,,suburban ,,residences ,,suburban ,,residence ,and ,how to ,circumvent ,them ,,by ,j4 ,e4 ,,panton ,,author ,,of #8,,from ,,kitchen ,,to ,,garret1' #8,,nooks ,,and ,,corners1' #8,,homes ,,of ,,taste1' ,,etc4 ,,london ,,ward ,,downey ,,limited #ab ,,york ,,buildings ,,adelphi #ahif ,,contents ,,chapter ,i ,,page ,,first ,,steps1 #a ,,chapter ,,ii ,,halls ,,and ,,passages1 #ca ,,chapter ,,iii ,,kitchen ,,and ,,basements1 #fd ,,chapter ,,iv ,,dining ,,rooms1 #ie ,,chapter ,v ,,parlours1 #abh ,,chapter ,,vi ,,third ,,rooms1 #afj ,,chapter ,,vii ,,the ,,nurseries1 #aia ,,chapter ,,viii ,,bedrooms1 #bbb ,,chapter ,,ix ,,dressing-,,rooms ,,and ,,bathrooms1 #beb ,,chapter ,x ,,the ,,great ,,servant ,,question1 #bgh ,,suburban ,,residences ,,and ,,how ,,to ,,circumvent ,,them ,,chapter ,i ,,first ,,steps ,the first step to take is undoubtedly to find your suburb2 the second1 to discover an adaptable house2 and then the third and greatest is to circumvent the many death-traps1 cold-givers and misery-makers which are included in the lease2 although most certainly they are not apparent in it when it is carefully brought for you to sign4 ,the suburbs1 take them how you will1 are not ,paradise and can never now be made so2 yet for people with middle-sized incomes and aspirations after fresh air1 they are undoubtedly most necessary evils4 ,if one is in the least susceptible to noise or not strong1 ,london1 or any other of our great cities1 is an impossible place of residence4 ,perhaps ,i should have put the #8not strong' first1 for suburban noises are worse1 really1 than any others2 and one can be amused on far less money in ,london than one can elsewhere4 ,for there a garden and a carriage are not in the least essential1 while some kind of #8pleasaunce' and some sort of vehicle are almost indispensable out of town1 unless one wants to spend one's money on flies1 and one's time in catching trains1 and is content to risk the ruin of one's clothes and run up doctors' bills1 should one be caught in the many storms which distinguish our delightful climate1 and which always descend on unprotected folk on their way to and from the station4 ,moreover1 if one has the smallest desire for peace1 one must be a certain distance from the rail1 or most undoubtedly madness will ensue4 ,i have often noticed delusive advertisements of suburban paradises where nearness to the rail is held out as an inducement to the would-be tenant1 and ,i have often longed to #8go for' the advertiser and tell him to what a fearful end he might lead some confiding young couple1 for ,i am perfectly sure that no one who has not tried it can have the smallest idea of what nearness to the train means--at anyrate1 if one selects a suburb on one of the main lines4 ,i know1 alas6 for had ,i not four long and maddening years in a house which was about as close to the rail as it well could be without forming part and parcel of the same8 ,i must own1 when ,i went into the house and1 looking out of the first window ,i came to1 beheld the demon1 ,i at once fled from the place1 and flatly refused even to look at another room1 and oh6 how wise ,i should have been had ,i held to my own determination4 ,but1 in those days1 houses were scarce4 ,we were obliged to be in that special locality4 ,everyone said one got accustomed to the trains in a week1 and never heard them at all after the first night or two4 ,the garden was charming4 ,the last tenant had lived there for years and years1 and had not left it for a lunatic asylum1 and so ,i allowed my own judgment to give way before a storm of talk and unsought advice1 and entered upon a period of misery which has shortened my days and made it impossible for me to look upon that house save as a misery-maker of the first water4 ,for indeed1 far from becoming accustomed to trains1 the more one lives near them the more one hears them4 ,i used to find ,i regularly expected each separate train4 ,i waited for the fall of the signal as one expects a clap of thunder in the middle of a storm1 and as there was no escape1 either in the house or grounds1 ,i felt that unless ,i got out of the place itself entirely1 ,i should be found in my morning-room1 seated on the floor1 with straws in my hair1 l',ophelia1 a willing and ready candidate for a place in any lunatic asylum which was far enough away from the haunts of men to ensure a certain amount of peace1 at least1 from the raving1 roaring1 rattling rail4 ,there are other suburban terrors which are to be dreaded1 and which should certainly be looked out for before one settles down1 if one is in the least susceptible to noise1 as no one knows what torture can be given one by apparently innocent means4 ,in delightful ,shortlands1 where ,i think the suburbs are as near perfection as a clay soil will allow1 everyone in my day used to keep dogs as necessary protections from the ubiquitous tramp1 and should one dog feel called upon to assert himself1 all followed suit with the most exemplary precision4 ,then our next-door neighbour not only kept crowing and blatant cocks1 but a flock of ever-increasing pigeons1 and these dear creatures used to spend their happiest hours among my chimney-pots1 moaning1 cooing and groaning in the melancholy way they affect until they nearly drove me wild1 and ,i had to appeal to the owner1 who1 with unprecedented goodness1 got rid of them and so saved me from an untimely fate4 ,but that was ,shortlands4 ,what shall ,i say for another suburb1 where toy houses stand on quarter acres of ground1 enclosed by breast-high fences1 and where the fact of being a neighbour seems to ensure you as much annoyance as can be given in a short space of time8 ,where the ridiculous gates to the far more ridiculous #8carriage approaches' 7see house agents' advertisements7 are slammed one after another by the tradespeople1 tramps1 postmen and other fashionable folk who use these approaches4 ,there1 ensconced in a tub1 close to each side of each fence1 reposes an enormous dog1 with a bark to match1 who could protect all the silver and diamonds in the world--which are not to be found in what ,i call #8,pooter ,parade' 7for the origin of which name please read #8,nobody's ,diary' in ,punch7--where the servants hang out the clothes and themselves at the same time1 if they can make investigations into their next-door neighbours' affairs2 and which said suburb is finally and liberally furnished with children whose shrieks of pleasure or pain rend the air from dewy morn until late eve and sometimes later still4 ,there when one tries to sleep it is between the barks of the vigilant hounds1 the slamming of the gate by an irate tramp sent empty away1 or else disappointed by a useless visit to the unprotected garden2 for1 raked fore and aft as it is by the populace1 a lock seems a farce1 especially when it would mean sending a maid down to the gates every time someone wanted to come in4 ,indeed the gates are so easily climbed1 that any amount of locks would be no protection1 and where one exists1 protected yet unprotected in a childish degree which would be laughable were it not so disagreeable4 ,for anyone could #8burgle' any of those villa residences had he an ounce of pluck1 or did he not know quite well that the entire contents of the whole row would not pay him for his trouble1 and would certainly not be worth the risk he ran from an irate householder and his dog roused from their uneasy slumbers to the protection of ,lares et ,penates4 ,i have tried life1 more or less1 for about twelve years in the suburbs of ,london1 both north and south1 and ,i have come to the conclusion that if we have a carriage and can therefore live a certain distance from the rail1 and if we can put at least three acres of ground round our house1 and pass moreover a series of regulations1 vi the new ,parish ,councils perhaps1 for suburban etiquette1 or better still1 if rules for the behaviour of one neighbour towards another could be drawn up1 the southern and south-western suburbs of ,london are the best places in the world to be in1 for ordinary middle-class folk whose best days are over and who yet must be within touch of town for business purposes4 ,these1 therefore1 should be ransacked by the house-hunter before he allows his eye to wander further afield4 ,though it must be remembered that the trains to such parts of the globe are maddening1--the only difference between an express and an ordinary train being that one waits outside a station and the other inside1--and the smallest amount of snow or fog will disorganise the traffic altogether1 yet they do go to civilized parts of ,london1 while those from the northern portions do not4 ,the southern trains too1 kindly drop one1 say at ,holborn1 ,london ,bridge1 ,charing ,cross1 or ,victoria1 and do not insist on one's returning by precisely the same station one arrived at3 an immense advantage that one has only to be deprived of to comprehend instantly all it means4 ,if one goes to the northern suburbs of ,london1 one is dropped at ,euston1 ,king's ,cross1 or1 worse still1 ,liverpool ,street1 valuable stations for some men1 but utterly useless for women2 at least ,i never found them any good to me4 ,true1 one has the delightful trains and perfect manners of the ,euston officials and ,i daresay the other northerners are as good1 but ,i don't know much about them4 ,still1 the punctuality and good service are all one has to set against the other drawbacks1 which are1 to my mind1 more than a set off for the fact that the trains are good and punctual4 ,these other drawbacks are that some of the northern suburbs are at least twenty years behind the south in conveniences and comforts2 that the people who live there are not to be compared with the southrons1 and that there is an almost unbroken surface of clay from ,london to beyond ,harrow and ,bushey2 and that above all1 unless one has a really large place1 one must be so close to one's neighbours owing to the way the ground is arranged for building1 that one nearly dies of them1 and that it is almost1 if not quite1 impossible to keep out of the reach of the railway1 which is far more ubiquitous there than it is in other parts of the regions round ,london4 ,then too there are no advantages in the way of amusement1 while the distance of the stations available in ,london from the theatres makes the matinee question much more serious than it is from a more reachable spot4 ,if young married people think of settling in the suburbs1 they should weigh the pros and cons thereof most seriously before determining their course4 ,there is very little actual society in the suburbs1 but what there is1 is perhaps more real than the rush and hurry of ,london2 and if a woman wants to do positive1 helpful work1 and to live a really healthy1 morally and mentally healthy life1 and a man cares for his home1 his garden and his games1 the couple will be much better off there than elsewhere4 ,but if they love ,london1 as ,londoners do love their native city1 if they are strong1 #8in the swim1' #8smart1' or whatever is the proper designation for those who are really given over to society1 let them stay where they are4 ,for them a back attic in ,belgravia is sweeter than a palace in the suburbs2 for one never acclimatises1 one only withers1 and the husband1 tired with that dreadful #8catching of trains1' has no mind for going out1 while the wife may be done up by shopping in town1 or be wearied out by mere dulness1 and life will resolve itself into a procession of grey days and grimmer nights1 and quickly1 far too quickly1 the mnage will become unbearable1 and rupture1 sooner or later1 will ensue4 ,for1 remember1 if really intellectual or interesting people are found in the suburbs1 they are1 as ,i have just remarked1 too tired from the day's work to be available for society purposes4 ,but the majority of suburban residents is made up from young married folk1 and dreary1 common-place1 middle-aged ones1 made dreary by their surroundings1 and by their enforced severance from their more fortunate fellow-creatures4 ,for unless they have real fondness for literature1 or for helping among the charities and churches1 and have tastes of their own which render them superior to their actual surroundings1 there is literally nothing to keep them alert and alive4 ,whatever suburb is selected1 it should include amongst its residents some family in a good position1 to whom the new-comer is known or is known of4 ,if the fresh resident has no introductions1 his fate is sealed2 the best people don't call1 and should some years elapse before the acquaintance is made that might have been so pleasant if made at first1 the relationship can never be a cordial one4 ,rightly or wrongly1 the feeling exists that such an out-of-date visit is not worth thinking of1 and it rarely becomes what it might have been1 had not the untoward delay slipped in between4 ,the suburbs could be so different1 nay1 in isolated cases are so different1 that ,i long for the residents to realise all they are throwing away1 all one learns too late to really profit by the lessons4 ,in ,shortlands people used to be exceptionally fortunate1 for there existed in our day an intellectual headquarter1 where the #8hall-mark' was or was not affixed1 as might be4 ,don't please think ,i mean myself2 no one who knew ,shortlands would think ,i could be such an idiot1 and all will realise to whom ,i refer4 ,some years after we left1 that pleasant house was broken up by the death of the founder2 yet as long as it existed it was invaluable1 because it acted like a fountain of living water and kept everything1 as it were1 fresh and young4 ,in all suburbs there should be something of the same kind1 someone of real and acknowledged tact and talent1 who should know who is who and what is what1 who could recognise pleasant1 educated folk and give them a helping hand1 and whose house should issue the #8hall-mark' which should make all these said pleasant1 educated people able to feel they can be1 an' they choose1 members of the circle that ought to exist everywhere as a means of keeping souls alive and happy4 ,a harder task1 by the way1 than the equally necessary one of keeping bodies in a similar state1 and quite as important4 ,indeed1 the one depends very much upon the other1 as doctors are among the very first to recognise nowadays4 ,in the olden times1 and given a good man and a clever woman1 the hall-mark used to be affixed by the rectory or vicarage1 and whether the new-comers went to church or stayed away settled the question at once and for all time4 ,but now matters are entirely changed1 and the ,church has little or nothing to do with the social standing of ,brown and ,jones and ,smith4 ,so if the suburb is to be successful1 it must possess someone who1 by right of brains and an assured position1 can bring together the real folk and leave alone the dull1 stupid ones who love gossip1 and hate books and art and pictures1 and so ensure an intellectual centre1 which1 once formed1 would make any suburb as delightful as ,shortlands was1 in the days when ,i knew it well1 and no doubt still is4 ,given the suburbs then1 the be-all and end-all of this little book is to teach the dwellers there1 by choice or force1 how best to avail themselves of the advantages which do exist1 and which could be multiplied a thousandfold1 did people know how to set to work4 ,that ,i did not1 makes me the best person in the world to teach others1 because ,i have learned by experience and am therefore capable of imparting the knowledge ,i acquired too late to be able to use it myself4 ,therefore let me insist that the would-be suburban resident recognise first his duty to himself in the selection of his suburb1 and then1 secondly1 his duty towards his neighbour4 ,if he is close enough to him to be a nuisance he should consider him as much as he considers himself1 while he bears in mind that there must be a social head to whom he will loyally give help1 should he himself be anxious to wear the #8hall-mark' that will give all1 rich and poor alike1 the right to be a members of society1 where pleasantness and culture suffice to ensure a hearty welcome4 ,the suburban's duty towards himself consists in selecting a suburb where the train shall land him nearest to his work in town2 in selecting a good and reasonable house1 and in finding out what amusements and occupations are available for his wife and daughters2 and1 if he has small children1 what schools or teachers are likely to be useful in the matter of education4 ,his duty to his neighbour may not be so briefly summed up1 but consists in many little and worrying observances which are ridiculous indeed to the dwellers in ,london1 and in more favoured and larger spots2 but ,i1 alas6 can feelingly enumerate some of the items which go to make up a whole4 ,the first duty is undoubtedly to abstain from keeping a dog which must be tied up either day or night4 ,the second is to bar crowing cocks and crooning pigeons2 one can be quite happy without pigeons1 and cocks can't crow if they can't get their heads up high enough to do so1 neither are they necessary inhabitants of a small back-garden4 ,hanging out the clothes should be a penal offence1 as should be the slamming of gates1 an offensive dust-bin1 ill-bred servants1 and screaming children1 while the utterer of long unchecked yells should be at once fined or punished as an offender against the community2 for children can't too soon be taught to know their duties towards their neighbours1 the while they learn self-control and the undoubted fact that screams and cries are not necessary items in anyone's bringing up4 ,then carpets and rugs should not be shaken and dusted after ten o'clock1 and without some idea of the way of the wind4 ,the letters sent to #8,ivy ,dene1' and delivered at #8,deneside1' should be at once given up at their real destination1 and should not be detained until the postman is caught by chance on one of his hurried plunges down the #8carriage approach1' which1 by the way1 won't exist in our model suburb4 ,moreover1 when ,jones gives a party and doesn't ask ,smith and ,brown1 it should be a matter of honour to both neighbours that they don't disport themselves unduly1 in their gardens at the same time making pointed remarks about ,jones's guests and entertainment which cannot fail to be heard all over the somewhat limited space at ,jones's disposal4 ,indeed the whole duty of a suburban resident is to treat his neighbour as himself in the matter of conduct1 but not to know him personally if he can in any way and decently avoid doing so1 for #8beware to whom you give the key of your back door1' says a wise old proverb1 and one gives it away very freely when one is on the intimate terms one must be if one knows one's real neighbour in the suburbs in the very smallest degree4 ,endless friction can be caused by the mere va et vient of tennis balls2 or by ignoring the fact that no one wants the same people at all the small parties given in a locality1 the size of which must govern in a measure at all times the amount of folks bidden to them4 ,servants who can chatter over the fences are also a fertile source of misunderstanding4 ,so unless specially clever and sensible folks dwell beside one1 it is best to know nothing of them in any shape or form if one wants the peace1 without which ,paradise itself would fail to charm1 and deprived of which1 the suburban resident realises all too quickly what being in the antipodes of ,paradise might very probably mean4 ,then when these duties are fulfilled the next one is to discover of what manner of men is composed1 and what is the record of1 the new parish council or local board which may govern the special district2 and another is to find if the #8,infectious ,diseases ,notification ,act' has been adopted or not4 ,these two things are most important1 for given a good local authority one knows that while the rates don't rise unduly1 yet proper care is taken that all matters are up to date1 which they can never be in a place where the #8,infectious ,diseases ,act' is not enforced2 neither can health be found where jerry building reigns unchecked1 bad meat is passed over casually as not too bad to eat 7just as if all edibles should not resemble ,caesar's wife and be above the smallest suspicion71 where the water is bitterly hard1 and not either soft or softened1 and where1 in fact1 everything is what ought not to be1 and nothing is that should be to ensure a maximum of health with a careful regard to the spending of the ratepayers' money4 ,then one very necessary hint to suburban residents is to see that in taking a new house the road by which it may stand1 or by which it is reached1 is properly #8made up1' and duly taken over by the authorities4 ,especially should this be the case if the house stands at a corner1 albeit1 for many reasons1 a corner house should not be selected4 ,some feeble folk imagine such a situation means bad luck4 ,well6 so it does in a measure2 for being at a corner1 one gets all the winds that blow on all sides1 one's front garden is filled with paper1 straw and debris of all kinds1 brought into it by these said eddying winds2 the dust fills our rooms and makes our curtains black before their time1 and one gets a double assortment of noises both of vehicles and people2 while1 if we all too late discover the road has not been #8made up1' and #8taken over1' we have not only the front but a side piece to pay for1 and in consequence have three times the money to disburse that is expected of our neighbours4 ,besides which1 should snow fall there are the side walks to clear as well as the front one2 we have more wall or fence to keep in order1 and1 being less protected from the weather are less warm than we should have been had we had houses on both sides of us instead of only one house and a wide expanse of road1 where often enough1 school children play in a maddening manner1 and where we get all the side noises as well as those which are to be found along the front4 ,the soil of the suburb is again a thing to be thoroughly acquainted with before the tent is pitched finally and for all time thereon4 ,i do not believe clay is or ever can be fit for anyone to reside upon1 and nothing anyone can say will cause me to alter my opinion4 ,true ,i know that ,london1 the healthiest city in the world1 is nearly all on clay1 but then it has the advantage not only of perfect drainage1 but of every other thing which can mitigate this fundamental drawback to perfect health2 yet the fogs and the chill and the gloom which distinguish it might all be different1 or1 indeed1 non-existent1 were the soil of another character4 ,dearly as ,i loved ,shortlands the clay there was always to be reckoned with1 and made a long reckoning too1 when all was told1 for though roses flourished magnificently1 children didn't1 and coughs and colds were #8the only wear' once autumn began to spread the leaves and winter came up to finish the little business1 clad in the usual garments of fog and mist1 changed at times to other more #8seasonable' ones of frost and snow4 ,chalk is to be avoided by all rheumatic souls1 or by those to whom rheumatism may arrive by right of inheritance1 water in which chalk exists largely being a great help to bringing such an inheritance within easy grasp of the heir2 but gravel and1 ,i think1 a certain measure of sand1 are all right1 while many trees should be fled from4 ,trees bring rain and insects1 and mean damp2 albeit1 if we can only find a suburb where the gracious pine tree flourishes1 we can dwell there without alarm4 ,the pine-tree spells health always1 and should be sought for as carefully as a family of nouveaux riches searches for its coat of arms1 or some one thing that will link it on to someone else's noble ancestors in some way or another4 ,therefore should the seeker after a suburban residence arm himself with a geological map of the regions round ,london1 and make many pilgrimages and inquiries before he finally chooses4 ,he would be wise too if he could afford the time and money1 to take rooms or a furnished house first in the locality which appeals to him most2 but1 if he can't do that1 he should take in the local newspaper1 for at least a month1 and see what manner of conduct is reported there2 what are the doings of the local authorities1 the species of #8happenings' in the way of amusements and entertainments1 and if he is bent on church1 he should attend one or two services2 while1 if golf attracts him1 and tennis is his only joy1 he should see that both are attainable1 and that the clubs are get-into-able and are not either beyond his pocket or whatever may be his special social status4 ,once these items are all satisfactorily settled1 and the suburb really selected1 the tug of war may be fairly considered to have begun4 ,the suburb is found1 but how about the special house8 ,of course #8eligible residences' will abound1 albeit in any good and favoured places they are not as plentiful by half as one could wish1 so that nothing should be done in a hurry4 ,the local tradespeople1 as well as the house-agents 7generally very broken reeds these last too7 should be taken into one's confidence1 and if a specially good house is to be let in a month or two it should be stalked as carefully as one stalks a stag of price1 and with as much cunning4 ,too great eagerness means a large premium1 and all the last tenant's awful fixtures2 too little means someone else slipping in before one1 and bearing off the coveted prize under one's very eyes4 ,much as one likes the idea of a real new1 clean house1 where no one has ever died1 or had scarlet fever1 small-pox1 or diphtheria1 and where virgin walls and untouched rooms leave one a free hand as regards decoration and furniture1 it is better1 if possible1 to take some place out of which a #8good family' has been obliged to move for some true and reasonable cause1 such as a loss or increase of income1 or an increase in the requirements of the family4 ,if a new house is chosen1 it is absolutely necessary that some honest and tried sanitary authority should be called in from a distance3 a local man cannot possibly give an unbiassed opinion2 and he should thoroughly examine the system of drains2 all pipes should be disconnected from the soil-pipes1 and all sanitary arrangements should be placed on the outside of the house4 ,i do not mean apart from the house itself1 but built on at one side1 so that drainage is simplified immensely and reduced to one area4 ,one where the soil-pipe can be thoroughly ventilated and easily got at should it be necessary to examine the drains1 to repair them1 or to discover that they are all in good and working order4 ,they should also be capable of being constantly and copiously flushed with a good stream of water1 while all pipes connected with the water supply should be protected from the weather1 and also easily reached1 else will they burst at the least provocation1 and cause frost and cold to be doubly cursed1 because of their untoward action upon one's domestic arrangements4 ,if the house has been lived in1 confidential relations should be established with the outgoing tenant unless he has any interest in getting the house off his hands2 in that case human nature being weak1 one can but recollect he wants to part with it4 ,but if he have ended his lease and be genuinely anxious to remain yet cannot for a reasonable cause1 it were well to ask him frankly about the wants1 requirements1 and moods of the special abode1 for houses want humouring just as do human beings1 and very often one only finds out the virtues when the vices have caused one to throw up the sponge1 and once more set out on our nomadic passing through this life4 ,if we select and take a new house before we attempt our decorations let us instal a caretaker4 ,ay6 even with her grimy self and her still more grimy goods and bronchial family1 heavy with the continual colds inseparable from living in empty houses and never anywhere else2 and let us see by ocular demonstration that she keeps going the large and splendid fires which should be in all the rooms even before we contemplate how we are going to treat them4 ,for until the house has been exposed to the ordeal by warmth we cannot possibly tell whether we shall have to begin by relaying shrunken floors2 putting the ever useful #8,slater's ,patent' round every door and window1 and whether it were not well to transfer certain doors from left to right or vice versa1 because of the position of fire and window1 which can only be really determined when we see how the fire burns1 and from which side comes most of the almost certain draught4 ,thus too are tested the young and untried chimneys1 which1 should they smoke1 are to be examined by a practical man before anything else can be done4 ,they may smoke through faulty construction4 ,in this case new grates must be had from ,haines ,co41 #hc ,queen ,victoria ,street1 who have a grate that can easily deal with this desperate strait4 ,or they may require tall chimney-pots1 or a mere #8blower1' which is best when made of a clear thick sheet of glass4 ,in any case1 they must be treated at once4 ,a smoky chimney is death to one's decorations1 spoils one's temper1 and one's white curtains and new cretonnes1 and gives the maids cause for dissatisfaction1 the while we take a hatred at once to the house and always remember its unkind reception of us1 however well it may behave to us when we find ourselves better acquainted with its little ways4 ,it would not be an auspicious manner of beginning an acquaintance should some would-be friend receive us with sulks and a turned-away countenance1 which might be shyness1 and is certainly bad mannered3 ,i question much if we should ever reach friendship should our advances be met in a similar way6 ,in such a manner does a smoky chimney make one feel towards the house it is a part of1 and once we are received with smoke in our own domain1 we can never really forget or forgive a reception we should not have had1 had we kept up good fires before we entered into possession thereof4 ,when the house is warmed1 we can proceed to deal with each portion thereof as our tastes and our purses permit2 but we must never allow anything which really offends our own special taste to remain2 neither must we be talked into taking anything we don't like4 ,if we don't know our own minds in these days1 there are advisers to be had on whom reliance can be placed4 ,but if we have the least idea of what we want1 let us get it4 ,it is our own house after all1 and it is right it should represent us1 and not other folk4 ,at the same time many people who can recognise beauty and comfort when they see it1 get bewildered by quantities2 and unable to select between them cannot secure loveliness1 and are equally unable somehow to recognise how comfort can be obtained4 #8,how do you keep this room up to #fj degrees8' once said a doctor to me1 when ,i was inhabiting1 pro tem41 a so-called furnished house in the depth of the winter4 #8,i had a child dying here of bronchitis last winter1 and1 try how they would1 his people couldn't raise the temperature to above #ej degrees1 although his life depended on it4' #8,ah1' said ,i1 #8they doubtless left it as they found it4 ,i didn't4 ,i have covered the gaping stained surround with felt4 ,i have hung curtains inside and outside the rickety door and instead of feeble wisps of muslin to the windows ,i have four good thick curtains besides long thin ones4 ,that's all the secret2 and ,i never burn gas as you see1 while my fires last twice as long as they did before the alterations4' #8,oh1 ,i wish ,i had known all that before1' said the doctor1 #8for neither ,i nor the parents could find out the cause of the cold4' ,a little thing which will illustrate better than any amount of further description what ,i mean by saying that people don't always know how to obtain comfort though they can appreciate it when found4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,halls ,,and ,,passages ,if we wish to make a complete conquest of the special suburban residence we are about to circumvent1 there is no doubt whatever that the first battle of all has to be fought and won on the very doorstep4 ,nay sometimes one has to commence the conflict before we reach as far as that1 for have we not the #8carriage sweep' to tackle and the slamming gate to minister to before reaching the front door8 ,if we are cursed with the #8approach1' all we can do is to make the gate as inoffensive as we can1 for alas6 we must keep it or we shall have our front garden a gathering ground for all the curs in the neighbourhood4 ,but we must e'en remove the latch altogether1 and line the place where it was with indiarubber1 and put a couple of stout indiarubber springs on the house side of the gate1 which should have an inner lining of wire-netting1 and a head-trimming of barbed wire1 or else of rough nails1 to prevent the demon boy seating himself thereon4 ,then1 if by firm refusals to allow tramps to come up1 and by never giving them one farthing--or indeed anything save a bread ticket redeemable at the nearest baker's shop1 and which1 ten to one1 we shall find torn up in our #8avenue1'--we can induce them to mark our gate with some secret sign1 which means we are unspeakable brutes and not good even for a #8little hot water1' we shall have ensured ourselves a certain amount of quiet1 and shall1 at all events1 have begun our campaign in the right way4 ,our gate we should paint some good solid colour1 and ,indian red is a good shade with green hedges and trees about us1 as is also a special shade of dark olive green4 ,then the name of the house should be painted on in white1 not gilded letters1 and if we put as well #8,please shut this gate quietly' on both sides of the top bar1 we shall find that we at least are no longer noise-makers in general1 and1 as far as our special gate is concerned1 the great slamming question is replied to satisfactorily4 ,i may seem to dwell unduly on the matter of noise1 but ,i can assure my readers that every preventable noise is both a sin against themselves and also against their neighbours4 ,they may be in rude health and inclined to jeer at all ,i say1 but the day will come when their heads will ache and their nerves bother them and when noise will torture them1 and then they will wish devoutly that they had legislated at first for peace1 for they certainly won't get it when they have not the strength to insist on it4 ,i say preventable noise1 and most noises are that1 for even the wretched piano in the schoolroom can be placed in such a position that it only worries those to whom it belongs2 while the person who encourages barrel-organs or screaming children1 should be at once sent to the wilds of ,america1 no other place being large enough to hold such a barbarian4 ,we know1 of course1 all ,english folk think their homes are their castles2 well1 if so1 the castle should have appropriate surroundings4 ,there is nothing much of the castle about a suburban residence1 and the sooner this fact is realised the better for those who dwell therein and on both sides4 ,now1 the carriage gate being painted and settled with1 and arranged to be fastened back should we have many callers from three to six in summer1 from three to five in winter1 we can turn our attention to the front door4 ,i have had to circumvent for myself and for many many other folk the ordinary suburban residence1 and ,i have only in one case found the front door treated in a manner that showed me that the man who planned the house had the very smallest idea of what he was about4 ,as a rule1 the front door opens straight on the narrow passage called hall by courtesy1 with the ladder-like flight of stairs going straight up at one side4 ,then just opposite the front door1 and about eighteen or twenty feet from it1 is the door of the third room1 which becomes library1 smoking-room1 or even day-nursery or schoolroom1 according to the tastes and the age and number of the owner's family1 and nothing can be worse than this arrangement4 ,but in the exception of which ,i speak1 the hall ends at the front door portion in a wall1 and the front door is placed opposite1 as in the diagram on the next page1 and thus the wind which enters when the front ,illustration door is opened only circulates in the tiny vestibule1 and is shut off from the hall and house by the inner door1 beyond which is a small fireplace1 so small as to be scarcely visible at all1 yet large enough to ensure the equal temperature which means so much in this very evil-minded climate of ours4 ,now1 it would not be an enormous expense1 either to add the vestibule1 or to make it by closing the ordinary entrance at ,a and opening one at ,b1 while the vestibule could be shut off from the hall by curtains1 should there be light enough to do without the extra window1 or by a glazed screen1 should light be otherwise an impossibility4 ,in any case the gain to health would be enormous1 while the comfort is of course at once ensured which is so absolutely necessary1 and yet as a rule is so little understood4 ,if one can have curtains1 and expense is a great object1 it is well to obtain from ,oetzmann a fretwork arch1 which is made for this purpose1 and which is nailed on the wall and to the ceiling1 and is at once simple and effective4 ,the rod the simplest brass one which can be procured1 should go behind the arch1 which should face towards the end wall1 and curtains of ,wallace's diamond serge should fall from the rod2 there should be two full curtains1 double1 if possible1 and edged with #8grip cord1' not ball-fringe4 ,they will be constantly moved1 and ball-fringe would soon spoil1 while the cord is a hardy thing and capable of standing a certain amount of pulling about4 ,as a rule the floor of the ordinary suburban hall is made from the roughest of boards which shrink apart coyly from each other as if they were youthful maidens at their first ball1 but sometimes we are fortunate enough to come across tiles4 ,and yet ,i don't know whether ,i should quite say fortunate6 ,for sometimes the tiles are more frightful than ,i can describe1 and are often cracked and irregular1 while one can manage the boarded floor if one resolutely tackles it and determines that it shall not conquer one instead of being conquered itself4 ,if one has tiles one should place two or three rugs over them1 the ,abingdon ,carpet ,company's charming #8,arts and ,crafts' rugs for choice1 made in the proper length and width for these places2 but if one has not1 the boards must first be stopped1 planed and smoothed and ventilated1 and then a plain cork carpet from ,wallace1 of ,curtain ,road1 ,e4,c4 should be put down4 ,this should be ventilated too1 by piercing holes here and there with a gimlet1 else dry-rot will ensue1 a thing which once in possession is very difficult to get rid of1 ,i can assure my readers4 ,the cork carpet must be supplemented by rugs1 and in any case the vestibule should be tiled with plain self-coloured tiles to harmonise with the decorations1 for here would be shed the wet waterproofs and umbrellas of the way-worn traveller1 who could then proceed towards the drawing-room undeterred by the despair that seizes one when one feels at a disadvantage owing to one's raiment4 ,this feeling often prevents people paying that kindest call of all1 the call on a wet1 dreary day1 when we are dying with loneliness and boredom1 and would give anything to see the friend who will not come because she would be #8too wet for the pretty room1' and #8so dirty1 she would really be ashamed to enter anyone's house4' ,illustration ,now1 with the sensible short tweed skirt and tweed undergarments1 which fortunate present-day damsels don unknown and unchecked1 and a good plain1 yet pretty waterproof1 anyone is weather-tight2 and if the parlour-maid pops the umbrella into the beaten iron ring for that purpose placed behind the front door1 and hangs the waterproof up in ,wallace's handy ,p4 ,t4 ,c4 wardrobe in another corner2 and if the boots are carefully wiped on the mat placed in the sunken place in front of the door1 the visitor enters the room spotless and as dry as if she had just emerged from her own house or from ,lady ,gorgeous ,midas's brand new brougham4 ,the tiled floor should have upon it a pretty thick rug lined with ,american leather3 one can be bought for about #hs4 #i;d4 at ,treloar's3 an outlay that no one need mind1 but that ensures once more a certain amount of comfort4 ,the front door should1 of course1 never be grained1 and it ought in these days to be quite unnecessary for me even to hint at such a thing4 ,but mighty is the #8local decorator1' beloved of the suburbs1 and his counsels will undoubtedly prevail1 unless we put down our foot very firmly indeed1 and keep it resolutely in that special attitude4 ,he will #8grain' the door if he can until doomsday1 ,i am convinced1 but my readers must be firm and dignified1 and above all must they give their instructions in writing1 and keep a duplicate signed by the #8decorator' 7save the mark671 else will they find he has gone his own sweet way after all1 and they have no redress whatever4 ,it is an axiom that whatever colour is chosen for the hall that colour alone shall be on the front door1 but it may be in a darker shade1 while the vestibule can often be treated differently to the hall itself1 though of course it should lead up to and harmonise with it4 ,let me describe what ,i mean4 ,the special vestibule ,i am thinking of has a couple of small1 diamond-paned windows1 one at the end1 one opposite the front door1 and below this latter is a wide panel painted with a tiger-lily1 and then a wide wooden seat which lifts up and holds carriage rugs1 and on which anyone could sit did he or she come with a message or a note and require to wait an answer4 ,both windows have wide ledges on which stand pots holding palms or aspidistras1 and all the paint on the inside of the front door and on the vestibule side of the glass screen-doors included1 is a special1 beautiful soft grey-blue shade4 ,the panelled walls are the same colour2 the curtains are soft yellow silk1 and the ceiling proper is yellow and cream4 ,on the floor are dull blue tiles and a ,scinde rug1 and in one corner is the umbrella-ring1 which one can get at ,shoolbred's for about #ahs4 #i;d41 and that is all4 ,there is no room for the ,p4 ,t4 ,c4 here1 and the waterproofs are taken at once into the servants' room to be hung up and dried1 but it would be much better were there a corner wardrobe1 only1 alas6 one can't make space where one doesn't possess it4 ,the screen is made somewhat like this4 ,the top and side panels are all of leaded glass1 as far as the brackets which hold pots for palms4 ,the tops of the doors are more leaded glass1 and all the base is wood painted on the vestibule side1 the soft grey-blue spoken of before1 and on the other a specially soft and deep #8real ivory4' ,the dado is of ivory1 gold1 and black ,japanese leather paper1 and the paper above is one of ,smee ,cobay's1 and is a cunning blend of green and red1 managed in such a way that the whole effect is a pinky red1 which harmonises with the grey-blue1 and is as original as it is undoubtedly most pleasant to contemplate4 ,the stairs and all doors are curtained off with yellow diamond serge1 and the passage--i4e4 hall--is covered with plain green cork carpet1 on which are laid rugs in which the grey-blue colour aforesaid predominates4 ,of course the ceiling is papered in yellow and white1 and equally1 of course1 all the paint is one even surface of colour4 ,nothing can excuse picked out or striped and embellished paint3 nothing6 ,genius is better employed on better work1 and even genius is out of place in making ornamental that which after all is only going to be part of a harmonious whole1 and merely a background to ourselves and our possessions4 ,therefore must there be plain paint everywhere1 and no cornice should be more than a moulded band1 merely coloured a plain cream or ivory colour4 ,if the front door and the doors in the vestibule screen are not above suspicion of draughts1 they should be at once surrounded with ,slater's patent draught-excluders1 which can be procured anywhere almost1 but surely at ,shoolbred's or ,whiteley's2 for nothing is more trying than a draught4 ,have as much air and proper ventilation as possible4 ,have a vestibule window open for some time of the day in winter and all day long in summer1 and have the staircase window open as well3 a house that can't have a thorough current of air cannot be a healthy one4 ,but do not allow the insidious draught1 and the cold and unwarmed halls and passages1 which are ubiquitous save in a large house possessing a big1 square hall1 where one usually finds a good fireplace4 ,however1 one should manage somehow to make a fireplace there1 ay1 even if one can have nothing better than the small1 round1 moveable stove called the #8,ideal1' which burns patent fuel1 and can be taken away at any moment4 ,it should be placed on an iron corner bracket rather raised above the floor1 and a guard should be round it1 so that dresses could not come in contact with it4 ,but one should never be tempted from the paths of virtue by the charms of oil stoves1 for they always smell and are detestable1 no matter what anyone says2 for though they should not1 of course1 if properly cleaned and attended to1 proper cleanliness and care mean personal attention in a small household1 and ,i cannot think how anyone can touch oil1 or whatever has held it without a shudder4 ,there is a smell about paraffin that1 let us #8shatter the stove as we will1' continues to cling about it and us in a way that is enough to make us and our friends very ill indeed4 ,it's an unnecessary smell1 too4 ,if we can't depend on the maids1 we must see to our own lamps1 but we need not have stoves4 ,they give a poor heat at best1 and at worst--but there is no need to harrow our feelings by dwelling on that side of the picture4 ,be sure that whenever we can have real fires1 we should have them1 and that no house can be warm1 and therefore healthy1 if we have no fire in the passage4 ,it need be only a wee one4 ,it can be kept in for hours by using briquettes and small coal judiciously1 and as it prevents colds and consequent suffering1 and very probably doctors' bills1 it need not be omitted on the score of expense4 ,once see to the draught-excluder and the hall fire1 we shall save in the sitting-room fires too1 which are often twice as wasteful as they need be1 because we pile them up to warm the bitter air that rushes in when the door is opened1 and because the ceaseless draughts from doors and windows drive the rushing heat up the chimney and make the coal burn out doubly as fast as it otherwise would4 ,then too there is no labour about the modern small tiled fireplace4 ,it is cleaned and laid in less than five moments1 and indeed were we sensible about our houses1 we should not have half the bother with our maids that some of us have1 because we would minimise the amount of work by labour-saving appliances1 instead of making it double what it need be1 as we all of us do1 more especially in those suburban houses1 where1 after all1 the labour question is one of the most burning problems that the female part of the population has to discuss at its weekly gatherings on its special afternoons at home4 ,the hall grate should be on the smallest scale possible1 should have a plain wooden mantel and small over-mantel consisting of a wooden frame and a slip of bevelled looking-glass1 and should have tiles for a hearth and a surround1 and should be provided with a high guard similar to those found in all nurseries1 but in brass1 not in common painted wire4 ,on the mantel we could put one or two framed photographs and about four glasses for flowers1 and also a small clock1 should the hall not be sufficiently large to allow us to have the proper tall one there2 but great care should be taken not to overdo the ornaments here especially1 for a hall gathers dust in a dreadful manner1 and too many ornaments mean dirt1 and therefore should in no way be encouraged4 ,the walls of the hall should have pictures on them2 there is no doubt about that1 and good autotypes and ,burne-,jones's photographs from ,mr ,hollyer of #i ,pembroke ,square1 ,w41 are the best to have4 ,they should be framed in the simple reeded frames sold by the ,autotype ,company1 ,new ,oxford ,street1 and should be hung judiciously4 ,the lowest should just1 and only just1 escape the dado-rail1 the highest should be only a couple of inches above it at the outside4 ,there should1 of course1 be no pictures whatever in the vestibule portion of the hall1 neither in the hall itself should there be any brackets for china1 nor over-doors on which pots and vases can be placed1 for the maid must always get the steps to dust these places and1 in consequence1 dusting1 is1 at the best very seldom1 at the worst never done4 ,but over every door in the halls and passages must be placed portires of some kind or other4 ,i have come to the conclusion that a couple of curtains is the best arrangement for this1 if the doors open into the rooms1 as they generally do in a small hall2 if not1 of course the rod1 which opens and shuts with the door1 and which ,burnett sells for #ds4 #f;d4 complete1 must be used4 ,the pair of curtains allows the servant to hold one back for the visitor's entrance as she opens the door1 but they must be crossed at the top by putting the last hook on each curtain in the ring that comes last on the one belonging to its fellow2 this prevents them from gaping open1 and always keeps them in place4 ,suppose each curtain has six hooks1 one puts five belonging to the left-hand curtain on the left-hand set of rings2 in the sixth1 one puts hook ,no4 #a of the right-hand curtain2 hook ,no4 #f of the left-hand curtain goes into hook ,no4 #a of the right-hand one2 the other five rings are filled by the remaining five hooks then on the right-hand curtain1 and this ensures the curtains remaining always in their place in the most satisfactory way possible4 ,the best material for hall curtains is undoubtedly ,wallace's diamond serge1 and it should be lined with sateen the same colour as that chosen for the curtains1 and should be edged with grip-cord4 ,the glazed surface of the sateen resists the dust1 and the curtains should always be unhooked once a week and shaken out of doors1 and the poles and rings rubbed over with the new ,selvyt cloths1 which are admirable1 and far surpass the ordinary duster1 as they polish as well as remove extraneous matter and dirt4 ,this is the work of the housemaid1 who is responsible for all dusting in the hall1 and also for all brushing and shaking2 the washing of the steps1 cork carpet1 etc41 being the duty of the kitchen-maid1 should one be kept2 or else of the #8tweeny-maid1' who takes1 in a measure1 the kitchen-maid's place in the ordinary small-sized establishment4 ,one word now about this said cork carpet1 and the best way to treat it1 for it really is a very important matter indeed4 ,people should never allow themselves to be talked into buying the orthodox and hideous-patterned linoleum1 which gives a hopelessly #8bourgeois' appearance to any house1 and at once puts a stop to anything like artistic decoration4 #8,the pattern going through to the back1 as it does1 ensures that it can never wear off1' says one person2 #8have the beautiful linoleum which imitates parqueterie1' remarks another1 regardless of the fact that such imitation is as vulgar as it is ugly4 ,why6 it would be an advantage to me that the pattern should wear off1 a pattern being generally a mistake on any hall floor2 and1 therefore1 should the hall be untiled1 or not made of the silent wood blocks which are the ideal component parts of any floor1 and which are not likely therefore to be found in any suburban residence1 one should be resolute1 and refuse flatly to have anything at all but the soft-coloured cork carpet1 which we can supplement with rugs4 ,i am aware that at first one feels as if one were going mad over my pet material1 for then every footmark shows1 and every atom of dirt is visible1 but ,i prefer to be able to see dirt1 in order to ensure its speedy removal4 ,still if at first we give the cork carpet one thorough good rub with linseed oil and turpentine1 and one only1 all we need to do afterwards is to have it washed over with warm water1 or milk and water4 ,soap should never be used on any account whatever1 and then if once a week it has a real polish with beeswax and turpentine1 it will wear for ever1 and1 after the first1 will not unduly agitate us by bringing into prominence the erring footmarks of ourselves and our friends4 ,but1 of course1 it must always be supplemented by rugs4 ,then we have an ideal hall covering1 for the rugs can be taken up and shaken daily1 and so is cleanliness ensured1 and without that the house cannot possibly be habitable at all4 ,on no account1 not even in houses where #8expense is no object1' should a fitted carpet be allowed in the halls and passages1 for it is utterly impossible to keep such an arrangement even decently clean4 ,think of the traffic in a hall6 the muddy boots1 the paws of the dear dogs 7and everyone should have an unchained dog1 it's the chained-up victims that are the terrors of the suburbs71 and the drippings from wet umbrellas and garments1 and renounce carpets there for evermore4 ,besides which1 we have to remember the fact that it is almost impossible to sweep out any corners in rooms or halls1 and that should the housemaid attempt to do so1 she only knocks great pieces off the paint in her endeavours1 and finally has to resort to a damp duster to pick up the #8fluff' which congregates there4 ,damping woollen carpets is one of the easiest methods of procuring a visit from the fatal moth1 so should not be resorted to unless we are quite at our wits' end4 ,the ordinary suburban staircase is another of the things we have to approach with fear and trembling4 ,as a rule1 ,jacob's ladder has suggested its design1 and it is so proud of its appearance that it thrusts itself on our notice the instant we enter the house4 ,in this case we can only grin and bear it1 the while we make its long expanse of open balustrade and wooden understructure as bearable as we can by covering in the first with ,eastern dhurries or ,khelim curtains1 and filling in any panels in the latter with ,japanese leather paper1 which is invaluable for this purpose4 ,but should it be modestly stationed at one side1 as has been the position of the three staircases which have been my portion in the suburban residences ,i have dwelt in most complainingly2 then one can curtain them off better with the same arrangement of a fretwork arch ,i described when writing about the vestibule2 or by a couple of stronger arches which one can get at ,wallace's1 one of which encloses the stair1 and the other leads to the back premises and lavatories and cloak places4 ,these arches are of course1 curtained1 and so the ordinary visitor sees nothing save the sitting-room doors or door and the hall itself1 and is spared those awe-striking glimpses into unsuitable spots1 which are all too often exposed guilelessly to the unhappy and much-embarrassed guest1 who neither wishes to see into the parlour-maid's pantry1 nor to view a vast line of old hats1 waterproofs and tennis rackets1 and who much prefers to remain ignorant of these and many other secret arrangements of the innermost recesses of our home4 ,now not only are the position and design of the staircase more annoying than ,i can say1 but the stairs themselves are1 as a rule1 simply too painful for words4 ,they generally consist of a series of short1 sharp ascents1 and are never by any chance low and broad1 as a self-respecting stair should most undoubtedly be1 and are moreover so extremely narrow and sharp at the edges that they are warranted to wear through any stair carpet in less than a twelvemonth1 save perhaps a pile carpet1 and that they will ruin in a couple of years at the outside4 ,no one can alter either the steepness or narrowness of the stairway4 ,alas6 they are both past praying for1 but if the sharp edges are circumvented by carpet pads sold by any good upholsterer for a few pence or manufactured at home out of curled paper enclosed in linen covers1 and made to resemble a very small1 thick cushion1 and if we put carpet felt under the carpet we shall find the carpet itself wear decently at anyrate1 especially if we see it is carefully moved once a month in such a way that the portion that was at the top one month lives at the bottom the next1 reversing this same position once more when the time comes to move it again4 ,i have often remarked that there is no such thing as a cheap stair carpet1 and that the cheapest article at first is the dearest in the end1 and ,i have seen no reason to alter my opinion4 ,pile with only a small design as pattern and no fidgety border1 is the best thing in the world1 and can be bought at from #ds4 #aa;d4 to #gs4 #i;d4 a yard4 ,next to pile comes ,brussels at about #ds4 #f;d4 ,then comes ,wallace's #8,dunelm' at about #ds41 and1 finally1 a new1 self-coloured1 all-wool material called #8,roysse1' sold by the ,abingdon ,carpet ,company at #bs4 #c;d4 three-quarter width--the ordinary stair width--and at #bs4 #aa;d4 a yard wide4 ,lower than this ,i cannot for one moment advise even the most impecunious among us to go2 neither can ,i advise the #8bargains' and #8odd lengths' of pile and ,brussels that are often obtainable at really good shops4 ,if they are bargains as far as material and make are concerned1 they are absolutely hideous1 and are only got rid of because even the ,british taste has refused them2 and if they are odd lengths we cannot ever match them1 and that means replacing the whole carpet should an accident happen to one small part of it1 which we could have replaced in one moment had we bought a proper carpet4 ,such an one as is always kept in stock by most of the best shops in ,london1 the owners of which have learned that a good and pretty thing is a joy for ever1 and that once it is pronounced such it can be always recommended and brought forward1 not because it is the #8last new thing1' but because it is old1 and has been well and truly tried and not found wanting4 ,the upstairs passages should be treated to more cork carpet and rugs1 and under no circumstances must a #8walk' of carpet be allowed1 neither may the rugs be put down in a wearisome1 unbroken line unless the passage is very narrow and allows of no deviating from the straight path4 ,if there be a landing1 as a rule two rugs are required1 and in the passage the rugs can be put one after the other in a somewhat similar way1 less1 as ,i remarked before1 the passage is very narrow4 ,in that case a #8vestibule rug' must be procured either from ,shoolbred1 ,hewetson or the ,abingdon ,carpet ,company4 ,these can be had in lengths of about #f feet by #d wide1 and #i feet by the same width1 while there are both longer and wider rugs to be procured1 but then the passage should be long enough to allow of there being two in use1 if not more1 when they can be placed in any position save in a long1 straight line4 ,the doors of the upstairs rooms must always be securely curtained1 and here one wide1 full curtain should suffice4 ,there is not the continual exit and entrance to these chambers there is to the downstairs rooms1 so then one curtain upstairs will be enough4 ,these should be kept in place by putting the end rings past the bracket on which the brass rod rests1 then the last hooks on the curtain are put into them1 thus ensuring that the curtains are always kept drawn4 ,anyone who has passed by a vista of open bedroom doors1 left open when the owners have1 at the sound of the gong1 rushed downstairs to meals in too great a hurry to put their rooms tidy1 will not need to have impressed upon them the fact that it is absolutely necessary to decency to have portires which fall into place behind the person who leaves his or her bedroom door open1 and so discloses to all comers the ravages which getting up too often leaves in view4 ,it is a good thing also to conceal the entrance to the bathroom and lavatories by a curtain1 which should depend from a beaten iron arm which stretches straight out into the passage4 ,this arm can be procured from ,bartholomew ,fletcher for about #ahs4 #f;d41 while the curtain should be heavy2 printed velveteen made double and fan-edged making an absolutely perfect if somewhat expensive curtain4 ,godfrey ,giles has a charming velveteen1 which is a mixture of blue and green4 ,wallace has a beautiful yellow and cream one1 and ,smee ,cobay have these velveteens in most colours1 notably in a rich and exquisite red1 which it is a pleasure to look at1 and which also wears extremely well1 even in windows where the sun has a certain amount of actual power1 and is never really kept out at all4 ,any cornice upstairs as well as down must be coloured #8cream' or #8real ivory1' and the ceilings here as elsewhere must be papered with some simple1 inexpensive paper1 in a colour which harmonises with the decorations4 ,and now let me impress upon my readers that even if they have only taken their suburban villa on the usual tentative three years' lease3 which is so rarely renewed3 it is always worth while to make their surroundings charming1 even should they not remain in the house after the first term of the three1 seven or twenty-one years' lease is over4 ,first because if the lessee and the owner combined would take trouble to ensure beauty and comfort1 ,i am quite certain that moving would not be as continual as it is at present4 ,the trouble taken over the house would endear it to the dwellers therein1 while the comfort would cause them to think twice before they deprived themselves of it2 for once let one's roots really strike home1 and no one who has not tried it can tell how difficult it is to drag them out of even an uncongenial soil4 ,while from a congenial one6 well1 there is nothing on earth so hard to do and so fearfully difficult to bear1 and no after-delights can cause these wounds really and truly to heal6 ,secondly1 dear readers1 it is always worth while to have beautiful and harmonious surroundings1 ay1 even for a few months and even if we have to leave them4 ,for in this latter case1 we shall have left them as an art legacy to our successor1 who will not be very difficult to find if we leave behind us charming papers and appropriate decorations to mark where we have once made our home6 ,of course each individual hall requires individual treatment1 and it would be well-nigh impossible to lay down any hard and fast rules to be followed implicitly2 but a dado1 a real not a sham one1 is an absolute necessity in any narrow hall1 and no one should be afraid of one of coloured paper1 bold in hue as in design1 for a large1 bold pattern makes a small place appear larger1 and real colour must always be a pleasure1 which a muddled1 pale and timid tint can never be4 ,a dado could be of wood1 if the lease is long enough1 and the purse too1 to allow of it4 ,in this case ,godfrey ,giles's #8ghring' material and #8,glastonbury' panelling will suit those who cannot afford oak4 ,arras cloth1 with a pattern printed on it is beautiful1 especially if hung like the old-fashioned arras used to be1 to resemble a gathered curtain4 ,then ,i am devoted to the plain1 string-coloured matting1 sold on purpose for dados at #aj;d4 a yard2 and there are of course1 anaglypta and ,japanese leather paper always with us1 while the printed arras cloth paper is a strong and good material which is not to be despised by any manner of means at all4 ,in all cases there must be a real dado-rail1 and the paper above1 as indeed every single thing in the hall1 should harmonise4 ,i am devoted to a blue hall myself3 the one described in the first part of the chapter can well be absolutely copied1 while it should be remembered that a dark hall calls for yellow and cream1 or red and cream a real1 bold1 sealing-wax red3 let there be no mistake about the colour3 and nothing should authorise the employment of either a green or a terra-cotta hall4 ,green can never be a success there1 while terra-cotta spells fear and shows artistic hankerings which the owner is unable1 or not bold enough to carry out4 ,i am not devoted to any terra-cotta save some shades sold only by ,liberty4 ,i would never have even these1 save in some bedrooms and an occasional1 a very occasional1 dining-room or library4 ,as a rule the lighting of the hall should be managed by placing first1 in the vestibule1 a gasalier in the very centre of the ceiling1 where the gas should be enclosed in a bucket-shaped glass in a beaten-iron lantern frame2 secondly1 in the hall itself a similar treatment should be followed out1 if the ceilings be high enough to allow of it3 if not1 side-brackets near the dining and drawing-room doors should be used4 ,and finally more side-brackets should be upstairs1 these again of beaten-iron1 and with the same shaped glass4 ,these can be bought very inexpensively of ,shoolbred1 while ,messrs ,strode ,company1 of #dh ,osnaburgh ,street1 ,regent's ,park1 make beautiful and more expensive brackets and lanterns and lamps on the same lines4 ,there should be as little furniture as possible in the ordinary suburban hall or passage4 ,the really necessary furniture has been described as placed in the vestibule2 but1 if we have room we should undoubtedly have a tall palm on a stand1 a grandfather clock in one corner1 a couple of chairs3 tall1 high-backed ones for choice3 and1 if possible1 between the dining and drawing-room doors1 which are often close together1 or at anyrate close to the latter door1 have a nice plain walnut table4 ,this would hold the necessary bowl for cards left during the afternoon1 and taken away every day1 because keeping them seems like parading the amount and quality of one's friends2 and1 if we visit much a book is of course kept in which visits and addresses are entered4 ,beside this1 have only a small vase of flowers and maybe a couple of books placed across each other at one corner4 ,these give an air of life even to the smallest hall somehow2 and on little touches like these1 absurd as it may seem to mention them1 depend the artistic completeness of the whole house4 ,one word more1 hats1 cloaks and umbrellas must be put out of sight somewhere2 while all should recollect that it is extremely easy to over-furnish any place1 but especially so to over-furnish a hall1 and that in a narrow passage and in small quarters1 one had far better have too few impedimenta than too many4 ,the former state of affairs can always be remedied as we come to understand the capabilities of our new abode2 the latter can only draw down upon us the objurgations of our friends1 the while we collect dirt and dust1 and can't comprehend why we are as uncomfortable as we most undoubtedly are4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,kitchen ,,and ,,basements ,if the conquest of the hall be difficult1 the siege of the kitchen and servants' quarters generally is one that will carry dread even to the stoutest heart4 ,for as a rule the suburban builder sinks to his lowest depths of villainy here1 and either gives a damp and wandering basement wherein no servant will remain more than her month1 or a regular cupboard where the stove leaves scarcely room for anything else1 and where the heat from that1 and the draughts from the doors and windows1 are enough to ruin the constitution of any ordinary woman4 ,the basement kitchen is the worst of all1 because it marks a class of house that has seen better days1 and is rapidly deteriorating4 ,therefore if one has to choose between two houses1 one of which has no basement1 and another which has1 one should at once select the basementless one4 ,there are sure to be cellars below the house1 which will keep it dry4 ,one doesn't even in the suburbs often come across a house1 the boards of which are pushed out of place by enterprising mushrooms growing in the soil beneath1 and ambitious of appearing in fresh air and among the haunts of men4 ,if1 however1 the basement cannot be avoided1 we must rise to the occasion and do the very best we can in the matter4 ,and first of all we must see that it is really dry1 and that its comfort is assured by the presence of a dry area and the proper amount of ventilation1 and absence of damp4 ,if this cannot be assured1 the house must be given up4 ,far better put up with a small dining-room and a dull drawing-room1 for both of these drawbacks can be easily remedied1 but for a damp bad kitchen there can be no cure1 and should we weakly give in to it1 we can never be happy or comfortable in the least in our domestic arrangements1 be very sure of that4 ,if1 however1 we find that the basement is capable of amendment1 our first endeavours must be to make it as cheerful as possible1 and to get as much light and air into it as possible too4 ,i have only once had to #8wrastle' with one on my own account1 and that ,i made as bearable as circumstances would permit1 by enlarging a window and having one of ,chappius' reflectors so arranged that as much sunshine came in as was obtainable1 while ,i had one of the three doors closed entirely1 and made an enormous scullery and washhouse species of abode1 into a nice little scullery and a rather decent room in which the maids could sit and have their meals and do their needlework4 ,oh1 ,i do hope some day to hear of a real and bona-fide revolt against the regulation suburban accommodation for the unfortunate maids1 for1 until this takes place1 ,i am quite sure the servant question will remain a very burning one4 ,i am writing now more especially for those householders who have from #ejj to #ajjj a year to spend1 and who have two or four maids1 according to their means and the size of their families1 and who ought to be able to find the kitchen arrangements comprised in a square block1 consisting of kitchen1 scullery1 parlour-maid's pantry1 with good1 deep cupboards for glass and china1 and a pretty little sitting-room where the domestics could have a few at least of the amenities of life4 ,the bedrooms could be above1 as could the sanitary arrangements1 which are all too often placed either in the cellar part of the house or close to the larder1 or1 in fact1 anywhere where they ought not to be4 ,now suppose we find the ordinary box of a pantry1 slip of a kitchen and scullery and larder1 how should we best circumvent this arrangement1 ,i wonder8 ,well1 first we can tackle the landlord1 who1 if he have money at all3 and an impecunious landlord is a deadly and desperate thing to possess1 and should be most carefully avoided3 will be glad to do as we want for an extra rent at the rate of #e per cent on whatever outlay he can make4 ,we should get him to build out a servant's sitting-room1 and enlarge the pantry and scullery1 and to put above the erection a servant's bath and lavatory arrangement4 ,this could be done for about #ajj and the extra #e on the rent would hardly be felt1 while the comfort obtained thereby would far and away compensate for the outlay4 ,if the landlord be obdurate1 the only thing to do is to buy for ourselves one of ,humphreys' moveable iron buildings1 and have it adapted for our purposes4 ,in this case we can only1 ,i fear1 manage the servants' sitting-room and extra accommodation for glass1 china and washing-up1 and we shall have to put the room door just apart from the house1 though1 of course1 a very short passage could be erected4 ,but before anything is done1 care should be taken to ascertain the rules and regulations respecting the erecting of buildings in the special locality1 as all seem to me to differ2 and1 indeed1 in some there are none at all4 ,yet1 in any case this is a thing to be ascertained definitely1 for ,i have known a ,local ,board step in and formally order the removal of a beautiful and pet conservatory1 because the builder had innocently infringed some bye-law in its construction1 and had not obtained the sanction of the authorities to the plans of the structure before erection was commenced4 ,if neither the landlord nor ,humphreys can come to the rescue1 ,i am going to advocate a step which will be nothing short of anarchy and revolution in the eyes of any old-fashioned person1 for ,i am about to suggest that1 in these desperate straits1 the usual third room should be handed over to the maids to sit in1 while we can keep it in a measure in our own hands too1 by erecting our store-cupboards there1 and extra shelves for glass and china4 ,but if we do1 we must not be always pouncing in and out on the maids1 but must give out everything for the day's use before ten o'clock1 after which we should never go there unless actually obliged1 for nothing is so detestable as a room into which anyone can go at any moment1 and where the maids can never feel they are safe from eternal supervision4 ,if the door of this third room opens straight on the hall1 and if another can be made to open into the kitchen premises--and this is often the case--it would be well to permanently close the first and have the second made4 ,the original door need be only bolted or locked inside1 and covered with a curtain1 while it is not either difficult or expensive to contrive another exit1 for a hole is easily knocked in an ordinary suburban wall1 and a door frame and door added4 ,and ,i venture to prophesy if this is done1 that there will be a reign of peace in the kitchen department unprecedented in the annals of most houses1 because servants will usually stay where they are comfortable1 and where they feel they are considered1 and their health and happiness are both thought about4 ,i know quite well that in their own homes and in the houses they come from1 they have no real privacy at all2 but ,i also know that most maids leave such homes at too early an age to recollect half1 or1 indeed1 to realise half1 of the miseries they are called upon to bear there1 and they very easily forget the past1 and only really comprehend the present and its possibilities2 besides which1 a maid goes away from her home to #8better herself4' ,were she content with semi-starvation and over-crowding1 she would remain there1 or enter on the desperate existence of a factory hand or a home worker4 ,the fact that she wishes for more comfort1 for more human surroundings1 sends her into domestic service2 and if that comfort and those surroundings were forthcoming1 servants would be far more plentiful than they are at present1 and would likewise come of a far better and much more honourable and pleasant class4 ,the first step then is1 undoubtedly1 to secure something in the shape of #8the room1' as the servants' hall is called in more ambitious households1 and the second is to see that it is decently arranged and is sacred to the maids for a certain portion of the day1 and most certainly for all the evening4 ,i say a certain portion of the day1 because1 in small establishments1 it is possible that the mistress may have little jobs of finer cooking1 of plate-cleaning1 or even dressmaking to do that she cannot well manage in the one sitting-room which would be her portion when the third room is given up to the maids4 ,if this be the case1 the establishment will naturally be so small that the maids will be too much occupied all the mornings to be able to use it1 so that until #ab4cj it could remain in the mistress's possession2 but after that hour she must never enter it4 ,just as in a larger house and with more maids1 the hour of ten must see her out of the kitchen1 that part of her work being completed then for the rest of the day4 ,almost the first things a housemistress should ascertain about her house are the position and number of the pipes which are part and parcel of the water supply1 as1 unless this is ascertained1 and she is able to possess herself of a species of sketch-map of them1 she will not be able to know how to manage should the usual winter arrive in all its strength1 and the water become frozen in the pipes in a manner that should never1 for one moment even1 be allowed4 ,as a rule1 our winters are not very long or very severe2 if they were we should1 no doubt1 be readier for them than we are now4 ,but we can always depend on a cold #8snap' or period during which our very unpreparedness lays us open to a thousand and one discomforts and dangers1 none of which need have been ours if we had had the common sense to recollect that we should have looked out for and prepared against a state of things that is as inevitable as it is undoubtedly most detestable and disagreeable4 ,the suburban builder1 as a rule1 has his ideas1 and his only1 on the subject of pipe laying4 ,one idea is1 so to imbed them in the walls of the house that we cannot get at them at all1 and another is to place them outside the house in the most exposed position possible1 where they are warranted to freeze on the first provocation1 unless we can take the matter into our own hands at once1 and either box them in1 filling in the space between the pipes and the boxes with sawdust1 which generally protects them for all time from the severest frost2 or1 at the approach of winter1 so swathe them in flannel rags and hay bands1 that frost cannot touch them1 not forgetting to treat in a similar manner the pipes in the tank room4 ,these should be our especial care1 for they are often the first to freeze1 and are the cause of many and many a detestable and untoward catastrophe4 ,the boiler in the suburban kitchen is generally one of two kinds1 and is either of the low-pressure order1 which has no system of circulating pipes1 or the high-pressure species1 which has and which requires more elaborate care than the former4 ,if the low-pressure boiler is the one in use1 and the frost is severe1 it is better to completely empty all the pipes in the house1 and to cut off the water supply to the house entirely1 drawing the water from a supply-cock fixed just before the water enters the house1 whence it can be obtained by hand as required4 ,of course this adds a great deal to the work1 but it means safety1 for when the boiler is kept well filled it cannot burst1 neither can pipes freeze if there be no water in them to bring about this very disagreeable state of things4 ,a low-pressure boiler having a lid that comes off1 can always be hand-filled easily1 while cans of water must be placed wherever one is accustomed to use water freely2 and though baths may be curtailed and work increased1 no damage or danger can ensue4 ,therefore the moment a frost sets in1 cut off the water from the house1 and rely entirely on the hand-filling of the boiler for all domestic purposes4 ,if the boiler is a high-pressure one1 we must be very vigilant from the first moment a frost appears1 while we must be ready for it long before it really arrives4 ,the first thing to see is that this boiler is supplied with a safety-valve and a supply-cock2 and the second thing to do is to have the principles on which the safety-valve is constructed so explained to us by the man who supplies it1 that we shall always be able to ascertain in a moment if it is in working order1 or if it is not4 ,for safety-valves are possessed of a demon habit of being out of order when they are least expected to be1 and we may be priding ourselves on the fact that we have one1 and are therefore quite safe1 when the wretched thing may be refusing to work1 and we may be on the very brink of the catastrophe we have intended it to avoid for us4 ,safety-valves differ so very much that it would be impossible to describe here how a house-mistress can ascertain if her own special valve is all right or all wrong4 ,the only thing she can do is to have written instructions from the man who supplies it4 ,these instructions1 the plan of the pipes and special rules about what to do in a severe frost1 should be in a small book kept among the housekeeping books1 and easily get-at-able in case the frost should occur when the mistress was away from home1 or if she were ill or in any way unable to attend to it herself4 ,if the supply pipes cannot be got at and protected from the frost as a whole1 it is best1 once the tanks in the roof are full1 to cut off the supply entirely from the main4 ,in this case the local authorities must be communicated with1 and the tanks filled by the ,local ,board by means of a stand-pipe1 and great care must be taken both to see the tanks are kept full1 and that the pipe between the hot and cold water tanks is kept free from frost4 ,if by any chance the worst comes to the worst1 and danger is ahead1 the safety-valve will show it by blowing off steam2 then out with your fire at once1 dear reader2 you are done for1 and must remain kitchen-fireless until a beneficent thaw sets in4 ,in the meantime a second stove in the scullery will prevent you from being foodless1 and though hot water may be scarce and comfort little1 you will at anyrate be safe1 and as the maids have their little sitting-room they won't be frozen in the kitchen or thawed in the scullery1 as they most undoubtedly would otherwise have been4 ,of course1 if we have our pipes properly protected1 and there is no warning from the safety-valve1 and water flows freely from the boiler-taps1 we are all right4 ,in this case it is best never to allow the kitchen fire to go out1 but last thing at night to bank it up with ashes and briquettes1 and so ensure its burning without stopping4 ,of course it should be protected by a guard1 and no kindling wood must on any account be placed to dry either in the ovens or on the hot plates by the side4 ,in the morning the fire should be thoroughly raked out1 and set going again in the usual way4 ,unless this is done1 the fire will not be good enough for cooking3 it will be a caked mass1 which will not ensure the cook's manufactures being the success they should be2 therefore1 in giving our instructions1 great stress should be laid on the real necessity that undoubtedly exists for a rebuilding and relighting of the fire for the new day4 ,sometimes there are odd lengths of pipes that we cannot protect1 and which only supply certain single taps4 ,in this case stop-cocks should be fixed in them in such a way as to prevent the water entering them1 and these should be used in the frost4 ,then these special pipes can be kept waterless without disturbing the whole internal economy of the house as regards the water supply4 ,of course ,i am not writing in any measure about the proper arrangements of the water pipes4 ,i am only advising the ordinary suburban residents how to save misfortune1 and a ruinous plumbers'1 and very likely a decorators'1 bill too1 should the winter be as one usually finds it in ,england1 where the spells of frost--undoubtedly short as they are--undoubtedly make people indifferent and happy-go-lucky about their preparations for hard weather4 ,but given the unexpected in the shape of real cold1 and what occurs8 ,boilers burst and kill and maim people freely1 and the moment a thaw comes1 the plumbers are besieged by those whose pipes are pouring torrents of water down the walls and the front staircase1 while carpets and furniture are spoiled1 and everyone's health suffers because the smallest precautions have not been taken to ensure the house against an entirely preventible state of things4 ,then there is one great thing to recollect1 and that is1 that after a frost one must flush most lavishly all the drains and sinks1 and1 moreover1 during the frost we must keep ample disinfectants ready and in use in every place where they can possibly be needed4 ,i always put ,sanitas down the bath and the housemaid's sink too1 because soapy water decays and causes very unpleasant smells1 while1 of course1 ,sanitas should be liberally poured down every other place in use4 ,then when the thaw comes1 let the water run freely for at least an hour a day for the first three days down each drain1 flushing first with hot water and a liberal supply of disinfectants2 for if these precautions are taken1 we shall not want the doctor1 a gentleman whose visits too often follow a thaw with a regularity far more pleasing to him1 maybe1 than they can be to us1 even if we are as fond of him as people usually manage to become of the family doctor4 ,i may seem to have dwelt unduly on the great pipe question1 but the long frost of the early part of #ahie showed me most emphatically that there was great need to instruct the ordinary householder in the suburbs and in small town houses about this unpoetical but most necessary subject4 ,no less than three boilers burst in one week in the place where ,i was then staying2 one resulted in the death of the servant and total blindness for the only child of the house2 one in the death of three children1 while the third maimed the cook for life4 ,of the destruction to property ,i need say nothing2 but when we reflect that all these accidents were absolutely preventable1 and were entirely due to crass ignorance on the part of both mistresses and maids1 we will1 ,i think1 come to the conclusion that the first duty of woman is to know her pipes1 the position thereof1 and the manner of her water supply2 while the second is to be ready to act for the best the moment frost appears1 and so render bursting boilers and pipes the impossibilities they both can be made in the most faultily-constructed suburban residences1 if only the dwellers therein have their heads screwed on the right way1 and are prepared for any real emergency4 ,in any case1 it is well always to have some means of cooking1 which shall be available should we be1 for one cause or the other1 unable to use the range1 which1 by the way1 should1 if we can in any way afford it1 be the #8,eagle1' for at present1 at all events1 no better one has been invented4 ,if possible1 there should be a small open grate and the little side low-pressure boiler which can always be hand-filled2 in the scullery or even in the maid's sitting-room2 but if either is impossible1 we must be possessed of means of cooking by gas1 so that we shall not be left entirely helpless should the frost seize on our pipes before we are ready1 or should it be necessary to sweep the kitchen chimney or repair the kitchen range4 ,if1 however1 we have a gas stove1 the supply of gas should not be left to the discretion of the maids1 but should only be get-at-able when it is legitimate to use it4 ,unless the mistress herself can turn on and off the gas1 and keep it off when it should not be used1 the waste and expense will be enormous4 ,there are certain things #8the very best' maids are always reckless with1 e4g41 gas1 potatoes1 bread2 and kindling wood and matches2 small items to fuss about1 no doubt1 but small things are what add up and become terrors4 ,one expects the big ones somehow1 but the tiny odds and ends1 that seem nothing separately1 are what swell the weekly bills when they are added up1 and therefore should be more thought about than they are in the usual suburban household4 ,the pipes and the kitchen itself once settled about1 the next steps to take are towards proper ventilation and draught exclusion4 ,one cannot ventilate with a draught1 yet how few people realise this2 if they did1 colds would go quite out of fashion and everyone would be much happier than at the present moment4 ,as a rule one door in the orthodox kitchen opens straight on the open air1 and here the tradespeople come and linger while waiting about for the orders which should never be called for except under special stress of circumstances4 ,if this be the case1 what would it cost to add a simple porch and side-door8 not much above #bj1 yet what a difference would it make in the comfort of the kitchen4 ,if1 however1 this outlay is impossible1 a large1 oil-cloth-covered screen should be placed round the door in such a way that one side of it is put by the side of the door which opens1 and the door is reached from the other side of the screen1 which is only pushed on one side to answer the bell1 and replaced as soon as possible4 ,this breaks the draught even if it can't exclude it1 while the maids' health and the consumption of coals both considerably benefit by such an arrangement4 ,more ,slater's patent draught-excluder should be put round doors and all windows1 and ventilation should be secured by a round ventilator put in the top part of the window1 and another in the top part of an outer wall2 these ventilators can always be closed1 but when cooking is in progress or gas is burning1 and for at least an hour after the meals are cooked1 they should remain open and so ensure that the air in the kitchen should be always pure and fresh4 ,the larder should be ventilated in the same way1 and any windows should be covered with very fine wire-netting on the side they do not open--outside1 if they are the ordinary small sash windows1 inside1 should they push outwards on an iron support--to prevent cats1 dogs and small animals of any kind from entering1 while great care should be taken to see that the larder is damp-proof4 ,nothing keeps in a damp larder1 and1 therefore if it should be damp it is utterly useless to try and put meat1 bread and butter there4 ,in any case if one has not tiles1 and ,i never yet met with the suburban larder that had1 the walls should be painted from top to bottom1 first with ,chambers's damp-resisting fluid1 and then with a couple of coats of ,aspinall's enamel paint in a shade of ivory white4 ,no one should permit the decorator to talk him or her out of using this most invaluable preparation1 for nothing ,i can assure my readers1 can take its place4 ,i have had eight years' constant experience of it4 ,i have had many years' experience of the ordinary paint1 and ,i confidently say that it and ,aspinall are not to be mentioned together in any shape or form1 therefore everyone should insist on its use4 ,the decorator ,i fancy does not get quite as much profit on it as on the ordinary paint1 and it is more trouble to apply ,i know1 and these perhaps are his reasons for his undoubted dislike to it2 but if my readers are wise1 they will insist on ,aspinall1 especially where damp has to be considered1 and where a good surface and uniform colouring are in request4 ,the larder should have one wide shelf1 and in one corner should be a safe for meat1 and poultry1 with very fine wire-netting all round4 ,this should be able to be moved and hung out in a shady corner in the garden in the summer if the larder should be warm at all1 or else hung in the cellar if there be no garden4 ,here too should be placed the refrigerator1 without which no house is complete1 and which soon saves its own cost1 in the manner it allows one to keep one's provisions sweet1 and one's milk right1 and one's butter from running away1 as it otherwise does at the smallest amount of heat4 ,the larder floor should be tiled1 if not it must be #8gone over' every day with a mop dipped in ,sanitas and water to take up the dust and make it fresh and clean2 then the food should be nicely arranged for the mistress's visit of inspection1 while once a week the larder must be thoroughly scrubbed out1 shelf and all1 the shelf being washed over with a damp duster daily1 when the floor is done over with the ever-useful mop4 ,the same treatment should be given to the scullery1 where the sinks should be flushed daily1 and which should never be without their big lump of soda in one corner to prevent the grease accumulating4 ,the kitchen floor should be simply boarded2 if only used to cook in1 it should have merely one or two large squares of oilcloth or cocoa-nut matting by the stove1 kitchen table1 or where the cook and kitchen-maid stand to work1 and the furniture should resolve itself into a couple of good tables1 one the ordinary kitchen table1 the other much on the same lines but smaller1 and placed close to the window1 to be used for pastry making and the finer parts of cooking1 and which should both be scrubbed daily1 and on which grease should never be allowed to remain for one minute4 ,a couple of ordinary kitchen chairs and the dresser should complete the plenishing4 ,the dresser drawers should be inspected once a week1 to see there are no accumulations of rubbish there1 and that all is in order4 ,the dresser must never be used as private property by the maids1 else will it become a species of glory hole1 filled to the brim with unmended stockings1 old dusters1 paper and string1 and odds and ends1 which ought not to be tolerated there1 or1 indeed anywhere else for five minutes by anyone4 ,if the furniture is as severely simple as ,i have described above1 the kitchen resolves itself into what it should undoubtedly be1 merely a place to cook in1 and in which to prepare the meals4 ,in this case the walls should be painted from ceiling to floor with a shade of electric turquoise enamel1 or else in one shade of the blue to about #d feet from the floor1 the rest of the wall being painted a soft shade of brown4 ,this should include the doors and window-sashes1 and the one paint should be divided from the other by a wide band of brown stenciling on the blue surface of the wall4 ,the ceiling should be whitewashed1 as should be the ceilings in all kitchen premises1 and the kitchen should be lighted with a good centre gaslight with a couple of burners4 ,a bracket arm for gas should be on one side of the fire1 to use while cooking was going on on very dark days1 or when special cooking was going forward2 and there should be one gas light in the larder4 ,these lights should be protected with the proper wire-globes sold by most ironmongers4 ,gas globes are soon smashed in the kitchen1 and they are not really safe when they are on moveable brackets or pendants1 as they all too often are in these parts of a house4 ,the pantry should be treated in the same way as the kitchen as regards decoration1 and should only have mats on the floor1 and no fixed covering there at all4 ,only the china1 glass and silver in use should be kept in this room1 the latter1 if valuable1 only in the day time1 and even then in a small locked safe4 ,if the pantry should be large1 the extra glass and china can be kept there in locked cupboards1 accessible to none but the mistress4 ,here in the ordinary ship's cabin provided by the suburban builder1 the #8fitment' style of cupboard is most useful4 ,as a rule the maid only wants room enough to stand or sit by her sink to wash up and clean the daily silver1 and so the tiny space can be almost filled with cupboards2 and here is an excellent place for the stores and jam-closet3 the ordinary suburban resident if wise1 getting in her stores once a week from ,shoolbred1 and not dealing with the local grocer1 who1 all too often extracts orders from the maids when none should be forthcoming4 ,if there really is no room here for them1 cupboards must be erected in the maid's room1 whether it be that vexed third room or another4 ,somewhere there must be a store-cupboard1 properly regulated and properly looked after by the mistress herself1 and no one else at all2 otherwise1 that way most undoubtedly lie bankruptcy and disorganisation1 often enough one and the same thing4 ,the maids' sitting-room should be papered with some pretty1 light paper1 and should have either a dado of cupboards and shelves in the fitment style1 or else a real dado of plain1 self-coloured oilcloth1 which can be wiped over with a damp duster daily4 ,this and the paint could once more be brown1 as could the dado-rail4 ,the ceiling must be whitewashed4 ,there should be a nice table for meals and work1 six ordinary ,windsor chairs1 and a couple of comfortable basket chairs1 with hard-wearing1 tapestry-covered cushions4 ,these should be considered the property of the elder servants1 if four are kept2 but1 of course1 if the housemaid is of #8staid' age1 and careful she could have a nice chair too4 ,i think the ordinary kitchen chair a cruel thing1 except for use at meals1 and see no reason why the maids should be condemned to its use and nothing else1 when1 surely their backs must ache sometimes as well as the backs of other far less employed women undoubtedly do4 ,the grate must be a slow-combustion one1 and1 unless the mistress uses the room need not be lighted1 save in very severe weather1 before one o'clock1 when it should be lighted from the top and allowed to burn slowly down1 and kept going with briquettes and small coal judiciously mingled with a little larger coal4 ,the curtains should be of the dark blue and white butterfly cretonne ,liberty sells1 and which should be in universal use wherever much washing is to be expected1 for it washes splendidly1 and never seems to wear out4 ,i have still a couple of cretonne covers ,i had quite thirteen years ago4 ,the floors should either be stained or else covered with plain cork carpet1 supplemented with small rugs here and there1 or else with a square of cocoa-nut matting4 ,but ,i like rugs best2 they are so easily taken up and shaken1 and dust is kept at bay as long as this is done4 ,i am very much inclined to say1 do not have gas here1 yet ,i fear unless we have plenty of help we must1 or the lamps1 inevitable in the sitting-room1 will become too numerous for our staff4 ,at the same time1 ,i do very strongly recommend a good duplex lamp from the centre of the ceiling if it can be managed4 ,servants are reckless of gas4 ,they are not so fond of lighting the lamps as they are of setting a light to the gas4 ,in the first place1 it is more trouble2 in the second1 they know that if they light them too soon they will have to re-trim and re-fill them before the evening is out4 ,but if a lamp is procured1 it must be a good one4 ,it must have a metal receiver1 and it must have a clear glass shade4 ,silk or stuff shades are out of place1 and very dark always ,i think2 in such a room as this they would be ridiculous1 and most likely dangerous4 ,this room is in the care of the kitchen-maid too1 though1 if there are books1 pictures and ornaments1 as there should be1 the housemaid should take a pride in dusting them and keeping them in order1 and should see that the rougher parts of the cleaning are properly performed4 ,as the mistress will use this room for a short while in any case1 she can always see that ruin has not begun among the furniture and decorations2 for whether it is provided by the builder1 or whether she supplement the accommodation of the house herself as advised before1 she should always have one store-cupboard here1 whence she could give out the things for the day's use4 ,she can then supervise without spying2 for once tacitly allow that a room in one's own house cannot be entered save on sufferance 7mind1 ,i don't say frequented67 it is easier to storm an enemy's citadel successfully than gain an entry into that special chamber without more friction than anyone who has not tried a similar situation could well believe4 ,one word more4 ,in frosty weather gas and fires should not be stinted4 ,the gas should be burned steadily in the scullery1 pantry and lavatories1 to prevent any chance of the water therein freezing4 ,this may save a great deal2 but1 of course1 if the pipes have frozen1 one can only accept the situation and wait for a thaw4 ,but that they need never do this1 ,i trust ,i have demonstrated in a manner that should be patent to the least imaginative housewife in the world4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,dining-,,rooms ,the suburban rooms ,i myself have personally encountered and conquered have been so truly terrible that1 when ,i look back upon my struggles with them1 ,i can only wonder that ,i have survived them in the least degree4 ,for not only were they either unduly hideous or over-ornamented in a manner that would strike awe into the boldest soul1 but every window and door gaped wide apart1 and were with the fireplaces1 put just where they ought not to be1 while in one or two cases the floors had to be relaid and the doors bodily moved round before the rooms were even habitable4 ,i could only wonder whether the folks who had lived in some of them before 7two or three were quite new1 and these were1 save in one instance1 the worst of the lot7 had escaped with their lives1 or whether they had all gone away crippled in health and in temper1 on a voyage of discovery to some better and more suitably-designed1 eligible villa residence4 ,the first room ,i ever approached with an eye to decoration appeared to be everything it ought to be1 and seemed simply perfect4 ,it was large and lofty1 had two wide and beautiful windows1 and a good1 deep fireplace and an excellent floor2 but alas6 ,i was not as wise then as ,i am now1 for my only acquaintance with houses was confined to two family houses1 in which ,i had lived all my life1 and which were properly built1 whatever their other faults might have been3 and1 in consequence1 my sufferings during the first month in that special dining-room were so acute that ,i have never forgotten one of the numerous pangs and torments ,i endured3 silently1 it is true1 because then ,i thought them inevitable1 and it is never any use grumbling against things which must be borne6 ,but presently sense awoke in my brain1 and ,i saw that nothing which had caused me such woe need be put up with any longer1 and ,i verily believe the knowledge ,i have since developed on the score of house-furnishing and decoration first became mine in that special house1 for ,i was roused to the fight with cold and discomfort inseparable from a quiescent residence in a suburban house1 and soon discovered cold could be expelled did one rise to the occasion and determine that1 somehow or other1 one would conquer1 and no longer play the ignoramus or the very painful rle of the conquered4 ,in the first place1 the door opened straight on the fireplace1 and as the front door--a frail thing of boards and sham stained glass--was about #f feet away from it1 the cold air rushed in the instant it was opened1 and the heat of the fire flew mainly up the chimney1 insuring that the rest of the room should be more like ,siberia than any other spot4 ,and in the second1 the windows need not have been glazed at all so little did they keep out the outside atmosphere1 notwithstanding the curtains which liberally adorned them1 and which used to wave right out into the room at the very smallest approach of a breeze4 ,when there was any amount of real wind1 the room wasn't a room any longer1 it was one and the same thing as being in the garden1 and anyone can easily understand how pleasant it was to come down to breakfast there with a roaring fire going up the chimney and a north or east wind playfully careering around the table1 which1 place it how we might1 could never be in anything save a thorough draught4 ,the first thing to do was to transpose the door1 and make it open with its back to the grate4 ,then it had to be surrounded with the ever-useful #8,slater's patent'2 and1 as it opened into the room1 a species of shelter was arranged behind it1 while a curtain was hung on it--on one of the rods which open and shut with the door--and a pair of curtains put outside it4 ,these hung straight down in good heavy folds when we were alone and there was not very much going in and out2 and1 as we had a #8hatch' into the kitchen1 there never was much2 but on #8dinner-party nights' the curtains were tied back1 and so did not interfere with the coming and going1 as a single undraped curtain always must interfere either more or less4 ,then attention was turned to the windows1 and these were surrounded by more #8,slater's patent1' which was liberally supplemented by putty1 because the frames began to shrink away from the glass in a truly hideous manner1 and1 in consequence1 there were two gaps1 one there1 and one where the frames were supposed to fit into the woodwork round the walls4 ,the woodwork1 in its turn1 shrank from the brickwork1 and the space had to be filled in with mortar and then painted over4 ,now this special house was not a regulation #fj-;a-year villa1 but was rented #afj1 and had a fair garden and good stabling1 and was altogether what may be termed a #8residence for a gentleman's family2' nay1 even by some house-agents1 #8a mansion1' because it had a second staircase2 yet such is the material used in the suburbs6 ,i repeat1 this special house was a good specimen of the kind1 and was not1 as might be imagined1 a #8fearful example' or an isolated case1 so ,i leave my readers to imagine what the less-expensive buildings can be like1 even when they can truly be advertised as possessing tiled hearths1 electric bells and all the latest improvements1 including a fixed bath1 hot and cold water laid on2 and other items familiar to those who have gone on heart-breaking journeys in search of a house1 liberally supplied with a sheaf of pink and fallacious orders from a house agent4 ,in fact1 before the dining-room was livable in1 we had to almost reconstruct the windows and doors2 and ,i only regret that my improvements did not then rise to putting in a proper grate1 for ,i am sure1 if ,i had done so1 the conquest of the room would have been complete4 ,but unfortunately ,i did not realise the horrors of it until all the decorations were done and we had settled in1 and then expense barred the way2 not only the expense of the new grate3 that would have been saved in the difference in our winter's consumption of coal3 but the cost of replacing the ,japanese leather dado1 which could not be matched1 and1 in consequence1 would have had to be renewed entirely1 because the grate and mantelpiece could not have been moved without spoiling at least a yard of it on each side of the fireplace4 ,a new grate without a new mantel was also impossible1 because the moulded mantelpiece1 being round above the grate1 was not available for the slow-combustion stoves1 which are always made square4 ,everyone should refuse to own a round mantelpiece1 because of the impossibility of adapting such a possession to the proper and only really useful grate4 ,if1 by the way1 ,japanese leather paper is used for the dining-room dado1 or indeed anywhere for any dado or frieze1 an extra piece should always be purchased at the same time1 and kept carefully in some dry place1 and indeed an extra piece of all wall papers should be secured4 ,japanese paper particularly can never be matched4 ,i do not think1 in all my large experience1 ,i have ever come across a second consignment of a pattern ,i have seen before2 therefore it is easy to see how necessary it is to secure more than one requires at first1 else1 should an accident occur1 or as in my own case1 an improvement be contemplated1 one either has to leave the accident unrepaired or the improvement undone1 because one cannot afford to replace perhaps #bd yards1 when a couple at most is all that one really requires4 ,i have remarked before that in a new house it is absolutely imperative to have large fires going before we begin our decorations1 but it is such a necessary thing to do that ,i must repeat the hint once more1 for only after a succession of fires can we see whether the boards and window frames mean to shrink1 and if they do we must apply our means of alleviation before we begin to paper and paint4 ,at the same time1 we may take it for granted that1 try how we may to ascertain them1 we shall not find out the real faults and real virtues of a house until we have lived in it1 just as we never know our friends really until we have stayed with them or they have stayed with us4 ,but for all that1 ,slater's patent putty1 and curtains will help us immensely1 and more especially if we adapt ourselves to the house a little1 and realise1 for example1 that the head of the table can be just where we like to make it1 and need not be exactly between the door and window with the fire at the back1 because the orthodox dinner-table seems able to stand in no other position4 ,now ,i maintain that no one should ever buy the regulation long dinner-table1 and that happiness and comfort1 to say nothing of beauty1 are much more likely to be found at one that is round or oval than at one that has the usual ,british head and foot4 ,if it be round1 the master of the house sits naturally where his place is put for him1 but if not he as naturally gravitates towards the head1 regardless of the fact that his back is scorched and he feels ill and uncomfortable1 the while his feet and hands are in ,siberia1 and an icy blast plays about his head because the door opens straight on him1 and in consequence he cannot get out of the range of the bitter wind from the passage or hall1 try how he may to exclude it from the room4 ,talk about heredity how one will1 and disguise if we dare its dreadful tyranny if we are sufficiently ignorant on the subject to do so with proper complacency1 still ,i venture to remark that the dogma is proved to the hilt every day4 ,an ordinary ,english family takes possession of the miserable hulks most of our houses are1 and settles down without a struggle against them1 to patiently endure the preventable miseries inseparable therefrom4 ,there is no real need for any man to sit at the head of a dining-table1 generally twice too long1 too1 for everyday needs4 ,the side would be far more comfortable1 far more common-sense in every way1 but because the male of the house has always taken his seat in that special position1 perhaps at the commencement of the family in a castle the walls of which were #c feet thick1 the present day man does the same and remains there1 although he grumbles all the time and #8wishes to goodness' some way might be found by which he could be insured from being starved with cold or fried to death1 or indeed often enough both at the same time4 ,therefore is it well to have a round table1 for anywhere there can be the head or the foot1 and the man at once accepts the new position1 without demur2 but given the ordinary table1 nothing will move him1 argue as we will and demonstrate as we may how infinitely better1 in every possible manner1 another seat would be for him4 ,of course1 if the house be accepted as it is1 nothing can ever make it nice1 be sure of that4 ,if it be wind and water-tight1 and that is a rare experience1 the so-called decorations will either be terrible1 or else will #8swear' continually at the belongings we bring to put amidst them4 ,lucky is the woman who finds dirty paint and torn and smudged papers and who does not come across an obstinate landlord and a #8newly-decorated house4' ,if she does and she possesses an ordinary husband who thinks anything does so long as it is clean and tidy1 she should flatly refuse to enter it1 for if she has artistic taste her life henceforward will be nothing but misery2 for1 absurd as it may seem1 real pain and discomfort are given by ugly or incongruous belongings2 and ,i venture to state boldly that people would be much happier did they own and realise this fact1 and give over priding themselves on #8rising above their surroundings1' a thing no one possessed of the smallest eye for colour or form was ever really able to do4 ,superior folk always tell us we can1 just as they say we ought not to be influenced by the weather1 yet #8ought' doesn't come into the matter at all4 ,maybe we ought not1 but then we ought not to be ill or grow old1 or be irritable1 or anything but severely virtuous and good in every rle we have to play during life1 but all these things are or are not4 ,what they and we ought to be or to do is quite another matter1 as anyone with a grain of sense will1 ,i think1 admit4 ,illustration3 ,,dining-,,room ,,at ,,wayside4 ,when1 therefore1 we have duly circumvented the draughts and dangers which await us in the ordinary suburban house1 the next thing we have to consider is either how to paint and paper and furnish1 or how to decorate to suit the goods we may already possess4 ,if we have already got our furniture1 the paint and paper must be bought with an eye to those4 ,yet as a rule it is so easy to re-cover dining-room furniture that no one should be debarred from having a pretty room because they have ugly seats to their chairs1 or own perchance a set of frightful curtains4 ,i am no advocate for cheap materials1 which appeal to a #8threepenny public1' and scarcely last until they are made up1 such fleeting joys are they3 but ,i unhesitatingly say that1 given the choice between ruby velvet and ,wallace's old gold diamond serge1 or pale blue #8,tanjore cloth' from ,shoolbred1 the ruby velvet may depart as far as ,i am concerned1 and ,i should put up the other colour in the cheap material1 knowing full well that the beautiful colour would always delight me1 while the velvet would disgust me every time that ,i entered the room4 ,the same remark applies to the carpet4 ,if it be #8handsome1' generally another word for something too hideous for words1 put it into the next sale that is handy4 ,somehow #8handsome carpets1' always fetch splendid prices at sales1 where even good furniture is almost given away4 ,then buy one of the many charming carpets ,smee ,cobay1 or ,wallace1 or ,hewetson sell1 according to taste and means2 remembering that all carpets are merely backgrounds to the furniture1 and should never attract attention to themselves in any way4 ,one very soon tires of a pattern1 an obtrusive pattern that is to say1 while one never can tire of soft shades of the same colour1 or else of the excellent #8drawing-room' ,turkey carpets or ,bokhara carpets1 sold by ,bartholomew ,fletcher and ,shoolbred1 which suit almost any room1 and fit in with any style of decoration4 ,if1 in removing to a new house1 the mistress has to consider her furniture and curtains and carpet1 she must look at them carefully before she begins her instructions to the decorator4 ,suppose for example she has a big sideboard1 ten or twelve walnut or oak chairs1 with shabby leather seats1 an orthodox table1 and perhaps a writing-table1 she will1 as a rule1 come to the end of her impedimenta4 ,her first endeavour should be to get whoever may be coming into her house to take curtains and carpets at a valuation2 her second to put them in a sale2 then she can proceed joyfully1 spending the proceeds on new ones1 which may be much simpler1 but will be much more artistic1 and so much more satisfactory to live with in every way4 ,if however she has a pretty carpet and curtains1 and they will not quite adapt themselves to the room1 what is she to do8 ,in the first place if the carpet is too large it is best to return it1 if possible1 to the shop where it was bought to be re-made into a square1 and edged with a nice woollen fringe1 if1 indeed it was not born square as all carpets should be1 and furnished with a good border4 ,the worn parts are thus eliminated but should be carefully kept for mending purposes4 ,in the second place1 if it is too small and cannot be matched1 it should be surrounded by matting1 staining1 or plain brown cork carpet according to the state of the boards1 and should be supplemented by a large ,eastern rug in the windows or by the fire unless the carpet is too small or too frankly ,british for such treatment4 ,in that case it must be sold or relegated to another room4 ,unless this is done the result of any manuvres which may be made with it can only result in abject and total failure4 ,if the carpet be available and be of the new kind of ,turkey carpet1 it is well to have a good yellow and brown scheme for one's decoration2 and1 in any case we must have some kind of a dado and that must be sought after very carefully1 for sometimes one can come across a real bargain in oak panelling1 to be sought for with most chances of success at ,hewetson's and at ,bartholomew ,fletcher's2 while ,godfrey ,giles' #8goehring' and #8,glastonbury' dados are inexpensive and really good and what they are meant to be4 ,personally ,i am devoted still to ,japanese leather paper1 and these are all the materials ,i really care about for a dining-room dado1 though anaglypta is not to be despised4 ,at the same time it is generally #as4 a yard unpainted and one can get for the same price a good ,japanese leather which does not require painting1 so there is no reason for choosing the one in preference to the other4 ,a gold and brown leather paper dado should be the first thing to procure1 either at ,liberty's or ,knowles'4 ,sometimes one has it1 sometimes the other2 it's all a matter of #8consignments' after all1 and knowing where to search for what one requires4 ,then all the paint everywhere must be #8tea-pot' or #8earth-brown1' while above the dado should be either a vivid yellow paper1 an orange1 or a soft brown1 according to the aspect of the room itself4 ,orange and yellow look best in a sunless chamber1 and a really soft brown1 something like the palest shade of chocolate1 or the deepest of caf-au-lait1 harmonises best with sunshine that pours into the room from the first thing in the morning until late in the afternoon4 ,then attention should be turned to the chairs1 and if expense bars them from being re-covered in soft brown leather1 and take my word for it1 there's #8nothing like leather' where dining-room chairs are concerned1 we can either fall back on #8,pantasote1' a species of crocodile-looking material sold by any upholsterer1 or we can use stamped and ribbed velveteen from ,shoolbred1 or ,wallace's fris velvet in golden brown1 which will transform the chairs at once1 and bring them into harmony with their surroundings1 the while new yellow diamond serge curtains are hung1 and a diamond serge tablecloth1 with a darker velveteen or fris velvet border laid on is placed on the table4 ,if the awful sideboard must be kept1 we must make it as bearable as we can by placing a coarse linen and ,greek lace cloth on it which exactly fits the top1 and just1 and only just1 hangs over the edge4 ,we can keep three plants there when the sideboard is not in use at meal-times1 but should1 as a matter of course1 allow nothing whatever in the way of plate and dinner-table accessories to spoil the appearance of the room4 ,such a room would be quite simple1 quite inexpensive1 yet always a joy to live in1 especially if the rules of plain paint1 ivory-coloured cornice and papered ceilings are adhered to here as elsewhere4 ,trifles these things may be1 but on trifles depend success in furnishing1 which never can be perfect if the smallest matter is passed over which is not quite what it ought to be merely because it is too #8trivial to matter4' ,there are about three different styles of windows in suburban residences1 and these are the bow1 the ordinary sash1 and what ,i call the #8,randolph ,caldecott' window2 and all these can be most successfully treated without using the abominable and expensive roller blind to which ,britons are so deeply1 so almost irrevocably attached4 ,we have less sunshine than almost any other nation under heaven1 yet we of all people cling to the useless and truly ugly window blind with a devotion worthy of a nobler cause4 ,still ,i have hopes that constant preaching may do something1 and that in time we may realise the fact that nothing but outside blinds are of the smallest use in really hot weather1 and that curtains are meant to draw1 and that should they fail to be anything save melancholy wisps at the end of an expanse of glass1 they are not only useless but absolutely ridiculous in the eyes of any artistic person4 ,the ordinary bow window1 if small has been so often written about that ,i really cannot think it necessary to dwell upon it again2 and is it not illustrated not only in ,from ,kitchen to ,garret1 now a respectable classic nine years old1 but in ,wallace's catalogue1 and ,smee ,cobay's1 and doubtless in others too8 ,but a larger one has not been illustrated that ,i know of1 and while the fundamental lines to go on should be those of the small window1 the material curtains should be long1 there should be no window-seat in the dining-room--unless there are a couple of windows and no third sitting-room--and the muslin curtains1 which are fixed on the window frames and take the place of blinds1 should be supplemented by four long muslin curtains1 frilled each side1 to go under the material curtains in the centre of the bow1 and two1 frilled one side only1 to go one each side at the end of the bow4 ,these curtains should be crossed at the top1 and held back high up with wide frilled bands of muslin similar to that used for the curtains4 ,as a rule ,h4 ,gorringe's spotted muslin sold ready frilled is the best material for this purpose1 but ,i am very fond of ,wallace's #8,guipure vitrage' for the curtains on the window4 ,if this be used1 the long curtains should be of ,guipure too1 taking care to have a double edge to the centre curtains1 and a single one to those which go at the end of the bow4 ,the ordinary sash window1 if short1 should be treated like the centre window of the small bow window1 but if it reaches from floor to ceiling it should have the double set of muslin curtains which ,i have just been writing about4 ,then we have only the ,caldecott windows to ,illustration deal with1 and these1 unless we are much overlooked1 should have one set of stout material curtains only4 ,as a rule these windows are divided into two parts1 the top filled in with stained glass and immovable1 the second plain glass and opening either straight out or straight into the room4 ,the rods for the material curtains should come below the stained glass1 and each curtain should be placed to go down the wooden part of the window frame only1 and each small curtain should be drawn to keep out the sun as required4 ,if muslin must be had in addition to the material1 it must1 should the window open out or into the room1 be fluted on a couple of rods1 which are placed top and bottom of the window itself4 ,but if the window open outwards frilled muslin curtains can be arranged on rods on the window frames1 to remain in place whether the window is open or shut1 an arrangement which is imperative should neighbours be close1 or at anyrate1 if we are provided with #8,caldecott' windows in our bedrooms4 ,i do not advise a window-seat unless we have two windows1 because no one should ever sit in the dining-room unless it is positively necessary to do so1 and1 moreover1 it is well to use the space for a writing-table and chair in any but a really large house1 and that is a place about which ,i am not writing at this moment4 ,here can the husband devote some of his time to household matters and letters of friendship when he is at home1 while if there is no third room the mistress can use the desk in the day-time1 albeit ,i trust she may have her own in the drawing-room1 that is1 if she cannot utilise some upstairs room1 although under no circumstances can ,i advise the stuffy and stupid muddle of so-called #8boudoir bedroom4' ,illustration ,now one word about the curtains which may possibly have to be used1 which may be artistic and pretty1 and yet may not quite fit the bow windows4 ,if they are too long and wide anyone can tackle them2 if they are too short it is easy to make them longer by adding as much holland at the top as is required1 and then covering that with an adaptation of ,mr ,ernest ,newton's turned-over draperies4 ,if the original curtain is a plain material1 as1 indeed1 all curtains should be1 the holland should be covered by a deep flounce edged with trellis fringe1 of some figured material1 either a good tapestry or my pet printed velveteen4 ,if the curtain be figured the turn-over drapery should be in plain ,bokhara plush or velveteen1 while cheap serge curtains can be lengthened by merely joining on more serge at the top1 and hiding the join with a narrow piece of ball-fringe merely tacked on4 ,if the curtains are too narrow1 they can be widened with a deep flounce or frill of soft ,surah silk1 or even sateen1 in some plain colour1 but these devices should only be resorted to if the curtains are really worth saving2 if not1 it is far better in every way to sell them1 or give them away--the ever-ravenous ,kilburn establishment is always open to such gifts--and purchase others1 which can not only fit the windows1 but at once allow us to have1 perhaps1 far more harmonious surroundings4 ,of course1 if we are in the heavenly position of having no old furniture1 and can set to work with a free hand1 and sufficient money to enjoy ourselves1 we can at once do just as we like4 ,but no6 even then we have to consider the special room and how best to circumvent its idiosyncrasies4 ,as a rule the door is on the same side as the fire-place1 or else exactly opposite it1 and we may have recesses on each side of the fire-place1 or we may have only an expanse of straight wall beyond the door1 and not a recess in the whole place4 ,this latter is the worse fate of the two4 ,the recesses can always be filled either with the charming buffets made both by ,smee ,cobay1 and ,wallace1 or by colourable copies of the same without backs1 made to fit the recesses1 which ,i do not advise1 save in cases where money is a great object3 then and then only such an arrangement could be allowed4 ,the shelves could be on brackets and the wall behind hidden by little sateen curtains1 sateen curtains replacing the doors in the cupboard part4 ,these shelves could ,illustration be made by any amateur carpenter and are in any case much better possessions than the dreary1 little1 badly-made sideboard one finds all too often in far too many suburban residences4 ,these sideboards are machine-made and are cheap and nasty1 generally coming to pieces after the first fires have been lighted and always smelling of varnish1 and looking more depressing than ,i can say4 ,if the wall be recessless1 and long and hopelessly flat1 we should have a good buffet-sideboard in the centre of the wall1 in either some good brown wood1 or else in my pet stained ,illustration green material with copper hinges and fixtures1 but with no looking-glass about it anywhere1 and with nooks and odd places generally for china and odds-and-ends4 ,then on one side of the fireplace should be the dinner wagon1 as illustrated1 made from my ideas by ,wallace4 ,the wood can be stained green1 and the tray is copper4 ,this is removable1 and allows the maid to carry out plates1 china1 etc4 without an effort1 thus very greatly simplifying the mysteries known as #8clearing away4' ,there should be about ten chairs in the ordinary dining-room and these could have stained green frames1 and either orange or bright red leather seats4 ,in this case the wall-paper should be real sealing-wax red and cream over a stained green dado1 or else real bright orange over the same kind of base to the wall4 ,if money is a great object the seats can be rush1 but leather should be managed if possible1 and the real orange or bright red are as novel as they are artistic and beautiful with the green furniture4 ,a soft green carpet with very little pattern on1 should be chosen1 and soft green curtains4 ,the other colour selected should be introduced at the top of the curtain in the turned-over top1 which should be of printed velveteen2 and if the rush-seated chairs are used1 a couple of arm-chairs for the master and mistress should be procured4 ,if there be no third room1 leather arm-chairs must be bought and placed one each side of the fire2 for here1 alas6 the husband must smoke if he indulges in that detestable habit1 for unless there is a tiny conservatory1 and there often is fortunately1 even in quite small suburban houses1 he will have no other place4 ,but given the conservatory he can smoke there4 ,it can always be made warm and pretty1 and his smoking will be good for the plants1 and that at anyrate will be some small consolation to him4 ,let no one ever persuade suburban residents either to purchase their furniture in a desperate hurry1 or to buy what is called modern or ,flemish oak1 or that most hideous material of all real pale1 light oak1 which can never be anything save an absolute abomination4 ,as a rule1 the modern oak is flimsy to a degree1 and is also detestable in design and in manner and style4 ,i would rather have the simplest possible deal furniture1 stained brown or green according to my fancy1 than either of these materials1 which nothing can make bearable in the smallest degree1 and ,i am sure anyone who has had the experience of modern oak ,i have had--not in my own person1 ,i know better than that2 but in the person of others--would never contemplate it for one single moment4 ,if by the way1 the hall of the house is blue1 it were well to keep the dining-room to the brown and yellow scheme1 taking care the draperies in the hall are ,wallace's diamond serge1 and that the inside portire is in yellow printed velveteen1 which can be repeated in the turned-over draperies in the curtains4 ,or we can have orange and cream1 having brown wood and orange leather1 and a real ,eastern carpet with an orange ground which can be found1 and therefore must be hunted for1 for ,i have seen them now at ,cardinal ,hertford's1 now at ,bontor's in ,new ,bond ,street1 now at ,hewetson's1 and again once more at ,liberty's4 ,know what you want dear readers6 and have that and that only1 and not the #8next article1' so shall you achieve artistic salvation and in no other way at all2 for be sure if one shop does not possess the real thing1 another will1 and that patience is required in shopping1 as well as faith and many other of the cardinal virtues4 ,but let not the very smallest householder that exists allow herself to have gas in her sitting-rooms on any account at all1 neither let her condescend to keep above her head the hideous centre-piece in plaster work which is always provided for house-owners save in the more artistic 7and more draughty7 houses which have panelled ceilings1 the plaster part of which should be coloured cream1 and the panels themselves filled in with anaglypta1 or else with ordinary ceiling paper judiciously arranged4 ,the plaster rose can be removed in a moment1 and replaced by a hook from which a good duplex lamp from ,benson ,company in ,new ,bond ,street1 should be hung1 with either a pierced copper or opal glass shade1 and this gives light enough for any ordinary occasion2 extraordinary ones can have extra light from candles placed on the buffets or sideboard1 and in sconces on the mantel and over-mantel1 as shown in sketch1 the duplex lamp being lighted or not as the mistress likes much or little light1 or possesses1 as she may possibly possess1 branched silver candlesticks1 or the equally beautiful ,sheffield plated ones which she can place on her table on very grand occasions4 ,of course1 endless schemes of decoration can be evolved every year1 whenever the new papers come out and new materials are produced1 but there are certain things which never alter and which should always be recollected4 ,first among them is the fact that we cannot possibly have too much real colour1 and that far from demanding the timid compromises so dear to ,english folk1 our climate and atmosphere clamour for real sealing-wax reds1 deep oranges1 clear yellows1 and beautiful blues1 and that nothing should make us temporise and have instead the smudgy terra-cottas1 crude greens1 ghastly lemons1 and dull greys and browns which are so liberally provided for us by the usual paper-hanger4 ,then we must recollect that anything we buy must harmonise with what we have1 while1 if we have nothing--and happy is she who can begin anew and unhampered by old horrors in the fresh abode--we must buy nothing in a hurry1 nothing that does not suit the special place it is meant for4 ,we had better have one good chair than a dozen ugly ones4 ,also we must recollect that pictures1 plants and ornaments are the hallmarks of a home1 which cannot exist without them1 for these things judiciously chosen and arranged1 and not overdone1 are after all what turn the worst suburban villa that ever was designed into an artistic abode4 ,but then not one detail must be forgotten1 neither the bell handles1 the fenders1 fire-irons nor finger-plates nor door handles which should be all artistic and all in one material1 either beaten iron or copper1 or the humbler yet satisfactory plain and untortured brass4 ,,chapter ,v ,,parlours ,anything less like a parlour than the drawing-room of an ordinary suburban residence ,i can hardly imagine2 but there is no earthly reason why it should not be turned into a semblance of one especially in those more favoured spots where the architect has artistic leanings1 and where the speculative jerry-builder has not had everything his own sweet way4 ,here we may often come across quite delightful little picture houses1 bearing the stamp of ,mr ,ernest ,newton's genius1 and if the structure does not equal the design in merit1 we can always circumvent any errors if we are clever1 while the deep1 charming windows and really lovely mantels over-mantels and grates provided for us1 make our task of decoration a comparatively easy one from the first4 ,generally these houses are built with gables1 and are half-timbered in a most picturesque manner1 and maybe appear at first sight to be over-windowed and unduly ornate1 and open vistas before us of swift ruination in the matter of blinds and curtains4 ,but1 on reflection1 we discover that not only is there not one window too many1 but that the very simplicity of the treatment of them as regards the curtaining as described in the last chapter1 makes them far less expensive to deal with than the ordinary sash or ,french window1 which one finds awaiting one in the dreadful houses of the older suburbs1 or in those which have not yet advanced beyond the tastes of the day before yesterday4 ,let us therefore contemplate having a pretty room to deal with before we think of the ordinary chamber with its heavy and fearsomely-decorated cornice1 its gaping grate1 its #8statuary marble' mantelpiece1 and its many other drawbacks to decorative happiness4 ,for if we have1 as ,i said before1 the task before us is a comparatively easy one1 unless of course1 we are handicapped by the possession of a ghastly cheffonnier brother in fearfulness to the massive sideboard1 a grand piano for a room #ae feet square1 or a #8suite' of furniture and a round table1 which said possessions really do still exist and have often to be dealt with when a move from one house to another is contemplated4 ,if they have1 there is only one word for it1 and that is sell4 ,the greater encumbrances must go for whatever they will fetch1 and the owners must be contented with a much simpler style of furnishing4 ,the cheffonnier is impossible1 the round table may be relegated to the dining-room1 and the old-style table there sold3 and fortunately these tables are always worth a certain sum in the market3 while the grand piano should be exchanged for either a cottage grand or an ordinary upright piano1 and the suite of furniture effectively disguised in new cretonne frocks which cover the chairs and sofas entirely1 and so hide faulty lines and construction1 turning heavy1 ugly encumbrances into quite charming possessions at once4 ,these covers1 however1 must be made very carefully indeed1 and must fit easily4 ,the small chairs are finished off with a #c-;inch frill from the seat of the chair ,illustration3 ,,drawing-,,room ,,at ,,wayside4 not in any case put into a band4 ,a band spoils the look of the frills at once1 and gives them a most comic and inconsequent appearance1 and the frills on the sofa and big arm-chairs must be arranged on the same lines1 though these should of course be very much deeper and should just1 and only just1 clear the floor4 ,in any case there must be no attempt to adapt old curtains from long windows to these small and artistic ones1 for that can never be a success1 and materials nowadays are so cheap there can be no necessity for such economy1 especially if the house-mistress has the smallest idea of sewing1 or knows of a good upholstress1 or has daughters who are equal to an emergency4 ,by the way1 the very best upholstress ,i know is ,mrs ,george ,bacon1 of ,west ,street1 ,wareham1 ,dorset4 ,it seems a long way off but it really is not1 and she is such an admirable worker and so quick and industrious1 that one saves her fare over and over again1 and her keep too1 as of course save in ,london1 where she has married daughters she can stay with1 she has to be put up4 ,but then she has all my patterns1 and think of the inestimable value those must be to my numerous friendly readers6 ,once more then1 if we proceed on these lines1 all we shall have to consider is the carpet1 and we must take the most prominent colour in that1 and do our best to live up to it4 ,but on no account must we attempt either to ignore or shirk the fact that there is a prominent colour to be considered4 ,we must make that the key-note1 and wall-papers1 cretonnes1 and curtains must all be chosen with a remembrance of the one thing that we are bound to recollect if we wish for any decorative harmony at all4 ,when1 ,i wonder1 will the dreadful muddled browny-blue-yellow carpets cease to trouble us8 ,when1 oh when will the #8magnificent designs' and handsome patterns fade away into the ewigkeit8 and leave only the charming unobtrusive designs in the same colour1 but a shade or two lighter than the ground of the carpet1 which are all that should be found in any house in the land8 ,one only wants a warm bit of harmonious colouring on the floor1 after all2 one does not want the carpet to arise and call aloud to the entering visitor1 #8,look at me6 ,see what ,i cost6 ,recognise these exquisite touches and tints1 these fearsome leaves and flowers1 this magnificent and gorgeous pattern which covers me1 and renders me so unduly conspicuous4' ,but rather should it never be noticed at all1 thus taking its right place in the harmony of the decorative design1 and becoming merely the floor covering that it is undoubtedly only meant to be4 ,if we are rich1 we can have pile2 if not1 let us have either the three-ply ,kidderminster1 or the satisfactory #8,dunelm' carpets1 recently brought out by ,wallace1 or one of the carpets kept by ,hewetson1 ,smee ,cobay and ,wallace1 at my earnest request1 where the pattern only shows sufficiently to break up the plain surface4 ,no doubt entire absence of pattern would be the more correct1 did that not mean that every atom of fluff1 dirt and dust showed at once1 and fidgeted the owner all day long4 ,for these atoms seem to accumulate mysteriously the moment any plain-surfaced material is selected1 and though ,i much prefer to see whatever dirt is present1 with an eye to getting it removed at the earliest possible moment1 one cannot have a room swept and dusted more than once a day1 and some rooms cannot be swept as often as that1 although undoubtedly they ought to be4 ,of course my ideal floor covering will always be matting and rugs1 and from that ,i shall never depart4 ,i am devoted to the new #8,isis' matting1 sold by the ,abingdon ,carpet ,company1 and also to the plain string coloured matting sold by ,shoolbred1 ,treloar1 and ,liberty at about #bs4 #h;d4 to #bs4 #aj;d4 a yard2 this1 of course1 has to be supplemented with rugs1 and1 therefore1 is not as inexpensive as even a good pile carpet3 that is to say1 if we buy good rugs1 and inexpensive ones cannot please1 because of the crudity of their colouring and the manner in which they wear4 ,hewetson's and ,liberty's rugs are simply perfect1 and can be bought by the tyro in artistic matters without the smallest qualm1 for at neither establishment will he or she be given anything which is not just what it ought to be4 ,but given the rugs1 it must be once more remembered that there is a certain art in placing them about the floor1 which all house-mistresses do not1 it seems to me1 recognise4 ,the rugs must not be put down in straight lines and close together1 but given the ordinary room1 should be placed as a rule at right angles to one another4 ,of course this is merely a hint1 and can be improved upon in any way my readers prefer4 ,that such a hint is necessary ,i know1 because ,i have often gone into a room where there are plenty of beautiful rugs1 spoiled entirely by being placed in long lines close together1 in a manner that would be painful indeed1 were it not utterly absurd4 ,as a rule such a room has one rug straight along in front of the fireplace1 another straight in front of the window or windows1 while the rest are placed in the same painful positions by the door and by the wall opposite the fire1 in a manner which makes me long1 no matter where ,i may be1 to oust the furniture on the instant1 and to put those rugs myself in the manner in which they should most certainly go4 ,if we must have new curtains1 quite the most dainty and charming arrangement can be made from using the new coloured linens1 sold by ,walpole ,brothers1 and by ,murphy ,orr and ,harris ,company4 ,these linen curtains should be full and short1 should be double1 if there be very much sun1 and should have an insertion of ,torchon lace laid on about #b inches from the edge of the curtain where should come a softly-falling frill of similar lace1 about #c or #d inches wide4 ,these frills should go round the bottom and up each side1 and the tops of the curtains should be finished by being slightly gathered on a narrow tape1 on which the hooks should be sewn which fasten into eyes on the slight brass rods1 which are all that are required in these special windows4 ,the hook-and-eye arrangement is much to be preferred to the old manner of sewing rings on the curtain itself2 one can unhook a curtain in a minute and shake it out of doors in another4 ,if one has rings only1 it means taking down the rods too and that means trouble1 which a lazy housemaid will most surely shirk1 if she can in any way manage to do so4 ,by the way1 the structural faults dwelt upon in former chapters will most certainly be found in this room1 as in all the others1 and must be rigorously treated in a similar style1 while the portires must be placed inside and outside the door1 and a screen must not be forgotten4 ,unless one has a screen the whole of the room is exposed to view the moment the door is opened2 we can have no sense of privacy at all while in such a chamber4 ,if the door opens inside to the left1 it should be turned round and opened to the right4 ,if this is not done no one can sit by the fire without being almost blown up the chimney1 by reason of the draught which will come in at the opening1 and make as a matter of course for the unsheltered and gaping grate4 ,if1 once more1 the would-be suburban resident enters on her possession of the house entirely free and unshackled by any encumbrances in the way of furniture1 and can really set about making such a room as we describe charming2 a beautiful parlour can be made by panelling the room for about #g feet1 and having a soft and very pretty paper above4 ,this sounds reckless work in a house that is merely rented1 but one can buy panelling sometimes extremely cheaply4 ,bartholomew ,fletcher have some oak an inch thick1 ready to fix1 at #as4 #aj;d4 a square foot1 while ,godfrey ,giles's #8goehring' material is cheaper much than that1 and can1 moreover1 be painted any colour preferred4 ,if the oak is chosen1 the fireplace should be finished off with a very light and simple mantel in the same material4 ,it must not be carved or unduly ornate1 but be quite plain1 and distinguished only by its graceful lines4 ,i do not here advise the regulation overmantel1 but ,i should hang above the fireplace the small ,chippendale mirror sold by ,hewetson for about #bgs41 supplementing it each side with ring-sconces to hold three candles4 ,the real old ones are very expensive1 but very good copies can be had from ,oetzmann in the ,hampstead ,road4 ,above the oak the paper should be undoubtedly a really good blue4 ,the right blue which is always pleasant to live with1 and does not go black at night or a dull grey or any other unpleasant hue1 can always be had from ,smee ,cobay2 and ,i am also very fond of their gold and blue ,japanese leather paper4 ,still this is expensive1 and therefore not to be lightly recommended for it cannot be removed4 ,the panelling can1 which is one reason why ,i speak of what may seem out of the reach of the ordinary suburban resident1 who will make his house three times as warm and comfortable if he panels his walls1 and will moreover have always something delightful at which to look4 ,the floor should be covered with matting and rugs1 and the curtains should be the same blue as the paper1 in linen and lace1 printed damask and lace1 all in plain colours1 or else in plain blue linen plush edged fan edging2 and the furniture should be simple1 graceful and charming4 ,in the bow window we could have a low broad seat or else a writing-table1 placed rather across one side of the window4 ,in the centre could be the flower-table1 and on the other side we could put a low1 corner window-seat1 which might be a fixture and part of the panellings4 ,the rest of the room can be furnished as shown in the sketch on page #aca1 but great care must be taken to have nothing but comfortable chairs and one good deep sofa2 and the chairs must not be chosen without due reflection and without being sat in in several attitudes4 ,a really good chair is a possession which lasts one's lifetime1 and one that is in the least degree uncomfortable should never be tolerated for one moment4 ,a good reason that for refusing utterly to buy or countenance the detestable and out-of-date suite where none of the chairs are even decent1 and where the sofa may be ornate but cannot be a place to rest upon try how we will4 ,if we have this panelled room1 we should try and find a ,sherraton writing-table at ,hewetson's1 which has no high back1 a thing1 by the way1 to remember about all writing-tables1 which have to stand in a window4 ,the flower-table can be bought at ,wallace's1 as can the smaller tables and chairs4 ,a sofa and corner cabinet1 can be had of ,smee1 while a #8grandfather' chair is to be had at ,hewetson's1 and ,bartholomew ,fletcher's #8,seabright' armchair must never be forgotten4 ,these are by far the most comfortable chairs in the whole furniture world4 ,if we cannot rise to the oak panelling1 a charming parlour may be made from plain #8goehring1' painted some soft colour1 either sea-green1 electric turquoise or real ivory1 and above the panelling should be a paper in the same shade as the paint2 if either green or blue is used2 and with very little pattern1 only enough to break the expanse of plain colour1 while if the paint be ivory a dainty floral paper on an ivory ground should be chosen4 ,in this case we should have cretonne covers to our chairs to match the paper1 and the curtains could be of the same1 or else of my pet invention the plain linen edged with softly falling lace4 ,if we are able to indulge in the panelling1 we should have one of the really beautiful anaglypta ceilings kept by ,smee ,cobay2 or if the ceiling is mapped out into patterns1 the moulded parts should be simply coloured cream1 and the panels should be filled in with the ivory-coloured anaglypta one buys at about #as4 a yard4 ,i myself never believe in furnishing entirely from one establishment1 and think if one does one can never get a real or individual home4 ,it is also much more interesting to develop our own tastes and search about until we find what we want1 and not take recklessly whatever ,messrs ,jones and ,smith choose to sell us4 ,if we do1 our house will be the house of ,jones and ,smith1 not ours4 ,and is there not one special firm1 which shall be nameless1 whose taste or want of it rides rough shod over the suburbs1 and makes one house the exact counterpart of the one next door2 ay1 and the one next door to that6 ,of course1 there are many good firms which can rise above the conventional and become individual1 and ,i am thankful to say that their numbers increase and multiply daily4 ,at the same time1 a house cannot be really enjoyed or be really our own unless we have ourselves searched and found what we want for it1 recollecting all the time that on no account should we spend all our money until we have lived through a winter and summer in it4 ,otherwise we shall repent as in sackcloth and ashes1 because we are sure to discover some terrible need1 which we are powerless to supply because we have not the wherewithal to purchase what would make us comparatively if not completely happy4 ,hitherto ,i have been dealing with the house which is out of the common run1 and which is pretty to look at1 and repays us over and over again for any outlay we may make1 the house wherein we are certain to find good grates and simple mantelpieces1 and where1 though we may not find our special tastes consulted1 we may be quite sure that taste and art exist1 though neither need be what we actually consider such ourselves4 ,alas6 and alas again6 that ,i should have to show a darker side of the picture1 and one that would most certainly paralyse any unfortunate tenant who has neither money nor an accommodating landlord4 ,but then ,i say1 let no considerations allow anyone to take such a house1 for if it be hideous1 and the owner is really poor as well as the tenant1 nothing can be done for it because there is nothing to spend1 and without money all are powerless4 ,an impecunious landlord should never for one moment be allowed to exist4 ,he is a danger to the community4 ,he cannot and will not repair his roof1 see to his drains1 or keep the outside of his house in order2 and though in some places1 notably ,brighton1 the local authorities can give him notice to put his house in order1 and should he fail to do so1 can proceed to do the work themselves1 sending him in the bill and seeing that it is paid2 this power is1 ,i fancy1 rather the rule than the exception1 else should we not see the fearfully insanitary houses we constantly come across1 and are as constantly and continually condemning4 ,i go as far as to say that if a landlord cannot cultivate his land1 or keep his houses in good order1 the ,state should have full power to buy at once at a regulation price2 but ,i expect that is too ,socialistic a move for most people to endorse4 ,still1 ,i do most unhesitatingly implore my readers1 first never to take a house on a repairing lease1 and secondly to make sure that the landlord can spend1 if he ought1 whatever may be necessary to keep the place in really proper repair4 ,i have suffered from an impecunious landlord1 who1 while willing to do his utmost1 yet really had nothing to spend2 therefore ,i know how disagreeable this state of things can be2 more especially if he is1 as he generally is1 a nice man4 ,then one can't bear to trouble him1 yet why should we replace his tiles and chimney-pots1 and sink our money in his drains1 or why should we replace his hideous grates with our charming ones1 or his worn-out kitchener with our new and superior #8,eagle' range8 ,yet1 if we do not have these things done we are wretched and unhealthy too1 and a good landlord is always willing to improve his property1 if we are willing to pay him a proportionate interest on whatever capital he may lay out4 ,if we not only find an impecunious but a crusty landlord1 all negotiations must be broken off at once and without delay4 ,it is bad enough to have to pay for improving another man's property1 it is unbearable to have our improvements called #8dilapidations1' and treated with scorn and contumely4 ,strange as it may appear1 there are men whose ideas of the beautiful include grained panels1 heavy and ornate cornices1 and the preservation of the plaster excrescence in the very middle of the ceiling4 ,if one finds such a man we can be quite sure he will allow no tamperings with his doors or his beautiful marble mantelpieces1 and that we shall have to keep the house as we find it1 or incur endless expense and litigation when we leave1 as leave we undoubtedly shall1--thus bringing on ourselves the expense and trouble of a move1--because we are prevented from settling comfortably into a house1 into which we should never for one moment have been weak enough to have gone4 ,in the suburb where we do not find the pretty houses ,i have written of just now1 we generally discover the houses to be high and light1 and glaringly vulgar and hideous in every way4 ,they have the orthodox three rooms on the ground floor1 and have above that1 in a couple of stories1 from six to eight bedrooms and dressing-rooms and a bathroom1 while all the terrible ingenuity of a vulgar mind has been taxed to produce striped paint1 heavily moulded and odiously-tinted cornices and vast glaring windows1 which drive the artistic woman wild1 because she feels almost powerless to cope with them4 ,but she must do it1 and at once4 ,she must seek out the landlord himself1 flatly refusing to leave matters to the agent2 and dealing in these matters direct1 must obtain the landlord's written permission to deal with the horrors to the best of her powers4 ,let us hope that the decorations may not be new and freshly done4 ,in this case the house must not be taken and ,i am sure that houses would let twice as fast as they do1 if when one family leaves1 the walls could be stripped and left bare1 the woodwork being either left as it is or merely primed for painting4 ,as a rule1 no one likes another's taste1 and even if the taste be good1 it may not suit the next tenant's belongings1 neither1 should she be about to furnish1 may she care to adapt her new possessions to the colours and styles she finds ready for her in the fresh house4 ,fancy the anguish of being forced to make and inhabit a green drawing-room1 after one has longed for years for a yellow one2 or pining for a blue hall to find a terra-cotta one one's portion6 ,that it is not ugly is its worst fault1 it is only #8inoffensive1' #8unnoticeable1' too clean to touch4 ,a thousand times better had it been hideous1 or so black1 that questions of hygiene could be raised at once1 and the way opened to secure1 what everyone should have1 an artistic and beautiful home4 ,if the drawing-room cannot be made into a charming parlour1 if we must keep the heavy cornice and the frightful mantelpiece1 we must e'en do the best we can for the wretched thing4 ,anyhow we must secure a simple1 tiled hearth and surround1 and a slow-combustion stove1 and we must disguise the mantelpiece by painting it1 if we can1 to match the rest of the paint in the room1 and putting on it the simplest drapery in the world1 which is known as the #8,gentlewoman1' after the paper of that name1 and which is made by taking a plain strip of material #bd inches wide1 and #bd inches longer than the mantelpiece itself4 ,this is trimmed round the sides and front with ball fringe or cord4 ,if cord is used1 a bunch of pom-poms should hang from each of the front corners1 and the corners are lined on the cross with thin silk or sateen the same colour as the material1 and this is simply put on the shelf and drapes itself4 ,it is so simple that people cannot understand its virtues until they have seen it1 then they understand at once what a valuable help it is to circumventing the ordinary marble mantelpiece of badly-designed houses4 ,mind1 ,i am not saying one word against the beautiful old mantelpieces one finds in really splendid and venerable houses2 these are often lovely and rightly placed enough4 ,but the usual monstrosity is not like these or to be spoken of in the same book1 and can only be treated as ,i have just described4 ,the tiles of the grate should never be anything save severely plain and of one colour1 for anything else is out of place and generally most expensive1 and also more frightful than ,i can say4 ,if the room is glaringly light it must be toned down1 and much as ,i dislike green1 it is the only colour one can have4 ,the #8green ash' paper always kept by ,smee ,cobay is a delightful colour to live with1 and should have paint the same shade of green as the palest in the paper2 and one should moreover have some kind of floral frieze with pink in it4 ,i like the #8,magnolia' bought of the same firm1 but both ,knowles ,haines always keep beautiful floral friezes1 and should both be asked to supply or show designs if the #8,magnolia' were not liked1 or were out of stock1 as might be the case4 ,the frieze-rail from which the pictures should hang from hooks on copper wires1 should be coloured the same as the rest of the paint1 and should come in an ordinary room about a couple of inches below the top of the door4 ,now1 just one word of explanation in re the matter of a frieze1 for strange as it may appear1 everyone is not yet acquainted with what is meant when the word frieze is used4 ,first of all it is not a border and should never be treated as such2 it should never be less than #af inches wide1 and can be as much wider as circumstances will permit1 and it should never1 under any circumstances whatever1 be put on in strips like ordinary wall-paper is1 but should be run round the room the length of the roll1 not the width4 ,most floral friezes are so designed that one would imagine such treatment to be impossible1 but ,i have actually known of cases where a #8festoon' frieze1 which one would have thought no one ever could possibly make a mistake about1 was cut in lengths and hung sideways in snippets1 and even then the owner only thought the design #8queer3' ,she could not see how absolutely idiotic had been the treatment of the unfortunate thing4 ,then there is another thing to mention3 all too often the wry prettiest friezes designed as such1 are disfigured with two or three straight lines which suggest to some vague1 chaotic and inartistic minds that they replace the most necessary frieze-rail4 ,they do nothing of the kind2 a frieze-rail must be had if a frieze is used at all1 and ,i trust that paper-stainers and makers may some day eliminate those lines altogether1 and so no longer give a hint that it is possible to do without the real wooden rail4 ,even on the score of economy those lines are a mistake4 ,one must hang one's pictures from something1 and the frieze-rail is cheaper and far more effective than the usual brass picture-rod provided for this purpose4 ,if we have pink in our frieze1 we can have a pink or green carpet1 or else a dull green one1 just flecked with pink1 which ,i think ,morris has1 or yet again can we have the entirely satisfactory green #8,isis' matting and rugs4 ,i advise the #8,isis' most strongly1 for not only is it beautiful and cleanly in itself but it is a home manufacture1 and being made from the rushes in the higher ,thames1 should certainly claim our patronage4 ,if we want a pink carpet1 nothing surpasses ,wallace's pink #8,iris1' while ,smee's soft green carpet1 made on purpose to match the #8green ash' paper1 is a great success4 ,if the room is very light it is well to keep to the same shade of green as the carpet for curtains and coverings4 ,this does not go black at night1 but keeps its colour well4 ,all drawing and dining-room papers and materials should be chosen at night as well as by day1 for great may be the disappointment that awaits the woman who only makes her selections in the upholsterer's shop1 and by daylight alone4 ,i have seen two materials which are absolutely the same by day become quite contrasts at night2 notably in some shades of green1 which turn brown in some materials1 while in others they retain their colour1 and the result can be imagined if this mischance occurs when two materials1 such as plush and serge are used together3 or when a fringe is used which turns brown at night1 on a material which does nothing of the kind6 ,of course1 the windows all through the house should be treated alike1 and in all should be the double or single sets of frilled muslin curtains1 according to the amount of sunshine which the special window in question admits4 ,every care must be taken too in all the rooms to keep out draughts1 and to let in a certain amount of fresh air1 and the rooms must be ventilated in some manner at the top of the wall4 ,in some cases a brick can be removed and the opening covered within wire-netting1 the space between being filled with cotton-wool1 which is supposed to filter the incoming air2 while if possible there should be a moveable ventilator in the windows4 ,then ,tobin's tubes should not be forgotten1 albeit the expense of this patent is an item one should not lightly incur4 ,the drawing-room must be lighted by one good duplex lamp in beaten iron or copper1 from ,benson in ,new ,bond ,street1 or from ,strode1 and the wise will have a transparent globe or shade1 and will refuse to grope about in the semi-darkness of silken-shaded light4 ,but the amount of further light must be determined by the owners of the room and their pursuits1 and may consist of properly weighted ,standard lamps3 procurable at ,benson's1 or at ,bartholomew ,fletcher's3 or by one or two movable lamps placed on steady tables4 ,in any case great care must be taken to ensure perfect safety2 a very small table1 or one that has no double tray1 should never be selected as a lamp-carrier1 for if it is1 an accident is almost certain to occur4 ,great care should be taken in selecting the small table-cloths which should be on all tables1 and these can be procured at ,colbourne's1 ,godfrey ,giles1 and the ,cavendish ,house ,company ,cheltenham1 ready to use2 and equal care should also be taken to secure proper pictures and ornaments1 which must not be overdone in any way2 while it is well to recollect that the dreadful #8chair back' is no longer with us1 and has been completely ousted by the ,liberty frilled pillow1 which is as useful as it is undoubtedly beautiful and comfortable4 ,if we cannot have a new mantelpiece1 let nothing induce us to have a regulation overmantel1 for never can we procure one which shall in any way harmonise with a marble mantel2 so there is no good trying to get one1 for we can't4 ,it is best to repeat instead the ,chippendale mirrors spoken of before1 and equally good to possess oneself of the round glasses with the eagle and ball at the top1 which one often is able to pick up in the shops in ,great ,portland ,street along with charming bits of real blue china1 if one understands the craft of bargain-hunting1 not unless4 ,under any circumstances nothing but severe simplicity is permissible4 ,a real overmantel1 which may be beautiful in itself1 will only emphasise the misery below it1 in the shape of the mantelpiece1 by displaying its evident contrast to what should be a component part thereof2 while either the #8,eagle' or the #8,chippendale' has frankly #8no connection with the party next door1' and is existent on its own merits alone1 and is therefore all it should be4 ,now one last word only1 and that is about the position of the piano4 ,if it be a cottage grand1 it can be placed like the one in the room illustrated4 ,a piece of brocade should be put carelessly on the end of the piano1 and kept in place by a few books1 and a tall palm should be placed on the table in the bend4 ,no other decoration must be allowed at all4 ,if we have a cottage piano1 it is well to put it in one of the recesses by the fire1 straight out into the room1 and to conceal its hideous back by a simple curtain on a rod1 sold by ,shoolbred4 ,we should have in a small room a piano stool to hold music1 as well as to sit upon1 and in the other recess we could place either the grandfather chair or one of the charming courting settees sold by ,hewetson4 ,but let me implore my suburban readers1 when placing their pianos to do so with a kindly remembrance of their possible neighbours1 to select an inside wall in preference to an outside one1 and to practise whenever they can with the windows closed and carefully fastened4 ,i have once been near enough to other folks to suffer the tortures of the lost from my neighbour's piano4 ,i cannot1 therefore1 impress too much upon my readers that a good deal of real pain may be inflicted on one's neighbour simply because the question of the piano has never been duly and properly weighed and considered4 ,i suppose it is too much to suggest that no one should play and sing who has neither taste1 nor voice1 nor knowledge1 so ,i will only content myself with remarking that the farther the piano is placed from one's neighbour the better1 and that some consideration on this subject is due from everyone who may possess and will manipulate that which in some hands may be as much an instrument of torture as the wretched barrel-organ itself6 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,third ,,rooms ,i have already discussed one manner of disposing of the usual third room1 but ,i hope most devoutly that the unparalleled sacrifice of devoting it to the use of the maids may never be required of anyone4 ,for unless people can sit in their dining-room in the morning2 and ,i cannot imagine anything more distasteful2 the drawing-room or parlour must be turned into a regular hack room1 and we are deprived at one fell swoop of a nice place in which to receive our guests or of a fresh chamber for use in the evening4 ,it is a great thing to have entirely different surroundings then1 and a pretty1 well-aired and ventilated room in which to spend the fag end of a day4 ,circumstances must always govern cases1 and there can be no set rules for the universal regulation of all lives1 and if ,english people would only realise this fact1 their sojourn here would be made far more interesting than it is at present4 ,no one has ever taken the third room for the maids1 therefore no one can ever do so4 ,the door has always been in that position1 therefore it must remain so4 ,that room has always been draughty1 therefore draughty it shall continue until the end of the chapter4 ,these are the arguments used1 if argument of any kind is allowed4 ,as a rule the position is accepted unconditionally1 and because an error has been made from the first1 it is allowed to continue unchecked when a little forethought would circumvent that special mistake1 and would make a room charming1 habitable and warm1 which hitherto has been nothing of the kind4 ,let me illustrate what ,i mean by an example4 ,at a small house we possess in ,watford there is the third room in question1 which has been made into a very pretty library by the clever hand of ,mr ,arthur ,smee1 but which the first year we were in possession had never been used save as a home for books and a reception place for anyone who might come on business4 ,no one had ever sat there1 nor could ,i discover anyone who would2 but ,i myself was then #8on the shelf1' and had never entered the room at all1 being often absent from home1 and always1 whether there or elsewhere1 confined to the circumscribed area of my own bed and sitting-rooms4 ,i had asked questions about the room but could never get a satisfactory reply only the ever-repeated answer1 #8,oh1 it looks all right1 but just you try to sit there1 that's all1 you'll soon see why we can't do anything of the kind4' ,now here is the room produced just as it was before ,i went into it1 and ,i wonder if anyone can see the real mistake in the design8 ,i own ,i could not perceive it from the picture4 ,at first ,i asked if my people were ridiculous enough to fancy the room had a ghost4 ,no not a ghost exactly2 but in a tentative tone of voice something quite as uncanny and quite as intangible4 ,was it draughty8 ,they didn't think so2 and yet it was impossible to warm it4 ,in fact1 it was quite out of the question that it could be sat in1 and there it remained until one day ,illustration3 ,,library ,,at ,,wayside4 when ,i felt rather better than usual1 and went downstairs determined to conquer or die in the attempt4 ,dear readers6 if you could only have seen that room you would1 some of you1 never have believed in me again for one single moment4 ,the centre table was heaped with books1 old papers and magazines4 ,the matting on the floor had one long1 thin and solitary rug4 ,there were aimless cretonne curtains at the window1 which couldn't possibly be reached1 because the desk was stuck right against it2 and1 worst fault of all1 the door opened on the wrong side1 and so whenever it was open the fire was as it were in the passage4 ,and as had been rightly said1 there was not a single place to put a chair2 and1 indeed1 the untidy thing in the photograph was the only specimen of the genus that the chamber possessed1 if we except an ordinary bedroom seat1 and another of a similar kind by the desk1 neither of which could be sat upon1 save by an individual who had serious writing to do4 ,then someone had placed in one corner a deck-lounge1 in1 ,i suppose1 a feeble attempt at being happy1 and never did a lounge less deserve its name4 ,it was located between the window and the fire1 and therefore succeeded in nothing1 save in being entirely out of place and in the way4 ,there too the shelves for books were left as shown in the photograph1 and had none of the small curtains over the smaller recesses1 so necessary to break up the lines and to serve as hiding-places for old and way-worn literature4 ,the fireplace was hideous1 and a ,moloch as regards coal1 while1 of course the room could never be brought above freezing pitch1 because of the relative positions of the fireplace1 door1 and window1 each of which was put just exactly where it ought not to be4 ,the design and colour of the room were right enough1 but the touches which turn a room into a habitation were never more conspicuous by their absence4 ,i don't know how it is1 but ,i can put a room straight in five minutes when another person merely grumbles and declares that nothing can be done2 and in a pious rage ,i set to work and very soon had made a considerable alteration in the place4 ,although1 of course1 much could not be accomplished until ,i sent for my factotum ,joe1 and had the door moved to the other side1 that elegant plaster in the ceiling dislodged1 and the hideous tiles in the grate renovated4 ,then ,i had a good thick portire placed inside the door1 hung the pictures properly1 arranged the books and china1 put the curtains where they were required in the bookcase1 altered the window-curtains1 put the desk on one side1 not in the very centre of the window1 and imported a couple of deep1 good basket-chairs from ,heelas1 of ,reading1 and some smaller ,liberty chairs and tables4 ,the centre table was put on one side1 and not in the middle of the room1 with magazines and newspapers2 and after that ,i put down proper and suitable rugs1 instead of the big one1--beautiful in itself and in its proper place which was a passage--but ridiculous in the middle of a matted floor1 where it resembled nothing so much as a garden walk4 ,since then the room has been more used than any other sitting-room in the house1 and is now pronounced one of the most comfortable in the dreary little place1 or1 ,i should say1 in what was a dreary little place until it was taken vigorously in hand4 ,albeit1 nothing can make the house a real success1 because it is built east and west1 and with all the windows to the west and to the north and south3 these1 by the way1 raking the back yards of the neighbours fore and aft3 while1 except for the bath-room window1 there is not one which looks towards the east1 where1 of course1 one gets the pleasantest view and the morning sun3 a great consideration in a house which is literally a summer house1 and where therefore1 the western sun is useless and tormenting4 ,even in the winter an afternoon sun is no earthly use1 for by the time it comes round to the western windows it has to retire ignominiously into a bank of fog or cloud2 therefore such a house as this especial one should never be taken unless the owner will close the north and north-west windows1 and open out big square bows on the south and south-eastern aspect in the manner the windows should have been placed when the house was built4 ,it is always a pleasing reflection to me that the man who designed this house is dead1 and cannot now make any other person as miserable by his awkward vagaries as he has made me4 ,if he had simply consented to one or two alterations1 and had given us decent grates1 and proper servants' accommodation1 the house wouldn't have been #8half bad1' and ,i do not suppose would have cost a farthing more to build than it cost at first4 ,the cornices were so terrible that they had in some cases to be cut away and reduced to one-fourth1 while the elaborate and expensive style in which they had been liberally picked out in all the colours of the rainbow1 was obliterated by colour-wash at once2 yet the money spent on this #8decoration' would have gone some way towards new grates2 and my pet plain wooden mantels would not have cost half what the monstrous marble ones did1 with which one can't wrestle1 because of the round openings in the mantelpieces1 which would not allow of the cheap introduction of the pretty1 square1 slow-combustion stoves1 with plain tiles1 to which ,i must confess ,i am absolutely devoted4 ,i think1 if their third room in any way resembles the one illustrated here1 this picture will help my readers very much1 if they are anxious to have a library1 a room where the master can sit and smoke1 and where business people can be interviewed4 ,but1 if books are not plentiful1 and the husband doesn't smoke and is not much at home1 the room would not be of very much service to the mistress and her girls1 should she be fortunate enough to be the proud possessor of grown-up daughters4 ,and there are1 of course1 yet other means of treating and disposing of the room4 ,if children are numerous1 and bedrooms few1 this third room may have to be taken for schoolroom purposes1 or1 at best1 may have to be used by boys and girls in the holidays1 or when lessons have to be prepared1 and in this case it would require quite different treatment to what it would receive were it merely a pretty sitting-room1 as it should most undoubtedly be4 ,if the sitting-room aspect has to be considered it should be made as bright and charming as possible1 and should be furnished with an eye to the particular occupation of the house mistress1 who is sure to have some idiosyncrasy1 and will either work1 write or #8housekeep' indefatigably4 ,if she does this latter1 she will want room for her household books1 her receipt books1 and her house books1 containing all kinds of hints as to what to do and when to do it1 which any woman collects if she is in the least house-proud and anxious to make the most of her surroundings4 ,in this case1 one of the recesses could be fitted with shelves on the same principle as those shown in the photograph1 but they should not be higher than the mantelpiece1 and where there is a gaping space1 curtains should be hung1 or else doors placed to make a species of cupboard with copper hinges and a good lock4 ,in the other recess a writing-table could be placed1 with some shelves above it to hold books of reference1 and this table must be furnished with really good locks1 for here should be kept account and cheque books1 and receipts and any private unanswered letters4 ,though let me once more impress on all my readers never to keep any save business letters1 and never to keep those when the business to which they refer is completely done with and ended4 ,no one knows how long he or she may live1 nor if sudden death or illness may not leave all one's secrets1 should one have any1 or the secrets of others1 open to anyone who may have access to one's belongings2 besides1 we have no right to keep other folk's letters1 once they are replied to4 ,we may ourselves be secrecy itself1 but we cannot answer for the secret-keeping capacity of our nearest and dearest4 ,if the window should be1 as ,i hope it may be1 one of the delightful ,caldecott ones1 it should have a straight window-seat arranged exactly as in this sketch1 and thus we should be provided with a most comfortable place to rest in1 more especially if we supplement it with several big ,liberty pillows4 ,these can be covered in plain linen covers1 edged with frills of the same or of ,torchon lace4 ,if this latter be used1 a wide insertion should be laid on all round the pillows1 about an inch from where the lace is sewn on4 ,the lace must not be too full4 ,if the pillow should be a yard square1 or the more ordinary size of three-quarters of a yard1 the quantity of lace used should be one-half longer than the length of the sides of the pillow1 i4e41 #f yards of lace would be wanted for a pillow the sides of which measured #d yards1 while #c yards would be sufficient for the smaller size1 as the lace is only just fulled on4 ,it should not be heavily gathered1 or it will not look well4 ,illustration ,beautiful pillows can be made by ,miss ,goodban1 of #i ,westbourne ,terrace ,road1 ,hyde ,park of these same linens4 ,she embroiders them all over in flax and edges them with ,torchon1 and if these cases are simply buttoned on like an ordinary pillowcase they can be washed in an hour and replaced4 ,liberty silk covers also wash splendidly if one has a careful maid4 ,i have never sent mine to the ordinary wash2 but washed at home they came out of the trial as good as new2 a fact ,i do not think many people can know1 or we should not see as many dirty covers as we do in the houses of folks who ought to know a great deal better4 ,the window-seat cover should be of some hard-wearing material1 such as ribbed and stamped ,victoria cord1 or a really good all-wool tapestry4 ,it is never the least use to use one of the cheap tapestries provided so lavishly nowadays for this purpose1 for if we do1 we shall at once be terribly disappointed by the effect4 ,for these seats in most rooms have a great deal of wear and in consequence if a cheap stuff is used it will not last any time4 ,to ensure real and satisfactory length of days for any material1 we must have one made of all wool1 and not wool and cotton mixed4 ,the actual expense of these seats1 and indeed of any fitted seat1 is the upholstress's time and work1 which costs as much if the material is only #as4 a yard1 as it does if one pays a guinea for the same amount1 besides which there is the continual worry of the ,british workman amongst us4 ,though why women should not be their own upholstresses ,i for one can't think1 and ,i should strongly advise any girl about to marry on limited means to learn to make up her own covers and cushions as well as how to cook the dinner4 ,then if the husband has a knowledge of carpentering and is handy about the house1 the place can always look nice at one-third the expense it would cost were a workman or workwoman sent for when the smallest alterations were required4 ,given the window-seat there should be no need for a sofa1 and that is a decided consideration1 but whatever chairs are had they should be comfortable ones1 and none are better than the excellent wicker ones of which ,i have so often spoken4 ,if expense be a great object one can frequently buy these chairs from travelling hawkers who go about the country with vans of chairs tables and baskets1 and sell these special chairs for about #es4 or #fs4 in wicker1 simply stained a faint brown1 which said staining ,i much prefer to paint or enamel1 as it never becomes in the least shabby4 ,a cushion must be made to fit the seat finished off with a #d or #e inch frill1 not any deeper1 and another cushion must be made to fit the back1 while another must be placed round the sides of the chair1 properly stuffed and #8buttoned down4' ,this said buttoning down can be done by an amateur if she purchases the proper needles for the purpose and secures the buttons with very strong packthread4 ,and ,i consider such cushions should all be made in this style1 as a plain surface wears out twice as soon as one that is arranged with buttons2 while1 if one is clean and careful1 the buttons need not mean an accumulation of dust and dirt1 both being got rid of perfectly well if the cushions are properly brushed and beaten and attended to by a housemaid who knows her work4 ,by the way1 it takes #b yards of double-width material to make a cover for an ordinary wicker chair1 or #d of single width material or of cretonne1 but ,i cannot advise cretonne for the purpose1 or for any real hard wear on any chairs1 it so very soon becomes dirty1 and is always in the wash-tub and in the hands of the upholstress4 ,if the room is very tiny the window-seat can be furnished with three deep drawers in which we can keep any amount of odds and ends4 ,of course1 the number of the drawers will depend on the length of the window-seat1 but three should be the outside number4 ,in any case they would come just under the seat and be hidden from observation either by the deep frill or a woollen fringe1 and should open and shut very easily indeed4 ,in a small house these drawers would be invaluable for one of the principal drawbacks to a suburban residence is the fact that there are no cupboards in them1 neither are there many recesses which we can utilise as wardrobes should we require to do so4 ,let us suppose that this special room is given over to the mistress of the house and that she is content to have the ever-delightful shade of #8,panton' blue1 than which nothing is better in every way to live with1 she would then have the short curtains shown in the picture of some yellow material1 ,wallace's diamond serge for choice1 lined with sateen or plain serge1 if there be many draughts or very much sun3 then the material for the window-seat should be in golden brown or turquoise blue stamped ,victoria cord1 and the cushions should be in yellow1 blue and pink linen1 worked in very coarse and thick real flax by ,miss ,goodban4 ,if the room has very much traffic1 the floor should have a surround of plain brown cork carpet1 with a good blue square of ,wallace's ,dunelm carpet in the centre1 just lightly fastened down in such a manner that it can be easily removed for shaking4 ,personally1 ,i never like nails put in any carpet2 they cannot help spoiling and tearing it1 and it is far better to sew on the carpet itself a succession of tiny bits of tape1 of course on the wrong side1 and close to the edge4 ,in these pieces of tape should the nails be placed4 ,the tapes can always be renewed1 and in this case the edge of the carpet is never touched1 and cannot present the #8worried' appearance which characterises so many really good floor coverings4 ,in this special room the carpet should be in a special shade of blue1 which would harmonise with the paper4 ,there are two or three different ways of treating the walls of such a room1 and the one ,i prefer is to have electric turquoise ,aspinall for all the paint1 the ,panton blue paper1 and a floral frieze with a great deal of yellow in it2 or1 again1 one can have the blue paper1 but with real ivory paint1 and an anaglypta dado painted in the same shade instead of the frieze2 while a really useful and hard-wearing room may have a soft brown dado1 and all soft brown paint1 and a darker blue paper4 ,in this case both paper and paint must be selected by someone who understands the science of colour4 ,the brown should have a good deal of cream in it1 and the blue should have a great deal of indigo and not any shade of green or turquoise at all4 ,here the window-seat cushion should be covered in brown stamped ,victoria cord1 and the curtains should be in blue serge or ,tanjore cloth4 ,i have never yet found a blue serge which would stand sun1 and not fade in a couple of weeks in the most distressing manner1 while almost any yellow serge stands the sunshine1 and ,i can myself guarantee ,wallace's diamond serge in yellow1 for that has proved itself absolutely fast4 ,shoolbred guarantees the ,tanjore cloth1 but personally ,i have had no experience of this material1 having had neither opportunity nor occasion to try it4 ,it is #ds4 #i;d4 a yard1 and is very pretty to look at2 and is besides a most excellent width4 ,need ,i say that any cornice in this room must be simply coloured cream1 and the ceiling papered in some inexpensive and pretty yellow and white paper8 ,if blue should be objected to1 or one is tired of it1 a very pretty sitting-room can be made from any floral paper which is really good1 and1 ,i say1 hand-made4 ,i am devoted to a beautiful heliotrope and green clematis paper sold by ,smee ,cobay1 and also to the #8ragged robin' paper sold by ,haines1 and either of these papers should be used above a dado of some kind or other4 ,a full green sateen curtain dado is the best1 and in this case all the paint should be the same shade of green as that chosen for the dado1 and that should be one of the tints in the leaves on the paper itself4 ,then the carpet and curtains should be green1 and so should be the window-seat and the ceiling paper4 ,the other shades in the paper should appear in the cushions and table-covers3 although as regards the clematis paper ,i have never come across any good heliotrope materials1 and have only found this colour in silk and in a capital cretonne sold by the ,cavendish ,house ,company1 ,cheltenham4 ,i fancy that ,warings1 of ,liverpool1 have also a good #8lilac' cretonne4 ,they certainly possess an admirable wall-paper with lilacs on a striped background1 which should not be forgotten by anyone who thinks of using that always satisfactory decorative harmony of heliotrope and green4 ,if there is not much wear in these rooms1 ,i should advise the green #8,isis' matting as a background for rugs1 but if there be a great deal of traffic1 the soft green #8,roman carpet' sold by ,shoolbred does excellently with some sort of a #8surround' which is easily cleaned1 such as ,jackson's varnish stains1 or plain cream matting1 or plain cork carpet1 according to the state of the floor and the particular tastes of the owner of the room1 who should of course have one of ,giles's removable parqueterie surrounds if she can afford it4 ,in any case she must never allow either a fitted carpet or a patterned surround to fidget the eye1 avoiding as a real sin against the first principles of art1 those terrible materials which imitate parqueterie or tiles1 or pretend to be anything save what they are1 and giving a wide berth to felt1 an admirable material to look at1 but a fearful and abominable dust-trap4 ,so indeed are fluffy materials of any sort or kind if they cannot be cleaned without sweeping or by the friendly aid of a damp duster1 which just passed over them once a day1 keeps the stain or matting or cork carpet in order1 and prevents the accumulation in corners that must ensue if we have not a washable material as a surround to whatever carpet we may select4 ,if we have matting all over the floor1 it is well to recollect that salt and water form an excellent mixture to use to cleanse it with1 the salt in some way preserving and toughening the fibres of the matting as well as cleaning it in a most effectual style4 ,the principal things to recollect in this1 and1 indeed in any room are1 first1 that it must be made draught-proof and be properly ventilated1 that we must so arrange that the door does not open right on the fire1 that while the furniture may be as simple as we like1 everything must be made to harmonise1 being either bought for or adapted to the room itself and the special occupations of the room's mistress4 ,fortunately if our purses are light1 there is abundance of inexpensive furniture in these days which ,i cannot1 ,i feel1 praise too highly4 ,i remember the dreadful struggles ,i had1 to make my own first house pretty some six-and-twenty years ago1 when there was nothing to be had but heavy wood and solid repps1 and no one had whispered #8,liberty1' or mentioned serge1 or bamboo and wicker furniture1 or1 if they had1 had murmured it so gently that the murmur had not reached the ears of anyone at all4 ,now1 scoff as one may at wicker work and bamboo1 ,i venture to say that by them lies the way of salvation for the third room in an impecunious household4 ,i have bought the most charming and beautiful little cupboard tables at ,shoolbred's1 the most comfortable and excellent chairs at ,smee ,cobay's1 at ,heelas1 of ,reading1 and at ,wallace's1 which have all the delights of a real upholstered expensive arm-chair1 if one has the cushions made at home1 at as many shillings as the other costs pounds4 ,while the most useful bookcase ,i ever came across is also matting and bamboo1 and this can have a species of cupboard shelf made by hanging a curtain over the third receptacle for books1 which said curtain is like charity3 it covers a multitude of sins in the shape of rolls of wall paper1 odds and ends of patterns1 and old books which have seen better days1 and yet are not good enough to re-bind1 and yet are too good to throw away4 ,indeed1 no book should ever be treated in such an ignominious fashion4 ,at the worst it can be sent to a hospital1 or be kept in our own special hospital box1 which should be in every house1 for how can we tell when infectious disease may not find us out8 ,in that case we shall be thankful to be possessed of something to read which we can afterwards burn without any arrire pense in the matter at all4 ,one thing should be in every morning-room1 or third room1 or library1 call this little chamber by what name we will2 and that is an invaluable small closing-table ,i have discovered in ,kensington ,high ,street4 ,it costs about #ds4 #aa;d41 simply stained dark brown1 can be folded up and put against a wall1 or laid under a sofa when not in use1 and is altogether most unobtrusive and excellent1 for it can be set up in one second1 and is admirable for a thousand purposes4 ,i think it is large enough to #8cut out' upon1 although ,i am not an authority on the subject of work4 ,i know it is extremely handy for tea1 and that one can make scrapbooks upon it1 and write upon it too1 while as it can be folded and put on one side at any moment1 it does not get over-crowded with books and ornaments1 and is therefore always available4 ,the ordinary small occasional table never can be that1 for it is usually clad in a nice square table-cover and has flowers or a plant in the centre1 and has moreover1 every available corner filled with books and #8twos and threes1' while the modest and retiring folding-table only comes out for use1 and is never ornamental1 and will not be used otherwise than for the purpose for which it is made4 ,of course the walnut ,sutherland table is much nicer in every way1 but is not to be had under #cjs41 is often of most inferior wood liable to scratches and spots1 and is also all too often opened out clad in its tablecloth and ornamented to death4 ,but we have no qualms about the little cheap folding-table4 ,if it is scratched and spotted it can be scrubbed clean and given a new coat of ,jackson's varnish stain and be in a moment as good as new if not better4 ,just one word en parenthse1 as it were1 about stains4 ,do not let anything anyone can say induce you to attempt the beautiful green staining we all so much admire at home1 for if you do1 it can be nothing but a most ghastly failure4 ,true1 the particular piece of furniture will be green1 but such a green6 for the proper effect can only be obtained in the same way really good ,french polish is procured1 and that1 as everyone knows1 can never be got save by a professional hand who knows the work1 and has never yet been known to divulge the secret of success4 ,no2 the green stain is not for the amateur1 be sure of that1 while the #8oak1' and #8dark oak1' and #8walnut' varnish stains are exactly all that they ought to be4 ,in this room a screen by the door is often a most blessed possession1 and as screens can be bought so cheaply nowadays everyone can avail herself of the comfort procured by a judicious use of them4 ,liberty first1 and ,shoolbred next1 should be searched for an inexpensive screen1 for sometimes ,liberty has none1 and then ,shoolbred may come to the rescue1 or our experience of both shops may be reversed2 it all depends on which place has had the last consignment from ,japan4 ,i bought a beautiful screen at ,liberty's one year1 about a month before ,christmas1 for #ahs4 #i;d41 but on applying for another in the following ,march1 found all were sold out1 and ,i had to go farther afield1 discovering the one ,i wanted in a shop in ,high ,street1 ,kensington1 the name of which ,i have forgotten4 ,true both ,liberty and ,shoolbred had plenty of screens but neither had an inexpensive one1 with a back warranted to resist the frequent and uncalled-for assaults of the ,british housemaid4 ,by the way1 a screen should always be placed behind the door1 which should in most cases open from left to right into a room if the room is in the least degree like the one illustrated4 ,i am not fond of a door opening into a hall1 and of course the perfect door should not open1 but slide into the wall1 but perfection is a word never heard1 and certainly not understood at all in the usual suburb4 ,if the room be blue1 the portire should be of printed velveteen in shades of yellow4 ,with a floral paper it may be pink or green1 but in any case a plain material should not be employed as a portire4 ,one should always have a figured stuff there1 and if one can afford it one cannot improve on the aforesaid velveteen4 ,portires should be made up by a really competent hand and should be lined1 and edged with either #8grip-cord' or fan-edging1 as ball fringe is apt to come to grief in this situation1 the portire being often caught in the door1 or as often grasped either by the parlour-maid as she announces a visitor or by any small child who may have to open or close the door4 ,i may seem to speak unduly on the subject both of portires and screens but unless they are employed freely1 ,i can assure my readers they will never circumvent the ordinary suburban residence1 but that if both are used1 any house1 even the most jerry-built one which ever disgraced a #8,park1' or blotted the erst-while fair appearance of a #8,grove1' can be made habitable4 ,without these aids to health1 to say nothing of decoration1 such a house would be an impossible home for anyone not born and bred in the ,arctic regions2 while outside blinds1 if they can only be just nailed up pro tem41 and be mere grass mats bought for a few shillings at ,treloar's1 can circumvent extreme heat1 which often is as bad to bear in these terrible houses as the excessive cold and draughts which characterise them4 ,i know that as a rule three years sets the suburban tenant on the prowl1 and1 as ,i said before1 the mere idea that such can be the case prevents many a woman from making her house either pretty to look at or even weather-tight4 ,but three years' experience of untoward weather in a jerry-built structure can undermine the health of any woman1 whereas she probably would not move and would certainly keep much better in health if not entirely well1 did she do her utmost to get over the drawbacks at once4 ,at the same time the hall must be warmed by using the small1 portable stove sold by ,wolff ,sons1 #aai ,new ,bond ,street1 if it is out of the question to obtain warmth from a real fire-place1 and very great care must be given to ventilation by wide-open windows whenever it is possible1 and it is always possible during some part of the day3 and by ventilators1 as suggested before1 which should always be open at night1 especially when lamps are lighted and fires kept up4 ,for an unventilated room means a sleepy head1 and dulness and stupidity instead of the liveliness which should characterise a gathering of the family when the work of the day is safely over and done4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,the ,,nurseries ,well may the heart of the ordinary mother of a family sink within her shoes when she sees the regulation rooms provided for the use of the children6 ,nay1 one can hardly believe that they are meant for them at all1 for nowhere are two rooms placed in such a manner as to make real day and night nurseries1 and she is lucky indeed who has not to place one room on the first1 and the other on the second floor1 thus making it impossible for the nurse to look after the children or their garments in the manner she would be able to do were both rooms on the same storey4 ,but it is always possible to have them on the same storey if convention is defied1 and the #8spare room' is relegated to the attics1 or the nurseries themselves are placed there2 and moreover no considerations of any #8spare room' should prevent there being a couple of nurseries in any house4 ,it is odious never to be able to entertain one's friends even for the usual ,saturday to ,monday visit so dear to the heart of the ordinary suburban resident2 but it is far worse to keep the children in one room only1 alike for day and night use1 and ,i sincerely hope that this unhealthy and disagreeable practice may soon cease entirely to exist4 ,if in a tiny house and with one baby only1 a second room cannot possibly be had1 the only way to arrange matters is to proceed on the lines of a ,harrow boy's room1 and to have either a system of #8fitments1' or to shut all the washing and dressing apparatus into a cupboard sort of arrangement1 and to have one of the small folding iron beds1 with a wire mattress complete1 which cost about #afs4 #f;d41 and which can be put under another bed in another room during the daytime1 the mattress and other bedding being folded up and disposed of in a similar way4 ,yet in such a wee house as this1 the baby would usually be in the mother's room1 and the nurse could share a room with another maid1 having her meals in the servants' sitting-room or the kitchen1 while the mother herself looked after the infant4 ,but ,i fancy where this would be the case1 decoration would not be a study1 all the energies of the mistress being spent1 and very properly too1 on making both ends of the income meet if that be possible4 ,at the same time1 ,i can never see why a cottage need not be pretty and comfortable1 and ,i hope that no one will be debarred from attempting to possess a pretty house because she is poor4 ,pretty things are nowadays as cheap1 nay often cheaper1 than ugly ones1 and it only requires common-sense and the possession of a certain amount of taste to ensure that a house shall be both artistic and comfortable4 ,let us take first the unfortunate who really can only have one nursery1 and who has to allow the child to sleep there at night with the nurse1 for ,i always think it is unwise for the parents to have an infant in their bedroom even when it is very small4 ,a man's rest broken1 means bad work during the day1 while a woman is unfit for anything and certainly cannot do her work if she has had no sleep during the orthodox hours of repose4 ,in this case the best room in the upper part of the house should be taken for the nursery2 it should be as near the mother's room as possible1 and if there be a dressing-room attached1 so much the better in every way1 for out of that can be constructed the very necessary nursery pantry4 ,therein can be kept everything which is in any way unsightly1 and it is possible that all signs of the nursery itself being used for a double purpose can be concealed1 if one has at one's service just an ordinary bedroom and dressing-room4 ,we will therefore suppose that1 in the first place1 the suburban villa contains a bed and a dressing-room1 and another bedroom and a bathroom on the same floor4 ,in this case1 ,i should propose that the so-called #8best room1' with the dressing-room1 should be given over to the nurse and child1 the master of the house having the bathroom entirely for his own use as dressing-room4 ,if this arrangement is made1 the bedroom which ,i trust may face south or south-east1 can be treated entirely as a day-room1 and be properly and prettily painted and papered4 ,under no circumstances should one of those fearsome #8nursery' papers be allowed1 neither must a cheap and vulgar flower paper be ,illustration3 ,,combined ,,day ,,and ,,night ,,nursery4 used4 ,if expense is a great object1 and it would be probably in such a wee establishment1 an inexpensive1 geometrical-patterned paper must be chosen1 with as little real pattern on it as is possible1 great attention being given to the colour2 which after all is the principal thing to think about in all decoration4 ,for such papers1 one cannot improve on the #8,olive ,leaf' papers1 sold always by ,godfrey ,giles2 and though these special colourings have been obtainable for quite ten years1 ,i have never found anything which would quite take their place4 ,they are #i;d4 and #as4 #f;d4 a piece4 ,i advise the latter1 the extra #i;d4 quite doubling the time that the paper will really wear4 ,some of ,liberty's damasque papers are also most suitable for these and1 indeed1 for any rooms2 but these are #bs41 and1 in consequence1 would cost more to put up4 ,lower than #as4 #f;d4 ,i cannot think it is wise to go1 for after all1 the great expense of papering is the labour1 and the vagaries of the ,british workman render it undesirable that we shall have to employ him more than we can possibly help4 ,for1 once he is in the house1 heaven only knows when he will leave2 and while he is there1 everything is disorganised1 the maids being engrossed by him and his doings and his followers1 and nothing going on in its accustomed and regular routine4 ,i am very fond of the soft apricot shade in the damasque papers1 and should often advise one of these used with either real ivory or caf-au-lait paint4 ,at first1 one need not put a dado1 especially if the room be prepared for #8number one1' as that can always be added later on1 when the room begins to look a little shabby round the base of the wall4 ,then if the master knows how to use his hands at all1 he can simply screw on a dado rail1 made of the ever-useful #8goehring1' while the mistress can make a full curtain dado of some inexpensive blue and cream cretonne4 ,oetzmann often has one at about #e;d4 a yard4 ,this is easily made up1 a very deep flounce is manufactured1 and a yard and a half of cretonne suffice for a yard of dado4 ,it should be slightly gathered on a tape1 and the width of the cretonne makes the depth of the dado4 ,on the tape are sewn very small rings1 and these are passed over brass-headed nails put close under the dado-rail1 which should be painted after it is fixed1 the heads of the screws being covered with putty also painted over2 this effectually conceals all traces of them4 ,it is easy for anyone to calculate the cost of such a dado exactly2 but1 as ,i said before it can always be added to a room1 should it not be advisable on the score of expense to put it up at first4 ,if the soft apricot paper is selected and the room is a very sunny one1 ,i should advise blue ,bolton sheeting curtains from ,burnett1 made double and edged with grip cord1 as most undoubtedly anything in such a room should be capable of being washed1 while a square blue #8,dunelm' carpet should be laid in the centre of the floor1 the outer space being covered with plain brown cork carpet4 ,on no account should a nursery be covered with linoleum1 oilcloth or cork carpet2 a real woollen carpet should be de rigueur4 ,nothing is worse for a child to creep on than the cold surface of any material which resembles oilcloth1 while it is the fault of the nurse entirely should a carpet be spoiled in any way4 ,so1 should the mother find the carpet becoming the worse for unfair treatment during the first eighteen months of a child's life1 she must realise that her nurse is to blame1 and that a woman who permits such #8accidents' is unfit for her position1 and should take some situation where the spotless carefulness and cleanliness which should mark anyone who has the care of a child are not required4 ,for be well assured1 if a nurse be careless and untidy in one way she will have these same failings in all she has to do4 ,a nurse may herself look the picture of all she ought to be1 but if her rooms bear the least signs of neglect1 if the child is not #8turned out' like a new pin1 and has not perfect #8manners' by the time it is a year old1 she must go4 ,unless she does1 there will never be peace in the nursery1 neither will the children ever be well4 ,people may feel inclined to scoff at the notion that a child's health can depend on its appearance2 but this is a fact1 and no amount of scoffing will alter it4 ,if1 for example1 you see a child sent out with untidy boots1 coarse stockings in which there may be a hole or two1 and which said stockings are not pulled up trimly and correctly under the short skirts or the neat little knickerbockers2 if the under-garments are showing either at waist or knee1 if the clothes are unbrushed and awry and the hair unkempt1 send the nurse away at once4 ,if she be careless about the looks of the children she will be careless about their health4 ,her rooms will be either stuffy or draughty2 she will not discriminate about the children's food or their times of sleep or play2 she will not see the boots are repaired and the clothes aired2 she is utterly untrustworthy4 ,i have had a large experience of people of all kinds1 and ,i can honestly say ,i have never found a sloven a good servant1 or an untidy woman one who could be trusted in any position in one's household4 ,bad as this fault is in anyone1 it is desperate indeed where children are concerned1 and should therefore never be endured for a moment4 ,the nurse who is really fit for her post takes as much pride in the children's appearance as the mother does herself4 ,should she not do so1 colds are incessant1 and small illnesses frequent1 while should there be an infant matters are still worse1 for the baby's bottles are sure to be badly kept2 indeed a child may die1 or at the least may suffer severely because of the untidy habits and slovenly ways of the nurse4 ,one of the easiest ways to discover what manner of woman she is1 is this very question of the carpet4 ,and should she object to one and suggest oilcloth1 be quite sure she does not know her business1 or only wants to save herself trouble4 ,a carpet is a necessity in a properly-managed nursery1 and that should be an axiom which should never for one instant be forgotten4 ,i should never paper the ceiling of a nursery1 neither should gas be allowed there2 neither should we overcrowd this room with furniture1 nor should we permit a vast accumulation of toys4 ,the ceiling should be washed cream-colour once a year1 and the room1 if small1 should be lighted with a good duplex lamp from the centre of the ceiling2 also from one swung out on an arm near the fireplace1 if the room be large and the nurse wish to sit near the fire to do her work1 or wash and undress the children there in winter4 ,no lamps should be allowed to stand about anywhere and all must be out of the reach of the children1 else will accidents certainly occur4 ,the lamp must be re-trimmed and refilled daily downstairs by whoever attends to the sitting-room lamps1 and must have a metal receiver4 ,it must also be the reverse of cheap4 ,cheap lamps are dangerous and abominable in every way4 ,yet a lamp must we have in our nurseries if we wish the children to be well1 and to escape the blighting influence of a gas-vitiated atmosphere4 ,if no maid can be trusted to do the lamps the mistress must see to them herself4 ,she need not take more than half an hour about the three or four which would be all that were used in a small house and she will reap the benefit in the children's health1 and in feeling confident that the lamps will not smell1 and that they will burn brightly1 and not expire suddenly because they have not been properly filled in the morning4 ,if the nursery is a small room ,i should advise the table to be made on the principle of one of the old oak gate tables in deal1 stained a good dark brown4 ,this is quite large enough to #8dine' four people1 and can be used to cut out on1 if required2 and then when not in use it can be folded back and put against the wall1 thus giving the child or children more room to play about4 ,this table1 a low chair or two1 the children's chairs1 and about two or three rush-seated chairs are quite sufficient furniture for a nursery1 if we add a big cupboard which1 if we are lucky enough to have recesses each side of the fireplace1 can easily be constructed by any working carpenter4 ,if there are no recesses ,i should put this cupboard in one of the corners of the room2 it would take up less space there1 and would not cause as many accidents as if it stood out into the room1 always ready to deal blows to the unsteady toddler for whose sake such danger must be steadily avoided4 ,the lower part of the cupboard can be sacred to toys1 the higher part to work and garments in course of construction4 ,all clothes in wear should be placed in a cupboard in the dressing-room1 which room should also contain the nursery cups and saucers and property generally1 and all washing and dressing matters4 ,an excellent thing for the nursery is a wide box-ottoman placed in the window1 and if we can have one with sides and ends so much the better1 as this can be turned with the back to the room1 and here in a species of crib or cage1 can a young person be placed safely to look out of the window1 any attempts at falling over the back being frustrated by the nearness of the nurse4 ,of course baby cannot fall out of the window if open1 or through it if shut1 because of the most necessary nursery bars1 which must be erected inside the window1 not outside in the ordinary way2 in this position they do double duty1 and not only prevent accidents1 from the child falling out of the window1 but render it almost impossible for the glass to be broken4 ,of course a nursery window should be of plate glass if no other window in the house is1 and should have a cheerful outlook1 an amusing outlook being better for a child than any amount of toys4 ,the window should be absolutely draught-proof4 ,it must have a ventilator capable of being almost hermetically sealed in its top pane1 and at the same time very easily opened4 ,it must never be stuffed up with blinds and an undue amount of curtain4 ,sunshine means health1 and the more sunshine a house or room receives the better4 ,this should be impressed on a nurse at once1 and she should never have the means of making the room dark and dismal in her hands1 or else she will certainly do so at the very earliest possible opportunity4 ,another most excellent thing to have in a nursery where there are growing children would be a regular hammock on good supports1 to be erected or taken away at will1 and to be sufficiently low to ensure that a fall therefrom would do no harm4 ,this hammock would be as useful as a sofa1 and as amusing as a swing1 without the disagreeable after-effects and danger2 and1 of course1 it should be heaped with the humble pillows1 made of curled paper1 in linen cases1 which are so invaluable1 because they cost nothing1 and can be thrown about genially without doing any amount of damage at all4 ,the walls of the nursery must either be pictureless or embellished by really good autotypes1 sufficient of which can be procured for about #e for quite a large room4 ,for let nothing allow any mother to put up the glaring vulgar nursery pictures which one sees so often in children's rooms1 and which undoubtedly vitiate the children's tastes1 and give them bad and false ideas of art from their earliest days4 ,then1 too1 ,i most thoroughly recommend that the amount of toys allowed be of the smallest3 a ,noah's ark1 a really good box of bricks1 a horse and cart1 dolls1 and a nice doll's house are quite sufficient for any small person4 ,the child who is dependent on a constant supply of mechanical and expensive toys is a poor thing1 and is never likely to grow up to be much good to itself or to anyone else4 ,if we arrange our nursery on these lines1 and have the dressing-room also1 we should require the simple bed for the nurse only to be brought into the room for use at night1 and the dressing-room should be entirely kept for dressing purposes4 ,our nursery needs a good cupboard4 ,wallace sells a good deal #8linen cupboard1' which1 painted #8real ivory1' or electric turquoise enamel1 makes a capital nursery wardrobe1 and here the child's clothes should be kept1 while the nurse should have one of ,wallace's indispensable corner wardrobes for her dresses1 which costs by the way the ridiculous sum of #bhs4 ,all that is required besides is a combination piece of furniture with drawers--toilet-table and washing-stand combined--and which would give her ample space for all the linen she possesses4 ,one of ,shoolbred's small bamboo cupboard-tables would hold boots and shoes and bonnets quite well1 and no accumulations of any kind should be allowed4 ,the nurse's box must never be kept in either room1 but be relegated at once to the box-room2 and directly a child's garment is outgrown1 or the worse for wear1 let it be given away4 ,the only good ,i have ever been able to see in a small house is1 that no one can possibly hoard there4 ,if hoarding is begun it cannot be carried on1 because if it were1 there would speedily be no room to turn round4 ,now1 if one room only can be given up for a nursery1 it must have fitments which can be removable at will in case we stay there not longer than the ordinary three years2 or they can be on the lines of a #8workers' room1' ,i designed for ,messrs ,wallace ,co41 and which said fitments are part and parcel of the chamber4 ,in the first place the bed must fold up by day into a species of #8combined bedstead and bookcase arrangement1' which is a bed by night1 and looks like a bookcase-sideboard by day2 and in the second1 another cupboard must be furnished with a shelf to draw out from above1 resting on brackets3 on which shelf are to stand the basin ewer1 etc41 when in use4 ,the brushes and combs must be shut away1 while the looking-glass should be an ornamental one over the mantelpiece4 ,with a room such as this the nurse must take the child to its mother when she herself is dressed1 and she must throw up the window and open the door while she breakfasts with the other maid or maids4 ,she must then #8do' her nursery thoroughly1 and after that wash and dress the infant4 ,while the child is quite small this should not be done later than #i a4m2 after it is a year old it must be dressed before breakfast1 and go to its mother while the nurse has her meal4 ,indeed1 no meals must be allowed in the nursery under these circumstances2 and the fact of there being only one nurse means that the mother must act as upper nurse herself4 ,such a situation ,i cannot recommend to any girl who has had but little acquaintance with the ways and manners of an infant4 ,if she undertakes it1 she will always be sending for a doctor2 and1 much as ,i love the profession1 ,i would rather recommend the payment of a good nurse1 for1 if she is good1 she knows far more about a baby than any doctor can do4 ,he has most excellent theories1 she a great amount of experience to aid her in wrestling with infantile complaints1 which are generally treated far more satisfactorily by strict attention to diet1 exercise and air1 than by any amount of the newest and most wonderful drugs in the world4 ,if there are a couple of deep recesses1 one each side of the fireplace1 it would be quite possible to treat the room on the principles of the worker's room and at no great expense4 ,in one recess should be a folding bed1 closed up in a cupboard during the day time1 exactly on the same lines as the ,harrow boys' beds1 and into this cupboard all the bedding can be shut4 ,the second recess should have four or five shelves fitted in1 and these should be covered by doors in three divisions4 ,the upper and lower doors should be shorter than the centre one1 and they should all shut and open quite independently of each other4 ,the top cupboard should be used for garments2 the second one should enclose two shelves1 the lower one of which should be double width and hinged half way1 so that when in use1 it could open out and be brought forward and be supported on folding brackets4 ,this shelf must be painted with ,aspinall's bath enamel or else covered with white ,american leather to resist the action of water2 and on this the washing apparatus must be arranged4 ,above1 on the first shelf1 all brushes and combs may be placed1 while the glass over the mantelpiece can be used as a dressing-glass1 or we can have one fixed inside the cupboard door that faces the light4 ,on the other door should be fixed a brass rod for towels1 then all would be complete4 ,the cupboard under this shelf could be used on one side for the slop-pail1 etc41 and on the other for boots and shoes4 ,these fitments could be made out of deal by any decent amateur carpenter4 ,the wood could either be #8goehring1' which cannot warp or crack1 or else well-seasoned deal1 #8primed for painting4' ,it should receive a coat of ,aspinall's enamel1 and after two days have elapsed and allowed that coat to harden thoroughly1 a second should be applied4 ,paint is saved and a good decorative effect is obtained by filling in the panels with ,japanese leather paper or else with anaglypta1 while carved panels can be bought very cheaply in the material #8goehring1' which of course would require the same amount of paint as would the rest of the cupboard fitments4 ,then the window-seat can either be the box-ottoman one already suggested1 sold by ,story ,triggs for about #f1 #fs41 and called the #8,desideratum1' or it can be made at home from more deal or more #8goehring4' ,in this case the simplest way to proceed is to put a straight piece of wood right across the bow or ,caldecott window1 hiding it by a flounce of cretonne4 ,the back of the window would form the back of the ottoman1 while the bottom could be made of brown holland1 tacked in on the inside all round4 ,the hinges of the top should be fixed to the back of the window1 and the sides should rest on wooden bars nailed on the sides of the window1 and the top should be composed of a stout deal frame1 supplemented by straps of webbing1 and on these straps a cushion should be laid stuffed with flock4 ,this box should be made very strongly indeed and need cost very little2 but although it holds a great deal1 and can be most useful to supplement the cupboards1 it can never be half as serviceable as the real box-ottoman with the ends and sides of which ,i have already spoken4 ,illustration ,the decoration of such a room as this must depend on the aspect4 ,if this be very sunny1 as indeed it should be1 green or blue should be used1 the latter for choice4 ,i do not think anyone who has not tried it can have the smallest idea how delightful this colour is to live with1 or the use of it would be far more universal than it is even now4 ,of course people get the wrong blue1 and then rave against it1 and rightly too1 for a drab or dull shade is simply awful4 ,there are some shades which go black or grey at night1 but no difficulty is found where ,aspinall's #8electric turquoise' or #8hedge sparrow egg' blue is taken as one's guiding star4 ,an old turquoise1 or a rather dark-coloured duck's egg are also very useful as guides to colour1 should ,aspinall be unprocurable1 and the rather prohibitive price 7#ds4 #f;d4 a piece7 puts ,smee's ,panton blue paper entirely out of the market1 as far as a small suburban nursery is concerned4 ,the cupboards and all the paint can also be of a soft brown shade1 and then the dado should either be in anaglypta painted the same colour1 or else in a blue and brown cretonne1 which can be found sometimes at ,colbourne's1 or at ,liberty's or at ,oetzmann's4 ,above that should be hung one of ,knowles's less expensive blue papers1 if one can get it the right shade and he generally keeps it now1 or the ever-faithful blue #8,olive-leaf' on which we cannot improve for a small room4 ,the furniture should be as advised before1 though1 if the room be tiny1 and there is only one child1 ,derry ,toms' folding-table at #ds4 #aa;d4 is quite large enough for all purposes1 and leaves us far more space in the centre of the room than we should otherwise possess4 ,if the room is sunless3 well1 ,i should like to say that this is impossible3 but1 alas6 ,i know that it is not3 the room should be done in yellows and browns1 and have blue curtains and carpet4 ,but a sunless room is a crime1 and should never be allowed4 ,neither should a tree-shaded house be chosen4 ,trees mean damp and flies and all sorts of misery2 and if the trees which luxuriate in some suburbs cannot be cut down these suburbs must be avoided1 for trees are all very well in their way1 and lovely and pleasant enough in a big park1 but they always come much too close to a small house1 and ,i personally have been almost crippled with rheumatism and obliged to make two or three expensive moves1 because ,i did not understand how very much the nearness of trees to a house had to do with the damp which caused me so much unnecessary suffering4 ,besides they keep out sunshine and light1 and moreover harbour insects and dirt2 and ,i think flies are among those miseries of suburban or country life which are never properly taken into account when folks think and speak of the delights of either existence4 ,by the way talking of flies let me give one or two simple ways of dealing with these torments and with their friends1 the wasps1 which however should never be destroyed heedlessly1 because they in their turn prey on the flies and reduce their numbers pretty considerably4 ,for flies the eucalyptus spray is a capital treatment1 the only drawback being the extreme stickiness of the eucalyptus water which falls about1 and often marks our cherished possessions4 ,then1 ,sanitas is very valuable1 and if people are not sensitive to smells1 no flies have ever been found which would face carbolic acid1 a fact that ,i proved during one damp summer1 when we were almost eaten alive by the little wretches4 ,for one of my children caught scarlet fever1 and the moment the orthodox sheets were erected1 and the mop used freely on the floors to spread about the same disgusting stuff1 with one accord the flies departed1 and as far as ,i can make out have not yet returned at anyrate in any great numbers4 ,i discovered1 too1 that wasps dislike eucalyptus1 but not as much as flies do 7these by the way retreat also before paraffin71 while they vanished absolutely before ,liberty's #8joss sticks4' ,these when burned liberally1 kept them entirely at bay1 and that in a year when the newspapers were filled with complaints as to their numbers and ferocity4 ,gnats are sometimes circumvented by hanging #8southernwood' on the bed1 or about the windows1 while1 if the house be old or much covered with creepers--,i advise nothing but tiny virginian creepers and clematis1 roses bring blight and increase one's insect troubles at once--it is absolutely necessary to stretch very fine black gauze or net on a frame to cover entirely the window outside4 ,this keeps out every insect1 does not show1 and does not keep out the very smallest amount of air or light4 ,only are earwigs circumvented by these means1 or by a liberal use of disinfectants and of paraffin1 but such remedies are to me worse than the disease and can only be employed if folks are not highly sensitive to smells4 ,carbolic makes me physically sick for hours at a time1 and ,i think even the worst plague of flies which was ever experienced is better than the misery and discomfort of almost perpetual nausea4 ,but when carbolic has not this effect it should undoubtedly be largely used to keep all insects at bay4 ,now let us just for one moment describe a suburban house where decent nurseries are possible1 where a good spare room is left1 and a bedroom and dressing-room do exist1 and which yet costs no more than #ie a year1 for ,i see no reason why all small suburban houses should not be built on these lines4 ,the staircase comes up from the hall to a narrow landing2 on the left hand is the spare-room door1 opposite that are good bed and dressing-rooms2 and then on the right is an arch1 beyond which are bathroom1 day and night nurseries and a nursery pantry1 designed first as a dressing-room to the room used for the night nursery4 ,this arrangement is small but perfect1 for if infectious disease entered the nurseries1 they could be isolated in one moment by a match boarding doorway erected in the arch and protected each side by the usual carbolic sheets4 ,the strength of the carbolic1 by the way1 is #a in #bj1 and the sheets are kept damp with an ordinary garden syringe4 ,at the first hint of infection the rooms should be cleared of all superfluous furniture and draperies1 and the carpets taken away and cleaned at once1 while all floors should be mopped at least twice a day with the same carbolic as used for the sheets1 etc41 and in this every article used in the sick-room must be steeped before it leaves the place4 ,every mother and every nurse should know what to do on an emergency1 and the moment anything infectious appears1 the utmost precautions must be taken to prevent a spread of the complaint4 ,of course the doctor and the master of the house notify the complaint at once to the authorities1 but the neighbours on each side and in front and back should be told too1 and the tradesmen be warned2 indeed1 no precautions are too great to ensure that no one shall suffer by our fault or our carelessness and selfishness4 ,remember that we may be unconscious murderers if we are not super-careful at such times1 for some child may die because we have not sufficiently realised the situation1 or known how really wrong it is to run the very tiniest risk of giving someone else anything that may be fatal4 ,as children more especially are liable to take infectious diseases the nurseries cannot be too lightly furnished1 though of course1 comfort must not in any way be neglected1 nor must draughts be allowed4 ,all curtains and portires must be washed1 and the carpet and all furniture be removed at once1 even if it have to be stored in the passages and other rooms1 and be greatly in the way of the other inhabitants of the house4 ,if the children have pets the dogs and cats must be washed with carbolic soap and water1 and sent away at once1 and the canaries must be removed downstairs4 ,i do not think anyone realises how easily cats and dogs can spread complaints1 else ,i should not have heard my nurse exclaim1 #8,oh6 ,i should never have thought of sending away the dogs4' ,neither1 by the same token1 would the doctor1 although both our dogs were in the habit of reposing on the beds1 and one at least had extremely long hair4 ,to sum up briefly the necessities of a healthy nursery1 ,i should say that they include two easily-isolated rooms1 plenty of sun and air as opposed to heat and draughts1 and above all1 spotless cleanliness and well-made1 simply-designed furniture1 which can be easily moved1 which allows of no accumulations1 and which finally can be kept by the nurse herself in a state of perfect dustlessness without an undue amount of labour4 ,under these circumstances even a suburban house can be made to do its duty and to provide the proper accommodation for our future citizens the children of the home4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,bedrooms ,in the rooms set aside for the purposes of rest and sleep1 ,i venture to remark that the ordinary builder1 to say nothing of the ordinary decorator1 rises to his very worst heights of villainy1 and makes the task before us one of almost superhuman effort4 ,i have had three of these houses to live in1 and in all of them1 when the doors did not face the only possible place to put the bed1 they came exactly at the side of the fire1 and left no space whatever to put a sofa1 let alone a comfortable armchair should one be ill and have to remain in one's room longer than the hours which are set apart for repose4 ,and as illness is always possible1 and moreover more than possible is it vain to ask when further #8eligible sites' are cut up for building1 that the landlords of the future will kindly keep an eye on the ,illustration3 ,,bedroom4 plans and ensure the houses being built in such a way that it is possible to live in them without an undue expenditure of money or resources8 ,how ,i should love to design just for once the small ideal house with its square hall1 capable of being used as an extra sitting-room or a billiard-room1 we need not then have the #8three reception-rooms' which sound so grand and mean so little4 ,upstairs should be three good bedrooms and a dressing-room1 bath and day nursery2 the servants' rooms and box-room in their turn above these1 and whenever possible1 reached by a separate staircase4 ,i see no reason why such a house with reasonable and rational servants' downstairs accommodation1 as already described1 should be out of the reach of the usual suburban resident with his #hjj to #ajjj a year4 ,if arranged in this compact and comfortable style1 and if every labour-saving appliance that is obtainable is introduced1 the number of servants required would be minimised4 ,a great consideration in these days1 when though we are always being badgered to help the unemployed no one seems able to get any servants1 and1 even if they are forthcoming1 they have to be paid double the old prices1 while they do half the amount of work4 ,at least that is what ,i am always hearing4 ,personally1 ,i have never found any difficulty in obtaining all the maids ,i myself require4 ,at the same time1 if ,i were building ever so small a house1 ,i should undoubtedly have hot and cold water taps and a waste pipe in every bedroom and dressing-room1 and would even go as far as to have fixed washing-stands there too4 ,i would put at least one cupboard in each room1 also a window-seat1 and1 of course1 the regulation tiled hearth and slow-combustion stove with its tiled surround and its simple black fender4 ,the short curtains to the windows1 the carefully-selected pictures and ornaments1 and the matted floor should all help to make the work light1 and to render it unnecessary to keep any superfluous number of maids4 ,but we have at present to do with the suburban residence as it is and not as it might be1 and therefore it is not much use in dreaming about perfection1 for if we do we shall most certainly be disappointed1 and do no real good at all4 ,we shall have to combat shrunken doors and ill-fitting windows1 poor grates and bad floors1 and therefore the sooner we set about remedying these faults the better it will be for us4 ,i do most certainly advise that whatever else is put up with1 the usual black wide-mouthed all-devouring grate may be altered and replaced with some kind of a very simple slow-combustion one4 ,these grates can be bought for #c or #d at ,shuffery's in ,welbeck ,street1 and will probably save their cost in coal in one month's use4 ,besides which they will ensure the warmth and comfort which cannot possibly exist without them2 for pile on coal as we may on the grate of the past1 the heat goes mostly up the chimney1 while the fuel is exactly as useful as regards keeping the fire in1 as would be leaves or pieces of paper4 ,our sole occupation with such a grate is to jump up every five minutes and prevent the fire from going out altogether1 by putting on more coal1 and yet again more2 until our patience1 to say nothing of our coal supply1 gives out most completely4 ,i have recently spent some months in the company of such a grate1 and ,i can assure my readers ,i have not had a pleasant time of it4 ,i happened to be obliged to have a fire in all night1 and ,i had no sooner gone comfortably to sleep than the cold roused me again to find that the wretched thing had gone out or almost out1 notwithstanding that half an hour before ,i had not only fed it copiously with coal1 but put briquettes in considerable numbers into its vast and hungry jaws4 ,briquettes which will as a rule keep in the fire for nearly twelve hours were useless here1 and ,i have been therefore confirmed in my deadly hatred against these grates by my sufferings at their hands during a long and most exceptionally severe winter4 ,once more1 ,i can assure my readers as regards the grates1 that it is absolutely no use to temporise2 and that both the one in the day nursery and that in the best bedroom must go1 even if it cannot be managed that the grates in the other upstairs rooms can be changed2 while let nothing persuade anyone to have gas stoves erected4 ,they are both cheerless and unhealthy1 albeit ,i know they are a great saving in trouble1 that they are now properly ventilated1 and that they can be turned on and off at a moment's notice1 and can be so regulated that the proper temperature for all rooms--#fj degrees--can be maintained either at night or day4 ,but ,i cannot breathe in any house where gas is allowed to warm the air4 ,i know plants never last in such an atmosphere1 as my plants do1 and that1 moreover1 wherever gas stoves are employed largely1 anyone in that special place is pale1 wan and susceptible to cold4 ,indeed1 the more ,i see of any attempt to heat our rooms otherwise than by open fires1 the more ,i am convinced that such attempts are harmful and unsuccessful1 and that1 therefore1 coal and wood fires should be #8our only wear1' at least until some genius invents something better and less costly4 ,at the same time ,i don't see why anyone need make such attempts--given the proper grates--for nothing can take the place of a cheery blaze1 which apart from its health-giving properties1 always seems to greet us when we enter the room1 is a delightful companion1 and oftentimes provides us with a pleasant occupation should we be bored or tired4 ,for nothing is more pleasing than to feed a good-tempered blaze until it laughs and chuckles at us as it goes rollicking up the chimney on its way to the outer air4 ,then the last thing at night it can be banked up and left1 rather dull-looking perhaps and surly and sad2 but when the early morning comes one poke of the judiciously-applied poker and out leaps the eager blaze2 a few good knobs of coal are put on1 and in less than five minutes back comes our cheery friend1 making even a foggy morning bright and cheerful1 and a wet or snowy one vivacious if nothing else1 under its bright and charming influence4 ,what stove1 what emotionless gas glitter can be anything save prosaic in comparison8 while ,i am certain health suffers where anything save a proper fire is ordinarily employed4 ,a careful tenant can keep the landlord's grates and replace them when he leaves1 but ,i never think this is worth the expense1 the principal expense about changing the grates being the fixing them2 at the same time1 ,i cannot say too often that we shall not want to move in the insensate manner in which suburban residents do move nowadays1 if we make ourselves comfortable at first1 and do not sit down to discomfort1 with that depressing sentence on our lips--#8,after all1 it's only for three years1 and therefore it is not worth while6' ,having begun our reform by putting in new and decent grates1 we can turn our attention to the doors and windows and the floor4 ,the draughts must be excluded by #8,slater's patent1' and the floor properly stopped1 and moreover planed if rough2 while should the door show gaps1 as ,i once knew one to do1 in a manner which allowed the unfortunate owner to perceive1 without opening it1 whether the gas was burning in the hall outside or not1 these gaps must be stopped1 either by inserting slips of wood1 or with putty1 or some sort of stopping3 the door1 as usual1 being covered inside and out by the ever-useful1 ever-faithful and most decorative portire4 ,i cannot understand the firm and pugnacious way in which the ordinary householder clings to his bare and undraped doors1 and will not avail himself of the shelter and warmth which can be obtained in no other way4 ,it cannot be the expense4 ,wallace supplies the rods at #d;d4 a foot1 the brackets cost about #d;d4 each1 and as a yard and a quarter of double-width material suffices for the ordinary suburban door1 though ,i advise an extra half width2 and this costs1 at the outside1 #es42 ,i see no reason why this should not be put over even the humblest suburban door in the world4 ,as it cannot be the cost1 ,i can but come to the conclusion that as usual paterfamilias has interfered1 a thing no man should do in a house on the matter of decoration and management4 ,he may give an opinion if he is asked for one3 though he is most judicious who takes care that that opinion coincides with that of his wife1 so if he has been hardy enough to veto the portire1 he must be gently1 but firmly1 shown that it is not stuffy--the thermometer will do that--and that neither is it a dust-trap4 ,this can be demonstrated in a few minutes by taking it down before his eyes1 and having it removed1 shaken1 and replaced all in less time than it takes to tell of it4 ,if after this he objects to moving it on one side as he enters the door1 he must be carefully trained to see how ridiculous such a notion is1 the while it is casually mentioned that an entrance to a room is not to be effected in the same way one takes a five-barred gate4 ,this is a lesson all men can be taught just as many of them have been taught1 thanks to me1 that the hall need not be strewed with hats1 gloves and brushes1 and hung with coats and waterproofs in the last stages of dissolution1 and that they can be quite as happy with their raiment out of sight as ever they were when they were allowed to strew it about in their entrances1 at their own sweet wills4 ,it is1 however1 usually impossible to live in an ordinary suburban house unless the furniture be made1 in a measure for that special abode4 ,for the rooms are so awkward and tiny that #8combination' furniture must be employed1 or else one cannot have space to move4 ,no bed should ever be draped in any way4 ,if the bedroom is properly arranged and ventilated1 while all draughts are excluded1 curtains cannot be required1 and no bed need present a starved or undecorated appearance if pictures are properly arranged behind it1 or a bookcase hung on the wall above it1 and the pillows properly put into frilled cases1 and placed during the day high up on under pillows4 ,at night the look of the bed behind the sleepers cannot trouble them1 but it will be all right if1 as ,i said before1 pictures are hung properly1 just1 and only just above the top rail of the plain and simple brass bed1 the only kind which should ever be allowed in any house4 ,if brass is too dear1 then plain iron must replace it2 the iron can be ,aspinalled #8real ivory1' and so be made to look quite superior in every way1 should the plain black iron be objected to4 ,i am quite shocked to see that a strenuous effort is being made to revive the beautiful1 but unhealthy1 wooden bedsteads of our ancestors1 but ,i do hope someone will form an #8anti-wooden bed league1' and scotch the thing in its very earliest days1 for there are people who will buy anything if assured by an enterprising tradesman that it is the newest thing out1 and that a similar article was sold to a member of the aristocracy during the last week or so4 ,now1 the very idea of the newness should warn off any wary buyer1 for a new thing cannot have been really tried and found successful1 while anyone can be fairly sure that a thing which has been sold1 and sold largely for ten or more years1 must be a success in one way or the other4 ,really it does seem a little late in the century to combat the vast disadvantages of wooden bedsteads6 still1 it must certainly be done1 else once more shall we have to put up with them1 to the great detriment of our health4 ,just think how impossible it would be to make a wooden bed absolutely safe should infectious disease seize the owner6 ,then too it encourages insects1 and is open to all sorts of other objections which those who think can discover for themselves4 ,therefore stick to brass and iron and the excellent wire-woven mattresses1 which only need supplementing with a really good hair mattress to make an ideal couch1 particularly if we see the latter is turned every day1 and moved from the head to the foot of the bed1 to ensure an equal amount of wear4 ,the simpler the furniture in a bedroom1 the better it will be for the owner thereof1 and if she can visit ,hewetson and have real old ,chippendale toilet-tables and washing-stands and wardrobes she should certainly do so2 if not she should buy new things made on similar lines1 and these she can always find at ,smee ,cobay's1 while for good plain furniture in a less expensive make1 ,wallace is always available1 and should certainly be consulted on this ever-fascinating subject4 ,but ,i am indeed thankful to have to note that the brief reign of brightly-enamelled and coloured bedroom furniture is now at an end1 as dead as the peacock's feather and the ,japanese fan1 and the dreadful stuffed storks and chenille monkeys so dear to the heart of the would-be artistic woman4 ,enamel is most excellent and useful if we must have the plain deal furniture1 which we used to have to buy grained and varnished1 and of an awful sickly yellow brown that would have ruined any room4 ,but in this case we must buy the furniture in the plain wood #8primed for painting1' and either ask the upholsterer to follow our directions implicitly1 or else have it home in this state1 and paint it ourselves or turn on the handy man1 without whom no suburban residence can be made in the least degree habitable1 unless we can afford reckless expenditure1 in which case we should hardly take up our residence in a similar abode4 ,if this style of furniture be gone in for1 it should be recollected that there are only two shades of enamel which can be used in a would-be artistic house for this purpose1 and those are #8electric turquoise' and #8real ivory4' ,green pink and yellow are truly terrible1 and cannot be excused4 ,plain brown stain is bearable but ,i do not advise it1 while let no one attempt to use an amateur green stain on any account4 ,it is a failure at once and makes any room abominable because of its pretentiousness1 for as ,i have said before1 the beautiful green stain made familiar to us by ,liberty first1 can only be obtained from a professional hand1 an amateur cannot get it1 try how he may to do so4 ,now there are about three ways of decorating a suburban bedroom1 though of course the details as regards special papers and special furniture can be varied infinitely4 ,at the same time no one should make the fatal mistake of treating such a house or such rooms either in the ,moorish1 ,japanese or ,old ,empire style1 or in any eccentric fashion at all4 ,neither way can be suitable for it4 ,indeed1 ,i do not care for the jumble of styles made by having an eastern-looking hall1 an ,old ,english dining-room1 a ,queen ,anne drawing-room and a ,moorish landing1 which is so inexpressively dear to the would-be artistic decorator1 and ,i can but suggest that my readers will resist the temptation of similar eccentricities to the very utmost1 contenting themselves with the simple furniture kept by my pet firms1 and using this in connection with the papers and paint which are specially made and designed to go with the different styles4 ,if a really good hand-made floral paper can be afforded1 nothing can approach it for bedroom decoration2 but the printed cheap imitations must not be looked at for one moment1 for they cannot possibly be the success the others are4 ,where a floral bedroom fails to charm1 it is always because the paper is just not quite right1 because every detail has not been thought out and carried out to the very smallest item1 or because a timid person has advised on the subject1 or the advice has been given by someone who does not understand the subject4 ,now to obtain success1 ,jeffrey's papers or ,knowles's or ,haines's must be used1 and here let me name some which are always in stock1 and which can always be procured4 ,first of all is ,haines's #8ragged robin1' a ,french paper on a soft ground1 which is perfect2 then comes ,jeffrey's clematis in different shades and combinations of colour1 my pet one being the mauve and green ,i have already mentioned1 while ,knowles's #8rose' and dahlia papers are beautiful1 as are ,godfrey ,giles's1 and although the cost is awful we must not forget ,mr ,smee's magnificent #8,hamilton1' albeit that could only be used as a frieze1 as it is something like #ajs4 or #abs4 a piece4 ,having chosen the floral paper the dado should be either in cretonne which matches the paper exactly2 or else a dado should be made like a deep flounce in some plain material4 ,if we select the cretonne1 it must be run round the room so that the pattern goes in a different way to that on the wall1 and the window curtains must match precisely4 ,but should we select what ,godfrey ,giles calls the #8,muriel' curtain dado1 the curtains should be in plain linen and lace1 as should the table-covers1 mantel drapery1 and any cushion covers we may have in the room4 ,unless we use ,miss ,goodban's new linen and flax curtains1 draperies1 etc42 these1 of course1 are much more expensive1 but then they are ideal1 and the bedspreads at any rate should not be forgotten1 for they wash and wear better than any others ,i have ever come across4 ,then too the ware should match the flowers employed in the decoration2 and in all floral rooms1 save where blue and yellow are employed together1 the floor should have either one of ,wallace's square green carpets--the only green carpets on which one can absolutely rely to be always correct and always the same--or else plain cream matting or the green #8,isis' matting should fit the room as the old-fashioned carpets used to1 supplemented of course with a certain amount of rugs judiciously arranged1 and not put down in straight lines each side of the bed or in front of the toilet-table and washing-stand and fireplace1 as they are all too often arranged by those who do not understand the matter4 ,the paint should always be the exact shade of the ground of these floral papers1 and this generally shades from pale ivory to still paler caf-au-lait4 ,not that ,i mean for one moment that the paint in one room should be anything save one even surface of colour1 but that as a rule the shade of the ground of these papers differs one from the other1 and that whatever shade is chosen for the ground1 that and that only must be taken as a guide for the paint for the room itself4 ,further1 all cornices must be coloured cream and all ceilings1 save those just written of1 should be papered in some pretty and inexpensive ceiling paper1 which1 as a rule1 in #8floral rooms1' should be ,jeffrey's #8tie' paper in pale green and white4 ,the best furniture for these rooms is ,wallace's set of green-stained furniture with tiles to match the shade selected in the wall paper2 that is to say if we select pink and green1 the tiles should be absolutely plain pale pink in the palest shade of coral pink1 and if we have yellow and green1 the tiles should be yellow2 while if plain dados and curtains are used1 the colour for these should be green as should the carpets4 ,these rules should apply to any combination of colour we may select1 the only exception being if we should have blue and yellow4 ,then blue must be our foundation1 so to speak1 while the tiles must be yellow and patternless1 and the furniture in some good dark wood1 such as walnut or ,chippendale mahogany1 my pet wood of all the woods one can buy4 ,if we select real ,chippendale furniture1 we should not have a floral room1 although it would be correct to have one of the strange and to me hideous ,chinese papers ,knowles sells1 and which were1 ,i believe1 the only correct wall papers at that special date1 and which should be used with chintz1 not cretonne1 curtains4 ,but then it would be still more correct to paint and panel the walls1 and that would be singularly out of place in a suburban bedroom2 unless we fell upon one of ,mr ,ernest ,newton's little houses1 when we should probably find the panelling ready for us and have nothing to do but paint it4 ,still ,i never can bear a plain painted wall1 or one that is colour-washed or plainly papered4 ,such a room can never look really furnished1 and has a most depressing effect2 and in consequence ,i always advise paper2 for1 after all one had better be comfortable than correct4 ,if we were absolutely correct1 by the way1 and remorselessly turned our backs on all anachronisms1 we should have bow windows with tiny panes1 rush-strewn floors and all sorts of detestable things which have long since vanished along with the #8bad old times' which gave them birth4 ,therefore as we will not be severely correct1 we should have either an ivory anaglypta dado1 and above that a #8sea-green' paper from ,knowles or ,smee ,cobay3 or we should have an anaglypta ceiling coloured real ivory1 and all sea-green finishings-off1 as suggested before4 ,also we can use a really beautiful old-world material called linen damask1 which can be bought of ,smee1 and which is a washable imitation of the damasks used by our ancestors1 only in really beautiful colours1 and not in the crude and awful greens1 blues and reds which were so dear to their hearts4 ,if the bedroom is sunless this green idea must be most studiously avoided2 and yellow must take its place1 arranged either with a dado or frieze of the anaglypta1 or else with nut-brown paint and a brown linen curtain dado and yellow printed damask curtains4 ,a dado is far more useful in a bedroom than a frieze1 for it saves the base of the wall from the tender mercies of the housemaid1 and allows the bed to be placed against the wall1 which is by far the best position for any bed2 for1 placed with the head and one side against the wall1 it cannot take up half the space it does when stuck out into the middle of the room1 as so many beds all too often do4 ,i would by the way1 most strongly recommend the beds which are known as #8twin bedsteads1' and which allow two people occupying one room to sleep quite independently of each other's movements1 and which are therefore most invaluable in every way4 ,there is no greater misery than for a restless person to have to control his or her every movement for fear of disturbing a bedfellow1 no greater misery than for a quiet sleeper to be aroused every moment by some impatient gesture from a restless one3 and all drawbacks are removed by having these twin bedsteads1 which make each individual sleeper comfortable1 and which also are very simple and well devised without any undue amount of embellishments4 ,beds1 by the way1 should always be thoroughly dusted once a week1 the entire bedding being removed for that purpose2 while twice or three times a year the ironwork should be taken apart and well washed with ,sanitas or carbolic soap1 not because there is any chance of strange visitors having taken up their abode there1 but because in no other way can one ensure the spotless dustlessness1 to coin a word1 that makes a house as healthy as it should most undoubtedly be4 ,the third manner of decorating a bedroom1 and the least expensive1 is to take some definite colour--such as blue1 yellow or pink--and #8live up' to that1 and that only in that special room1 taking care to choose an inexpensive paper in the right shade1 and not deviating from it in the smallest degree4 ,for example1 the blue should be #8electric turquoise1' and none other4 ,knowles has always inexpensive papers the right shade1 and if we avoid the detestable #8feather' which is dreadful1 we shall be all right4 ,then the paint should be #8electric turquoise4' ,we should have a yellow and white ceiling paper1 and should have ,wallace's blue #8lily' or #8iris' square carpet1 taking care to have a woollen fringe round it and a stained surround2 using as always1 ,jackson's invaluable varnish stains4 ,if the room be light1 we can use ,burnett's ,bolton sheeting in the same blue1 with a #8turned-over' top of the new-patterned sheeting to harmonise2 but if it is dark and sunless the curtains should be yellow1 in a similar material1 although nothing should induce anyone to have coloured muslin curtains should the windows require a second set4 ,all muslin curtains should be white1 or at most only a faint shade of cream1 and muslin curtains should be in all windows2 upstairs and down2 edged with very-softly-falling frills2 unless the windows are #8,caldecott' ones1 and therefore only require the one short set of material ones1 which can be easily drawn and undrawn as required4 ,in the blue room ,i am very fond of ash furniture and this can be bought at ,wallace's quite well1 but avoid here as elsewhere the ordinary chests of drawers1 or my pet abomination1 a chest of drawers to be used as toilet-table too2 neither1 under any circumstances1 must a toilet-table be placed in the window2 neither must #8half blinds' be indulged in4 ,these two things look more vulgar than ,i can say1 and are to be studiously avoided by anyone who cares about the outside appearance of her house4 ,if yellow be fixed on1 we can have a real orange damasque paper1 and ivory or brown paint1 green carpet1 curtains and furniture1 or we can have #8buttercup' yellow1 with #8earth brown' paint1 matting and rugs1 or else a brown square #8,dunelm' carpet from ,wallace1 ,liberty's brown and yellow ,java cretonne1 and walnut or mahogany furniture4 ,or yet again the paint can be real ivory1 the carpet and curtains blue1 and the furniture #8real ivory' too1 in fact a little taste and common-sense will provide an artistic room for any furniture that my readers may already possess4 ,if pink is chosen1 there is only one paper ,i can really recommend as to colour1 and that is a very old one3 ,pither's bay tree3 which could be used with ivory paint1 a deep frieze of ,knowles's #8rose-garland1' and cretonne curtains to match1 and here without any doubt at all we should have a green carpet and ,chippendale mahogany furniture4 ,i am very often asked by young girls about to get married what they can be working for their future homes1 and ,i always say1 #8very little1' unless they have already made up their minds what furniture they are to have1 and how their rooms are to be decorated2 because if they have a large stock of pretty things1 pretty in themselves1 they may find themselves either unable to use them at all or obliged to do so in rooms in which they become frightful at once1 because they are utterly out of place4 ,a room cannot be a success unless every detail dovetails and harmonises1 and where the bedspreads1 cushions and toilet-covers live in harmony with their neighbours2 the curtains1 paper and paint4 ,however it is always safe to choose certain papers1 such as those ,i have mentioned1 and to work bedspreads to match1 while1 if we select pink as our leading colour1 or yellow or blue1 the flax and linen cushions and covers ,i have spoken of as prepared for work or worked by ,miss ,goodban can always provide occupation4 ,neither must it be forgotten that initials must be embroidered on the house linen1 and that sets of sheets and towels must be kept for each room1 and duly embellished with monograms in appropriate shades of ,duncan's excellent washing silks4 ,where a house fails to be a real success1 be sure it is because some detail has been forgotten1 and under these circumstances let no one rest until it is remembered and carried out4 ,and here ,i am sure1 is a great opening for an artistic woman with a keen eye for effect--if only she could persuade some of our larger upholsterers to employ her--for such a woman is badly wanted to go round every newly-furnished house1 and note down as she goes the small things which will invariably escape the best male eye in the world1 and even the eye of the best decorator4 ,she will1 pocket-book in hand1 note the differences in the paint1 which always occur where ,aspinall is not used1 the bolt or knob forgotten there1 the curtain placed in the wrong room1 the portire that has been left out1 and she will finally put the last touches which none but a woman can1 and which in some mysterious manner turn a house into the home it can always be made by anyone who really and truly understands the science4 ,but nothing must be passed over2 no doubt it takes time and thought to obtain perfection1 still both are to be had1 ay1 even in the shoddy villa of the suburbs4 ,but there must be no temporising1 no #8it doesn't matter1 it's only for a short time4' ,neither must draughty doors and windows be allowed to remain2 if so1 pneumonia will come to stay1 chronic colds will be our portion1 and we shall be miserable from the moment we enter the house until we pass out of it in search of another1 where we shall only once more meet with a similar fate2 for the #8move on1 please6' of the policeman is not worse or more constant than the silent hint given by the suburban villa that it is not in any way a suitable place of residence for us and ours1 if we have not really circumvented its idiosyncrasies and made the very best of an absolutely bad job4 ,remember too1 the great help a screen is in every bedroom which is big enough to have one without over-crowding1 that one can easily have too many pictures and ornaments which encourage dust and enrage the housemaid1 and that even the soiled linen basket should be chosen carefully4 ,in these happy days1 cheap things are quite as prettily designed as expensive ones1 and if we take our time1 know our shops and our own minds1 and set to work carefully1 there is nothing to prevent us nowadays from having a quite perfect house1 and that without any undue expenditure of money or time4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,,dressing-,,rooms ,,and ,,bathrooms ,lucky indeed is that suburban householder who finds himself the proud possessor of one or more dressing-rooms beside the orthodox bathroom1 which1 thanks to the march of the ages1 is now to be found in the quite small houses which are only meant for such a humble individual as the ordinary city clerk4 ,as a rule1 there will be a dressing-room leading out of the #8best' bedroom1 and if this need not be used as described in the chapter on nurseries1 it were well to contemplate it and consider carefully if it cannot serve the purpose of a small private retreat for the house-mistress1 should the #8third room' have to be devoted to the maids1 or to the master1 or even to schoolroom purposes4 ,for it is absolutely necessary that she should have such a retreat2 and if the bathroom be available for the husband as indeed it should always be in a little house1 where visitors are the exception and not the rule1 there can be no reason why the dressing-room should not be so arranged that the wife could use it in the daytime1 ay1 and even see her more intimate friends there1 if she cares to do so4 ,i have twice had houses which have had fireless dressing-rooms1 and these were1 of course1 very difficult to deal with1 even when the rooms were used as dressing-rooms only1 and ,i do not quite know what ,i should have done had ,i not had other rooms available for myself4 ,yet as both dressing-rooms were on the outside of the house1 fire-places or stoves could have been placed there1 and1 of course1 ought to have been erected at once4 ,but the bathroom in each case was used for a dressing-room1 and the hot water always kept at a proper state of warmth even in the coldest weather2 though in both cases fire-places were available had it been necessary to have greater heat4 ,but when frost appeared we were always ready for it2 we kept gas and fires burning whenever pipes were likely to freeze1 and as all the outside pipes were properly protected1 ,i have never had a pipe burst myself and have never experienced in my own person the miseries ,i have had so graphically described to me by sufferers from this most disagreeable consequence of carelessness and the improper manner in which pipes are fixed and the supply pipes managed by the ordinary water company4 ,but first let us consider how the dressing-room can be arranged should it be necessary to use it during the day as a species of sitting-room or boudoir for the mistress of the house4 ,of course all dressing-rooms should be painted and decorated to match1 or else to harmonise with the bedrooms to which they are attached1 but ,i think a harmony rather than an exact copy should be the aim of whoever wishes to use this room as a boudoir for some hours at least during the day4 ,suppose1 for example1 we have a very sunny bedroom1 and we have selected a soft green paper1 such as ,smee's #8green ash1' and a rose-frieze for it1 in that case we could have a pale pink paper in the dressing-room above a matting1 or ,japanese leather dado in green and gold1 with all real ivory paint1 and the furniture here could be in the stained green wood which ,i always admire so much1 and of which it seems impossible to tire4 ,we could have the green #8,isis' matting and rugs on the floor1 and the curtains could be of sage-green serge2 this would make a charming room1 and while it would not slavishly copy1 neither would it flatly contradict the scheme of colour in the bedroom4 ,in the same way a blue bedroom could have a yellow dressing-room attached1 and this could be managed by selecting some real yellow paper1 and placing it above either a gold-and-brown ,japanese leather dado1 or1 yet again1 above a matting dado1 remembering that the matting used for this purpose must never under any circumstances have the smallest pattern on it2 if it have1 the look of the wall will be spoiled and the decorations will be anything but a real success4 ,i am compelled to impress this fact upon my readers1 because ,i have often seen a house spoiled simply because a matting dado to the room meant to the owner merely a dado made of matting2 and she had not realised that chessboard patterns or large diamonds are entirely out of place in this situation4 ,the only matting that should be used is the thin plain string-coloured kind made on purpose1 and which is sold at ,shoolbred's1 ,oetzmann's1 and sometimes at ,wallace's for #aj;d4 a yard2 sometimes ,treloar sells it for something less in a roll of #db yards1 but this matting is essentially what the ,french call #8a vende d'occasion1' and has often to be really looked for until the right thing is found4 ,if by the way a red and cream paper is put above a matting dado1 and red paint is required to be used1 a matting should be found which has a red thread running through it in an irregular way2 it must not on any account have a set or formal pattern on it1 or it will not be the success that it deserves to be4 ,yet another hint1 on no account should the dado or frieze rail be in the least degree heavy1 the lighter it is the better1 and ,i do not care for it to be more than an inch1 or at most an inch and a half in depth4 ,a wider rail always brings itself far too prominently before us1 and attracts undue attention1 while the lighter the rail is the cheaper will it be2 and once more ,i say use #8goehring1' and then matters will not fail to be all that they ought to be4 ,if the paper is yellow and the dado is brown and yellow1 the paint can be brown also1 while the curtains can be blue1 as can the carpet1 or else plain1 patternless matting can be used1 and the usual rugs4 ,if a blue square carpet is preferred1 and lucky is she whose house contains a dressing-room large enough for this1 the #8,dunelm' carpet is the best to have4 ,it is made in most excellent colourings1 is all wool1 and very thick1 and1 moreover1 is very inexpensive considering its admirable qualities4 ,but as a rule a dressing-room resembles a tube or part of a hall more than a room1 and as such we must think about it4 ,it is generally long and narrow1 and has a window in the most awkward situation1 with1 maybe1 the door opposite2 while the fireplace1 if fire-place there be1 is about a foot to the left or right of the door1 and admirably situated for anyone who may be on the look out for a cold4 ,this absurd situation can often be successfully treated by making the door open into the room on the fire side1 thus making the door itself act as a species of screen to whoever may be sitting in the room4 ,this alteration gives at once a place for a box-ottoman or an arm-chair1 or one of ,hewetson's admirable #8courting settees1' which can be placed with one end against the wall1 standing straight out into the room4 ,the high back of this settee shields anyone using it from draughts1 and these are further to be combated by hanging portires over the door1 inside and out1 which will complete the task1 already satisfactorily commenced1 by a judicious use of #8,slater's patent4' ,then we have to consider very seriously how to arrange for the raiment that all men collect in such astounding quantities1 and from which it is so desperately hard to part them1 try how one will to get possession of venerable garments1 which are of no possible use to the owners1 but which would be of immense service to many unfortunates who all too often have not only no decent clothes1 but do not possess any at all4 ,this is however a vice all men develop sooner or later1 and as they are made absolutely miserable by casting from them the oldest rag they may have1 it is best in extreme cases to let them have their foolish way1 taking care the moth does not enter into possession1 and at the same time ensuring that they have not over-much space in which to keep their miserly delights4 ,in a #8combination' room all shirts and underclothes can be kept in a charming piece of furniture ,liberty sells1 and which looks like a cabinet mounted on a couple of good deep drawers4 ,it is made in plain white wood1 clamped and ornamented with beaten iron and is very inexpensive indeed4 ,in the deep drawers can be kept shirts and trousers1 while there are plenty of smaller drawers in the cabinet part for socks1 ties1 handkerchiefs and other garments2 coats being kept in a second cabinet1 or else in a box-ottoman1 or hung up behind the curtains of ,wallace's #8,p4 ,t4 ,c4' wardrobe1 which can be erected in any corner of the room and has nothing at all of the bedroom about its appearance4 ,i have seen a most admirable piece of furniture at ,oetzmann's1 which he calls a desk washing-stand1 and which would really be invaluable for such a room as this4 ,when closed it is exactly like a desk with a flat top1 and could be used as such in the day time most conveniently1 but the top must not be laden with odds-and-ends1 books1 paperboxes or similar encumbrances4 ,these should all be in one of ,shoolbred's capital little cupboard tables2 another of these1 by the way1 being procured for the boots and shoes in wear4 ,these cupboards would hold three or four pairs of each1 as they have a division-shelf inside1 and though ,i know starvation is suggested to the ordinary male1 to whom such small provision of foot-gear is indeed nothing short of pauperism1 ,i venture to suggest that it is sufficient for every day1 and that the rest of the stock can live in a proper boot cupboard in some other locality1 which can easily be found if the house-mistress is clever and able to see at once the utmost capacity of the special rooms which are available for such a purpose4 ,indeed1 a properly-made boot-cupboard can stand on one side of quite a narrow passage1 and would never be noticed2 for it could be either the proper one ,wallace makes on purpose for boots1 or else be formed merely ,illustration by placing three narrow shelves1 one above the other1 the top shelf enamelled the colour of the paint in that special passage1 and the whole concealed from view by a double serge curtain1 nailed along the top shelf with ornamental nails4 ,this curtain must not be run on a rod1 for it is no trouble to lift it2 while if it be on a rod1 it will be always out of place1 and leave the boots and shoes on view in the most embarrassing manner4 ,the contents of the shelves can be kept from dust by nailing ,holland on the shelves of a sufficient width to fold over the boots1 and so keep them quite safely from any undue accumulation of dust1 while the top of the outside shelf can be used for ornaments4 ,but the fewer of these there are in any passage the better1 especially in a small house2 one does not require more dust traps than one is absolutely obliged to have lest the place should appear barren and devoid of prettiness and attractive plenishings4 ,the over-mantel must serve as a toilet-glass1 and this arrangement ,i personally prefer to any other1 especially in the winter2 but if the husband shaves--as it seems to me so many more men do nowadays than formerly--despite the hateful influenza1 fogs and other trifles born of the end of the century1 a regular shaving-glass can be set for him when the room is put ready for him at night2 this can be removed to the bathroom during the day and the room need not give it a home then on any pretext whatever6 ,it is an excellent thing to have instead of either the ottoman or the courting settee a sofa-bed which resembles a couch by day1 and can be turned into a regular bed at night1 for often such a bed can be most useful4 ,i like the #8grasshopper' couch1 which ,i have only seen at ,hamilton's1 at ,ship ,street in ,brighton1 but this has no provision for the bed-clothes4 ,these could be placed quite well in a drawer made under the couch2 or ,shoolbred has a species of convertible box-ottoman which would perhaps be best1 as the bed-clothes could be quite well placed there during the day4 ,yet another cheaper method would be to purchase one of the folding beds with wire mattresses complete1 sold by ,story ,triggs for about #ahs4 #f;d4 ,these could have the extra mattress and pillows put into frilled cretonne covers all day1 the bed-clothes being folded and put under the mattress comfortably during the same period4 ,of course1 a deep cretonne flounce should be placed round the frame of the bed1 which under these circumstances would look like an ordinary low broad sofa4 ,the bed should be pushed against the wall1 against which pillows and cushions should be placed1 and this would make a species of back1 against which it would be possible to lean most comfortably4 ,given this1 the desk washing-stand1 and two or three low and comfortable chairs1 and ,i think little else is necessary4 ,if much sewing has to be done1 a little work-table can always be brought here from any other larger room1 for there are plenty to be had now which hold a great deal of work1 and yet can be carried by one hand4 ,i have seen one specially good table the top of which is deep and is fitted for all kinds of sewing1 while the under tray has a bag-like top of sateen or tapestry drawn together by strings1 and this1 ,i am assured1 is invaluable for holding socks and other garments which require mending and overhauling by materfamilias herself4 ,i am no #8stitchist1' and ,i do not think ,i ever possessed a thimble since my very earliest schoolroom days1 and even then it was more often lost than available for its purpose1 and ,i can most certainly say that ,i never had the smallest desire to know how to sew1 but there are heaps of women who love to work1 and of course there are more still who are obliged to do it and take it as a matter of course4 ,and if the special mistress who may want to use the dressing room during the day is in any way devoted to her needle1 she must have a good work-basket which she can remove when not in use1 and which can stand in the bedroom or sitting-room when she does not require it4 ,if the dressing-room is thus arranged ,i am sure it will add immensely to her comfort1 for here she will have a refuge from everyone1 and be able to be alone for some hours during the day1 in a room where she will not be easily accessible and which will have nothing of the bedroom about it4 ,that1 by the way1 is a great consideration2 for let no one1 not even in the smallest house1 fall into the desperate error of sitting in the room in which she sleeps4 ,i have twice had similar rooms where1 of course1 the bedroom portion has been carefully screened or curtained off1 but unless one is a chronic invalid1 such an arrangement is no good at all1 and even if one is ill1 and yet is able to get up1 it is far better to go into a second room on the same floor1 for no screen or curtain can give one any sense of real seclusion1 and no one can have a room properly aired or cleaned unless it is left when one rises and not entered1 save perhaps for dressing purposes1 for the rest of the day4 ,therefore resist the temptation of the idea of a combined bed and sitting-room1 unless you are reduced to one room only for all purposes1 or are not a householder1 or are a #8paying guest' 7polite language for #8lodger'7 in someone else's abode4 ,under these circumstances1 ,wallace's #8worker's room' must be sought after and found1 and its arrangements of course1 make any room habitable at once4 ,if the dressing-room is used1 as suggested1 for a retreat1 the bathroom must be arranged in such a way that the master of the house can dress there with comfort2 but no garments of any sort must be kept there1 neither must the linen closet be on any account near the hot-water apparatus which dominates the bathroom4 ,if it is1 the linen will become yellow and rotten1 and in a small house it is much better to apportion the linen into so many special amounts for each room1 and keep these portions in the rooms for which they are intended4 ,an extra cupboard being put up somewhere3 perhaps in the maids' sitting-room1 in which all table-linen can be kept4 ,great attention must be paid to the linen closet1 and something should be bought for it every year without fail4 ,as a rule ,i am no friend to #8sales1' and believe not one jot in the #8ruinous sacrifices' and #8vast reductions' which characterise them1 but linen can often be purchased most wonderfully reduced in price at such times1 more especially at ,walpole ,brothers in ,new ,bond ,street1 and the house-mistress should always avail herself of these opportunities to keep up her stock1 not laying in vast quantities1 but keeping it up to its full strength4 ,unless this is done it is wonderful how soon a small stock of linen wears out and disappears1 and one has the vexatious and expensive task of renewing the whole at once1 which no one should ever be called upon for one moment to do4 ,so many people possess what is called a #8hot closet' in or near the bathroom1 that these words of advice are not so out of place as they appear to be at first sight when writing about this special chamber2 but the charms of this said #8hot closet' must be resisted if the linen is meant to wear1 while great care must be taken to see that every single thing sent home from the laundress is properly aired1 not only before it is put away1 but also before it is taken into use4 ,damp clothes may kill or maim a person for life1 and clothes may quite well become damp again after the first airing1 more especially if they are kept in the ordinary cupboard of the very ordinary suburban residence4 ,now if the bathroom should have to be used as a dressing-room1 it must not have more furniture in it on that account than would be placed there under ordinary circumstances1 but it should be papered with a really good tiled and varnished paper1 and the wood-work should be enamelled #8real ivory4' ,i think ,godfrey ,giles's #8,mexican ,tile' paper simply perfect1 but this is a little expensive2 still1 if it cannot be afforded1 it will serve as a hint to go upon1 and ,mr ,giles must be asked for something in the same admirable colouring1 but in a less expensive make4 ,at the same time a cheap paper will not do in a bathroom2 if we use one1 the steam from the hot water will soon destroy it and make it flabby and untidy2 and we shall either have the expense of re-papering or have to endure the sight of a torn and spoiled wall1 which will make us unhappy every time we enter the place4 ,the ceiling in the bathroom should always be colour washed the same pale cream colour which is used for the cornice1 and the floor should be entirely covered with cork carpet4 ,if the window is overlooked at all1 it should be filled in with cathedral glass in leaded squares1 or else should be stippled all over2 we should then have serge curtains to draw easily over the glass1 but we should never put muslin here3 it rots at once1 and is always flabby and disagreeable to look at and touch1 and no decorative considerations should allow us to put it where it must be so singularly out of place4 ,in writing of the bedrooms1 ,i quite forgot to urge upon my readers the fact that they should never under any circumstances allow themselves to be talked into buying the detestable regulation towel-horse1 which is always in the way1 and can never under any circumstances be necessary1 while no skill can make it anything save an eyesore4 ,its place can usually be taken by putting a brass rod on very small brackets at each end of the ordinary washing-stand1 or on the wall itself should the washing-stand be a round or a corner one1 while a good brass rod must be put on the bathroom wall for the same purpose1 sufficiently out from the wall so that the wet towels do not touch the paper4 ,moreover in well-regulated houses1 the bath towels should be dried by the housemaid at the fire1 and each person should bring his or her towels into the bathroom when he or she is about to use it1 and take them away again when the bathing is finished1 the brass rod being used merely to hang up the bath blankets1 though they also must be duly dried by the fire1 and not be laid down on the floor except the bath be in the process of being used4 ,these bath blankets can be purchased ready embroidered of ,mrs ,hanbury-,jephson1 ,towcester1 and1 like every other thing1 should be bought to harmonise with the colours already used in the decorations of the room4 ,if we have some good brass hooks on the door on which to hang the raiment we either take off or are about to put on1 and have also one good strong kitchen or ,windsor chair1 and a proper lavatory glass with a shelf to hold brushes and combs1 we shall not require any more furniture here1 for remember steam and heat spoil anything in the way of good wood or manufacture2 but ,i do plead very hard for a lavatory basin1 with hot and cold water laid on and a self-emptying basin4 ,it does not seem very much to ask for1 but ,i wonder how often such a contrivance is to be found in the orthodox small house8 ,yet it is in just such a residence that these necessities should be found1 for if hot and cold water be easily get-at-able1 what an amount of servants' work is saved6 ,no one minds washing his or her hands in the bathroom1 while if there is no such convenience1 the maids have continually to be placing hot water in the bedrooms and emptying basins1 to say nothing of the fact that heavy jugs have to be lifted and replaced every time the bedroom washing-stand is used4 ,this is a thing which is bad even for a strong servant and hurts a delicate woman in a serious way1 therefore let us hope that lavatory basins will soon be found in all houses1 small and big1 and that the labour-making washing-stand may soon be numbered among the dead-and-gone mistakes of an ignorant past4 ,another thing that no one seems able to rise above is the usual mahogany margin to any fixed bath1 which always become disgracefully untidy1 and makes the bathroom look squalid before it has scarcely been used4 ,if the house belongs to the tenant1 ,i should advise him ruthlessly to paint the mahogany with ,aspinall's bath enamel1 which does not mark with water2 if he is only a tenant1 the margin should be covered at once with the ,american leather which has a woolly back1 cut out and fixed to the shape4 ,if this is not done1 the expensive process of ,french polishing will have to be resorted to when the house is left2 besides there is the fact to consider that the margin will always be an eyesore1 because of the manner in which people will either rest the soap on it or put one foot up on it1 or even sit on it1 while they are drying themselves after their bath4 ,we should likewise always have plain1 unpainted deal shelves put up for the hot-water cans in the bathroom2 and if1 as is the unsavoury case in many bathrooms1 there is a housemaid's sink there1 the shelves should be put just over it1 and should have gimlet holes in them for drainage2 this will keep them from rotting1 as no housemaid ,i ever met could be persuaded to dry a can before she put it down1 and months of wet cans are guaranteed to spoil and rot the stoutest undrained shelf which ,i ever came across4 ,oh6 if only every single person would know and learn each separate detail which goes to make up the perfect house and housekeeping1 life would not be half as expensive1 half as #8sketchy' and untidy as it now is in the vast majority of households1 where people are content to jog along comfortably if things are just bearable1 and where no preaching will1 ,i fear1 induce them to cultivate the twin talents of observation and regularity1 which alone suffice to keep any house going in the way it most undoubtedly should go4 ,when the bathroom has been used it should be properly aired1 and the moment it is quitted the housemaid should go in1 throw up the window1 top and bottom1 and take away and dry the towels4 ,if the weather is cold1 the fire or gas must be kept going night and day to keep out the frost1 and always the floor must be wiped over and the bath blankets hung up until they can be properly dried1 then will the room remain nice much longer than it otherwise would4 ,the mistress of the house herself must see that the bath is properly dried after use1 and that the basin and housemaid's sink are duly cleaned and disinfected4 ,for even soapy water decays and smells1 and drains that are used for nothing else can be as offensive1 even if they are more innocent than others1 about which lurk absolute and imperative danger4 ,it is well to cover all outlets for water with very fine hair or wire netting4 ,i personally prefer hair1 as that is much finer than anything else4 ,then there is no chance of any drain being stopped up as nothing save water can pass through it4 ,the sink basket sold by most ironmongers is a very good possession1 and acts in much the same way1 but the netting does just as well1 and should be nailed across the housemaid's sink about an inch above the bottom1 and be erected just above the plug-hole in a lavatory basin1 thus saving endless heartburnings1 and endless sending for that fearsome creature1 the regulation ,british plumber4 ,there should be no portire inside the bathroom door1 but most certainly there should be one outside4 ,it prevents sudden surprises1 and1 furthermore1 conceals the room from passers by1 should the door be left open1 as is all too often the case1 by either a careless maid1 or a yet more careless user of the room6 ,there is one more aspect of the suburban villa to consider1 ,i am sorry to say1 and that is the one where there is neither a bathroom nor a room which can be adapted for the purpose1 and where all baths have to be taken in the different rooms themselves4 ,in such a house as this there must be large squares of ,american leather ready for use1 to be covered in their turn by bath blankets1 on which the bath itself can be placed4 ,these would be for use in the bedrooms1 and then the dressing-rooms must be used as dressing-rooms1 and will allow of no compromise or other use at all4 ,in this case1 ,i very strongly advise a high dado of plain brown patternless linoleum or oil-cloth1 having the paint the exact shade of the dado1 above which can be either a good blue or yellow sanitary or tiled paper1 while the floor must be covered entirely with plain brown cork carpet1 on which one or two rugs can be placed1 the inevitable bath-blanket being put under the bath itself1 and the rugs put out of harm's way for the time4 ,these precautions will allow of the wondrous amount of splashing which invariably marks the progress of a man's bath1 while the furniture for such a room should be regular dressing-room furniture1 removed as far as possible from the spot sacred to the bath4 ,a good housemaid will carefully look over the furniture when she #8does' the room1 and will rub off at once any marks of soapy water she may come across4 ,but such excellent and conscientious maids are few and far between1 except in the #8highest circles1' and they don't inhabit ,suburbia2 therefore should every mistress cast an eye over every room once a day1 and see for herself that the depredations of her husband1 and all too often those of her visitors too1 are carefully eliminated4 ,it used to be difficult1 nay well nigh impossible1 to buy really good and suitable dressing-room furniture1 and ,i have had many a painful hunt after wardrobes which were not evidently meant for the raiment of females alone2 but now all is altered2 and should we be able to afford it1 we can buy an admirable wardrobe at ,wallace's which has a place for everything a man can possibly require1 and this with a boot-cupboard1 an ingenious combination toilet-table and washing-stand1 a couple of chairs1 and a comfortable basket chair1 form the most perfect equipment a man can want1 whether he reside in the suburbs or in any other part of the civilised globe4 ,but he must have no room for unending hoarding1 else will the heart of the house-mistress fail her by reason of the fearful amount of rubbish he will accumulate1 and from which nothing will induce him to part6 ,,chapter ,x ,,the ,,great ,,servant ,,question ,in the chapter about the kitchen arrangements1 the most burning question of the hour was just touched upon1 and a few hints were thrown out as a species of guide to solve the knotty problem1 which certainly is more acute in the suburbs than in any other place4 ,first1 because it is often found impossible to coax the best maids away from the wiles and entrancements of the town2 and secondly1 because the accommodation for them is often little short of disgraceful4 ,though for the matter of that1 ,i have seen worse servants' rooms in big houses in grand localities in ,london than in any other1 while the rooms set apart for them in flats would be ludicrous if they were not so pernicious1 and did not so largely account for the unpopularity of what ought to be an almost ideal place of residence for a husband and wife1 who have either settled their children in life1 or have no children to settle or think about in any way4 ,we have described at length how we should circumvent the ordinary suburban kitchen1 now for a while1 let us think about the servants' bedrooms1 which are often quite as difficult to manage1 and are all too often much too few to be in any way comfortable or decent4 ,should the general number of four maids be kept1 or should a fifth be required1 it is almost impossible to make an arrangement that only allows of the work being done properly and in order4 ,i have had a large1 a very large1 experience of servants in more ways than one1 and ,i venture to remark that where they are a nuisance it is because1 first of all1 they have not been chosen with care and common sense2 secondly1 because no attempt is made to make them comfortable or cause them to feel part of the household2 and thirdly1 because what ,i may call #8composite maids' are engaged4 ,that is to say that the cook is required to clear the breakfast and answer the bell in the morning1 and do a certain amount of housework2 while the parlour-maid has to help with the beds1 and the nurse to do the washing as well as look after1 dress and walk out with the children4 ,now ,i state boldly that such a division of labour can never be either necessary or successful1 and if the dwellers in the suburbs will amalgamate the several duties of a servant in this way1 they can never know the least peace1 for no servant worth her wages or even her salt will take such a nondescript position unless under very exceptional circumstances4 ,these may include places where the mistress has taken her maids from the first1 and has carefully instructed and brought them up herself1 or they may be personally greatly attached to her themselves1 and value not only her kindness but the comfort and comfortable home she gives them4 ,but these circumstances are as rare as they are satisfactory4 ,therefore unless these things are the case1 let no one abuse the maids unmercifully because they will not one and all be maids of all work1 but rather consider how best to arrange the day's routine1 so that each shall stick to her task cheerfully1 giving presently a helping hand to another out of real good-will1 and not because she is imperatively requested to do so as a matter of course4 ,unfortunately there are hundreds of women who can neither give good wages nor keep a sufficient number of maids2 and these are the miserables who join their wails to those others who1 more unhappy still1 have not the slightest idea how to manage another woman1 whose one idea is that a maid is a thing whose capacity for work is endless1 who can never tire1 never want to go out1 and who1 above all1 can never be ill4 ,such a mistress treats her servant as he or she does a horse who has never been used to possess this quadruped1 and seeing only that it is made to go1 drives or rides it to death1 because previous experience has been wanting to teach the driver or rider the amount of work which can be obtained without undue exertion and pressure4 ,now it is necessary to point out that1 if a sufficient number of servants cannot be employed to do the work decently and in order1 the work must be lessened in some way or another1 by the mistress herself giving a helping hand1 and not only directing it but doing some of it4 ,she must be content to call a spade a spade1 and not have any hankerings after #8agricultural implements4' ,a cook she may not possess1 a good general servant is what she requires1 while a housemaid who can wait at table replaces the house parlour-maid who never did and never could have a decent existence or be anything save a miserable sham6 ,if a good general servant1 who can cook is engaged1 at once the way is made plain before all concerned4 ,such a woman cheerfully keeps her own kitchen1 the hall staircase 7if in a basement71 and front steps in order1 and has the dining-room under her charge4 ,she will likewise clear out the breakfast and answer the front door up to twelve1 but she must not be called a cook2 if she is1 she will cook1 but she will not for one moment step out of her province to do anything else whatever4 ,in the same way must the housemaid be managed1 for in such an establishment the parlour work can but be of the most meagre description1 and if the mistress is house-proud1 and really has desires after fine and careful living1 she must keep silver1 glass and china clean herself1 and see herself to the laying of the cloth and all the thousand and one items which go to form the finer portions of housekeeping4 ,an occupation which will no doubt trouble and disgust the woman who demands to #8live her own life' and #8develop her soul' at the expense of the comfort of the household which she has undertaken to guide when she became the wife of the bread-winner4 ,i am not going to express an opinion on the merits of a career1 bounded by the nursery on the one side and the kitchen on another1 there will always be a difference of ideas on the subject2 but ,i am going to say very forcibly1 that when a woman marries she undertakes this special business2 and should she regret it or allow the reins to slip out of her hands1 she is #8obtaining money under false pretences1' and is undoubtedly neglecting the work she solemnly promised to perform4 ,therefore1 all women who marry must be prepared to face the situation and to know that before they can #8live their own lives' and #8develop their souls' as mentioned before1 they must see that their houses are in order and that their houses are homes in the widest sense of the word4 ,people are continually writing to me1 and also to everyone else who gives advice on the special subjects of house management and decoration1 about this servant question1 and1 moreover1 as continually ask how to divide or apportion their special incomes to their special wants2 but they cannot see how utterly impossible it is for a complete stranger to do more than vaguely generalise on either subject4 ,the servant question has always been simplicity itself to me1 and ,i cannot understand the difficulties which beset so many women in these days1 simply because ,i have never come across them myself4 ,but then1 ,i do not expect perfection4 ,i give fair wages1 and am as considerate to the maids as they are to me1 and ,i am not unduly dismayed or cast down when ,i discern faults and failings that are human after all1 and denote that at present1 at least1 we have not reached the golden age4 ,at the same time1 ,i am convinced that the real trouble1 as ,i said before1 is caused in small houses by the #8composite maid' being called a cook1 or house parlour-maid1 when she is just either a general servant1 or else a housemaid2 and in larger ones by sufficient care not being taken to obtain the kind of maiden one really does want1 and by expecting too much from her when she is in our service4 ,the life of the ordinary domestic servant1 despite the delirious joy of the tradesman's daily calls1 is an extremely dull one4 ,the routine is everlasting1 the relaxations few1 and the changes still fewer4 ,in many households a friend to tea is a crime2 an unexpected holiday an impossibility2 while the days follow each other in a wearisome routine which would tell on the nerves of anyone even far more highly educated than is the orthodox maid-servant4 ,how many brilliant summer days pass1 and no one suggests an afternoon or evening stroll1 or even a drive through the country lanes4 ,how many dreary winter days go by1 and no one says there is a good play at such and such a theatre1 go and see it4 ,or who takes concert seats1 and sends off the maids for a couple of hours from the everlasting kitchen and the weary round of unending duties8 ,well1 some people do1 and where this occurs there the maids often stay on and on1 giving real and loving service1 and doing their utmost for those who try to do their utmost for them4 ,then once more how few maids really have and possess their mistress's confidence4 ,they hear a vast amount of grumbling about #8the books1' and the dreadful waste which does go on1 often enough more through ignorance than through their carelessness2 but they do not comprehend that there is an all-important reason why such waste should not be allowed1 because the mistress has never explained matters to the maids1 or told them there is necessity for great care in all the household departments4 ,as a rule servants have what they consider the #8honour of the house' very near their hearts2 and they cannot endure the notion that their mistress shall even be suspected of #8meanness4' ,and this is often the cause of the needless orders given in those establishments where the tradesmen are allowed to call2 for1 rather than send them away without an order1 the servants will rack their brains to think of something1 not because they really desire to swell the bills1 but because they like their house to be one of which the tradespeople speak well1 and because they will not have it spoken of as a #8mean sort of place1 where every halfpenny is counted and made to do the duty of a penny piece4' ,then too1 at the bottom of a great deal of domestic mismanagement is the utter and really ghastly thriftlessness of the lower classes1 which no one who has not seen it could credit4 ,i have had to be a great deal away from my own house1 owing to long-continued illness1 and in consequence ,i have seen a great deal of the way in which other people manage1 and ,i boldly say that ,i have seen more waste and real extravagance among people who ought to save absolutely every bone and piece of bread than among those who could really afford to waste1 did they not consider it wicked to do so4 ,while the lower one goes in the social scale1 the more one finds waste the order of the day2 and not only actual waste1 but the waste of having the best joints1 the most expensive butter1 and the continual variety of food that no one in the upper middle classes can afford1 even should they think it necessary to have it4 ,i have noticed real want existing among a specially improvident set of people1 while1 at the same time1 ,i have been shocked to see great lumps of meat and bread 7unpaid for7 in the pigs' tub4 ,the young people of these households would have their boots blacked for them1 their hot water and bath water carried up for them1 and be waited on1 before they went out to their shops or work1 as one's own children would never dream of being waited on1 in a much much higher rank of life4 ,in these households the servants have simply an awful time of it1 and hence class prejudice is fostered terribly1 while the unthrifty ways of the household leave their mark on all who pass through it1 and help to build up a class that is in every way unsatisfactory4 ,we hear a great deal of the competition of the foreigner1 and there are loud shouts for #8protection' and #8fair trade1' but the #8protection' we want is against our own wasteful habits and ways of living1 and we can never have #8fair trade' until we comprehend what waste really is1 and know what is necessary to keep a household going and what is not4 ,and this servant question is the very crux of the whole matter1 and1 alas6 is very little understood by the public at large1 which seems quite incapable of grappling with the problem1 although few people exist who have not a more or less loudly-expressed opinion on the subject4 ,it is also a problem which can never be solved until all have learned real thrift and carefulness1 and until all classes learn how to trust each other1 and the special conduct which should be maintained in all relations in life4 ,though the tendency nowadays to live in flats1 and have as many meals as one can at a restaurant or hotel1 may solve the servant question quicker than in any other way1 regardless of the fact that a class of useful women will thus be improved off the face of the world in a manner ,i1 for one1 shall be extremely sorry to see4 ,but flats are fleeting joys at best4 ,i have heard of many people going to live in them1 and have never known anyone renew his or her lease2 so perhaps the pendulum may swing back again1 and houses become the order of the day4 ,as long as servants are required1 the best way to obtain them at first is for the young mistress to train them herself1 always keeping on hand an under-study for the part of the upper-servant in the shape of kitchen and under-housemaids2 in this way lie a sure success and comfortable domestic arrangements4 ,of course there are hundreds of small establishments where a couple of maids is all that can be allowed4 ,these must be as described before1 general and housemaid1 then all will go rightly1 providing care is taken to obtain good girls from good families1 who have not been spoiled by a careless or bad mistress1 or ruined by an unhappy and thriftless home training1 which is often indeed worse than none4 ,in a larger house where there are children2 six maids and a boy to help1 are the maximum2 namely1 cook and kitchen-maid1 parlour-maid and housemaid1 nurse and nursemaid2 here again things will be all right1 and there will be no over-work or under-work in the matter4 ,lucky is she who1 by tie of birth or friendship1 is connected with some country town or village1 which shall act as her preserve1 and from whence she can always draw fresh supplies should matrimony or other cause thin her domestic ranks and compel her to look out for another maiden4 ,but in all and every case should the registry office be most carefully avoided4 ,if a servant or mistress has a #8good name1' exceptional indeed must be the circumstances that drive her to make use of these places4 ,if a decent maid is leaving her place1 the tradespeople know all about her and will tell her of the good places which may be open2 and in the same way a really #8good place' doesn't go begging4 ,the tradesmen know of that too1 and often act as a sort of informal registry-office which ,i have invariably found most useful in every manner4 ,then having caught one's maids1 let us consider how best to keep them1 and undoubtedly is this done by making them as comfortable as we can1 and by showing that we have a real interest in whatever they may have or do4 ,i have already written about the room they should have to sit in4 ,now let us consider those they should have for sleeping purposes1 for often these are as badly arranged as they can be2 economy is studied on the one hand1 which on the other results in an amount of expenditure which is as unnecessary as it is worrying and distasteful to all concerned4 ,one of these petty economies is that which consists of making a couple of maids share one bed1 and that one anything but a comfortable place of rest and refuge4 ,now this should never be done4 ,the economy consists in the saving of the washing of a pair of sheets1 the misery comes in when the unwilling bedfellows quarrel and determine to move on elsewhere4 ,in no case should more than two maids sleep in one room1 and in every case such room should hold a couple of beds and a double set of washing-stands1 drawers and toilet-table1 and1 moreover1 there should be a good hanging wardrobe of some kind4 ,if possible1 once more the ever-useful ,p4 ,t4 ,c4 from ,wallace's should be pressed into the service1 and should decorate a couple of the room corners1 one being devoted to the use of each maid1 whose dresses will last twice as long if she have proper room for them1 and if she have not to cram them into her small chest of drawers1 shared all too often by her fellow-servant4 ,i consider ,knowles's sanitary papers quite ideal for the maids' bedrooms1 and there is a dainty #8daffodil' paper that no one can dislike or despise1 and which can be wiped over once a month1 if necessary1 with a damp duster and come out as clean as a new pin4 ,with this paper we could have earth-brown paint1 and ,liberty's ever-useful dark blue and white butterfly cretonne1 edged with frills1 and blue and white dhurries on the stained floor4 ,but if the floor is bad1 and in the least degree draughty1 it must first be covered with cork carpet1 on which rugs or the ever useful dhurries can be laid down4 ,some suburban floors are amenable to no other treatment4 ,we may plane them carefully1 and #8stop' them as carefully too1 but they will begin to gape at the smallest change in the weather1 or at the sight of the first fire1 and one can neither keep out the draughts nor the gently-drifting dust that penetrates at every corner1 and spoils tempers and properties alike4 ,cork carpet ,i consider a most blessed invention1 as it makes a capital background1 and is warm and comfortable and quite spotlessly clean4 ,this should be #8gone over' once a week in bedrooms of this class with a damp duster2 and once a month should have a healthful polish with ,jackson's camphorated beeswax polish1 made on purpose4 ,the rugs should be shaken out of doors once a week1 and1 whenever possible the beds and bedding should be alike exposed to the sun and air in the garden2 or1 if not1 in the rooms themselves1 taking care that all windows and doors are open and a thorough draught ensured4 ,indeed if we got more sun and more air into all our houses1 every girl's health would be far better than it is now2 but despite all the preaching in the world1 ,english women stuff up the windows with blinds and curtains1 and shiver at the idea of fresh air1 while they dread the fading of their curtains and carpets in a manner that would be ludicrous were it not so essentially harmful4 ,naturally too the genus domestic servant dreads open windows more than her mistress does1 and will not air her bed if she can possibly avoid doing so4 ,but if there is a rule that a fine1 hot day shall see the mattresses1 blankets and pillows on chairs in the garden for at least an hour after breakfast1 the airing is ensured without the #8poking and prying about1' which is as distasteful to the mistress as it is disagreeable to the maid4 ,in all cases too1 the beds here as elsewhere1 should consist of good hair mattresses laid on chain mattresses4 ,these chains should be covered first by a square of holland1 tied at the four corners1 and this should be sent to the wash about every three months4 ,the mattresses and pillows should be covered also1 either with crash or holland cases1 capable of being washed whenever necessary1 and these covers will save the beds immensely from wear and tear1 and ensure cleanliness at the same time4 ,wallace has a very good suite of servant's furniture to sell for something under #e1 but ,i think we should spend rather more on the bed1 which is a very fair one1 but not quite good enough if we are very particular1 as we should be1 about the comfort of the bed1 as a hair mattress is impossible for this sum1 and a hair mattress must be had if the bed is to be a real place of rest4 ,furthermore1 ,i think the beds should have two pillows1 as well as a bolster1 and a second pillow should therefore be added1 and all beds should have five blankets3 one for the under blanket1 and two pairs for over use4 ,these should be sent to the wash in the spring2 one pair at a time2 and the beds should be supplemented with good heavy coloured counterpanes2 the colour looks cheerful1 and also ensures the quilts not looking dirty before they ought to4 ,the simpler the sets of ware the better1 for1 somehow1 china never lasts long in the ordinary servant's room4 ,i think she rushes up at the last moment to wash and dress2 she certainly gets up in the morning at the last possible instant she can1 and the usual results of haste ensue4 ,the handles come off the carelessly-seized jug1 the soap-dish flies about1 and the basins are literally #8whacked' down1 because there is not time to treat them properly1 therefore the excellent sets of blue and white ware ,wallace sells at about #ds4 #f;d4 should be the outside price to which we should go1 taking care all the sets are alike2 then one can supplement the other when smashes begin2 and quite plain glasses and water-bottles should also be procured1 in as stout a make as possible4 ,glass tumblers literally vanish in servants' bedrooms1 and ,i am often amazed at the way in which they disappear1 one after the other1 to a grave on the ash-heap or in the dust-bin4 ,another thing on which we may with advantage spend a little more money is the looking-glass1 and that without unduly encouraging vanity1 for the usual one sold with the cheap suits is much too small to be of any real use4 ,a girl cannot do her hair and arrange her dress neatly unless she has a glass large enough to allow of her doing so by its aid1 and we should therefore choose the maid's looking-glass as carefully as we should our own2 but we should allow one each1 if we wish for peace4 ,more domestic quarrels are caused by the usual one small glass than many house mistresses are probably aware take place at all4 ,it is certain that all mistresses should1 at least twice a year1 thoroughly inspect all the furniture in the maids' rooms1 and replace then if possible1 all that has been worn out during the past six months1 but under no circumstances should this inspection take place without the presence of the maids1 or when it is not expected4 ,nothing is more disagreeable to the ordinary mind than the idea that one's room is not one's castle2 and many mistresses have made themselves eternal enemies by insisting on their undoubted right to enter any room in their own houses whenever they wish to do so4 ,that the right is so undoubted should render it unnecessary to exact its performance4 ,by all means see the rooms are all right1 but do it at a proper season1 and without the smallest idea of #8pounce' in it4 ,i do not think it wise to have gas in the maids' rooms1 unless it is turned off at the meter by the master at a certain hour1 and yet it is undoubtedly safer than any other light1 and is as undoubtedly cleaner4 ,i have for years used nothing save the little #8,butterfly' lamps sold by ,a4 ,a4 ,drew1 of ,wareham1 ,dorset1 but these are not good in careless hands1 because the chimneys are so constantly being broken1 and because the oil is capable of being spilled4 ,candles are worse possessions1 as so many maids will read in bed1 will smash the shades without which no candle can possibly be safe1 and will drop grease from them on every available space4 ,remembering also that the dark winter mornings have to be considered1 ,i am fain to retract my old belief that gas in a servant's room spelt ruin1 and to allow it reluctantly1 placed near the looking glasses and not near the beds1 and having woven-wire globes to protect the flame1 similar to those used in places of business and in large schools2 as the ordinary glass globe has even a shorter existence than the tumbler1 and is broken in less time than it takes to tell about it4 ,if in any way possible1 the beds should be placed against the wall1 and foot to foot1 with about #b feet space between the ends of the beds4 ,in this case a dado should be run round that portion of the wall where the beds stand1 and this should be of plain brown patternless oil-cloth1 and should have a real dado rail2 this would keep the wall tidy for years4 ,in no case must the dressing-tables be placed in the window1 and blinds must never be allowed4 ,if there is much sun1 the dark blue and white cretonne curtains can be lined with still darker blue sateen1 and if the windows are large muslin can be stretched upon them as in all other windows in the house2 but blinds are an expense and an abomination4 ,they are always out of order1 are very rarely drawn up straight1 and are as needless as they are dear and unsatisfactory4 ,the dark curtains draw easily and cannot be drawn crooked1 and are in every way much more sensible and useful than blinds4 ,i think that there should be fireplaces in all servants' rooms4 ,first because of the ventilation a chimney affords1--and the bi-annual inspection should include a glance at the chimney to see it is in nowise stuffed up--and secondly1 because it is imperative that we should be able to have a fire there if necessary4 ,it may sound improbable1 but it is true1 that the average suburban villa is colder than the cottages from which country maids come1 where the thatched roofs and the thick walls often keep out extremes of temperature in a manner a jerry-built house ever can4 ,and here is one more hint4 ,let the roof of the house be white-washed in summer1 if it be slated and the bedrooms come right up under it1 for this makes an enormous difference to the temperature of the rooms1 which is often enough simply awful even in a merely average summer without any very abnormal heat1 while1 should we have any real heat1 these rooms become similar to ovens1 and are really terrible for anyone to have to sleep in4 ,then have outside blinds of some kind2 plain strips of dark green or blue linen placed outside the glass are better than nothing1 though ,williams' green reed blinds are the best things in the world1 if they can be afforded2 and above all white-wash your roofs4 ,you will be rewarded in the difference in the maids' tempers1 and health1 which1 are very often one and the same thing4 ,now just one word more1 and that on the vexed subject of food4 ,you should feed the servants as much as possible as you feed yourselves1 and then will you have peace and not otherwise4 ,in another place ,i have dwelt at large on this matter2 here it is sufficient to say that if a thing is good enough for the dining-room1 it is good enough for the kitchen4 ,allowancing should never be resorted to1 there is something about it that revolts the kitchen or servants' hall1 and it is as unnecessary in a well-managed house as it is useless and suspicious4 ,it will be seen1 from the perusal of this little book1 that the art of living in a suburban house is not quite as easy as it appears at first sight4 ,at the same time it is without doubt one that can be acquired1 and if our lot should be cast in the suburbs1 it is positively necessary that we should learn to live there comfortably1 unless we wish to be always on the move4 ,should what ,i have written on the subject help anyone to circumvent the special house he or she has selected1 and to turn it from an unsatisfactorily-built villa into a comfortable home1 ,i shall not have written in vain4 ,at all events1 the book has one merit1 it is the outcome of real experience1 and there is not a single ounce of imagination in the whole of it6 ,,the ,,end4 ,colston and ,coy41 ,limited1 ,printers1 ,edinburgh4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,story ,,triggs ,illustration ,,the ,,carved ,,oak ,,bungalow ,,suite ,,comprising ,sideboard1 ,dining-,table1 and ,eight ,chairs ,,complete #ah1 #ajs4 #j;d4 ,as shown in their ,,book ,,of ,,the ,,day ,,on ,,furnishing ,an entirely new idea ,,now ,,ready ,a ,catalogue of #fbe ,coloured ,designs ,highly commended by ,mrs ,j4 ,e4 ,,panton in ,the ,gentlewoman1 #bdth ,aug4 #ahie ,sent on ,application ,carriage paid on all ,orders over #bjs4 to any ,station in ,great ,britain ,,only ,,address-- #aeb1 #aed1 #aef ,,queen ,,victoria ,,street1 ,e4,c4 ,near ,st4 ,paul's and ,ludgate ,stations4 99 99 99 99 99 ,illustration3 ,,aspinall',s ,,enamel ,,aspinall',s ,,oxidised ,,enamel ,the finest colors in the world4 ,,beware ,,of ,,imitations4 ,,mrs ,,panton1 writing in the ,lady's ,pictorial1 says3--#8,i can tell you1 from my own experience1 which is large1 that a house painted with ,,aspinall',s ,,enamel1 which is absolutely free from all poisonous matter1 such as arsenic1 white lead1 c41 c41 is far healthier to live in than a house where ordinary paint is used4' 99 99 99 99 99 ,,chas4 ,,knowles ,,co4 ,illustration3 ,the ,venice ,design1 #es4 per piece4 ,manufacturers of ,art1 ,wall ,,and ,ceiling ,papers ,as recommended by ,mrs ,,panton ,the ,largest ,showrooms in ,london ,,patterns ,,on ,,application ,,blenheim ,,works #afd ,,king',s ,,road1 ,chelsea ,,london1 ,s4,w4 ,,cavendish ,,house1 ,,cheltenham ,a reputation of over three quarters of a century4 ,illustration ,artistic ,house ,furnishers1 ,decorators1 c4 ,,designs ,,and ,,estimates ,,on ,,application ,,vendish ,,house ,,co41 ,,ltd41 ,cheltenham 99 99 99 99 99 ,,smee ,,cobay ,illustration ,manufacturers of ,high-,class ,furniture ,of ,good ,design ,,and ,,at ,moderate ,prices ,illustration3 ,drawing-,room1 designed by ,,smee ,,cobay1 in conjunction with ,,mrs ,,panton --#bi to #ci-- ,moorfields ,a ,few ,doors from ,moorgate ,street ,railway ,stations4 ,,london1 ,e4,c4 ,catalogues1 containing ,estimates for ,furnishing1 free on application4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,godfrey ,,giles ,,co4 ,specialities and ,novelties in ,furniture and ,decoration ,,as ,,recommended ,,by ,,mrs ,,panton ,,mr ,,godfrey ,,giles has made a study for many years of ,internal ,house ,decoration1 and either he1 or one of his competent staff1 may be consulted ,free as to how to make the best of a house as regards ,,painting ,,papering ,,decorating ,,fitments ,,cabinetwork ,,upholstery ,,residential ,,flats ,special treatment for same1 combining economy of space with comfort and effect ,estimates and ,designs prepared and submitted ,illustration ,regd4 ,,screen ,,desk ,admired by ,everyone ,a most acceptable ,present ,enamelled ,white1 complete #e1 #es4 #j;d4 ,also made in ,oak1 ,mahogany1 ,walnut and many other woods ,prices on ,application ,extract from ,lady's ,pictorial3--#8,messrs ,,godfrey ,,giles ,,co4 are the inventors and makers of this piece of furniture4 ,they are also the inventors and patentees of ,,cosy ,,corners now so deservedly popular4' #8,,pen ,,and ,,ink ,,sketches' ,a ,guide to ,artistic ,furnishing1 free on application4 ,,carriage ,,paid on all ,goods over #bj_/-to any ,station in the ,united ,kingdom4 #ai ,old ,cavendish ,street ,oxford ,street1 ,w4 ,,london 99 99 99 99 99 ,,colbourne ,,co4 ,decorative ,furnishers #hj1 #hb ,,regent ,,street1 ,,london1 ,w4 #de1 #df ,,new ,,street1 ,,birmingham #bf1 #gh1 #bh ,,east ,,street1 ,,brighton ,,floor ,,covering ,,section #8,the ,roman ,carpet' ,woven exclusively 7in every ,artistic ,colouring7 for ,messrs ,,colbourne ,,co4',s ,customers1 very heavy in texture1 and recommended for durability ,illustration #i feet by #g feet #f in41 #bh_/f #i feet by #i feet1 #cc_/i #i feet by #aj feet #f in41 #ci_/f #i feet by #ab feet1 #de_/- #aj feet #f in4 by #aj feet #f in41 #dg_/f #aj feet #f in4 by #ab feet1 #eb_/f #ab feet by #ab feet1 #fj_/- #ab feet by #ae feet1 #ge_/- #8,the ,roman ,carpet' can also be had in ,stair and ,corridor ,widths ,,curtain ,,fabric ,,section--,colbourne ,co4's ,exclusive ,designs ,forwarded post free on application 99 99 99 99 99 ,b4 ,,burnet ,,co4 ,,manufacturers ,,of ,,specialities ,,for ,,furnishing ,,purposes ,,unique ,,in ,,colour1 ,,texture ,,and ,,design ,,pile ,,fabrics #bd in4 ,silk ,plush #bd in4 ,utrecht ,velvet #bd in4 ,frieze ,velvet #bd in4 ,genoa ,velvet #ej in4 ,venetian ,velvet #ej in4 ,linen ,plush #ej in4 ,plushette 7,plain and ,printed7 #bg in4 ,plain ,velveteen #bg in4 ,corduroy ,velveteen #bg in4 ,printed ,velveteen ,,woven ,,fabrics #ej in4 ,cotelaine #ej in4 ,satin ,sheeting #ej in4 ,silk ,damask #ej in4 ,silk ,gauze #ej in4 ,cotton ,tapestry #ej in4 ,wool ,tapestry #ej in4 ,silk ,faced ,tapestry #ej in4 ,wool ,brocatelle #ej in4 ,silk ,tapestry ,,special ,,fabrics ,bordered ,table ,covers ,washable ,bed-,spreads ,butter ,muslins ,,indian1 ,,persian and ,,turkish ,,rugs and ,,carpets ,,linings #ej in4 ,italian ,silk #ed in4 ,merino #ca in4 ,koula ,cotton #ca in4 ,sateen #ca in4 ,cotton ,twill ,,embroidery ,,fabrics #cf in4 ,italian ,linen #ed in4 ,tapestry ,canvas #de in4 ,leather ,cloth #ed in4 ,leatherette #cf in4 ,embroidery ,linen #ed in4 ,embroidery ,linen #gb in4 ,embroidery ,linen ,,plain ,,fabrics #gb in4 ,diagonal ,cloth #ed in4 ,diagonal ,cloth #gb in4 ,curtan ,felt #gb in4 ,yorkshire ,serge #ed in4 ,printed ,serge #ed in4 ,yorkshire ,serge #ed in4 ,wool ,serge #ej in4 ,wool ,damask #fc in4 ,plain ,bolton ,sheeting #ej in4 ,dyed ,flax #cf in4 ,kabul ,canvas 7for ,floors7 ,,printed ,,fabrics #fj in4 ,printed ,bolton #bd in4 ,glazed ,chintz #ca in4 ,cretonne #ca in4 ,reversible ,cretonne #ca in4 ,dimity #ca in4 ,queen ,anne ,cretonne #ej in4 ,printed ,muslins #fj in4 ,madras ,muslins #ca in4 ,quilt ,sateens ,,upholstery ,,department ,curtains1 ,portires1 ,blinds1 c41 made to order in a few days4 ,fringes1 ,cords and ,trimmings kept in stock or made to match all fabrics4 ,curtain ,poles1 etc4 ,the above list includes many novelties both in colour and design1 not procurable elsewhere4 ,we shall1 however1 be pleased to forward samples of any other class or quality of material specially required4 #db ,,king ,,street1 ,,covent ,,garden1 ,,london ,branch ,establishment--#bbf ,,regent ,,street4 99 99 99 99 99 ,illustration3 ,,artistic ,,fittings ,oil ,gas ,electric ,,strode ,co ,electric ,light ,gas ,engineers ,art ,metal ,works ,showrooms #dh ,osnaburgh ,s,t #ahh ,piccadilly ,w ,london,n,w #fg ,s,t ,pauls ,chyp,e,c 99 99 99 99 99 ,,irish ,,linens ,,direct ,,from ,,the ,,looms ,,walpole ,,bros4 7,,established #agff7 ,offer ,,three great inducements to the public to give them a trial-- ,,superiority ,,of ,,texture 444 ,,beauty ,,and ,,novelty ,,of ,,design ,,extremely ,,moderate ,,prices 444 ,,walpole ,,brothers are the only ,irish ,linen ,manufacturers who offer the public the great advantage of selecting goods ,,in ,,london ,,and ,,dublin ,,at ,,belfast ,,prices ,samples and ,price ,list are sent free ,they will enable any lady to mark the great saving and greater satisfaction gained by buying direct from the ,manufacturers ,cambric ,handkerchiefs from #bs4 #b;d4 per doz4 ,damask ,table ,cloths from #cs4 #f;d4 each4 ,damask ,napkins from #cs4 per doz4 ,glass ,cloths from #d;d4 per yard4 ,dusters from #as4 #i;d4 per doz4 ,a complete set of ,linens1 consisting of ,blankets1 ,quilts1 ,table ,linen1 ,sheets1 c41 suitable for a small house1 for #g1 #ais4 ,,walpole ,,brothers ,irish ,linen and ,damask ,manufacturers #af ,bedford ,street1 ,belfast2 #h and #i ,suffolk ,street1 ,dublin #hi ,,new ,,bond ,,street 7,two ,doors from ,oxford ,street7 ,,london1 ,w4 and #ajb ,,kensington ,,high ,,street1 ,established over a ,century ,w4 ,bros'4 ,special ,designs in ,table ,damask are different from1 and superior to1 those to be seen elsewhere 99 99 99 99 99 ,,hewetsons ,house ,furnishers and ,decorators #bab ,,tottenham ,,court ,,road ,illustration3 ,,hewetsons' #8,princess ,may' ,bedroom ,suite ,enamelled ,white ,carton ,pierre ,mountings1 ,brass ,handles1 and comprising3--,wardrobe 7,glass ,door71 ,dressing ,chest with ,glass1 ,washstand 7,marble ,top1 ,tile ,back1 and ,brass ,towel ,rail71 and ,two ,cane-seated ,chairs4 #g1 #aes4 #j;d4 ,,the ,,set ,hewetsons' ,new ,illustrated ,catalogue ,is the best and most complete ,furnishing ,guide published1 and is forwarded free of charge4 ,it contains ,estimates for ,furnishing ,houses for #aej1 #cjj1 #ejj1 #ajjj1 c41 each article in detail1 illustrated and priced4 ,decorating ,hewetsons give ,estimates ,free of ,charge for ,painting and all kinds of ,interior ,decorations1 ,structural ,alterations1 ,sanitary ,work1 ,electric ,lighting1 c4 ,the ,largest ,stock of 444 ,,english ,,carved ,,oak ,,furniture 444 ,,in ,,the ,,world 99 99 99 99 99 ,,james ,,shoolbred ,,co4 ,,tottenham ,,house ,tottenham ,court ,road ,,london1 ,w4 ,direct ,carpet ,importers ,bedding ,manufacturers ,cabinet ,makers and ,upholsterers ,blind ,manufacturers ,artistic ,decorators1 and ,complete ,house ,furnishers ,three ,passenger ,lifts convey ,customers to all ,departments above ,ground ,floor ,,james ,,shoolbred ,,co4 ,,tottenham ,,house ,,london 99 99 99 99 99 ,,bartholomew ,,fletcher ,illustration ,chippendale ,cabinet1 #f #aj #j ,old ,mahogany ,vase or ,lamp ,stand1 #b #e #j #8,richelieu' ,settee1 in ,tapestry1 #e #ah #f ,catalogues ,free ,most ,moderate ,prices in ,london #bai ,tottenham ,court ,road1 ,w4 ,,carpets #8,,reviredis' ,regd4 ,,specialities #8,,isis' ,art ,rush ,matting #8,,roysse' ,hand ,loom ,carpets #8,,arts and ,,crafts' ,rugs ,,the ,,abingdon ,,carpet ,,manufacturing ,,co4 ,,abingdon-,,on-,,thames ,,john ,,harris ,,sons1 ,,limited ,,art ,,linens4 ,,pure ,,flax4 ,over #dj ,artistic ,shades4 ,unrivalled for excellence of ,quality and ,colour4 ,of ,special ,manufacture and ,dye4 ,suitable for every kind of ,,house ,,decoration and ,,ornamentation4 ,embroideries of every description4 ,patterns and ,estimates for ,curtains1 ,portires1 ,hangings1 c41 on application4 ,showrooms-- #be ,,old ,,bond ,,street1 ,,london ,works ,derwent ,mills1 ,cockermouth1 ,eng4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,books ,,to ,,buy ,mrs ,,panton',s ,books on the ,furnishing and ,decorating of ,houses1 and the ,management of a ,household4 #a4 ,from ,kitchen to ,garret3 ,hints for ,young ,householders4 ,by ,j4 ,e4 ,,panton4 ,a ,new and ,revised ,edition4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 #fs4 ,this work of ,mrs ,panton was first published in ,december #ahhg4 ,it has since been seven times reprinted4 ,the work has now been closely revised by the ,author1 new information on many subjects has been incorporated in the text1 and many new ,illustrations have been added4 #b4 ,nooks and ,corners4 ,a ,companion ,book to #8,from ,kitchen to ,garret4' ,by ,j4 ,e4 ,,panton4 ,crown #hvo1 #fs4 #8,a veritable encyclopdia of useful information in all matters pertaining to the home4' ,our ,viands4 ,whence they come and how they are ,cooked4 ,by ,a4 ,w4 ,,buckland4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 price #fs4 #8,she has succeeded in giving us a very interesting history of our own ordinary dishes1 and of the most curious and characteristic dishes of other countries4'--,spectator4 ,ladies in the ,field3 ,sketches of ,sport4 ,edited by the ,,lady ,,greville4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 price #fs4 ,contents3 ,riding in ,ireland and ,india1 by ,lady ,greville--,hunting in the ,shires--,horses and their ,riders1 by the ,duchess of ,newcastle--,the ,wife of the ,m4,f4,h41 by ,mrs ,chaworth ,musters--,fox ,hunting--,team and ,tandem ,driving1 by ,miss ,rosie ,anstruther ,thomson--,tigers ,i have shot1 by ,mrs ,c4 ,martelli--,rifle ,shooting1 by ,miss ,leale--,deer ,stalking and ,deer ,driving1 by ,diane ,chasseresse--,covert ,shooting1 by ,lady ,boynton--,a ,kangaroo ,hunt1 by ,mrs ,jenkins--,cycling1 by ,mrs ,e4 ,r4 ,pennell--,punting1 by ,miss ,sybil ,salaman4 #8,the several chapters are entrusted to skilful hands1 and deal with sport1 as practised by ladies1 in a very sensible and business-like fashion4'--,times4 #8,it is not often one comes across such a tempting book4444 ,we cannot too strongly recommend ,ladies in the ,field to our readers1 and think that it is a book to be on every sportswoman's library table4'--,sporting ,life4 ,in ,ladies' ,company3 ,sketches of the ,lives of ,six ,notable ,women4 ,by ,mrs ,f4 ,f4 ,,miller4 ,one vol41 fcap4 #hvo1 cloth1 price #es4 #8,a volume to be grateful for4'--,daily ,chronicle4 #8,ample1 suggestive1 and neatly finished--turned out with true literary skill4'--,globe4 ,love in a ,cottage2 or1 ,making the most of a ,small ,income4 ,by ,,agatha ,,hodgson4 ,post #hvo1 paper covers1 price #as4 ,,from ,,all ,,booksellers ,or from the ,publishers ,,ward ,,downey ,,ltd4 #ab ,,york ,,buildings1 ,adelphi1 ,w4,c4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a ,,gold ,,medal ,,has ,,been ,,awarded ,,to ,wm4 ,wallace ,co4 ,,for ,,the ,,artistic ,,furnishing ,,and ,,decoration ,,of #8,,our ,,flat' ,,as ,,exhibited ,,at ,,the ,,indian ,,exhibition4 #8,how to ,furnish ,our ,flat or ,house for #ajj1' ,,and ,,also ,,for #cjj ,by ,mrs ,j4 ,e4 ,,panton1 may now be had1 post free1 on application to ,,wm4 ,,wallace ,,co4 #aea to #aee ,,curtain ,,road1 ,,london1 ,e4,c4 ,mrs ,,panton says1 in the #8,gentlewoman'3--#8,i should strongly advise1 before buying ,furniture anywhere1 to send to ,wm4 ,wallace ,co41 of ,curtain ,road1 for sketches of their ,new ,furniture ,catalogue4 ,all ,goods are ,carriage ,paid anywhere in the ,united ,kingdom1 and if you require really good ,furniture1 go to ,wm4 ,wallace ,co41 the wood being properly seasoned1 and the workmanship seems to me to be as good as it possibly can be4' ,,before placing your orders1 send for our ,new ,catalogue1 entitled #8,beauty1 ,skill and ,economy4' ,post ,free4 ,the #8,daily ,telegraph' says3--#8,wm4 ,wallace ,co4 have an artistically designed catalogue1 which is a most instructive guide to householders4' #8,,our ,,flat' #8,,our ,,flat' #8,,our ,,flat' #8,,our ,,flat' #8,,our ,,flat' #8,,our ,,flat' #8,,our ,,flat' #8,,our ,,flat' #8,,our ,,flat' #8,,our ,,flat' ,,wm4 ,,wallace ,,co4 ,artistic ,house ,furnishers and ,decorators #aea1 #aeb1 #aec1 #aed and #aee ,curtain ,road ,,london1 ,e4,c4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,healthy4 ,,economical4 ,,artistic4 ,,jackson',s ,,varnish ,,stains ,,for ,,floors ,,furniture ,,have ,,the ,,largest ,,sale ,staining and ,varnishing in one operation ,no ,preparation required4 ,illustration ,made to represent the following woods-- ,mahogany ,walnut ,rosewood ,light and ,dark ,oak ,satinwood ,ebony ,leaf ,green c4 ,packed in ,tins ,pints1 #b_/- ,quarts1 #c_/f -,gallon1 #f_/- #a ,gallon1 #aj_/- ,cans ,free ,bottles #f;d4 and #a_/- each ,the ,stain dries in twenty minutes with a brilliant hard surface equal to ,french ,polish with no unpleasant smell4 ,used in ,hospitals1 ,asylums1 ,schools1 ,hotels1 c4 ,recommended by ,professor ,wanklyn1 the eminent analytical chemist1 and many members of the medical profession1 for its sanitary properties as a floor covering4 ,besides very numerous private testimonials1 these ,stains are being constantly recommended by the principal writers on domestic matters4 ,dr ,andrew ,wilson1 in ,health1 says3--#8,we hope it will be used by all who value health1 economy and beauty in their homes4 ,it will cost but a few shillings to stain the floor1 where pounds would be spent in carpets1 and rooms where it is used can always be kept clean1 healthy and bright4' ,the ,court ,circular says3--#8,we predict that ,jackson's ,combination ,varnish-,stain will become a household word1 and that it will be used as a floor covering in every home where health1 beauty and cleanliness are appreciated4' ,the ,lady's ,pictorial says3--#8,you cannot possibly do better than use ,jackson's ,varnish ,stains4 ,they are most excellent4' ,the ,queen3--#8,have found ,jackson's ,varnish ,stain very good4 ,as its name implies1 it requires no varnishing1 dries quickly1 and gives a beautiful polish4' ,these ,stains are sold by all high-class ,stores throughout the ,world1 and must not be confounded with any of the low-class rubbish1 which will only cause disappointment and trouble4 ,coloured picture labels on all packages4 ,manufactured only by ,t4 ,s4 ,,jackson ,,sons1 #ahf ,,old ,,kent ,,road1 ,,london1 ,s4,e4 ,established #ahec 99 99 99 99 99 ,by ,special ,appointment ,to ,her ,majesty ,,warings ,specialists and ,manufacturers of ,decorative ,furniture ,illustration3 ,,economy ,,in ,,decorating ,,and ,,furnishing ,the largest bona-fide ,manufacturers in the ,kingdom ,messrs ,,waring invite inspection of their ,suites of completely furnished ,rooms1 illustrating how to furnish tastefully at the lowest cost ,,estimates ,,and ,,designs ,,free #aha ,oxford ,street1 ,london1 ,w4 ,,manchester