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"One large room on ground floor answers for parlor, dining room and library."

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room in which the lovely poet received her guests. That cottage parlor was in itself a dream of color and beauty, in which the note of bloom and brightness was made by the lavish use of flowers, banked on the mantels, standing in cups and bowls, in vases, in glasses, behind pictures, in fact everywhere, so brilliant, so beautiful and so lovely that no one could help enjoying and admiring the fascinating effect. A poet's garden and a poet's home was that in Appledore.

We are not so afraid of sunshine in these days as people were in the charming story of Cranford. Perhaps you remember what a stir it made in that quaint little hamlet when Miss Jenkyns purchased a new carpet for her drawing room. "Oh," said the writer of Cranford, "the busy work Miss Mollie and I had in chasing the sunbeams as they fell in an afternoon right down on this carpet through the blindless window. We spread newspapers over the places and sat down to our book or our work, and lo, in a quarter of an hour, the sun had moved and was blazing away on a fresh spot, and down again we went on our knees to alter the position of the newspapers. We were very busy, too, one whole morning before Miss Jenkyns gave her party, in following her directions and in cutting out and stitching together pieces of newspapers, so as to form little paths to every chair set for the expected visitors, lest their shoes might dirty or defile the purity of the new carpet."

Quite opposite to this was the course of a friend of mine, on whom a cousin bestowed in a burst of generosity a very rich but very glaring Brussels carpet. My friend was away from home paying a visit. On her return, she found her floor covered with this brilliant and splendid gift. Of its cost there could be no doubt; equally no doubt of the friend's good intentions; but the carpet killed everything else in the room and made the old furniture look shockingly shabby. "What did you do?" I said. "Oh," she answered, "there was nothing to do but first to sit down and cry. Next, I solved the problem by opening the windows to the sunshine, drawing up the shades, and allowing the strong sunlight to pour in on that carpet every hour in the day for days together, until it faded out into something less terrible than it was at first: but it will be a trial to me, I fear, for years to come."

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CHAPTER V.

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Furnishing the Bedrooms.

PON the cheerfulness, good ventilation and convenience of the bedrooms the health of the family very largely depends. A necessity of every chamber in which people sleep is fresh air, and, if possible, light. The furniture of the bedrooms is, in so far as essentials are concerned, limited to a few articles. There must, of course, be a bed, and there should be a bureau, a wash basin, several chairs and a table. No other articles are needed, though others may be added to suit the taste of the owner of the room, according to its capacity. Then a lounge is a pleasant accessory, enabling one to keep the bed nicely made up all day and inviting to pleasant naps at intervals without disturbing the couch. Where there are children the crib or the cradle may stand in the room with the mother's bed. The multiplication of articles in a bedroom is unwise, as they are simply traps for dust, and demand care which might better be given in other parts of the house.

A hard wood or painted floor, with rugs which may be easily taken up and shaken, is by most people preferred to a carpet in these days, although in country houses a pretty tasteful matting makes a very attractive floor covering. The matting may be pure white or figured, and is to be found in many varieties at exceedingly low cost.

It is a mistake to have heavy draperies at the windows of a sleeping room. Shades, either white or ecru, with light muslin curtains are quite sufficient. Unless there are blinds which may be closed at night, or outside shutters, it is also well to have a second pair of shades of very dark brown or green. These can be rolled down at night, and prevent light from falling on the eyes of those who are asleep.

In bedsteads there is room for a wide variety of choice. A brass bedstead is very beautiful, but a white iron bedstead with iron trimmings is equally pretty and costs very much less. In various carved woods, curled maple, chestnut, cherry, black walnut and mahogany there are exceedingly beautiful bedsteads to be found, but the metallic has an advantage over the wooden bedstead in being more easily kept entirely clean.

A wire spring mattress is the first requisite; over this may be placed the best mattress you can afford. Nothing equals a good hair mattress, but there are beds made of moss, excelsior and cotton which are quite comfortable for a time, though less durable than the hair mattress, which may be picked over and remade a number of times, and which is really, when once purchased, a lifelong possession. As so much of one's time is necessarily spent in bed and in sleep, eight hours of the twenty-four being a moderate allowance for most people to be given to this necessary renewal of one's faculties, it is worth while to have as good and comfortable a bed as possible.

Beds of straw and of feathers, once found everywhere, are not now favorites. The straw bed is hard and lumpy, and the feather bed, while to a certain extent luxurious, is very enervating, and in summer exceedingly oppressive. No one can rise from a smothering bath of feathers and feel quite refreshed for going on with the day's work.

The sheets and pillow-cases, bolster-cases, blankets and spreads needed for each bed may be determined by the householder herself. Linen sheets are very luxurious, and most women like to have a pair or two of these in reserve for great occasions, but excellent cotton sheets can be procured, and they form the staple for most housekeepers. A soft wool blanket is much better than a wadded quilt, being lighter, as a rule, and retaining the heat of the body better than the other A duvet of swansdown or goose feathers is a great luxury as an extra covering for a bed, but equally as good is a soft Italian rug or a knitted afghan.

Pillow shams and lace spreads for the daytime were at one time very popular, but their day is over and only old-fashioned housekeepers are bothered with them now. I cling myself to the old-fashioned idea that a white counterpane and white pillow slips are exceedingly beautiful, but many women in these days prefer a dark silk spread, or a spread made of cretonne, which they throw entirely over the bed in the daytime, covering also a round bolster, and putting the pillows aside until they are used at night. All these things are matters of personal taste, and each one may determine just what she will do for herself.

Have everything about the baby's crib and cradle of the very best that you can get for the dear little sleeper, whose infancy at least should be wrapped in warmth and luxury.

A closet is a requisite in a bedroom, but if one has none, a very good substitute may be made by a set of hooks against the wall, which may be covered with a curtain or hidden by a high screen.

Many lounges serve a double purpose, and when the lid is opened prove themselves long boxes in which garments may be laid away. Window-seats may also serve as boxes for shoes, and ottomans and hassocks often lend themselves to the needs of the householder who has little space and must economize what she has.

The high chiffonier, formerly supposed to belong only to a man and to be appropriate for his use, is now chosen by many women in preference to a lower

dressing table and bureau because it has more drawers in which they may keep their belongings. A homemade dressing table may be easily manufactured by a woman who is handy with tools, or who can press her brother or husband into the service. This needs to be simply a pine table covered with silesia appropriately draped with a little lace and some ribbon bows, and above it there may be arranged a looking glass, beside which the fair lady may sit and comb her hair and survey herself at her will.

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The boy's room should not be a repository for all the old things in the house. If possible, let it be attractive so that it may be a refuge for him, a place to which he may retire to study his lessons, or where he may entertain his friends with a feeling that he has a real foothold in the house. The boy will probably like to have his tool chest in his room, if he has a fancy for making articles useful and ornamental, as many boys have. If he is a collector he will keep his cabinet. there; if his fancy is for the pursuits of the naturalist, his butterflies and beetles will find their appropriate niche in his room. Whatever the boy's fad or hobby is, he will be apt to let it express itself in this place which is his own. From time to time he should be encouraged in whatever is his specialty by some present which will show that the family appreciate his efforts, and it should be required of him that his room should not invariably look as if it had been swept by a cyclone.

"The dainty pretty daughter of the house."

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