was to light up dark recesses by contrasts. You would -generally have found an exquisite old blue and white Delft jar full of -scented rose-leaves, a gay beau-pot full of poppies, or even a -spinning-wheel with its creamy bundle of flax or wool bound by a scarlet -ribbon, in the unregarded corner of a dingy passage, and I think we do -not bear in mind enough how bright and gay the costumes of those days -used to be. To a new house, furnished according to the present rage for -old-fashioned decoration, our modern sombre apparel is no help. We do -not lighten up our rooms a bit now by our dress, except perhaps in -summer, but generally we sit, clad in dingiest tints of woollen -material, or in very inartistic black silk, amid furniture which was -originally designed as a sort of background to much gay and gallant -clothing, to flowered sacques and powdered heads, to bright steel -buttons and buckles and a thousand points of colour and light. Let us -follow their old good example thoroughly, if we do it at all, and do our -best to brighten the dull nooks and corners which will creep into all -dwellings, by our attire, as well as in all other ways. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -BEDS AND BEDDING. - - -When we discuss a bed-room, the bed ought certainly to be the first -thing considered. Here at least, is a great improvement within even the -last forty or fifty years. Where are now those awful four-posters, so -often surmounted by huge wooden knobs or plumes of feathers, or which -even offered hideously carved griffin's heads to superintend your -slumbers? Gone, "quite gone," as children say. At first we ran as usual -into the opposite extreme, and bestowed ourselves at night in frightful -and vulgar frames of cast iron, ornamented with tawdry gilt or bronze -scroll-work, but such things are seldom seen now, and even the cheap -common iron or brass bedstead of the present day has at least the merit -of simplicity. Its plain rails at foot and head are a vast improvement -on the fantastic patterns of even twenty years ago, and the bedsteads -of the present day will long continue in general use in modern houses. -Their extreme cheapness and cleanliness are great points in their -favour, and when they are made low, and have a spring frame with one -rather thick mattress at the top, they are perfectly comfortable to -sleep in besides being harmless to look at. - -[Illustration: FIG. 1.] - -But in many rooms where the style of both decoration and furniture has -been carried back for a century and a half, and all the severe and -artistic lines of the tastes of those days must needs be preserved, then -indeed an ordinary iron or brass bedstead, of ever so unobtrusive a -pattern would be ludicrously out of place. Still, if our minds revolt -from anything like a return to the old nightmare-haunted huge Beds of -Ware, we can find something to sleep on which will be in harmony with -the rest of the surroundings, and yet combine the modern needs of air -and light with the old-fashioned strictness of form and beauty of -detail. Here is a drawing (Fig. 1) made from an old Dutch bedstead by -Mr. Lathrop. The sides are of beautifully and conscientiously inlaid -work, whilst the slight outward slope of both the head and foot-board -insures the perfection of comfort. To avoid a too great austerity of -form, the upper cap of the foot-board has been cut in curves, and the -solidity of the legs modified ever so slightly. The bedding of this -bedstead must by no means project beyond its sides, but must fit into -the box-like cavity intended to receive it. In this bedstead (Fig. 2), -which was made from a design by Mr. Sandier, more latitude is allowed -in this respect, and its perfect simplicity can only be equalled by its -beauty. - -[Illustration: FIG. 2.] - -The form of wooden bedstead (Fig. 3), which could easily be copied at -all events in its general idea, by any village carpenter, would be -exceedingly pretty and original for a young girl's bed-room. It is -intended to be of oak with side rails which are to pass through carved -posts, and be held by wooden pins, as are also the end rails. For -durability as well as simplicity this design leaves nothing to be -desired, and it can be made in almost any hard wood, whilst every year -would only add to its intrinsic worth. How many of us mothers have taken -special delight in preparing a room for our daughters when they return -from school "for good"--when they leave off learning lessons out of -books, and try, with varied success, to learn and apply those harder -lessons, which have to be learned without either books or teachers. - -What sumptuous room in after years ever affords the deep delight of the -sense of ownership which attends the first awakening of a girl in a room -of her very own? and it is a vivid recollection of this pure delight of -one's own bygone girl-days which prompts us to do our best to furbish up -ever so homely a room for our eldest daughter. If a pretty, fresh -carpet is unattainable, then let us have bare boards, with rugs, or -skins, or whatever is available. Necessity developes ingenuity, and -ingenuity goes a long way. I never learned the meaning of either word -until I found myself very far removed from shops, and forced to invent -or substitute the materials wherewith to carry out my own little -decorative ideas. - -[Illustration: FIG. 3.] - -Some very lofty rooms seem to require a more furnished style of bed, and -for these stately sleeping-places it may be well to have sweeping -curtains of silk or satin gathered up quite or almost at the ceiling, -and falling in ample straight folds on either side of a wide, low -bedstead. They would naturally be kept out of the way by slender arms or -brackets some six or eight feet from the floor, which would prevent the -curtains from clinging too closely round the bed, and give the right -lines to the draperies. But, speaking individually, it is never to such -solemn sleeping-places as these, that my fancy reverts when, weary and -travel-stained, and in view of some homely wayside room, one thinks by -way of contrast, of other and prettier bed-rooms. No, it is rather to -simple, lovely little nests of chintz and muslin, with roses inside and -outside the wall, with low chairs and writing-table, sofa and toilet all -in the same room--a bed-room and bower in one. Edgar Allan Poe declares -that to - - "slumber aright - You must sleep in just such a bed." - -But he only says it of the last bed of all. Without going so far as -that, I can declare that I have slumbered "aright" in extraordinary -beds, in extraordinary places, on tables, and under them (that was to be -out of the way of being walked upon), on mats, on trunks, on all sorts -of wonderful contrivances. I slept once very soundly on a piece of -sacking stretched between two bullock trunks, though my last waking -thought was an uneasy misgiving as to the durability of the -frail-looking iron pins at each end of this yard of canvas, which fitted -into corresponding eyelet holes in the trunks. I know the uneasiness of -mattresses stuffed with chopped grass, and the lumpiness of those filled -by amateur hands with wool--_au naturel_. Odours also are familiar unto -me, the most objectionable being, perhaps, that arising from a feather -bed in a Scotch inn, and from a seaweed mattress in an Irish hotel, in -which I should imagine many curious specimens of marine zoology had been -entombed by mistake. - -But there is one thing I want to say most emphatically, and that is that -I have met with greater dirt and discomfort, worse furniture, more -comfortless beds (I will say nothing of the vileness of the food!), and -a more general air of primitive barbarism in inns and lodgings in -out-of-the-way places in Great Britain and Ireland, than I have ever -come across in any colony. I know half-a-dozen places visited by heaps -of tourists every year, within half-a-dozen hours' journey of London, -which are _far_ behind, in general comfort and convenience, most of the -roadside inns either in New Zealand or Natal. It is very inexplicable -why it should be so, but it is a fact. It is marvellous that there -should often be such dirt and discomfort and general shabbiness and -dinginess under circumstances which, compared with colonial -difficulties, including want of money, would seem all that could be -desired. - -However, to return to the subject in hand. We will take it for granted -that a point of equal importance with the form of the bedstead is its -comfort but this must always be left to the decision of its occupant. -Some people prefer beds and pillows of an adamantine hardness, others of -a luxurious softness. Either extreme is bad, in my opinion. As a rule, -however, I should have the mattresses for children's use _rather_ -hard--a firm horsehair on the top of a wool mattress, and children's -pillows should _always_ be low. Some people heap bed-clothes over their -sleeping children, but I am sure this is a bad plan. I would always take -care that a child was quite warm enough, especially when it gets into -bed of a winter's night, but after a good temperature has been -established I would remove the extra wraps and accustom the child to -sleep with light covering. A little flannel jacket for a young child who -throws its arms outside the bed-clothes is a good plan, and saves them -from many a cough or cold. In the case of a delicate, chilly child, I -would even recommend a flannel bed-gown or dressing-gown to sleep in in -the depth of winter, for it saves a weight of clothes over them. I never -use a quilt at night for children; it keeps in the heat too much, but -blankets of the best possible quality are a great advantage. The cheap -ones are heavy and not nearly so warm, whereas a good, expensive blanket -not only wears twice as long, but is much more light and wholesome as a -covering. Nor would I permit soft pillows; of course there is a medium -between a fluff of down and a stone, and it is just a medium pillow I -should recommend for young children and growing girls and boys. The -fondest and fussiest parents do not always understand that, on the most -careful attention to some such simple rules depend the straightness of -their children's spines, the strength of their young elastic limbs, -their freedom from colds and coughs, and in fact their general health. -Often the daylight hours are weighted by a heavy mass of rules and -regulations, but few consider that half of a young child's life should -be spent in its bed. So that unless the atmosphere of the room they -sleep in, the quality of the bed they lie on, and the texture of the -clothes which cover them, are taken into consideration, it is only half -their existence which is being cared for. - -[Illustration: FIG 4.] - -All bedsteads are healthier for being as low as possible; thus insuring -a better circulation of air above the sleeper's face, and doing away -with the untidy possibility of keeping boxes or carpet-bags under the -bedstead. There should be no valance to any bedstead. In the daytime an -ample quilt thrown over the bedding will be quite drapery enough, and at -night it is just as well to have a current of air beneath the frame of -the bed. The new spring mattresses are very nearly perfect as regards -the elasticity which is so necessary in a couch, and they can be suited -to all tastes by having either soft or hard horsehair or finely picked -wool mattresses on the top of them. Whenever it is possible, I would -have children put to sleep in separate bedsteads, even if they like to -have them close together as in Fig. 4. - -There are many varieties of elastic mattresses, though I prefer the more -clumsy one of spiral springs inclosed in a sort of frame. For transport -this is, however, very cumbrous, and in such a case it would be well to -seek other and lighter kinds. It must be also remembered that these -spring mattresses are only suitable for modern beds in modern rooms; the -old carven beds of a "Queen Anne" bed-room must needs be made -comfortable by hair and wool mattresses only. - -In many cases, however, where economy of space and weight has to be -considered, I would recommend a new sort of elastic mattress which can -easily be affixed to any bedstead. It resembles a coat of mail more -than anything else and possesses the triple merit in these travelling -days of being cool, clean, and portable. - -The frowsy old feather bed of one's infancy has so completely gone out -of favour that it is hardly necessary to place one more stone on the -cairn of abuse already raised over it by doctors' and nurses' hands. A -couple of thick mattresses, one of horsehair and one of wool, will make -as soft and comfortable a bed as anyone need wish for. - -[Illustration: FIG. 5.] - -Instead of curtains, which the modern form of bedstead renders -incongruous and impossible, screens on either side of the bed are a much -prettier and more healthy substitute. I like screens immensely; they -insure privacy, they keep out the light if necessary, and are a great -improvement to the look of any room. It is hardly necessary to say they -should suit the style of its decoration. If you are arranging a lofty -old-fashioned room, then let your screens be of old Dutch leather--of -which beautiful fragments are to be found--with a groundwork which can -only be described by paradoxes, for it is at once solid and light, -sombre and gay. Any one who has seen those old stamped leather screens -of a peculiar sea-green blue, with a raised dull gold arabesque design -on them, will know what I mean. There are also beautiful old Indian or -Japan lacquered screens, light, and with very little pattern on them; -even imitation ones of Indian pattern paper are admissible to narrow -purses, but anything real is always much more satisfactory. If again -your bower is a modern Frenchified concern, then screen off its angles -by _écrans_ of gay tapestry or embroidered folding leaves, or -paper-covered screens of delicate tints with sprays of trailing blossom, -and here and there a bright-winged bird or butterfly. Designs for all -these varieties of screens can be obtained in great perfection at the -Royal School of Art Needlework. But for a simple modern English -bed-room, snug as a bird's nest, and bright and fresh as a summer -morning I should choose screens of slender wooden rails with fluted -curtains of muslin and lace cunningly hung thereon. Only it must be -remembered that these entail constant change, and require to be always -exquisitely fresh and clean. - -It often happens that another spare bed is wanted on an emergency, and -it is a great point in designing couches for a nondescript room, a room -which is some one person's peculiar private property, whether called a -den or a study, a smoking-room or a boudoir, that the said couch should -be able "a double debt to pay" on a pinch. I have lately seen two such -resting-places which were both convenient and comfortable. The first was -a long, low settee of cane, with a thin mattress over its seat, and a -thicker one, doubled in two, forming a luxurious back against the wall -by day. At night, this mattress could be laid flat out on the top of the -other, which gave increased width as well as softness to the extempore -bed. - -The other, of modern carved oak, had been copied from the pattern of an -old settle. It was low and wide, with only one deep well-stuffed -mattress, round which an Algerine striped blue and white cotton cloth -had been wrapped. Of course this could be removed at night, and the bed -made up in the usual way. It struck me, with its low, strong railing -round three sides, as peculiarly suitable for a change of couch for a -sick child, though it could hardly be used by a full-grown person as a -bed. - -So now all has been said that need be on the point of a sleeping place. -It is too essentially a matter of choice to allow of more than -suggestion; and at least my readers will admit that I am only arbitrary -on the points of fresh air and cleanliness. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -WARDROBES AND CUPBOARDS. - - -Sometimes a room has to play the part of both bed-room and boudoir, and -then it is of importance what form the "_garde-robes_" shall assume. -Fortunately there are few articles of furniture on which more lavish -pains have been bestowed, and in which it is possible to find scope for -a wider range of taste and choice. Recesses may be fitted up, if the -room be a large one, and have deep depressions here and there in the -masonry with doors to match the rest of the woodwork, panelled, grained, -and painted exactly alike, and very commodious hanging cupboards may -thus be formed. But however useful these may be to the lady's maid, they -are scarcely æsthetic enough to be entitled to notice among descriptions -of art furniture. Rather let us turn to this little wardrobe (Fig. 6), -too narrow, perhaps, for aught but a single gown of the present day -to hang in, yet exquisitely artistic and pleasant to look upon. Its -corner columns are mounted with brass, and every detail of its -construction is finished as though by the hand of a jeweller. The lower -drawers are probably intended for lace or fur, or some other necessary -of a fine lady's toilette. It is very evident from the accommodation -provided in the distant days when such wardrobes were designed, that -"little and good" used to be the advice given to our grandmothers with -their pin-money, and that even in their wildest dreams they never beheld -the countless array of skirts and polonaises and mantles and Heaven -knows what beside, that furnish forth a modern belle's equipment. Yet -these moderate-minded dames and damsels must have loved the garments -they did possess very dearly, for the heroine of every poem or romance -of the last century is represented as depending quite as much on her -clothes in the battle of life as any knight on his suit of Milan mail. -Clarissa Harlowe mingles tragic accounts of Lovelace's villanies with -her grievances about mismatched ruffles and tuckers, and even the -excellent Miss Byron has by no means a soul above court suits or French -heels. Still these lovely ladies had not much space assigned to them -wherein to bestow their finery when it was not on their backs, and we -must expect to find all the wardrobe designs of former times of somewhat -skimpy proportions. Here is an antique lock-up (Fig. 7) of French make -(most of the best designs for furniture came from France in those days) -of a very practical and good form to copy in a humbler material. This is -made of a costly wood, probably rosewood, with beautifully engraved -brass fittings all over it. The door of the upper half seems rather -cumbrous, being only a flap which opens out all in one piece, but a -modern and less expensive copy might be improved by dividing this large -lid into a couple of doors to open in the middle in the usual way, -without at all departing from the original lines. - -[Illustration: FIG. 6.] - -Fig. 8, again, is more of a bureau, and affords but scanty room for the -ample stores of a lady's _lingerie_. It is, however, of a very good -design in its way, its chief value being the workmanship of its fine -brass ornaments. The handles of the drawers are peculiarly beautiful, -and represent the necks and heads of swans issuing from a wreath of -leaves. It would look particularly well in a bed-room in a large -old-fashioned country house, where the rest of the furniture is perhaps -rather cumbrous as well as convenient, and the glitter of the metal -mounting would help to brighten a dingy corner. It cannot, however, be -depended upon to hold much, and is chiefly valuable in a decorative -sense, or as a stand for a toilette glass. - -[Illustration: FIG. 7.] - -In strong contrast to these two designs is Fig. 9 of modern Japanese -manufacture. It is easy to see that the original idea must have been -taken from a common portable chest of drawers, such as officers use. The -slight alteration in its arrangement is owing to Japanese common sense -and observation, for it would have required more strength of character -than a cockney upholsterer possesses, to divide one of the parts so -unequally as in this illustration. But the male heart will be sure to -delight specially in that one deep drawer for shirts, and the shallow -one at the top for collars, pockethandkerchiefs, neckties, and so forth. -The lower drawers would hold a moderate supply of clothes, and the -little closet contains three small drawers, besides a secret place for -money and valuables. When the two boxes, for they are really little -else, are placed side by side they measure only three feet one inch -long, three feet four high, and one foot five deep. They hardly appear, -from the prominence of the sliding handles, intended to be packed in -outer wooden cases as portable chests of drawers usually are; but it -must be remembered that in Japan they would be carried from place to -place slung on poles carried on men's shoulders. There is a good deal of -iron used in the construction, which must be intended to give strength, -but it does not add to the weight in any excessive degree, for it is -very thin. The wood is soft and light, and rather over-polished, but the -Japanese artist would have delighted in varnishing it still more, and -covering it with grotesque gilt designs in lacquer, if he had been -allowed. On page 55 will be found a roomy Chinese cupboard with drawers -and nicely-carved panels. - -[Illustration: FIG. 8.] - -Many of our most beautiful old Indian chests of drawers and cabinets -have this black ground with quaintest bronze or brazen clamps and -hinges, locks and handles, to give relief to the sombre groundwork. -Except that the drawers seldom open well, and are nearly always -inconveniently small, they are the most beautiful things in the world -for keeping clothes in, but it would certainly be as well to have, out -of the room in a passage, some more commodious and commonplace -receptacles. I have seen a corridor leading to bed-rooms, lined on each -side with wardrobes, about six or seven feet high, consisting merely of -a plain deal top with divisions at intervals of some five feet from top -to bottom. A series of hanging cupboards was thus formed, which had been -lined with stretched brown holland, furnished with innumerable pegs, and -closed in by doors of a neat framework of varnished deal with panels of -fluted chintz. Besides these doors to each compartment, an ample curtain -hung within, of brown holland, suspended by rings on a slender iron rod; -and this curtain effectually kept out all dust and dirt, and preserved -intact the delicate fabrics within. Such an arrangement must have been, -I fear, far more satisfactory to the soul of the lady's maid than the -most beautiful old Indian or French chest of drawers. - -[Illustration: FIG. 9.] - -For rooms which are not old-fashioned in style, and in which it is yet -not possible to indulge in French _consoles_ or Indian cabinets as -places to keep clothes in, then I would recommend the essentially modern -simple style of wardrobe and chest of drawers. I would eschew "gothic," -or "mediæval," or any other style, and I would avoid painted lines as I -would the plague. But there are perfectly simple, inoffensive wardrobes -to be procured of varnished pine or even deal (and the former wears the -best) which, if it can only be kept free from scratches, is at least in -good taste and harmony in a modern, commonplace bed-room. It is quite -possible, however by the exercise of a little ingenuity to dispense with -modern, bought wardrobes, and to invent something which will hold -clothes, and yet be out of the beaten track. I happened only the other -day, to come across so good an example of what I mean,[1] that I feel -it ought to be described. First of all, it must be understood that the -bed-room in question was a small one, in a London house recently -decorated and fitted up in the style which prevailed in Queen Anne's -reign, and to which there is now such a decided return of the public -taste. The other portions of the furniture were in accordance with the -original intention of the room and consisted of a very beautiful, though -simple, carved oaken bedstead, and a plain spindle-legged toilette table -and washstand, also old in design. The chairs were especially fine, -having been bought in a cottage in Suffolk, and yet they matched the -bedstead perfectly. They had substantial rush-bottomed seats, but the -frame was of fine dark oak, and the front feet spread out in a firm, -satisfactory fashion giving an idea of solidity and strength. The -fireplace was tiled after the old style, and the mantelpiece consisted -of a couple of narrow oak shelves, about a dozen inches apart, connected -by small pillars. These ledges afforded a stand for a few curious little -odds and ends, and on the top shelf stood some specimens of old china. -But the difficulty remained about the wardrobe, for the room was too -small to admit old _bureaus_ which would only hold half a dozen articles -of clothing. - -[Footnote 1: See Frontispiece.] - -[Illustration: FIG. 10.] - -So the ingenious owner devised a sort of corner cupboard to fit into an -angle of the room, and to match the rest of the woodwork in colour and -style, having old brass handles and plates like those on the doors. It -is a sort of double cupboard; that is to say, whilst the left-hand side -is a hanging wardrobe which only projects away from the wall -sufficiently to allow the dresses to be hung up properly, the right-hand -division is a chest of drawers. Not a row of commonplace drawers, -however. No; the front surface is broken by the introduction of little -square doors and other arrangements, for bonnets, &c. We must bear in -mind these drawers extend much higher than usual, and the cornice being -nearly on a level with that of the wardrobe, there can be no possibility -of putting boxes and so forth on the top; but then, on the other hand, a -goodly range of drawers of differing depth is provided. It certainly -seemed to me an excellent way of meeting the difficulty; and I also -noticed in other bed-rooms in the same house how odd nooks and uneven -recesses were filled in by a judicious blending of cupboard and wardrobe -which is evidently convenient in practice as well as exceedingly quaint -yet correct in theory. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -FIRE AND WATER. - - -Perhaps the part of any room which is most often taken out of, or put -beyond the decorative hands of its owner, is the fireplace. And yet, -though it is one of the most salient features in any English dwelling, -it is, nine cases out of ten, the most repulsively ugly. When one thinks -either of the imitation marble mantelpiece, or its cotton velvet and of -false-lace-bedizened shelves, the artistic soul cannot refrain from a -shudder. The best which can be hoped from an ordinary modern builder is -that he will put in harmless grates and mantelpieces, and abstain from -showy designs. The fireplace in either bed-room or boudoir should not be -too large, nor yet small enough to give an air of stinginess, out of -proportion to everything else. Here are two (Figs. 11 and 14). The -design of each is as simple as possible, of plainest lines, but with no -pretence of elaborate sham splendour. Fig. 11 is of course only suitable -for a small unassuming room, but if the tiles were old Dutch ones and -the rest of the bed-room ware quaint blue and white Delft, an effect of -individuality and suitability would be at once attained. Such a -fireplace would look best in a room with wall-paper of warm neutral -tints of rather an old-fashioned design, and I should like a nice -straight brass fender in front of it almost as flat as a kitchen fender -with delightful possibilities of sociable toe-toasting about it. Such a -one I came across lately that had been "picked up" in the far east of -London. It was about eighteen inches high, of a most beautiful simple, -flat, form with a handsome twist or scroll dividing the design into two -parts. Although blackened to disguise by age and neglect at the time of -its purchase, it shone when I saw it, with that peculiar brilliant and -yet softened sheen which you never get except in real old brass; a hue -seldom if ever attained in modern brazen work however beautiful the -design may be. This fender stood firmly--a great and especial merit in -fenders--on two large, somewhat projecting, feet, and its cheerful -reflections gave an air of brightness to the room at once. - -[Illustration: FIG. 11.] - -There must always be plenty of room for the fire, and the actual grate -should of course be so set as to throw all the warmth into the room. -Then, though it is rather a digression,--only I want to finish off the -picture which rises up before me,--I would have a couple of chairs -something like this (Fig. 12), and just such a table for a book or one's -hair-brushes a little in front of these two chairs. And then what a -gossip must needs ensue! Of course I would have a trivet on the fire, or -before it. No bed-room can look really comfortable without a trivet and -a kettle; a brass kettle for preference, as squat and fat and shining as -it is possible to procure. There are charming kettles to be found, -copied from Dutch designs. - -[Illustration: FIG. 12.] - -Instead of the ordinary wide low mantelpiece one sees in bed-rooms, I am -very fond of two narrower shelves over such a fireplace as this. They -are perhaps best plain oak, divided and supported by little turned -pillars, and if the top shelf has a ledge half-way a few nice plates -look especially well. But there are such pretty designs for mantelpieces -now to be procured, that it would be a waste of time to describe any -particular style, and most fireplaces are made on scientific principles -of ventilation. Nor is it, I hope, necessary to reiterate the injunction -about every part of the decoration and detail of a room, whether fixture -or moveable, matching or suiting all the rest. In some instances -contrast is the most harmonious arrangement one can arrive at, but this -should not be a matter lightly taken in hand. A strong feeling is -growing up in favour of the old-fashioned open fireplaces lined with -tiles, and adapted to modern habits by a sort of iron basket on low feet -in the centre, for coals. Excellent fires are made in this way, and I -know many instances where the prettiest possible effect has been -attained. In a country where wood is cheap and plentiful, the basket -for coals may be done away with and the fuel kept in its place by sturdy -"dogs," for which many charming hints have been handed down to us by our -grandfathers. Over the modern fireplace, even in a bed-room, a mirror is -generally placed, but I would not advise it unless the room chanced to -be so dingy that every speck of light must be procured by any means. -Still less would I have recourse to the usual stereotyped gilt-framed -bit of looking glass. In such a private den as we are talking about, all -sorts of little eccentricities might be permitted to the decorator. I -have seen a looking-glass with a flat, narrow frame, beyond which -projected a sort of outer frame also flat, wherein were mounted a series -of pretty little water-colour sketches, and another done in the same way -with photographs--only these were much more difficult to manage -artistically, and needed to be mounted with a background of greyish -paper. For a thoroughly modern room, small oval mirrors are pretty, -mounted on a wide margin of velvet with sundry diminutive brackets and -knobs and hooks for the safe bestowal of pet little odds and ends of -china and glass, with here and there a quaint old miniature or brooch -among them. In old, _real_ old rooms anything of this sort would, -however, be an impossibility, for the mantelshelf would probably be -carried up far over the owner's head who might think herself lucky if -she could ever reach, by standing on tip-toe, a candlestick off its -narrow ledge. Our grandmothers seemed to make it their practice to hang -their less choice portraits in the space above the mantelpiece, and to -this spot seem generally to have been relegated the likenesses of -disagreeable or disreputable, or, to say the least, uninteresting -members of the family; the successful belles and heroes occupying a -more prominent place downstairs. Fig. 14 shows a pretty arrangement of -picture, mirror and shelves for china. - -[Illustration: FIG. 13.] - -Before the subject of fire is laid aside, we must just touch upon -candles and lamps. Fig. 13 is a simple and ordinary form of candlestick, -which would be safe enough from risk of fire if these sheltering shades -were made, as they often are, of tin, painted green, and then there -would be no danger if it stood on a steady table, by the side of even -the sleepiest student. But perhaps this design (Fig. 15) is the most -uncommon, though it would not be safe to put so unprotected a light -except in a perfectly safe draughtless place. However, there is also in -this branch of decorative art a great variety of beautiful models to -choose from. Antique lamps, copied from those exquisite shapes which -seem to have been preserved for us in lava and ashes during all these -centuries, with their scissors and pin and extinguisher, dangling from -slender chains, lamps where modern invention for oil and wick meet and -blend with chaste forms and lines borrowed from the old designers, and -where the good of the eyesight is as much considered as the pleasure to -the eye itself. - -[Illustration: FIG. 14.] - -Of washing arrangements, it is not possible to speak in any arbitrary -fashion. Here is a modern French washing-stand (Fig. 16) made, however, -to close up, which is always an objectionable thing, in my opinion, -though it may often be a convenient one. Let your basin invariably be as -large as possible and your jug of a convenient form, to hold and pour -from. Every basin-stand should be provided with a smaller basin and jug, -and allow at the same time, plenty of space and accommodation for -sponges and soap. If, from dearth of attendance, it is necessary to have -a receptacle in the room, into which the basin may be emptied -occasionally during the day, I would entreat that it should be also of -china, for the tin ones soon acquire an unpleasant smell even from -soapsuds. But I detest such contrivances, and they are absolutely -inadmissible on any other score except economy of service. All bathing -arrangements would be better in a separate room, but if this should be -impossible, then they should be behind a screen. But indeed I prefer, -wherever it is feasible, to contrive a small closet for all the washing -apparatus, and to keep basin-stand, towel-horse, and bath in it. - -[Illustration: FIG. 15.] - -It is sometimes difficult to hit exactly upon a plan for a washing-stand -for a very small room or corner, and a copy of this Chinese stand (Fig. -17) for a basin and washing appliances, would look very quaint and -appropriate in such a situation. Only real, coarse, old Indian, or -Japanese china, would go well with it, however, or it might be fitted -with one of those wooden lacquered bowls from Siam, and a water-jar -from South America of fine red clay, and of a most artistic and -delightful form. There are hundreds of such jars to be bought at Madeira -for a shilling or two, and they keep water deliciously cool and fresh. -If a demand arose for them they would probably be imported in large -quantities. All washing-stands are the better for a piece of Indian -matting hung at the back, for much necessary flirting and flipping of -water goes on at such places, which stains and discolours the wall; but -then this matting must constantly be renewed, for nothing can be more -forlorn to the eye or unpleasing to the sense of smell, than damp straw -is capable of becoming in course of time. - -[Illustration: FIG. 16.] - -For the corner of a boy's bed-room, or for the washing apparatus of that -very convenient little cupboard or closet or corner which I always -struggle to institute _down_-stairs, close to where the gentlemen of the -family hang their hats and coats, this (Fig. 18) is a very good design. -It is simple in form and steady in build, and a long towel over a roller -just behind it will be found useful. The towel need not be so coarse as -the kitchen "round" one, from which it is copied; and above all things -do not have it _hard_. It is a needless addition to the unavoidable -miseries of life to be obliged to dry your hands in a hurry on a new -huckaback towel. - -[Illustration: FIG. 17.] - -Many charming basin-stands have I seen extemporised out of even a shelf -in a corner; but such contrivances are perhaps too much of make-shifts -to entitle them to mention here, only one hint would I give. Take care -that your washing-stand is sufficiently low to enable you to use it with -comfort. I once knew a very splendid and elaborate basin-stand, -extending over the whole side of a dressing-room, which could only be -approached by mounting three long low steps. I always felt thankful when -my ablutions had ended and left my neck still unbroken. - -[Illustration: FIG. 18.] - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -THE TOILET. - - -There is no prettier object in either bed-room or boudoir than the spot -where "the toilet stands displayed." Whether it be a shrine _à la -Duchesse_ (Fig. 19) or the simplest form of support for a mirror, it -will probably be the most interesting spot in the room to its fair -owner. Consequently there is nothing upon which the old love of -decoration has more expended itself even from its earliest days, or -which modern upholstery makes more its special study than this truly -feminine shrine. I will say nothing of mirrors with three sides which -represent you as a female "Cerberus, three ladies in one," or indeed of -mirrors of any sort or kind, as our business lies at this moment more -with the tables on which they should stand. These can be found or -invented of every imaginable form, and contain every conceivable -convenience for receiving and hiding away the weapons which beauty (or -rather would-be-beauty, which is not at all the same thing) requires. - -[Illustration: FIG. 19.] - -Here (Fig. 20) is a sort of old-fashioned _tiroir_ of an exquisite -simplicity, and with but little space outside for the "paraphernalia" of -odds and ends which the law generously recognises as the sole and -individual property of even a married woman. Such articles would need to -be stowed away in one of its many drawers. Instead of the frivolous -drapery which would naturally cover a deal toilet-table, the only -fitting drapery for this beautiful old piece of furniture (of French -design evidently) would be an embroidered and fringed strip of fine -linen which should hang low down on either side. In a darksome room, -imagine how the subdued brightness of its metal mountings would afford -coigns of vantage to every stray sunbeam or flickering ray from taper or -fire! And in its deep, commodious drawers too, might be neatly stowed -away every detail of toilet necessaries. On it should stand a mirror -which must imperatively be required to harmonise, set in a plain but -agreeable frame without anything to mar the severe simplicity of the -whole. There are several pieces of old furniture, however, which are -better adapted to be used as toilet-tables than the subject of the -illustration. Such a piece of furniture is more suitable when it is -divided, as is often the case, into three compartments, the centre one -being considerably further back than the side-pieces. In this way a -place is secured for the knees, when seated at it, and this central -cupboard, when filled with shelves, makes an excellent receptacle for -brushes and combs, and so forth. - -[Illustration: FIG. 20.] - -The defect of these old _tiroirs_ is that they are rather small and low, -and consequently look best in a small room, but they offer great variety -of decorative embellishment (Fig. 21), and are very satisfactory, as -stands for a small oval toilet-glass in an old frame to match. The -designs too of the brass mountings for door and drawer are nearly always -exceedingly beautiful, and vary from the simplest shining ring to a -small miracle of artistic brazen work. These shining handles take away a -good deal from the severity of decorative treatment which would -naturally exist in the rest of the room, and it is under such -conditions, where form takes precedence of colour, that we learn the -full value of these little traps to attract and keep a warm glitter of -light. - -Here is a simpler design for a toilet-table (Fig. 22) which would look -very well standing between the windows of a lofty room. If it was found -that a good light for the looking-glass had been sacrificed to the -general harmony of the room, then a smaller glass might be placed _in_ a -window, just for occasional use. - -[Illustration: FIG. 21.] - -Some of the old-fashioned "toilet-equipages" are very beautiful just as -they have come down to us. They are occasionally made in silver, and -comprise many articles which cannot by any possibility be brought within -the faith or practice of a modern belle. Still they offer charming forms -for imitation, especially in the frames of the old hand-mirrors, whose -elaborate simplicity (if one may use such a paradox) puts to shame the -more ornate taste of their modern substitutes. Next to silver or -tortoise-shell, I like ivory, as the material for a really beautiful and -artistic set of toilet appendages, its delicious creamy tint going -especially well with all shades of blue in a room. But I prefer the -surface of the ivory kept plain and not grotesquely carved as you get it -in China or Japan, for dust and dirt always take possession of the -interstices, and lead to the things being consigned to a drawer. Now I -cannot endure to possess any thing of any kind which had better be kept -out of sight wrapped carefully away under lock and key. My idea of -enjoying ownership is for my possession to be of such a nature that I -can see it or use it every day--and all day long if I choose--so I shall -not be found recommending anything which is "too bright and good for -human nature's daily food." I have seen toilet-tables under -difficulties, that is on board of real sea-going yachts, where it has -been necessary to sink a little well into which each brush, box or tray -securely fitted; and I have seen toilet-tables in Kafir-Land covered -with common sixpenny cups and saucers, and shown as presenting a happy -combination of use and ornament, strictly in conformity with "Engleez -fasson." - -[Illustration: FIG. 22.] - -But perhaps our business does not lie so much with these as with the -ordinary dressing-table which is now more used in the modern shape of a -convenient table with a scoop out of the middle, beneath which the knees -can fit when you are seated at it, and with a couple of drawers on each -side. This too is covered by a white _serviette_ of some sort, and -supports a large toilet-glass of equally uncompromising utility and -convenience. But however readily these good qualities may be conceded to -the modern toilet-table it is but an uninteresting feature in an ideal -bower. If the room be an essentially modern one, and especially if it be -in the country, nothing affords a prettier spot of colour in it, than -the old-fashioned toilet-table of deal covered with muslin draperies -over soft-hued muslin or batiste. Of course the caricature of such an -arrangement may be seen any day in the fearful and detestable -toilet-table with a skimpy and coarse muslin flounce over a -tight-fitting skirt of glaring pink calico, but this is a parody on the -ample, convenient stand for toilet necessaries, the draperies of which -should be in harmony with the other colours of the room. It would need -however to possess many changes of raiment, in order that it may always -be kept up to the mark of spotless freshness. These draperies are -prettier of plain soft white muslin without spot or figure of any kind, -and may consist of two or three layers, draped with all the artistic -skill the constructor thereof possesses. It is also an improvement, if -instead of only a hideous crackle of calico beneath, there be a full -flounce or petticoat of batiste which would give colour and graceful -folds together. This is a very humble arrangement I know, but it can be -made as effective as if it cost pounds instead of pence. And this is one -of the strong points in all hints on decoration, that they should be of -so elastic a nature as to be capable of expansion under favourable -circumstances, though not beyond the reach of extremely slender -resources. - -I do not recommend draped mirrors for modern toilet-tables on account of -the danger from fire, and I like the style and frame of the -looking-glass on the table to harmonise thoroughly with the rest of the -furniture. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -ODDS AND ENDS OF DECORATION. - - -It seems a pity that sofas and chairs made of straw or bamboo should not -be more used than they are. I mean, used as they come from the maker's -hands, _not_ painted or gilded, and becushioned and bedizened into -hopeless vulgarity. They are only admissible _au naturel_, and should -stand upon their own merits. Those we have as yet attempted to make in -England are exceedingly weak and ugly compared with the same sort of -thing from other countries. In Madeira, for instance, the chairs, -baskets, and even tables, are very superior in strength and durability, -as well as in correctness of outline, to those made in England; and when -we go further off, to the East, we find a still greater improvement in -furniture made of bamboo. Here is a chair (Fig. 23), of a pattern -familiar to all travellers on the P. and O. boats, and whose -acquaintance I first made in Ceylon. It is essentially a gentleman's -chair, however, and as such is sinking into an honoured and happy old -age in the dingy recesses of a London smoking-room. Without the -side-wings, which serve equally for a table or leg-rest, and with the -seat elongated and slightly depressed, such a chair makes a delicious, -cool lounge for a lady's use in a verandah. - -[Illustration: FIG. 23.] - -Then here (Fig. 24) is a Chinese sofa made of bamboo which, in its own -country, would probably not be encumbered with cushions, for they can be -removed at pleasure. Where, however, there is no particular inducement -to use cane or bamboo, then it would be better to have made by the -village carpenter a settee--or settle, which is the real word--something -like this. The form is, at all events correct; and in a private -sitting-room, furnished and fitted to match, the effect would be a -thousand times better than the modern couches, which are so often padded -and stuffed into deformity. - -[Illustration: FIG. 24.] - -Nothing can be simpler than the lines of the design, as is seen in this -drawing (Fig 25B), without the cushions; and it would come within the -scope of the most modest upholstering genius. In one's own little -den--which, by the way, I should _never_ myself dignify by the name of -boudoir, a word signifying a place to idle and sulk in, instead of a -retreat in which to be busy and comfortable--such odds and ends of -furniture, so long as there be one distinct feeling running through -it all, are far more characteristic than commonplace sofas and chairs. -If one _must_ have large armchairs in a boudoir, or in a bed-room, here -is one (Fig. 26) which is big enough in all conscience, and yet would go -more harmoniously with an old-fashioned room than any fat and dumpy -modern chair. If, on the other hand, the house in general, and this -particular room, chances to be essentially in the style of the present -day, then you would naturally choose some of the comfortable modern -easy-chairs, taking care to avoid the shapes which are a mass of padded -and cushioned excrescences. But modern armchairs can be very pretty, and -I know several which are low and long, and straight and unassuming, and -which yet preserve quite a good distinct outline. Such chairs as these -are a sort of half-way house between bed and board, between absolute -rest and uncomplaining unrest; famous places for thinking, for watching, -for chatting, and, above all, for dozing. - -[Illustration: FIG. 25A.] - -[Illustration: FIG. 25B.] - -The bed-rooms I am thinking of and writing about have, we must bear in -mind, a certain element of the bower or boudoir or private sitting-room -in them, and so I must stand excused for a suggestion about a place for -books or music. Here is a delightful corner for a piano (Fig. 27), but -sometimes such a thing is out of the question, and it is only possible -to find space for a few shelves. These can always be made suitable and -pretty either of a simple old form in plainest oak to match the severe -lines of an old-fashioned room, or of deal painted black, varnished, -with a gilt line grooved in front, and a bit of bright leather to go -with a more modern room. To my mind books are always the best ornaments -in any room, and I never feel at home in any place until my beloved and -often shabby old friends are unpacked and ranged in their recess. I once -extemporised a capital book case out of a blocked-up window, and with, a -tiny scrap of looking-glass let in where the arch of the window began -its spring, and filled by some old bowls of coarse but capital old -china, whose gaudy colours could only be looked at safely from a -distance. - -[Illustration: FIG. 26.] - -As time goes on, one is sure, in such a beloved little den, to -accumulate a great deal of rubbish dear, perhaps, only to the owner for -the sake of association. Which of us has not, at some tender time of our -lives, regarded a withered flower, or valueless pebble, as our great -earthly treasure? So, in later days, a plate, a cup, a pipe will be -precious, perhaps, to one as mementoes of the place and companions where -and with whom it was bought. But if such trifles, though too dear to be -laid aside, are yet not intrinsically good enough to form part of a -collection, and to take a prominent share in decoration, then I would -either stand them aside on a little _étagère_ like that to be found on -page 79, or else get the carpenter to put up graduated shelves, which -may be quite pure and simple in taste and yet suit the rest of the -room. This (Fig. 28) is a capital valuable hint to keep photographs or -prints at hand, and yet in safety. Take my advice, and don't have fringe -or mock lace, or gilt nails at the edges by way of decoration. Have a -nice piece of wood, walnut, oak, even varnished pine, if you choose, -neatly finished off at the edge, or, if it suits the rest of the room, -black, with a little narrow gilt line in a depression. I think something -ingenious might be done with Japanese tea-trays, taking care to choose -good designs. - -[Illustration: FIG. 27.] - -The worst of such a dear delightful den as I am imagining, or rather -describing, is the tendency of the most incongruous possessions to -accumulate themselves in it as time goes on. What do you think of a -pitcher like this (Fig. 29) standing in one corner, just because, though -of common ware, and rather coarsely modelled, the colour of the -earthen-ware is delicious in tone, and the design bold and free? It was -brought from South America, and cost only six shillings, or thereabouts, -but if it had cost as many pounds it could not have been more thoroughly -in harmony with the surroundings of its new home. - -[Illustration: FIG. 28.] - -One hint may not be out of place here, and that is with respect to -table-covers. Many people are fond of covering up writing-tables, and -every occasional table, with a cloth; and these draped tables are -generally great eyesores in an ill-arranged room. The covers seldom -harmonise, and now-a-days many hideous pieces of work are accomplished -in the name of the School of Art which are far removed from the artistic -and beautiful designs which alone proceed from the School itself. There -indeed you may find patterns which would go beautifully with any -old-time furniture, and which might be worked on deliciously neutral -tints of cloth or serge. But beware of staring, gaudy table-covers, of -shabby material, of which the best that can be hoped is that they may -speedily fade into better harmony. The Queen Anne tables were never -intended by their designer to be covered up by drapery. They are -generally inlaid in delicate designs, which it would be a sin to -conceal; nor could we afford to lose the slender grace of the legs. The -clumsy, ill-finished cheap table of the present day is all the better -for a cover, and wonders may be done in improving a bare, cold, -unhappy-looking room, by a good table-cover here and there, or a nicely -embroidered sofa-pillow of cloth or satin, or, better still, one of -those lovely new low screens, with the tall tufts of grass or lilies -which we owe to Walter Crane's skilful pencil. - -[Illustration: FIG. 29.] - -I confess I like a room to look as if it were inhabited, and that is the -only drawback that the rooms furnished in the seventeenth century style -have in my eyes. You scarcely ever feel as if any one lived in -them--there are seldom any signs of occupation, especially feminine -occupation, lying about, no "litter," in fact; litter being a powerful -weapon in the hands of a person who knows how to make a room look -comfortable. Then I am told that litter is incongruous in a Queen Anne -room, for that the women of those days had not the same modes of -employment as ourselves. The greatest ladies, if they were blessed with -an energetic temperament, only gave it free scope with their medicine -chest or in their still-room or linen closet; while the lazy ones were -obliged to dawdle away a good deal of their time in bed or at their -elaborate toilettes. But still I am always longing to overlay a little -of the modish primness of the distant days we are now copying, with -something of this busy nineteenth century's tokens of a love of art or -literature. And in a room with any claim to a distinct individuality of -its own, this would always be the case. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -THE SICK-ROOM. - - -However skilfully designed the arrangements of a house may appear to be, -however sumptuously decorated and furnished its rooms, it is impossible -to know whether a great law of common sense and practical usefulness has -guided such arrangements, until there has been an illness in the house. -Then will it be discovered--too late alas!--whether doors and windows -open conveniently, whether fireplaces give out proper warmth, how the -apparatus for ventilation works, and whether the staircases, landings, -cupboards, and a thousand unconsidered items of the architect's labours -have been planned in the best possible way, or in the stupidest. For the -comfort and convenience of the patient at such times, it is by no means -necessary that much money should have been spent on the construction of -the house that chances to shelter him in his hour of suffering, nor -that its furnitures or decorations should be of a costly character. -Fortunately such things need not aim at anything higher than cleanliness -and convenience, and we only require to exert our own recollections in -support of this assertion. As far as my individual experience goes, I -have seen an old woman, who had been bed-ridden for years, more -comfortably housed and tended beneath a cottage roof, and her room kept -more exquisitely clean and sweet than that of many wealthy patients in -splendid houses. Of course everything depends on the capacity for -organisation and arrangement in the person who has charge of the -invalid, but the nurse's task may be made much easier by having to -perform it in a bed-room and under conditions which are in accordance -with the exigencies of such a time. - -Many smart and pretty-looking bed-rooms are discovered by their sick -owner to be very different abodes to what they seemed to him in health. -Awkwardly-placed doors and windows produce unsuspected draughts; the too -close proximity of an ill-arranged staircase or housemaid's closet -becomes a serious trouble, and a low pitched ceiling prevents proper -ventilation. It is more difficult than one imagines to find in a badly -proportioned room a single convenient place for the patient's bed. It -must be either close to the door, or touching the fireplace, or under a -window or in some situation where it distinctly ought _not_ to be. I -have known such faults--faults which occasioned discomfort every moment, -and had to be remedied by a thousand make-shift contrivances, occur in -splendid rooms in magnificent houses; and I have known poor little -modern dwellings in a colony to be perfectly free from them. When I am -told, "such or such a room or house is a very comfortable one _to be ill -in_" then I know that the construction and arrangement of that abode, -however simple it may appear, must needs be up to a very high mark -indeed. Of course a great deal can be done to modify existing evils, by -a judicious arrangement of screens and curtains, by taking out useless -furniture, by substituting a comfortable low bed, easy to get at, for a -cumbrous couch where the unhappy patient's nose seems as if it was -intended to rub against the ceiling, and various other improvements. But -what can remedy a smoky chimney, or a grate where all the heat goes up -the chimney, or windows that rattle, and doors that open in every -direction except the right one? How can an outside landing or lobby be -created at a moment's notice, or a staircase moved a yard further off? -Of course if an illness gave notice before it seized its victim, if -people ever realised that a house should be so constructed as to reduce -the chances of illness to a minimum, and raise its possible comforts to -a maximum if it did come, then everything would go on quite smoothly and -we should certainly live, and probably die, happy. But this is exactly -what we do not do, and this chapter would never have been written if I -had not seen with my own eyes innumerable instances where neither want -of money, nor space, nor opportunity for improvement were the causes of -a wretchedly uncomfortable sick-room. - -I have known bed-rooms which looked nests of rosy, luxurious comfort -until their owner fell ill, and then turned suddenly, as it seemed, into -miserable comfortless abodes of frippery and useless, tasteless -finery--where a candle could scarcely be placed anywhere without risk of -fire, and where the patient has deeply complained of the way the -decorations of the room "worried" her. As a rule, in a severe illness, -sick people detest anything like a confusion or profusion of ornaments -or furniture. If I am in authority in such a case, I turn all gimcracks -bodily out, substituting the plainest articles of furniture to be found -in the house. Very few ornaments are allowable in a sick-room, and I -only encourage those which are of a simple, correct form. I have known -the greatest relief expressed by a patient, who seemed too ill to -notice any such change, at the substitution of one single, simple -classical vase for a whole shelf-full of tawdry French china ornaments, -and I date the recovery of another from the moment of the removal out of -his sight of an exceedingly smart modern dressing-table, with many bows -of ribbon and flounces of lace and muslin. I do not mean to say that the -furniture of a sick-room need be ugly--only that it should be simple and -not too much of it. Nothing confuses and worries a person who is ill -like seeing his attendants threading their way through mazes of chairs -and sofas and tables; but he will gladly look and find relief and even a -weary kind of pleasure in gazing at a table of a beautiful, simple form, -placed where it is no fatigue for him to look at it, with a glass of -flowers, a terra-cotta vase, a casket, anything which is so -intrinsically beautiful in form as to afford repose to the eye. - -I have often observed that when people begin to take pleasure in -_colour_, it is a sure sign of convalescence--for in severe illness, -unless indeed it be of such a nature as to preclude all power of -observation, form is of more importance to the patient than colour. One -learns a great deal from what people tell one _after_ they are well -enough to talk of such things as past, distempered fancies. For -instance, I was once nursing a typhoid fever patient, who lay for some -days in an agony of weakness. He had been deaf as well as speechless, -and all his senses appeared to have faded away to the very brink of -extinction. Yet afterwards when he became able to talk of his sensations -at different stages of his illness, he mentioned that particular time, -and I found he had been keenly conscious of the _forms_ of the objects -around. He spoke of the pleasure which the folds of a curtain had -afforded him, of the "comfort" of the shape of the old-fashioned -arm-chair in which I used to sit, and of how grateful he had felt when -he observed that divers gimcracks had been removed from his sight. -Later, as he grew better, and the weary eyes craved for colour, I found -it necessary to pretend to be busy dressing dolls or making pincushions, -to afford myself an excuse for a little heap of brightest coloured silks -and fragments of ribbon placed where he could see them, and the daily -fresh bunches of flowers were a perpetual delight to his eyes. - -An ideal sick-room then should first of all possess walls which will not -weary or worry the sick person, and no _good_ pattern will do this. The -low bed should be so placed that whilst it would be sheltered from -draught (the aid of one or two screens will be useful here) the light -would not fall disagreeably on the patient's eyes. No rule can be given -about light. In some cases the sick person loves to look out of the -window all day, whilst in others a ray of light _on_ the face is agony. -In such circumstances the bed should, if possible, be so arranged as to -allow the light to come from behind, for it is only in rare and -exceptional cases that sunshine as well as outer air may not be admitted -daily into a sick-room. We are fast getting beyond the ignorance of a -north aspect for a bed-room, and most of us know that sunshine is quite -as necessary to a bed-room as to a garden. No children will ever thrive -unless they have plenty of sunshine, as well as air in the rooms in -which they sleep, and a sick-room should also have both in abundance. If -the weather be hot, it is easy, in England, to modify the temperature by -means of outer blinds, _persiennes_, open doors, and other means. Few -people understand what I have learnt in tropical countries, and that is, -how to exclude the outer air during the hot hours of the day. The -windows of the nursery or sick-room (for we all need to be treated like -children when we are ill) should be opened wide during the early cool, -morning-tide, and the room flooded with sun and outer air. Then, by nine -or ten o'clock, shut up rigorously every window, darkening those on -which the sun would beat, _out-side_ the glass--by means of blinds or -outer shutters--until the evening, when they may all be set wide open -again. All woollen draperies, curtains and valences should be done away -with in a sick-room. If the windows are unsightly without curtains, and -the illness is likely to be a long one, then substitute soft, -patternless muslin or chintz, or, prettiest of all, white dimity with a -gay border, but let there be no places of concealment in a sick-room. -Every thing unsightly or inodorous should be kept out of it, and herein -is found the convenience of a well-planned and well-arranged house, -where clothes-baskets, and things of that sort, can be so bestowed as to -be at the same time handy and yet out of the way. - -If it were not for the unconceivable untidiness and want of observation -which exists in the human race, such cautions as not to leave about the -room the clothes the sick person has last worn, hanging up or huddled on -a chair in a corner, would seem superfluous. But I have actually seen a -girl stricken down by a sudden fever, lying at death's door, on her -little white bed, whilst the wreath she wore at the ball where she took -the fatal chill, still hung on her toilette glass, and her poor little -satin shoes were scattered about the room. - -She had been ill for days; there were two ladies'-maids in the house, -besides anxious sisters, parents, and nurses, and yet no one had thought -of putting these things out of sight. The first rule, therefore, to be -observed in nursing even bad colds, where the sufferer may have to stay -in bed a few days, is to send all the linen he has been wearing to the -wash _at once_, and to put away everything else in its proper place. -Boots should never be allowed in a sick-room, for the leather and -blacking is apt to smell disagreeably and they ought immediately to be -removed to another place. - -Then there should be if possible _outside_ the door of the sick-room, -either on a landing or in another room, a convenient table, covered with -a clean, white cloth, on which should be ranged spare spoons, tumblers, -glasses, and so forth, and whatever cooling drinks are wanted, all so -managed that dust shall be an impossibility. Inside the room, on another -small table, or shelf, or top of chest of drawers, according to -circumstances, should be kept also on a snowy cloth, just whatever is -actually needed at a moment's notice--medicines and their proper -glasses, &c., and a spoon or two, but the instant anything is used, it -should be an established rule that the nurse puts the spoon or glass -_outside_, and supplies its place with a clean one. In most cases, a -servant need only renew the supply outside twice a day. - -As for keeping trays with nourishment in the room, it is a sign of such -careless nursing that I should hardly dare to mention it, if I had not -more than once gone to relieve guard in a friend's splendid sick-room at -daylight, and seen the nurse's supper-tray of the night before _on the -floor_ whilst the room, in spite of all its beautiful decorations, smelt -sickly and disgusting with the odour of stale beer and pickles. It is -incredible that such things should happen, but in the confusion caused -by a sudden and severe illness, untidy and careless habits are apt to -come to the surface, and loom largely as aggressive faults. Sickness is -not only a great test of the sufferer's own character and disposition, -but of those of the people around him, and as a general rule, I have -discovered more beautiful qualities in sick people, and those about -them, who dwell in cottages or even hovels, than in more splendid homes. -Everyone knows how really kind poor people are to each other, and never -more so than when the angel of disease or death is hovering over the -humble roof-tree. - -Food, or nourishment as it is called in sick-room phraseology, would not -so often be refused by the patient if it were properly managed. Who -does not know the wearisomeness of being asked, probably in the morning, -when the very thought of food is an untold aggravation to one's -sufferings what one could "fancy"? And this is probably followed by a -discussion on the merits or possibilities of divers condiments, to each -of which as it is canvassed before him the wretched patient is sure to -declare a deep-rooted repugnance. A sick person, until he reaches that -happy stage of convalescence when it is an amusement to him, should -never be allowed to hear the slightest discussion on the subject of his -nourishment. Whatever the doctor orders should be prepared with as wide -a range of variety as can be managed, and offered to him in the smallest -permissible quantities, exactly cold or hot enough to take, and served -as prettily and daintily as possible, at exactly the right moment. The -chances are a hundred to one that, if it is within the range of -possibilities that he can swallow at all, he will take it. If he does -not, there should be no argument, no attempt at forcing it on him; it -should at once be taken quite away and something different brought as -soon afterwards as is prudent. Few people realise how extraordinarily -keen the sense of smell becomes in illness, and how the faint ghost of a -possible appetite may be turned into absolute loathing by the smell of a -cup of beef-tea, cooling by the bed-side for ten minutes before it is -offered. - -I am always guided in a great degree about nourishment by the instincts -of my patient, and I never force stimulants, or anything equally -distasteful on a sick person who is at all reasonable upon such matters. -I once had a patient to nurse, whose desperate illness had brought him -very near the shadowy land. It had left him, and the doctors assured me -that his life depended on how much brandy I could get down his throat -during the night. I told him this, for he was quite sensible, when he -refused the first teaspoonful, and he whispered in gasps, "I'll take as -much milk as you like; that stuff kills me." So I gave him teaspoonfuls -of pure milk all through the night every five minutes, and not a drop of -brandy. The doctor's first reproachful glance in the morning was at the -untouched brandy bottle, and he shook his head, but when he had felt the -sick man's pulse his countenance brightened, and he graciously gave me -permission to go on with the milk. Of course there are cases when the -patient never expresses an opinion one way or other, and then the only -safe rule is to obey the doctor's orders, but I never fly in the face of -any strong instinct of a sick person rationally expressed. So now I -hope we have some glimmering idea of what a sick-room should be: cool in -summer, warm in winter, but deliciously sweet and fresh and fragrant -always. Simple in its furniture, but the few needful articles, of as -agreeable shapes and as convenient as possible--a room which can be -looked back upon with a sort of affection as a place of calm, of -discipline, and of organization, as well as of the mere kindness and -willingness to help, which is seldom, if ever, absent from a sick-room, -but which is not the beginning and end of what is necessary within its -walls. - -There are bed-rests and bed-tables to be hired for a sick person's use -in almost any town in England; or, if it is preferred, any village -carpenter could make a table with legs six or eight inches high, and a -top of a couple of smooth light planks, about two feet six long, scooped -out in the middle. This is very convenient when the patient is well -enough to sit up in bed and employ himself. The bed-rests are equally -simple, the upper half of a chair, padded, and made to lower at -convenience, while a loose jacket or wrapper, easy to slip on, of -flannel, should also be provided to throw over the patient's shoulders -when he uses chair and table. When the patient can sit up and occupy -himself this sort of table will be found a great comfort. It might just -as well be used when lying on a sofa. - -[Illustration: FIG. 30.] - -One word more, like a postscript, for it has no real business to intrude -itself here. It is only an entreaty to all nurses or those in authority -in a sick-room, to wear the prettiest clothes they possess. Not the -smartest, far from it; the simplest cottons, cambrics, what you will, -but nice and fresh and pleasant to look at. If it is only a -dressing-gown it may be a charming one. No hanging sleeves, or dangling -chains, or streaming ribbons, but sufficient colour for weary eyes to -rest on with pleasure. An ideal toilette for sick-room nursing would be -a plain holland or cambric gown, made with absolute simplicity--long -enough to be graceful without possessing a useless train--rather tight -sleeves, and no frills or furbelows; a knot of colour at the throat and -in the hair, or on the cap--only let your ribbons be exquisitely fresh -and clean--and a nice large apron, or rather bib, with one big pocket in -front. This apron may be tied back--not too tightly, please--with the -same coloured ribbons, and a little change of hue now and then is a -great rest and refreshment in a sick room. There are charming linen -aprons now embroidered in School of Art designs of the shape I allude -to, but they can be made equally well in print, or plain holland, or -linen. - -No garment that rustles or creaks, or makes its presence audible should -ever cross the threshold, but the toilette of the nurse should always be -exquisitely clean and neat, and yet as bright and pretty as possible. No -sitting up at night, no anxiety or unhappiness should be an excuse for a -dirty, dishevelled attendant in a sick-room. It is _always_ possible to -steal half an hour morning and evening to wash and change, and do one's -hair neatly, and the gain and comfort to the patient as well as to the -nurse, is incalculable. This also would not be touched upon if my own -recollections did not supply me with so many instances, where all this -sort of care was considered to be absolutely worthless, and yet sick -people have remarked afterwards how perfectly conscious they had been of -all such shortcomings, and how such and such a tumbled cap, or shawl -pinned on awry had been like a nightmare to them. Beauty itself is never -more valuable than in a sick-room, and if laws could be passed on the -subject, I should like to oblige all the pretty girls of my acquaintance -to take it in turn to do a little nursing. I venture to say that no -ball-room triumphs would ever compare with the delight their possession -of God's greatest and best gift would afford to His sick and suffering -creatures. But a nurse may always make herself look pleasant and -agreeable, and if she have the true nursing instinct, the ready tact and -sympathy which a sick-bed needs, she may come to be regarded as "better -than pretty" by her grateful patient. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -THE SPARE ROOM. - - -Perhaps the kindliest and wisest advice with regard to a spare room, -would be the same as _Punch's_ famous counsel to young people about to -marry--a short and emphatic "Don't." In a large country house, perhaps -even in a small country house, the case is different, for the spare room -too often represents all the social variety which the owners can hope -for, from year's end to year's end--and the only change from town life -possible to half the bees in the great hive. It is scarcely possible to -imagine an English country house, be it ever so humble, without its -spare room, or the warm cordial welcome which would be sure to greet its -succeeding inhabitants. How fresh and sweet and dainty do its simple -appointments look to jaded eyes! how grateful its deep stillness to -world-deafened ears! How impossible, in a brief summer week, to believe -that life can ever be found dull or monotonous amid such delicious calm! -A walk in the gloaming in a country lane,--always supposing it is not -too muddy--a cup of milk fresh from the cow, a crust off the home-baked -loaf, are all treats of the first order to the tired cockney. I have -often noticed the sort of half-pitying, half-contemptuous amazement with -which my country hostess has beheld my delight at being installed in her -spare room, my rapture at the sight of meadows and trees, or the sound -of cawing rooks and the whirr of mowing machines. And how fresh and -clean ought this country spare room to look! How inexcusable would be -stain or spot, or evil odour amid such fragrant surroundings! Why should -not the sheets _always_ smell of lavender (as a matter of fact, they do -not, I regret to state)? why should not there be _always_ a jar of dried -rose-leaves somewhere "around," as our dear, epigrammatic, Yankee -cousins say? - -[Illustration: FIG. 31.] - -I do not think I really like silks and satins anywhere; I acknowledge -that they fill me with a respectful admiration and awe for a short -space, but that soon wears off, and my accidental splendour bores me all -the rest of the time I have to dwell with it. No, the sort of -guest-chamber which I love to occupy in the country is as simple as -simple can be, and not so crowded with furniture, but that a little -space is left here and there where a box can be placed without its -intruding itself as a nuisance for which one feels constantly impelled -to apologise. If I am so fortunate as to find in a corner of my room a -little frame, about two feet high made by the village carpenter, or the -big boys of the household, for this box to stand on, then, indeed, I -know what luxury means. You have your box so much more under your -control if it is raised a little from the floor, and it is ever so much -easier to pack and unpack. The taste and characteristics of the owners -of the house, which you may be sure is to be found in all their -surroundings, is never more apparent than in the spare room. Sometimes -your hostess tries to make you happy with looking-glasses, and I have -shudderingly dwelt in a room with five large mirrors and sundry smaller -ones; or else you are abashed to find how many gowns there is space for, -and how few you have brought. But this extreme is better than the other: -I have had to keep my draperies on all the available chairs in the room -because I was afraid to open and shut the diminutive drawers of an -exquisite, aged coffre which was provided for their reception. Beautiful -as was this article of furniture, I would gladly have changed it for the -commonest deal chest of drawers, long before the week was out. In spare -rooms, as in all other rooms, money is not everything. It will not -always buy taste, nor even comfort. Doubtless many of my readers who may -happen to have led as varied a life as mine has been, will agree with me -in the assertion, that as far as actual _comfort_ goes, they have often -possessed it in a greater degree under a very humble roof-tree, than -beneath many a more splendid shelter. Everybody has their "little ways" -(some of them very tiresome and odd, I admit), and there are splendid -spare rooms in which apparently no margin has been left, no indulgence -shown, for any little individualities. - -I should not be an Englishwoman writing to other Englishwomen if I did -not take it for granted that we all desire most ardently that our guests -should be thoroughly comfortable in their own rooms as well as happy in -our society, and so I venture to suggest that visitors should not be -fettered by too many rules, that, however homely the plenishing of the -guest-chamber must needs be, it should never lack a few fresh flowers, a -place to write (Fig. 31), pen and ink, a tiny table which can be moved -about at pleasure, a dark blind for the window, and such trifles which -often make the difference between comfort and discomfort, between a -homelike feeling directly one arrives, and the incessant consciousness -of being "on a visit." - -But with regard to spare rooms in a town house, what advice can be given -beyond and except that horrid "don't"? Especially true is this in -London. No one has the least idea how many affectionate relations he -possesses until he has an empty bed-room in a London house. It would -almost appear as if such things as hotels and lodgings had ceased to -exist, so incessant, so importunate are the entreaties to be "put up" -for a couple of nights. And let me say here that visitors will prove -much more of a tax in London than they ever are in the country. For -rural visitors scarcely ever seem to realise or comprehend how -methodically mapped out is the life of a professional man living in -London, how precious are to him the quiet early hours which they insist -upon leaving behind them in the solitude of the country. Speaking as a -London hostess, I may conscientiously assert that the guests who have -kept me up latest at night, who have voted breakfast at 9.30 -unreasonably early (without considering it was a whole hour later than -our usual time) have been those people who ordinarily led the quietest -and most clock-work existence in their country home. I will say nothing -here of the impossibility of inducing them to regard distance or -cab-hire as presenting any objection worth consideration in their -incessant hunt after the bargains erroneously supposed by them to be -obtainable in every shop. I have been scolded roundly by country -visitors for keeping early hours and leading a quiet life in London, and -I have never succeeded in impressing on them that in order to get -through a great deal of hard work, both my husband and I found it -necessary to do both. - -To a professional man, with a small income, the institution of a spare -room may be regarded as an income tax of several shillings in the pound. -It is even worse than that; it means being forced to take in a -succession of lodgers who don't pay, who are generally amazingly -inconsiderate and _exigeante_, and who expect to be amused and advised, -chaperoned and married, and even nursed and buried. It is inconceivable -upon what slender grounds, or for what far-fetched reasons, your distant -acquaintance, or your--compared to yourself--rich relation, will -unhesitatingly demand your hospitality. And oh, my unknown friends, how -often are we tempted to say yes to the well-to-do relation who asks the -question of us, and to find an excuse to shut out the poor one who -really needs it? Ah how often? - -It is really a trial to be unable to receive one's nearest kith and kin, -one's sailor brother or sister home from India, because "we have no -spare room," yet that very beginning, natural and delightful as it is, -cheerfully and laughingly borne as the little privations it entails may -be, is often the beginning of a stream of self-invited guests who -literally worry us, if they don't exactly "eat us," out of house and -home. - - - THE END. - - - LONDON: R. CLAY, SONS, AND TAYLOR, BREAD STREET HILL. - - - - -[Illustration: - DESIGNER IN PORCELAIN & GLASS - JOHN MORTLOCK - ESTAB^D. 1746 - - POTTERY GALLERIES - 203 & 204 OXFORD STREET. - - 31 ORCHARD STREET. - LONDON, W.] - - -THE OLD POTTERY GALLERIES. - - - BY SPECIAL APPOINTMENT TO - HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN - AND - Their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales. - - MINTON'S CHINA. - - JOHN MORTLOCK - BEGS TO CALL ATTENTION TO HIS - Specialties in Art Pottery. - - BREAKFAST, DINNER, DESSERT, TEA, - AND TOILET SERVICES, - In Porcelain and Earthenware. - SERVICES OF CUT, ENGRAVED, OR PLAIN GLASS. - - _The Pottery Studio, where Ladies can learn to decorate their own - rooms, is conducted by Young Ladies from South Kensington._ - - All Goods marked in plain figures, with a Liberal Discount for Cash. - - 202, 203, & 204, OXFORD STREET, - AND - 30, 31, & 32, ORCHARD STREET, PORTMAN SQUARE, - LONDON, W. - - - * * * * * - - -ART AT HOME SERIES. - - -"In these decorative days the volumes bring calm counsel and kindly -suggestions, with information for the ignorant and aid for the -advancing, that ought to help many a feeble, if well-meaning pilgrim -along the weary road, at the end whereof, far off, lies the House -Beautiful.... If the whole series but continue as it has begun--if the -volumes yet to be rival the two initial ones, it will be beyond praise -as a library of household art."--_Examiner._ - - -_The following are now ready_:-- - - A PLEA FOR ART IN THE HOUSE. With Special Reference to the Economy - of Collecting Works of Art and the importance of Taste in Education - and Morals. By W. J. LOFTIE, F.S.A. With Illustrations. Fifth - Thousand. Crown 8vo. 2_s._ 6_d._ - - SUGGESTIONS FOR HOUSE DECORATION IN PAINTING, WOODWORK, AND - FURNITURE. By RHODA and AGNES GARRETT. With Illustrations. Sixth - Thousand. Crown 8vo. 2_s._ 6_d._ - - MUSIC IN THE HOUSE. By JOHN HULLAH. With Illustrations. Fourth - Thousand. Crown 8vo. 2_s._ 6_d._ - - THE DRAWING-ROOM: ITS DECORATIONS AND FURNITURE. By MRS. - ORRINSMITH. With numerous Illustrations. Fourth Thousand. Crown - 8vo. 2_s._ 6_d._ - - THE DINING-ROOM. By MRS. LOFTIE. With numerous Illustrations. - Fourth Thousand. Crown 8vo. 2_s._ 6_d._ - - THE bed-room AND BOUDOIR. By LADY BARKER. With numerous - Illustrations. Fourth Thousand. Crown 8vo. 2_s._ 6_d._ - - -_In Preparation_:-- - - DRESS. By MRS. OLIPHANT. - - DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE. By J. J. STEVENSON. - - DRAWING AND PAINTING. By H. STACEY MARKS. - - -_Others to follow._ - -MACMILLAN AND CO., LONDON. - - - * * * * * - - - HOWARD'S PATENT CARPET PARQUET. - - SANITARY, BEAUTIFUL, AND DURABLE. - - PRICE from 1/- PER FOOT. - -Recommended by =Dr. Richardson, F.R.S.=, in his lecture on "HYGEIA" for -its _Sanitary Advantages_; and also by =Mrs. Orrinsmith in "The Drawing -Room,"= page 55 ("=Art at Home Series=") for its _Sanitary Advantages_ -and _Artistic Effect_. It is made as borders to room floors, or to -entirely cover the same, and can be laid either in a portable form, or -be permanently fixed. - -For bed-rooms, it is specially recommended for cleanliness, and it also -facilitates the lifting of the Carpet, as the heavy furniture stands on -the Parquet clear of the Carpet. - - -_Illustrated Catalogues priced, free on application, and patterns also -sent when required._ - -HOWARD AND SONS, - -Upholsterers and Decorators, - -MANUFACTURERS, BY STEAM POWER, OF ARTISTIC FURNITURE, PANELLING AND -PARQUETERIE. - -25, 26, & 27, BERNERS STREET, LONDON, W. - -FACTORY: CLEVELAND WORKS, W. - - - * * * * * - - -THE FINE ART SOCIETY'S - -SPECIALITIES FOR DECORATION. - - -WATER-COLOUR DRAWINGS. - -The best Examples only of the English & Continental Schools. - - -ENGRAVINGS. - -_The recently published Works of SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS._ - -ENGRAVED BY S. COUSINS, R.A. - - THE COUNTESS SPENCER AND LORD ALTHORPE. - THE DUCHESS OF RUTLAND (in progress). - THE HON. ANN BINGHAM. THE STRAWBERRY GIRL. - AND OTHERS. - - -_ETCHINGS_ - - BY WHISTLER.--SEYMOUR HADEN, &c. - - -PHOTOGRAPHS - -OF SEA AND SKY. BY COL. STUART-WORTLEY. - - _EITHER ON PAPER, OPAL GLASS, OR IN A DECORATIVE FORM FOR WINDOW - TRANSPARENCIES--IN ALL SIZES._ - - -CHINA. - - OLD BLUE-ORIENTAL CLOISONNÉ, &c., &c. - - - AT - THE FINE ART SOCIETY'S GALLERIES, - 148, NEW BOND STREET, LONDON. - - - * * * * * - -TRANSCRIBER NOTES: - - Missing punctuation has been added and obvious punctuation errors - have been corrected. - - Archaic words, mis-spellings and printer errors have been retained. - - Footnote has been moved closer to its reference point. - - Illustrations have been moved to accommodate the flow of text. - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Bedroom and Boudoir, by Lady Barker - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BEDROOM AND BOUDOIR *** - -***** This file should be named 41922-8.txt or 41922-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/1/9/2/41922/ - -Produced by Pat McCoy, Chris Curnow and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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