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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f850c6e --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #53806 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/53806) diff --git a/old/53806-0.txt b/old/53806-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index f58ed76..0000000 --- a/old/53806-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6058 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's Suburban Residences, by J. (Jane) E. (Ellen) Panton - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Suburban Residences - and how to Circumvent Them - -Author: J. (Jane) E. (Ellen) Panton - -Release Date: December 26, 2016 [EBook #53806] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SUBURBAN RESIDENCES *** - - - - -Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images available at Google Books) - - - - - - - - - - - SUBURBAN RESIDENCES - - - - - SUBURBAN RESIDENCE - And How to Circumvent Them - - BY - J. E. PANTON - - AUTHOR OF - ‘FROM KITCHEN TO GARRET,’ ‘NOOKS AND CORNERS,’ - ‘HOMES OF TASTE,’ ETC. - - LONDON - WARD & DOWNEY - _LIMITED_ - 12 YORK BUILDINGS ADELPHI - 1896 - - - - -CONTENTS - - -CHAPTER I - - PAGE - -FIRST STEPS, 1 - -CHAPTER II - -HALLS AND PASSAGES, 31 - -CHAPTER III - -KITCHEN AND BASEMENTS, 64 - -CHAPTER IV - -DINING ROOMS, 95 - -CHAPTER V - -PARLOURS, 128 - -CHAPTER VI - -THIRD ROOMS, 160 - -CHAPTER VII - -THE NURSERIES, 191 - -CHAPTER VIII - -BEDROOMS, 222 - -CHAPTER IX - -DRESSING-ROOMS AND BATHROOMS, 252 - -CHAPTER X - -THE GREAT SERVANT QUESTION, 278 - - - - - SUBURBAN RESIDENCES - _AND HOW TO CIRCUMVENT - THEM_ - - - - -CHAPTER I - -FIRST STEPS - - -The first step to take is undoubtedly to find your suburb; the second, -to discover an adaptable house; and then the third and greatest is to -circumvent the many death-traps, cold-givers and misery-makers which are -included in the lease; although most certainly they are not apparent in -it when it is carefully brought for you to sign. - -The suburbs, take them how you will, are not Paradise and can never now -be made so; yet for people with middle-sized incomes and aspirations -after fresh air, they are undoubtedly most necessary evils. If one is -in the least susceptible to noise or not strong, London, or any other of -our great cities, is an impossible place of residence. Perhaps I should -have put the ‘not strong’ first, for suburban noises are worse, really, -than any others; and one can be amused on far less money in London than -one can elsewhere. For there a garden and a carriage are not in the -least essential, while some kind of ‘pleasaunce’ and some sort of -vehicle are almost indispensable out of town, unless one wants to spend -one’s money on flies, and one’s time in catching trains, and is content -to risk the ruin of one’s clothes and run up doctors’ bills, should one -be caught in the many storms which distinguish our delightful climate, -and which always descend on unprotected folk on their way to and from -the station. Moreover, if one has the smallest desire for peace, one -must be a certain distance from the rail, or most undoubtedly madness -will ensue. I have often noticed delusive advertisements of suburban -paradises where nearness to the rail is held out as an inducement to the -would-be tenant, and I have often longed to ‘go for’ the advertiser and -tell him to what a fearful end he might lead some confiding young -couple, 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 anyrate, -if one selects a suburb on one of the main lines. I know, alas! 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 -same? I must own, when I went into the house and, looking out of the -first window I came to, beheld the demon, I at once fled from the place, -and flatly refused even to look at another room, and oh! how wise I -should have been had I held to my own determination. But, in those days, -houses were scarce. We were obliged to be in that special locality. -Everyone said one got accustomed to the trains in a week, and never -heard them at all after the first night or two. The garden was charming. -The last tenant had lived there for years and years, and had not left it -for a lunatic asylum, and so I allowed my own judgment to give way -before a storm of talk and unsought advice, 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 water. For indeed, -far from becoming accustomed to trains, the more one lives near them the -more one hears them. I used to find I regularly expected each separate -train. I waited for the fall of the signal as one expects a clap of -thunder in the middle of a storm, and as there was no escape, either in -the house or grounds, I felt that unless I got out of the place itself -entirely, I should be found in my morning-room, seated on the floor, -with straws in my hair, _à l’Ophelia_, 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 peace, at least, from the raving, -roaring, rattling rail. There are other suburban terrors which are to be -dreaded, and which should certainly be looked out for before one settles -down, if one is in the least susceptible to noise, as no one knows what -torture can be given one by apparently innocent means. In delightful -Shortlands, where I think the suburbs are as near perfection as a clay -soil will allow, everyone in my day used to keep dogs as necessary -protections from the ubiquitous tramp, and should one dog feel called -upon to assert himself, all followed suit with the most exemplary -precision. Then our next-door neighbour not only kept crowing and -blatant cocks, but a flock of ever-increasing pigeons, and these dear -creatures used to spend their happiest hours among my chimney-pots, -moaning, cooing and groaning in the melancholy way they affect until -they nearly drove me wild, and I had to appeal to the owner, who, with -unprecedented goodness, got rid of them and so saved me from an untimely -fate. But that was Shortlands. What shall I say for another suburb, -where toy houses stand on quarter acres of ground, enclosed by -breast-high fences, and where the fact of being a neighbour seems to -ensure you as much annoyance as can be given in a short space of time? -Where the ridiculous gates to the far more ridiculous ‘carriage -approaches’ (see house agents’ advertisements) are slammed one after -another by the tradespeople, tramps, postmen and other fashionable folk -who use these approaches. There, ensconced in a tub, close to each side -of each fence, reposes an enormous dog, with a bark to match, who could -protect all the silver and diamonds in the world--which are _not_ to be -found in what I call ‘Pooter Parade’ (for the origin of which name -please read ‘Nobody’s Diary’ in _Punch_)--where the servants hang out -the clothes and themselves at the same time, if they can make -investigations into their next-door neighbours’ affairs; 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 still. There when one tries to sleep it is between the -barks of the vigilant hounds, the slamming of the gate by an irate tramp -sent empty away, or else disappointed by a useless visit to the -unprotected garden; for, raked fore and aft as it is by the populace, a -lock seems a farce, especially when it would mean sending a maid down -to the gates every time someone wanted to come in. Indeed the gates are -so easily climbed, that any amount of locks would be no protection, and -where one exists, protected yet unprotected in a childish degree which -would be laughable were it not so disagreeable. For anyone could -‘burgle’ any of those villa residences had he an ounce of pluck, or did -he not know quite well that the entire contents of the whole row would -not pay him for his trouble, 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 Penates_. - -I have tried life, more or less, for about twelve years in the suburbs -of London, both north and south, and I have come to the conclusion that -if we have a carriage and can therefore live a certain distance from the -rail, and if we can put at least three acres of ground round our house, -and pass moreover a series of regulations, _viâ_ the new Parish Councils -perhaps, for suburban etiquette, or better still, if rules for the -behaviour of one neighbour towards another could be drawn up, the -southern and south-western suburbs of London are the best places in the -world to be in, for ordinary middle-class folk whose best days are over -and who yet must be within touch of town for business purposes. These, -therefore, should be ransacked by the house-hunter before he allows his -eye to wander further afield. Though it must be remembered that the -trains to such parts of the globe are maddening,--the only difference -between an express and an ordinary train being that one waits outside a -station and the other inside,--and the smallest amount of snow or fog -will disorganise the traffic altogether, yet they do go to civilized -parts of London, while those from the northern portions do not. The -southern trains too, kindly drop one, say at Holborn, London Bridge, -Charing Cross, or Victoria, and do not insist on one’s returning by -precisely the same station one arrived at: an immense advantage that one -has only to be deprived of to comprehend instantly all it means. - -If one goes to the northern suburbs of London, one is dropped at Euston, -King’s Cross, or, worse still, Liverpool Street, valuable stations for -some men, but utterly useless for women; at least I never found them any -good to me. True, one has the delightful trains and perfect manners of -the Euston officials and I daresay the other northerners are as good, -but I don’t know much about them. Still, the punctuality and good -service are all one has to set against the other drawbacks, which are, -to my mind, more than a set off for the fact that the trains are good -and punctual. These other drawbacks are that some of the northern -suburbs are at least twenty years behind the south in conveniences and -comforts; that the people who live there are not to be compared with the -southrons, and that there is an almost unbroken surface of clay from -London to beyond Harrow and Bushey; and that above all, unless one has a -really large place, one must be so close to one’s neighbours owing to -the way the ground is arranged for building, that one nearly dies of -them, and that it is almost, if not quite, impossible to keep out of the -reach of the railway, which is far more ubiquitous there than it is in -other parts of the regions round London. Then too there are no -advantages in the way of amusement, 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 spot. - -If young married people think of settling in the suburbs, they should -weigh the _pros_ and _cons_ thereof most seriously before determining -their course. There is very little actual society in the suburbs, but -what there is, is perhaps more real than the rush and hurry of London; -and if a woman wants to do positive, helpful work, and to live a really -healthy, morally and mentally healthy life, and a man cares for his -home, his garden and his games, the couple will be much better off there -than elsewhere. But if they love London, as Londoners do love their -native city, if they are strong, ‘in the swim,’ ‘smart,’ or whatever is -the proper designation for those who are really given over to society, -let them stay where they are. For them a back attic in Belgravia is -sweeter than a palace in the suburbs; for one never acclimatises, one -only withers, and the husband, tired with that dreadful ‘catching of -trains,’ has no mind for going out, while the wife may be done up by -shopping in town, or be wearied out by mere dulness, and life will -resolve itself into a procession of grey days and grimmer nights, and -quickly, far too quickly, the _ménage_ will become unbearable, and -rupture, sooner or later, will ensue. - -For, remember, if really intellectual or interesting people are found in -the suburbs, they are, as I have just remarked, too tired from the day’s -work to be available for society purposes. But the majority of suburban -residents is made up from young married folk, and dreary, common-place, -middle-aged ones, made dreary by their surroundings, and by their -enforced severance from their more fortunate fellow-creatures. For -unless they have real fondness for literature, or for helping among the -charities and churches, and have tastes of their own which render them -superior to their actual surroundings, there is literally nothing to -keep them alert and alive. - -Whatever suburb is selected, it should include amongst its residents -some family in a good position, to whom the new-comer is known or is -known of. If the fresh resident has no introductions, his fate is -sealed; the best people don’t call, and should some years elapse before -the acquaintance is made that might have been so pleasant if made at -first, the relationship can never be a cordial one. Rightly or wrongly, -the feeling exists that such an out-of-date visit is not worth thinking -of, and it rarely becomes what it might have been, had not the untoward -delay slipped in between. - -The suburbs could be so different, nay, in isolated cases are so -different, that I long for the residents to realise all they are -throwing away, all one learns too late to really profit by the lessons. -In Shortlands people used to be exceptionally fortunate, for there -existed in our day an intellectual headquarter, where the ‘hall-mark’ -was or was not affixed, as might be. Don’t please think I mean myself; -no one who knew Shortlands would think I could be such an idiot, and all -will realise to whom I refer. Some years after we left, that pleasant -house was broken up by the death of the founder; yet as long as it -existed it was invaluable, because it acted like a fountain of living -water and kept everything, as it were, fresh and young. In all suburbs -there should be something of the same kind, someone of real and -acknowledged tact and talent, who should know who is who and what is -what, who could recognise pleasant, educated folk and give them a -helping hand, and whose house should issue the ‘hall-mark’ which should -make all these said pleasant, educated people able to feel they can be, -an’ they choose, members of the circle that ought to exist everywhere as -a means of keeping souls alive and happy. A harder task, by the way, -than the equally necessary one of keeping bodies in a similar state, and -quite as important. Indeed, the one depends very much upon the other, as -doctors are among the very first to recognise nowadays. In the olden -times, and given a good man and a clever woman, the hall-mark used to be -affixed by the rectory or vicarage, and whether the new-comers went to -church or stayed away settled the question at once and for all time. But -now matters are entirely changed, and the Church has little or nothing -to do with the social standing of Brown and Jones and Smith. So if the -suburb is to be successful, it must possess someone who, by right of -brains and an assured position, can bring together the real folk and -leave alone the dull, stupid ones who love gossip, and hate books and -art and pictures, and so ensure an intellectual centre, which, once -formed, would make any suburb as delightful as Shortlands was, in the -days when I knew it well, and no doubt still is. - -Given the suburbs then, the be-all and end-all of this little book is to -teach the dwellers there, by choice or force, how best to avail -themselves of the advantages which do exist, and which could be -multiplied a thousandfold, did people know how to set to work. That I -did not, makes me the best person in the world to teach others, because -I have learned by experience and am therefore capable of imparting the -knowledge I acquired too late to be able to use it myself. Therefore -let me insist that the would-be suburban resident recognise first his -duty to himself in the selection of his suburb, and then, secondly, his -duty towards his neighbour. If he is close enough to him to be a -nuisance he should consider him as much as he considers himself, while -he bears in mind that there must be a social head to whom he will -loyally give help, should he himself be anxious to wear the ‘hall-mark’ -that will give all, rich and poor alike, the right to be a members of -society, where pleasantness and culture suffice to ensure a hearty -welcome. - -The suburban’s duty towards himself consists in selecting a suburb where -the train shall land him nearest to his work in town; in selecting a -good and reasonable house, and in finding out what amusements and -occupations are available for his wife and daughters; and, if he has -small children, what schools or teachers are likely to be useful in the -matter of education. His duty to his neighbour may not be so briefly -summed up, but consists in many little and worrying observances which -are ridiculous indeed to the dwellers in London, and in more favoured -and larger spots; but I, alas! can feelingly enumerate some of the items -which go to make up a whole. - -The first duty is undoubtedly to abstain from keeping a dog which must -be tied up either day or night. The second is to bar crowing cocks and -crooning pigeons; one can be quite happy without pigeons, and cocks -can’t crow if they can’t get their heads up high enough to do so, -neither are they necessary inhabitants of a small back-garden. Hanging -out the clothes should be a penal offence, as should be the slamming of -gates, an offensive dust-bin, ill-bred servants, and screaming children, -while the utterer of long unchecked yells should be at once fined or -punished as an offender against the community; for children can’t too -soon be taught to know their duties towards their neighbours, the while -they learn self-control and the undoubted fact that screams and cries -are not necessary items in anyone’s bringing up. Then carpets and rugs -should not be shaken and dusted after ten o’clock, and without some idea -of the way of the wind. The letters sent to ‘Ivy Dene,’ and delivered at -‘Deneside,’ should be at once given up at their real destination, and -should not be detained until the postman is caught by chance on one of -his hurried plunges down the ‘carriage approach,’ which, by the way, -won’t exist in our model suburb. Moreover, when Jones gives a party and -doesn’t ask Smith and Brown, it should be a matter of honour to both -neighbours that they don’t disport themselves unduly, 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 disposal. Indeed the whole duty of a suburban -resident is to treat his neighbour as himself in the matter of conduct, -but not to know him personally if he can in any way and decently avoid -doing so, for ‘beware to whom you give the key of your back door,’ says -a wise old proverb, 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 degree. Endless friction can be caused by -the mere _va et vient_ of tennis balls; or by ignoring the fact that no -one wants the same people at all the small parties given in a locality, -the size of which must govern in a measure at all times the amount of -folks bidden to them. Servants who can chatter over the fences are also -a fertile source of misunderstanding. So unless specially clever and -sensible folks dwell beside one, it is best to know nothing of them in -any shape or form if one wants the peace, without which Paradise itself -would fail to charm, and deprived of which, the suburban resident -realises all too quickly what being in the antipodes of Paradise might -very probably mean. - -Then when these duties are fulfilled the next one is to discover of what -manner of men is composed, and what is the record of, the new parish -council or local board which may govern the special district; and -another is to find if the ‘Infectious Diseases Notification Act’ has -been adopted or not. These two things are most important, for given a -good local authority one knows that while the rates don’t rise unduly, -yet proper care is taken that all matters are up to date, which they can -never be in a place where the ‘Infectious Diseases Act’ is not -enforced; neither can health be found where jerry building reigns -unchecked, bad meat is passed over casually as not too bad to eat (just -as if all edibles should not resemble Caesar’s wife and be above the -smallest suspicion), where the water is bitterly hard, and not either -soft or softened, and where, in fact, everything is what ought not to -be, and nothing is that should be to ensure a maximum of health with a -careful regard to the spending of the ratepayers’ money. Then one very -necessary hint to suburban residents is to see that in taking a new -house the road by which it may stand, or by which it is reached, is -properly ‘made up,’ and duly taken over by the authorities. Especially -should this be the case if the house stands at a corner, albeit, for -many reasons, a corner house should not be selected. Some feeble folk -imagine such a situation means bad luck. Well! so it does in a measure; -for being at a corner, one gets all the winds that blow on all sides, -one’s front garden is filled with paper, straw and debris of all kinds, -brought into it by these said eddying winds; the dust fills our rooms -and makes our curtains black before their time, and one gets a double -assortment of noises both of vehicles and people; while, if we all too -late discover the road has not been ‘made up,’ and ‘taken over,’ we have -not only the front but a side piece to pay for, and in consequence have -three times the money to disburse that is expected of our neighbours. -Besides which, should snow fall there are the side walks to clear as -well as the front one; we have more wall or fence to keep in order, and, -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 road, where often enough, school children play in a -maddening manner, and where we get all the side noises as well as those -which are to be found along the front. The soil of the suburb is again a -thing to be thoroughly acquainted with before the tent is pitched -finally and for all time thereon. I do not believe clay is or ever can -be fit for anyone to reside upon, and nothing anyone can say will cause -me to alter my opinion. True I know that London, the healthiest city in -the world, is nearly all on clay, but then it has the advantage not only -of perfect drainage, but of every other thing which can mitigate this -fundamental drawback to perfect health; yet the fogs and the chill and -the gloom which distinguish it might all be different, or, indeed, -non-existent, were the soil of another character. Dearly as I loved -Shortlands the clay there was always to be reckoned with, and made a -long reckoning too, when all was told, for though roses flourished -magnificently, children didn’t, and coughs and colds were ‘the only -wear’ once autumn began to spread the leaves and winter came up to -finish the little business, clad in the usual garments of fog and mist, -changed at times to other more ‘seasonable’ ones of frost and snow. -Chalk is to be avoided by all rheumatic souls, or by those to whom -rheumatism may arrive by right of inheritance, water in which chalk -exists largely being a great help to bringing such an inheritance -within easy grasp of the heir; but gravel and, I think, a certain -measure of sand, are all right, while many trees should be fled from. -Trees bring rain and insects, and mean damp; albeit, if we can only find -a suburb where the gracious pine tree flourishes, we can dwell there -without alarm. The pine-tree spells health always, and should be sought -for as carefully as a family of _nouveaux riches_ searches for its coat -of arms, or some one thing that will link it on to someone else’s noble -ancestors in some way or another. Therefore should the seeker after a -suburban residence arm himself with a geological map of the regions -round London, and make many pilgrimages and inquiries before he finally -chooses. He would be wise too if he could afford the time and money, to -take rooms or a furnished house first in the locality which appeals to -him most; but, if he can’t do that, he should take in the local -newspaper, for at least a month, and see what manner of conduct is -reported there; what are the doings of the local authorities, the -species of ‘happenings’ in the way of amusements and entertainments, and -if he is bent on church, he should attend one or two services; while, if -golf attracts him, and tennis is his only joy, he should see that both -are attainable, and that the clubs are get-into-able and are not either -beyond his pocket or whatever may be his special social status. - -Once these items are all satisfactorily settled, and the suburb really -selected, the tug of war may be fairly considered to have begun. The -suburb is found, but how about the special house? Of course ‘eligible -residences’ will abound, albeit in any good and favoured places they are -not as plentiful by half as one could wish, so that nothing should be -done in a hurry. - -The local tradespeople, as well as the house-agents (generally very -broken reeds these last too) should be taken into one’s confidence, 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 price, and with as much -cunning. Too great eagerness means a large premium, and all the last -tenant’s awful fixtures; too little means someone else slipping in -before one, and bearing off the coveted prize under one’s very eyes. - -Much as one likes the idea of a real new, clean house, where no one has -ever died, or had scarlet fever, small-pox, or diphtheria, and where -virgin walls and untouched rooms leave one a free hand as regards -decoration and furniture, it is better, if possible, to take some place -out of which a ‘good family’ has been obliged to move for some true and -reasonable cause, such as a loss or increase of income, or an increase -in the requirements of the family. If a new house is chosen, it is -absolutely necessary that some honest and tried sanitary authority -should be called in from a distance: a local man cannot possibly give an -unbiassed opinion; and he should thoroughly examine the system of -drains; all pipes should be disconnected from the soil-pipes, and all -sanitary arrangements should be placed on the outside of the house. I do -not mean apart from the house itself, but built on at one side, so that -drainage is simplified immensely and reduced to one area. One where the -soil-pipe can be thoroughly ventilated and easily got at should it be -necessary to examine the drains, to repair them, or to discover that -they are all in good and working order. They should also be capable of -being constantly and copiously flushed with a good stream of water, -while all pipes connected with the water supply should be protected from -the weather, and also easily reached, else will they burst at the least -provocation, and cause frost and cold to be doubly cursed, because of -their untoward action upon one’s domestic arrangements. If the house has -been lived in, confidential relations should be established with the -outgoing tenant unless he has any interest in getting the house off his -hands; in that case human nature being weak, one can but recollect he -wants to part with it. But if he have ended his lease and be genuinely -anxious to remain yet cannot for a reasonable cause, it were well to ask -him frankly about the wants, requirements, and moods of the special -abode, for houses want humouring just as do human beings, and very -often one only finds out the virtues when the vices have caused one to -throw up the sponge, and once more set out on our nomadic passing -through this life. - -If we select and take a new house before we attempt our decorations let -us instal a caretaker. Ay! even with her grimy self and her still more -grimy goods and bronchial family, heavy with the continual colds -inseparable from living in empty houses and never anywhere else; 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 them. 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 floors; putting the ever useful -‘Slater’s Patent’ round every door and window, and whether it were not -well to transfer certain doors from left to right or _vice versa_, -because of the position of fire and window, which can only be really -determined when we see how the fire burns, and from which side comes -most of the almost certain draught. Thus too are tested the young and -untried chimneys, which, should they smoke, are to be examined by a -practical man before anything else can be done. They may smoke through -faulty construction. In this case new grates must be had from Haines & -Co., 83 Queen Victoria Street, who have a grate that can easily deal -with this desperate strait. Or they may require tall chimney-pots, or a -mere ‘blower,’ which is best when made of a clear thick sheet of glass. -In any case, they must be treated at once. A smoky chimney is death to -one’s decorations, spoils one’s temper, and one’s white curtains and new -cretonnes, and gives the maids cause for dissatisfaction, the while we -take a hatred at once to the house and always remember its unkind -reception of us, however well it may behave to us when we find ourselves -better acquainted with its little ways. It would not be an auspicious -manner of beginning an acquaintance should some would-be friend receive -us with sulks and a turned-away countenance, which might be shyness, -and is certainly bad mannered: I question much if we should ever reach -friendship should our advances be met in a similar way! In such a manner -does a smoky chimney make one feel towards the house it is a part of, -and once we are received with smoke in our own domain, we can never -really forget or forgive a reception we should not have had, had we kept -up good fires before we entered into possession thereof. When the house -is warmed, we can proceed to deal with each portion thereof as our -tastes and our purses permit; but we must never allow anything which -really offends our own special taste to remain; neither must we be -talked into taking anything we don’t like. If we don’t know our own -minds in these days, there are advisers to be had on whom reliance can -be placed. But if we have the least idea of what we want, let us get it. -It is our own house after all, and it is right it should represent us, -and not other folk. At the same time many people who can recognise -beauty and comfort when they see it, get bewildered by quantities; and -unable to select between them cannot secure loveliness, and are equally -unable somehow to recognise how comfort can be obtained. - -‘How do you keep this room up to 60 degrees?’ once said a doctor to me, -when I was inhabiting, _pro tem._, a so-called furnished house in the -depth of the winter. ‘I had a child dying here of bronchitis last -winter, and, try how they would, his people couldn’t raise the -temperature to above 50 degrees, although his life depended on it.’ - -‘Ah,’ said I, ‘they doubtless left it as they found it. I didn’t. I have -covered the gaping stained "surround" with felt. 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 -ones. That’s all the secret; and I never burn gas as you see, while my -fires last twice as long as they did before the alterations.’ - -‘Oh, I wish I had known all that before,’ said the doctor, ‘for neither -I nor the parents could find out the cause of the cold.’ - -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 found. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -HALLS AND PASSAGES - - -If we wish to make a complete conquest of the special suburban residence -we are about to circumvent, there is no doubt whatever that the first -battle of all has to be fought and won on the very doorstep. Nay -sometimes one has to commence the conflict before we reach as far as -that, for have we not the ‘carriage sweep’ to tackle and the slamming -gate to minister to before reaching the front door? If we are cursed -with the ‘approach,’ all we can do is to make the gate as inoffensive as -we can, for alas! we must keep it or we shall have our front garden a -gathering ground for all the curs in the neighbourhood. But we must e’en -remove the latch altogether, and line the place where it was with -indiarubber, and put a couple of stout indiarubber springs on the house -side of the gate, which should have an inner lining of wire-netting, -and a head-trimming of barbed wire, or else of rough nails, to prevent -the demon boy seating himself thereon. Then, if by firm refusals to -allow tramps to come up, and by never giving them one farthing--or -indeed anything save a bread ticket redeemable at the nearest baker’s -shop, and which, ten to one, we shall find torn up in our ‘avenue,’--we -can induce them to mark our gate with some secret sign, which means we -are unspeakable brutes and not good even for a ‘little hot water,’ we -shall have ensured ourselves a certain amount of quiet, and shall, at -all events, have begun our campaign in the right way. Our gate we should -paint some good solid colour, and Indian red is a good shade with green -hedges and trees about us, as is also a special shade of dark olive -green. Then the name of the house should be painted on in white, _not_ -gilded letters, and if we put as well ‘Please shut this gate quietly’ on -both sides of the top bar, we shall find that we at least are no longer -noise-makers in general, and, as far as our special gate is concerned, -the great slamming question is replied to satisfactorily. - -I may seem to dwell unduly on the matter of noise, but I can assure my -readers that every preventable noise is both a sin against themselves -and also against their neighbours. They may be in rude health and -inclined to jeer at all I say, but the day will come when their heads -will ache and their nerves bother them and when noise will torture them, -and then they will wish devoutly that they had legislated at first for -peace, for they certainly won’t get it when they have not the strength -to insist on it. I say preventable noise, and most noises are that, for -even the wretched piano in the schoolroom can be placed in such a -position that it only worries those to whom it belongs; while the person -who encourages barrel-organs or screaming children, should be at once -sent to the wilds of America, no other place being large enough to hold -such a barbarian. - -We know, of course, all English folk think their homes are their -castles; well, if so, the castle should have appropriate surroundings. -There is nothing much of the castle about a suburban residence, and the -sooner this fact is realised the better for those who dwell therein and -on both sides. Now, the carriage gate being painted and settled with, -and arranged to be fastened back should we have many callers from three -to six in summer, from three to five in winter, we can turn our -attention to the front door. I have had to circumvent for myself and for -many many other folk the ordinary suburban residence, 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 -about. As a rule, the front door opens straight on the narrow passage -called hall by courtesy, with the ladder-like flight of stairs going -straight up at one side. Then just opposite the front door, and about -eighteen or twenty feet from it, is the door of the third room, which -becomes library, smoking-room, or even day-nursery or schoolroom, -according to the tastes and the age and number of the owner’s family, -and nothing can be worse than this arrangement. But in the exception of -which I speak, the hall ends at the front door portion in a wall, and -the front door is placed opposite, as in the diagram on the next page, -and thus the wind which enters when the front - -[Illustration] - -door is opened only circulates in the tiny vestibule, and is shut off -from the hall and house by the inner door, beyond which is a small -fireplace, so small as to be scarcely visible at all, yet large enough -to ensure the equal temperature which means so much in this very -evil-minded climate of ours. Now, it would not be an enormous expense, -either to add the vestibule, or to make it by closing the ordinary -entrance at A and opening one at B, while the vestibule could be shut -off from the hall by curtains, should there be light enough to do -without the extra window, or by a glazed screen, should light be -otherwise an impossibility. In any case the gain to health would be -enormous, while the comfort is of course at once ensured which is so -absolutely necessary, and yet as a rule is so little understood. If one -can have curtains, and expense is a great object, it is well to obtain -from Oetzmann a fretwork arch, which is made for this purpose, and which -is nailed on the wall and to the ceiling, and is at once simple and -effective. The rod the simplest brass one which can be procured, should -go behind the arch, which should face towards the end wall, and curtains -of Wallace’s diamond serge should fall from the rod; there should be two -full curtains, double, if possible, and edged with ‘grip cord,’ not -ball-fringe. They will be constantly moved, and ball-fringe would soon -spoil, while the cord is a hardy thing and capable of standing a certain -amount of pulling about. 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 ball, but -sometimes we are fortunate enough to come across tiles. And yet I don’t -know whether I should quite say fortunate! For sometimes the tiles are -more frightful than I can describe, and are often cracked and irregular, -while one can manage the boarded floor if one resolutely tackles it and -determines that it shall not conquer one instead of being conquered -itself. If one has tiles one should place two or three rugs over them, -the Abingdon Carpet Company’s charming ‘Arts and Crafts’ rugs for -choice, made in the proper length and width for these places; but if one -has not, the boards must first be stopped, planed and smoothed and -ventilated, and then a plain cork carpet from Wallace, of Curtain Road, -E.C. should be put down. This should be ventilated too, by piercing -holes here and there with a gimlet, else dry-rot will ensue, a thing -which once in possession is very difficult to get rid of, I can assure -my readers. The cork carpet must be supplemented by rugs, and in any -case the vestibule should be tiled with plain self-coloured tiles to -harmonise with the decorations, for here would be shed the wet -waterproofs and umbrellas of the way-worn traveller, 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 raiment. This -feeling often prevents people paying that kindest call of all, the call -on a wet, dreary day, when we are dying with loneliness and boredom, and -would give anything to see the friend who will not come because she -would be ‘too wet for the pretty room,’ and ‘so dirty, she would really -be ashamed to enter anyone’s house.’ - -[Illustration] - -Now, with the sensible short tweed skirt and tweed undergarments, which -fortunate present-day damsels don unknown and unchecked, and a good -plain, yet pretty waterproof, anyone is weather-tight; and if the -parlour-maid pops the umbrella into the beaten iron ring for that -purpose placed behind the front door, and hangs the waterproof up in -Wallace’s handy P. T. C. wardrobe in another corner; and if the boots -are carefully wiped on the mat placed in the sunken place in front of -the door, 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 -brougham. The tiled floor should have upon it a pretty thick rug lined -with American leather: one can be bought for about 8s. 9d. at Treloar’s: -an outlay that no one need mind, but that ensures once more a certain -amount of comfort. - -The front door should, of course, never be grained, and it ought in -these days to be quite unnecessary for me even to hint at such a thing. -But mighty is the ‘local decorator,’ beloved of the suburbs, and his -counsels will undoubtedly prevail, unless we put down our foot very -firmly indeed, and keep it resolutely in that special attitude. He will -‘grain’ the door if he can until doomsday, I am convinced, but my -readers must be firm and dignified, and above all must they give their -instructions in writing, and keep a duplicate signed by the ‘decorator’ -(save the mark!), else will they find he has gone his own sweet way -after all, and they have no redress whatever. It is an axiom that -whatever colour is chosen for the hall that colour alone shall be on the -front door, but it may be in a darker shade, while the vestibule can -often be treated differently to the hall itself, though of course it -should lead up to and harmonise with it. Let me describe what I mean. -The special vestibule I am thinking of has a couple of small, -diamond-paned windows, one at the end, one opposite the front door, and -below this latter is a wide panel painted with a tiger-lily, and then a -wide wooden seat which lifts up and holds carriage rugs, and on which -anyone could sit did he or she come with a message or a note and require -to wait an answer. Both windows have wide ledges on which stand pots -holding palms or aspidistras, and all the paint on the inside of the -front door and on the vestibule side of the glass screen-doors included, -is a special, beautiful soft grey-blue shade. The panelled walls are the -same colour; the curtains are soft yellow silk, and the ceiling proper -is yellow and cream. On the floor are dull blue tiles and a Scinde rug, -and in one corner is the umbrella-ring, which one can get at Shoolbred’s -for about 18s. 9d., and that is all. There is no room for the P. T. C. -here, and the waterproofs are taken at once into the servants’ room to -be hung up and dried, but it would be much better were there a corner -wardrobe, only, alas! one can’t make space where one doesn’t possess it. - -The screen is made somewhat like this. The top and side panels are all -of leaded glass, as far as the brackets which hold pots for palms. The -tops of the doors are more leaded glass, and all the base is wood -painted on the vestibule side, the soft grey-blue spoken of before, and -on the other a specially soft and deep ‘real ivory.’ The dado is of -ivory, gold, and black Japanese leather paper, and the paper above is -one of Smee & Cobay’s, and is a cunning blend of green and red, managed -in such a way that the whole effect is a pinky red, which harmonises -with the grey-blue, and is as original as it is undoubtedly most -pleasant to contemplate. The stairs and all doors are curtained off -with yellow diamond serge, and the passage--_i.e._ hall--is covered with -plain green cork carpet, on which are laid rugs in which the grey-blue -colour aforesaid predominates. Of course the ceiling is papered in -yellow and white, and equally, of course, all the paint is one even -surface of colour. Nothing can excuse picked out or striped and -embellished paint: nothing! Genius is better employed on better work, -and even genius is out of place in making ornamental that which after -all is only going to be part of a harmonious whole, and merely a -background to ourselves and our possessions. Therefore must there be -plain paint everywhere, and no cornice should be more than a moulded -band, merely coloured a plain cream or ivory colour. If the front door -and the doors in the vestibule screen are not above suspicion of -draughts, they should be at once surrounded with Slater’s patent -draught-excluders, which can be procured anywhere almost, but surely at -Shoolbred’s or Whiteley’s; for nothing is more trying than a draught. -Have as much air and proper ventilation as possible. Have a vestibule -window open for some time of the day in winter and all day long in -summer, and have the staircase window open as well: a house that can’t -have a thorough current of air cannot be a healthy one. But do not allow -the insidious draught, and the cold and unwarmed halls and passages, -which are ubiquitous save in a large house possessing a big, square -hall, where one usually finds a good fireplace. However, one should -manage somehow to make a fireplace there, ay, even if one can have -nothing better than the small, round, moveable stove called the ‘Ideal,’ -which burns patent fuel, and can be taken away at any moment. It should -be placed on an iron corner bracket rather raised above the floor, and a -guard should be round it, so that dresses could not come in contact with -it. But one should never be tempted from the paths of virtue by the -charms of oil stoves, for they always smell and are detestable, no -matter what anyone says; for though they should not, of course, if -properly cleaned and attended to, proper cleanliness and care mean -personal attention in a small household, and I cannot think how anyone -can touch oil, or whatever has held it without a shudder. There is a -smell about paraffin that, let us ‘shatter the stove as we will,’ -continues to cling about it and us in a way that is enough to make us -and our friends very ill indeed. It’s an unnecessary smell, too. If we -can’t depend on the maids, we must see to our own lamps, but we need not -have stoves. They give a poor heat at best, and at worst--but there is -no need to harrow our feelings by dwelling on that side of the picture. -Be sure that whenever we can have real fires, we should have them, and -that no house can be warm, and therefore healthy, if we have no fire in -the passage. It need be only a wee one. It can be kept in for hours by -using briquettes and small coal judiciously, and as it prevents colds -and consequent suffering, and very probably doctors’ bills, it need not -be omitted on the score of expense. Once see to the draught-excluder and -the hall fire, we shall save in the sitting-room fires too, which are -often twice as wasteful as they need be, because we pile them up to warm -the bitter air that rushes in when the door is opened, 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 would. -Then too there is no labour about the modern small tiled fireplace. It -is cleaned and laid in less than five moments, and indeed were we -sensible about our houses, we should not have half the bother with our -maids that some of us have, because we would minimise the amount of work -by labour-saving appliances, instead of making it double what it need -be, as we all of us do, more especially in those suburban houses, where, -after all, 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 home. - -The hall grate should be on the smallest scale possible, should have a -plain wooden mantel and small over-mantel consisting of a wooden frame -and a slip of bevelled looking-glass, and should have tiles for a hearth -and a surround, and should be provided with a high guard similar to -those found in all nurseries, but in brass, not in common painted wire. -On the mantel we could put one or two framed photographs and about four -glasses for flowers, and also a small clock, should the hall not be -sufficiently large to allow us to have the proper tall one there; but -great care should be taken not to overdo the ornaments here especially, -for a hall gathers dust in a dreadful manner, and too many ornaments -mean dirt, and therefore should in no way be encouraged. The walls of -the hall should have pictures on them; there is no doubt about that, and -good autotypes and Burne-Jones’s photographs from Mr Hollyer of 9 -Pembroke Square, W., are the best to have. They should be framed in the -simple reeded frames sold by the Autotype Company, New Oxford Street, -and should be hung judiciously. The lowest should just, and only just, -escape the dado-rail, the highest should be only a couple of inches -above it at the outside. There should, of course, be no pictures -whatever in the vestibule portion of the hall, neither in the hall -itself should there be any brackets for china, nor over-doors on which -pots and vases can be placed, for the maid must always get the steps to -dust these places and, in consequence, dusting, is, at the best very -seldom, at the worst never done. But over every door in the halls and -passages must be placed _portières_ of some kind or other. I have come -to the conclusion that a couple of curtains is the best arrangement for -this, if the doors open into the rooms, as they generally do in a small -hall; if not, of course the rod, which opens and shuts with the door, -and which Burnett sells for 4s. 6d. complete, must be used. The pair of -curtains allows the servant to hold one back for the visitor’s entrance -as she opens the door, 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 fellow; this prevents them from gaping open, and always -keeps them in place. Suppose each curtain has six hooks, one puts five -belonging to the left-hand curtain on the left-hand set of rings; in the -sixth, one puts hook No. 1 of the right-hand curtain; hook No. 6 of the -left-hand curtain goes into hook No. 1 of the right-hand one; the other -five rings are filled by the remaining five hooks then on the right-hand -curtain, and this ensures the curtains remaining always in their place -in the most satisfactory way possible. The best material for hall -curtains is undoubtedly Wallace’s diamond serge, and it should be lined -with sateen the same colour as that chosen for the curtains, and should -be edged with grip-cord. The glazed surface of the sateen resists the -dust, and the curtains should always be unhooked once a week and shaken -out of doors, and the poles and rings rubbed over with the new Selvyt -cloths, which are admirable, and far surpass the ordinary duster, as -they polish as well as remove extraneous matter and dirt. This is the -work of the housemaid, who is responsible for all dusting in the hall, -and also for all brushing and shaking; the washing of the steps, cork -carpet, etc., being the duty of the kitchen-maid, should one be kept; or -else of the ‘tweeny-maid,’ who takes, in a measure, the kitchen-maid’s -place in the ordinary small-sized establishment. One word now about -this said cork carpet, and the best way to treat it, for it really is a -very important matter indeed. People should never allow themselves to be -talked into buying the orthodox and hideous-patterned linoleum, which -gives a hopelessly ‘_bourgeois_’ appearance to any house, and at once -puts a stop to anything like artistic decoration. ‘The pattern going -through to the back, as it does, ensures that it can never wear off,’ -says one person; ‘have the beautiful linoleum which imitates -parqueterie,’ remarks another, regardless of the fact that such -imitation is as vulgar as it is ugly. Why! it would be an advantage to -me that the pattern should wear off, a pattern being generally a mistake -on any hall floor; and, therefore, should the hall be untiled, or not -made of the silent wood blocks which are the ideal component parts of -any floor, and which are not likely therefore to be found in any -suburban residence, one should be resolute, and refuse flatly to have -anything at all but the soft-coloured cork carpet, which we can -supplement with rugs. I am aware that at first one feels as if one were -going mad over my pet material, for then every footmark shows, and -every atom of dirt is visible, but I prefer to be able to see dirt, in -order to ensure its speedy removal. Still if at first we give the cork -carpet one thorough good rub with linseed oil and turpentine, and one -only, all we need to do afterwards is to have it washed over with warm -water, or milk and water. Soap should never be used on any account -whatever, and then if once a week it has a real polish with beeswax and -turpentine, it will wear for ever, and, after the first, will not unduly -agitate us by bringing into prominence the erring footmarks of ourselves -and our friends. But, of course, it must always be supplemented by rugs. -Then we have an ideal hall covering, for the rugs can be taken up and -shaken daily, and so is cleanliness ensured, and without that the house -cannot possibly be habitable at all. On no account, not even in houses -where ‘expense is no object,’ should a fitted carpet be allowed in the -halls and passages, for it is utterly impossible to keep such an -arrangement even decently clean. Think of the traffic in a hall! the -muddy boots, the paws of the dear dogs (and everyone should have an -_un_chained dog, it’s the chained-up victims that are the terrors of the -suburbs), and the drippings from wet umbrellas and garments, and -renounce carpets there for evermore. Besides which, we have to remember -the fact that it is almost impossible to sweep out any corners in rooms -or halls, and that should the housemaid attempt to do so, she only -knocks great pieces off the paint in her endeavours, and finally has to -resort to a damp duster to pick up the ‘fluff’ which congregates there. -Damping woollen carpets is one of the easiest methods of procuring a -visit from the fatal moth, so should not be resorted to unless we are -quite at our wits’ end. - -The ordinary suburban staircase is another of the things we have to -approach with fear and trembling. As a rule, Jacob’s ladder has -suggested its design, and it is so proud of its appearance that it -thrusts itself on our notice the instant we enter the house. In this -case we can only grin and bear it, 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 curtains, and -filling in any panels in the latter with Japanese leather paper, which -is invaluable for this purpose. But should it be modestly stationed at -one side, as has been the position of the three staircases which have -been my portion in the suburban residences I have dwelt in most -complainingly; then one can curtain them off better with the same -arrangement of a fretwork arch I described when writing about the -vestibule; or by a couple of stronger arches which one can get at -Wallace’s, one of which encloses the stair, and the other leads to the -back premises and lavatories and cloak places. These arches are of -course, curtained, and so the ordinary visitor sees nothing save the -sitting-room doors or door and the hall itself, and is spared those -awe-striking glimpses into unsuitable spots, which are all too often -exposed guilelessly to the unhappy and much-embarrassed guest, who -neither wishes to see into the parlour-maid’s pantry, nor to view a vast -line of old hats, waterproofs and tennis rackets, and who much prefers -to remain ignorant of these and many other secret arrangements of the -innermost recesses of our home. - -Now not only are the position and design of the staircase more annoying -than I can say, but the stairs themselves are, as a rule, simply too -painful for words. They generally consist of a series of short, sharp -ascents, and are never by any chance low and broad, as a self-respecting -stair should most undoubtedly be, 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 twelvemonth, save perhaps a pile carpet, and that -they will ruin in a couple of years at the outside. No one can alter -either the steepness or narrowness of the stairway. Alas! they are both -past praying for, 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 covers, and made to resemble a very -small, thick cushion, and if we put carpet felt under the carpet we -shall find the carpet itself wear decently at anyrate, 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 next, reversing -this same position once more when the time comes to move it again. I -have often remarked that there is no such thing as a cheap stair carpet, -and that the cheapest article at first is the dearest in the end, and I -have seen no reason to alter my opinion. Pile with only a small design -as pattern and no fidgety border, is the best thing in the world, and -can be bought at from 4s. 11d. to 7s. 9d. a yard. Next to pile comes -Brussels at about 4s. 6d. Then comes Wallace’s ‘Dunelm’ at about 4s., -and, finally, a new, self-coloured, all-wool material called ‘Roysse,’ -sold by the Abingdon Carpet Company at 2s. 3d. three-quarter width--the -ordinary stair width--and at 2s. 11d. a yard wide. Lower than this I -cannot for one moment advise even the most impecunious among us to go; -neither can I advise the ‘bargains’ and ‘odd lengths’ of pile and -Brussels that are often obtainable at really good shops. If they are -bargains as far as material and make are concerned, they are absolutely -hideous, and are only got rid of because even the British taste has -refused them; and if they are odd lengths we cannot ever match them, and -that means replacing the whole carpet should an accident happen to one -small part of it, which we could have replaced in one moment had we -bought a proper carpet. Such an one as is always kept in stock by most -of the best shops in London, the owners of which have learned that a -good and pretty thing is a joy for ever, and that once it is pronounced -such it can be always recommended and brought forward, not because it is -the ‘last new thing,’ but because it is old, and has been well and truly -tried and not found wanting. - -The upstairs passages should be treated to more cork carpet and rugs, -and under no circumstances must a ‘walk’ of carpet be allowed, neither -may the rugs be put down in a wearisome, unbroken line unless the -passage is very narrow and allows of no deviating from the straight -path. If there be a landing, as a rule two rugs are required, and in the -passage the rugs can be put one after the other in a somewhat similar -way, less, as I remarked before, the passage is very narrow. In that -case a ‘vestibule rug’ must be procured either from Shoolbred, Hewetson -or the Abingdon Carpet Company. These can be had in lengths of about 6 -feet by 4 wide, and 9 feet by the same width, while there are both -longer and wider rugs to be procured, but then the passage should be -long enough to allow of there being two in use, if not more, when they -can be placed in any position save in a long, straight line. - -The doors of the upstairs rooms must always be securely curtained, and -here one wide, full curtain should suffice. There is not the continual -exit and entrance to these chambers there is to the downstairs rooms, so -then one curtain upstairs will be enough. These should be kept in place -by putting the end rings past the bracket on which the brass rod rests, -then the last hooks on the curtain are put into them, thus ensuring that -the curtains are always kept drawn. Anyone who has passed by a vista of -open bedroom doors, left open when the owners have, at the sound of the -gong, rushed downstairs to meals in too great a hurry to put their -rooms tidy, will not need to have impressed upon them the fact that it -is absolutely necessary to decency to have _portières_ which fall into -place behind the person who leaves his or her bedroom door open, and so -discloses to all comers the ravages which getting up too often leaves in -view. It is a good thing also to conceal the entrance to the bathroom -and lavatories by a curtain, which should depend from a beaten iron arm -which stretches straight out into the passage. This arm can be procured -from Bartholomew & Fletcher for about 18s. 6d., while the curtain should -be heavy; printed velveteen made double and fan-edged making an -absolutely perfect if somewhat expensive curtain. Godfrey Giles has a -charming velveteen, which is a mixture of blue and green. Wallace has a -beautiful yellow and cream one, and Smee & Cobay have these velveteens -in most colours, notably in a rich and exquisite red, which it is a -pleasure to look at, and which also wears extremely well, even in -windows where the sun has a certain amount of actual power, and is never -really kept out at all. - -Any cornice upstairs as well as down must be coloured ‘cream’ or ‘real -ivory,’ and the ceilings here as elsewhere must be papered with some -simple, inexpensive paper, in a colour which harmonises with the -decorations. And now let me impress upon my readers that even if they -have only taken their suburban villa on the usual tentative three years’ -lease: which is so rarely renewed: it is always worth while to make -their surroundings charming, even should they not remain in the house -after the first term of the three, seven or twenty-one years’ lease is -over. First because if the lessee and the owner combined would take -trouble to ensure beauty and comfort, I am quite certain that moving -would not be as continual as it is at present. The trouble taken over -the house would endear it to the dwellers therein, while the comfort -would cause them to think twice before they deprived themselves of it; -for once let one’s roots really strike home, and no one who has not -tried it can tell how difficult it is to drag them out of even an -uncongenial soil. While from a congenial one! well, there is nothing on -earth so hard to do and so fearfully difficult to bear, and no -after-delights can cause these wounds really and truly to heal! -Secondly, dear readers, it is always worth while to have beautiful and -harmonious surroundings, ay, even for a few months and even if we have -to leave them. For in this latter case, we shall have left them as an -art legacy to our successor, 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 home! - -Of course each individual hall requires individual treatment, and it -would be well-nigh impossible to lay down any hard and fast rules to be -followed implicitly; but a dado, a real not a sham one, is an absolute -necessity in any narrow hall, and no one should be afraid of one of -coloured paper, bold in hue as in design, for a large, bold pattern -makes a small place appear larger, and real colour must always be a -pleasure, which a muddled, pale and timid tint can never be. A dado -could be of wood, if the lease is long enough, and the purse too, to -allow of it. In this case Godfrey Giles’s ‘gœhring’ material and -‘Glastonbury’ panelling will suit those who cannot afford oak. Arras -cloth, with a pattern printed on it is beautiful, especially if hung -like the old-fashioned arras used to be, to resemble a gathered curtain. -Then I am devoted to the plain, string-coloured matting, sold on purpose -for dados at 10½d. a yard; and there are of course, anaglypta and -Japanese leather paper always with us, while the printed arras cloth -paper is a strong and good material which is not to be despised by any -manner of means at all. In all cases there must be a real dado-rail, and -the paper above, as indeed every single thing in the hall, should -harmonise. I am devoted to a blue hall myself: the one described in the -first part of the chapter can well be absolutely copied, while it should -be remembered that a dark hall calls for yellow and cream, or red and -cream a real, bold, sealing-wax red: let there be no mistake about the -colour: and nothing should authorise the employment of either a green or -a terra-cotta hall. Green can never be a success there, while -terra-cotta spells fear and shows artistic hankerings which the owner is -unable, or not bold enough to carry out. I am not devoted to any -terra-cotta save some shades sold only by Liberty. I would never have -even these, save in some bedrooms and an occasional, a very occasional, -dining-room or library. - -As a rule the lighting of the hall should be managed by placing first, -in the vestibule, a gasalier in the very centre of the ceiling, where -the gas should be enclosed in a bucket-shaped glass in a beaten-iron -lantern frame; secondly, in the hall itself a similar treatment should -be followed out, if the ceilings be high enough to allow of it: if not, -side-brackets near the dining and drawing-room doors should be used. And -finally more side-brackets should be upstairs, these again of -beaten-iron, and with the same shaped glass. These can be bought very -inexpensively of Shoolbred, while Messrs Strode & Company, of 48 -Osnaburgh Street, Regent’s Park, make beautiful and more expensive -brackets and lanterns and lamps on the same lines. - -There should be as little furniture as possible in the ordinary suburban -hall or passage. The really necessary furniture has been described as -placed in the vestibule; but, if we have room we should undoubtedly -have a tall palm on a stand, a grandfather clock in one corner, a couple -of chairs: tall, high-backed ones for choice: and, if possible, between -the dining and drawing-room doors, which are often close together, or at -anyrate close to the latter door, have a nice plain walnut table. This -would hold the necessary bowl for cards left during the afternoon, and -taken away every day, because keeping them seems like parading the -amount and quality of one’s friends; and, if we visit much a book is of -course kept in which visits and addresses are entered. Beside this, have -only a small vase of flowers and maybe a couple of books placed across -each other at one corner. These give an air of life even to the smallest -hall somehow; and on little touches like these, absurd as it may seem to -mention them, depend the artistic completeness of the whole house. - -One word more, hats, cloaks and umbrellas must be put out of sight -somewhere; while all should recollect that it is extremely easy to -over-furnish any place, but especially so to over-furnish a hall, and -that in a narrow passage and in small quarters, one had far better have -too few impedimenta than too many. The former state of affairs can -always be remedied as we come to understand the capabilities of our new -abode; the latter can only draw down upon us the objurgations of our -friends, the while we collect dirt and dust, and can’t comprehend why we -are as uncomfortable as we most undoubtedly are. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -KITCHEN AND BASEMENTS - - -If the conquest of the hall be difficult, the siege of the kitchen and -servants’ quarters generally is one that will carry dread even to the -stoutest heart. For as a rule the suburban builder sinks to his lowest -depths of villainy here, and either gives a damp and wandering basement -wherein no servant will remain more than her month, or a regular -cupboard where the stove leaves scarcely room for anything else, and -where the heat from that, and the draughts from the doors and windows, -are enough to ruin the constitution of any ordinary woman. The basement -kitchen is the worst of all, because it marks a class of house that has -seen better days, and is rapidly deteriorating. Therefore if one has to -choose between two houses, one of which has no basement, and another -which has, one should at once select the basementless one. There are -sure to be cellars below the house, which will keep it dry. One doesn’t -even in the suburbs _often_ come across a house, the boards of which are -pushed out of place by enterprising mushrooms growing in the soil -beneath, and ambitious of appearing in fresh air and among the haunts of -men. - -If, however, the basement cannot be avoided, we must rise to the -occasion and do the very best we can in the matter. And first of all we -must see that it is really dry, and that its comfort is assured by the -presence of a dry area and the proper amount of ventilation, and absence -of damp. If this cannot be assured, the house must be given up. Far -better put up with a small dining-room and a dull drawing-room, for both -of these drawbacks can be easily remedied, but for a damp bad kitchen -there can be no cure, and should we weakly give in to it, we can never -be happy or comfortable in the least in our domestic arrangements, be -very sure of that. - -If, however, we find that the basement is capable of amendment, our -first endeavours must be to make it as cheerful as possible, and to get -as much light and air into it as possible too. I have only once had to -‘wrastle’ with one on my own account, and that I made as bearable as -circumstances would permit, by enlarging a window and having one of -Chappius’ reflectors so arranged that as much sunshine came in as was -obtainable, while I had one of the three doors closed entirely, and made -an enormous scullery and washhouse species of abode, into a nice little -scullery and a rather decent room in which the maids could sit and have -their meals and do their needlework. Oh, I do hope some day to hear of a -real and _bona-fide_ revolt against the regulation suburban -accommodation for the unfortunate maids, for, until this takes place, I -am quite sure the servant question will remain a very burning one. - -I am writing now more especially for those householders who have from -£500 to £1000 a year to spend, and who have two or four maids, according -to their means and the size of their families, and who ought to be able -to find the kitchen arrangements comprised in a square block, consisting -of kitchen, scullery, parlour-maid’s pantry, with good, deep cupboards -for glass and china, and a pretty little sitting-room where the -domestics could have a few at least of the amenities of life. The -bedrooms could be above, as could the sanitary arrangements, which are -all too often placed either in the cellar part of the house or close to -the larder, or, in fact, anywhere where they ought not to be. Now -suppose we find the ordinary box of a pantry, slip of a kitchen and -scullery and larder, how should we best circumvent this arrangement, I -wonder? Well, first we can tackle the landlord, who, if he have money at -all: and an impecunious landlord is a deadly and desperate thing to -possess, and should be most carefully avoided: will be glad to do as we -want for an extra rent at the rate of 5 per cent on whatever outlay he -can make. We should get him to build out a servant’s sitting-room, and -enlarge the pantry and scullery, and to put above the erection a -servant’s bath and lavatory arrangement. This could be done for about -£100 and the extra £5 on the rent would hardly be felt, while the -comfort obtained thereby would far and away compensate for the outlay. -If the landlord be obdurate, the only thing to do is to buy for -ourselves one of Humphreys’ moveable iron buildings, and have it adapted -for our purposes. In this case we can only, I fear, manage the servants’ -sitting-room and extra accommodation for glass, china and washing-up, -and we shall have to put the room door just apart from the house, -though, of course, a very short passage could be erected. But before -anything is done, care should be taken to ascertain the rules and -regulations respecting the erecting of buildings in the special -locality, as all seem to me to differ; and, indeed, in some there are -none at all. Yet, in any case this is a thing to be ascertained -definitely, for I have known a Local Board step in and formally order -the removal of a beautiful and pet conservatory, because the builder had -innocently infringed some bye-law in its construction, and had not -obtained the sanction of the authorities to the plans of the structure -before erection was commenced. If neither the landlord nor Humphreys can -come to the rescue, I am going to advocate a step which will be nothing -short of anarchy and revolution in the eyes of any old-fashioned -person, for I am about to suggest that, in these desperate straits, the -usual third room should be handed over to the maids to sit in, while we -can keep it in a measure in our own hands too, by erecting our -store-cupboards there, and extra shelves for glass and china. But if we -do, we must not be always pouncing in and out on the maids, but must -give out everything for the day’s use before ten o’clock, after which we -should never go there unless actually obliged, for nothing is so -detestable as a room into which anyone can go at any moment, and where -the maids can never feel they are safe from eternal supervision. If the -door of this third room opens straight on the hall, 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 made. The original door need be only bolted or locked inside, and -covered with a curtain, while it is not either difficult or expensive to -contrive another exit, for a hole is easily knocked in an ordinary -suburban wall, and a door frame and door added. And I venture to -prophesy if this is done, that there will be a reign of peace in the -kitchen department unprecedented in the annals of most houses, because -servants will usually stay where they are comfortable, and where they -feel they are considered, and their health and happiness are both -thought about. I know quite well that in their own homes and in the -houses they come from, they have no real privacy at all; but I also know -that most maids leave such homes at too early an age to recollect half, -or, indeed, to realise half, of the miseries they are called upon to -bear there, and they very easily forget the past, and only really -comprehend the present and its possibilities; besides which, a maid goes -away from her home to ‘better herself.’ Were she content with -semi-starvation and over-crowding, she would remain there, or enter on -the desperate existence of a factory hand or a home worker. The fact -that she wishes for more comfort, for more human surroundings, sends her -into domestic service; and if that comfort and those surroundings were -forthcoming, servants would be far more plentiful than they are at -present, and would likewise come of a far better and much more -honourable and pleasant class. The first step then is, undoubtedly, to -secure something in the shape of ‘the room,’ as the servants’ hall is -called in more ambitious households, and the second is to see that it is -decently arranged and is sacred to the maids for a certain portion of -the day, and most certainly for all the evening. I say a certain portion -of the day, because, in small establishments, it is possible that the -mistress may have little jobs of finer cooking, of plate-cleaning, 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 maids. If this be the case, the establishment will naturally be -so small that the maids will be too much occupied all the mornings to be -able to use it, so that until 12.30 it could remain in the mistress’s -possession; but after that hour she must never enter it. Just as in a -larger house and with more maids, the hour of ten must see her out of -the kitchen, that part of her work being completed then for the rest of -the day. - -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 supply, as, unless this is ascertained, and she is able to -possess herself of a species of sketch-map of them, she will not be able -to know how to manage should the usual winter arrive in all its -strength, and the water become frozen in the pipes in a manner that -should never, for one moment even, be allowed. As a rule, our winters -are not very long or very severe; if they were we should, no doubt, be -readier for them than we are now. But we can always depend on a cold -‘snap’ or period during which our very unpreparedness lays us open to a -thousand and one discomforts and dangers, 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 disagreeable. The -suburban builder, as a rule, has his ideas, and his only, on the subject -of pipe laying. One idea is, so to imbed them in the walls of the house -that we cannot get at them at all, and another is to place them outside -the house in the most exposed position possible, where they are -warranted to freeze on the first provocation, unless we can take the -matter into our own hands at once, and either box them in, filling in -the space between the pipes and the boxes with sawdust, which generally -protects them for all time from the severest frost; or, at the approach -of winter, so swathe them in flannel rags and hay bands, that frost -cannot touch them, not forgetting to treat in a similar manner the pipes -in the tank room. These should be our especial care, for they are often -the first to freeze, and are the cause of many and many a detestable and -untoward catastrophe. - -The boiler in the suburban kitchen is generally one of two kinds, and is -either of the low-pressure order, which has no system of circulating -pipes, or the high-pressure species, which has and which requires more -elaborate care than the former. If the low-pressure boiler is the one in -use, and the frost is severe, it is better to completely empty all the -pipes in the house, and to cut off the water supply to the house -entirely, drawing the water from a supply-cock fixed just before the -water enters the house, whence it can be obtained by hand as required. -Of course this adds a great deal to the work, but it means safety, for -when the boiler is kept well filled it cannot burst, neither can pipes -freeze if there be no water in them to bring about this very -disagreeable state of things. A low-pressure boiler having a lid that -comes off, can always be hand-filled easily, while cans of water must be -placed wherever one is accustomed to use water freely; and though baths -may be curtailed and work increased, no damage or danger can ensue. -Therefore the moment a frost sets in, cut off the water from the house, -and rely entirely on the hand-filling of the boiler for all domestic -purposes. - -If the boiler is a high-pressure one, we must be very vigilant from the -first moment a frost appears, while we must be ready for it long before -it really arrives. The first thing to see is that this boiler is -supplied with a safety-valve and a supply-cock; 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 it, that we shall always be -able to ascertain in a moment if it is in working order, or if it is -not. For safety-valves are possessed of a demon habit of being out of -order when they are least expected to be, and we may be priding -ourselves on the fact that we have one, and are therefore quite safe, -when the wretched thing may be refusing to work, and we may be on the -very brink of the catastrophe we have intended it to avoid for us. -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 wrong. The only thing she can do is to have -written instructions from the man who supplies it. These instructions, -the plan of the pipes and special rules about what to do in a severe -frost, should be in a small book kept among the housekeeping books, and -easily get-at-able in case the frost should occur when the mistress was -away from home, or if she were ill or in any way unable to attend to it -herself. If the supply pipes cannot be got at and protected from the -frost as a whole, it is best, once the tanks in the roof are full, to -cut off the supply entirely from the main. In this case the local -authorities must be communicated with, and the tanks filled by the Local -Board by means of a stand-pipe, and great care must be taken both to see -the tanks are kept full, and that the pipe between the hot and cold -water tanks is kept free from frost. If by any chance the worst comes to -the worst, and danger is ahead, the safety-valve will show it by blowing -off steam; then out with your fire at once, dear reader; you are done -for, and must remain kitchen-fireless until a beneficent thaw sets in. - -In the meantime a second stove in the scullery will prevent you from -being foodless, and though hot water may be scarce and comfort little, -you will at anyrate be safe, and as the maids have their little -sitting-room they won’t be frozen in the kitchen or thawed in the -scullery, as they most undoubtedly would otherwise have been. Of course, -if we have our pipes properly protected, and there is no warning from -the safety-valve, and water flows freely from the boiler-taps, we are -all right. In this case it is best never to allow the kitchen fire to go -out, but last thing at night to bank it up with ashes and briquettes, -and so ensure its burning without stopping. Of course it should be -protected by a guard, and no kindling wood must on any account be placed -to dry either in the ovens or on the hot plates by the side. In the -morning the fire should be thoroughly raked out, and set going again in -the usual way. Unless this is done, the fire will not be good enough for -cooking: it will be a caked mass, which will not ensure the cook’s -manufactures being the success they should be; therefore, in giving our -instructions, great stress should be laid on the real necessity that -undoubtedly exists for a rebuilding and relighting of the fire for the -new day. - -Sometimes there are odd lengths of pipes that we cannot protect, and -which only supply certain single taps. In this case stop-cocks should be -fixed in them in such a way as to prevent the water entering them, and -these should be used in the frost. Then these special pipes can be kept -waterless without disturbing the whole internal economy of the house as -regards the water supply. Of course I am not writing in any measure -about the proper arrangements of the water pipes. I am only advising the -ordinary suburban residents how to save misfortune, and a ruinous -plumbers’, and very likely a decorators’, bill too, should the winter be -as one usually finds it in England, where the spells of -frost--undoubtedly short as they are--undoubtedly make people -indifferent and happy-go-lucky about their preparations for hard -weather. - -But given the unexpected in the shape of real cold, and what occurs? -Boilers burst and kill and maim people freely, and the moment a thaw -comes, the plumbers are besieged by those whose pipes are pouring -torrents of water down the walls and the front staircase, while carpets -and furniture are spoiled, and everyone’s health suffers because the -smallest precautions have not been taken to ensure the house against an -entirely preventible state of things. Then there is one great thing to -recollect, and that is, that after a frost one must flush most lavishly -all the drains and sinks, and, moreover, during the frost we must keep -ample disinfectants ready and in use in every place where they can -possibly be needed. I always put Sanitas down the bath and the -housemaid’s sink too, because soapy water decays and causes very -unpleasant smells, while, of course, Sanitas should be liberally poured -down every other place in use. Then when the thaw comes, let the water -run freely for at least an hour a day for the first three days down each -drain, flushing first with hot water and a liberal supply of -disinfectants; for if these precautions are taken, we shall not want the -doctor, a gentleman whose visits too often follow a thaw with a -regularity far more pleasing to him, maybe, than they can be to us, even -if we are as fond of him as people usually manage to become of the -family doctor. - -I may seem to have dwelt unduly on the great pipe question, but the long -frost of the early part of 1895 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 subject. -No less than three boilers burst in one week in the place where I was -then staying; one resulted in the death of the servant and total -blindness for the only child of the house; one in the death of three -children, while the third maimed the cook for life. Of the destruction -to property I need say nothing; but when we reflect that all these -accidents were absolutely preventable, and were entirely due to crass -ignorance on the part of both mistresses and maids, we will, I think, -come to the conclusion that the first duty of woman is to know her -pipes, the position thereof, and the manner of her water supply; while -the second is to be ready to act for the best the moment frost appears, -and so render bursting boilers and pipes the impossibilities they both -can be made in the most faultily-constructed suburban residences, if -only the dwellers therein have their heads screwed on the right way, and -are prepared for any real emergency. In any case, it is well always to -have some means of cooking, which shall be available should we be, for -one cause or the other, unable to use the range, which, by the way, -should, if we can in any way afford it, be the ‘Eagle,’ for at present, -at all events, no better one has been invented. If possible, there -should be a small open grate and the little side low-pressure boiler -which can always be hand-filled; in the scullery or even in the maid’s -sitting-room; but if either is impossible, we must be possessed of means -of cooking by gas, so that we shall not be left entirely helpless should -the frost seize on our pipes before we are ready, or should it be -necessary to sweep the kitchen chimney or repair the kitchen range. - -If, however, we have a gas stove, the supply of gas should not be left -to the discretion of the maids, but should only be get-at-able when it -is legitimate to use it. Unless the mistress herself can turn on and off -the gas, and keep it off when it should not be used, the waste and -expense will be enormous. There are certain things ‘the very best’ maids -are always reckless with, _e.g._, gas, potatoes, bread; and kindling -wood and matches; small items to fuss about, no doubt, but small things -are what add up and become terrors. One expects the big ones somehow, -but the tiny odds and ends, that seem nothing separately, are what swell -the weekly bills when they are added up, and therefore should be more -thought about than they are in the usual suburban household. - -The pipes and the kitchen itself once settled about, the next steps to -take are towards proper ventilation and draught exclusion. One cannot -ventilate with a draught, yet how few people realise this; if they did, -colds would go quite out of fashion and everyone would be much happier -than at the present moment. As a rule one door in the orthodox kitchen -opens straight on the open air, and here the tradespeople come and -linger while waiting about for the orders which should never be called -for except under special stress of circumstances. If this be the case, -what would it cost to add a simple porch and side-door? not much above -£20, yet what a difference would it make in the comfort of the kitchen. -If, however, this outlay is impossible, a large, 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 opens, and the door is reached from -the other side of the screen, which is only pushed on one side to answer -the bell, and replaced as soon as possible. This breaks the draught even -if it can’t exclude it, while the maids’ health and the consumption of -coals both considerably benefit by such an arrangement. More Slater’s -patent draught-excluder should be put round doors and all windows, and -ventilation should be secured by a round ventilator put in the top part -of the window, and another in the top part of an outer wall; these -ventilators can always be closed, but when cooking is in progress or gas -is burning, and for at least an hour after the meals are cooked, they -should remain open and so ensure that the air in the kitchen should be -always pure and fresh. - -The larder should be ventilated in the same way, and any windows should -be covered with very fine wire-netting on the side they do not -open--outside, if they are the ordinary small sash windows, inside, -should they push outwards on an iron support--to prevent cats, dogs and -small animals of any kind from entering, while great care should be -taken to see that the larder is damp-proof. Nothing keeps in a damp -larder, and, therefore if it should be damp it is utterly useless to try -and put meat, bread and butter there. In any case if one has not tiles, -and I never yet met with the suburban larder that had, the walls should -be painted from top to bottom, first with Chambers’s damp-resisting -fluid, and then with a couple of coats of Aspinall’s enamel paint in a -shade of ivory white. No one should permit the decorator to talk him or -her out of using this most invaluable preparation, for nothing I can -assure my readers, can take its place. I have had eight years’ constant -experience of it. I have had many years’ experience of the ordinary -paint, and I confidently say that it and Aspinall are not to be -mentioned together in any shape or form, therefore everyone should -insist on its use. The decorator I fancy does not get quite as much -profit on it as on the ordinary paint, and it is more trouble to apply I -know, and these perhaps are his reasons for his undoubted dislike to it; -but if my readers are wise, they will insist on Aspinall, especially -where damp has to be considered, and where a good surface and uniform -colouring are in request. - -The larder should have one wide shelf, and in one corner should be a -safe for meat, and poultry, with very fine wire-netting all round. 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 all, or else hung in the -cellar if there be no garden. Here too should be placed the -refrigerator, without which no house is complete, and which soon saves -its own cost, in the manner it allows one to keep one’s provisions -sweet, and one’s milk right, and one’s butter from running away, as it -otherwise does at the smallest amount of heat. The larder floor should -be tiled, if not it must be ‘gone over’ every day with a mop dipped in -Sanitas and water to take up the dust and make it fresh and clean; then -the food should be nicely arranged for the mistress’s visit of -inspection, while once a week the larder must be thoroughly scrubbed -out, shelf and all, the shelf being washed over with a damp duster -daily, when the floor is done over with the ever-useful mop. The same -treatment should be given to the scullery, where the sinks should be -flushed daily, and which should never be without their big lump of soda -in one corner to prevent the grease accumulating. - -The kitchen floor should be simply boarded; if only used to cook in, it -should have merely one or two large squares of oilcloth or cocoa-nut -matting by the stove, kitchen table, or where the cook and kitchen-maid -stand to work, and the furniture should resolve itself into a couple of -good tables, one the ordinary kitchen table, the other much on the same -lines but smaller, and placed close to the window, to be used for pastry -making and the finer parts of cooking, and which should both be scrubbed -daily, and on which grease should never be allowed to remain for one -minute. A couple of ordinary kitchen chairs and the dresser should -complete the plenishing. The dresser drawers should be inspected once a -week, to see there are no accumulations of rubbish there, and that all -is in order. The dresser must never be used as private property by the -maids, else will it become a species of glory hole, filled to the brim -with unmended stockings, old dusters, paper and string, and odds and -ends, which ought not to be tolerated there, or, indeed anywhere else -for five minutes by anyone. If the furniture is as severely simple as I -have described above, the kitchen resolves itself into what it should -undoubtedly be, merely a place to cook in, and in which to prepare the -meals. In this case the walls should be painted from ceiling to floor -with a shade of electric turquoise enamel, or else in one shade of the -blue to about 4 feet from the floor, the rest of the wall being painted -a soft shade of brown. This should include the doors and window-sashes, -and the one paint should be divided from the other by a wide band of -brown stenciling on the blue surface of the wall. The ceiling should be -whitewashed, as should be the ceilings in all kitchen premises, and the -kitchen should be lighted with a good centre gaslight with a couple of -burners. A bracket arm for gas should be on one side of the fire, to use -while cooking was going on on very dark days, or when special cooking -was going forward; and there should be one gas light in the larder. -These lights should be protected with the proper wire-globes sold by -most ironmongers. Gas globes are soon smashed in the kitchen, and they -are not really safe when they are on moveable brackets or pendants, as -they all too often are in these parts of a house. - -The pantry should be treated in the same way as the kitchen as regards -decoration, and should only have mats on the floor, and no fixed -covering there at all. Only the china, glass and silver in use should be -kept in this room, the latter, if valuable, only in the day time, and -even then in a small locked safe. If the pantry should be large, the -extra glass and china can be kept there in locked cupboards, accessible -to none but the mistress. Here in the ordinary ship’s cabin provided by -the suburban builder, the ‘fitment’ style of cupboard is most useful. As -a rule the maid only wants room enough to stand or sit by her sink to -wash up and clean the daily silver, and so the tiny space can be almost -filled with cupboards; and here is an excellent place for the stores and -jam-closet: the ordinary suburban resident if wise, getting in her -stores once a week from Shoolbred, and not dealing with the local -grocer, who, all too often extracts orders from the maids when none -should be forthcoming. If there really is no room here for them, -cupboards must be erected in the maid’s room, whether it be that vexed -third room or another. Somewhere there must be a store-cupboard, -properly regulated and properly looked after by the mistress herself, -and no one else at all; otherwise, that way most undoubtedly lie -bankruptcy and disorganisation, often enough one and the same thing. - -The maids’ sitting-room should be papered with some pretty, light paper, -and should have either a dado of cupboards and shelves in the fitment -style, or else a real dado of plain, self-coloured oilcloth, which can -be wiped over with a damp duster daily. This and the paint could once -more be brown, as could the dado-rail. The ceiling must be whitewashed. -There should be a nice table for meals and work, six ordinary Windsor -chairs, and a couple of comfortable basket chairs, with hard-wearing, -tapestry-covered cushions. These should be considered the property of -the elder servants, if four are kept; but, of course, if the housemaid -is of ‘staid’ age, and careful she could have a nice chair too. I think -the ordinary kitchen chair a cruel thing, except for use at meals, and -see no reason why the maids should be condemned to its use and nothing -else, when, surely their backs must ache sometimes as well as the backs -of other far less employed women undoubtedly do. - -The grate must be a slow-combustion one, and, unless the mistress uses -the room need not be lighted, save in very severe weather, before one -o’clock, when it should be lighted from the top and allowed to burn -slowly down, and kept going with briquettes and small coal judiciously -mingled with a little larger coal. The curtains should be of the dark -blue and white butterfly cretonne Liberty sells, and which should be in -universal use wherever much washing is to be expected, for it washes -splendidly, and never seems to wear out. I have still a couple of -cretonne covers I had quite thirteen years ago. The floors should either -be stained or else covered with plain cork carpet, supplemented with -small rugs here and there, or else with a square of cocoa-nut matting. -But I like rugs best; they are so easily taken up and shaken, and dust -is kept at bay as long as this is done. I am very much inclined to say, -do not have gas here, yet I fear unless we have plenty of help we must, -or the lamps, inevitable in the sitting-room, will become too numerous -for our staff. At the same time, I do very strongly recommend a good -duplex lamp from the centre of the ceiling if it can be managed. -Servants are reckless of gas. They are not so fond of lighting the lamps -as they are of setting a light to the gas. In the first place, it is -more trouble; in the second, they know that if they light them too soon -they will have to re-trim and re-fill them before the evening is out. -But if a lamp is procured, it must be a good one. It must have a metal -receiver, and it must have a clear glass shade. Silk or stuff shades are -out of place, and very dark always I think; in such a room as this they -would be ridiculous, and most likely dangerous. This room is in the care -of the kitchen-maid too, though, if there are books, pictures and -ornaments, as there should be, the housemaid should take a pride in -dusting them and keeping them in order, and should see that the rougher -parts of the cleaning are properly performed. As the mistress will use -this room for a short while in any case, she can always see that ruin -has not begun among the furniture and decorations; for whether it is -provided by the builder, or whether she supplement the accommodation of -the house herself as advised before, she should always have one -store-cupboard here, whence she could give out the things for the day’s -use. She can then supervise without spying; for once tacitly allow that -a room in one’s own house cannot be entered save on sufferance (mind, I -don’t say frequented!) 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 -believe. - -One word more. In frosty weather gas and fires should not be stinted. -The gas should be burned steadily in the scullery, pantry and -lavatories, to prevent any chance of the water therein freezing. This -may save a great deal; but, of course, if the pipes have frozen, one can -only accept the situation and wait for a thaw. But that they need never -do this, I trust I have demonstrated in a manner that should be patent -to the least imaginative housewife in the world. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -DINING-ROOMS - - -The suburban rooms I myself have personally encountered and conquered -have been so truly terrible that, when I look back upon my struggles -with them, I can only wonder that I have survived them in the least -degree. For not only were they either unduly hideous or over-ornamented -in a manner that would strike awe into the boldest soul, but every -window and door gaped wide apart, and were with the fireplaces, put just -where they ought not to be, while in one or two cases the floors had to -be relaid and the doors bodily moved round before the rooms were even -habitable. I could only wonder whether the folks who had lived in some -of them before (two or three were quite new, and these were, save in one -instance, the worst of the lot) had escaped with their lives, or -whether they had all gone away crippled in health and in temper, on a -voyage of discovery to some better and more suitably-designed, eligible -villa residence. - -The first room I ever approached with an eye to decoration appeared to -be everything it ought to be, and seemed simply perfect. It was large -and lofty, had two wide and beautiful windows, and a good, deep -fireplace and an excellent floor; but alas! I was not as wise then as I -am now, for my only acquaintance with houses was confined to two family -houses, in which I had lived all my life, and which were properly built, -whatever their other faults might have been: and, in consequence, 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 endured: silently, it is true, because then I thought them inevitable, -and it is never any use grumbling against things which must be borne! -But presently sense awoke in my brain, and I saw that nothing which had -caused me such woe need be put up with any longer, and I verily believe -the knowledge I have since developed on the score of house-furnishing -and decoration first became mine in that special house, for I was roused -to the fight with cold and discomfort inseparable from a quiescent -residence in a suburban house, and soon discovered cold could be -expelled did one rise to the occasion and determine that, somehow or -other, one would conquer, and no longer play the ignoramus or the very -painful _rôle_ of the conquered. - -In the first place, the door opened straight on the fireplace, and as -the front door--a frail thing of boards and sham stained glass--was -about 6 feet away from it, the cold air rushed in the instant it was -opened, and the heat of the fire flew mainly up the chimney, insuring -that the rest of the room should be more like Siberia than any other -spot. And in the second, the windows need not have been glazed at all so -little did they keep out the outside atmosphere, notwithstanding the -curtains which liberally adorned them, and which used to wave right out -into the room at the very smallest approach of a breeze. When there was -any amount of real wind, the room wasn’t a room any longer, it was one -and the same thing as being in the garden, 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 table, which, place it how we might, could never be -in anything save a thorough draught. - -The first thing to do was to transpose the door, and make it open with -its back to the grate. Then it had to be surrounded with the ever-useful -‘Slater’s patent’; and, as it opened into the room, a species of shelter -was arranged behind it, 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 it. These hung straight down in good heavy folds when we were -alone and there was not very much going in and out; and, as we had a -‘hatch’ into the kitchen, there never was much; but on ‘dinner-party -nights’ the curtains were tied back, and so did not interfere with the -coming and going, as a single undraped curtain always must interfere -either more or less. Then attention was turned to the windows, and -these were surrounded by more ‘Slater’s patent,’ which was liberally -supplemented by putty, because the frames began to shrink away from the -glass in a truly hideous manner, and, in consequence, there were two -gaps, one there, and one where the frames were supposed to fit into the -woodwork round the walls. The woodwork, in its turn, shrank from the -brickwork, and the space had to be filled in with mortar and then -painted over. - -Now this special house was not a regulation £60-a-year villa, but was -rented £160, and had a fair garden and good stabling, and was altogether -what may be termed a ‘residence for a gentleman’s family;’ nay, even by -some house-agents, ‘a mansion,’ because it had a second staircase; yet -such is the material used in the suburbs! I repeat, this special house -was a good specimen of the kind, and was not, as might be imagined, a -‘fearful example’ or an isolated case, so I leave my readers to imagine -what the less-expensive buildings can be like, even when they can truly -be advertised as possessing tiled hearths, electric bells and all the -latest improvements, including a fixed bath, hot and cold water laid -on; and other items familiar to those who have gone on heart-breaking -journeys in search of a house, liberally supplied with a sheaf of pink -and fallacious orders from a house agent. In fact, before the -dining-room was livable in, we had to almost reconstruct the windows and -doors; and I only regret that my improvements did not then rise to -putting in a proper grate, for I am sure, if I had done so, the conquest -of the room would have been complete. But unfortunately I did not -realise the horrors of it until all the decorations were done and we had -settled in, and then expense barred the way; not only the expense of the -new grate: that would have been saved in the difference in our winter’s -consumption of coal: but the cost of replacing the Japanese leather -dado, which could not be matched, and, in consequence, would have had to -be renewed entirely, because the grate and mantelpiece could not have -been moved without spoiling at least a yard of it on each side of the -fireplace. A new grate without a new mantel was also impossible, because -the moulded mantelpiece, being round above the grate, was not available -for the slow-combustion stoves, which are always made square. Everyone -should refuse to own a round mantelpiece, because of the impossibility -of adapting such a possession to the proper and only really useful -grate. If, by the way, Japanese leather paper is used for the -dining-room dado, or indeed anywhere for any dado or frieze, an extra -piece should always be purchased at the same time, and kept carefully in -some dry place, and indeed an extra piece of all wall papers should be -secured. Japanese paper particularly can never be matched. I do not -think, in all my large experience, I have ever come across a second -consignment of a pattern I have seen before; therefore it is easy to see -how necessary it is to secure more than one requires at first, else, -should an accident occur, or as in my own case, an improvement be -contemplated, one either has to leave the accident unrepaired or the -improvement undone, because one cannot afford to replace perhaps 24 -yards, when a couple at most is all that one really requires. - -I have remarked before that in a new house it is absolutely imperative -to have large fires going before we begin our decorations, but it is -such a necessary thing to do that I must repeat the hint once more, for -only after a succession of fires can we see whether the boards and -window frames mean to shrink, and if they do we must apply our means of -alleviation before we begin to paper and paint. At the same time, we may -take it for granted that, try how we may to ascertain them, we shall not -find out the real faults and real virtues of a house until we have lived -in it, just as we never know our friends really until we have stayed -with them or they have stayed with us. But for all that, Slater’s patent -putty, and curtains will help us immensely, and more especially if we -adapt ourselves to the house a little, and realise, for example, that -the head of the table can be just where we like to make it, and need not -be exactly between the door and window with the fire at the back, -because the orthodox dinner-table seems able to stand in no other -position. - -Now I maintain that no one should ever buy the regulation long -dinner-table, and that happiness and comfort, to say nothing of beauty, -are much more likely to be found at one that is round or oval than at -one that has the usual British head and foot. If it be round, the master -of the house sits naturally where his place is put for him, but if not -he as naturally gravitates towards the head, regardless of the fact that -his back is scorched and he feels ill and uncomfortable, the while his -feet and hands are in Siberia, and an icy blast plays about his head -because the door opens straight on him, and in consequence he cannot get -out of the range of the bitter wind from the passage or hall, try how he -may to exclude it from the room. Talk about heredity how one will, and -disguise if we dare its dreadful tyranny if we are sufficiently ignorant -on the subject to do so with proper complacency, still I venture to -remark that the dogma is proved to the hilt every day. An ordinary -English family takes possession of the miserable hulks most of our -houses are, and settles down without a struggle against them, to -patiently endure the preventable miseries inseparable therefrom. There -is no real need for any man to sit at the head of a dining-table, -generally twice too long, too, for everyday needs. The side would be -far more comfortable, far more common-sense in every way, but because -the male of the house has always taken his seat in that special -position, perhaps at the commencement of the family in a castle the -walls of which were 3 feet thick, the present day man does the same and -remains there, although he grumbles all the time and ‘wishes to -goodness’ some way might be found by which he could be insured from -being starved with cold or fried to death, or indeed often enough both -at the same time. Therefore is it well to have a round table, for -anywhere there can be the head or the foot, and the man at once accepts -the new position, without demur; but given the ordinary table, nothing -will move him, argue as we will and demonstrate as we may how infinitely -better, in every possible manner, another seat would be for him. - -Of course, if the house be accepted as it is, nothing can ever make it -nice, be sure of that. If it be wind and water-tight, and that is a rare -experience, the so-called decorations will either be terrible, or else -will ‘swear’ continually at the belongings we bring to put amidst them. -Lucky is the woman who finds dirty paint and torn and smudged papers -and who does not come across an obstinate landlord and a -‘newly-decorated house.’ If she does and she possesses an ordinary -husband who thinks anything does so long as it is clean and tidy, she -should flatly refuse to enter it, for if she has artistic taste her life -henceforward will be nothing but misery; for, absurd as it may seem, -real pain and discomfort are given by ugly or incongruous belongings; -and I venture to state boldly that people would be much happier did they -own and realise this fact, and give over priding themselves on ‘rising -above their surroundings,’ a thing no one possessed of the smallest eye -for colour or form was ever really able to do. Superior folk always tell -us we can, just as they say we ought not to be influenced by the -weather, yet ‘ought’ doesn’t come into the matter at all. Maybe we ought -not, but then we ought not to be ill or grow old, or be irritable, or -anything but severely virtuous and good in every _rôle_ we have to play -during life, but all these things _are_ or _are_ not. What they and we -_ought_ to be or to do is quite another matter, as anyone with a grain -of sense will, I think, admit. - -[Illustration: DINING-ROOM AT WAYSIDE.] - -When, therefore, we have duly circumvented the draughts and dangers -which await us in the ordinary suburban house, the next thing we have to -consider is either how to paint and paper and furnish, or how to -decorate to suit the goods we may already possess. If we have already -got our furniture, the paint and paper must be bought with an eye to -those. 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 chairs, or own perchance a set of frightful -curtains. I am no advocate for cheap materials, which appeal to a -‘threepenny public,’ and scarcely last until they are made up, such -fleeting joys are they: but I unhesitatingly say that, given the choice -between ruby velvet and Wallace’s old gold diamond serge, or pale blue -‘Tanjore cloth’ from Shoolbred, the ruby velvet may depart as far as I -am concerned, and I should put up the other colour in the cheap -material, knowing full well that the beautiful colour would always -delight me, while the velvet would disgust me every time that I entered -the room. The same remark applies to the carpet. If it be ‘handsome,’ -generally another word for something too hideous for words, put it into -the next sale that is handy. Somehow ‘handsome carpets,’ always fetch -splendid prices at sales, where even good furniture is almost given -away. Then buy one of the many charming carpets Smee & Cobay, or -Wallace, or Hewetson sell, according to taste and means; remembering -that all carpets are merely backgrounds to the furniture, and should -never attract attention to themselves in any way. One very soon tires of -a pattern, an obtrusive pattern that is to say, while one never can tire -of soft shades of the same colour, or else of the excellent -‘drawing-room’ Turkey carpets or Bokhara carpets, sold by Bartholomew & -Fletcher and Shoolbred, which suit almost any room, and fit in with any -style of decoration. If, in removing to a new house, the mistress has to -consider her furniture and curtains and carpet, she must look at them -carefully before she begins her instructions to the decorator. Suppose -for example she has a big sideboard, ten or twelve walnut or oak chairs, -with shabby leather seats, an orthodox table, and perhaps a -writing-table, she will, as a rule, come to the end of her impedimenta. -Her first endeavour should be to get whoever may be coming into her -house to take curtains and carpets at a valuation; her second to put -them in a sale; then she can proceed joyfully, spending the proceeds on -new ones, which may be much simpler, but will be much more artistic, and -so much more satisfactory to live with in every way. If however she has -a pretty carpet and curtains, and they will not quite adapt themselves -to the room, what is she to do? In the first place if the carpet is too -large it is best to return it, if possible, to the shop where it was -bought to be re-made into a square, and edged with a nice woollen -fringe, if, indeed it was not born square as all carpets should be, and -furnished with a good border. The worn parts are thus eliminated but -should be carefully kept for mending purposes. In the second place, if -it is too small and cannot be matched, it should be surrounded by -matting, staining, or plain brown cork carpet according to the state of -the boards, 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 treatment. In that case it must be sold or relegated to -another room. Unless this is done the result of any manœuvres which -may be made with it can only result in abject and total failure. If the -carpet be available and be of the new kind of Turkey carpet, it is well -to have a good yellow and brown scheme for one’s decoration; and, in any -case we must have some kind of a dado and that must be sought after very -carefully, for sometimes one can come across a real bargain in oak -panelling, to be sought for with most chances of success at Hewetson’s -and at Bartholomew & Fletcher’s; while Godfrey Giles’ ‘goehring’ and -‘Glastonbury’ dados are inexpensive and really good and what they are -meant to be. Personally I am devoted still to Japanese leather paper, -and these are all the materials I really care about for a dining-room -dado, though anaglypta is not to be despised. At the same time it is -generally 1s. a yard unpainted and one can get for the same price a good -Japanese leather which does not require painting, so there is no reason -for choosing the one in preference to the other. A gold and brown -leather paper dado should be the first thing to procure, either at -Liberty’s or Knowles’. Sometimes one has it, sometimes the other; it’s -all a matter of ‘consignments’ after all, and knowing where to search -for what one requires. Then all the paint everywhere must be ‘tea-pot’ -or ‘earth-brown,’ while above the dado should be either a vivid yellow -paper, an orange, or a soft brown, according to the aspect of the room -itself. Orange and yellow look best in a sunless chamber, and a really -soft brown, something like the palest shade of chocolate, or the deepest -of _café-au-lait_, harmonises best with sunshine that pours into the -room from the first thing in the morning until late in the afternoon. - -Then attention should be turned to the chairs, and if expense bars them -from being re-covered in soft brown leather, and take my word for it, -there’s ‘nothing like leather’ where dining-room chairs are concerned, -we can either fall back on ‘Pantasote,’ a species of crocodile-looking -material sold by any upholsterer, or we can use stamped and ribbed -velveteen from Shoolbred, or Wallace’s frisé velvet in golden brown, -which will transform the chairs at once, and bring them into harmony -with their surroundings, the while new yellow diamond serge curtains are -hung, and a diamond serge tablecloth, with a darker velveteen or frisé -velvet border laid on is placed on the table. If the awful sideboard -must be kept, we must make it as bearable as we can by placing a coarse -linen and Greek lace cloth on it which exactly fits the top, and just, -and only just, hangs over the edge. We can keep three plants there when -the sideboard is not in use at meal-times, but should, as a matter of -course, allow nothing whatever in the way of plate and dinner-table -accessories to spoil the appearance of the room. Such a room would be -quite simple, quite inexpensive, yet always a joy to live in, especially -if the rules of plain paint, ivory-coloured cornice and papered ceilings -are adhered to here as elsewhere. Trifles these things may be, but on -trifles depend success in furnishing, 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 ‘trivial to matter.’ - -There are about three different styles of windows in suburban -residences, and these are the bow, the ordinary sash, and what I call -the ‘_Randolph Caldecott_’ window; and all these can be most -successfully treated without using the abominable and expensive roller -blind to which Britons are so deeply, so almost irrevocably attached. We -have less sunshine than almost any other nation under heaven, yet we of -all people cling to the useless and truly ugly window blind with a -devotion worthy of a nobler cause. Still I have hopes that constant -preaching may do something, and that in time we may realise the fact -that nothing but outside blinds are of the smallest use in really hot -weather, and that curtains are meant to draw, and that should they fail -to be anything save melancholy wisps at the end of an expanse of glass, -they are not only useless but absolutely ridiculous in the eyes of any -artistic person. The ordinary bow window, if small has been so often -written about that I really cannot think it necessary to dwell upon it -again; and is it not illustrated not only in _From Kitchen to Garret_, -now a respectable classic nine years old, but in Wallace’s catalogue, -and Smee & Cobay’s, and doubtless in others too? But a larger one has -not been illustrated that I know of, and while the fundamental lines to -go on should be those of the small window, the material curtains should -be long, 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 -curtains, which are fixed on the window frames and take the place of -blinds, should be supplemented by four long muslin curtains, frilled -each side, to go under the material curtains in the centre of the bow, -and two, frilled one side only, to go one each side at the end of the -bow. These curtains should be crossed at the top, and held back high up -with wide frilled bands of muslin similar to that used for the curtains. -As a rule H. Gorringe’s spotted muslin sold ready frilled is the best -material for this purpose, but I am very fond of Wallace’s ‘Guipure -vitrage’ for the curtains on the window. If this be used, the long -curtains should be of Guipure too, taking care to have a double edge to -the centre curtains, and a single one to those which go at the end of -the bow. - -The ordinary sash window, if short, should be treated like the centre -window of the small bow window, but if it reaches from floor to ceiling -it should have the double set of muslin curtains which I have just been -writing about. Then we have only the Caldecott windows to - -[Illustration] - -deal with, and these, unless we are much overlooked, should have one set -of stout material curtains only. As a rule these windows are divided -into two parts, the top filled in with stained glass and immovable, the -second plain glass and opening either straight out or straight into the -room. The rods for the material curtains should come below the stained -glass, and each curtain should be placed to go down the wooden part of -the window frame only, and each small curtain should be drawn to keep -out the sun as required. If muslin must be had in addition to the -material, it must, should the window open out or into the room, be -fluted on a couple of rods, which are placed top and bottom of the -window itself. But if the window open outwards frilled muslin curtains -can be arranged on rods on the window frames, to remain in place whether -the window is open or shut, an arrangement which is imperative should -neighbours be close, or at anyrate, if we are provided with ‘Caldecott’ -windows in our bedrooms. I do not advise a window-seat unless we have -two windows, because no one should ever sit in the dining-room unless it -is positively necessary to do so, and, moreover, it is well to use the -space for a writing-table and chair in any but a really large house, -and that is a place about which I am not writing at this moment. Here -can the husband devote some of his time to household matters and letters -of friendship when he is at home, while if there is no third room the -mistress can use the desk in the day-time, albeit I trust she may have -her own in the drawing-room, that is, if she cannot utilise some -upstairs room, although under no circumstances can I advise the stuffy -and stupid muddle of so-called ‘boudoir bedroom.’ - -[Illustration] - -Now one word about the curtains which may possibly have to be used, -which may be artistic and pretty, and yet may not quite fit the bow -windows. If they are too long and wide anyone can tackle them; if they -are too short it is easy to make them longer by adding as much holland -at the top as is required, and then covering that with an adaptation of -Mr Ernest Newton’s turned-over draperies. If the original curtain is a -plain material, as, indeed, all curtains should be, the holland should -be covered by a deep flounce edged with trellis fringe, of some figured -material, either a good tapestry or my pet printed velveteen. If the -curtain be figured the turn-over drapery should be in plain Bokhara -plush or velveteen, while cheap serge curtains can be lengthened by -merely joining on more serge at the top, and hiding the join with a -narrow piece of ball-fringe merely tacked on. If the curtains are too -narrow, they can be widened with a deep flounce or frill of soft Surah -silk, or even sateen, in some plain colour, but these devices should -only be resorted to if the curtains are really worth saving; if not, it -is far better in every way to sell them, or give them away--the -ever-ravenous Kilburn establishment is always open to such gifts--and -purchase others, which can not only fit the windows, but at once allow -us to have, perhaps, far more harmonious surroundings. - -Of course, if we are in the heavenly position of having no old -furniture, and can set to work with a free hand, and sufficient money to -enjoy ourselves, we can at once do just as we like. But no! even then we -have to consider the special room and how best to circumvent its -idiosyncrasies. As a rule the door is on the same side as the -fire-place, or else exactly opposite it, and we may have recesses on -each side of the fire-place, or we may have only an expanse of straight -wall beyond the door, and not a recess in the whole place. This latter -is the worse fate of the two. The recesses can always be filled either -with the charming buffets made both by Smee & Cobay, and Wallace, or by -colourable copies of the same without backs, made to fit the recesses, -which I do not advise, save in cases where money is a great object: then -and then only such an arrangement could be allowed. The shelves could be -on brackets and the wall behind hidden by little sateen curtains, sateen -curtains replacing the doors in the cupboard part. These shelves could - -[Illustration] - -be made by any amateur carpenter and are in any case much better -possessions than the dreary, little, badly-made sideboard one finds all -too often in far too many suburban residences. These sideboards are -machine-made and are cheap and nasty, generally coming to pieces after -the first fires have been lighted and always smelling of varnish, and -looking more depressing than I can say. If the wall be recessless, and -long and hopelessly flat, we should have a good buffet-sideboard in the -centre of the wall, in either some good brown wood, or else in my pet -stained - -[Illustration] - -green material with copper hinges and fixtures, but with no -looking-glass about it anywhere, and with nooks and odd places generally -for china and odds-and-ends. Then on one side of the fireplace should be -the dinner wagon, as illustrated, made from my ideas by Wallace. The -wood can be stained green, and the tray is copper. This is removable, -and allows the maid to carry out plates, china, etc. without an effort, -thus very greatly simplifying the mysteries known as ‘clearing away.’ -There should be about ten chairs in the ordinary dining-room and these -could have stained green frames, and either orange or bright red leather -seats. In this case the wall-paper should be real sealing-wax red and -cream over a stained green dado, or else real bright orange over the -same kind of base to the wall. If money is a great object the seats can -be rush, but leather should be managed if possible, and the real orange -or bright red are as novel as they are artistic and beautiful with the -green furniture. A soft green carpet with very little pattern on, should -be chosen, and soft green curtains. The other colour selected should be -introduced at the top of the curtain in the turned-over top, which -should be of printed velveteen; and if the rush-seated chairs are used, -a couple of arm-chairs for the master and mistress should be procured. -If there be no third room, leather arm-chairs must be bought and placed -one each side of the fire; for here, alas! the husband must smoke if he -indulges in that detestable habit, for unless there is a tiny -conservatory, and there often is fortunately, even in quite small -suburban houses, he will have no other place. But given the conservatory -he can smoke there. It can always be made warm and pretty, and his -smoking will be good for the plants, and that at anyrate will be some -small consolation to him. - -Let no one ever persuade suburban residents either to purchase their -furniture in a desperate hurry, or to buy what is called modern or -Flemish oak, or that most hideous material of all real pale, light oak, -which can never be anything save an absolute abomination. As a rule, the -modern oak is flimsy to a degree, and is also detestable in design and -in manner and style. I would rather have the simplest possible deal -furniture, stained brown or green according to my fancy, than either of -these materials, which nothing can make bearable in the smallest degree, -and I am sure anyone who has had the experience of modern oak I have -had--not in my own person, I know better than that; but in the person of -others--would never contemplate it for one single moment. If by the way, -the hall of the house is blue, it were well to keep the dining-room to -the brown and yellow scheme, taking care the draperies in the hall are -Wallace’s diamond serge, and that the inside _portière_ is in yellow -printed velveteen, which can be repeated in the turned-over draperies in -the curtains. Or we can have orange and cream, having brown wood and -orange leather, and a real Eastern carpet with an orange ground which -can be found, and therefore must be hunted for, for I have seen them now -at Cardinal & Hertford’s, now at Bontor’s in New Bond Street, now at -Hewetson’s, and again once more at Liberty’s. Know what you want dear -readers! and have that and that only, and not the ‘next article,’ so -shall you achieve artistic salvation and in no other way at all; for be -sure if one shop does not possess the real thing, another will, and that -patience is required in shopping, as well as faith and many other of the -cardinal virtues. - -But let not the very smallest householder that exists allow herself to -have gas in her sitting-rooms on any account at all, 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 -(and more draughty) houses which have panelled ceilings, the plaster -part of which should be coloured cream, and the panels themselves -filled in with anaglypta, or else with ordinary ceiling paper -judiciously arranged. The plaster rose can be removed in a moment, and -replaced by a hook from which a good duplex lamp from Benson & Company -in New Bond Street, should be hung, with either a pierced copper or opal -glass shade, and this gives light enough for any ordinary occasion; -extraordinary ones can have extra light from candles placed on the -buffets or sideboard, and in sconces on the mantel and over-mantel, as -shown in sketch, the duplex lamp being lighted or not as the mistress -likes much or little light, or possesses, as she may possibly possess, -branched silver candlesticks, or the equally beautiful Sheffield plated -ones which she can place on her table on very grand occasions. - -Of course, endless schemes of decoration can be evolved every year, -whenever the new papers come out and new materials are produced, but -there are certain things which never alter and which should always be -recollected. First among them is the fact that we cannot possibly have -too much real colour, and that far from demanding the timid compromises -so dear to English folk, our climate and atmosphere clamour for real -sealing-wax reds, deep oranges, clear yellows, and beautiful blues, and -that nothing should make us temporise and have instead the smudgy -terra-cottas, crude greens, ghastly lemons, and dull greys and browns -which are so liberally provided for us by the usual paper-hanger. Then -we must recollect that anything we buy must harmonise with what we have, -while, 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 -hurry, nothing that does not suit the special place it is meant for. We -had better have one good chair than a dozen ugly ones. Also we must -recollect that pictures, plants and ornaments are the hallmarks of a -home, which cannot exist without them, for these things judiciously -chosen and arranged, and not overdone, are after all what turn the worst -suburban villa that ever was designed into an artistic abode. But then -not one detail must be forgotten, neither the bell handles, the fenders, -fire-irons nor finger-plates nor door handles which should be all -artistic and all in one material, either beaten iron or copper, or the -humbler yet satisfactory plain and untortured brass. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -PARLOURS - - -Anything less like a parlour than the drawing-room of an ordinary -suburban residence I can hardly imagine; 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 leanings, and where -the speculative jerry-builder has not had everything his own sweet way. -Here we may often come across quite delightful little picture houses, -bearing the stamp of Mr Ernest Newton’s genius, and if the structure -does not equal the design in merit, we can always circumvent any errors -if we are clever, while the deep, charming windows and really lovely -mantels over-mantels and grates provided for us, make our task of -decoration a comparatively easy one from the first. Generally these -houses are built with gables, and are half-timbered in a most -picturesque manner, and maybe appear at first sight to be over-windowed -and unduly ornate, and open vistas before us of swift ruination in the -matter of blinds and curtains. But, on reflection, we discover that not -only is there not one window too many, but that the very simplicity of -the treatment of them as regards the curtaining as described in the last -chapter, makes them far less expensive to deal with than the ordinary -sash or French window, which one finds awaiting one in the dreadful -houses of the older suburbs, or in those which have not yet advanced -beyond the tastes of the day before yesterday. Let us therefore -contemplate having a pretty room to deal with before we think of the -ordinary chamber with its heavy and fearsomely-decorated cornice, its -gaping grate, its ‘statuary marble’ mantelpiece, and its many other -drawbacks to decorative happiness. For if we have, as I said before, the -task before us is a comparatively easy one, unless of course, we are -handicapped by the possession of a ghastly cheffonnier brother in -fearfulness to the massive sideboard, a grand piano for a room 15 feet -square, or a ‘suite’ of furniture and a round table, which said -possessions really do still exist and have often to be dealt with when a -move from one house to another is contemplated. If they have, there is -only one word for it, and that is sell. The greater encumbrances must go -for whatever they will fetch, and the owners must be contented with a -much simpler style of furnishing. The cheffonnier is impossible, the -round table may be relegated to the dining-room, and the old-style table -there sold: and fortunately these tables are always worth a certain sum -in the market: while the grand piano should be exchanged for either a -cottage grand or an ordinary upright piano, and the suite of furniture -effectively disguised in new cretonne frocks which cover the chairs and -sofas entirely, and so hide faulty lines and construction, turning -heavy, ugly encumbrances into quite charming possessions at once. These -covers, however, must be made very carefully indeed, and must fit -easily. The small chairs are finished off with a 3-inch frill from the -seat of the chair - -[Illustration: DRAWING-ROOM AT WAYSIDE.] - -not in any case put into a band. A band spoils the look of the frills at -once, and gives them a most comic and inconsequent appearance, and the -frills on the sofa and big arm-chairs must be arranged on the same -lines, though these should of course be very much deeper and should -just, and only just, clear the floor. In any case there must be no -attempt to adapt old curtains from long windows to these small and -artistic ones, for that can never be a success, and materials nowadays -are so cheap there can be no necessity for such economy, especially if -the house-mistress has the smallest idea of sewing, or knows of a good -upholstress, or has daughters who are equal to an emergency. By the way, -the very best upholstress I know is Mrs George Bacon, of West Street, -Wareham, Dorset. It seems a long way off but it really is not, and she -is such an admirable worker and so quick and industrious, that one saves -her fare over and over again, and her keep too, as of course save in -London, where she has married daughters she can stay with, she has to be -put up. But then she has all my patterns, and think of the inestimable -value those must be to my numerous friendly readers! Once more then, if -we proceed on these lines, all we shall have to consider is the carpet, -and we must take the most prominent colour in that, and do our best to -live up to it. But on no account must we attempt either to ignore or -shirk the fact that there is a prominent colour to be considered. We -must make that the key-note, and wall-papers, cretonnes, 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 all. - -When, I wonder, will the dreadful muddled browny-blue-yellow carpets -cease to trouble us? When, oh when will the ‘magnificent designs’ and -handsome patterns fade away into the _ewigkeit_? and leave only the -charming unobtrusive designs in the same colour, but a shade or two -lighter than the ground of the carpet, which are all that should be -found in any house in the land? One only wants a warm bit of harmonious -colouring on the floor, after all; one does not want the carpet to arise -and call aloud to the entering visitor, ‘Look at me! See what I cost! -Recognise these exquisite touches and tints, these fearsome leaves and -flowers, this magnificent and gorgeous pattern which covers me, and -renders me so unduly conspicuous.’ But rather should it never be noticed -at all, thus taking its right place in the harmony of the decorative -design, and becoming merely the floor covering that it is undoubtedly -only meant to be. - -If we are rich, we can have pile; if not, let us have either the -three-ply Kidderminster, or the satisfactory ‘Dunelm’ carpets, recently -brought out by Wallace, or one of the carpets kept by Hewetson, Smee & -Cobay and Wallace, at my earnest request, where the pattern only shows -sufficiently to break up the plain surface. No doubt entire absence of -pattern would be the more correct, did that not mean that every atom of -fluff, dirt and dust showed at once, and fidgeted the owner all day -long. For these atoms seem to accumulate mysteriously the moment any -plain-surfaced material is selected, and though I much prefer to see -whatever dirt is present, with an eye to getting it removed at the -earliest possible moment, one cannot have a room swept and dusted more -than once a day, and some rooms cannot be swept as often as that, -although undoubtedly they ought to be. Of course my ideal floor covering -will always be matting and rugs, and from that I shall never depart. I -am devoted to the new ‘Isis’ matting, sold by the Abingdon Carpet -Company, and also to the plain string coloured matting sold by -Shoolbred, Treloar, and Liberty at about 2s. 8d. to 2s. 10d. a yard; -this, of course, has to be supplemented with rugs, and, therefore, is -not as inexpensive as even a good pile carpet: that is to say, if we buy -good rugs, and inexpensive ones cannot please, because of the crudity of -their colouring and the manner in which they wear. Hewetson’s and -Liberty’s rugs are simply perfect, and can be bought by the tyro in -artistic matters without the smallest qualm, for at neither -establishment will he or she be given anything which is not just what it -ought to be. But given the rugs, it must be once more remembered that -there is a certain art in placing them about the floor, which all -house-mistresses do not, it seems to me, recognise. The rugs must not be -put down in straight lines and close together, but given the ordinary -room, should be placed as a rule at right angles to one another. Of -course this is merely a hint, and can be improved upon in any way my -readers prefer. That such a hint is necessary I know, because I have -often gone into a room where there are plenty of beautiful rugs, spoiled -entirely by being placed in long lines close together, in a manner that -would be painful indeed, were it not utterly absurd. As a rule such a -room has one rug straight along in front of the fireplace, another -straight in front of the window or windows, while the rest are placed in -the same painful positions by the door and by the wall opposite the -fire, in a manner which makes me long, no matter where I may be, to oust -the furniture on the instant, and to put those rugs myself in the manner -in which they should most certainly go. If we must have new curtains, -quite the most dainty and charming arrangement can be made from using -the new coloured linens, sold by Walpole Brothers, and by Murphy & Orr -and Harris & Company. These linen curtains should be full and short, -should be double, if there be very much sun, and should have an -insertion of Torchon lace laid on about 2 inches from the edge of the -curtain where should come a softly-falling frill of similar lace, about -3 or 4 inches wide. These frills should go round the bottom and up each -side, and the tops of the curtains should be finished by being slightly -gathered on a narrow tape, on which the hooks should be sewn which -fasten into eyes on the slight brass rods, which are all that are -required in these special windows. The hook-and-eye arrangement is much -to be preferred to the old manner of sewing rings on the curtain itself; -one can unhook a curtain in a minute and shake it out of doors in -another. If one has rings only, it means taking down the rods too and -that means trouble, which a lazy housemaid will most surely shirk, if -she can in any way manage to do so. By the way, the structural faults -dwelt upon in former chapters will most certainly be found in this -room, as in all the others, and must be rigorously treated in a similar -style, while the _portières_ must be placed inside and outside the door, -and a screen must not be forgotten. Unless one has a screen the whole of -the room is exposed to view the moment the door is opened; we can have -no sense of privacy at all while in such a chamber. If the door opens -inside to the left, it should be turned round and opened to the right. -If this is not done no one can sit by the fire without being almost -blown up the chimney, by reason of the draught which will come in at the -opening, and make as a matter of course for the unsheltered and gaping -grate. - -If, once more, the would-be suburban resident enters on her possession -of the house entirely free and unshackled by any encumbrances in the way -of furniture, and can really set about making such a room as we describe -charming; a beautiful parlour can be made by panelling the room for -about 7 feet, and having a soft and very pretty paper above. This sounds -reckless work in a house that is merely rented, but one can buy -panelling sometimes extremely cheaply. Bartholomew & Fletcher have some -oak an inch thick, ready to fix, at 1s. 10d. a square foot, while -Godfrey Giles’s ‘goehring’ material is cheaper much than that, and can, -moreover, be painted any colour preferred. If the oak is chosen, the -fireplace should be finished off with a very light and simple mantel in -the same material. It must not be carved or unduly ornate, but be quite -plain, and distinguished only by its graceful lines. I do not here -advise the regulation overmantel, but I should hang above the fireplace -the small Chippendale mirror sold by Hewetson for about 27s., -supplementing it each side with ring-sconces to hold three candles. The -real old ones are very expensive, but very good copies can be had from -Oetzmann in the Hampstead Road. Above the oak the paper should be -undoubtedly a really good blue. The right blue which is always pleasant -to live with, and does not go black at night or a dull grey or any other -unpleasant hue, can always be had from Smee & Cobay; and I am also very -fond of their gold and blue Japanese leather paper. Still this is -expensive, and therefore not to be lightly recommended for it cannot be -removed. The panelling can, which is one reason why I speak of what may -seem out of the reach of the ordinary suburban resident, who will make -his house three times as warm and comfortable if he panels his walls, -and will moreover have always something delightful at which to look. The -floor should be covered with matting and rugs, and the curtains should -be the same blue as the paper, in linen and lace, printed damask and -lace, all in plain colours, or else in plain blue linen plush edged fan -edging; and the furniture should be simple, graceful and charming. In -the bow window we could have a low broad seat or else a writing-table, -placed rather across one side of the window. In the centre could be the -flower-table, and on the other side we could put a low, corner -window-seat, which might be a fixture and part of the panellings. The -rest of the room can be furnished as shown in the sketch on page 131, -but great care must be taken to have nothing but comfortable chairs and -one good deep sofa; and the chairs must not be chosen without due -reflection and without being sat in in several attitudes. A really good -chair is a possession which lasts one’s lifetime, and one that is in the -least degree uncomfortable should never be tolerated for one moment. 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 -decent, and where the sofa may be ornate but cannot be a place to rest -upon try how we will. If we have this panelled room, we should try and -find a Sherraton writing-table at Hewetson’s, which has no high back, a -thing, by the way, to remember about all writing-tables, which have to -stand in a window. The flower-table can be bought at Wallace’s, as can -the smaller tables and chairs. A sofa and corner cabinet, can be had of -Smee, while a ‘grandfather’ chair is to be had at Hewetson’s, and -Bartholomew & Fletcher’s ‘Seabright’ armchair must never be forgotten. -These are by far the most comfortable chairs in the whole furniture -world. If we cannot rise to the oak panelling, a charming parlour may be -made from plain ‘goehring,’ painted some soft colour, either sea-green, -electric turquoise or real ivory, and above the panelling should be a -paper in the same shade as the paint; if either green or blue is used; -and with very little pattern, only enough to break the expanse of plain -colour, while if the paint be ivory a dainty floral paper on an ivory -ground should be chosen. In this case we should have cretonne covers to -our chairs to match the paper, and the curtains could be of the same, or -else of my pet invention the plain linen edged with softly falling lace. -If we are able to indulge in the panelling, we should have one of the -really beautiful anaglypta ceilings kept by Smee & Cobay; or if the -ceiling is mapped out into patterns, the moulded parts should be simply -coloured cream, and the panels should be filled in with the -ivory-coloured anaglypta one buys at about 1s. a yard. I myself never -believe in furnishing entirely from one establishment, and think if one -does one can never get a real or individual home. It is also much more -interesting to develop our own tastes and search about until we find -what we want, and not take recklessly whatever Messrs Jones and Smith -choose to sell us. If we do, our house will be the house of Jones and -Smith, not ours. And is there not one special firm, which shall be -nameless, whose taste or want of it rides rough shod over the suburbs, -and makes one house the exact counterpart of the one next door; ay, and -the one next door to that! Of course, there are many good firms which -can rise above the conventional and become individual, and I am thankful -to say that their numbers increase and multiply daily. At the same time, -a house cannot be really enjoyed or be really our own unless we have -ourselves searched and found what we want for it, recollecting all the -time that on no account should we spend all our money until we have -lived through a winter and summer in it. Otherwise we shall repent as in -sackcloth and ashes, because we are sure to discover some terrible need, -which we are powerless to supply because we have not the wherewithal to -purchase what would make us comparatively if not completely happy. - -Hitherto I have been dealing with the house which is out of the common -run, and which is pretty to look at, and repays us over and over again -for any outlay we may make, the house wherein we are certain to find -good grates and simple mantelpieces, and where, though we may not find -our special tastes consulted, we may be quite sure that taste and art -exist, though neither need be what we actually consider such ourselves. - -Alas! and alas again! that I should have to show a darker side of the -picture, and one that would most certainly paralyse any unfortunate -tenant who has neither money nor an accommodating landlord. But then I -say, let no considerations allow anyone to take such a house, for if it -be hideous, and the owner is really poor as well as the tenant, nothing -can be done for it because there is nothing to spend, and without money -all are powerless. An impecunious landlord should never for one moment -be allowed to exist. He is a danger to the community. He cannot and will -not repair his roof, see to his drains, or keep the outside of his house -in order; and though in some places, notably Brighton, the local -authorities can give him notice to put his house in order, and should -he fail to do so, can proceed to do the work themselves, sending him in -the bill and seeing that it is paid; this power is, I fancy, rather the -rule than the exception, else should we not see the fearfully insanitary -houses we constantly come across, and are as constantly and continually -condemning. I go as far as to say that if a landlord cannot cultivate -his land, or keep his houses in good order, the State should have full -power to buy at once at a regulation price; but I expect that is too -Socialistic a move for most people to endorse. Still, I do most -unhesitatingly implore my readers, first never to take a house on a -repairing lease, and secondly to make sure that the landlord can spend, -if he ought, whatever may be necessary to keep the place in really -proper repair. - -I have suffered from an impecunious landlord, who, while willing to do -his utmost, yet really had nothing to spend; therefore I know how -disagreeable this state of things can be; more especially if he is, as -he generally is, a nice man. Then one can’t bear to trouble him, yet -why should we replace his tiles and chimney-pots, and sink our money in -his drains, or why should we replace his hideous grates with our -charming ones, or his worn-out kitchener with our new and superior -‘Eagle’ range? Yet, if we do not have these things done we are wretched -and unhealthy too, and a good landlord is always willing to improve his -property, if we are willing to pay him a proportionate interest on -whatever capital he may lay out. If we not only find an impecunious but -a crusty landlord, all negotiations must be broken off at once and -without delay. It is bad enough to have to pay for improving another -man’s property, it is unbearable to have our improvements called -‘dilapidations,’ and treated with scorn and contumely. Strange as it may -appear, there are men whose ideas of the beautiful include grained -panels, heavy and ornate cornices, and the preservation of the plaster -excrescence in the very middle of the ceiling. If one finds such a man -we can be quite sure he will allow no tamperings with his doors or his -beautiful marble mantelpieces, and that we shall have to keep the house -as we find it, or incur endless expense and litigation when we leave, as -leave we undoubtedly shall,--thus bringing on ourselves the expense and -trouble of a move,--because we are prevented from settling comfortably -into a house, into which we should never for one moment have been weak -enough to have gone. In the suburb where we do not find the pretty -houses I have written of just now, we generally discover the houses to -be high and light, and glaringly vulgar and hideous in every way. They -have the orthodox three rooms on the ground floor, and have above that, -in a couple of stories, from six to eight bedrooms and dressing-rooms -and a bathroom, while all the terrible ingenuity of a vulgar mind has -been taxed to produce striped paint, heavily moulded and odiously-tinted -cornices and vast glaring windows, which drive the artistic woman wild, -because she feels almost powerless to cope with them. But she must do -it, and at once. She must seek out the landlord himself, flatly refusing -to leave matters to the agent; and dealing in these matters direct, must -obtain the landlord’s written permission to deal with the horrors to -the best of her powers. Let us hope that the decorations may not be new -and freshly done. In this case the house must not be taken and I am sure -that houses would let twice as fast as they do, if when one family -leaves, the walls could be stripped and left bare, the woodwork being -either left as it is or merely primed for painting. As a rule, no one -likes another’s taste, and even if the taste be good, it may not suit -the next tenant’s belongings, neither, should she be about to furnish, -may she care to adapt her new possessions to the colours and styles she -finds ready for her in the fresh house. Fancy the anguish of being -forced to make and inhabit a green drawing-room, after one has longed -for years for a yellow one; or pining for a blue hall to find a -terra-cotta one one’s portion! That it is not ugly is its worst fault, -it is only ‘inoffensive,’ ‘unnoticeable,’ too clean to touch. A thousand -times better had it been hideous, or so black, that questions of hygiene -could be raised at once, and the way opened to secure, what everyone -should have, an artistic and beautiful home. If the drawing-room cannot -be made into a charming parlour, if we must keep the heavy cornice and -the frightful mantelpiece, we must e’en do the best we can for the -wretched thing. Anyhow we must secure a simple, tiled hearth and -surround, and a slow-combustion stove, and we must disguise the -mantelpiece by painting it, if we can, to match the rest of the paint in -the room, and putting on it the simplest drapery in the world, which is -known as the ‘Gentlewoman,’ after the paper of that name, and which is -made by taking a plain strip of material 24 inches wide, and 24 inches -longer than the mantelpiece itself. This is trimmed round the sides and -front with ball fringe or cord. If cord is used, a bunch of pom-poms -should hang from each of the front corners, and the corners are lined on -the cross with thin silk or sateen the same colour as the material, and -this is simply put on the shelf and drapes itself. It is so simple that -people cannot understand its virtues until they have seen it, then they -understand at once what a valuable help it is to circumventing the -ordinary marble mantelpiece of badly-designed houses. Mind, I am not -saying one word against the beautiful old mantelpieces one finds in -really splendid and venerable houses; these are often lovely and rightly -placed enough. But the usual monstrosity is not like these or to be -spoken of in the same book, and can only be treated as I have just -described. The tiles of the grate should never be anything save severely -plain and of one colour, for anything else is out of place and generally -most expensive, and also more frightful than I can say. If the room is -glaringly light it must be toned down, and much as I dislike green, it -is the only colour one can have. The ‘green ash’ paper always kept by -Smee & Cobay is a delightful colour to live with, and should have paint -the same shade of green as the palest in the paper; and one should -moreover have some kind of floral frieze with pink in it. I like the -‘Magnolia’ bought of the same firm, but both Knowles & Haines always -keep beautiful floral friezes, and should both be asked to supply or -show designs if the ‘Magnolia’ were not liked, or were out of stock, as -might be the case. The frieze-rail from which the pictures should hang -from hooks on copper wires, should be coloured the same as the rest of -the paint, and should come in an ordinary room about a couple of inches -below the top of the door. Now, just one word of explanation in _re_ the -matter of a frieze, for strange as it may appear, everyone is not yet -acquainted with what is meant when the word frieze is used. First of all -it is not a border and should never be treated as such; it should never -be less than 16 inches wide, and can be as much wider as circumstances -will permit, and it should never, under any circumstances whatever, be -put on in strips like ordinary wall-paper is, but should be run round -the room the length of the roll, not the width. Most floral friezes are -so designed that one would imagine such treatment to be impossible, but -I have actually known of cases where a ‘festoon’ frieze, which one would -have thought no one ever could possibly make a mistake about, was cut in -lengths and hung sideways in snippets, and even then the owner only -thought the design ‘queer:’ She could not see how absolutely idiotic had -been the treatment of the unfortunate thing. Then there is another thing -to mention: all too often the wry prettiest friezes designed as such, -are disfigured with two or three straight lines which suggest to some -vague, chaotic and inartistic minds that they replace the most necessary -frieze-rail. They do nothing of the kind; a frieze-rail must be had if a -frieze is used at all, and I trust that paper-stainers and makers may -some day eliminate those lines altogether, and so no longer give a hint -that it is possible to do without the real wooden rail. Even on the -score of economy those lines are a mistake. One must hang one’s pictures -from something, and the frieze-rail is cheaper and far more effective -than the usual brass picture-rod provided for this purpose. If we have -pink in our frieze, we can have a pink or green carpet, or else a dull -green one, just flecked with pink, which I think Morris has, or yet -again can we have the entirely satisfactory green ‘Isis’ matting and -rugs. I advise the ‘Isis’ most strongly, for not only is it beautiful -and cleanly in itself but it is a home manufacture, and being made from -the rushes in the higher Thames, should certainly claim our patronage. -If we want a pink carpet, nothing surpasses Wallace’s pink ‘Iris,’ while -Smee’s soft green carpet, made on purpose to match the ‘green ash’ -paper, is a great success. If the room is very light it is well to keep -to the same shade of green as the carpet for curtains and coverings. -This does not go black at night, but keeps its colour well. All drawing -and dining-room papers and materials should be chosen at night as well -as by day, for great may be the disappointment that awaits the woman who -only makes her selections in the upholsterer’s shop, and by daylight -alone. I have seen two materials which are absolutely the same by day -become quite contrasts at night; notably in some shades of green, which -turn brown in some materials, while in others they retain their colour, -and the result can be imagined if this mischance occurs when two -materials, such as plush and serge are used together: or when a fringe -is used which turns brown at night, on a material which does nothing of -the kind! Of course, the windows all through the house should be treated -alike, and in all should be the double or single sets of frilled muslin -curtains, according to the amount of sunshine which the special window -in question admits. Every care must be taken too in all the rooms to -keep out draughts, and to let in a certain amount of fresh air, and the -rooms must be ventilated in some manner at the top of the wall. In some -cases a brick can be removed and the opening covered within -wire-netting, the space between being filled with cotton-wool, which is -supposed to filter the incoming air; while if possible there should be a -moveable ventilator in the windows. Then Tobin’s tubes should not be -forgotten, albeit the expense of this patent is an item one should not -lightly incur. The drawing-room must be lighted by one good duplex lamp -in beaten iron or copper, from Benson in New Bond Street, or from -Strode, and the wise will have a transparent globe or shade, and will -refuse to grope about in the semi-darkness of silken-shaded light. But -the amount of further light must be determined by the owners of the room -and their pursuits, and may consist of properly weighted Standard lamps: -procurable at Benson’s, or at Bartholomew & Fletcher’s: or by one or two -movable lamps placed on steady tables. In any case great care must be -taken to ensure perfect safety; a very small table, or one that has no -double tray, should never be selected as a lamp-carrier, for if it is, -an accident is almost certain to occur. Great care should be taken in -selecting the small table-cloths which should be on all tables, and -these can be procured at Colbourne’s, Godfrey Giles, and the Cavendish -House Company Cheltenham, ready to use; and equal care should also be -taken to secure proper pictures and ornaments, which must not be -overdone in any way; while it is well to recollect that the dreadful -‘chair back’ is no longer with us, and has been completely ousted by the -Liberty frilled pillow, which is as useful as it is undoubtedly -beautiful and comfortable. - -If we cannot have a new mantelpiece, let nothing induce us to have a -regulation overmantel, for never can we procure one which shall in any -way harmonise with a marble mantel; so there is no good trying to get -one, for we can’t. It is best to repeat instead the Chippendale mirrors -spoken of before, and equally good to possess oneself of the round -glasses with the eagle and ball at the top, which one often is able to -pick up in the shops in Great Portland Street along with charming bits -of real blue china, if one understands the craft of bargain-hunting, not -unless. Under any circumstances nothing but severe simplicity is -permissible. A real overmantel, which may be beautiful in itself, will -only emphasise the misery below it, in the shape of the mantelpiece, by -displaying its evident contrast to what should be a component part -thereof; while either the ‘Eagle’ or the ‘Chippendale’ has frankly ‘no -connection with the party next door,’ and is existent on its own merits -alone, and is therefore all it should be. Now one last word only, and -that is about the position of the piano. If it be a cottage grand, it -can be placed like the one in the room illustrated. A piece of brocade -should be put carelessly on the end of the piano, and kept in place by a -few books, and a tall palm should be placed on the table in the bend. No -other decoration must be allowed at all. If we have a cottage piano, it -is well to put it in one of the recesses by the fire, straight out into -the room, and to conceal its hideous back by a simple curtain on a rod, -sold by Shoolbred. We should have in a small room a piano stool to hold -music, as well as to sit upon, and in the other recess we could place -either the grandfather chair or one of the charming courting settees -sold by Hewetson. But let me implore my suburban readers, when placing -their pianos to do so with a kindly remembrance of their possible -neighbours, to select an inside wall in preference to an outside one, -and to practise whenever they can with the windows closed and carefully -fastened. I have once been near enough to other folks to suffer the -tortures of the lost from my neighbour’s piano. I cannot, therefore, -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 considered. I suppose it -_is_ too much to suggest that no one should play and sing who has -neither taste, nor voice, nor knowledge, so I will only content myself -with remarking that the farther the piano is placed from one’s neighbour -the better, 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 -itself! - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -THIRD ROOMS - - -I have already discussed one manner of disposing of the usual third -room, but I hope most devoutly that the unparalleled sacrifice of -devoting it to the use of the maids may never be required of anyone. For -unless people can sit in their dining-room in the morning; and I cannot -imagine anything more distasteful; the drawing-room or parlour must be -turned into a regular hack room, 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 evening. It is a great thing to have entirely different -surroundings then, and a pretty, well-aired and ventilated room in which -to spend the fag end of a day. Circumstances must always govern cases, -and there can be no set rules for the universal regulation of all -lives, and if English people would only realise this fact, their sojourn -here would be made far more interesting than it is at present. No one -has ever taken the third room for the maids, therefore no one can ever -do so. The door has always been in that position, therefore it must -remain so. That room has always been draughty, therefore draughty it -shall continue until the end of the chapter. These are the arguments -used, if argument of any kind is allowed. As a rule the position is -accepted unconditionally, and because an error has been made from the -first, it is allowed to continue unchecked when a little forethought -would circumvent that special mistake, and would make a room charming, -habitable and warm, which hitherto has been nothing of the kind. - -Let me illustrate what I mean by an example. At a small house we possess -in Watford there is the third room in question, which has been made into -a very pretty library by the clever hand of Mr Arthur Smee, 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 business. -No one had ever sat there, nor could I discover anyone who would; but I -myself was then ‘on the shelf,’ and had never entered the room at all, -being often absent from home, and always, whether there or elsewhere, -confined to the circumscribed area of my own bed and sitting-rooms. I -had asked questions about the room but could never get a satisfactory -reply only the ever-repeated answer, ‘Oh, it looks all right, but just -you try to sit there, that’s all, you’ll soon see why we can’t do -anything of the kind.’ Now here is the room produced just as it was -before I went into it, and I wonder if anyone can see the real mistake -in the design? I own I could not perceive it from the picture. At first -I asked if my people were ridiculous enough to fancy the room had a -ghost. No not a ghost exactly; but in a tentative tone of voice -something quite as uncanny and quite as intangible. Was it draughty? -They didn’t think so; and yet it was impossible to warm it. In fact, it -was quite out of the question that it could be sat in, and there it -remained until one day - -[Illustration: LIBRARY AT WAYSIDE.] - -when I felt rather better than usual, and went downstairs determined to -conquer or die in the attempt. Dear readers! if you could only have seen -that room you would, some of you, never have believed in me again for -one single moment. The centre table was heaped with books, old papers -and magazines. The matting on the floor had one long, thin and solitary -rug. There were aimless cretonne curtains at the window, which couldn’t -possibly be reached, because the desk was stuck right against it; and, -worst fault of all, the door opened on the wrong side, and so whenever -it was open the fire was as it were in the passage. And as had been -rightly said, there was not a single place to put a chair; and, indeed, -the untidy thing in the photograph was the only specimen of the genus -that the chamber possessed, if we except an ordinary bedroom seat, and -another of a similar kind by the desk, neither of which could be sat -upon, save by an individual who had serious writing to do. Then someone -had placed in one corner a deck-lounge, in, I suppose, a feeble attempt -at being happy, and never did a lounge less deserve its name. It was -located between the window and the fire, and therefore succeeded in -nothing, save in being entirely out of place and in the way. There too -the shelves for books were left as shown in the photograph, and had none -of the small curtains over the smaller recesses, so necessary to break -up the lines and to serve as hiding-places for old and way-worn -literature. The fireplace was hideous, and a Moloch as regards coal, -while, of course the room could never be brought above freezing pitch, -because of the relative positions of the fireplace, door, and window, -each of which was put just exactly where it ought not to be. The design -and colour of the room were right enough, but the touches which turn a -room into a habitation were never more conspicuous by their absence. - -I don’t know how it is, but I can put a room straight in five minutes -when another person merely grumbles and declares that nothing can be -done; and in a pious rage I set to work and very soon had made a -considerable alteration in the place. Although, of course, much could -not be accomplished until I sent for my factotum Joe, and had the door -moved to the other side, that elegant plaster in the ceiling dislodged, -and the hideous tiles in the grate renovated. Then I had a good thick -_portière_ placed inside the door, hung the pictures properly, arranged -the books and china, put the curtains where they were required in the -bookcase, altered the window-curtains, put the desk on one side, not in -the very centre of the window, and imported a couple of deep, good -basket-chairs from Heelas, of Reading, and some smaller Liberty chairs -and tables. The centre table was put on one side, and not in the middle -of the room, with magazines and newspapers; and after that I put down -proper and suitable rugs, instead of the big one,--beautiful in itself -and in its proper place which was a passage--but ridiculous in the -middle of a matted floor, where it resembled nothing so much as a garden -walk. Since then the room has been more used than any other sitting-room -in the house, and is now pronounced one of the most comfortable in the -dreary little place, or, I should say, in what was a dreary little place -until it was taken vigorously in hand. Albeit, nothing can make the -house a real success, because it is built east and west, and with all -the windows to the west and to the north and south: these, by the way, -raking the back yards of the neighbours fore and aft: while, except for -the bath-room window, there is not one which looks towards the east, -where, of course, one gets the pleasantest view and the morning sun: a -great consideration in a house which is literally a summer house, and -where therefore, the western sun is useless and tormenting. Even in the -winter an afternoon sun is no earthly use, for by the time it comes -round to the western windows it has to retire ignominiously into a bank -of fog or cloud; therefore such a house as this especial one should -never be taken unless the owner will close the north and north-west -windows, 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 built. It is always a pleasing reflection to me that the man who -designed this house is dead, and cannot now make any other person as -miserable by his awkward vagaries as he has made me. If he had simply -consented to one or two alterations, and had given us decent grates, and -proper servants’ accommodation, the house wouldn’t have been ‘half bad,’ -and I do not suppose would have cost a farthing more to build than it -cost at first. The cornices were so terrible that they had in some cases -to be cut away and reduced to one-fourth, while the elaborate and -expensive style in which they had been liberally picked out in all the -colours of the rainbow, was obliterated by colour-wash at once; yet the -money spent on this ‘decoration’ would have gone some way towards new -grates; and my pet plain wooden mantels would not have cost half what -the monstrous marble ones did, with which one can’t wrestle, because of -the round openings in the mantelpieces, which would not allow of the -cheap introduction of the pretty, square, slow-combustion stoves, with -plain tiles, to which I must confess I am absolutely devoted. I think, -if their third room in any way resembles the one illustrated here, this -picture will help my readers very much, if they are anxious to have a -library, a room where the master can sit and smoke, and where business -people can be interviewed. But, if books are not plentiful, and the -husband doesn’t smoke and is not much at home, the room would not be of -very much service to the mistress and her girls, should she be fortunate -enough to be the proud possessor of grown-up daughters. And there are, -of course, yet other means of treating and disposing of the room. If -children are numerous, and bedrooms few, this third room may have to be -taken for schoolroom purposes, or, at best, may have to be used by boys -and girls in the holidays, or when lessons have to be prepared, and in -this case it would require quite different treatment to what it would -receive were it merely a pretty sitting-room, as it should most -undoubtedly be. - -If the sitting-room aspect has to be considered it should be made as -bright and charming as possible, and should be furnished with an eye to -the particular occupation of the house mistress, who is sure to have -some idiosyncrasy, and will either work, write or ‘housekeep’ -indefatigably. If she does this latter, she will want room for her -household books, her receipt books, and her house books, containing all -kinds of hints as to what to do and when to do it, which any woman -collects if she is in the least house-proud and anxious to make the most -of her surroundings. In this case, one of the recesses could be fitted -with shelves on the same principle as those shown in the photograph, but -they should not be higher than the mantelpiece, and where there is a -gaping space, curtains should be hung, or else doors placed to make a -species of cupboard with copper hinges and a good lock. In the other -recess a writing-table could be placed, with some shelves above it to -hold books of reference, and this table must be furnished with really -good locks, for here should be kept account and cheque books, and -receipts and any private unanswered letters. Though let me once more -impress on all my readers never to keep any save business letters, and -never to keep those when the business to which they refer is completely -done with and ended. No one knows how long he or she may live, nor if -sudden death or illness may not leave all one’s secrets, should one -have any, or the secrets of others, open to anyone who may have access -to one’s belongings; besides, we have no right to keep other folk’s -letters, once they are replied to. We may ourselves be secrecy itself, -but we cannot answer for the secret-keeping capacity of our nearest and -dearest. - -If the window should be, as I hope it may be, one of the delightful -Caldecott ones, it should have a straight window-seat arranged exactly -as in this sketch, and thus we should be provided with a most -comfortable place to rest in, more especially if we supplement it with -several big Liberty pillows. These can be covered in plain linen covers, -edged with frills of the same or of Torchon lace. If this latter be -used, a wide insertion should be laid on all round the pillows, about an -inch from where the lace is sewn on. The lace must not be too full. If -the pillow should be a yard square, or the more ordinary size of -three-quarters of a yard, the quantity of lace used should be one-half -longer than the length of the sides of the pillow, _i.e._, 6 yards of -lace would be wanted for a pillow the sides of which measured 4 yards, -while 3 yards would be sufficient for the smaller size, as the lace is -only just fulled on. It should not be heavily gathered, or it will not -look well. - -[Illustration] - -Beautiful pillows can be made by Miss Goodban, of 9 Westbourne Terrace -Road, Hyde Park of these same linens. She embroiders them all over in -flax and edges them with Torchon, and if these cases are simply -buttoned on like an ordinary pillowcase they can be washed in an hour -and replaced. Liberty silk covers also wash splendidly if one has a -careful maid. I have never sent mine to the ordinary wash; but washed at -home they came out of the trial as good as new; a fact I do not think -many people can know, or we should not see as many dirty covers as we do -in the houses of folks who ought to know a great deal better. The -window-seat cover should be of some hard-wearing material, such as -ribbed and stamped Victoria cord, or a really good all-wool tapestry. It -is never the least use to use one of the cheap tapestries provided so -lavishly nowadays for this purpose, for if we do, we shall at once be -terribly disappointed by the effect. 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 time. To ensure real and satisfactory length of days for -any material, we must have one made of all wool, and not wool and cotton -mixed. The actual expense of these seats, and indeed of any fitted -seat, is the upholstress’s time and work, which costs as much if the -material is only 1s. a yard, as it does if one pays a guinea for the -same amount, besides which there is the continual worry of the British -workman amongst us. Though why women should not be their own -upholstresses I for one can’t think, 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 dinner. Then if the husband has -a knowledge of carpentering and is handy about the house, 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 required. - -Given the window-seat there should be no need for a sofa, and that is a -decided consideration, but whatever chairs are had they should be -comfortable ones, and none are better than the excellent wicker ones of -which I have so often spoken. 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 baskets, and sell these special -chairs for about 5s. or 6s. in wicker, simply stained a faint brown, -which said staining I much prefer to paint or enamel, as it never -becomes in the least shabby. A cushion must be made to fit the seat -finished off with a 4 or 5 inch frill, not any deeper, and another -cushion must be made to fit the back, while another must be placed round -the sides of the chair, properly stuffed and ‘buttoned down.’ 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 -packthread. And I consider such cushions should all be made in this -style, as a plain surface wears out twice as soon as one that is -arranged with buttons; while, if one is clean and careful, the buttons -need not mean an accumulation of dust and dirt, both being got rid of -perfectly well if the cushions are properly brushed and beaten and -attended to by a housemaid who knows her work. By the way, it takes 2¼ -yards of double-width material to make a cover for an ordinary wicker -chair, or 4½ of single width material or of cretonne, but I cannot -advise cretonne for the purpose, or for any real hard wear on any -chairs, it so very soon becomes dirty, and is always in the wash-tub and -in the hands of the upholstress. 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 ends. Of course, the number of the drawers -will depend on the length of the window-seat, but three should be the -outside number. In any case they would come just under the seat and be -hidden from observation either by the deep frill or a woollen fringe, -and should open and shut very easily indeed. 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 them, -neither are there many recesses which we can utilise as wardrobes should -we require to do so. 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 ‘Panton’ blue, than which nothing is better in -every way to live with, she would then have the short curtains shown in -the picture of some yellow material, Wallace’s diamond serge for -choice, lined with sateen or plain serge, if there be many draughts or -very much sun: then the material for the window-seat should be in golden -brown or turquoise blue stamped Victoria cord, and the cushions should -be in yellow, blue and pink linen, worked in very coarse and thick real -flax by Miss Goodban. If the room has very much traffic, the floor -should have a surround of plain brown cork carpet, with a good blue -square of Wallace’s Dunelm carpet in the centre, just lightly fastened -down in such a manner that it can be easily removed for shaking. -Personally, I never like nails put in any carpet; they cannot help -spoiling and tearing it, and it is far better to sew on the carpet -itself a succession of tiny bits of tape, of course on the wrong side, -and close to the edge. In these pieces of tape should the nails be -placed. The tapes can always be renewed, and in this case the edge of -the carpet is never touched, and cannot present the ‘worried’ appearance -which characterises so many really good floor coverings. In this special -room the carpet should be in a special shade of blue, which would -harmonise with the paper. There are two or three different ways of -treating the walls of such a room, and the one I prefer is to have -electric turquoise Aspinall for all the paint, the Panton blue paper, -and a floral frieze with a great deal of yellow in it; or, again, one -can have the blue paper, but with real ivory paint, and an anaglypta -dado painted in the same shade instead of the frieze; while a really -useful and hard-wearing room may have a soft brown dado, and all soft -brown paint, and a darker blue paper. In this case both paper and paint -must be selected by someone who understands the science of colour. The -brown should have a good deal of cream in it, and the blue should have a -great deal of indigo and not any shade of green or turquoise at all. -Here the window-seat cushion should be covered in brown stamped Victoria -cord, and the curtains should be in blue serge or Tanjore cloth. I have -never yet found a blue serge which would stand sun, and not fade in a -couple of weeks in the most distressing manner, while almost any yellow -serge stands the sunshine, and I can myself guarantee Wallace’s diamond -serge in yellow, for that has proved itself absolutely fast. Shoolbred -guarantees the Tanjore cloth, but personally I have had no experience of -this material, having had neither opportunity nor occasion to try it. It -is 4s. 9d. a yard, and is very pretty to look at; and is besides a most -excellent width. Need I say that any cornice in this room must be simply -coloured cream, and the ceiling papered in some inexpensive and pretty -yellow and white paper? If blue should be objected to, or one is tired -of it, a very pretty sitting-room can be made from any floral paper -which is really good, and, _I_ say, hand-made. I am devoted to a -beautiful heliotrope and green clematis paper sold by Smee & Cobay, and -also to the ‘ragged robin’ paper sold by Haines, and either of these -papers should be used above a dado of some kind or other. A full green -sateen curtain dado is the best, and in this case all the paint should -be the same shade of green as that chosen for the dado, and that should -be one of the tints in the leaves on the paper itself. Then the carpet -and curtains should be green, and so should be the window-seat and the -ceiling paper. The other shades in the paper should appear in the -cushions and table-covers: although as regards the clematis paper I have -never come across any good heliotrope materials, and have only found -this colour in silk and in a capital cretonne sold by the Cavendish -House Company, Cheltenham. I fancy that Warings, of Liverpool, have also -a good ‘lilac’ cretonne. They certainly possess an admirable wall-paper -with lilacs on a striped background, which should not be forgotten by -anyone who thinks of using that always satisfactory decorative harmony -of heliotrope and green. If there is not much wear in these rooms, I -should advise the green ‘Isis’ matting as a background for rugs, but if -there be a great deal of traffic, the soft green ‘Roman carpet’ sold by -Shoolbred does excellently with some sort of a ‘surround’ which is -easily cleaned, such as Jackson’s varnish stains, or plain cream -matting, or plain cork carpet, according to the state of the floor and -the particular tastes of the owner of the room, who should of course -have one of Giles’s removable parqueterie surrounds if she can afford -it. In any case she must never allow either a fitted carpet or a -patterned surround to fidget the eye, avoiding as a real sin against the -first principles of art, those terrible materials which imitate -parqueterie or tiles, or pretend to be anything save what they are, and -giving a wide berth to felt, an admirable material to look at, but a -fearful and abominable dust-trap. 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 duster, which just passed over them once a day, -keeps the stain or matting or cork carpet in order, and prevents the -accumulation in corners that must ensue if we have not a washable -material as a surround to whatever carpet we may select. If we have -matting all over the floor, it is well to recollect that salt and water -form an excellent mixture to use to cleanse it with, the salt in some -way preserving and toughening the fibres of the matting as well as -cleaning it in a most effectual style. - -The principal things to recollect in this, and, indeed in any room are, -first, that it must be made draught-proof and be properly ventilated, -that we must so arrange that the door does not open right on the fire, -that while the furniture may be as simple as we like, everything must be -made to harmonise, being either bought for or adapted to the room itself -and the special occupations of the room’s mistress. Fortunately if our -purses are light, there is abundance of inexpensive furniture in these -days which I cannot, I feel, praise too highly. I remember the dreadful -struggles I had, to make my own first house pretty some six-and-twenty -years ago, when there was nothing to be had but heavy wood and solid -repps, and no one had whispered ‘Liberty,’ or mentioned serge, or bamboo -and wicker furniture, or, if they had, had murmured it so gently that -the murmur had not reached the ears of anyone at all. Now, scoff as one -may at wicker work and bamboo, I venture to say that by them lies the -way of salvation for the third room in an impecunious household. I have -bought the most charming and beautiful little cupboard tables at -Shoolbred’s, the most comfortable and excellent chairs at Smee & -Cobay’s, at Heelas, of Reading, and at Wallace’s, which have all the -delights of a real upholstered expensive arm-chair, if one has the -cushions made at home, at as many shillings as the other costs pounds. -While the most useful bookcase I ever came across is also matting and -bamboo, and this can have a species of cupboard shelf made by hanging a -curtain over the third receptacle for books, which said curtain is like -charity: it covers a multitude of sins in the shape of rolls of wall -paper, odds and ends of patterns, and old books which have seen better -days, and yet are not good enough to re-bind, and yet are too good to -throw away. Indeed, no book should ever be treated in such an -ignominious fashion. At the worst it can be sent to a hospital, or be -kept in our own special hospital box, which should be in every house, -for how can we tell when infectious disease may not find us out? In that -case we shall be thankful to be possessed of something to read which we -can afterwards burn without any _arrière pensée_ in the matter at all. - -One thing should be in every morning-room, or third room, or library, -call this little chamber by what name we will; and that is an invaluable -small closing-table I have discovered in Kensington High Street. It -costs about 4s. 11d., simply stained dark brown, can be folded up and -put against a wall, or laid under a sofa when not in use, and is -altogether most unobtrusive and excellent, for it can be set up in one -second, and is admirable for a thousand purposes. I think it is large -enough to ‘cut out’ upon, although I am not an authority on the subject -of work. I know it is extremely handy for tea, and that one can make -scrapbooks upon it, and write upon it too, while as it can be folded and -put on one side at any moment, it does not get over-crowded with books -and ornaments, and is therefore always available. The ordinary small -occasional table never can be that, for it is usually clad in a nice -square table-cover and has flowers or a plant in the centre, and has -moreover, every available corner filled with books and ‘twos and -threes,’ while the modest and retiring folding-table only comes out for -use, and is never ornamental, and will not be used otherwise than for -the purpose for which it is made. Of course the walnut Sutherland table -is much nicer in every way, but is not to be had under 30s., is often of -most inferior wood liable to scratches and spots, and is also all too -often opened out clad in its tablecloth and ornamented to death. But we -have no qualms about the little cheap folding-table. 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 better. Just one -word _en parenthése_, as it were, about stains. Do not let anything -anyone can say induce you to attempt the beautiful green staining we all -so much admire at home, for if you do, it can be nothing but a most -ghastly failure. True, the particular piece of furniture will be green, -but such a green! for the proper effect can only be obtained in the same -way really good French polish is procured, and that, as everyone knows, -can never be got save by a professional hand who knows the work, and has -never yet been known to divulge the secret of success. No; the green -stain is not for the amateur, be sure of that, while the ‘oak,’ and -‘dark oak,’ and ‘walnut’ varnish stains are exactly all that they ought -to be. - -In this room a screen by the door is often a most blessed possession, -and as screens can be bought so cheaply nowadays everyone can avail -herself of the comfort procured by a judicious use of them. Liberty -first, and Shoolbred next, should be searched for an inexpensive screen, -for sometimes Liberty has none, and then Shoolbred may come to the -rescue, or our experience of both shops may be reversed; it all depends -on which place has had the last consignment from Japan. I bought a -beautiful screen at Liberty’s one year, about a month before Christmas, -for 18s. 9d., but on applying for another in the following March, found -all were sold out, and I had to go farther afield, discovering the one I -wanted in a shop in High Street, Kensington, the name of which I have -forgotten. True both Liberty and Shoolbred had plenty of screens but -neither had an inexpensive one, with a back warranted to resist the -frequent and uncalled-for assaults of the British housemaid. By the -way, a screen should always be placed behind the door, which should in -most cases open from left to right into a room if the room is in the -least degree like the one illustrated. I am not fond of a door opening -into a hall, and of course the perfect door should not open, but slide -into the wall, but perfection is a word never heard, and certainly not -understood at all in the usual suburb. - -If the room be blue, the _portière_ should be of printed velveteen in -shades of yellow. With a floral paper it may be pink or green, but in -any case a plain material should not be employed as a _portière_. One -should always have a figured stuff there, and if one can afford it one -cannot improve on the aforesaid velveteen. _Portières_ should be made up -by a really competent hand and should be lined, and edged with either -‘grip-cord’ or fan-edging, as ball fringe is apt to come to grief in -this situation, the _portière_ being often caught in the door, 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 door. I may seem to -speak unduly on the subject both of _portières_ and screens but unless -they are employed freely, I can assure my readers they will never -circumvent the ordinary suburban residence, but that if both are used, -any house, even the most jerry-built one which ever disgraced a ‘Park,’ -or blotted the erst-while fair appearance of a ‘Grove,’ can be made -habitable. Without these aids to health, to say nothing of decoration, -such a house would be an impossible home for anyone not born and bred in -the Arctic regions; while outside blinds, if they can only be just -nailed up _pro tem._, and be mere grass mats bought for a few shillings -at Treloar’s, can circumvent extreme heat, which often is as bad to bear -in these terrible houses as the excessive cold and draughts which -characterise them. I know that as a rule three years sets the suburban -tenant on the prowl, and, as I said before, 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-tight. But three years’ experience of untoward -weather in a jerry-built structure can undermine the health of any -woman, whereas she probably would not move and would certainly keep much -better in health if not entirely well, did she do her utmost to get -over the drawbacks at once. At the same time the hall must be warmed by -using the small, portable stove sold by Wolff & Sons, 119 New Bond -Street, if it is out of the question to obtain warmth from a real -fire-place, and very great care must be given to ventilation by -wide-open windows whenever it is possible, and it is always possible -during some part of the day: and by ventilators, as suggested before, -which should always be open at night, especially when lamps are lighted -and fires kept up. For an unventilated room means a sleepy head, 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 done. - - - - -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 -children! Nay, one can hardly believe that they are meant for them at -all, for nowhere are two rooms placed in such a manner as to make real -day and night nurseries, and she is lucky indeed who has not to place -one room on the first, and the other on the second floor, 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 storey. -But it is always possible to have them on the same storey if convention -is defied, and the ‘spare room’ is relegated to the attics, or the -nurseries themselves are placed there; and moreover no considerations of -any ‘spare room’ should prevent there being a couple of nurseries in -any house. 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 resident; but it is far worse to keep the children in -one room only, alike for day and night use, and I sincerely hope that -this unhealthy and disagreeable practice may soon cease entirely to -exist. If in a tiny house and with one baby only, a second room cannot -possibly be had, the only way to arrange matters is to proceed on the -lines of a Harrow boy’s room, and to have either a system of ‘fitments,’ -or to shut all the washing and dressing apparatus into a cupboard sort -of arrangement, and to have one of the small folding iron beds, with a -wire mattress complete, which cost about 16s. 6d., and which can be put -under another bed in another room during the daytime, the mattress and -other bedding being folded up and disposed of in a similar way. Yet in -such a wee house as this, the baby would usually be in the mother’s -room, and the nurse could share a room with another maid, having her -meals in the servants’ sitting-room or the kitchen, while the mother -herself looked after the infant. But I fancy where this would be the -case, decoration would not be a study, all the energies of the mistress -being spent, and very properly too, on making both ends of the income -meet if that be possible. At the same time, I can never see why a -cottage need not be pretty and comfortable, and I hope that no one will -be debarred from attempting to possess a pretty house because she is -poor. Pretty things are nowadays as cheap, nay often cheaper, than ugly -ones, 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 -comfortable. Let us take first the unfortunate who really can only have -one nursery, and who has to allow the child to sleep there at night with -the nurse, for I always think it is unwise for the parents to have an -infant in their bedroom even when it is very small. A man’s rest broken, -means bad work during the day, while a woman is unfit for anything and -certainly cannot do her work if she has had no sleep during the orthodox -hours of repose. In this case the best room in the upper part of the -house should be taken for the nursery; it should be as near the mother’s -room as possible, and if there be a dressing-room attached, so much the -better in every way, for out of that can be constructed the very -necessary nursery pantry. Therein can be kept everything which is in any -way unsightly, and it is possible that all signs of the nursery itself -being used for a double purpose can be concealed, if one has at one’s -service just an ordinary bedroom and dressing-room. We will therefore -suppose that, in the first place, the suburban villa contains a bed and -a dressing-room, and another bedroom and a bathroom on the same floor. -In this case, I should propose that the so-called ‘best room,’ with the -dressing-room, should be given over to the nurse and child, the master -of the house having the bathroom entirely for his own use as -dressing-room. If this arrangement is made, the bedroom which I trust -may face south or south-east, can be treated entirely as a day-room, and -be properly and prettily painted and papered. Under no circumstances -should one of those fearsome ‘nursery’ papers be allowed, neither must a -cheap and vulgar flower paper be - -[Illustration: COMBINED DAY AND NIGHT NURSERY.] - -used. If expense is a great object, and it would be probably in such a -wee establishment, an inexpensive, geometrical-patterned paper must be -chosen, with as little real pattern on it as is possible, great -attention being given to the colour; which after all is the principal -thing to think about in all decoration. For such papers, one cannot -improve on the ‘Olive Leaf’ papers, sold always by Godfrey Giles; and -though these special colourings have been obtainable for quite ten -years, I have never found anything which would quite take their place. -They are 9d. and 1s. 6d. a piece. I advise the latter, the extra 9d. -quite doubling the time that the paper will really wear. Some of -Liberty’s damasque papers are also most suitable for these and, indeed, -for any rooms; but these are 2s., and, in consequence, would cost more -to put up. Lower than 1s. 6d. I cannot think it is wise to go, for after -all, the great expense of papering is the labour, and the vagaries of -the British workman render it undesirable that we shall have to employ -him more than we can possibly help. For, once he is in the house, heaven -only knows when he will leave; and while he is there, everything is -disorganised, the maids being engrossed by him and his doings and his -followers, and nothing going on in its accustomed and regular routine. I -am very fond of the soft apricot shade in the damasque papers, and -should often advise one of these used with either real ivory or -_café-au-lait_ paint. At first, one need not put a dado, especially if -the room be prepared for ‘number one,’ as that can always be added later -on, when the room begins to look a little shabby round the base of the -wall. Then if the master knows how to use his hands at all, he can -simply screw on a dado rail, made of the ever-useful ‘goehring,’ while -the mistress can make a full curtain dado of some inexpensive blue and -cream cretonne. Oetzmann often has one at about 5¾d. a yard. This is -easily made up, a very deep flounce is manufactured, and a yard and a -half of cretonne suffice for a yard of dado. It should be slightly -gathered on a tape, and the width of the cretonne makes the depth of the -dado. On the tape are sewn very small rings, and these are passed over -brass-headed nails put close under the dado-rail, which should be -painted after it is fixed, the heads of the screws being covered with -putty also painted over; this effectually conceals all traces of them. -It is easy for anyone to calculate the cost of such a dado exactly; but, -as I said before it can always be added to a room, should it not be -advisable on the score of expense to put it up at first. If the soft -apricot paper is selected and the room is a very sunny one, I should -advise blue Bolton sheeting curtains from Burnett, made double and edged -with grip cord, as most undoubtedly anything in such a room should be -capable of being washed, while a square blue ‘Dunelm’ carpet should be -laid in the centre of the floor, the outer space being covered with -plain brown cork carpet. On no account should a nursery be covered with -linoleum, oilcloth or cork carpet; a real woollen carpet should be _de -rigueur_. Nothing is worse for a child to creep on than the cold surface -of any material which resembles oilcloth, while it is the fault of the -nurse entirely should a carpet be spoiled in any way. So, should the -mother find the carpet becoming the worse for unfair treatment during -the first eighteen months of a child’s life, she must realise that her -nurse is to blame, and that a woman who permits such ‘accidents’ is -unfit for her position, and should take some situation where the -spotless carefulness and cleanliness which should mark anyone who has -the care of a child are not required. For be well assured, if a nurse be -careless and untidy in one way she will have these same failings in all -she has to do. A nurse may herself look the picture of all she ought to -be, but if her rooms bear the least signs of neglect, if the child is -not ‘turned out’ like a new pin, and has not perfect ‘manners’ by the -time it is a year old, she must go. Unless she does, there will never be -peace in the nursery, neither will the children ever be well. People may -feel inclined to scoff at the notion that a child’s health can depend on -its appearance; but this is a fact, and no amount of scoffing will alter -it. If, for example, you see a child sent out with untidy boots, coarse -stockings in which there may be a hole or two, and which said stockings -are not pulled up trimly and correctly under the short skirts or the -neat little knickerbockers; if the under-garments are showing either at -waist or knee, if the clothes are unbrushed and awry and the hair -unkempt, send the nurse away at once. If she be careless about the looks -of the children she will be careless about their health. Her rooms will -be either stuffy or draughty; she will not discriminate about the -children’s food or their times of sleep or play; she will not see the -boots are repaired and the clothes aired; she is utterly untrustworthy. - -I have had a large experience of people of all kinds, and I can honestly -say I have never found a sloven a good servant, or an untidy woman one -who could be trusted in any position in one’s household. Bad as this -fault is in anyone, it is desperate indeed where children are concerned, -and should therefore never be endured for a moment. The nurse who is -really fit for her post takes as much pride in the children’s appearance -as the mother does herself. Should she not do so, colds are incessant, -and small illnesses frequent, while should there be an infant matters -are still worse, for the baby’s bottles are sure to be badly kept; -indeed a child may die, or at the least may suffer severely because of -the untidy habits and slovenly ways of the nurse. One of the easiest -ways to discover what manner of woman she is, is this very question of -the carpet. And should she object to one and suggest oilcloth, be quite -sure she does not know her business, or only wants to save herself -trouble. A carpet is a necessity in a properly-managed nursery, and that -should be an axiom which should never for one instant be forgotten. - -I should never paper the ceiling of a nursery, neither should gas be -allowed there; neither should we overcrowd this room with furniture, nor -should we permit a vast accumulation of toys. The ceiling should be -washed cream-colour once a year, and the room, if small, should be -lighted with a good duplex lamp from the centre of the ceiling; also -from one swung out on an arm near the fireplace, if the room be large -and the nurse wish to sit near the fire to do her work, or wash and -undress the children there in winter. No lamps should be allowed to -stand about anywhere and all must be out of the reach of the children, -else will accidents certainly occur. The lamp must be re-trimmed and -refilled daily downstairs by whoever attends to the sitting-room lamps, -and must have a metal receiver. It must also be the reverse of cheap. -Cheap lamps are dangerous and abominable in every way. Yet a lamp must -we have in our nurseries if we wish the children to be well, and to -escape the blighting influence of a gas-vitiated atmosphere. If no maid -can be trusted to do the lamps the mistress must see to them herself. -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 health, and in feeling confident that the -lamps will not smell, and that they will burn brightly, and not expire -suddenly because they have not been properly filled in the morning. - -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 deal, stained a good -dark brown. This is quite large enough to ‘dine’ four people, and can -be used to cut out on, if required; and then when not in use it can be -folded back and put against the wall, thus giving the child or children -more room to play about. This table, a low chair or two, the children’s -chairs, and about two or three rush-seated chairs are quite sufficient -furniture for a nursery, if we add a big cupboard which, if we are lucky -enough to have recesses each side of the fireplace, can easily be -constructed by any working carpenter. If there are no recesses I should -put this cupboard in one of the corners of the room; it would take up -less space there, and would not cause as many accidents as if it stood -out into the room, always ready to deal blows to the unsteady toddler -for whose sake such danger must be steadily avoided. The lower part of -the cupboard can be sacred to toys, the higher part to work and garments -in course of construction. All clothes in wear should be placed in a -cupboard in the dressing-room, which room should also contain the -nursery cups and saucers and property generally, and all washing and -dressing matters. - -An excellent thing for the nursery is a wide box-ottoman placed in the -window, and if we can have one with sides and ends so much the better, -as this can be turned with the back to the room, and here in a species -of crib or cage, can a young person be placed safely to look out of the -window, any attempts at falling over the back being frustrated by the -nearness of the nurse. Of course baby cannot fall out of the window if -open, or through it if shut, because of the most necessary nursery bars, -which must be erected _inside_ the window, not outside in the ordinary -way; in this position they do double duty, and not only prevent -accidents, from the child falling out of the window, but render it -almost impossible for the glass to be broken. Of course a nursery window -should be of plate glass if no other window in the house is, and should -have a cheerful outlook, an amusing outlook being better for a child -than any amount of toys. The window should be absolutely draught-proof. -It must have a ventilator capable of being almost hermetically sealed in -its top pane, and at the same time very easily opened. It must never be -stuffed up with blinds and an undue amount of curtain. Sunshine means -health, and the more sunshine a house or room receives the better. This -should be impressed on a nurse at once, and she should never have the -means of making the room dark and dismal in her hands, or else she will -certainly do so at the very earliest possible opportunity. - -Another most excellent thing to have in a nursery where there are -growing children would be a regular hammock on good supports, to be -erected or taken away at will, and to be sufficiently low to ensure that -a fall therefrom would do no harm. This hammock would be as useful as a -sofa, and as amusing as a swing, without the disagreeable after-effects -and danger; and, of course, it should be heaped with the humble pillows, -made of curled paper, in linen cases, which are so invaluable, because -they cost nothing, and can be thrown about genially without doing any -amount of damage at all. - -The walls of the nursery must either be pictureless or embellished by -really good autotypes, sufficient of which can be procured for about £5 -for quite a large room. For let nothing allow any mother to put up the -glaring vulgar nursery pictures which one sees so often in children’s -rooms, and which undoubtedly vitiate the children’s tastes, and give -them bad and false ideas of art from their earliest days. Then, too, I -most thoroughly recommend that the amount of toys allowed be of the -smallest: a Noah’s ark, a really good box of bricks, a horse and cart, -dolls, and a nice doll’s house are quite sufficient for any small -person. The child who is dependent on a constant supply of mechanical -and expensive toys is a poor thing, and is never likely to grow up to be -much good to itself or to anyone else. - -If we arrange our nursery on these lines, and have the dressing-room -also, we should require the simple bed for the nurse only to be brought -into the room for use at night, and the dressing-room should be entirely -kept for dressing purposes. - -Our nursery needs a good cupboard. Wallace sells a good deal ‘linen -cupboard,’ which, painted ‘real ivory,’ or electric turquoise enamel, -makes a capital nursery wardrobe, and here the child’s clothes should be -kept, while the nurse should have one of Wallace’s indispensable corner -wardrobes for her dresses, which costs by the way the ridiculous sum of -28s. 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 possesses. One of Shoolbred’s -small bamboo cupboard-tables would hold boots and shoes and bonnets -quite well, and no accumulations of any kind should be allowed. The -nurse’s box must never be kept in either room, but be relegated at once -to the box-room; and directly a child’s garment is outgrown, or the -worse for wear, let it be given away. The only good I have ever been -able to see in a small house is, that no one can possibly hoard there. -If hoarding is begun it cannot be carried on, because if it were, there -would speedily be no room to turn round. - -Now, if one room only can be given up for a nursery, it must have -fitments which can be removable at will in case we stay there not longer -than the ordinary three years; or they can be on the lines of a -‘workers’ room,’ I designed for Messrs Wallace & Co., and which said -fitments are part and parcel of the chamber. In the first place the bed -must fold up by day into a species of ‘combined bedstead and bookcase -arrangement,’ which is a bed by night, and looks like a -bookcase-sideboard by day; and in the second, another cupboard must be -furnished with a shelf to draw out from above, resting on brackets: on -which shelf are to stand the basin ewer, etc., when in use. The brushes -and combs must be shut away, while the looking-glass should be an -ornamental one over the mantelpiece. - -With a room such as this the nurse must take the child to its mother -when she herself is dressed, and she must throw up the window and open -the door while she breakfasts with the other maid or maids. She must -then ‘do’ her nursery thoroughly, and after that wash and dress the -infant. While the child is quite small this should not be done later -than 9 a.m; after it is a year old it must be dressed before breakfast, -and go to its mother while the nurse has her meal. Indeed, no meals must -be allowed in the nursery under these circumstances; and the fact of -there being only one nurse means that the mother must act as upper -nurse herself. - -Such a situation I cannot recommend to any girl who has had but little -acquaintance with the ways and manners of an infant. If she undertakes -it, she will always be sending for a doctor; and, much as I love the -profession, I would rather recommend the payment of a good nurse, for, -if she is good, she knows far more about a baby than any doctor can do. -He has most excellent theories, she a great amount of experience to aid -her in wrestling with infantile complaints, which are generally treated -far more satisfactorily by strict attention to diet, exercise and air, -than by any amount of the newest and most wonderful drugs in the world. - -If there are a couple of deep recesses, one each side of the fireplace, -it would be quite possible to treat the room on the principles of the -worker’s room and at no great expense. In one recess should be a folding -bed, closed up in a cupboard during the day time, exactly on the same -lines as the Harrow boys’ beds, and into this cupboard all the bedding -can be shut. The second recess should have four or five shelves fitted -in, and these should be covered by doors in three divisions. The upper -and lower doors should be shorter than the centre one, and they should -all shut and open quite independently of each other. The top cupboard -should be used for garments; the second one should enclose two shelves, -the lower one of which should be double width and hinged half way, so -that when in use, it could open out and be brought forward and be -supported on folding brackets. This shelf must be painted with -Aspinall’s bath enamel or else covered with white American leather to -resist the action of water; and on this the washing apparatus must be -arranged. Above, on the first shelf, all brushes and combs may be -placed, while the glass over the mantelpiece can be used as a -dressing-glass, or we can have one fixed inside the cupboard door that -faces the light. On the other door should be fixed a brass rod for -towels, then all would be complete. The cupboard under this shelf could -be used on one side for the slop-pail, etc., and on the other for boots -and shoes. These fitments could be made out of deal by any decent -amateur carpenter. The wood could either be ‘goehring,’ which cannot -warp or crack, or else well-seasoned deal, ‘primed for painting.’ It -should receive a coat of Aspinall’s enamel, and after two days have -elapsed and allowed that coat to harden thoroughly, a second should be -applied. Paint is saved and a good decorative effect is obtained by -filling in the panels with Japanese leather paper or else with -anaglypta, while carved panels can be bought very cheaply in the -material ‘goehring,’ which of course would require the same amount of -paint as would the rest of the cupboard fitments. Then the window-seat -can either be the box-ottoman one already suggested, sold by Story & -Triggs for about £6, 6s., and called the ‘Desideratum,’ or it can be -made at home from more deal or more ‘goehring.’ In this case the -simplest way to proceed is to put a straight piece of wood right across -the bow or Caldecott window, hiding it by a flounce of cretonne. The -back of the window would form the back of the ottoman, while the bottom -could be made of brown holland, tacked in on the inside all round. The -hinges of the top should be fixed to the back of the window, and the -sides should rest on wooden bars nailed on the sides of the window, and -the top should be composed of a stout deal frame, supplemented by straps -of webbing, and on these straps a cushion should be laid stuffed with -flock. This box should be made very strongly indeed and need cost very -little; but although it holds a great deal, and can be most useful to -supplement the cupboards, it can never be half as serviceable as the -real box-ottoman with the ends and sides of which I have already spoken. - -[Illustration] - -The decoration of such a room as this must depend on the aspect. If this -be very sunny, as indeed it should be, green or blue should be used, the -latter for choice. I do not think anyone who has not tried it can have -the smallest idea how delightful this colour is to live with, or the use -of it would be far more universal than it is even now. Of course people -get the wrong blue, and then rave against it, and rightly too, for a -drab or dull shade is simply awful. There are some shades which go black -or grey at night, but no difficulty is found where Aspinall’s ‘electric -turquoise’ or ‘hedge sparrow egg’ blue is taken as one’s guiding star. -An _old_ turquoise, or a rather dark-coloured duck’s egg are also very -useful as guides to colour, should Aspinall be unprocurable, and the -rather prohibitive price (4s. 6d. a piece) puts Smee’s Panton blue paper -entirely out of the market, as far as a small suburban nursery is -concerned. The cupboards and all the paint can also be of a soft brown -shade, and then the dado should either be in anaglypta painted the same -colour, or else in a blue and brown cretonne, which can be found -sometimes at Colbourne’s, or at Liberty’s or at Oetzmann’s. Above that -should be hung one of Knowles’s less expensive blue papers, if one can -get it the right shade and he generally keeps it now, or the -ever-faithful blue ‘Olive-leaf’ on which we cannot improve for a small -room. The furniture should be as advised before, though, if the room be -tiny, and there is only one child, Derry & Toms’ folding-table at 4s. -11d. is quite large enough for all purposes, and leaves us far more -space in the centre of the room than we should otherwise possess. - -If the room is sunless: well, I should like to say that this is -impossible: but, alas! I know that it is not: the room should be done in -yellows and browns, and have blue curtains and carpet. But a sunless -room is a crime, and should never be allowed. Neither should a -tree-shaded house be chosen. Trees mean damp and flies and all sorts of -misery; and if the trees which luxuriate in some suburbs cannot be cut -down these suburbs must be avoided, for trees are all very well in their -way, and lovely and pleasant enough in a big park, but they always come -much too close to a small house, and I personally have been almost -crippled with rheumatism and obliged to make two or three expensive -moves, 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 -suffering. Besides they keep out sunshine and light, and moreover -harbour insects and dirt; 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 existence. - -By the way talking of flies let me give one or two simple ways of -dealing with these torments and with their friends, the wasps, which -however should never be destroyed heedlessly, because they in their turn -prey on the flies and reduce their numbers pretty considerably. For -flies the eucalyptus spray is a capital treatment, the only drawback -being the extreme stickiness of the eucalyptus water which falls about, -and often marks our cherished possessions. Then, Sanitas is very -valuable, and if people are not sensitive to smells, no flies have ever -been found which would face carbolic acid, a fact that I proved during -one damp summer, when we were almost eaten alive by the little wretches. -For one of my children caught scarlet fever, and the moment the orthodox -sheets were erected, and the mop used freely on the floors to spread -about the same disgusting stuff, with one accord the flies departed, -and as far as I can make out have not yet returned at anyrate in any -great numbers. I discovered, too, that wasps dislike eucalyptus, but not -as much as flies do (these by the way retreat also before paraffin), -while they vanished absolutely before Liberty’s ‘joss sticks.’ These -when burned liberally, kept them entirely at bay, and that in a year -when the newspapers were filled with complaints as to their numbers and -ferocity. Gnats are sometimes circumvented by hanging ‘southernwood’ on -the bed, or about the windows, while, if the house be old or much -covered with creepers--I advise nothing but tiny virginian creepers and -clematis, 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 outside. This keeps out every -insect, does not show, and does not keep out the very smallest amount of -air or light. Only are earwigs circumvented by these means, or by a -liberal use of disinfectants and of paraffin, but such remedies are to -me worse than the disease and can only be employed if folks are not -highly sensitive to smells. Carbolic makes me physically sick for hours -at a time, and I think even the worst plague of flies which was ever -experienced is better than the misery and discomfort of almost perpetual -nausea. But when carbolic has not this effect it should undoubtedly be -largely used to keep all insects at bay. - -Now let us just for one moment describe a suburban house where decent -nurseries are possible, where a good spare room is left, and a bedroom -and dressing-room do exist, and which yet costs no more than £95 a year, -for I see no reason why all small suburban houses should not be built on -these lines. The staircase comes up from the hall to a narrow landing; -on the left hand is the spare-room door, opposite that are good bed and -dressing-rooms; and then on the right is an arch, beyond which are -bathroom, day and night nurseries and a nursery pantry, designed first -as a dressing-room to the room used for the night nursery. - -This arrangement is small but perfect, for if infectious disease entered -the nurseries, they could be isolated in one moment by a match boarding -doorway erected in the arch and protected each side by the usual -carbolic sheets. The strength of the carbolic, by the way, is 1 in 20, -and the sheets are kept damp with an ordinary garden syringe. At the -first hint of infection the rooms should be cleared of all superfluous -furniture and draperies, and the carpets taken away and cleaned at once, -while all floors should be mopped at least twice a day with the same -carbolic as used for the sheets, etc., and in this every article used in -the sick-room must be steeped before it leaves the place. Every mother -and every nurse should know what to do on an emergency, and the moment -anything infectious appears, the utmost precautions must be taken to -prevent a spread of the complaint. Of course the doctor and the master -of the house notify the complaint at once to the authorities, but the -neighbours on each side and in front and back should be told too, and -the tradesmen be warned; indeed, no precautions are too great to ensure -that no one shall suffer by our fault or our carelessness and -selfishness. Remember that we may be unconscious murderers if we are not -super-careful at such times, for some child may die because we have not -sufficiently realised the situation, or known how really wrong it is to -run the very tiniest risk of giving someone else anything that may be -fatal. As children more especially are liable to take infectious -diseases the nurseries cannot be too lightly furnished, though of -course, comfort must not in any way be neglected, nor must draughts be -allowed. All curtains and _portières_ must be washed, and the carpet and -all furniture be removed at once, even if it have to be stored in the -passages and other rooms, and be greatly in the way of the other -inhabitants of the house. If the children have pets the dogs and cats -must be washed with carbolic soap and water, and sent away at once, and -the canaries must be removed downstairs. I do not think anyone realises -how easily cats and dogs can spread complaints, else I should not have -heard my nurse exclaim, ‘Oh! I should never have thought of sending away -the dogs.’ Neither, by the same token, would the doctor, although both -our dogs were in the habit of reposing on the beds, and one at least had -extremely long hair. - -To sum up briefly the necessities of a healthy nursery, I should say -that they include two easily-isolated rooms, plenty of sun and air as -opposed to heat and draughts, and above all, spotless cleanliness and -well-made, simply-designed furniture, which can be easily moved, which -allows of no accumulations, and which finally can be kept by the nurse -herself in a state of perfect dustlessness without an undue amount of -labour. 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 home. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -BEDROOMS - - -In the rooms set aside for the purposes of rest and sleep, I venture to -remark that the ordinary builder, to say nothing of the ordinary -decorator, rises to his very worst heights of villainy, and makes the -task before us one of almost superhuman effort. I have had three of -these houses to live in, and in all of them, when the doors did not face -the only possible place to put the bed, they came exactly at the side of -the fire, and left no space whatever to put a sofa, 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 repose. And as illness is -always possible, and moreover more than possible is it vain to ask when -further ‘eligible sites’ are cut up for building, that the landlords of -the future will kindly keep an eye on the - -[Illustration: BEDROOM.] - -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 -resources? How I should love to design just for once the small ideal -house with its square hall, capable of being used as an extra -sitting-room or a billiard-room, we need not then have the ‘three -reception-rooms’ which sound so grand and mean so little. Upstairs -should be three good bedrooms and a dressing-room, bath and day nursery; -the servants’ rooms and box-room in their turn above these, and whenever -possible, reached by a separate staircase. I see no reason why such a -house with reasonable and rational servants’ downstairs accommodation, -as already described, should be out of the reach of the usual suburban -resident with his £800 to £1000 a year. - -If arranged in this compact and comfortable style, and if every -labour-saving appliance that is obtainable is introduced, the number of -servants required would be minimised. A great consideration in these -days, when though we are always being badgered to help the unemployed no -one seems able to get any servants, and, even if they are forthcoming, -they have to be paid double the old prices, while they do half the -amount of work. At least that is what I am always hearing. Personally, I -have never found any difficulty in obtaining all the maids I myself -require. - -At the same time, if I were building ever so small a house, I should -undoubtedly have hot and cold water taps and a waste pipe in every -bedroom and dressing-room, and would even go as far as to have fixed -washing-stands there too. I would put at least one cupboard in each -room, also a window-seat, and, of course, the regulation tiled hearth -and slow-combustion stove with its tiled surround and its simple black -fender. The short curtains to the windows, the carefully-selected -pictures and ornaments, and the matted floor should all help to make the -work light, and to render it unnecessary to keep any superfluous number -of maids. - -But we have at present to do with the suburban residence as it is and -not as it might be, and therefore it is not much use in dreaming about -perfection, for if we do we shall most certainly be disappointed, and do -no real good at all. We shall have to combat shrunken doors and -ill-fitting windows, poor grates and bad floors, and therefore the -sooner we set about remedying these faults the better it will be for us. -I do most certainly advise that whatever else is put up with, the usual -black wide-mouthed all-devouring grate may be altered and replaced with -some kind of a very simple slow-combustion one. These grates can be -bought for £3 or £4 at Shuffery’s in Welbeck Street, and will probably -save their cost in coal in one month’s use. Besides which they will -ensure the warmth and comfort which cannot possibly exist without them; -for pile on coal as we may on the grate of the past, the heat goes -mostly up the chimney, while the fuel is exactly as useful as regards -keeping the fire in, as would be leaves or pieces of paper. Our sole -occupation with such a grate is to jump up every five minutes and -prevent the fire from going out altogether, by putting on more coal, -and yet again more; until our patience, to say nothing of our coal -supply, gives out most completely. I have recently spent some months in -the company of such a grate, and I can assure my readers I have not had -a pleasant time of it. I happened to be obliged to have a fire in all -night, 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 -out, notwithstanding that half an hour before I had not only fed it -copiously with coal, but put briquettes in considerable numbers into its -vast and hungry jaws. Briquettes which will as a rule keep in the fire -for nearly twelve hours were useless here, 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 winter. - -Once more, I can assure my readers as regards the grates, that it is -absolutely no use to temporise; and that both the one in the day nursery -and that in the best bedroom must go, even if it cannot be managed that -the grates in the other upstairs rooms can be changed; while let -nothing persuade anyone to have gas stoves erected. They are both -cheerless and unhealthy, albeit I know they are a great saving in -trouble, that they are now properly ventilated, and that they can be -turned on and off at a moment’s notice, and can be so regulated that the -proper temperature for all rooms--60 degrees--can be maintained either -at night or day. But I cannot breathe in any house where gas is allowed -to warm the air. I know plants never last in such an atmosphere, as my -plants do, and that, moreover, wherever gas stoves are employed largely, -anyone in that special place is pale, wan and susceptible to cold. -Indeed, the more I see of any attempt to heat our rooms otherwise than -by open fires, the more I am convinced that such attempts are harmful -and unsuccessful, and that, therefore, coal and wood fires should be -‘our only wear,’ at least until some genius invents something better and -less costly. 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 blaze, which apart from its health-giving properties, always -seems to greet us when we enter the room, is a delightful companion, and -oftentimes provides us with a pleasant occupation should we be bored or -tired. 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 air. - -Then the last thing at night it can be banked up and left, rather -dull-looking perhaps and surly and sad; but when the early morning comes -one poke of the judiciously-applied poker and out leaps the eager blaze; -a few good knobs of coal are put on, and in less than five minutes back -comes our cheery friend, making even a foggy morning bright and -cheerful, and a wet or snowy one vivacious if nothing else, under its -bright and charming influence. What stove, what emotionless gas glitter -can be anything save prosaic in comparison? while I am certain health -suffers where anything save a proper fire is ordinarily employed. - -A careful tenant can keep the landlord’s grates and replace them when he -leaves, but I never think this is worth the expense, the principal -expense about changing the grates being the fixing them; at the same -time, I cannot say too often that we shall not want to move in the -insensate manner in which suburban residents do move nowadays, if we -make ourselves comfortable at first, and do not sit down to discomfort, -with that depressing sentence on our lips--‘After all, it’s only for -three years, and therefore it is not worth while!’ - -Having begun our reform by putting in new and decent grates, we can turn -our attention to the doors and windows and the floor. The draughts must -be excluded by ‘Slater’s patent,’ and the floor properly stopped, and -moreover planed if rough; while should the door show gaps, as I once -knew one to do, in a manner which allowed the unfortunate owner to -perceive, without opening it, whether the gas was burning in the hall -outside or not, these gaps must be stopped, either by inserting slips of -wood, or with putty, or some sort of stopping: the door, as usual, -being covered inside and out by the ever-useful, ever-faithful and most -decorative _portière_. I cannot understand the firm and pugnacious way -in which the ordinary householder clings to his bare and undraped doors, -and will not avail himself of the shelter and warmth which can be -obtained in no other way. It cannot be the expense. Wallace supplies the -rods at 4½d. a foot, the brackets cost about 4½d. each, and as a yard -and a quarter of double-width material suffices for the ordinary -suburban door, though I advise an extra half width; and this costs, at -the outside, 5s.; I see no reason why this should not be put over even -the humblest suburban door in the world. As it cannot be the cost, I can -but come to the conclusion that as usual paterfamilias has interfered, a -thing no man should do in a house on the matter of decoration and -management. He may give an opinion if he is asked for one: though he is -most judicious who takes care that that opinion coincides with that of -his wife, so if he has been hardy enough to veto the _portière_, he must -be gently, but firmly, shown that it is not stuffy--the thermometer -will do that--and that neither is it a dust-trap. This can be -demonstrated in a few minutes by taking it down before his eyes, and -having it removed, shaken, and replaced all in less time than it takes -to tell of it. If after this he objects to moving it on one side as he -enters the door, he must be carefully trained to see how ridiculous such -a notion is, 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 gate. -This is a lesson all men can be taught just as many of them have been -taught, thanks to me, that the hall need not be strewed with hats, -gloves and brushes, and hung with coats and waterproofs in the last -stages of dissolution, 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 entrances, at their own sweet wills. It is, however, -usually impossible to live in an ordinary suburban house unless the -furniture be made, in a measure for that special abode. For the rooms -are so awkward and tiny that ‘combination’ furniture must be employed, -or else one cannot have space to move. - -No bed should ever be draped in any way. If the bedroom is properly -arranged and ventilated, while all draughts are excluded, curtains -cannot be required, and no bed need present a starved or undecorated -appearance if pictures are properly arranged behind it, or a bookcase -hung on the wall above it, and the pillows properly put into frilled -cases, and placed during the day high up on under pillows. At night the -look of the bed behind the sleepers cannot trouble them, but it will be -all right if, as I said before, pictures are hung properly, just, and -only just above the top rail of the plain and simple brass bed, the only -kind which should ever be allowed in any house. If brass is too dear, -then plain iron must replace it; the iron can be Aspinalled ‘real -ivory,’ and so be made to look quite superior in every way, should the -plain black iron be objected to. - -I am quite shocked to see that a strenuous effort is being made to -revive the beautiful, but unhealthy, wooden bedsteads of our ancestors, -but I do hope someone will form an ‘anti-wooden bed league,’ and scotch -the thing in its very earliest days, for there are people who will buy -anything if assured by an enterprising tradesman that it is the newest -thing out, and that a similar article was sold to a member of the -aristocracy during the last week or so. Now, the very idea of the -newness should warn off any wary buyer, for a new thing cannot have been -really tried and found successful, while anyone can be fairly sure that -a thing which has been sold, and sold largely for ten or more years, -must be a success in one way or the other. - -Really it does seem a little late in the century to combat the vast -disadvantages of wooden bedsteads! still, it must certainly be done, -else once more shall we have to put up with them, to the great detriment -of our health. Just think how impossible it would be to make a wooden -bed absolutely safe should infectious disease seize the owner! Then too -it encourages insects, and is open to all sorts of other objections -which those who think can discover for themselves. Therefore stick to -brass and iron and the excellent wire-woven mattresses, which only need -supplementing with a really good hair mattress to make an ideal couch, -particularly if we see the latter is turned every day, and moved from -the head to the foot of the bed, to ensure an equal amount of wear. - -The simpler the furniture in a bedroom, the better it will be for the -owner thereof, and if she can visit Hewetson and have real old -Chippendale toilet-tables and washing-stands and wardrobes she should -certainly do so; if not she should buy new things made on similar lines, -and these she can always find at Smee & Cobay’s, while for good plain -furniture in a less expensive make, Wallace is always available, and -should certainly be consulted on this ever-fascinating subject. - -But I am indeed thankful to have to note that the brief reign of -brightly-enamelled and coloured bedroom furniture is now at an end, as -dead as the peacock’s feather and the Japanese fan, and the dreadful -stuffed storks and chenille monkeys so dear to the heart of the -would-be artistic woman. Enamel is most excellent and useful if we must -have the plain deal furniture, which we used to have to buy grained and -varnished, and of an awful sickly yellow brown that would have ruined -any room. But in this case we must buy the furniture in the plain wood -‘primed for painting,’ and either ask the upholsterer to follow our -directions implicitly, or else have it home in this state, and paint it -ourselves or turn on the handy man, without whom no suburban residence -can be made in the least degree habitable, unless we can afford reckless -expenditure, in which case we should hardly take up our residence in a -similar abode. If this style of furniture be gone in for, it should be -recollected that there are only two shades of enamel which can be used -in a would-be artistic house for this purpose, and those are ‘electric -turquoise’ and ‘real ivory.’ Green pink and yellow are truly terrible, -and cannot be excused. Plain brown stain is bearable but I do not advise -it, while let no one attempt to use an amateur green stain on any -account. It is a failure at once and makes any room abominable because -of its pretentiousness, for as I have said before, the beautiful green -stain made familiar to us by Liberty first, can only be obtained from a -professional hand, an amateur cannot get it, try how he may to do so. -Now there are about three ways of decorating a suburban bedroom, though -of course the details as regards special papers and special furniture -can be varied infinitely. At the same time no one should make the fatal -mistake of treating such a house or such rooms either in the Moorish, -Japanese or Old Empire style, or in any eccentric fashion at all. -Neither way can be suitable for it. Indeed, I do not care for the jumble -of styles made by having an eastern-looking hall, an Old English -dining-room, a Queen Anne drawing-room and a Moorish landing, which is -so inexpressively dear to the would-be artistic decorator, and I can but -suggest that my readers will resist the temptation of similar -eccentricities to the very utmost, contenting themselves with the simple -furniture kept by my pet firms, and using this in connection with the -papers and paint which are specially made and designed to go with the -different styles. If a really good hand-made floral paper can be -afforded, nothing can approach it for bedroom decoration; but the -printed cheap imitations must not be looked at for one moment, for they -cannot possibly be the success the others are. Where a floral bedroom -fails to charm, it is always because the paper is just not quite right, -because every detail has not been thought out and carried out to the -very smallest item, or because a timid person has advised on the -subject, or the advice has been given by someone who does not understand -the subject. Now to obtain success, Jeffrey’s papers or Knowles’s or -Haines’s must be used, and here let me name some which are always in -stock, and which can always be procured. First of all is Haines’s -‘ragged robin,’ a French paper on a soft ground, which is perfect; then -comes Jeffrey’s clematis in different shades and combinations of colour, -my pet one being the mauve and green I have already mentioned, while -Knowles’s ‘rose’ and dahlia papers are beautiful, as are Godfrey -Giles’s, and although the cost is awful we must not forget Mr Smee’s -magnificent ‘Hamilton,’ albeit that could only be used as a frieze, as -it is something like 10s. or 12s. a piece. Having chosen the floral -paper the dado should be either in cretonne which matches the paper -exactly; or else a dado should be made like a deep flounce in some plain -material. If we select the cretonne, it must be run round the room so -that the pattern goes in a different way to that on the wall, and the -window curtains must match precisely. But should we select what Godfrey -Giles calls the ‘Muriel’ curtain dado, the curtains should be in plain -linen and lace, as should the table-covers, mantel drapery, and any -cushion covers we may have in the room. Unless we use Miss Goodban’s new -linen and flax curtains, draperies, etc.; these, of course, are much -more expensive, but then they are ideal, and the bedspreads at any rate -should not be forgotten, for they wash and wear better than any others I -have ever come across. - -Then too the ware should match the flowers employed in the decoration; -and in all floral rooms, save where blue and yellow are employed -together, 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 ‘Isis’ matting should fit the room as the old-fashioned carpets -used to, supplemented of course with a certain amount of rugs -judiciously arranged, and not put down in straight lines each side of -the bed or in front of the toilet-table and washing-stand and fireplace, -as they are all too often arranged by those who do not understand the -matter. The paint should always be the exact shade of the ground of -these floral papers, and this generally shades from pale ivory to still -paler _café-au-lait_. Not that I mean for one moment that the paint in -one room should be anything save one even surface of colour, but that as -a rule the shade of the ground of these papers differs one from the -other, and that whatever shade is chosen for the ground, that and that -only must be taken as a guide for the paint for the room itself. -Further, all cornices must be coloured cream and all ceilings, save -those just written of, should be papered in some pretty and inexpensive -ceiling paper, which, as a rule, in ‘floral rooms,’ should be Jeffrey’s -‘tie’ paper in pale green and white. - -The best furniture for these rooms is Wallace’s set of green-stained -furniture with tiles to match the shade selected in the wall paper; that -is to say if we select pink and green, the tiles should be absolutely -plain pale pink in the palest shade of coral pink, and if we have yellow -and green, the tiles should be yellow; while if plain dados and curtains -are used, the colour for these should be green as should the carpets. -These rules should apply to any combination of colour we may select, the -only exception being if we should have blue and yellow. Then blue must -be our foundation, so to speak, while the tiles must be yellow and -patternless, and the furniture in some good dark wood, such as walnut or -Chippendale mahogany, my pet wood of all the woods one can buy. - -If we select real Chippendale furniture, we should not have a floral -room, although it would be correct to have one of the strange and to me -hideous Chinese papers Knowles sells, and which were, I believe, the -only correct wall papers at that special date, and which should be used -with chintz, not cretonne, curtains. But then it would be still more -correct to paint and panel the walls, and that would be singularly out -of place in a suburban bedroom; unless we fell upon one of Mr Ernest -Newton’s little houses, when we should probably find the panelling ready -for us and have nothing to do but paint it. Still I never can bear a -plain painted wall, or one that is colour-washed or plainly papered. -Such a room can never look really furnished, and has a most depressing -effect; and in consequence I always advise paper; for, after all one had -better be comfortable than correct. If we were absolutely correct, by -the way, and remorselessly turned our backs on all anachronisms, we -should have bow windows with tiny panes, rush-strewn floors and all -sorts of detestable things which have long since vanished along with the -‘bad old times’ which gave them birth. Therefore as we will not be -severely correct, we should have either an ivory anaglypta dado, and -above that a ‘sea-green’ paper from Knowles or Smee & Cobay: or we -should have an anaglypta ceiling coloured real ivory, and all sea-green -finishings-off, as suggested before. Also we can use a really beautiful -old-world material called linen damask, which can be bought of Smee, and -which is a washable imitation of the damasks used by our ancestors, only -in really beautiful colours, and not in the crude and awful greens, -blues and reds which were so dear to their hearts. If the bedroom is -sunless this green idea must be most studiously avoided; and yellow must -take its place, arranged either with a dado or frieze of the anaglypta, -or else with nut-brown paint and a brown linen curtain dado and yellow -printed damask curtains. - -A dado is far more useful in a bedroom than a frieze, for it saves the -base of the wall from the tender mercies of the housemaid, and allows -the bed to be placed against the wall, which is by far the best position -for any bed; for, placed with the head and one side against the wall, it -cannot take up half the space it does when stuck out into the middle of -the room, as so many beds all too often do. I would by the way, most -strongly recommend the beds which are known as ‘twin bedsteads,’ and -which allow two people occupying one room to sleep quite independently -of each other’s movements, and which are therefore most invaluable in -every way. There is no greater misery than for a restless person to have -to control his or her every movement for fear of disturbing a bedfellow, -no greater misery than for a quiet sleeper to be aroused every moment by -some impatient gesture from a restless one: and all drawbacks are -removed by having these twin bedsteads, which make each individual -sleeper comfortable, and which also are very simple and well devised -without any undue amount of embellishments. - -Beds, by the way, should always be thoroughly dusted once a week, the -entire bedding being removed for that purpose; while twice or three -times a year the ironwork should be taken apart and well washed with -Sanitas or carbolic soap, not because there is any chance of strange -visitors having taken up their abode there, but because in no other way -can one ensure the spotless dustlessness, to coin a word, that makes a -house as healthy as it should most undoubtedly be. The third manner of -decorating a bedroom, and the least expensive, is to take some definite -colour--such as blue, yellow or pink--and ‘live up’ to that, and that -only in that special room, taking care to choose an inexpensive paper in -the right shade, and not deviating from it in the smallest degree. For -example, the blue should be ‘electric turquoise,’ and none other. -Knowles has always inexpensive papers the right shade, and if we avoid -the detestable ‘feather’ which is dreadful, we shall be all right. Then -the paint should be ‘electric turquoise.’ We should have a yellow and -white ceiling paper, and should have Wallace’s blue ‘lily’ or ‘iris’ -square carpet, taking care to have a woollen fringe round it and a -stained surround; using as always, Jackson’s invaluable varnish stains. -If the room be light, we can use Burnett’s Bolton sheeting in the same -blue, with a ‘turned-over’ top of the new-patterned sheeting to -harmonise; but if it is dark and sunless the curtains should be yellow, -in a similar material, although nothing should induce anyone to have -coloured muslin curtains should the windows require a second set. All -muslin curtains should be white, or at most only a faint shade of -cream, and muslin curtains should be in all windows; upstairs and down; -edged with very-softly-falling frills; unless the windows are -‘Caldecott’ ones, and therefore only require the one short set of -material ones, which can be easily drawn and undrawn as required. In the -blue room I am very fond of ash furniture and this can be bought at -Wallace’s quite well, but avoid here as elsewhere the ordinary chests of -drawers, or my pet abomination, a chest of drawers to be used as -toilet-table too; neither, under any circumstances, must a toilet-table -be placed in the window; neither must ‘half blinds’ be indulged in. -These two things look more vulgar than I can say, and are to be -studiously avoided by anyone who cares about the outside appearance of -her house. - -If yellow be fixed on, we can have a real orange damasque paper, and -ivory or brown paint, green carpet, curtains and furniture, or we can -have ‘buttercup’ yellow, with ‘earth brown’ paint, matting and rugs, or -else a brown square ‘Dunelm’ carpet from Wallace, Liberty’s brown and -yellow Java cretonne, and walnut or mahogany furniture. Or yet again -the paint can be real ivory, the carpet and curtains blue, and the -furniture ‘real ivory’ too, in fact a little taste and common-sense will -provide an artistic room for any furniture that my readers may already -possess. - -If pink is chosen, there is only one paper I can really recommend as to -colour, and that is a very old one: Pither’s bay tree: which could be -used with ivory paint, a deep frieze of Knowles’s ‘rose-garland,’ and -cretonne curtains to match, and here without any doubt at all we should -have a green carpet and Chippendale mahogany furniture. I am very often -asked by young girls about to get married what they can be working for -their future homes, and I always say, ‘very little,’ unless they have -already made up their minds what furniture they are to have, and how -their rooms are to be decorated; because if they have a large stock of -pretty things, pretty in themselves, they may find themselves either -unable to use them at all or obliged to do so in rooms in which they -become frightful at once, because they are utterly out of place. A room -cannot be a success unless every detail dovetails and harmonises, and -where the bedspreads, cushions and toilet-covers live in harmony with -their neighbours; the curtains, paper and paint. However it is always -safe to choose certain papers, such as those I have mentioned, and to -work bedspreads to match, while, if we select pink as our leading -colour, or yellow or blue, the flax and linen cushions and covers I have -spoken of as prepared for work or worked by Miss Goodban can always -provide occupation. Neither must it be forgotten that initials must be -embroidered on the house linen, and that sets of sheets and towels must -be kept for each room, and duly embellished with monograms in -appropriate shades of Duncan’s excellent washing silks. - -Where a house fails to be a real success, be sure it is because some -detail has been forgotten, and under these circumstances let no one rest -until it is remembered and carried out. And here I am sure, 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 house, and -note down as she goes the small things which will invariably escape the -best male eye in the world, and even the eye of the best decorator. She -will, pocket-book in hand, note the differences in the paint, which -always occur where Aspinall is not used, the bolt or knob forgotten -there, the curtain placed in the wrong room, the _portière_ that has -been left out, and she will finally put the last touches which none but -a woman can, 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 science. But nothing must be passed over; no doubt it takes time and -thought to obtain perfection, still both are to be had, ay, even in the -shoddy villa of the suburbs. But there must be no temporising, no ‘it -doesn’t matter, it’s only for a short time.’ Neither must draughty doors -and windows be allowed to remain; if so, pneumonia will come to stay, -chronic colds will be our portion, and we shall be miserable from the -moment we enter the house until we pass out of it in search of another, -where we shall only once more meet with a similar fate; for the ‘move -on, please!’ 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 ours, if we have not really -circumvented its idiosyncrasies and made the very best of an absolutely -bad job. Remember too, the great help a screen is in every bedroom which -is big enough to have one without over-crowding, that one can easily -have too many pictures and ornaments which encourage dust and enrage the -housemaid, and that even the soiled linen basket should be chosen -carefully. In these happy days, cheap things are quite as prettily -designed as expensive ones, and if we take our time, know our shops and -our own minds, and set to work carefully, there is nothing to prevent us -nowadays from having a quite perfect house, and that without any undue -expenditure of money or time. - - - - -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 bathroom, -which, thanks to the march of the ages, is now to be found in the quite -small houses which are only meant for such a humble individual as the -ordinary city clerk. As a rule, there will be a dressing-room leading -out of the ‘best’ bedroom, and if this need not be used as described in -the chapter on nurseries, it were well to contemplate it and consider -carefully if it cannot serve the purpose of a small private retreat for -the house-mistress, should the ‘third room’ have to be devoted to the -maids, or to the master, or even to schoolroom purposes. For it is -absolutely necessary that she should have such a retreat; and if the -bathroom be available for the husband as indeed it should always be in -a little house, where visitors are the exception and not the rule, there -can be no reason why the dressing-room should not be so arranged that -the wife could use it in the daytime, ay, and even see her more intimate -friends there, if she cares to do so. I have twice had houses which have -had fireless dressing-rooms, and these were, of course, very difficult -to deal with, even when the rooms were used as dressing-rooms only, and -I do not quite know what I should have done had I not had other rooms -available for myself. Yet as both dressing-rooms were on the outside of -the house, fire-places or stoves could have been placed there, and, of -course, ought to have been erected at once. But the bathroom in each -case was used for a dressing-room, and the hot water always kept at a -proper state of warmth even in the coldest weather; though in both cases -fire-places were available had it been necessary to have greater heat. -But when frost appeared we were always ready for it; we kept gas and -fires burning whenever pipes were likely to freeze, and as all the -outside pipes were properly protected, 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 -company. - -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 house. Of course all dressing-rooms -should be painted and decorated to match, or else to harmonise with the -bedrooms to which they are attached, 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 day. Suppose, for example, we -have a very sunny bedroom, and we have selected a soft green paper, such -as Smee’s ‘green ash,’ and a rose-frieze for it, in that case we could -have a pale pink paper in the dressing-room above a matting, or -Japanese leather dado in green and gold, with all real ivory paint, and -the furniture here could be in the stained green wood which I always -admire so much, and of which it seems impossible to tire. We could have -the green ‘Isis’ matting and rugs on the floor, and the curtains could -be of sage-green serge; this would make a charming room, and while it -would not slavishly copy, neither would it flatly contradict the scheme -of colour in the bedroom. - -In the same way a blue bedroom could have a yellow dressing-room -attached, and this could be managed by selecting some real yellow paper, -and placing it above either a gold-and-brown Japanese leather dado, or, -yet again, above a matting dado, remembering that the matting used for -this purpose must never under any circumstances have the smallest -pattern on it; if it have, the look of the wall will be spoiled and the -decorations will be anything but a real success. I am compelled to -impress this fact upon my readers, 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 matting; and she had not realised that chessboard -patterns or large diamonds are entirely out of place in this situation. -The only matting that should be used is the thin plain string-coloured -kind made on purpose, and which is sold at Shoolbred’s, Oetzmann’s, and -sometimes at Wallace’s for 10½d. a yard; sometimes Treloar sells it for -something less in a roll of 42 yards, but this matting is essentially -what the French call ‘_a vende d’occasion_,’ and has often to be really -looked for until the right thing is found. If by the way a red and cream -paper is put above a matting dado, and red paint is required to be used, -a matting should be found which has a red thread running through it in -an irregular way; it must not on any account have a set or formal -pattern on it, or it will not be the success that it deserves to be. - -Yet another hint, on no account should the dado or frieze rail be in the -least degree heavy, the lighter it is the better, and I do not care for -it to be more than an inch, or at most an inch and a half in depth. A -wider rail always brings itself far too prominently before us, and -attracts undue attention, while the lighter the rail is the cheaper will -it be; and once more I say use ‘goehring,’ and then matters will not -fail to be all that they ought to be. If the paper is yellow and the -dado is brown and yellow, the paint can be brown also, while the -curtains can be blue, as can the carpet, or else plain, patternless -matting can be used, and the usual rugs. - -If a blue square carpet is preferred, and lucky is she whose house -contains a dressing-room large enough for this, the ‘Dunelm’ carpet is -the best to have. It is made in most excellent colourings, is all wool, -and very thick, and, moreover, is very inexpensive considering its -admirable qualities. But as a rule a dressing-room resembles a tube or -part of a hall more than a room, and as such we must think about it. It -is generally long and narrow, and has a window in the most awkward -situation, with, maybe, the door opposite; while the fireplace, if -fire-place there be, is about a foot to the left or right of the door, -and admirably situated for anyone who may be on the look out for a -cold. This absurd situation can often be successfully treated by making -the door open into the room on the fire side, thus making the door -itself act as a species of screen to whoever may be sitting in the room. -This alteration gives at once a place for a box-ottoman or an arm-chair, -or one of Hewetson’s admirable ‘courting settees,’ which can be placed -with one end against the wall, standing straight out into the room. The -high back of this settee shields anyone using it from draughts, and -these are further to be combated by hanging _portières_ over the door, -inside and out, which will complete the task, already satisfactorily -commenced, by a judicious use of ‘Slater’s patent.’ - -Then we have to consider very seriously how to arrange for the raiment -that all men collect in such astounding quantities, and from which it is -so desperately hard to part them, try how one will to get possession of -venerable garments, which are of no possible use to the owners, but -which would be of immense service to many unfortunates who all too -often have not only no decent clothes, but do not possess any at all. -This is however a vice all men develop sooner or later, and as they are -made absolutely miserable by casting from them the oldest rag they may -have, it is best in extreme cases to let them have their foolish way, -taking care the moth does not enter into possession, and at the same -time ensuring that they have not over-much space in which to keep their -miserly delights. In a ‘combination’ room all shirts and underclothes -can be kept in a charming piece of furniture Liberty sells, and which -looks like a cabinet mounted on a couple of good deep drawers. It is -made in plain white wood, clamped and ornamented with beaten iron and is -very inexpensive indeed. In the deep drawers can be kept shirts and -trousers, while there are plenty of smaller drawers in the cabinet part -for socks, ties, handkerchiefs and other garments; coats being kept in a -second cabinet, or else in a box-ottoman, or hung up behind the curtains -of Wallace’s ‘P. T. C.’ wardrobe, which can be erected in any corner of -the room and has nothing at all of the bedroom about its appearance. - -I have seen a most admirable piece of furniture at Oetzmann’s, which he -calls a desk washing-stand, and which would really be invaluable for -such a room as this. When closed it is exactly like a desk with a flat -top, and could be used as such in the day time most conveniently, but -the top must not be laden with odds-and-ends, books, paperboxes or -similar encumbrances. These should all be in one of Shoolbred’s capital -little cupboard tables; another of these, by the way, being procured for -the boots and shoes in wear. These cupboards would hold three or four -pairs of each, as they have a division-shelf inside, and though I know -starvation is suggested to the ordinary male, to whom such small -provision of foot-gear is indeed nothing short of pauperism, I venture -to suggest that it is sufficient for every day, and that the rest of the -stock can live in a proper boot cupboard in some other locality, 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 purpose. Indeed, a properly-made boot-cupboard can stand on one -side of quite a narrow passage, and would never be noticed; for it could -be either the proper one Wallace makes on purpose for boots, or else be -formed merely - -[Illustration] - -by placing three narrow shelves, one above the other, the top shelf -enamelled the colour of the paint in that special passage, and the whole -concealed from view by a double serge curtain, nailed along the top -shelf with ornamental nails. This curtain must not be run on a rod, for -it is no trouble to lift it; while if it be on a rod, it will be always -out of place, and leave the boots and shoes on view in the most -embarrassing manner. The contents of the shelves can be kept from dust -by nailing Holland on the shelves of a sufficient width to fold over the -boots, and so keep them quite safely from any undue accumulation of -dust, while the top of the outside shelf can be used for ornaments. But -the fewer of these there are in any passage the better, especially in a -small house; 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 plenishings. - -The over-mantel must serve as a toilet-glass, and this arrangement I -personally prefer to any other, especially in the winter; but if the -husband shaves--as it seems to me so many more men do nowadays than -formerly--despite the hateful influenza, fogs and other trifles born of -the end of the century, a regular shaving-glass can be set for him when -the room is put ready for him at night; this can be removed to the -bathroom during the day and the room need not give it a home then on any -pretext whatever! - -It is an excellent thing to have instead of either the ottoman or the -courting settee a sofa-bed which resembles a couch by day, and can be -turned into a regular bed at night, for often such a bed can be most -useful. I like the ‘grasshopper’ couch, which I have only seen at -Hamilton’s, at Ship Street in Brighton, but this has no provision for -the bed-clothes. These could be placed quite well in a drawer made under -the couch; or Shoolbred has a species of convertible box-ottoman which -would perhaps be best, as the bed-clothes could be quite well placed -there during the day. Yet another cheaper method would be to purchase -one of the folding beds with wire mattresses complete, sold by Story & -Triggs for about 18s. 6d. These could have the extra mattress and -pillows put into frilled cretonne covers all day, the bed-clothes being -folded and put under the mattress comfortably during the same period. - -Of course, a deep cretonne flounce should be placed round the frame of -the bed, which under these circumstances would look like an ordinary low -broad sofa. The bed should be pushed against the wall, against which -pillows and cushions should be placed, and this would make a species of -back, against which it would be possible to lean most comfortably. Given -this, the desk washing-stand, and two or three low and comfortable -chairs, and I think little else is necessary. - -If much sewing has to be done, a little work-table can always be brought -here from any other larger room, for there are plenty to be had now -which hold a great deal of work, and yet can be carried by one hand. I -have seen one specially good table the top of which is deep and is -fitted for all kinds of sewing, while the under tray has a bag-like top -of sateen or tapestry drawn together by strings, and this, I am assured, -is invaluable for holding socks and other garments which require mending -and overhauling by materfamilias herself. I am no ‘stitchist,’ and I do -not think I ever possessed a thimble since my very earliest schoolroom -days, and even then it was more often lost than available for its -purpose, and I can most certainly say that I never had the smallest -desire to know how to sew, but there are heaps of women who love to -work, and of course there are more still who are obliged to do it and -take it as a matter of course. And if the special mistress who may want -to use the dressing room during the day is in any way devoted to her -needle, she must have a good work-basket which she can remove when not -in use, and which can stand in the bedroom or sitting-room when she does -not require it. If the dressing-room is thus arranged I am sure it will -add immensely to her comfort, for here she will have a refuge from -everyone, and be able to be alone for some hours during the day, in a -room where she will not be easily accessible and which will have nothing -of the bedroom about it. That, by the way, is a great consideration; for -let no one, not even in the smallest house, fall into the desperate -error of sitting in the room in which she sleeps. I have twice had -similar rooms where, of course, the bedroom portion has been carefully -screened or curtained off, but unless one is a chronic invalid, such an -arrangement is no good at all, and even if one is ill, and yet is able -to get up, it is far better to go into a second room on the same floor, -for no screen or curtain can give one any sense of real seclusion, and -no one can have a room properly aired or cleaned unless it is left when -one rises and not entered, save perhaps for dressing purposes, for the -rest of the day. Therefore resist the temptation of the idea of a -combined bed and sitting-room, unless you are reduced to one room only -for all purposes, or are not a householder, or are a ‘paying guest’ -(polite language for ‘lodger’) in someone else’s abode. Under these -circumstances, Wallace’s ‘worker’s room’ must be sought after and found, -and its arrangements of course, make any room habitable at once. If the -dressing-room is used, as suggested, for a retreat, the bathroom must be -arranged in such a way that the master of the house can dress there with -comfort; but no garments of any sort must be kept there, neither must -the linen closet be on any account near the hot-water apparatus which -dominates the bathroom. If it is, the linen will become yellow and -rotten, and in a small house it is much better to apportion the linen -into so many special amounts for each room, and keep these portions in -the rooms for which they are intended. An extra cupboard being put up -somewhere: perhaps in the maids’ sitting-room, in which all table-linen -can be kept. Great attention must be paid to the linen closet, and -something should be bought for it every year without fail. As a rule I -am no friend to ‘sales,’ and believe not one jot in the ‘ruinous -sacrifices’ and ‘vast reductions’ which characterise them, but linen can -often be purchased most wonderfully reduced in price at such times, more -especially at Walpole Brothers in New Bond Street, and the -house-mistress should always avail herself of these opportunities to -keep up her stock, not laying in vast quantities, but keeping it up to -its full strength. Unless this is done it is wonderful how soon a small -stock of linen wears out and disappears, and one has the vexatious and -expensive task of renewing the whole at once, which no one should ever -be called upon for one moment to do. - -So many people possess what is called a ‘hot closet’ in or near the -bathroom, that these words of advice are not so out of place as they -appear to be at first sight when writing about this special chamber; but -the charms of this said ‘hot closet’ must be resisted if the linen is -meant to wear, while great care must be taken to see that every single -thing sent home from the laundress is properly aired, not only before it -is put away, but also before it is taken into use. Damp clothes may kill -or maim a person for life, and clothes may quite well become damp again -after the first airing, more especially if they are kept in the ordinary -cupboard of the very ordinary suburban residence. - -Now if the bathroom should have to be used as a dressing-room, it must -not have more furniture in it on that account than would be placed there -under ordinary circumstances, but it should be papered with a really -good tiled and varnished paper, and the wood-work should be enamelled -‘real ivory.’ I think Godfrey Giles’s ‘Mexican Tile’ paper simply -perfect, but this is a little expensive; still, if it cannot be -afforded, it will serve as a hint to go upon, and Mr Giles must be asked -for something in the same admirable colouring, but in a less expensive -make. At the same time a cheap paper will not do in a bathroom; if we -use one, the steam from the hot water will soon destroy it and make it -flabby and untidy; and we shall either have the expense of re-papering -or have to endure the sight of a torn and spoiled wall, which will make -us unhappy every time we enter the place. The ceiling in the bathroom -should always be colour washed the same pale cream colour which is used -for the cornice, and the floor should be entirely covered with cork -carpet. If the window is overlooked at all, it should be filled in with -cathedral glass in leaded squares, or else should be stippled all over; -we should then have serge curtains to draw easily over the glass, but we -should never put muslin here: it rots at once, and is always flabby and -disagreeable to look at and touch, and no decorative considerations -should allow us to put it where it must be so singularly out of place. - -In writing of the bedrooms, 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-horse, which is -always in the way, and can never under any circumstances be necessary, -while no skill can make it anything save an eyesore. Its place can -usually be taken by putting a brass rod on very small brackets at each -end of the ordinary washing-stand, or on the wall itself should the -washing-stand be a round or a corner one, while a good brass rod must be -put on the bathroom wall for the same purpose, sufficiently out from the -wall so that the wet towels do not touch the paper. Moreover in -well-regulated houses, the bath towels should be dried by the housemaid -at the fire, and each person should bring his or her towels into the -bathroom when he or she is about to use it, and take them away again -when the bathing is finished, the brass rod being used merely to hang up -the bath blankets, though they also must be duly dried by the fire, and -not be laid down on the floor except the bath be in the process of being -used. - -These bath blankets can be purchased ready embroidered of Mrs -Hanbury-Jephson, Towcester, and, like every other thing, should be -bought to harmonise with the colours already used in the decorations of -the room. 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 on, and have also one -good strong kitchen or Windsor chair, and a proper lavatory glass with a -shelf to hold brushes and combs, we shall not require any more furniture -here, for remember steam and heat spoil anything in the way of good wood -or manufacture; but I do plead very hard for a lavatory basin, with hot -and cold water laid on and a self-emptying basin. It does not seem very -much to ask for, but I wonder how often such a contrivance is to be -found in the orthodox small house? Yet it is in just such a residence -that these necessities should be found, for if hot and cold water be -easily get-at-able, what an amount of servants’ work is saved! No one -minds washing his or her hands in the bathroom, while if there is no -such convenience, the maids have continually to be placing hot water in -the bedrooms and emptying basins, to say nothing of the fact that heavy -jugs have to be lifted and replaced every time the bedroom washing-stand -is used. This is a thing which is bad even for a strong servant and -hurts a delicate woman in a serious way, therefore let us hope that -lavatory basins will soon be found in all houses, small and big, and -that the labour-making washing-stand may soon be numbered among the -dead-and-gone mistakes of an ignorant past. - -Another thing that no one seems able to rise above is the usual mahogany -margin to any fixed bath, which always become disgracefully untidy, and -makes the bathroom look squalid before it has scarcely been used. If the -house belongs to the tenant, I should advise him ruthlessly to paint the -mahogany with Aspinall’s bath enamel, which does not mark with water; if -he is only a tenant, the margin should be covered at once with the -American leather which has a woolly back, cut out and fixed to the -shape. If this is not done, the expensive process of French polishing -will have to be resorted to when the house is left; besides there is the -fact to consider that the margin will always be an eyesore, because of -the manner in which people will either rest the soap on it or put one -foot up on it, or even sit on it, while they are drying themselves after -their bath. - -We should likewise always have plain, unpainted deal shelves put up for -the hot-water cans in the bathroom; and if, as is the unsavoury case in -many bathrooms, there is a housemaid’s sink there, the shelves should be -put just over it, and should have gimlet holes in them for drainage; -this will keep them from rotting, as no housemaid I ever met could be -persuaded to dry a can before she put it down, and months of wet cans -are guaranteed to spoil and rot the stoutest undrained shelf which I -ever came across. Oh! if only every single person would know and learn -each separate detail which goes to make up the perfect house and -housekeeping, life would not be half as expensive, half as ‘sketchy’ and -untidy as it now is in the vast majority of households, where people are -content to jog along comfortably if things are just bearable, and where -no preaching will, I fear, induce them to cultivate the twin talents of -observation and regularity, which alone suffice to keep any house going -in the way it most undoubtedly should go. - -When the bathroom has been used it should be properly aired, and the -moment it is quitted the housemaid should go in, throw up the window, -top and bottom, and take away and dry the towels. If the weather is -cold, the fire or gas must be kept going night and day to keep out the -frost, and always the floor must be wiped over and the bath blankets -hung up until they can be properly dried, then will the room remain nice -much longer than it otherwise would. The mistress of the house herself -must see that the bath is properly dried after use, and that the basin -and housemaid’s sink are duly cleaned and disinfected. For even soapy -water decays and smells, and drains that are used for nothing else can -be as offensive, even if they are more innocent than others, about which -lurk absolute and imperative danger. It is well to cover all outlets for -water with very fine hair or wire netting. I personally prefer hair, as -that is much finer than anything else. Then there is no chance of any -drain being stopped up as nothing save water can pass through it. The -sink basket sold by most ironmongers is a very good possession, and acts -in much the same way, but the netting does just as well, and should be -nailed across the housemaid’s sink about an inch above the bottom, and -be erected just above the plug-hole in a lavatory basin, thus saving -endless heartburnings, and endless sending for that fearsome creature, -the regulation British plumber. There should be no _portière_ inside the -bathroom door, but most certainly there should be one outside. It -prevents sudden surprises, and, furthermore, conceals the room from -passers by, should the door be left open, as is all too often the case, -by either a careless maid, or a yet more careless user of the room! - -There is one more aspect of the suburban villa to consider, I am sorry -to say, and that is the one where there is neither a bathroom nor a room -which can be adapted for the purpose, and where all baths have to be -taken in the different rooms themselves. In such a house as this there -must be large squares of American leather ready for use, to be covered -in their turn by bath blankets, on which the bath itself can be placed. -These would be for use in the bedrooms, and then the dressing-rooms must -be used as dressing-rooms, and will allow of no compromise or other use -at all. In this case, I very strongly advise a high dado of plain brown -patternless linoleum or oil-cloth, having the paint the exact shade of -the dado, above which can be either a good blue or yellow sanitary or -tiled paper, while the floor must be covered entirely with plain brown -cork carpet, on which one or two rugs can be placed, the inevitable -bath-blanket being put under the bath itself, and the rugs put out of -harm’s way for the time. These precautions will allow of the wondrous -amount of splashing which invariably marks the progress of a man’s bath, -while the furniture for such a room should be regular dressing-room -furniture, removed as far as possible from the spot sacred to the bath. -A good housemaid will carefully look over the furniture when she ‘does’ -the room, and will rub off at once any marks of soapy water she may come -across. But such excellent and conscientious maids are few and far -between, except in the ‘highest circles,’ and they don’t inhabit -Suburbia; therefore should every mistress cast an eye over every room -once a day, and see for herself that the depredations of her husband, -and all too often those of her visitors too, are carefully eliminated. - -It used to be difficult, nay well nigh impossible, to buy really good -and suitable dressing-room furniture, and I have had many a painful hunt -after wardrobes which were not evidently meant for the raiment of -females alone; but now all is altered; and should we be able to afford -it, we can buy an admirable wardrobe at Wallace’s which has a place for -everything a man can possibly require, and this with a boot-cupboard, an -ingenious combination toilet-table and washing-stand, a couple of -chairs, and a comfortable basket chair, form the most perfect equipment -a man can want, whether he reside in the suburbs or in any other part of -the civilised globe. But he must have no room for unending hoarding, -else will the heart of the house-mistress fail her by reason of the -fearful amount of rubbish he will accumulate, and from which nothing -will induce him to part! - - - - -CHAPTER X - -THE GREAT SERVANT QUESTION - - -In the chapter about the kitchen arrangements, the most burning question -of the hour was just touched upon, and a few hints were thrown out as a -species of guide to solve the knotty problem, which certainly is more -acute in the suburbs than in any other place. First, because it is often -found impossible to coax the best maids away from the wiles and -entrancements of the town; and secondly, because the accommodation for -them is often little short of disgraceful. Though for the matter of -that, I have seen worse servants’ rooms in big houses in grand -localities in London than in any other, while the rooms set apart for -them in flats would be ludicrous if they were not so pernicious, and did -not so largely account for the unpopularity of what ought to be an -almost ideal place of residence for a husband and wife, who have either -settled their children in life, or have no children to settle or think -about in any way. - -We have described at length how we should circumvent the ordinary -suburban kitchen, now for a while, let us think about the servants’ -bedrooms, which are often quite as difficult to manage, and are all too -often much too few to be in any way comfortable or decent. Should the -general number of four maids be kept, or should a fifth be required, it -is almost impossible to make an arrangement that only allows of the work -being done properly and in order. I have had a large, a very large, -experience of servants in more ways than one, and I venture to remark -that where they are a nuisance it is because, first of all, they have -not been chosen with care and common sense; secondly, because no attempt -is made to make them comfortable or cause them to feel part of the -household; and thirdly, because what I may call ‘composite maids’ are -engaged. That is to say that the cook is required to clear the -breakfast and answer the bell in the morning, and do a certain amount of -housework; while the parlour-maid has to help with the beds, and the -nurse to do the washing as well as look after, dress and walk out with -the children. Now I state boldly that such a division of labour can -never be either necessary or successful, and if the dwellers in the -suburbs will amalgamate the several duties of a servant in this way, -they can never know the least peace, for no servant worth her wages or -even her salt will take such a nondescript position unless under very -exceptional circumstances. These may include places where the mistress -has taken her maids from the first, and has carefully instructed and -brought them up herself, or they may be personally greatly attached to -her themselves, and value not only her kindness but the comfort and -comfortable home she gives them. But these circumstances are as rare as -they are satisfactory. Therefore unless these things are the case, let -no one abuse the maids unmercifully because they will not one and all be -maids of all work, but rather consider how best to arrange the day’s -routine, so that each shall stick to her task cheerfully, giving -presently a helping hand to another out of real good-will, and not -because she is imperatively requested to do so as a matter of course. - -Unfortunately there are hundreds of women who can neither give good -wages nor keep a sufficient number of maids; and these are the -miserables who join their wails to those others who, more unhappy still, -have not the slightest idea how to manage another woman, whose one idea -is that a maid is a thing whose capacity for work is endless, who can -never tire, never want to go out, and who, above all, can never be ill. -Such a mistress treats her servant as he or she does a horse who has -never been used to possess this quadruped, and seeing only that it is -made to go, drives or rides it to death, because previous experience has -been wanting to teach the driver or rider the amount of work which can -be obtained without undue exertion and pressure. Now it is necessary to -point out that, if a sufficient number of servants cannot be employed to -do the work decently and in order, the work must be lessened in some -way or another, by the mistress herself giving a helping hand, and not -only directing it but doing some of it. She must be content to call a -spade a spade, and not have any hankerings after ‘agricultural -implements.’ A cook she may not possess, a good general servant is what -she requires, 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 sham! If a good general servant, who can cook -is engaged, at once the way is made plain before all concerned. Such a -woman cheerfully keeps her own kitchen, the hall staircase (if in a -basement), and front steps in order, and has the dining-room under her -charge. She will likewise clear out the breakfast and answer the front -door up to twelve, but she must not be called a cook; if she is, she -will cook, but she will not for one moment step out of her province to -do anything else whatever. - -In the same way must the housemaid be managed, for in such an -establishment the parlour work can but be of the most meagre -description, and if the mistress is house-proud, and really has desires -after fine and careful living, she must keep silver, glass and china -clean herself, and see herself to the laying of the cloth and all the -thousand and one items which go to form the finer portions of -housekeeping. An occupation which will no doubt trouble and disgust the -woman who demands to ‘live her own life’ and ‘develop 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-winner. I am not going to -express an opinion on the merits of a career, bounded by the nursery on -the one side and the kitchen on another, there will always be a -difference of ideas on the subject; but I am going to say very forcibly, -that when a woman marries she undertakes this special business; and -should she regret it or allow the reins to slip out of her hands, she is -‘obtaining money under false pretences,’ and is undoubtedly neglecting -the work she solemnly promised to perform. Therefore, all women who -marry must be prepared to face the situation and to know that before -they can ‘live their own lives’ and ‘develop their souls’ as mentioned -before, they must see that their houses are in order and that their -houses are homes in the widest sense of the word. - -People are continually writing to me, and also to everyone else who -gives advice on the special subjects of house management and decoration, -about this servant question, and, moreover, as continually ask how to -divide or apportion their special incomes to their special wants; but -they cannot see how utterly impossible it is for a complete stranger to -do more than vaguely generalise on either subject. The servant question -has always been simplicity itself to me, and I cannot understand the -difficulties which beset so many women in these days, simply because I -have never come across them myself. But then, I do not expect -perfection. I give fair wages, and am as considerate to the maids as -they are to me, and I am not unduly dismayed or cast down when I discern -faults and failings that are human after all, and denote that at -present, at least, we have not reached the golden age. At the same -time, I am convinced that the real trouble, as I said before, is caused -in small houses by the ‘composite maid’ being called a cook, or house -parlour-maid, when she is just either a general servant, or else a -housemaid; and in larger ones by sufficient care not being taken to -obtain the kind of maiden one really does want, and by expecting too -much from her when she is in our service. - -The life of the ordinary domestic servant, despite the delirious joy of -the tradesman’s daily calls, is an extremely dull one. The routine is -everlasting, the relaxations few, and the changes still fewer. In many -households a friend to tea is a crime; an unexpected holiday an -impossibility; 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-servant. How many brilliant summer days pass, -and no one suggests an afternoon or evening stroll, or even a drive -through the country lanes. How many dreary winter days go by, and no one -says there is a good play at such and such a theatre, go and see it. Or -who takes concert seats, and sends off the maids for a couple of hours -from the everlasting kitchen and the weary round of unending duties? -Well, some people do, and where this occurs there the maids often stay -on and on, giving real and loving service, and doing their utmost for -those who try to do their utmost for them. - -Then once more how few maids really have and possess their mistress’s -confidence. They hear a vast amount of grumbling about ‘the books,’ and -the dreadful waste which does go on, often enough more through ignorance -than through their carelessness; but they do not comprehend that there -is an all-important reason why such waste should not be allowed, because -the mistress has never explained matters to the maids, or told them -there is necessity for great care in all the household departments. As a -rule servants have what they consider the ‘honour of the house’ very -near their hearts; and they cannot endure the notion that their mistress -shall even be suspected of ‘meanness.’ And this is often the cause of -the needless orders given in those establishments where the tradesmen -are allowed to call; for, rather than send them away without an order, -the servants will rack their brains to think of something, not because -they really desire to swell the bills, but because they like their house -to be one of which the tradespeople speak well, and because they will -not have it spoken of as a ‘mean sort of place, where every halfpenny is -counted and made to do the duty of a penny piece.’ Then too, at the -bottom of a great deal of domestic mismanagement is the utter and really -ghastly thriftlessness of the lower classes, which no one who has not -seen it could credit. - -I have had to be a great deal away from my own house, owing to -long-continued illness, and in consequence I have seen a great deal of -the way in which other people manage, 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 waste, did they not consider it wicked to do so. While -the lower one goes in the social scale, the more one finds waste the -order of the day; and not only actual waste, but the waste of having the -best joints, the most expensive butter, and the continual variety of -food that no one in the upper middle classes can afford, even should -they think it necessary to have it. I have noticed real want existing -among a specially improvident set of people, while, at the same time, I -have been shocked to see great lumps of meat and bread (unpaid for) in -the pigs’ tub. The young people of these households would have their -boots blacked for them, their hot water and bath water carried up for -them, and be waited on, before they went out to their shops or work, as -one’s own children would never dream of being waited on, in a much much -higher rank of life. In these households the servants have simply an -awful time of it, and hence class prejudice is fostered terribly, while -the unthrifty ways of the household leave their mark on all who pass -through it, and help to build up a class that is in every way -unsatisfactory. - -We hear a great deal of the competition of the foreigner, and there are -loud shouts for ‘protection’ and ‘fair trade,’ but the ‘protection’ we -want is against our own wasteful habits and ways of living, and we can -never have ‘fair trade’ until we comprehend what waste really is, and -know what is necessary to keep a household going and what is not. And -this servant question is the very _crux_ of the whole matter, and, alas! -is very little understood by the public at large, which seems quite -incapable of grappling with the problem, although few people exist who -have not a more or less loudly-expressed opinion on the subject. - -It is also a problem which can never be solved until all have learned -real thrift and carefulness, and until all classes learn how to trust -each other, and the special conduct which should be maintained in all -relations in life. Though the tendency nowadays to live in flats, and -have as many meals as one can at a restaurant or hotel, may solve the -servant question quicker than in any other way, regardless of the fact -that a class of useful women will thus be improved off the face of the -world in a manner I, for one, shall be extremely sorry to see. But -flats are fleeting joys at best. I have heard of many people going to -live in them, and have never known anyone renew his or her lease; so -perhaps the pendulum may swing back again, and houses become the order -of the day. - -As long as servants are required, the best way to obtain them at first -is for the young mistress to train them herself, always keeping on hand -an under-study for the part of the upper-servant in the shape of kitchen -and under-housemaids; in this way lie a sure success and comfortable -domestic arrangements. Of course there are hundreds of small -establishments where a couple of maids is all that can be allowed. These -must be as described before, general and housemaid, then all will go -rightly, providing care is taken to obtain good girls from good -families, who have not been spoiled by a careless or bad mistress, or -ruined by an unhappy and thriftless home training, which is often indeed -worse than none. In a larger house where there are children; six maids -and a boy to help, are the maximum; namely, cook and kitchen-maid, -parlour-maid and housemaid, nurse and nursemaid; here again things will -be all right, and there will be no over-work or under-work in the -matter. Lucky is she who, by tie of birth or friendship, is connected -with some country town or village, which shall act as her preserve, 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 -maiden. - -But in all and every case should the registry office be most carefully -avoided. If a servant or mistress has a ‘good name,’ exceptional indeed -must be the circumstances that drive her to make use of these places. If -a decent maid is leaving her place, the tradespeople know all about her -and will tell her of the good places which may be open; and in the same -way a really ‘good place’ doesn’t go begging. The tradesmen know of that -too, and often act as a sort of informal registry-office which I have -invariably found most useful in every manner. Then having caught one’s -maids, let us consider how best to keep them, and undoubtedly is this -done by making them as comfortable as we can, and by showing that we -have a real interest in whatever they may have or do. - -I have already written about the room they should have to sit in. Now -let us consider those they should have for sleeping purposes, for often -these are as badly arranged as they can be; economy is studied on the -one hand, which on the other results in an amount of expenditure which -is as unnecessary as it is worrying and distasteful to all concerned. -One of these petty economies is that which consists of making a couple -of maids share one bed, and that one anything but a comfortable place of -rest and refuge. Now this should never be done. The economy consists in -the saving of the washing of a pair of sheets, the misery comes in when -the unwilling bedfellows quarrel and determine to move on elsewhere. In -no case should more than two maids sleep in one room, and in every case -such room should hold a couple of beds and a double set of -washing-stands, drawers and toilet-table, and, moreover, there should be -a good hanging wardrobe of some kind. If possible, once more the -ever-useful P. T. C. from Wallace’s should be pressed into the service, -and should decorate a couple of the room corners, one being devoted to -the use of each maid, whose dresses will last twice as long if she have -proper room for them, and if she have not to cram them into her small -chest of drawers, shared all too often by her fellow-servant. - -I consider Knowles’s sanitary papers quite ideal for the maids’ -bedrooms, and there is a dainty ‘daffodil’ paper that no one can dislike -or despise, and which can be wiped over once a month, if necessary, with -a damp duster and come out as clean as a new pin. With this paper we -could have earth-brown paint, and Liberty’s ever-useful dark blue and -white butterfly cretonne, edged with frills, and blue and white dhurries -on the stained floor. But if the floor is bad, and in the least degree -draughty, it must first be covered with cork carpet, on which rugs or -the ever useful dhurries can be laid down. Some suburban floors are -amenable to no other treatment. We may plane them carefully, and ‘stop’ -them as carefully too, but they will begin to gape at the smallest -change in the weather, or at the sight of the first fire, and one can -neither keep out the draughts nor the gently-drifting dust that -penetrates at every corner, and spoils tempers and properties alike. -Cork carpet I consider a most blessed invention, as it makes a capital -background, and is warm and comfortable and quite spotlessly clean. This -should be ‘gone over’ once a week in bedrooms of this class with a damp -duster; and once a month should have a healthful polish with Jackson’s -camphorated beeswax polish, made on purpose. The rugs should be shaken -out of doors once a week, and, whenever possible the beds and bedding -should be alike exposed to the sun and air in the garden; or, if not, in -the rooms themselves, taking care that all windows and doors are open -and a thorough draught ensured. - -Indeed if we got more sun and more air into all our houses, every girl’s -health would be far better than it is now; but despite all the preaching -in the world, English women stuff up the windows with blinds and -curtains, and shiver at the idea of fresh air, while they dread the -fading of their curtains and carpets in a manner that would be ludicrous -were it not so essentially harmful. Naturally too the genus domestic -servant dreads open windows more than her mistress does, and will not -air her bed if she can possibly avoid doing so. But if there is a rule -that a fine, hot day shall see the mattresses, blankets and pillows on -chairs in the garden for at least an hour after breakfast, the airing is -ensured without the ‘poking and prying about,’ which is as distasteful -to the mistress as it is disagreeable to the maid. In all cases too, the -beds here as elsewhere, should consist of good hair mattresses laid on -chain mattresses. These chains should be covered first by a square of -holland, tied at the four corners, and this should be sent to the wash -about every three months. The mattresses and pillows should be covered -also, either with crash or holland cases, capable of being washed -whenever necessary, and these covers will save the beds immensely from -wear and tear, and ensure cleanliness at the same time. Wallace has a -very good suite of servant’s furniture to sell for something under £5, -but I think we should spend rather more on the bed, which is a very fair -one, but not quite good enough if we are very particular, as we should -be, about the comfort of the bed, as a hair mattress is impossible for -this sum, and a hair mattress must be had if the bed is to be a real -place of rest. Furthermore, I think the beds should have two pillows, as -well as a bolster, and a second pillow should therefore be added, and -all beds should have five blankets: one for the under blanket, and two -pairs for over use. These should be sent to the wash in the spring; one -pair at a time; and the beds should be supplemented with good heavy -coloured counterpanes; the colour looks cheerful, and also ensures the -quilts not looking dirty before they ought to. - -The simpler the sets of ware the better, for, somehow, china never lasts -long in the ordinary servant’s room. I think she rushes up at the last -moment to wash and dress; she certainly gets up in the morning at the -last possible instant she can, and the usual results of haste ensue. The -handles come off the carelessly-seized jug, the soap-dish flies about, -and the basins are literally ‘whacked’ down, because there is not time -to treat them properly, therefore the excellent sets of blue and white -ware Wallace sells at about 4s. 6d. should be the outside price to which -we should go, taking care all the sets are alike; then one can -supplement the other when smashes begin; and quite plain glasses and -water-bottles should also be procured, in as stout a make as possible. -Glass tumblers literally vanish in servants’ bedrooms, and I am often -amazed at the way in which they disappear, one after the other, to a -grave on the ash-heap or in the dust-bin. - -Another thing on which we may with advantage spend a little more money -is the looking-glass, and that without unduly encouraging vanity, for -the usual one sold with the cheap suits is much too small to be of any -real use. 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 aid, and we -should therefore choose the maid’s looking-glass as carefully as we -should our own; but we should allow one each, if we wish for peace. More -domestic quarrels are caused by the usual one small glass than many -house mistresses are probably aware take place at all. - -It is certain that all mistresses should, at least twice a year, -thoroughly inspect all the furniture in the maids’ rooms, and replace -then if possible, all that has been worn out during the past six months, -but under no circumstances should this inspection take place without the -presence of the maids, or when it is not expected. Nothing is more -disagreeable to the ordinary mind than the idea that one’s room is not -one’s castle; 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 so. That the right is so undoubted -should render it unnecessary to exact its performance. By all means see -the rooms are all right, but do it at a proper season, and without the -smallest idea of ‘pounce’ in it. - -I do not think it wise to have gas in the maids’ rooms, unless it is -turned off at the meter by the master at a certain hour, and yet it is -undoubtedly safer than any other light, and is as undoubtedly cleaner. -I have for years used nothing save the little ‘Butterfly’ lamps sold by -A. & A. Drew, of Wareham, Dorset, but these are not good in careless -hands, because the chimneys are so constantly being broken, and because -the oil is capable of being spilled. Candles are worse possessions, as -so many maids will read in bed, will smash the shades without which no -candle can possibly be safe, and will drop grease from them on every -available space. Remembering also that the dark winter mornings have to -be considered, I am fain to retract my old belief that gas in a -servant’s room spelt ruin, and to allow it reluctantly, placed near the -looking glasses and not near the beds, and having woven-wire globes to -protect the flame, similar to those used in places of business and in -large schools; as the ordinary glass globe has even a shorter existence -than the tumbler, and is broken in less time than it takes to tell about -it. - -If in any way possible, the beds should be placed against the wall, and -foot to foot, with about 2 feet space between the ends of the beds. In -this case a dado should be run round that portion of the wall where the -beds stand, and this should be of plain brown patternless oil-cloth, and -should have a real dado rail; this would keep the wall tidy for years. -In no case must the dressing-tables be placed in the window, and blinds -must never be allowed. If there is much sun, the dark blue and white -cretonne curtains can be lined with still darker blue sateen, and if the -windows are large muslin can be stretched upon them as in all other -windows in the house; but blinds are an expense and an abomination. They -are always out of order, are very rarely drawn up straight, and are as -needless as they are dear and unsatisfactory. The dark curtains draw -easily and cannot be drawn crooked, and are in every way much more -sensible and useful than blinds. - -I think that there should be fireplaces in all servants’ rooms. First -because of the ventilation a chimney affords,--and the bi-annual -inspection should include a glance at the chimney to see it is in nowise -stuffed up--and secondly, because it is imperative that we should be -able to have a fire there if necessary. It may sound improbable, but it -is true, that the average suburban villa is colder than the cottages -from which country maids come, where the thatched roofs and the thick -walls often keep out extremes of temperature in a manner a jerry-built -house ever can. - -And here is one more hint. Let the roof of the house be white-washed in -summer, if it be slated and the bedrooms come right up under it, for -this makes an enormous difference to the temperature of the rooms, which -is often enough simply awful even in a merely average summer without any -very abnormal heat, while, should we have any real heat, these rooms -become similar to ovens, and are really terrible for anyone to have to -sleep in. Then have outside blinds of some kind; plain strips of dark -green or blue linen placed outside the glass are better than nothing, -though Williams’ green reed blinds are the best things in the world, if -they can be afforded; and above all white-wash your roofs. You will be -rewarded in the difference in the maids’ tempers, and health, which, are -very often one and the same thing. - -Now just one word more, and that on the vexed subject of food. You -should feed the servants as much as possible as you feed yourselves, and -then will you have peace and not otherwise. In another place I have -dwelt at large on this matter; here it is sufficient to say that if a -thing is good enough for the dining-room, it is good enough for the -kitchen. Allowancing should never be resorted to, there is something -about it that revolts the kitchen or servants’ hall, and it is as -unnecessary in a well-managed house as it is useless and suspicious. - -It will be seen, from the perusal of this little book, that the art of -living in a suburban house is not quite as easy as it appears at first -sight. At the same time it is without doubt one that can be acquired, -and if our lot should be cast in the suburbs, it is positively necessary -that we should learn to live there comfortably, unless we wish to be -always on the move. Should what I have written on the subject help -anyone to circumvent the special house he or she has selected, and to -turn it from an unsatisfactorily-built villa into a comfortable home, I -shall not have written in vain. At all events, the book has one merit, -it is the outcome of real experience, and there is not a single ounce of -imagination in the whole of it! - - -THE END. - - -_Colston and Coy., Limited, Printers, Edinburgh._ - - * * * * * - -STORY & TRIGGS - -[Illustration] - -THE CARVED OAK BUNGALOW SUITE - -COMPRISING - -Sideboard, Dining-Table, and Eight Chairs - -COMPLETE - -£18, 10s. 0d. - -As shown in their - -BOOK OF THE DAY -ON FURNISHING - -_An entirely new idea_ - -NOW READY - -A Catalogue of 625 Coloured Designs - - Highly commended by Mrs J. E. PANTON in _The Gentlewoman_, 24th - Aug. 1895 - -_Sent on Application_ - - - Carriage paid on all Orders over 20s. to any Station in Great - Britain - -ONLY ADDRESS--} - -152, 154, 156 QUEEN VICTORIA STREET, E.C. {Near St. Paul’s and -Ludgate Stations. - - * * * * * - -[Illustration: ASPINALL’S ENAMEL - -ASPINALL’S OXIDISED ENAMEL - -The finest colors in the world. - -BEWARE OF IMITATIONS.] - -MRS PANTON, writing in the _Lady’s Pictorial_, says:--‘I can tell you, -from my own experience, which is large, that a house painted with -=ASPINALL’S ENAMEL=, which is =absolutely free= from all poisonous matter, -such as arsenic, white lead, &c., &c., =is far healthier to live in than -a house where ordinary paint is used.=’ - - * * * * * - -CHAS. KNOWLES & CO. - -[Illustration: The Venice Design, 5s. per piece.] - -Manufacturers of - -Art, Wall AND -Ceiling Papers - -As recommended by Mrs PANTON - -The Largest Showrooms in London - -_PATTERNS ON APPLICATION_ - -BLENHEIM WORKS -164 KING’S ROAD, Chelsea -LONDON, S.W. - - -CAVENDISH HOUSE, CHELTENHAM - -_A reputation of over three quarters of a century._ - -[Illustration] - -Artistic House Furnishers, Decorators, &c. -_DESIGNS AND ESTIMATES ON APPLICATION_ -VENDISH HOUSE CO., LTD., Cheltenham - - * * * * * - -_SMEE & COBAY_ - -[Illustration] - -Manufacturers of - -High-Class -Furniture - -Of Good Design - -AND AT - -Moderate Prices - -[Illustration: Drawing-Room, designed by SMEE & COBAY, in conjunction -with MRS PANTON] - - ---29 to 39-- - -Moorfields - - A Few Doors from Moorgate Street Railway Stations. - -LONDON, E.C. - - - Catalogues, containing Estimates for Furnishing, free on - application. - - * * * * * - -GODFREY GILES & CO. - -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 - Decoration, and either he, or one of his competent staff, 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 same, combining - {economy of space with comfort and effect - -=Estimates and Designs= prepared and submitted - -[Illustration] - -Regd. - -SCREEN DESK - -Admired by Everyone -A most acceptable Present - -Enamelled White, complete - -£5, 5s. 0d. - -Also made in Oak, Mahogany, Walnut and many other woods - -_Prices on Application_ - - - Extract from _Lady’s Pictorial_:--‘Messrs GODFREY GILES & CO. are - the inventors and makers of this piece of furniture. They are also - the inventors and patentees of - -COSY CORNERS - -now so deservedly popular.’ - - -‘PEN AND INK SKETCHES’ -A Guide to Artistic Furnishing, free on application. - -CARRIAGE PAID on all Goods over 20/-to any Station in the United -Kingdom. - - -19 Old Cavendish Street {Oxford Street,} W. - { LONDON } - - * * * * * - -COLBOURNE & CO. -Decorative Furnishers - -80, 82 REGENT STREET, LONDON, W. -45, 46 NEW STREET, BIRMINGHAM -26, 78, 28 EAST STREET, BRIGHTON - - -FLOOR COVERING SECTION - -‘The Roman Carpet’ - -Woven exclusively (in every Artistic Colouring) for Messrs COLBOURNE & -CO.’S Customers, very heavy in texture, and recommended for durability - -[Illustration] - -9 feet by 7 feet 6 in., =28/6= -9 feet by 9 feet, =33/9= -9 feet by 10 feet 6 in., =39/6= -9 feet by 12 feet, =45/-= -10 feet 6 in. by 10 feet 6 in., =47/6= -10 feet 6 in. by 12 feet, =52/6= -12 feet by 12 feet, =60/-= -12 feet by 15 feet, =75/-= - -_‘The Roman Carpet’ can also be had in Stair and Corridor Widths_ - - -CURTAIN FABRIC SECTION--Colbourne & Co.’s Exclusive Designs - -Forwarded post free on application - - * * * * * - -B. BURNET & CO. - -MANUFACTURERS OF - -SPECIALITIES FOR FURNISHING PURPOSES - -UNIQUE IN COLOUR, TEXTURE AND DESIGN - - -PILE FABRICS - -24 in. Silk Plush -24 in. Utrecht Velvet -24 in. Frieze Velvet -24 in. Genoa Velvet -50 in. Venetian Velvet -50 in. Linen Plush -50 in. Plushette (Plain and Printed) -27 in. Plain Velveteen -27 in. Corduroy Velveteen -27 in. Printed Velveteen - - -WOVEN FABRICS - -50 in. Cotelaine -50 in. Satin Sheeting -50 in. Silk Damask -50 in. Silk Gauze -50 in. Cotton Tapestry -50 in. Wool Tapestry -50 in. Silk Faced Tapestry -50 in. Wool Brocatelle -50 in. Silk Tapestry - - -SPECIAL FABRICS - -Bordered Table Covers -Washable Bed-Spreads -Butter Muslins -INDIAN, PERSIAN and TURKISH RUGS and CARPETS - - -LININGS - -50 in. Italian Silk -54 in. Merino -31 in. Koula Cotton -31 in. Sateen -31 in. Cotton Twill - - -EMBROIDERY -FABRICS - -36 in. Italian Linen -54 in. Tapestry Canvas -45 in. Leather Cloth -54 in. Leatherette -36 in. Embroidery Linen -54 in. Embroidery Linen -72 in. Embroidery Linen - - -PLAIN FABRICS - -72 in. Diagonal Cloth -54 in. Diagonal Cloth -72 in. Curtan Felt -72 in. Yorkshire Serge -54 in. Printed Serge -54 in. Yorkshire Serge -54 in. Wool Serge -50 in. Wool Damask -63 in. Plain Bolton Sheeting -50 in. Dyed Flax -36 in. Kabul Canvas (for Floors) - - -PRINTED FABRICS - -60 in. Printed Bolton -24 in. Glazed Chintz -31 in. Cretonne -31 in. Reversible Cretonne -31 in. Dimity -31 in. Queen Anne Cretonne -50 in. Printed Muslins -60 in. Madras Muslins -31 in. Quilt Sateens - - -UPHOLSTERY DEPARTMENT - -Curtains, Portières, Blinds, &c., made to order in a few days. Fringes, -Cords and Trimmings kept in stock or made to match all fabrics. Curtain -Poles, etc. - -The above list includes many novelties both in colour and design, not -procurable elsewhere. We shall, however, be pleased to forward samples -of any other class or quality of material specially required. - - -42 KING STREET, COVENT GARDEN, LONDON - -Branch Establishment--226 REGENT STREET. - - * * * * * - -[Illustration: ARTISTIC FITTINGS - -Oil + Gas & Electric - -STRODE & Co - -Electric Light & Gas Engineers - -Art Metal Works + Showrooms - -48 Osnaburgh S^{T} + 188 Piccadilly · W - -London·N·W + 67 S^{T} Pauls Chyp·E·C] - - * * * * * - -IRISH LINENS - -DIRECT FROM THE LOOMS - - -_WALPOLE BROS._ - -(ESTABLISHED 1766) - -Offer THREE great inducements to the public to give them a trial-- - -SUPERIORITY OF TEXTURE ... -BEAUTY AND NOVELTY OF DESIGN -EXTREMELY MODERATE PRICES ... - -=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 2s. 2d. per doz. -Damask Table Cloths from 3s. 6d. each. -Damask Napkins from 3s. per doz. -Glass Cloths from 4d. per yard. -Dusters from 1s. 9d. per doz. - -A complete set of Linens, consisting of Blankets, Quilts, Table Linen, -Sheets, &c., suitable for a small house, for £7, 19s. - - -WALPOLE BROTHERS - -Irish Linen and Damask Manufacturers - -16 Bedford Street, Belfast; 8 and 9 Suffolk Street, Dublin - -89 NEW BOND STREET (Two Doors from Oxford Street) {LONDON, W. -and 102 KENSINGTON HIGH STREET, { - -Established over a Century - - -W. Bros’. Special Designs in Table Damask are different from, and -superior to, those to be seen elsewhere - - * * * * * - -HEWETSONS - -House Furnishers and Decorators - -212 TOTTENHAM COURT ROAD - - -[Illustration: HEWETSONS’ ‘Princess May’ Bedroom Suite - - Enamelled White Carton Pierre Mountings, Brass Handles, and - comprising:--Wardrobe (Glass Door), Dressing Chest with Glass, - Washstand (Marble Top, Tile Back, and Brass Towel Rail), and Two - Cane-seated Chairs. - -£7, 15s. 0d. THE SET] - - - Hewetsons’ New Illustrated Catalogue - - Is the best and most complete Furnishing Guide published, and is - forwarded free of charge. It contains =Estimates for Furnishing - Houses= for £150, £300, £500, £1000, &c., each article in detail, - illustrated and priced. - -Decorating {=Hewetsons give Estimates Free of Charge= for - {Painting and all kinds of Interior Decorations, -Structural Alterations, Sanitary Work, Electric Lighting, &c. - - -The Largest Stock of ... -ENGLISH CARVED OAK FURNITURE -... IN THE WORLD - - * * * * * - -JAMES SHOOLBRED & CO. - -TOTTENHAM HOUSE - -Tottenham Court Road - -LONDON, W. - - -Direct Carpet Importers -Bedding Manufacturers -Cabinet Makers and Upholsterers -Blind Manufacturers -Artistic Decorators, and -Complete House Furnishers - - -Three Passenger Lifts convey Customers to all Departments above Ground -Floor - - -JAMES SHOOLBRED & CO. -_TOTTENHAM HOUSE_ -LONDON - - * * * * * - -BARTHOLOMEW & FLETCHER - -[Illustration] - -Chippendale Cabinet, £6 10 0 -Old Mahogany Vase or Lamp Stand, £2 5 0 -‘Richelieu’ Settee, in Tapestry, £5 18 6 - -Catalogues Free - -Most Moderate -Prices -in London - -219 Tottenham Court Road, W. - - -CARPETS - -‘REVIREDIS’ Regd. SPECIALITIES - -‘ISIS’ Art Rush Matting -‘ROYSSE’ Hand Loom Carpets -‘ARTS and CRAFTS’ Rugs - -THE ABINGDON CARPET MANUFACTURING CO. -_ABINGDON-ON-THAMES_ - - -JOHN HARRIS & SONS, LIMITED - -ART LINENS. PURE FLAX. Over 40 Artistic Shades. - -Unrivalled for excellence of Quality and Colour. Of Special Manufacture -and Dye. Suitable for every kind of HOUSE DECORATION and ORNAMENTATION. -Embroideries of every description. Patterns and Estimates for Curtains, -Portières, Hangings, &c., on application. - -Showrooms-- -25 OLD BOND STREET, LONDON - -Works -Derwent Mills, Cockermouth, Eng. - - * * * * * - -BOOKS TO BUY - -Mrs PANTON’S Books on the Furnishing and Decorating of Houses, and the -Management of a Household. - - - =1.= =From Kitchen to Garret=: Hints for Young Householders. By J. E. - PANTON. A New and Revised Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth, 6s. - - This work of Mrs Panton was first published in December 1887. It - has since been seven times reprinted. The work has now been closely - revised by the Author, new information on many subjects has been - incorporated in the text, and many new Illustrations have been - added. - - - =2.= =Nooks and Corners.= A Companion Book to ‘From Kitchen to Garret.’ - By J. E. PANTON. Crown 8vo, 6s. - - ‘A veritable encyclopædia of useful information in all matters - pertaining to the home.’ - - - =Our Viands.= Whence they come and how they are Cooked. By A. W. - BUCKLAND. Crown 8vo, cloth, price 6s. - - ‘She has succeeded in giving us a very interesting history of our - own ordinary dishes, and of the most curious and characteristic - dishes of other countries.’--_Spectator._ - - - =Ladies in the Field=: Sketches of Sport. Edited by the LADY - GREVILLE. Crown 8vo, cloth, price 6s. - - Contents: Riding in Ireland and India, by Lady Greville--Hunting in - the Shires--Horses and their Riders, by the Duchess of - Newcastle--The Wife of the M.F.H., by Mrs Chaworth Musters--Fox - Hunting--Team and Tandem Driving, by Miss Rosie Anstruther - Thomson--Tigers I have shot, by Mrs C. Martelli--Rifle Shooting, by - Miss Leale--Deer Stalking and Deer Driving, by Diane - Chasseresse--Covert Shooting, by Lady Boynton--A Kangaroo Hunt, by - Mrs Jenkins--Cycling, by Mrs E. R. Pennell--Punting, by Miss Sybil - Salaman. - - ‘The several chapters are entrusted to skilful hands, and deal with - sport, as practised by ladies, in a very sensible and business-like - fashion.’--_Times._ - - ‘It is not often one comes across such a tempting book.... We - cannot too strongly recommend "Ladies in the Field" to our readers, - and think that it is a book to be on every sportswoman’s library - table.’--_Sporting Life._ - - - =In Ladies’ Company=: Sketches of the Lives of Six Notable Women. By - Mrs F. F. MILLER. One vol., fcap. 8vo, cloth, price 5s. - - ‘A volume to be grateful for.’--_Daily Chronicle._ - - ‘Ample, suggestive, and neatly finished--turned out with true - literary skill.’--_Globe._ - - - =Love in a Cottage=; or, Making the most of a Small Income. By AGATHA - HODGSON. Post 8vo, paper covers, price 1s. - - -_FROM ALL BOOKSELLERS_ -Or from the Publishers} WARD & DOWNEY LTD. -12 YORK BUILDINGS, Adelphi, W.C. - - * * * * * - -A GOLD MEDAL - -HAS BEEN AWARDED TO - -Wm. Wallace & Co. - -FOR THE ARTISTIC FURNISHING AND DECORATION OF - -‘OUR FLAT’ - -AS EXHIBITED AT THE INDIAN EXHIBITION. - -‘How to Furnish "Our Flat" or House for £100,’ - -AND ALSO FOR £300 - -By =Mrs J. E. PANTON=, may now be had, post free, on application to - -WM. WALLACE & CO. - -151 to 155 CURTAIN ROAD, LONDON, E.C. - - Mrs PANTON says, in the ‘Gentlewoman’:--‘I should strongly advise, - before buying Furniture anywhere, to send to Wm. Wallace & Co., of - Curtain Road, for sketches of their New Furniture Catalogue. All - Goods are Carriage Paid anywhere in the United Kingdom, and if you - require really good Furniture, go to Wm. Wallace & Co., the wood - being properly seasoned, and the workmanship seems to me to be as - good as it possibly can be.’ - - BEFORE placing your orders, send for our New Catalogue, entitled - =‘Beauty, Skill and Economy.’ Post Free.= - - The ‘Daily Telegraph’ says:--‘Wm. Wallace & Co. have an - artistically designed catalogue, which is a most instructive guide - to householders.’ - -‘OUR FLAT’ -‘OUR FLAT’ -‘OUR FLAT’ -‘OUR FLAT’ -‘OUR FLAT’ -‘OUR FLAT’ -‘OUR FLAT’ -‘OUR FLAT’ -‘OUR FLAT’ -‘OUR FLAT’ - -WM. WALLACE & CO. - -_Artistic House Furnishers and Decorators_ - -151, 152, 153, 154 and 155 Curtain Road - -LONDON, E.C. - - * * * * * - -HEALTHY. ECONOMICAL. ARTISTIC. - -JACKSON’S -VARNISH STAINS -FOR -FLOORS & FURNITURE -HAVE THE LARGEST SALE - -Staining and -Varnishing in -one operation - -_No Preparation -required._ - -[Illustration] - -Made to represent the following woods-- - -Mahogany -Walnut -Rosewood -Light and -Dark Oak -Satinwood -Ebony -Leaf Green -&c. -Packed in Tins - -Pints, 2/- -Quarts, 3/6 -½-Gallon, 6/- -1 Gallon, 10/- -_Cans Free_ - -Bottles -6d. and 1/- each - -The Stain dries in twenty minutes with a brilliant hard surface equal to -French Polish with no unpleasant smell. Used in Hospitals, Asylums, -Schools, Hotels, &c. Recommended by Professor Wanklyn, the eminent -analytical chemist, and many members of the medical profession, for its -sanitary properties as a floor covering. Besides very numerous private -testimonials, these Stains are being constantly recommended by the -principal writers on domestic matters. - - Dr Andrew Wilson, in _Health_, says:--‘We hope it will be used by - all who value health, economy and beauty in their homes. It will - cost but a few shillings to stain the floor, where pounds would be - spent in carpets, and rooms where it is used can always be kept - clean, healthy and bright.’ - - The _Court Circular_ says:--‘We predict that =Jackson’s Combination - Varnish-Stain= will become a household word, and that it will be - used as a floor covering in every home where health, beauty and - cleanliness are appreciated.’ - - The _Lady’s Pictorial_ says:--‘You cannot possibly do better than - use =Jackson’s Varnish Stains.= They are most excellent.’ - - The _Queen_:--‘Have found =Jackson’s Varnish Stain= very good. As its - name implies, it requires no varnishing, dries quickly, and gives a - beautiful polish.’ - -These Stains are sold by all high-class Stores throughout the World, and -must not be confounded with any of the low-class rubbish, which will -only cause disappointment and trouble. Coloured picture labels on all -packages. Manufactured only by - -T. S. JACKSON & SONS, 186 OLD KENT ROAD, LONDON, S.E. -[Established 1853 - - * * * * * - -By Special Appointment To Her Majesty - -WARINGS - -_Specialists_ - -_and_ - -_Manufacturers_ - -_of_ - -_Decorative_ - -_Furniture_ - -[Illustration: - -ECONOMY -IN -DECORATING -AND -FURNISHING -] - -_The largest_ - -_bona-fide_ - -_Manufacturers_ - -_in_ - -_the Kingdom_ - -_Messrs WARING invite inspection of their Suites of completely furnished -Rooms, illustrating how to furnish tastefully at the lowest cost_ - -ESTIMATES AND DESIGNS FREE - -181 Oxford Street, London, W. - -MANCHESTER - - - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Suburban Residences, by J. (Jane) E. (Ellen) Panton - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SUBURBAN RESIDENCES *** - -***** This file should be named 53806-0.txt or 53806-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/3/8/0/53806/ - -Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images available at Google Books) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, -set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to -copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to -protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. 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Panton. -</title> -<style type="text/css"> - p {margin-top:.2em;text-align:justify;margin-bottom:.2em;text-indent:4%;} - -.c {text-align:center;text-indent:0%;} - -.cb {text-align:center;text-indent:0%;font-weight:bold;} - -.eng {font-family: "Old English Text MT",fantasy,sans-serif;} - -.hang {text-indent:-2%;margin-left:2%;} - -.nind {text-indent:0%;} - -.bt{border-top:3px solid black;} -.bb{border-bottom:3px solid black;padding-right:2em;} -.blb{border-left:3px solid black;border-bottom:3px solid black;} -.blt{border-left:3px solid black;border-top:3px solid black; -padding-right:2em;} -.bl{border-left:3px solid black;} -.brdl {border-left:1px solid black; -padding-left:.25em;} - -.rt {text-align:right;} - -small {font-size: 70%;} - -big {font-size: 130%;} - - h1 {margin-top:5%;text-align:center;clear:both;} - - h2 {margin-top:4%;margin-bottom:2%;text-align:center;clear:both; - font-size:120%;} - - hr {width:90%;margin:2em auto 2em auto;clear:both;color:black;} - - hr.full {width: 60%;margin:2% auto 2% auto;border-top:1px solid black; -padding:.1em;border-bottom:1px solid black;border-left:none;border-right:none;} - - table {margin-top:2%;margin-bottom:2%;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;border:none;} - -th {padding:.5em;} - - body{margin-left:4%;margin-right:6%;background:#ffffff;color:black;font-family:"Times New Roman", serif;font-size:medium;} - -a:link {background-color:#ffffff;color:blue;text-decoration:none;} - - link {background-color:#ffffff;color:blue;text-decoration:none;} - -a:visited {background-color:#ffffff;color:purple;text-decoration:none;} - -a:hover {background-color:#ffffff;color:#FF0000;text-decoration:underline;} - -.smcap {font-variant:small-caps;font-size:100%;} - - img {border:none;} - -.caption {font-weight:bold;font-size:75%;} - -.figcenter {margin-top:3%;margin-bottom:3%;clear:both; -margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;text-align:center;text-indent:0%;} - @media print, handheld - {.figcenter - {page-break-before: avoid;} - } - -.pagenum {font-style:normal;position:absolute; -left:95%;font-size:55%;text-align:right;color:gray; -background-color:#ffffff;font-variant:normal;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;text-indent:0em;} -@media print, handheld -{.pagenum - {display: none;} - } - -</style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -Project Gutenberg's Suburban Residences, by J. (Jane) E. (Ellen) Panton - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Suburban Residences - and how to Circumvent Them - -Author: J. (Jane) E. (Ellen) Panton - -Release Date: December 26, 2016 [EBook #53806] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SUBURBAN RESIDENCES *** - - - - -Produced by Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images available at Google Books) - - - - - - -</pre> - -<hr class="full" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="309" height="500" alt="" title="" /> -</div> - -<p class="cb">SUBURBAN RESIDENCES</p> - -<h1> -SUBURBAN RESIDENCES<br /> -<small><span class="eng">And How to Circumvent Them</span></small></h1> -<p class="c">BY<br /> -J. E. PANTON<br /> -<br /> -AUTHOR OF<br /> -‘FROM KITCHEN TO GARRET,’ ‘NOOKS AND CORNERS,’<br /> -‘HOMES OF TASTE,’ ETC.<br /> -<br /> -LONDON<br /> -WARD & DOWNEY<br /> -<i>LIMITED</i><br /> -12 YORK BUILDINGS ADELPHI<br /> -1896<br /> -</p> - -<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS</h2> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> - -<tr><th class="c" colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I</a></th></tr> -<tr><td> </td><td class="rt"><small>PAGE</small></td></tr> -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">FIRST STEPS,</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_1">1</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th class="c" colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">HALLS AND PASSAGES,</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_31">31</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th class="c" colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">KITCHEN AND BASEMENTS,</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_64">64</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th class="c" colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">DINING ROOMS,</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_95">95</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th class="c" colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">PARLOURS,</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_128">128</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th class="c" colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">THIRD ROOMS,</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_160">160</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th class="c" colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">THE NURSERIES,</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_191">191</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th class="c" colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">BEDROOMS,</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_222">222</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th class="c" colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">DRESSING-ROOMS AND BATHROOMS,</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_252">252</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th class="c" colspan="2"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X</a></th></tr> - -<tr><td valign="top"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">THE GREAT SERVANT QUESTION,</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_278">278</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_1" id="page_1"></a>{1}</span></p> - -<h1> -SUBURBAN RESIDENCES<br /><small> -<i>AND HOW TO CIRCUMVENT<br /> -THEM</i></small></h1> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I<br /><br /> -<small>FIRST STEPS</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">The</span> first step to take is undoubtedly to find your suburb; the second, -to discover an adaptable house; and then the third and greatest is to -circumvent the many death-traps, cold-givers and misery-makers which are -included in the lease; although most certainly they are not apparent in -it when it is carefully brought for you to sign.</p> - -<p>The suburbs, take them how you will, are not Paradise and can never now -be made so; yet for people with middle-sized incomes and aspirations -after fresh air, they are undoubtedly most necessary<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_2" id="page_2"></a>{2}</span> evils. If one is -in the least susceptible to noise or not strong, London, or any other of -our great cities, is an impossible place of residence. Perhaps I should -have put the ‘not strong’ first, for suburban noises are worse, really, -than any others; and one can be amused on far less money in London than -one can elsewhere. For there a garden and a carriage are not in the -least essential, while some kind of ‘pleasaunce’ and some sort of -vehicle are almost indispensable out of town, unless one wants to spend -one’s money on flies, and one’s time in catching trains, and is content -to risk the ruin of one’s clothes and run up doctors’ bills, should one -be caught in the many storms which distinguish our delightful climate, -and which always descend on unprotected folk on their way to and from -the station. Moreover, if one has the smallest desire for peace, one -must be a certain distance from the rail, or most undoubtedly madness -will ensue. I have often noticed delusive advertisements of suburban -paradises where nearness to the rail is held out as an inducement to the -would-be tenant, and I have<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_3" id="page_3"></a>{3}</span> often longed to ‘go for’ the advertiser and -tell him to what a fearful end he might lead some confiding young -couple, 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 anyrate, -if one selects a suburb on one of the main lines. I know, alas! 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 -same? I must own, when I went into the house and, looking out of the -first window I came to, beheld the demon, I at once fled from the place, -and flatly refused even to look at another room, and oh! how wise I -should have been had I held to my own determination. But, in those days, -houses were scarce. We were obliged to be in that special locality. -Everyone said one got accustomed to the trains in a week, and never -heard them at all after the first night or two. The garden was charming. -The last tenant had lived there for years and years, and had not left it -for a lunatic asylum, and so I allowed my own judgment<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_4" id="page_4"></a>{4}</span> to give way -before a storm of talk and unsought advice, 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 water. For indeed, -far from becoming accustomed to trains, the more one lives near them the -more one hears them. I used to find I regularly expected each separate -train. I waited for the fall of the signal as one expects a clap of -thunder in the middle of a storm, and as there was no escape, either in -the house or grounds, I felt that unless I got out of the place itself -entirely, I should be found in my morning-room, seated on the floor, -with straws in my hair, <i>à l’Ophelia</i>, 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 peace, at least, from the raving, -roaring, rattling rail. There are other suburban terrors which are to be -dreaded, and which should certainly be looked out for before one settles -down, if one is in the least susceptible to noise, as<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_5" id="page_5"></a>{5}</span> no one knows what -torture can be given one by apparently innocent means. In delightful -Shortlands, where I think the suburbs are as near perfection as a clay -soil will allow, everyone in my day used to keep dogs as necessary -protections from the ubiquitous tramp, and should one dog feel called -upon to assert himself, all followed suit with the most exemplary -precision. Then our next-door neighbour not only kept crowing and -blatant cocks, but a flock of ever-increasing pigeons, and these dear -creatures used to spend their happiest hours among my chimney-pots, -moaning, cooing and groaning in the melancholy way they affect until -they nearly drove me wild, and I had to appeal to the owner, who, with -unprecedented goodness, got rid of them and so saved me from an untimely -fate. But that was Shortlands. What shall I say for another suburb, -where toy houses stand on quarter acres of ground, enclosed by -breast-high fences, and where the fact of being a neighbour seems to -ensure you as much annoyance as can be given in a short space of time? -Where the ridiculous gates<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_6" id="page_6"></a>{6}</span> to the far more ridiculous ‘carriage -approaches’ (see house agents’ advertisements) are slammed one after -another by the tradespeople, tramps, postmen and other fashionable folk -who use these approaches. There, ensconced in a tub, close to each side -of each fence, reposes an enormous dog, with a bark to match, who could -protect all the silver and diamonds in the world—which are <i>not</i> to be -found in what I call ‘Pooter Parade’ (for the origin of which name -please read ‘Nobody’s Diary’ in <i>Punch</i>)—where the servants hang out -the clothes and themselves at the same time, if they can make -investigations into their next-door neighbours’ affairs; 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 still. There when one tries to sleep it is between the -barks of the vigilant hounds, the slamming of the gate by an irate tramp -sent empty away, or else disappointed by a useless visit to the -unprotected garden; for, raked fore and aft as it is by the populace, a -lock seems a farce,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_7" id="page_7"></a>{7}</span> especially when it would mean sending a maid down -to the gates every time someone wanted to come in. Indeed the gates are -so easily climbed, that any amount of locks would be no protection, and -where one exists, protected yet unprotected in a childish degree which -would be laughable were it not so disagreeable. For anyone could -‘burgle’ any of those villa residences had he an ounce of pluck, or did -he not know quite well that the entire contents of the whole row would -not pay him for his trouble, 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 <i>Lares et Penates</i>.</p> - -<p>I have tried life, more or less, for about twelve years in the suburbs -of London, both north and south, and I have come to the conclusion that -if we have a carriage and can therefore live a certain distance from the -rail, and if we can put at least three acres of ground round our house, -and pass moreover a series of regulations, <i>viâ</i> the new Parish Councils -perhaps, for suburban etiquette, or better still, if rules<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_8" id="page_8"></a>{8}</span> for the -behaviour of one neighbour towards another could be drawn up, the -southern and south-western suburbs of London are the best places in the -world to be in, for ordinary middle-class folk whose best days are over -and who yet must be within touch of town for business purposes. These, -therefore, should be ransacked by the house-hunter before he allows his -eye to wander further afield. Though it must be remembered that the -trains to such parts of the globe are maddening,—the only difference -between an express and an ordinary train being that one waits outside a -station and the other inside,—and the smallest amount of snow or fog -will disorganise the traffic altogether, yet they do go to civilized -parts of London, while those from the northern portions do not. The -southern trains too, kindly drop one, say at Holborn, London Bridge, -Charing Cross, or Victoria, and do not insist on one’s returning by -precisely the same station one arrived at: an immense advantage that one -has only to be deprived of to comprehend instantly all it means.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_9" id="page_9"></a>{9}</span></p> - -<p>If one goes to the northern suburbs of London, one is dropped at Euston, -King’s Cross, or, worse still, Liverpool Street, valuable stations for -some men, but utterly useless for women; at least I never found them any -good to me. True, one has the delightful trains and perfect manners of -the Euston officials and I daresay the other northerners are as good, -but I don’t know much about them. Still, the punctuality and good -service are all one has to set against the other drawbacks, which are, -to my mind, more than a set off for the fact that the trains are good -and punctual. These other drawbacks are that some of the northern -suburbs are at least twenty years behind the south in conveniences and -comforts; that the people who live there are not to be compared with the -southrons, and that there is an almost unbroken surface of clay from -London to beyond Harrow and Bushey; and that above all, unless one has a -really large place, one must be so close to one’s neighbours owing to -the way the ground is arranged for building, that one nearly dies of -them, and that it is almost, if not quite, impossible to keep out of the -reach of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_10" id="page_10"></a>{10}</span> railway, which is far more ubiquitous there than it is in -other parts of the regions round London. Then too there are no -advantages in the way of amusement, 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 spot.</p> - -<p>If young married people think of settling in the suburbs, they should -weigh the <i>pros</i> and <i>cons</i> thereof most seriously before determining -their course. There is very little actual society in the suburbs, but -what there is, is perhaps more real than the rush and hurry of London; -and if a woman wants to do positive, helpful work, and to live a really -healthy, morally and mentally healthy life, and a man cares for his -home, his garden and his games, the couple will be much better off there -than elsewhere. But if they love London, as Londoners do love their -native city, if they are strong, ‘in the swim,’ ‘smart,’ or whatever is -the proper designation for those who are really given over to society, -let them stay where they are. For them a back attic in Belgravia is -sweeter than a palace in the suburbs; for one<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_11" id="page_11"></a>{11}</span> never acclimatises, one -only withers, and the husband, tired with that dreadful ‘catching of -trains,’ has no mind for going out, while the wife may be done up by -shopping in town, or be wearied out by mere dulness, and life will -resolve itself into a procession of grey days and grimmer nights, and -quickly, far too quickly, the <i>ménage</i> will become unbearable, and -rupture, sooner or later, will ensue.</p> - -<p>For, remember, if really intellectual or interesting people are found in -the suburbs, they are, as I have just remarked, too tired from the day’s -work to be available for society purposes. But the majority of suburban -residents is made up from young married folk, and dreary, common-place, -middle-aged ones, made dreary by their surroundings, and by their -enforced severance from their more fortunate fellow-creatures. For -unless they have real fondness for literature, or for helping among the -charities and churches, and have tastes of their own which render them -superior to their actual surroundings, there is literally nothing to -keep them alert and alive.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_12" id="page_12"></a>{12}</span></p> - -<p>Whatever suburb is selected, it should include amongst its residents -some family in a good position, to whom the new-comer is known or is -known of. If the fresh resident has no introductions, his fate is -sealed; the best people don’t call, and should some years elapse before -the acquaintance is made that might have been so pleasant if made at -first, the relationship can never be a cordial one. Rightly or wrongly, -the feeling exists that such an out-of-date visit is not worth thinking -of, and it rarely becomes what it might have been, had not the untoward -delay slipped in between.</p> - -<p>The suburbs could be so different, nay, in isolated cases are so -different, that I long for the residents to realise all they are -throwing away, all one learns too late to really profit by the lessons. -In Shortlands people used to be exceptionally fortunate, for there -existed in our day an intellectual headquarter, where the ‘hall-mark’ -was or was not affixed, as might be. Don’t please think I mean myself; -no one who knew Shortlands would think I could be such an idiot, and all -will realise to whom I<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_13" id="page_13"></a>{13}</span> refer. Some years after we left, that pleasant -house was broken up by the death of the founder; yet as long as it -existed it was invaluable, because it acted like a fountain of living -water and kept everything, as it were, fresh and young. In all suburbs -there should be something of the same kind, someone of real and -acknowledged tact and talent, who should know who is who and what is -what, who could recognise pleasant, educated folk and give them a -helping hand, and whose house should issue the ‘hall-mark’ which should -make all these said pleasant, educated people able to feel they can be, -an’ they choose, members of the circle that ought to exist everywhere as -a means of keeping souls alive and happy. A harder task, by the way, -than the equally necessary one of keeping bodies in a similar state, and -quite as important. Indeed, the one depends very much upon the other, as -doctors are among the very first to recognise nowadays. In the olden -times, and given a good man and a clever woman, the hall-mark used to be -affixed by the rectory or vicarage, and whether the new-comers<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_14" id="page_14"></a>{14}</span> went to -church or stayed away settled the question at once and for all time. But -now matters are entirely changed, and the Church has little or nothing -to do with the social standing of Brown and Jones and Smith. So if the -suburb is to be successful, it must possess someone who, by right of -brains and an assured position, can bring together the real folk and -leave alone the dull, stupid ones who love gossip, and hate books and -art and pictures, and so ensure an intellectual centre, which, once -formed, would make any suburb as delightful as Shortlands was, in the -days when I knew it well, and no doubt still is.</p> - -<p>Given the suburbs then, the be-all and end-all of this little book is to -teach the dwellers there, by choice or force, how best to avail -themselves of the advantages which do exist, and which could be -multiplied a thousandfold, did people know how to set to work. That I -did not, makes me the best person in the world to teach others, because -I have learned by experience and am therefore capable of imparting the -knowledge I acquired too late to be able to use it<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_15" id="page_15"></a>{15}</span> myself. Therefore -let me insist that the would-be suburban resident recognise first his -duty to himself in the selection of his suburb, and then, secondly, his -duty towards his neighbour. If he is close enough to him to be a -nuisance he should consider him as much as he considers himself, while -he bears in mind that there must be a social head to whom he will -loyally give help, should he himself be anxious to wear the ‘hall-mark’ -that will give all, rich and poor alike, the right to be a members of -society, where pleasantness and culture suffice to ensure a hearty -welcome.</p> - -<p>The suburban’s duty towards himself consists in selecting a suburb where -the train shall land him nearest to his work in town; in selecting a -good and reasonable house, and in finding out what amusements and -occupations are available for his wife and daughters; and, if he has -small children, what schools or teachers are likely to be useful in the -matter of education. His duty to his neighbour may not be so briefly -summed up, but consists in many little and worrying observances which -are ridiculous indeed to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_16" id="page_16"></a>{16}</span> dwellers in London, and in more favoured -and larger spots; but I, alas! can feelingly enumerate some of the items -which go to make up a whole.</p> - -<p>The first duty is undoubtedly to abstain from keeping a dog which must -be tied up either day or night. The second is to bar crowing cocks and -crooning pigeons; one can be quite happy without pigeons, and cocks -can’t crow if they can’t get their heads up high enough to do so, -neither are they necessary inhabitants of a small back-garden. Hanging -out the clothes should be a penal offence, as should be the slamming of -gates, an offensive dust-bin, ill-bred servants, and screaming children, -while the utterer of long unchecked yells should be at once fined or -punished as an offender against the community; for children can’t too -soon be taught to know their duties towards their neighbours, the while -they learn self-control and the undoubted fact that screams and cries -are not necessary items in anyone’s bringing up. Then carpets and rugs -should not be shaken and dusted after ten o’clock, and without some idea -of the way of the wind. The letters sent to ‘Ivy Dene,’ and delivered at -‘Deneside,’ should<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_17" id="page_17"></a>{17}</span> be at once given up at their real destination, and -should not be detained until the postman is caught by chance on one of -his hurried plunges down the ‘carriage approach,’ which, by the way, -won’t exist in our model suburb. Moreover, when Jones gives a party and -doesn’t ask Smith and Brown, it should be a matter of honour to both -neighbours that they don’t disport themselves unduly, 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 disposal. Indeed the whole duty of a suburban -resident is to treat his neighbour as himself in the matter of conduct, -but not to know him personally if he can in any way and decently avoid -doing so, for ‘beware to whom you give the key of your back door,’ says -a wise old proverb, 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 degree. Endless friction can be caused by -the <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_18" id="page_18"></a>{18}</span>mere <i>va et vient</i> of tennis balls; or by ignoring the fact that no -one wants the same people at all the small parties given in a locality, -the size of which must govern in a measure at all times the amount of -folks bidden to them. Servants who can chatter over the fences are also -a fertile source of misunderstanding. So unless specially clever and -sensible folks dwell beside one, it is best to know nothing of them in -any shape or form if one wants the peace, without which Paradise itself -would fail to charm, and deprived of which, the suburban resident -realises all too quickly what being in the antipodes of Paradise might -very probably mean.</p> - -<p>Then when these duties are fulfilled the next one is to discover of what -manner of men is composed, and what is the record of, the new parish -council or local board which may govern the special district; and -another is to find if the ‘Infectious Diseases Notification Act’ has -been adopted or not. These two things are most important, for given a -good local authority one knows that while the rates don’t rise unduly, -yet proper care is taken that all matters are up to date, which they can -never be in a place<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_19" id="page_19"></a>{19}</span> where the ‘Infectious Diseases Act’ is not -enforced; neither can health be found where jerry building reigns -unchecked, bad meat is passed over casually as not too bad to eat (just -as if all edibles should not resemble Caesar’s wife and be above the -smallest suspicion), where the water is bitterly hard, and not either -soft or softened, and where, in fact, everything is what ought not to -be, and nothing is that should be to ensure a maximum of health with a -careful regard to the spending of the ratepayers’ money. Then one very -necessary hint to suburban residents is to see that in taking a new -house the road by which it may stand, or by which it is reached, is -properly ‘made up,’ and duly taken over by the authorities. Especially -should this be the case if the house stands at a corner, albeit, for -many reasons, a corner house should not be selected. Some feeble folk -imagine such a situation means bad luck. Well! so it does in a measure; -for being at a corner, one gets all the winds that blow on all sides, -one’s front garden is filled with paper, straw and debris of all kinds,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_20" id="page_20"></a>{20}</span> -brought into it by these said eddying winds; the dust fills our rooms -and makes our curtains black before their time, and one gets a double -assortment of noises both of vehicles and people; while, if we all too -late discover the road has not been ‘made up,’ and ‘taken over,’ we have -not only the front but a side piece to pay for, and in consequence have -three times the money to disburse that is expected of our neighbours. -Besides which, should snow fall there are the side walks to clear as -well as the front one; we have more wall or fence to keep in order, and, -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 road, where often enough, school children play in a -maddening manner, and where we get all the side noises as well as those -which are to be found along the front. The soil of the suburb is again a -thing to be thoroughly acquainted with before the tent is pitched -finally and for all time thereon. I do not believe clay is or ever can<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_21" id="page_21"></a>{21}</span> -be fit for anyone to reside upon, and nothing anyone can say will cause -me to alter my opinion. True I know that London, the healthiest city in -the world, is nearly all on clay, but then it has the advantage not only -of perfect drainage, but of every other thing which can mitigate this -fundamental drawback to perfect health; yet the fogs and the chill and -the gloom which distinguish it might all be different, or, indeed, -non-existent, were the soil of another character. Dearly as I loved -Shortlands the clay there was always to be reckoned with, and made a -long reckoning too, when all was told, for though roses flourished -magnificently, children didn’t, and coughs and colds were ‘the only -wear’ once autumn began to spread the leaves and winter came up to -finish the little business, clad in the usual garments of fog and mist, -changed at times to other more ‘seasonable’ ones of frost and snow. -Chalk is to be avoided by all rheumatic souls, or by those to whom -rheumatism may arrive by right of inheritance, water in which chalk -exists largely being a great<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_22" id="page_22"></a>{22}</span> help to bringing such an inheritance -within easy grasp of the heir; but gravel and, I think, a certain -measure of sand, are all right, while many trees should be fled from. -Trees bring rain and insects, and mean damp; albeit, if we can only find -a suburb where the gracious pine tree flourishes, we can dwell there -without alarm. The pine-tree spells health always, and should be sought -for as carefully as a family of <i>nouveaux riches</i> searches for its coat -of arms, or some one thing that will link it on to someone else’s noble -ancestors in some way or another. Therefore should the seeker after a -suburban residence arm himself with a geological map of the regions -round London, and make many pilgrimages and inquiries before he finally -chooses. He would be wise too if he could afford the time and money, to -take rooms or a furnished house first in the locality which appeals to -him most; but, if he can’t do that, he should take in the local -newspaper, for at least a month, and see what manner of conduct is -reported there; what are the doings of the local authorities,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_23" id="page_23"></a>{23}</span> the -species of ‘happenings’ in the way of amusements and entertainments, and -if he is bent on church, he should attend one or two services; while, if -golf attracts him, and tennis is his only joy, he should see that both -are attainable, and that the clubs are get-into-able and are not either -beyond his pocket or whatever may be his special social status.</p> - -<p>Once these items are all satisfactorily settled, and the suburb really -selected, the tug of war may be fairly considered to have begun. The -suburb is found, but how about the special house? Of course ‘eligible -residences’ will abound, albeit in any good and favoured places they are -not as plentiful by half as one could wish, so that nothing should be -done in a hurry.</p> - -<p>The local tradespeople, as well as the house-agents (generally very -broken reeds these last too) should be taken into one’s confidence, 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 price, and with as much -cunning. Too great eagerness means a large premium,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_24" id="page_24"></a>{24}</span> and all the last -tenant’s awful fixtures; too little means someone else slipping in -before one, and bearing off the coveted prize under one’s very eyes.</p> - -<p>Much as one likes the idea of a real new, clean house, where no one has -ever died, or had scarlet fever, small-pox, or diphtheria, and where -virgin walls and untouched rooms leave one a free hand as regards -decoration and furniture, it is better, if possible, to take some place -out of which a ‘good family’ has been obliged to move for some true and -reasonable cause, such as a loss or increase of income, or an increase -in the requirements of the family. If a new house is chosen, it is -absolutely necessary that some honest and tried sanitary authority -should be called in from a distance: a local man cannot possibly give an -unbiassed opinion; and he should thoroughly examine the system of -drains; all pipes should be disconnected from the soil-pipes, and all -sanitary arrangements should be placed on the outside of the house. I do -not mean apart from the house itself, but built on at one side, so that<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_25" id="page_25"></a>{25}</span> -drainage is simplified immensely and reduced to one area. One where the -soil-pipe can be thoroughly ventilated and easily got at should it be -necessary to examine the drains, to repair them, or to discover that -they are all in good and working order. They should also be capable of -being constantly and copiously flushed with a good stream of water, -while all pipes connected with the water supply should be protected from -the weather, and also easily reached, else will they burst at the least -provocation, and cause frost and cold to be doubly cursed, because of -their untoward action upon one’s domestic arrangements. If the house has -been lived in, confidential relations should be established with the -outgoing tenant unless he has any interest in getting the house off his -hands; in that case human nature being weak, one can but recollect he -wants to part with it. But if he have ended his lease and be genuinely -anxious to remain yet cannot for a reasonable cause, it were well to ask -him frankly about the wants, requirements, and moods of the special -abode, for houses want humouring<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_26" id="page_26"></a>{26}</span> just as do human beings, and very -often one only finds out the virtues when the vices have caused one to -throw up the sponge, and once more set out on our nomadic passing -through this life.</p> - -<p>If we select and take a new house before we attempt our decorations let -us instal a caretaker. Ay! even with her grimy self and her still more -grimy goods and bronchial family, heavy with the continual colds -inseparable from living in empty houses and never anywhere else; 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 them. 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 floors; putting the ever useful -‘Slater’s Patent’ round every door and window, and whether it were not -well to transfer certain doors from left to right or <i>vice versa</i>, -because of the position of fire and window, which can only be really -determined when we see how the fire burns, and from<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_27" id="page_27"></a>{27}</span> which side comes -most of the almost certain draught. Thus too are tested the young and -untried chimneys, which, should they smoke, are to be examined by a -practical man before anything else can be done. They may smoke through -faulty construction. In this case new grates must be had from Haines & -Co., 83 Queen Victoria Street, who have a grate that can easily deal -with this desperate strait. Or they may require tall chimney-pots, or a -mere ‘blower,’ which is best when made of a clear thick sheet of glass. -In any case, they must be treated at once. A smoky chimney is death to -one’s decorations, spoils one’s temper, and one’s white curtains and new -cretonnes, and gives the maids cause for dissatisfaction, the while we -take a hatred at once to the house and always remember its unkind -reception of us, however well it may behave to us when we find ourselves -better acquainted with its little ways. It would not be an auspicious -manner of beginning an acquaintance should some would-be friend receive -us with sulks and a turned-away countenance, which might be shyness,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_28" id="page_28"></a>{28}</span> -and is certainly bad mannered: I question much if we should ever reach -friendship should our advances be met in a similar way! In such a manner -does a smoky chimney make one feel towards the house it is a part of, -and once we are received with smoke in our own domain, we can never -really forget or forgive a reception we should not have had, had we kept -up good fires before we entered into possession thereof. When the house -is warmed, we can proceed to deal with each portion thereof as our -tastes and our purses permit; but we must never allow anything which -really offends our own special taste to remain; neither must we be -talked into taking anything we don’t like. If we don’t know our own -minds in these days, there are advisers to be had on whom reliance can -be placed. But if we have the least idea of what we want, let us get it. -It is our own house after all, and it is right it should represent us, -and not other folk. At the same time many people who can recognise -beauty and comfort when they see it, get bewildered by quantities; and -unable to select between them<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_29" id="page_29"></a>{29}</span> cannot secure loveliness, and are equally -unable somehow to recognise how comfort can be obtained.</p> - -<p>‘How do you keep this room up to 60 degrees?’ once said a doctor to me, -when I was inhabiting, <i>pro tem.</i>, a so-called furnished house in the -depth of the winter. ‘I had a child dying here of bronchitis last -winter, and, try how they would, his people couldn’t raise the -temperature to above 50 degrees, although his life depended on it.’</p> - -<p>‘Ah,’ said I, ‘they doubtless left it as they found it. I didn’t. I have -covered the gaping stained "surround" with felt. 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 -ones. That’s all the secret; and I never burn gas as you see, while my -fires last twice as long as they did before the alterations.’</p> - -<p>‘Oh, I wish I had known all that before,’ said the doctor, ‘for neither -I nor the parents could find out the cause of the cold.’<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_30" id="page_30"></a>{30}</span></p> - -<p>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 found.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_31" id="page_31"></a>{31}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II<br /><br /> -<small>HALLS AND PASSAGES</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">If</span> we wish to make a complete conquest of the special suburban residence -we are about to circumvent, there is no doubt whatever that the first -battle of all has to be fought and won on the very doorstep. Nay -sometimes one has to commence the conflict before we reach as far as -that, for have we not the ‘carriage sweep’ to tackle and the slamming -gate to minister to before reaching the front door? If we are cursed -with the ‘approach,’ all we can do is to make the gate as inoffensive as -we can, for alas! we must keep it or we shall have our front garden a -gathering ground for all the curs in the neighbourhood. But we must e’en -remove the latch altogether, and line the place where it was with -indiarubber, and put a couple of stout indiarubber springs on the house -side of the gate, which should have an inner<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_32" id="page_32"></a>{32}</span> lining of wire-netting, -and a head-trimming of barbed wire, or else of rough nails, to prevent -the demon boy seating himself thereon. Then, if by firm refusals to -allow tramps to come up, and by never giving them one farthing—or -indeed anything save a bread ticket redeemable at the nearest baker’s -shop, and which, ten to one, we shall find torn up in our ‘avenue,’—we -can induce them to mark our gate with some secret sign, which means we -are unspeakable brutes and not good even for a ‘little hot water,’ we -shall have ensured ourselves a certain amount of quiet, and shall, at -all events, have begun our campaign in the right way. Our gate we should -paint some good solid colour, and Indian red is a good shade with green -hedges and trees about us, as is also a special shade of dark olive -green. Then the name of the house should be painted on in white, <i>not</i> -gilded letters, and if we put as well ‘Please shut this gate quietly’ on -both sides of the top bar, we shall find that we at least are no longer -noise-makers in general, and, as far as our special gate is concerned, -the great slamming question is replied to satisfactorily.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_33" id="page_33"></a>{33}</span></p> - -<p>I may seem to dwell unduly on the matter of noise, but I can assure my -readers that every preventable noise is both a sin against themselves -and also against their neighbours. They may be in rude health and -inclined to jeer at all I say, but the day will come when their heads -will ache and their nerves bother them and when noise will torture them, -and then they will wish devoutly that they had legislated at first for -peace, for they certainly won’t get it when they have not the strength -to insist on it. I say preventable noise, and most noises are that, for -even the wretched piano in the schoolroom can be placed in such a -position that it only worries those to whom it belongs; while the person -who encourages barrel-organs or screaming children, should be at once -sent to the wilds of America, no other place being large enough to hold -such a barbarian.</p> - -<p>We know, of course, all English folk think their homes are their -castles; well, if so, the castle should have appropriate surroundings. -There is nothing much of the castle about a suburban residence, and the -sooner this fact is realised the better for those who dwell therein and -on both sides. Now, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_34" id="page_34"></a>{34}</span> carriage gate being painted and settled with, -and arranged to be fastened back should we have many callers from three -to six in summer, from three to five in winter, we can turn our -attention to the front door. I have had to circumvent for myself and for -many many other folk the ordinary suburban residence, 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 -about. As a rule, the front door opens straight on the narrow passage -called hall by courtesy, with the ladder-like flight of stairs going -straight up at one side. Then just opposite the front door, and about -eighteen or twenty feet from it, is the door of the third room, which -becomes library, smoking-room, or even day-nursery or schoolroom, -according to the tastes and the age and number of the owner’s family, -and nothing can be worse than this arrangement. But in the exception of -which I speak, the hall ends at the front door portion in a wall, and -the front door is placed opposite, as in the diagram on the next page, -and thus the wind which enters when the front<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_35" id="page_35"></a>{35}</span></p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary=""> - -<tr><td rowspan="4" valign="middle"><b><small>A</small> </b></td></tr> -<tr><td class="blt"> </td> -<td class="bt"> </td><td class="bt"> </td> -<td class="blt"> </td></tr> - -<tr><td class="bl"> </td> -<td> </td><td> </td> -<td> </td> -</tr> - -<tr><td class="blb"> </td> -<td><b><small>B</small></b> </td><td class="bb"> </td> -<td class="blb"><span style="margin-left: 6em;"> </span></td></tr> -</table> - -<p class="nind">door is opened only circulates in the tiny vestibule, and is shut off -from the hall and house by the inner door, beyond which is a small -fireplace, so small as to be scarcely visible at all, yet large enough -to ensure the equal temperature which means so much in this very -evil-minded climate of ours. Now, it would not be an enormous expense, -either to add the vestibule, or to make it by closing the ordinary -entrance at A and opening one at B, while the vestibule could be shut -off from the hall by curtains, should there be light enough to do -without the extra window, or by a glazed screen, should light be -otherwise an impossibility. In any case the gain to health would be -enormous, while the comfort is of course at once ensured which is so -absolutely necessary, and yet as a rule is so little understood. If one -can have curtains,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_36" id="page_36"></a>{36}</span> and expense is a great object, it is well to obtain -from Oetzmann a fretwork arch, which is made for this purpose, and which -is nailed on the wall and to the ceiling, and is at once simple and -effective. The rod the simplest brass one which can be procured, should -go behind the arch, which should face towards the end wall, and curtains -of Wallace’s diamond serge should fall from the rod; there should be two -full curtains, double, if possible, and edged with ‘grip cord,’ not -ball-fringe. They will be constantly moved, and ball-fringe would soon -spoil, while the cord is a hardy thing and capable of standing a certain -amount of pulling about. 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 ball, but -sometimes we are fortunate enough to come across tiles. And yet I don’t -know whether I should quite say fortunate! For sometimes the tiles are -more frightful than I can describe, and are often cracked and irregular, -while one can manage the boarded floor if one resolutely tackles it and -determines<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_37" id="page_37"></a>{37}</span> that it shall not conquer one instead of being conquered -itself. If one has tiles one should place two or three rugs over them, -the Abingdon Carpet Company’s charming ‘Arts and Crafts’ rugs for -choice, made in the proper length and width for these places; but if one -has not, the boards must first be stopped, planed and smoothed and -ventilated, and then a plain cork carpet from Wallace, of Curtain Road, -E.C. should be put down. This should be ventilated too, by piercing -holes here and there with a gimlet, else dry-rot will ensue, a thing -which once in possession is very difficult to get rid of, I can assure -my readers. The cork carpet must be supplemented by rugs, and in any -case the vestibule should be tiled with plain self-coloured tiles to -harmonise with the decorations, for here would be shed the wet -waterproofs and umbrellas of the way-worn traveller, 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 raiment. This -feeling often prevents people paying that kindest call of all, the call -on a wet, dreary day, when we are dying with loneliness and boredom, and -would<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_38" id="page_38"></a>{38}</span> give anything to see the friend who will not come because she -would be ‘too wet for the pretty room,’ and ‘so dirty, she would really -be ashamed to enter anyone’s house.’</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_008_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img src="images/ill_008_sml.jpg" width="164" height="226" alt="" /></a> -</div> - -<p>Now, with the sensible short tweed skirt and tweed undergarments, which -fortunate present-day damsels don unknown and unchecked, and a good -plain, yet pretty waterproof, anyone is weather-tight; and if the -parlour-maid pops the umbrella into the beaten iron ring for that -purpose<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_39" id="page_39"></a>{39}</span> placed behind the front door, and hangs the waterproof up in -Wallace’s handy P. T. C. wardrobe in another corner; and if the boots -are carefully wiped on the mat placed in the sunken place in front of -the door, 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 -brougham. The tiled floor should have upon it a pretty thick rug lined -with American leather: one can be bought for about 8s. 9d. at Treloar’s: -an outlay that no one need mind, but that ensures once more a certain -amount of comfort.</p> - -<p>The front door should, of course, never be grained, and it ought in -these days to be quite unnecessary for me even to hint at such a thing. -But mighty is the ‘local decorator,’ beloved of the suburbs, and his -counsels will undoubtedly prevail, unless we put down our foot very -firmly indeed, and keep it resolutely in that special attitude. He will -‘grain’ the door if he can until doomsday, I am convinced, but my -readers must be firm and dignified, and above all must they give their -instructions in writing, and keep a duplicate<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_40" id="page_40"></a>{40}</span> signed by the ‘decorator’ -(save the mark!), else will they find he has gone his own sweet way -after all, and they have no redress whatever. It is an axiom that -whatever colour is chosen for the hall that colour alone shall be on the -front door, but it may be in a darker shade, while the vestibule can -often be treated differently to the hall itself, though of course it -should lead up to and harmonise with it. Let me describe what I mean. -The special vestibule I am thinking of has a couple of small, -diamond-paned windows, one at the end, one opposite the front door, and -below this latter is a wide panel painted with a tiger-lily, and then a -wide wooden seat which lifts up and holds carriage rugs, and on which -anyone could sit did he or she come with a message or a note and require -to wait an answer. Both windows have wide ledges on which stand pots -holding palms or aspidistras, and all the paint on the inside of the -front door and on the vestibule side of the glass screen-doors included, -is a special, beautiful soft grey-blue shade. The panelled walls are the -same colour; the curtains are soft<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_41" id="page_41"></a>{41}</span> yellow silk, and the ceiling proper -is yellow and cream. On the floor are dull blue tiles and a Scinde rug, -and in one corner is the umbrella-ring, which one can get at Shoolbred’s -for about 18s. 9d., and that is all. There is no room for the P. T. C. -here, and the waterproofs are taken at once into the servants’ room to -be hung up and dried, but it would be much better were there a corner -wardrobe, only, alas! one can’t make space where one doesn’t possess it.</p> - -<p>The screen is made somewhat like this. The top and side panels are all -of leaded glass, as far as the brackets which hold pots for palms. The -tops of the doors are more leaded glass, and all the base is wood -painted on the vestibule side, the soft grey-blue spoken of before, and -on the other a specially soft and deep ‘real ivory.’ The dado is of -ivory, gold, and black Japanese leather paper, and the paper above is -one of Smee & Cobay’s, and is a cunning blend of green and red, managed -in such a way that the whole effect is a pinky red, which harmonises -with the grey-blue, and is as original as it is undoubtedly most -pleasant to contemplate.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_42" id="page_42"></a>{42}</span> The stairs and all doors are curtained off -with yellow diamond serge, and the passage—<i>i.e.</i> hall—is covered with -plain green cork carpet, on which are laid rugs in which the grey-blue -colour aforesaid predominates. Of course the ceiling is papered in -yellow and white, and equally, of course, all the paint is one even -surface of colour. Nothing can excuse picked out or striped and -embellished paint: nothing! Genius is better employed on better work, -and even genius is out of place in making ornamental that which after -all is only going to be part of a harmonious whole, and merely a -background to ourselves and our possessions. Therefore must there be -plain paint everywhere, and no cornice should be more than a moulded -band, merely coloured a plain cream or ivory colour. If the front door -and the doors in the vestibule screen are not above suspicion of -draughts, they should be at once surrounded with Slater’s patent -draught-excluders, which can be procured anywhere almost, but surely at -Shoolbred’s or Whiteley’s; for nothing is more trying than a draught. -Have as much air and proper ventilation as<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_43" id="page_43"></a>{43}</span> possible. Have a vestibule -window open for some time of the day in winter and all day long in -summer, and have the staircase window open as well: a house that can’t -have a thorough current of air cannot be a healthy one. But do not allow -the insidious draught, and the cold and unwarmed halls and passages, -which are ubiquitous save in a large house possessing a big, square -hall, where one usually finds a good fireplace. However, one should -manage somehow to make a fireplace there, ay, even if one can have -nothing better than the small, round, moveable stove called the ‘Ideal,’ -which burns patent fuel, and can be taken away at any moment. It should -be placed on an iron corner bracket rather raised above the floor, and a -guard should be round it, so that dresses could not come in contact with -it. But one should never be tempted from the paths of virtue by the -charms of oil stoves, for they always smell and are detestable, no -matter what anyone says; for though they should not, of course, if -properly cleaned and attended to, proper cleanliness and care mean -personal attention in a small household, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_44" id="page_44"></a>{44}</span> I cannot think how anyone -can touch oil, or whatever has held it without a shudder. There is a -smell about paraffin that, let us ‘shatter the stove as we will,’ -continues to cling about it and us in a way that is enough to make us -and our friends very ill indeed. It’s an unnecessary smell, too. If we -can’t depend on the maids, we must see to our own lamps, but we need not -have stoves. They give a poor heat at best, and at worst—but there is -no need to harrow our feelings by dwelling on that side of the picture. -Be sure that whenever we can have real fires, we should have them, and -that no house can be warm, and therefore healthy, if we have no fire in -the passage. It need be only a wee one. It can be kept in for hours by -using briquettes and small coal judiciously, and as it prevents colds -and consequent suffering, and very probably doctors’ bills, it need not -be omitted on the score of expense. Once see to the draught-excluder and -the hall fire, we shall save in the sitting-room fires too, which are -often twice as wasteful as they need be, because we pile them up to warm -the bitter air that<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_45" id="page_45"></a>{45}</span> rushes in when the door is opened, 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 would. -Then too there is no labour about the modern small tiled fireplace. It -is cleaned and laid in less than five moments, and indeed were we -sensible about our houses, we should not have half the bother with our -maids that some of us have, because we would minimise the amount of work -by labour-saving appliances, instead of making it double what it need -be, as we all of us do, more especially in those suburban houses, where, -after all, 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 home.</p> - -<p>The hall grate should be on the smallest scale possible, should have a -plain wooden mantel and small over-mantel consisting of a wooden frame -and a slip of bevelled looking-glass, and should have tiles for a hearth -and a surround, and should be provided with a high guard similar to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_46" id="page_46"></a>{46}</span> -those found in all nurseries, but in brass, not in common painted wire. -On the mantel we could put one or two framed photographs and about four -glasses for flowers, and also a small clock, should the hall not be -sufficiently large to allow us to have the proper tall one there; but -great care should be taken not to overdo the ornaments here especially, -for a hall gathers dust in a dreadful manner, and too many ornaments -mean dirt, and therefore should in no way be encouraged. The walls of -the hall should have pictures on them; there is no doubt about that, and -good autotypes and Burne-Jones’s photographs from Mr Hollyer of 9 -Pembroke Square, W., are the best to have. They should be framed in the -simple reeded frames sold by the Autotype Company, New Oxford Street, -and should be hung judiciously. The lowest should just, and only just, -escape the dado-rail, the highest should be only a couple of inches -above it at the outside. There should, of course, be no pictures -whatever in the vestibule portion of the hall, neither in the hall -itself should there be any brackets for china, nor over-doors on<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_47" id="page_47"></a>{47}</span> which -pots and vases can be placed, for the maid must always get the steps to -dust these places and, in consequence, dusting, is, at the best very -seldom, at the worst never done. But over every door in the halls and -passages must be placed <i>portières</i> of some kind or other. I have come -to the conclusion that a couple of curtains is the best arrangement for -this, if the doors open into the rooms, as they generally do in a small -hall; if not, of course the rod, which opens and shuts with the door, -and which Burnett sells for 4s. 6d. complete, must be used. The pair of -curtains allows the servant to hold one back for the visitor’s entrance -as she opens the door, 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 fellow; this prevents them from gaping open, and always -keeps them in place. Suppose each curtain has six hooks, one puts five -belonging to the left-hand curtain on the left-hand set of rings; in the -sixth, one puts hook No. 1 of the right-hand curtain; hook No. 6 of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_48" id="page_48"></a>{48}</span> -left-hand curtain goes into hook No. 1 of the right-hand one; the other -five rings are filled by the remaining five hooks then on the right-hand -curtain, and this ensures the curtains remaining always in their place -in the most satisfactory way possible. The best material for hall -curtains is undoubtedly Wallace’s diamond serge, and it should be lined -with sateen the same colour as that chosen for the curtains, and should -be edged with grip-cord. The glazed surface of the sateen resists the -dust, and the curtains should always be unhooked once a week and shaken -out of doors, and the poles and rings rubbed over with the new Selvyt -cloths, which are admirable, and far surpass the ordinary duster, as -they polish as well as remove extraneous matter and dirt. This is the -work of the housemaid, who is responsible for all dusting in the hall, -and also for all brushing and shaking; the washing of the steps, cork -carpet, etc., being the duty of the kitchen-maid, should one be kept; or -else of the ‘tweeny-maid,’ who takes, in a measure, the kitchen-maid’s -place in the ordinary small-sized establishment.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_49" id="page_49"></a>{49}</span> One word now about -this said cork carpet, and the best way to treat it, for it really is a -very important matter indeed. People should never allow themselves to be -talked into buying the orthodox and hideous-patterned linoleum, which -gives a hopelessly ‘<i>bourgeois</i>’ appearance to any house, and at once -puts a stop to anything like artistic decoration. ‘The pattern going -through to the back, as it does, ensures that it can never wear off,’ -says one person; ‘have the beautiful linoleum which imitates -parqueterie,’ remarks another, regardless of the fact that such -imitation is as vulgar as it is ugly. Why! it would be an advantage to -me that the pattern should wear off, a pattern being generally a mistake -on any hall floor; and, therefore, should the hall be untiled, or not -made of the silent wood blocks which are the ideal component parts of -any floor, and which are not likely therefore to be found in any -suburban residence, one should be resolute, and refuse flatly to have -anything at all but the soft-coloured cork carpet, which we can -supplement with rugs. I am aware that at first one feels as if one were -going mad<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_50" id="page_50"></a>{50}</span> over my pet material, for then every footmark shows, and -every atom of dirt is visible, but I prefer to be able to see dirt, in -order to ensure its speedy removal. Still if at first we give the cork -carpet one thorough good rub with linseed oil and turpentine, and one -only, all we need to do afterwards is to have it washed over with warm -water, or milk and water. Soap should never be used on any account -whatever, and then if once a week it has a real polish with beeswax and -turpentine, it will wear for ever, and, after the first, will not unduly -agitate us by bringing into prominence the erring footmarks of ourselves -and our friends. But, of course, it must always be supplemented by rugs. -Then we have an ideal hall covering, for the rugs can be taken up and -shaken daily, and so is cleanliness ensured, and without that the house -cannot possibly be habitable at all. On no account, not even in houses -where ‘expense is no object,’ should a fitted carpet be allowed in the -halls and passages, for it is utterly impossible to keep such an -arrangement even decently clean. Think of the traffic in a hall! the -muddy boots, the paws of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_51" id="page_51"></a>{51}</span> dear dogs (and everyone should have an -<i>un</i>chained dog, it’s the chained-up victims that are the terrors of the -suburbs), and the drippings from wet umbrellas and garments, and -renounce carpets there for evermore. Besides which, we have to remember -the fact that it is almost impossible to sweep out any corners in rooms -or halls, and that should the housemaid attempt to do so, she only -knocks great pieces off the paint in her endeavours, and finally has to -resort to a damp duster to pick up the ‘fluff’ which congregates there. -Damping woollen carpets is one of the easiest methods of procuring a -visit from the fatal moth, so should not be resorted to unless we are -quite at our wits’ end.</p> - -<p>The ordinary suburban staircase is another of the things we have to -approach with fear and trembling. As a rule, Jacob’s ladder has -suggested its design, and it is so proud of its appearance that it -thrusts itself on our notice the instant we enter the house. In this -case we can only grin and bear it, the while we make its long expanse of -open balustrade and wooden understructure as bearable as we can by -covering<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_52" id="page_52"></a>{52}</span> in the first with Eastern dhurries or Khelim curtains, and -filling in any panels in the latter with Japanese leather paper, which -is invaluable for this purpose. But should it be modestly stationed at -one side, as has been the position of the three staircases which have -been my portion in the suburban residences I have dwelt in most -complainingly; then one can curtain them off better with the same -arrangement of a fretwork arch I described when writing about the -vestibule; or by a couple of stronger arches which one can get at -Wallace’s, one of which encloses the stair, and the other leads to the -back premises and lavatories and cloak places. These arches are of -course, curtained, and so the ordinary visitor sees nothing save the -sitting-room doors or door and the hall itself, and is spared those -awe-striking glimpses into unsuitable spots, which are all too often -exposed guilelessly to the unhappy and much-embarrassed guest, who -neither wishes to see into the parlour-maid’s pantry, nor to view a vast -line of old hats, waterproofs and tennis rackets, and who much prefers -to remain ignorant of these and many other secret arrangements<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_53" id="page_53"></a>{53}</span> of the -innermost recesses of our home.</p> - -<p>Now not only are the position and design of the staircase more annoying -than I can say, but the stairs themselves are, as a rule, simply too -painful for words. They generally consist of a series of short, sharp -ascents, and are never by any chance low and broad, as a self-respecting -stair should most undoubtedly be, 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 twelvemonth, save perhaps a pile carpet, and that -they will ruin in a couple of years at the outside. No one can alter -either the steepness or narrowness of the stairway. Alas! they are both -past praying for, 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 covers, and made to resemble a very -small, thick cushion, and if we put carpet felt under the carpet we -shall find the carpet itself wear decently at anyrate, especially if we -see it is carefully moved once a month in such<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_54" id="page_54"></a>{54}</span> a way that the portion -that was at the top one month lives at the bottom the next, reversing -this same position once more when the time comes to move it again. I -have often remarked that there is no such thing as a cheap stair carpet, -and that the cheapest article at first is the dearest in the end, and I -have seen no reason to alter my opinion. Pile with only a small design -as pattern and no fidgety border, is the best thing in the world, and -can be bought at from 4s. 11d. to 7s. 9d. a yard. Next to pile comes -Brussels at about 4s. 6d. Then comes Wallace’s ‘Dunelm’ at about 4s., -and, finally, a new, self-coloured, all-wool material called ‘Roysse,’ -sold by the Abingdon Carpet Company at 2s. 3d. three-quarter width—the -ordinary stair width—and at 2s. 11d. a yard wide. Lower than this I -cannot for one moment advise even the most impecunious among us to go; -neither can I advise the ‘bargains’ and ‘odd lengths’ of pile and -Brussels that are often obtainable at really good shops. If they are -bargains as far as material and make are concerned, they are absolutely -hideous, and are<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_55" id="page_55"></a>{55}</span> only got rid of because even the British taste has -refused them; and if they are odd lengths we cannot ever match them, and -that means replacing the whole carpet should an accident happen to one -small part of it, which we could have replaced in one moment had we -bought a proper carpet. Such an one as is always kept in stock by most -of the best shops in London, the owners of which have learned that a -good and pretty thing is a joy for ever, and that once it is pronounced -such it can be always recommended and brought forward, not because it is -the ‘last new thing,’ but because it is old, and has been well and truly -tried and not found wanting.</p> - -<p>The upstairs passages should be treated to more cork carpet and rugs, -and under no circumstances must a ‘walk’ of carpet be allowed, neither -may the rugs be put down in a wearisome, unbroken line unless the -passage is very narrow and allows of no deviating from the straight -path. If there be a landing, as a rule two rugs are required, and in the -passage the rugs can be put one after the other in a somewhat similar -way,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_56" id="page_56"></a>{56}</span> less, as I remarked before, the passage is very narrow. In that -case a ‘vestibule rug’ must be procured either from Shoolbred, Hewetson -or the Abingdon Carpet Company. These can be had in lengths of about 6 -feet by 4 wide, and 9 feet by the same width, while there are both -longer and wider rugs to be procured, but then the passage should be -long enough to allow of there being two in use, if not more, when they -can be placed in any position save in a long, straight line.</p> - -<p>The doors of the upstairs rooms must always be securely curtained, and -here one wide, full curtain should suffice. There is not the continual -exit and entrance to these chambers there is to the downstairs rooms, so -then one curtain upstairs will be enough. These should be kept in place -by putting the end rings past the bracket on which the brass rod rests, -then the last hooks on the curtain are put into them, thus ensuring that -the curtains are always kept drawn. Anyone who has passed by a vista of -open bedroom doors, left open when the owners have, at the sound of the -gong, rushed downstairs to meals in too great a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_57" id="page_57"></a>{57}</span> hurry to put their -rooms tidy, will not need to have impressed upon them the fact that it -is absolutely necessary to decency to have <i>portières</i> which fall into -place behind the person who leaves his or her bedroom door open, and so -discloses to all comers the ravages which getting up too often leaves in -view. It is a good thing also to conceal the entrance to the bathroom -and lavatories by a curtain, which should depend from a beaten iron arm -which stretches straight out into the passage. This arm can be procured -from Bartholomew & Fletcher for about 18s. 6d., while the curtain should -be heavy; printed velveteen made double and fan-edged making an -absolutely perfect if somewhat expensive curtain. Godfrey Giles has a -charming velveteen, which is a mixture of blue and green. Wallace has a -beautiful yellow and cream one, and Smee & Cobay have these velveteens -in most colours, notably in a rich and exquisite red, which it is a -pleasure to look at, and which also wears extremely well, even in -windows where the sun has a certain amount of actual power, and is never -really kept out at all.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_58" id="page_58"></a>{58}</span></p> - -<p>Any cornice upstairs as well as down must be coloured ‘cream’ or ‘real -ivory,’ and the ceilings here as elsewhere must be papered with some -simple, inexpensive paper, in a colour which harmonises with the -decorations. And now let me impress upon my readers that even if they -have only taken their suburban villa on the usual tentative three years’ -lease: which is so rarely renewed: it is always worth while to make -their surroundings charming, even should they not remain in the house -after the first term of the three, seven or twenty-one years’ lease is -over. First because if the lessee and the owner combined would take -trouble to ensure beauty and comfort, I am quite certain that moving -would not be as continual as it is at present. The trouble taken over -the house would endear it to the dwellers therein, while the comfort -would cause them to think twice before they deprived themselves of it; -for once let one’s roots really strike home, and no one who has not -tried it can tell how difficult it is to drag them out of even an -uncongenial soil. While from a congenial one! well, there is nothing on -earth so hard to do and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_59" id="page_59"></a>{59}</span> so fearfully difficult to bear, and no -after-delights can cause these wounds really and truly to heal! -Secondly, dear readers, it is always worth while to have beautiful and -harmonious surroundings, ay, even for a few months and even if we have -to leave them. For in this latter case, we shall have left them as an -art legacy to our successor, 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 home!</p> - -<p>Of course each individual hall requires individual treatment, and it -would be well-nigh impossible to lay down any hard and fast rules to be -followed implicitly; but a dado, a real not a sham one, is an absolute -necessity in any narrow hall, and no one should be afraid of one of -coloured paper, bold in hue as in design, for a large, bold pattern -makes a small place appear larger, and real colour must always be a -pleasure, which a muddled, pale and timid tint can never be. A dado -could be of wood, if the lease is long enough, and the purse too, to -allow of it. In this case Godfrey Giles’s ‘gœhring<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_60" id="page_60"></a>{60}</span>’ material and -‘Glastonbury’ panelling will suit those who cannot afford oak. Arras -cloth, with a pattern printed on it is beautiful, especially if hung -like the old-fashioned arras used to be, to resemble a gathered curtain. -Then I am devoted to the plain, string-coloured matting, sold on purpose -for dados at 10½d. a yard; and there are of course, anaglypta and -Japanese leather paper always with us, while the printed arras cloth -paper is a strong and good material which is not to be despised by any -manner of means at all. In all cases there must be a real dado-rail, and -the paper above, as indeed every single thing in the hall, should -harmonise. I am devoted to a blue hall myself: the one described in the -first part of the chapter can well be absolutely copied, while it should -be remembered that a dark hall calls for yellow and cream, or red and -cream a real, bold, sealing-wax red: let there be no mistake about the -colour: and nothing should authorise the employment of either a green or -a terra-cotta hall. Green can never be a success there, while -terra-cotta spells fear and shows artistic hankerings which the owner is -unable, or<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_61" id="page_61"></a>{61}</span> not bold enough to carry out. I am not devoted to any -terra-cotta save some shades sold only by Liberty. I would never have -even these, save in some bedrooms and an occasional, a very occasional, -dining-room or library.</p> - -<p>As a rule the lighting of the hall should be managed by placing first, -in the vestibule, a gasalier in the very centre of the ceiling, where -the gas should be enclosed in a bucket-shaped glass in a beaten-iron -lantern frame; secondly, in the hall itself a similar treatment should -be followed out, if the ceilings be high enough to allow of it: if not, -side-brackets near the dining and drawing-room doors should be used. And -finally more side-brackets should be upstairs, these again of -beaten-iron, and with the same shaped glass. These can be bought very -inexpensively of Shoolbred, while Messrs Strode & Company, of 48 -Osnaburgh Street, Regent’s Park, make beautiful and more expensive -brackets and lanterns and lamps on the same lines.</p> - -<p>There should be as little furniture as possible in the ordinary suburban -hall or passage. The really necessary furniture has been described as -placed<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_62" id="page_62"></a>{62}</span> in the vestibule; but, if we have room we should undoubtedly -have a tall palm on a stand, a grandfather clock in one corner, a couple -of chairs: tall, high-backed ones for choice: and, if possible, between -the dining and drawing-room doors, which are often close together, or at -anyrate close to the latter door, have a nice plain walnut table. This -would hold the necessary bowl for cards left during the afternoon, and -taken away every day, because keeping them seems like parading the -amount and quality of one’s friends; and, if we visit much a book is of -course kept in which visits and addresses are entered. Beside this, have -only a small vase of flowers and maybe a couple of books placed across -each other at one corner. These give an air of life even to the smallest -hall somehow; and on little touches like these, absurd as it may seem to -mention them, depend the artistic completeness of the whole house.</p> - -<p>One word more, hats, cloaks and umbrellas must be put out of sight -somewhere; while all should recollect that it is extremely easy to -over-furnish any place, but especially so to <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_63" id="page_63"></a>{63}</span>over-furnish a hall, and -that in a narrow passage and in small quarters, one had far better have -too few impedimenta than too many. The former state of affairs can -always be remedied as we come to understand the capabilities of our new -abode; the latter can only draw down upon us the objurgations of our -friends, the while we collect dirt and dust, and can’t comprehend why we -are as uncomfortable as we most undoubtedly are.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_64" id="page_64"></a>{64}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III<br /><br /> -<small>KITCHEN AND BASEMENTS</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">If</span> the conquest of the hall be difficult, the siege of the kitchen and -servants’ quarters generally is one that will carry dread even to the -stoutest heart. For as a rule the suburban builder sinks to his lowest -depths of villainy here, and either gives a damp and wandering basement -wherein no servant will remain more than her month, or a regular -cupboard where the stove leaves scarcely room for anything else, and -where the heat from that, and the draughts from the doors and windows, -are enough to ruin the constitution of any ordinary woman. The basement -kitchen is the worst of all, because it marks a class of house that has -seen better days, and is rapidly deteriorating. Therefore if one has to -choose between two houses, one of which has no basement, and another -which has, one should at once select the basementless one.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_65" id="page_65"></a>{65}</span> There are -sure to be cellars below the house, which will keep it dry. One doesn’t -even in the suburbs <i>often</i> come across a house, the boards of which are -pushed out of place by enterprising mushrooms growing in the soil -beneath, and ambitious of appearing in fresh air and among the haunts of -men.</p> - -<p>If, however, the basement cannot be avoided, we must rise to the -occasion and do the very best we can in the matter. And first of all we -must see that it is really dry, and that its comfort is assured by the -presence of a dry area and the proper amount of ventilation, and absence -of damp. If this cannot be assured, the house must be given up. Far -better put up with a small dining-room and a dull drawing-room, for both -of these drawbacks can be easily remedied, but for a damp bad kitchen -there can be no cure, and should we weakly give in to it, we can never -be happy or comfortable in the least in our domestic arrangements, be -very sure of that.</p> - -<p>If, however, we find that the basement is capable of amendment, our -first endeavours must be to make it as cheerful as possible, and to get -as much<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_66" id="page_66"></a>{66}</span> light and air into it as possible too. I have only once had to -‘wrastle’ with one on my own account, and that I made as bearable as -circumstances would permit, by enlarging a window and having one of -Chappius’ reflectors so arranged that as much sunshine came in as was -obtainable, while I had one of the three doors closed entirely, and made -an enormous scullery and washhouse species of abode, into a nice little -scullery and a rather decent room in which the maids could sit and have -their meals and do their needlework. Oh, I do hope some day to hear of a -real and <i>bona-fide</i> revolt against the regulation suburban -accommodation for the unfortunate maids, for, until this takes place, I -am quite sure the servant question will remain a very burning one.</p> - -<p>I am writing now more especially for those householders who have from -£500 to £1000 a year to spend, and who have two or four maids, according -to their means and the size of their families, and who ought to be able -to find the kitchen arrangements comprised in a square block, consisting -of kitchen, scullery, parlour-maid’s pantry, with<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_67" id="page_67"></a>{67}</span> good, deep cupboards -for glass and china, and a pretty little sitting-room where the -domestics could have a few at least of the amenities of life. The -bedrooms could be above, as could the sanitary arrangements, which are -all too often placed either in the cellar part of the house or close to -the larder, or, in fact, anywhere where they ought not to be. Now -suppose we find the ordinary box of a pantry, slip of a kitchen and -scullery and larder, how should we best circumvent this arrangement, I -wonder? Well, first we can tackle the landlord, who, if he have money at -all: and an impecunious landlord is a deadly and desperate thing to -possess, and should be most carefully avoided: will be glad to do as we -want for an extra rent at the rate of 5 per cent on whatever outlay he -can make. We should get him to build out a servant’s sitting-room, and -enlarge the pantry and scullery, and to put above the erection a -servant’s bath and lavatory arrangement. This could be done for about -£100 and the extra £5 on the rent would hardly be felt, while the -comfort obtained thereby would far and away compensate for the outlay. -If the landlord be obdurate, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_68" id="page_68"></a>{68}</span> only thing to do is to buy for -ourselves one of Humphreys’ moveable iron buildings, and have it adapted -for our purposes. In this case we can only, I fear, manage the servants’ -sitting-room and extra accommodation for glass, china and washing-up, -and we shall have to put the room door just apart from the house, -though, of course, a very short passage could be erected. But before -anything is done, care should be taken to ascertain the rules and -regulations respecting the erecting of buildings in the special -locality, as all seem to me to differ; and, indeed, in some there are -none at all. Yet, in any case this is a thing to be ascertained -definitely, for I have known a Local Board step in and formally order -the removal of a beautiful and pet conservatory, because the builder had -innocently infringed some bye-law in its construction, and had not -obtained the sanction of the authorities to the plans of the structure -before erection was commenced. If neither the landlord nor Humphreys can -come to the rescue, I am going to advocate a step which will be nothing -short of anarchy and revolution in the eyes of any old-fashioned -person,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_69" id="page_69"></a>{69}</span> for I am about to suggest that, in these desperate straits, the -usual third room should be handed over to the maids to sit in, while we -can keep it in a measure in our own hands too, by erecting our -store-cupboards there, and extra shelves for glass and china. But if we -do, we must not be always pouncing in and out on the maids, but must -give out everything for the day’s use before ten o’clock, after which we -should never go there unless actually obliged, for nothing is so -detestable as a room into which anyone can go at any moment, and where -the maids can never feel they are safe from eternal supervision. If the -door of this third room opens straight on the hall, 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 made. The original door need be only bolted or locked inside, and -covered with a curtain, while it is not either difficult or expensive to -contrive another exit, for a hole is easily knocked in an ordinary -suburban wall, and a door frame and door added. And I venture to -prophesy if this is done, that there will be a reign of peace in the -kitchen department<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_70" id="page_70"></a>{70}</span> unprecedented in the annals of most houses, because -servants will usually stay where they are comfortable, and where they -feel they are considered, and their health and happiness are both -thought about. I know quite well that in their own homes and in the -houses they come from, they have no real privacy at all; but I also know -that most maids leave such homes at too early an age to recollect half, -or, indeed, to realise half, of the miseries they are called upon to -bear there, and they very easily forget the past, and only really -comprehend the present and its possibilities; besides which, a maid goes -away from her home to ‘better herself.’ Were she content with -semi-starvation and over-crowding, she would remain there, or enter on -the desperate existence of a factory hand or a home worker. The fact -that she wishes for more comfort, for more human surroundings, sends her -into domestic service; and if that comfort and those surroundings were -forthcoming, servants would be far more plentiful than they are at -present, and would likewise come of a far better and much more -honourable and pleasant class. The first step then is,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_71" id="page_71"></a>{71}</span> undoubtedly, to -secure something in the shape of ‘the room,’ as the servants’ hall is -called in more ambitious households, and the second is to see that it is -decently arranged and is sacred to the maids for a certain portion of -the day, and most certainly for all the evening. I say a certain portion -of the day, because, in small establishments, it is possible that the -mistress may have little jobs of finer cooking, of plate-cleaning, 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 maids. If this be the case, the establishment will naturally be -so small that the maids will be too much occupied all the mornings to be -able to use it, so that until 12.30 it could remain in the mistress’s -possession; but after that hour she must never enter it. Just as in a -larger house and with more maids, the hour of ten must see her out of -the kitchen, that part of her work being completed then for the rest of -the day.</p> - -<p>Almost the first things a housemistress should ascertain about her house -are the position and number of the pipes which are part and parcel<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_72" id="page_72"></a>{72}</span> of -the water supply, as, unless this is ascertained, and she is able to -possess herself of a species of sketch-map of them, she will not be able -to know how to manage should the usual winter arrive in all its -strength, and the water become frozen in the pipes in a manner that -should never, for one moment even, be allowed. As a rule, our winters -are not very long or very severe; if they were we should, no doubt, be -readier for them than we are now. But we can always depend on a cold -‘snap’ or period during which our very unpreparedness lays us open to a -thousand and one discomforts and dangers, 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 disagreeable. The -suburban builder, as a rule, has his ideas, and his only, on the subject -of pipe laying. One idea is, so to imbed them in the walls of the house -that we cannot get at them at all, and another is to place them outside -the house in the most exposed position possible,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_73" id="page_73"></a>{73}</span> where they are -warranted to freeze on the first provocation, unless we can take the -matter into our own hands at once, and either box them in, filling in -the space between the pipes and the boxes with sawdust, which generally -protects them for all time from the severest frost; or, at the approach -of winter, so swathe them in flannel rags and hay bands, that frost -cannot touch them, not forgetting to treat in a similar manner the pipes -in the tank room. These should be our especial care, for they are often -the first to freeze, and are the cause of many and many a detestable and -untoward catastrophe.</p> - -<p>The boiler in the suburban kitchen is generally one of two kinds, and is -either of the low-pressure order, which has no system of circulating -pipes, or the high-pressure species, which has and which requires more -elaborate care than the former. If the low-pressure boiler is the one in -use, and the frost is severe, it is better to completely empty all the -pipes in the house, and to cut off the water supply to the house -entirely, drawing the water from<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_74" id="page_74"></a>{74}</span> a supply-cock fixed just before the -water enters the house, whence it can be obtained by hand as required. -Of course this adds a great deal to the work, but it means safety, for -when the boiler is kept well filled it cannot burst, neither can pipes -freeze if there be no water in them to bring about this very -disagreeable state of things. A low-pressure boiler having a lid that -comes off, can always be hand-filled easily, while cans of water must be -placed wherever one is accustomed to use water freely; and though baths -may be curtailed and work increased, no damage or danger can ensue. -Therefore the moment a frost sets in, cut off the water from the house, -and rely entirely on the hand-filling of the boiler for all domestic -purposes.</p> - -<p>If the boiler is a high-pressure one, we must be very vigilant from the -first moment a frost appears, while we must be ready for it long before -it really arrives. The first thing to see is that this boiler is -supplied with a safety-valve and a supply-cock; and the second thing to -do is to have the principles on which the safety-valve is<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_75" id="page_75"></a>{75}</span> constructed -so explained to us by the man who supplies it, that we shall always be -able to ascertain in a moment if it is in working order, or if it is -not. For safety-valves are possessed of a demon habit of being out of -order when they are least expected to be, and we may be priding -ourselves on the fact that we have one, and are therefore quite safe, -when the wretched thing may be refusing to work, and we may be on the -very brink of the catastrophe we have intended it to avoid for us. -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 wrong. The only thing she can do is to have -written instructions from the man who supplies it. These instructions, -the plan of the pipes and special rules about what to do in a severe -frost, should be in a small book kept among the housekeeping books, and -easily get-at-able in case the frost should occur when the mistress was -away from home, or if she were ill or in any way unable to attend to it -herself. If the supply pipes cannot be got at<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_76" id="page_76"></a>{76}</span> and protected from the -frost as a whole, it is best, once the tanks in the roof are full, to -cut off the supply entirely from the main. In this case the local -authorities must be communicated with, and the tanks filled by the Local -Board by means of a stand-pipe, and great care must be taken both to see -the tanks are kept full, and that the pipe between the hot and cold -water tanks is kept free from frost. If by any chance the worst comes to -the worst, and danger is ahead, the safety-valve will show it by blowing -off steam; then out with your fire at once, dear reader; you are done -for, and must remain kitchen-fireless until a beneficent thaw sets in.</p> - -<p>In the meantime a second stove in the scullery will prevent you from -being foodless, and though hot water may be scarce and comfort little, -you will at anyrate be safe, and as the maids have their little -sitting-room they won’t be frozen in the kitchen or thawed in the -scullery, as they most undoubtedly would otherwise have been. Of course, -if we have our pipes properly protected, and there is no warning from -the safety-valve, and water flows freely from the boiler-taps,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_77" id="page_77"></a>{77}</span> we are -all right. In this case it is best never to allow the kitchen fire to go -out, but last thing at night to bank it up with ashes and briquettes, -and so ensure its burning without stopping. Of course it should be -protected by a guard, and no kindling wood must on any account be placed -to dry either in the ovens or on the hot plates by the side. In the -morning the fire should be thoroughly raked out, and set going again in -the usual way. Unless this is done, the fire will not be good enough for -cooking: it will be a caked mass, which will not ensure the cook’s -manufactures being the success they should be; therefore, in giving our -instructions, great stress should be laid on the real necessity that -undoubtedly exists for a rebuilding and relighting of the fire for the -new day.</p> - -<p>Sometimes there are odd lengths of pipes that we cannot protect, and -which only supply certain single taps. In this case stop-cocks should be -fixed in them in such a way as to prevent the water entering them, and -these should be used in the frost. Then these special pipes can<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_78" id="page_78"></a>{78}</span> be kept -waterless without disturbing the whole internal economy of the house as -regards the water supply. Of course I am not writing in any measure -about the proper arrangements of the water pipes. I am only advising the -ordinary suburban residents how to save misfortune, and a ruinous -plumbers’, and very likely a decorators’, bill too, should the winter be -as one usually finds it in England, where the spells of -frost—undoubtedly short as they are—undoubtedly make people -indifferent and happy-go-lucky about their preparations for hard -weather.</p> - -<p>But given the unexpected in the shape of real cold, and what occurs? -Boilers burst and kill and maim people freely, and the moment a thaw -comes, the plumbers are besieged by those whose pipes are pouring -torrents of water down the walls and the front staircase, while carpets -and furniture are spoiled, and everyone’s health suffers because the -smallest precautions have not been taken to ensure the house against an -entirely preventible state of things. Then there is one great thing to -recollect, and that is, that after<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_79" id="page_79"></a>{79}</span> a frost one must flush most lavishly -all the drains and sinks, and, moreover, during the frost we must keep -ample disinfectants ready and in use in every place where they can -possibly be needed. I always put Sanitas down the bath and the -housemaid’s sink too, because soapy water decays and causes very -unpleasant smells, while, of course, Sanitas should be liberally poured -down every other place in use. Then when the thaw comes, let the water -run freely for at least an hour a day for the first three days down each -drain, flushing first with hot water and a liberal supply of -disinfectants; for if these precautions are taken, we shall not want the -doctor, a gentleman whose visits too often follow a thaw with a -regularity far more pleasing to him, maybe, than they can be to us, even -if we are as fond of him as people usually manage to become of the -family doctor.</p> - -<p>I may seem to have dwelt unduly on the great pipe question, but the long -frost of the early part of 1895 showed me most emphatically<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_80" id="page_80"></a>{80}</span> that there -was great need to instruct the ordinary householder in the suburbs and -in small town houses about this unpoetical but most necessary subject. -No less than three boilers burst in one week in the place where I was -then staying; one resulted in the death of the servant and total -blindness for the only child of the house; one in the death of three -children, while the third maimed the cook for life. Of the destruction -to property I need say nothing; but when we reflect that all these -accidents were absolutely preventable, and were entirely due to crass -ignorance on the part of both mistresses and maids, we will, I think, -come to the conclusion that the first duty of woman is to know her -pipes, the position thereof, and the manner of her water supply; while -the second is to be ready to act for the best the moment frost appears, -and so render bursting boilers and pipes the impossibilities they both -can be made in the most faultily-constructed suburban residences, if -only the dwellers therein have their heads screwed on the right way, and -are prepared for any real emergency.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_81" id="page_81"></a>{81}</span> In any case, it is well always to -have some means of cooking, which shall be available should we be, for -one cause or the other, unable to use the range, which, by the way, -should, if we can in any way afford it, be the ‘Eagle,’ for at present, -at all events, no better one has been invented. If possible, there -should be a small open grate and the little side low-pressure boiler -which can always be hand-filled; in the scullery or even in the maid’s -sitting-room; but if either is impossible, we must be possessed of means -of cooking by gas, so that we shall not be left entirely helpless should -the frost seize on our pipes before we are ready, or should it be -necessary to sweep the kitchen chimney or repair the kitchen range.</p> - -<p>If, however, we have a gas stove, the supply of gas should not be left -to the discretion of the maids, but should only be get-at-able when it -is legitimate to use it. Unless the mistress herself can turn on and off -the gas, and keep it off when it should not be used, the waste and -expense will be enormous. There are certain things ‘the very best’ maids -are always reckless with,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_82" id="page_82"></a>{82}</span> <i>e.g.</i>, gas, potatoes, bread; and kindling -wood and matches; small items to fuss about, no doubt, but small things -are what add up and become terrors. One expects the big ones somehow, -but the tiny odds and ends, that seem nothing separately, are what swell -the weekly bills when they are added up, and therefore should be more -thought about than they are in the usual suburban household.</p> - -<p>The pipes and the kitchen itself once settled about, the next steps to -take are towards proper ventilation and draught exclusion. One cannot -ventilate with a draught, yet how few people realise this; if they did, -colds would go quite out of fashion and everyone would be much happier -than at the present moment. As a rule one door in the orthodox kitchen -opens straight on the open air, and here the tradespeople come and -linger while waiting about for the orders which should never be called -for except under special stress of circumstances. If this be the case, -what would it cost to add a simple porch and side-door? not much above -£20, yet what a difference would it make in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_83" id="page_83"></a>{83}</span> comfort of the kitchen. -If, however, this outlay is impossible, a large, 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 opens, and the door is reached from -the other side of the screen, which is only pushed on one side to answer -the bell, and replaced as soon as possible. This breaks the draught even -if it can’t exclude it, while the maids’ health and the consumption of -coals both considerably benefit by such an arrangement. More Slater’s -patent draught-excluder should be put round doors and all windows, and -ventilation should be secured by a round ventilator put in the top part -of the window, and another in the top part of an outer wall; these -ventilators can always be closed, but when cooking is in progress or gas -is burning, and for at least an hour after the meals are cooked, they -should remain open and so ensure that the air in the kitchen should be -always pure and fresh.</p> - -<p>The larder should be ventilated in the same way, and any windows should -be covered with very fine wire-netting on the side they do not<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_84" id="page_84"></a>{84}</span> -open—outside, if they are the ordinary small sash windows, inside, -should they push outwards on an iron support—to prevent cats, dogs and -small animals of any kind from entering, while great care should be -taken to see that the larder is damp-proof. Nothing keeps in a damp -larder, and, therefore if it should be damp it is utterly useless to try -and put meat, bread and butter there. In any case if one has not tiles, -and I never yet met with the suburban larder that had, the walls should -be painted from top to bottom, first with Chambers’s damp-resisting -fluid, and then with a couple of coats of Aspinall’s enamel paint in a -shade of ivory white. No one should permit the decorator to talk him or -her out of using this most invaluable preparation, for nothing I can -assure my readers, can take its place. I have had eight years’ constant -experience of it. I have had many years’ experience of the ordinary -paint, and I confidently say that it and Aspinall are not to be -mentioned together in any shape or form, therefore everyone should -insist on its use. The decorator I fancy does not get quite as<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_85" id="page_85"></a>{85}</span> much -profit on it as on the ordinary paint, and it is more trouble to apply I -know, and these perhaps are his reasons for his undoubted dislike to it; -but if my readers are wise, they will insist on Aspinall, especially -where damp has to be considered, and where a good surface and uniform -colouring are in request.</p> - -<p>The larder should have one wide shelf, and in one corner should be a -safe for meat, and poultry, with very fine wire-netting all round. 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 all, or else hung in the -cellar if there be no garden. Here too should be placed the -refrigerator, without which no house is complete, and which soon saves -its own cost, in the manner it allows one to keep one’s provisions -sweet, and one’s milk right, and one’s butter from running away, as it -otherwise does at the smallest amount of heat. The larder floor should -be tiled, if not it must be ‘gone over’ every day with a mop dipped in -Sanitas and water to take up the dust and make it fresh and clean; then -the food should<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_86" id="page_86"></a>{86}</span> be nicely arranged for the mistress’s visit of -inspection, while once a week the larder must be thoroughly scrubbed -out, shelf and all, the shelf being washed over with a damp duster -daily, when the floor is done over with the ever-useful mop. The same -treatment should be given to the scullery, where the sinks should be -flushed daily, and which should never be without their big lump of soda -in one corner to prevent the grease accumulating.</p> - -<p>The kitchen floor should be simply boarded; if only used to cook in, it -should have merely one or two large squares of oilcloth or cocoa-nut -matting by the stove, kitchen table, or where the cook and kitchen-maid -stand to work, and the furniture should resolve itself into a couple of -good tables, one the ordinary kitchen table, the other much on the same -lines but smaller, and placed close to the window, to be used for pastry -making and the finer parts of cooking, and which should both be scrubbed -daily, and on which grease should never be allowed to remain for one -minute. A couple of ordinary kitchen chairs and the dresser should -complete the plenishing.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_87" id="page_87"></a>{87}</span> The dresser drawers should be inspected once a -week, to see there are no accumulations of rubbish there, and that all -is in order. The dresser must never be used as private property by the -maids, else will it become a species of glory hole, filled to the brim -with unmended stockings, old dusters, paper and string, and odds and -ends, which ought not to be tolerated there, or, indeed anywhere else -for five minutes by anyone. If the furniture is as severely simple as I -have described above, the kitchen resolves itself into what it should -undoubtedly be, merely a place to cook in, and in which to prepare the -meals. In this case the walls should be painted from ceiling to floor -with a shade of electric turquoise enamel, or else in one shade of the -blue to about 4 feet from the floor, the rest of the wall being painted -a soft shade of brown. This should include the doors and window-sashes, -and the one paint should be divided from the other by a wide band of -brown stenciling on the blue surface of the wall. The ceiling should be -whitewashed, as should be the ceilings in all kitchen premises, and the -kitchen should be<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_88" id="page_88"></a>{88}</span> lighted with a good centre gaslight with a couple of -burners. A bracket arm for gas should be on one side of the fire, to use -while cooking was going on on very dark days, or when special cooking -was going forward; and there should be one gas light in the larder. -These lights should be protected with the proper wire-globes sold by -most ironmongers. Gas globes are soon smashed in the kitchen, and they -are not really safe when they are on moveable brackets or pendants, as -they all too often are in these parts of a house.</p> - -<p>The pantry should be treated in the same way as the kitchen as regards -decoration, and should only have mats on the floor, and no fixed -covering there at all. Only the china, glass and silver in use should be -kept in this room, the latter, if valuable, only in the day time, and -even then in a small locked safe. If the pantry should be large, the -extra glass and china can be kept there in locked cupboards, accessible -to none but the mistress. Here in the ordinary ship’s cabin provided by -the suburban builder, the ‘fitment’ style of cupboard is most useful. As -a rule the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_89" id="page_89"></a>{89}</span> maid only wants room enough to stand or sit by her sink to -wash up and clean the daily silver, and so the tiny space can be almost -filled with cupboards; and here is an excellent place for the stores and -jam-closet: the ordinary suburban resident if wise, getting in her -stores once a week from Shoolbred, and not dealing with the local -grocer, who, all too often extracts orders from the maids when none -should be forthcoming. If there really is no room here for them, -cupboards must be erected in the maid’s room, whether it be that vexed -third room or another. Somewhere there must be a store-cupboard, -properly regulated and properly looked after by the mistress herself, -and no one else at all; otherwise, that way most undoubtedly lie -bankruptcy and disorganisation, often enough one and the same thing.</p> - -<p>The maids’ sitting-room should be papered with some pretty, light paper, -and should have either a dado of cupboards and shelves in the fitment -style, or else a real dado of plain, self-coloured oilcloth, which can -be wiped over with a damp duster daily. This and the paint could once -more<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_90" id="page_90"></a>{90}</span> be brown, as could the dado-rail. The ceiling must be whitewashed. -There should be a nice table for meals and work, six ordinary Windsor -chairs, and a couple of comfortable basket chairs, with hard-wearing, -tapestry-covered cushions. These should be considered the property of -the elder servants, if four are kept; but, of course, if the housemaid -is of ‘staid’ age, and careful she could have a nice chair too. I think -the ordinary kitchen chair a cruel thing, except for use at meals, and -see no reason why the maids should be condemned to its use and nothing -else, when, surely their backs must ache sometimes as well as the backs -of other far less employed women undoubtedly do.</p> - -<p>The grate must be a slow-combustion one, and, unless the mistress uses -the room need not be lighted, save in very severe weather, before one -o’clock, when it should be lighted from the top and allowed to burn -slowly down, and kept going with briquettes and small coal judiciously -mingled with a little larger coal. The curtains should be of the dark -blue and white butterfly cretonne Liberty sells, and which should be in -universal use wherever much washing is to be expected, for it<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_91" id="page_91"></a>{91}</span> washes -splendidly, and never seems to wear out. I have still a couple of -cretonne covers I had quite thirteen years ago. The floors should either -be stained or else covered with plain cork carpet, supplemented with -small rugs here and there, or else with a square of cocoa-nut matting. -But I like rugs best; they are so easily taken up and shaken, and dust -is kept at bay as long as this is done. I am very much inclined to say, -do not have gas here, yet I fear unless we have plenty of help we must, -or the lamps, inevitable in the sitting-room, will become too numerous -for our staff. At the same time, I do very strongly recommend a good -duplex lamp from the centre of the ceiling if it can be managed. -Servants are reckless of gas. They are not so fond of lighting the lamps -as they are of setting a light to the gas. In the first place, it is -more trouble; in the second, they know that if they light them too soon -they will have to re-trim and re-fill them before the evening is out. -But if a lamp is procured, it must be a good one. It must have a metal -receiver, and it must have a clear glass shade. Silk or stuff shades are -out<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_92" id="page_92"></a>{92}</span> of place, and very dark always I think; in such a room as this they -would be ridiculous, and most likely dangerous. This room is in the care -of the kitchen-maid too, though, if there are books, pictures and -ornaments, as there should be, the housemaid should take a pride in -dusting them and keeping them in order, and should see that the rougher -parts of the cleaning are properly performed. As the mistress will use -this room for a short while in any case, she can always see that ruin -has not begun among the furniture and decorations; for whether it is -provided by the builder, or whether she supplement the accommodation of -the house herself as advised before, she should always have one -store-cupboard here, whence she could give out the things for the day’s -use. She can then supervise without spying; for once tacitly allow that -a room in one’s own house cannot be entered save on sufferance (mind, I -don’t say frequented!) 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 -believe.</p> - -<p>One word more. In frosty weather gas and fires<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_93" id="page_93"></a>{93}</span> should not be stinted. -The gas should be burned steadily in the scullery, pantry and -lavatories, to prevent any chance of the water therein freezing. This -may save a great deal; but, of course, if the pipes have frozen, one can -only accept the situation and wait for a thaw. But that they need never -do this, I trust I have demonstrated in a manner that should be patent -to the least imaginative housewife in the world.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_94" id="page_94"></a>{94}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV<br /><br /> -<small>DINING-ROOMS</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">The</span> suburban rooms I myself have personally encountered and conquered -have been so truly terrible that, when I look back upon my struggles -with them, I can only wonder that I have survived them in the least -degree. For not only were they either unduly hideous or over-ornamented -in a manner that would strike awe into the boldest soul, but every -window and door gaped wide apart, and were with the fireplaces, put just -where they ought not to be, while in one or two cases the floors had to -be relaid and the doors bodily moved round before the rooms were even -habitable. I could only wonder whether the folks who had lived in some -of them before (two or three were quite new, and these were, save in one -instance, the worst of the lot) had escaped with their lives, or<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_95" id="page_95"></a>{95}</span> -whether they had all gone away crippled in health and in temper, on a -voyage of discovery to some better and more suitably-designed, eligible -villa residence.</p> - -<p>The first room I ever approached with an eye to decoration appeared to -be everything it ought to be, and seemed simply perfect. It was large -and lofty, had two wide and beautiful windows, and a good, deep -fireplace and an excellent floor; but alas! I was not as wise then as I -am now, for my only acquaintance with houses was confined to two family -houses, in which I had lived all my life, and which were properly built, -whatever their other faults might have been: and, in consequence, 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 endured: silently, it is true, because then I thought them inevitable, -and it is never any use grumbling against things which must be borne! -But presently sense awoke in my brain, and I saw that nothing which had -caused me such woe need be put up with any longer, and I verily believe -the knowledge I<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_96" id="page_96"></a>{96}</span> have since developed on the score of house-furnishing -and decoration first became mine in that special house, for I was roused -to the fight with cold and discomfort inseparable from a quiescent -residence in a suburban house, and soon discovered cold could be -expelled did one rise to the occasion and determine that, somehow or -other, one would conquer, and no longer play the ignoramus or the very -painful <i>rôle</i> of the conquered.</p> - -<p>In the first place, the door opened straight on the fireplace, and as -the front door—a frail thing of boards and sham stained glass—was -about 6 feet away from it, the cold air rushed in the instant it was -opened, and the heat of the fire flew mainly up the chimney, insuring -that the rest of the room should be more like Siberia than any other -spot. And in the second, the windows need not have been glazed at all so -little did they keep out the outside atmosphere, notwithstanding the -curtains which liberally adorned them, and which used to wave right out -into the room at the very smallest approach of a breeze. When there was -any amount of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_97" id="page_97"></a>{97}</span> real wind, the room wasn’t a room any longer, it was one -and the same thing as being in the garden, 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 table, which, place it how we might, could never be -in anything save a thorough draught.</p> - -<p>The first thing to do was to transpose the door, and make it open with -its back to the grate. Then it had to be surrounded with the ever-useful -‘Slater’s patent’; and, as it opened into the room, a species of shelter -was arranged behind it, 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 it. These hung straight down in good heavy folds when we were -alone and there was not very much going in and out; and, as we had a -‘hatch’ into the kitchen, there never was much; but on ‘dinner-party -nights’ the curtains were tied back, and so did not interfere with the -coming and going, as a single undraped curtain always must interfere -either more or less. Then attention was turned<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_98" id="page_98"></a>{98}</span> to the windows, and -these were surrounded by more ‘Slater’s patent,’ which was liberally -supplemented by putty, because the frames began to shrink away from the -glass in a truly hideous manner, and, in consequence, there were two -gaps, one there, and one where the frames were supposed to fit into the -woodwork round the walls. The woodwork, in its turn, shrank from the -brickwork, and the space had to be filled in with mortar and then -painted over.</p> - -<p>Now this special house was not a regulation £60-a-year villa, but was -rented £160, and had a fair garden and good stabling, and was altogether -what may be termed a ‘residence for a gentleman’s family;’ nay, even by -some house-agents, ‘a mansion,’ because it had a second staircase; yet -such is the material used in the suburbs! I repeat, this special house -was a good specimen of the kind, and was not, as might be imagined, a -‘fearful example’ or an isolated case, so I leave my readers to imagine -what the less-expensive buildings can be like, even when they can truly -be advertised as possessing tiled hearths, electric bells and all the -latest improvements, including a fixed bath, hot and cold water laid -on;<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_99" id="page_99"></a>{99}</span> and other items familiar to those who have gone on heart-breaking -journeys in search of a house, liberally supplied with a sheaf of pink -and fallacious orders from a house agent. In fact, before the -dining-room was livable in, we had to almost reconstruct the windows and -doors; and I only regret that my improvements did not then rise to -putting in a proper grate, for I am sure, if I had done so, the conquest -of the room would have been complete. But unfortunately I did not -realise the horrors of it until all the decorations were done and we had -settled in, and then expense barred the way; not only the expense of the -new grate: that would have been saved in the difference in our winter’s -consumption of coal: but the cost of replacing the Japanese leather -dado, which could not be matched, and, in consequence, would have had to -be renewed entirely, because the grate and mantelpiece could not have -been moved without spoiling at least a yard of it on each side of the -fireplace. A new grate without a new mantel was also impossible, because -the moulded mantelpiece, being round above the grate, was not available -for the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_100" id="page_100"></a>{100}</span> slow-combustion stoves, which are always made square. Everyone -should refuse to own a round mantelpiece, because of the impossibility -of adapting such a possession to the proper and only really useful -grate. If, by the way, Japanese leather paper is used for the -dining-room dado, or indeed anywhere for any dado or frieze, an extra -piece should always be purchased at the same time, and kept carefully in -some dry place, and indeed an extra piece of all wall papers should be -secured. Japanese paper particularly can never be matched. I do not -think, in all my large experience, I have ever come across a second -consignment of a pattern I have seen before; therefore it is easy to see -how necessary it is to secure more than one requires at first, else, -should an accident occur, or as in my own case, an improvement be -contemplated, one either has to leave the accident unrepaired or the -improvement undone, because one cannot afford to replace perhaps 24 -yards, when a couple at most is all that one really requires.</p> - -<p>I have remarked before that in a new house it is absolutely imperative -to have large fires going<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_101" id="page_101"></a>{101}</span> before we begin our decorations, but it is -such a necessary thing to do that I must repeat the hint once more, for -only after a succession of fires can we see whether the boards and -window frames mean to shrink, and if they do we must apply our means of -alleviation before we begin to paper and paint. At the same time, we may -take it for granted that, try how we may to ascertain them, we shall not -find out the real faults and real virtues of a house until we have lived -in it, just as we never know our friends really until we have stayed -with them or they have stayed with us. But for all that, Slater’s patent -putty, and curtains will help us immensely, and more especially if we -adapt ourselves to the house a little, and realise, for example, that -the head of the table can be just where we like to make it, and need not -be exactly between the door and window with the fire at the back, -because the orthodox dinner-table seems able to stand in no other -position.</p> - -<p>Now I maintain that no one should ever buy the regulation long -dinner-table, and that happiness and comfort, to say nothing of beauty, -are much more likely to be found at one that is<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_102" id="page_102"></a>{102}</span> round or oval than at -one that has the usual British head and foot. If it be round, the master -of the house sits naturally where his place is put for him, but if not -he as naturally gravitates towards the head, regardless of the fact that -his back is scorched and he feels ill and uncomfortable, the while his -feet and hands are in Siberia, and an icy blast plays about his head -because the door opens straight on him, and in consequence he cannot get -out of the range of the bitter wind from the passage or hall, try how he -may to exclude it from the room. Talk about heredity how one will, and -disguise if we dare its dreadful tyranny if we are sufficiently ignorant -on the subject to do so with proper complacency, still I venture to -remark that the dogma is proved to the hilt every day. An ordinary -English family takes possession of the miserable hulks most of our -houses are, and settles down without a struggle against them, to -patiently endure the preventable miseries inseparable therefrom. There -is no real need for any man to sit at the head of a dining-table, -generally twice too long, too, for everyday needs. The side would be -far<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_103" id="page_103"></a>{103}</span> more comfortable, far more common-sense in every way, but because -the male of the house has always taken his seat in that special -position, perhaps at the commencement of the family in a castle the -walls of which were 3 feet thick, the present day man does the same and -remains there, although he grumbles all the time and ‘wishes to -goodness’ some way might be found by which he could be insured from -being starved with cold or fried to death, or indeed often enough both -at the same time. Therefore is it well to have a round table, for -anywhere there can be the head or the foot, and the man at once accepts -the new position, without demur; but given the ordinary table, nothing -will move him, argue as we will and demonstrate as we may how infinitely -better, in every possible manner, another seat would be for him.</p> - -<p>Of course, if the house be accepted as it is, nothing can ever make it -nice, be sure of that. If it be wind and water-tight, and that is a rare -experience, the so-called decorations will either be terrible, or else -will ‘swear’ continually at the belongings we bring to put amidst them. -Lucky is the woman who finds dirty paint and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_104" id="page_104"></a>{104}</span> torn and smudged papers -and who does not come across an obstinate landlord and a -‘newly-decorated house.’ If she does and she possesses an ordinary -husband who thinks anything does so long as it is clean and tidy, she -should flatly refuse to enter it, for if she has artistic taste her life -henceforward will be nothing but misery; for, absurd as it may seem, -real pain and discomfort are given by ugly or incongruous belongings; -and I venture to state boldly that people would be much happier did they -own and realise this fact, and give over priding themselves on ‘rising -above their surroundings,’ a thing no one possessed of the smallest eye -for colour or form was ever really able to do. Superior folk always tell -us we can, just as they say we ought not to be influenced by the -weather, yet ‘ought’ doesn’t come into the matter at all. Maybe we ought -not, but then we ought not to be ill or grow old, or be irritable, or -anything but severely virtuous and good in every <i>rôle</i> we have to play -during life, but all these things <i>are</i> or <i>are</i> not. What they and we -<i>ought</i> to be or to do is quite another matter, as anyone with a grain -of sense will, I think, admit.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_105" id="page_105"></a>{105}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_009_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img src="images/ill_009_sml.jpg" width="335" height="281" alt="DINING-ROOM AT WAYSIDE." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">DINING-ROOM AT WAYSIDE.</span> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_106" id="page_106"></a>{106}</span></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_107" id="page_107"></a>{107}</span></p> - -<p>When, therefore, we have duly circumvented the draughts and dangers -which await us in the ordinary suburban house, the next thing we have to -consider is either how to paint and paper and furnish, or how to -decorate to suit the goods we may already possess. If we have already -got our furniture, the paint and paper must be bought with an eye to -those. 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 chairs, or own perchance a set of frightful -curtains. I am no advocate for cheap materials, which appeal to a -‘threepenny public,’ and scarcely last until they are made up, such -fleeting joys are they: but I unhesitatingly say that, given the choice -between ruby velvet and Wallace’s old gold diamond serge, or pale blue -‘Tanjore cloth’ from Shoolbred, the ruby velvet may depart as far as I -am concerned, and I should put up the other colour in the cheap -material, knowing full well that the beautiful colour would always -delight me, while the velvet would disgust me every time that I entered -the room. The same remark applies to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_108" id="page_108"></a>{108}</span> the carpet. If it be ‘handsome,’ -generally another word for something too hideous for words, put it into -the next sale that is handy. Somehow ‘handsome carpets,’ always fetch -splendid prices at sales, where even good furniture is almost given -away. Then buy one of the many charming carpets Smee & Cobay, or -Wallace, or Hewetson sell, according to taste and means; remembering -that all carpets are merely backgrounds to the furniture, and should -never attract attention to themselves in any way. One very soon tires of -a pattern, an obtrusive pattern that is to say, while one never can tire -of soft shades of the same colour, or else of the excellent -‘drawing-room’ Turkey carpets or Bokhara carpets, sold by Bartholomew & -Fletcher and Shoolbred, which suit almost any room, and fit in with any -style of decoration. If, in removing to a new house, the mistress has to -consider her furniture and curtains and carpet, she must look at them -carefully before she begins her instructions to the decorator. Suppose -for example she has a big sideboard, ten or twelve walnut or oak chairs, -with shabby leather seats, an orthodox table, and perhaps a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_109" id="page_109"></a>{109}</span> -writing-table, she will, as a rule, come to the end of her impedimenta. -Her first endeavour should be to get whoever may be coming into her -house to take curtains and carpets at a valuation; her second to put -them in a sale; then she can proceed joyfully, spending the proceeds on -new ones, which may be much simpler, but will be much more artistic, and -so much more satisfactory to live with in every way. If however she has -a pretty carpet and curtains, and they will not quite adapt themselves -to the room, what is she to do? In the first place if the carpet is too -large it is best to return it, if possible, to the shop where it was -bought to be re-made into a square, and edged with a nice woollen -fringe, if, indeed it was not born square as all carpets should be, and -furnished with a good border. The worn parts are thus eliminated but -should be carefully kept for mending purposes. In the second place, if -it is too small and cannot be matched, it should be surrounded by -matting, staining, or plain brown cork carpet according to the state of -the boards, and should be supplemented by a large Eastern rug in the -windows<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_110" id="page_110"></a>{110}</span> or by the fire unless the carpet is too small or too frankly -British for such treatment. In that case it must be sold or relegated to -another room. Unless this is done the result of any manœuvres which -may be made with it can only result in abject and total failure. If the -carpet be available and be of the new kind of Turkey carpet, it is well -to have a good yellow and brown scheme for one’s decoration; and, in any -case we must have some kind of a dado and that must be sought after very -carefully, for sometimes one can come across a real bargain in oak -panelling, to be sought for with most chances of success at Hewetson’s -and at Bartholomew & Fletcher’s; while Godfrey Giles’ ‘goehring’ and -‘Glastonbury’ dados are inexpensive and really good and what they are -meant to be. Personally I am devoted still to Japanese leather paper, -and these are all the materials I really care about for a dining-room -dado, though anaglypta is not to be despised. At the same time it is -generally 1s. a yard unpainted and one can get for the same price a good -Japanese leather which does not require painting, so there is no reason -for choosing the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_111" id="page_111"></a>{111}</span> one in preference to the other. A gold and brown -leather paper dado should be the first thing to procure, either at -Liberty’s or Knowles’. Sometimes one has it, sometimes the other; it’s -all a matter of ‘consignments’ after all, and knowing where to search -for what one requires. Then all the paint everywhere must be ‘tea-pot’ -or ‘earth-brown,’ while above the dado should be either a vivid yellow -paper, an orange, or a soft brown, according to the aspect of the room -itself. Orange and yellow look best in a sunless chamber, and a really -soft brown, something like the palest shade of chocolate, or the deepest -of <i>café-au-lait</i>, harmonises best with sunshine that pours into the -room from the first thing in the morning until late in the afternoon.</p> - -<p>Then attention should be turned to the chairs, and if expense bars them -from being re-covered in soft brown leather, and take my word for it, -there’s ‘nothing like leather’ where dining-room chairs are concerned, -we can either fall back on ‘Pantasote,’ a species of crocodile-looking -material sold by any upholsterer, or we can use stamped and ribbed -velveteen from Shoolbred, or Wallace’s frisé velvet<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_112" id="page_112"></a>{112}</span> in golden brown, -which will transform the chairs at once, and bring them into harmony -with their surroundings, the while new yellow diamond serge curtains are -hung, and a diamond serge tablecloth, with a darker velveteen or frisé -velvet border laid on is placed on the table. If the awful sideboard -must be kept, we must make it as bearable as we can by placing a coarse -linen and Greek lace cloth on it which exactly fits the top, and just, -and only just, hangs over the edge. We can keep three plants there when -the sideboard is not in use at meal-times, but should, as a matter of -course, allow nothing whatever in the way of plate and dinner-table -accessories to spoil the appearance of the room. Such a room would be -quite simple, quite inexpensive, yet always a joy to live in, especially -if the rules of plain paint, ivory-coloured cornice and papered ceilings -are adhered to here as elsewhere. Trifles these things may be, but on -trifles depend success in furnishing, 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 ‘trivial to matter.’</p> - -<p>There are about three different styles of windows<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_113" id="page_113"></a>{113}</span> in suburban -residences, and these are the bow, the ordinary sash, and what I call -the ‘<i>Randolph Caldecott</i>’ window; and all these can be most -successfully treated without using the abominable and expensive roller -blind to which Britons are so deeply, so almost irrevocably attached. We -have less sunshine than almost any other nation under heaven, yet we of -all people cling to the useless and truly ugly window blind with a -devotion worthy of a nobler cause. Still I have hopes that constant -preaching may do something, and that in time we may realise the fact -that nothing but outside blinds are of the smallest use in really hot -weather, and that curtains are meant to draw, and that should they fail -to be anything save melancholy wisps at the end of an expanse of glass, -they are not only useless but absolutely ridiculous in the eyes of any -artistic person. The ordinary bow window, if small has been so often -written about that I really cannot think it necessary to dwell upon it -again; and is it not illustrated not only in <i>From Kitchen to Garret</i>, -now a respectable classic nine years old, but in Wallace’s catalogue, -and Smee &<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_114" id="page_114"></a>{114}</span> Cobay’s, and doubtless in others too? But a larger one has -not been illustrated that I know of, and while the fundamental lines to -go on should be those of the small window, the material curtains should -be long, 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 -curtains, which are fixed on the window frames and take the place of -blinds, should be supplemented by four long muslin curtains, frilled -each side, to go under the material curtains in the centre of the bow, -and two, frilled one side only, to go one each side at the end of the -bow. These curtains should be crossed at the top, and held back high up -with wide frilled bands of muslin similar to that used for the curtains. -As a rule H. Gorringe’s spotted muslin sold ready frilled is the best -material for this purpose, but I am very fond of Wallace’s ‘Guipure -vitrage’ for the curtains on the window. If this be used, the long -curtains should be of Guipure too, taking care to have a double edge to -the centre curtains, and a single one to those which go at the end of -the bow.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_115" id="page_115"></a>{115}</span></p> - -<p>The ordinary sash window, if short, should be treated like the centre -window of the small bow window, but if it reaches from floor to ceiling -it should have the double set of muslin curtains which I have just been -writing about. Then we have only the Caldecott windows to</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_010_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img src="images/ill_010_sml.jpg" width="160" height="247" alt="" /></a> -</div> - -<p class="nind">deal with, and these, unless we are much overlooked, should have one set -of stout material curtains only. As a rule these windows are<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_116" id="page_116"></a>{116}</span> divided -into two parts, the top filled in with stained glass and immovable, the -second plain glass and opening either straight out or straight into the -room. The rods for the material curtains should come below the stained -glass, and each curtain should be placed to go down the wooden part of -the window frame only, and each small curtain should be drawn to keep -out the sun as required. If muslin must be had in addition to the -material, it must, should the window open out or into the room, be -fluted on a couple of rods, which are placed top and bottom of the -window itself. But if the window open outwards frilled muslin curtains -can be arranged on rods on the window frames, to remain in place whether -the window is open or shut, an arrangement which is imperative should -neighbours be close, or at anyrate, if we are provided with ‘Caldecott’ -windows in our bedrooms. I do not advise a window-seat unless we have -two windows, because no one should ever sit in the dining-room unless it -is positively necessary to do so, and, moreover, it is well to use the -space for a writing-table and chair in any but a really large<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_117" id="page_117"></a>{117}</span> house, -and that is a place about which I am not writing at this moment. Here -can the husband devote some of his time to household matters and letters -of friendship when he is at home, while if there is no third room the -mistress can use the desk in the day-time, albeit I trust she may have -her own in the drawing-room, that is, if she cannot utilise some -upstairs room, although under no circumstances can I advise the stuffy -and stupid muddle of so-called ‘boudoir bedroom.’</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_011_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img src="images/ill_011_sml.jpg" width="228" height="182" alt="" /></a> -</div> - -<p>Now one word about the curtains which may possibly have to be used, -which may be artistic and pretty, and yet may not quite fit the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_118" id="page_118"></a>{118}</span> bow -windows. If they are too long and wide anyone can tackle them; if they -are too short it is easy to make them longer by adding as much holland -at the top as is required, and then covering that with an adaptation of -Mr Ernest Newton’s turned-over draperies. If the original curtain is a -plain material, as, indeed, all curtains should be, the holland should -be covered by a deep flounce edged with trellis fringe, of some figured -material, either a good tapestry or my pet printed velveteen. If the -curtain be figured the turn-over drapery should be in plain Bokhara -plush or velveteen, while cheap serge curtains can be lengthened by -merely joining on more serge at the top, and hiding the join with a -narrow piece of ball-fringe merely tacked on. If the curtains are too -narrow, they can be widened with a deep flounce or frill of soft Surah -silk, or even sateen, in some plain colour, but these devices should -only be resorted to if the curtains are really worth saving; if not, it -is far better in every way to sell them, or give them away—the -ever-ravenous Kilburn establishment is always open to such gifts—and -purchase others, which can not<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_119" id="page_119"></a>{119}</span> only fit the windows, but at once allow -us to have, perhaps, far more harmonious surroundings.</p> - -<p>Of course, if we are in the heavenly position of having no old -furniture, and can set to work with a free hand, and sufficient money to -enjoy ourselves, we can at once do just as we like. But no! even then we -have to consider the special room and how best to circumvent its -idiosyncrasies. As a rule the door is on the same side as the -fire-place, or else exactly opposite it, and we may have recesses on -each side of the fire-place, or we may have only an expanse of straight -wall beyond the door, and not a recess in the whole place. This latter -is the worse fate of the two. The recesses can always be filled either -with the charming buffets made both by Smee & Cobay, and Wallace, or by -colourable copies of the same without backs, made to fit the recesses, -which I do not advise, save in cases where money is a great object: then -and then only such an arrangement could be allowed. The shelves could be -on brackets and the wall behind hidden by little sateen curtains, sateen -curtains replacing the doors in the cupboard part. These shelves could<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_120" id="page_120"></a>{120}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_012_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img src="images/ill_012_sml.jpg" width="230" height="179" alt="" /></a> -</div> - -<p class="nind">be made by any amateur carpenter and are in any case much better -possessions than the dreary, little, badly-made sideboard one finds all -too often in far too many suburban residences. These sideboards are -machine-made and are cheap and nasty, generally coming to pieces after -the first fires have been lighted and always smelling of varnish, and -looking more depressing than I can say. If the wall be recessless, and -long and hopelessly flat, we should have a good buffet-sideboard in the -centre of the wall, in either some good brown wood, or else in my pet -stained<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_121" id="page_121"></a>{121}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_013_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img src="images/ill_013_sml.jpg" width="158" height="180" alt="" /></a> -</div> - -<p class="nind">green material with copper hinges and fixtures, but with no -looking-glass about it anywhere, and with nooks and odd places generally -for china and odds-and-ends. Then on one side of the fireplace should be -the dinner wagon, as illustrated, made from my ideas by Wallace. The -wood can be stained green, and the tray is copper. This is removable, -and allows the maid to carry out plates, china, etc. without an effort, -thus very greatly simplifying the mysteries known as ‘clearing away.’ -There should be about ten chairs in the ordinary dining-room and these<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_122" id="page_122"></a>{122}</span> -could have stained green frames, and either orange or bright red leather -seats. In this case the wall-paper should be real sealing-wax red and -cream over a stained green dado, or else real bright orange over the -same kind of base to the wall. If money is a great object the seats can -be rush, but leather should be managed if possible, and the real orange -or bright red are as novel as they are artistic and beautiful with the -green furniture. A soft green carpet with very little pattern on, should -be chosen, and soft green curtains. The other colour selected should be -introduced at the top of the curtain in the turned-over top, which -should be of printed velveteen; and if the rush-seated chairs are used, -a couple of arm-chairs for the master and mistress should be procured. -If there be no third room, leather arm-chairs must be bought and placed -one each side of the fire; for here, alas! the husband must smoke if he -indulges in that detestable habit, for unless there is a tiny -conservatory, and there often is fortunately, even in quite small -suburban houses, he will have no other place. But given the conservatory -he can<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_123" id="page_123"></a>{123}</span> smoke there. It can always be made warm and pretty, and his -smoking will be good for the plants, and that at anyrate will be some -small consolation to him.</p> - -<p>Let no one ever persuade suburban residents either to purchase their -furniture in a desperate hurry, or to buy what is called modern or -Flemish oak, or that most hideous material of all real pale, light oak, -which can never be anything save an absolute abomination. As a rule, the -modern oak is flimsy to a degree, and is also detestable in design and -in manner and style. I would rather have the simplest possible deal -furniture, stained brown or green according to my fancy, than either of -these materials, which nothing can make bearable in the smallest degree, -and I am sure anyone who has had the experience of modern oak I have -had—not in my own person, I know better than that; but in the person of -others—would never contemplate it for one single moment. If by the way, -the hall of the house is blue, it were well to keep the dining-room to -the brown and yellow scheme, taking care the draperies in the hall are -Wallace’s diamond serge, and that the inside <i>portière</i> is in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_124" id="page_124"></a>{124}</span> yellow -printed velveteen, which can be repeated in the turned-over draperies in -the curtains. Or we can have orange and cream, having brown wood and -orange leather, and a real Eastern carpet with an orange ground which -can be found, and therefore must be hunted for, for I have seen them now -at Cardinal & Hertford’s, now at Bontor’s in New Bond Street, now at -Hewetson’s, and again once more at Liberty’s. Know what you want dear -readers! and have that and that only, and not the ‘next article,’ so -shall you achieve artistic salvation and in no other way at all; for be -sure if one shop does not possess the real thing, another will, and that -patience is required in shopping, as well as faith and many other of the -cardinal virtues.</p> - -<p>But let not the very smallest householder that exists allow herself to -have gas in her sitting-rooms on any account at all, 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 -(and more draughty) houses which have panelled ceilings, the plaster -part of which should be<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_125" id="page_125"></a>{125}</span> coloured cream, and the panels themselves -filled in with anaglypta, or else with ordinary ceiling paper -judiciously arranged. The plaster rose can be removed in a moment, and -replaced by a hook from which a good duplex lamp from Benson & Company -in New Bond Street, should be hung, with either a pierced copper or opal -glass shade, and this gives light enough for any ordinary occasion; -extraordinary ones can have extra light from candles placed on the -buffets or sideboard, and in sconces on the mantel and over-mantel, as -shown in sketch, the duplex lamp being lighted or not as the mistress -likes much or little light, or possesses, as she may possibly possess, -branched silver candlesticks, or the equally beautiful Sheffield plated -ones which she can place on her table on very grand occasions.</p> - -<p>Of course, endless schemes of decoration can be evolved every year, -whenever the new papers come out and new materials are produced, but -there are certain things which never alter and which should always be -recollected. First among them is the fact that we cannot possibly have -too much real colour, and that far from demanding the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_126" id="page_126"></a>{126}</span> timid compromises -so dear to English folk, our climate and atmosphere clamour for real -sealing-wax reds, deep oranges, clear yellows, and beautiful blues, and -that nothing should make us temporise and have instead the smudgy -terra-cottas, crude greens, ghastly lemons, and dull greys and browns -which are so liberally provided for us by the usual paper-hanger. Then -we must recollect that anything we buy must harmonise with what we have, -while, 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 -hurry, nothing that does not suit the special place it is meant for. We -had better have one good chair than a dozen ugly ones. Also we must -recollect that pictures, plants and ornaments are the hallmarks of a -home, which cannot exist without them, for these things judiciously -chosen and arranged, and not overdone, are after all what turn the worst -suburban villa that ever was designed into an artistic abode. But then -not one detail must be forgotten, neither the bell handles, the fenders, -fire-irons nor finger-plates nor door handles<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_127" id="page_127"></a>{127}</span> which should be all -artistic and all in one material, either beaten iron or copper, or the -humbler yet satisfactory plain and untortured brass.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_128" id="page_128"></a>{128}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V<br /><br /> -<small>PARLOURS</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">Anything</span> less like a parlour than the drawing-room of an ordinary -suburban residence I can hardly imagine; 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 leanings, and where -the speculative jerry-builder has not had everything his own sweet way. -Here we may often come across quite delightful little picture houses, -bearing the stamp of Mr Ernest Newton’s genius, and if the structure -does not equal the design in merit, we can always circumvent any errors -if we are clever, while the deep, charming windows and really lovely -mantels over-mantels and grates provided for us, make our task of -decoration a comparatively easy one from the first. Generally these -houses are<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_129" id="page_129"></a>{129}</span> built with gables, and are half-timbered in a most -picturesque manner, and maybe appear at first sight to be over-windowed -and unduly ornate, and open vistas before us of swift ruination in the -matter of blinds and curtains. But, on reflection, we discover that not -only is there not one window too many, but that the very simplicity of -the treatment of them as regards the curtaining as described in the last -chapter, makes them far less expensive to deal with than the ordinary -sash or French window, which one finds awaiting one in the dreadful -houses of the older suburbs, or in those which have not yet advanced -beyond the tastes of the day before yesterday. Let us therefore -contemplate having a pretty room to deal with before we think of the -ordinary chamber with its heavy and fearsomely-decorated cornice, its -gaping grate, its ‘statuary marble’ mantelpiece, and its many other -drawbacks to decorative happiness. For if we have, as I said before, the -task before us is a comparatively easy one, unless of course, we are -handicapped by the possession of a ghastly cheffonnier brother in -fearfulness to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_130" id="page_130"></a>{130}</span> massive sideboard, a grand piano for a room 15 feet -square, or a ‘suite’ of furniture and a round table, which said -possessions really do still exist and have often to be dealt with when a -move from one house to another is contemplated. If they have, there is -only one word for it, and that is sell. The greater encumbrances must go -for whatever they will fetch, and the owners must be contented with a -much simpler style of furnishing. The cheffonnier is impossible, the -round table may be relegated to the dining-room, and the old-style table -there sold: and fortunately these tables are always worth a certain sum -in the market: while the grand piano should be exchanged for either a -cottage grand or an ordinary upright piano, and the suite of furniture -effectively disguised in new cretonne frocks which cover the chairs and -sofas entirely, and so hide faulty lines and construction, turning -heavy, ugly encumbrances into quite charming possessions at once. These -covers, however, must be made very carefully indeed, and must fit -easily. The small chairs are finished off with a 3-inch frill from the -seat of the chair<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_131" id="page_131"></a>{131}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_014_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img src="images/ill_014_sml.jpg" width="346" height="285" alt="DRAWING-ROOM AT WAYSIDE." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">DRAWING-ROOM AT WAYSIDE.</span> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_132" id="page_132"></a>{132}</span></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_133" id="page_133"></a>{133}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">not in any case put into a band. A band spoils the look of the frills at -once, and gives them a most comic and inconsequent appearance, and the -frills on the sofa and big arm-chairs must be arranged on the same -lines, though these should of course be very much deeper and should -just, and only just, clear the floor. In any case there must be no -attempt to adapt old curtains from long windows to these small and -artistic ones, for that can never be a success, and materials nowadays -are so cheap there can be no necessity for such economy, especially if -the house-mistress has the smallest idea of sewing, or knows of a good -upholstress, or has daughters who are equal to an emergency. By the way, -the very best upholstress I know is Mrs George Bacon, of West Street, -Wareham, Dorset. It seems a long way off but it really is not, and she -is such an admirable worker and so quick and industrious, that one saves -her fare over and over again, and her keep too, as of course save in -London, where she has married daughters she can stay with, she has to be -put up. But then she has all my patterns, and think of the inestimable -value<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_134" id="page_134"></a>{134}</span> those must be to my numerous friendly readers! Once more then, if -we proceed on these lines, all we shall have to consider is the carpet, -and we must take the most prominent colour in that, and do our best to -live up to it. But on no account must we attempt either to ignore or -shirk the fact that there is a prominent colour to be considered. We -must make that the key-note, and wall-papers, cretonnes, 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 all.</p> - -<p>When, I wonder, will the dreadful muddled browny-blue-yellow carpets -cease to trouble us? When, oh when will the ‘magnificent designs’ and -handsome patterns fade away into the <i>ewigkeit</i>? and leave only the -charming unobtrusive designs in the same colour, but a shade or two -lighter than the ground of the carpet, which are all that should be -found in any house in the land? One only wants a warm bit of harmonious -colouring on the floor, after all; one does not want the carpet to arise -and call aloud<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_135" id="page_135"></a>{135}</span> to the entering visitor, ‘Look at me! See what I cost! -Recognise these exquisite touches and tints, these fearsome leaves and -flowers, this magnificent and gorgeous pattern which covers me, and -renders me so unduly conspicuous.’ But rather should it never be noticed -at all, thus taking its right place in the harmony of the decorative -design, and becoming merely the floor covering that it is undoubtedly -only meant to be.</p> - -<p>If we are rich, we can have pile; if not, let us have either the -three-ply Kidderminster, or the satisfactory ‘Dunelm’ carpets, recently -brought out by Wallace, or one of the carpets kept by Hewetson, Smee & -Cobay and Wallace, at my earnest request, where the pattern only shows -sufficiently to break up the plain surface. No doubt entire absence of -pattern would be the more correct, did that not mean that every atom of -fluff, dirt and dust showed at once, and fidgeted the owner all day -long. For these atoms seem to accumulate mysteriously the moment any -plain-surfaced material is selected, and though I much prefer to see -whatever dirt is present, with<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_136" id="page_136"></a>{136}</span> an eye to getting it removed at the -earliest possible moment, one cannot have a room swept and dusted more -than once a day, and some rooms cannot be swept as often as that, -although undoubtedly they ought to be. Of course my ideal floor covering -will always be matting and rugs, and from that I shall never depart. I -am devoted to the new ‘Isis’ matting, sold by the Abingdon Carpet -Company, and also to the plain string coloured matting sold by -Shoolbred, Treloar, and Liberty at about 2s. 8d. to 2s. 10d. a yard; -this, of course, has to be supplemented with rugs, and, therefore, is -not as inexpensive as even a good pile carpet: that is to say, if we buy -good rugs, and inexpensive ones cannot please, because of the crudity of -their colouring and the manner in which they wear. Hewetson’s and -Liberty’s rugs are simply perfect, and can be bought by the tyro in -artistic matters without the smallest qualm, for at neither -establishment will he or she be given anything which is not just what it -ought to be. But given the rugs, it must be once more remembered that -there is a certain art in placing them about<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_137" id="page_137"></a>{137}</span> the floor, which all -house-mistresses do not, it seems to me, recognise. The rugs must not be -put down in straight lines and close together, but given the ordinary -room, should be placed as a rule at right angles to one another. Of -course this is merely a hint, and can be improved upon in any way my -readers prefer. That such a hint is necessary I know, because I have -often gone into a room where there are plenty of beautiful rugs, spoiled -entirely by being placed in long lines close together, in a manner that -would be painful indeed, were it not utterly absurd. As a rule such a -room has one rug straight along in front of the fireplace, another -straight in front of the window or windows, while the rest are placed in -the same painful positions by the door and by the wall opposite the -fire, in a manner which makes me long, no matter where I may be, to oust -the furniture on the instant, and to put those rugs myself in the manner -in which they should most certainly go. If we must have new curtains, -quite the most dainty and charming arrangement can be made from using -the new<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_138" id="page_138"></a>{138}</span> coloured linens, sold by Walpole Brothers, and by Murphy & Orr -and Harris & Company. These linen curtains should be full and short, -should be double, if there be very much sun, and should have an -insertion of Torchon lace laid on about 2 inches from the edge of the -curtain where should come a softly-falling frill of similar lace, about -3 or 4 inches wide. These frills should go round the bottom and up each -side, and the tops of the curtains should be finished by being slightly -gathered on a narrow tape, on which the hooks should be sewn which -fasten into eyes on the slight brass rods, which are all that are -required in these special windows. The hook-and-eye arrangement is much -to be preferred to the old manner of sewing rings on the curtain itself; -one can unhook a curtain in a minute and shake it out of doors in -another. If one has rings only, it means taking down the rods too and -that means trouble, which a lazy housemaid will most surely shirk, if -she can in any way manage to do so. By the way, the structural faults -dwelt upon in former chapters will most certainly be found in this -room,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_139" id="page_139"></a>{139}</span> as in all the others, and must be rigorously treated in a similar -style, while the <i>portières</i> must be placed inside and outside the door, -and a screen must not be forgotten. Unless one has a screen the whole of -the room is exposed to view the moment the door is opened; we can have -no sense of privacy at all while in such a chamber. If the door opens -inside to the left, it should be turned round and opened to the right. -If this is not done no one can sit by the fire without being almost -blown up the chimney, by reason of the draught which will come in at the -opening, and make as a matter of course for the unsheltered and gaping -grate.</p> - -<p>If, once more, the would-be suburban resident enters on her possession -of the house entirely free and unshackled by any encumbrances in the way -of furniture, and can really set about making such a room as we describe -charming; a beautiful parlour can be made by panelling the room for -about 7 feet, and having a soft and very pretty paper above. This sounds -reckless work in a house that is merely rented, but one can buy<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_140" id="page_140"></a>{140}</span> -panelling sometimes extremely cheaply. Bartholomew & Fletcher have some -oak an inch thick, ready to fix, at 1s. 10d. a square foot, while -Godfrey Giles’s ‘goehring’ material is cheaper much than that, and can, -moreover, be painted any colour preferred. If the oak is chosen, the -fireplace should be finished off with a very light and simple mantel in -the same material. It must not be carved or unduly ornate, but be quite -plain, and distinguished only by its graceful lines. I do not here -advise the regulation overmantel, but I should hang above the fireplace -the small Chippendale mirror sold by Hewetson for about 27s., -supplementing it each side with ring-sconces to hold three candles. The -real old ones are very expensive, but very good copies can be had from -Oetzmann in the Hampstead Road. Above the oak the paper should be -undoubtedly a really good blue. The right blue which is always pleasant -to live with, and does not go black at night or a dull grey or any other -unpleasant hue, can always be had from Smee & Cobay; and I am also very -fond of their gold and blue Japanese leather paper. Still this is<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_141" id="page_141"></a>{141}</span> -expensive, and therefore not to be lightly recommended for it cannot be -removed. The panelling can, which is one reason why I speak of what may -seem out of the reach of the ordinary suburban resident, who will make -his house three times as warm and comfortable if he panels his walls, -and will moreover have always something delightful at which to look. The -floor should be covered with matting and rugs, and the curtains should -be the same blue as the paper, in linen and lace, printed damask and -lace, all in plain colours, or else in plain blue linen plush edged fan -edging; and the furniture should be simple, graceful and charming. In -the bow window we could have a low broad seat or else a writing-table, -placed rather across one side of the window. In the centre could be the -flower-table, and on the other side we could put a low, corner -window-seat, which might be a fixture and part of the panellings. The -rest of the room can be furnished as shown in the sketch on page 131, -but great care must be taken to have nothing but comfortable chairs and -one good deep sofa; and the chairs<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_142" id="page_142"></a>{142}</span> must not be chosen without due -reflection and without being sat in in several attitudes. A really good -chair is a possession which lasts one’s lifetime, and one that is in the -least degree uncomfortable should never be tolerated for one moment. 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 -decent, and where the sofa may be ornate but cannot be a place to rest -upon try how we will. If we have this panelled room, we should try and -find a Sherraton writing-table at Hewetson’s, which has no high back, a -thing, by the way, to remember about all writing-tables, which have to -stand in a window. The flower-table can be bought at Wallace’s, as can -the smaller tables and chairs. A sofa and corner cabinet, can be had of -Smee, while a ‘grandfather’ chair is to be had at Hewetson’s, and -Bartholomew & Fletcher’s ‘Seabright’ armchair must never be forgotten. -These are by far the most comfortable chairs in the whole furniture -world. If we cannot rise to the oak panelling, a charming parlour may be -made from plain ‘goehring,’ painted some soft colour,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_143" id="page_143"></a>{143}</span> either sea-green, -electric turquoise or real ivory, and above the panelling should be a -paper in the same shade as the paint; if either green or blue is used; -and with very little pattern, only enough to break the expanse of plain -colour, while if the paint be ivory a dainty floral paper on an ivory -ground should be chosen. In this case we should have cretonne covers to -our chairs to match the paper, and the curtains could be of the same, or -else of my pet invention the plain linen edged with softly falling lace. -If we are able to indulge in the panelling, we should have one of the -really beautiful anaglypta ceilings kept by Smee & Cobay; or if the -ceiling is mapped out into patterns, the moulded parts should be simply -coloured cream, and the panels should be filled in with the -ivory-coloured anaglypta one buys at about 1s. a yard. I myself never -believe in furnishing entirely from one establishment, and think if one -does one can never get a real or individual home. It is also much more -interesting to develop our own tastes and search about until we find -what we want, and not take recklessly whatever Messrs<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_144" id="page_144"></a>{144}</span> Jones and Smith -choose to sell us. If we do, our house will be the house of Jones and -Smith, not ours. And is there not one special firm, which shall be -nameless, whose taste or want of it rides rough shod over the suburbs, -and makes one house the exact counterpart of the one next door; ay, and -the one next door to that! Of course, there are many good firms which -can rise above the conventional and become individual, and I am thankful -to say that their numbers increase and multiply daily. At the same time, -a house cannot be really enjoyed or be really our own unless we have -ourselves searched and found what we want for it, recollecting all the -time that on no account should we spend all our money until we have -lived through a winter and summer in it. Otherwise we shall repent as in -sackcloth and ashes, because we are sure to discover some terrible need, -which we are powerless to supply because we have not the wherewithal to -purchase what would make us comparatively if not completely happy.</p> - -<p>Hitherto I have been dealing with the house<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_145" id="page_145"></a>{145}</span> which is out of the common -run, and which is pretty to look at, and repays us over and over again -for any outlay we may make, the house wherein we are certain to find -good grates and simple mantelpieces, and where, though we may not find -our special tastes consulted, we may be quite sure that taste and art -exist, though neither need be what we actually consider such ourselves.</p> - -<p>Alas! and alas again! that I should have to show a darker side of the -picture, and one that would most certainly paralyse any unfortunate -tenant who has neither money nor an accommodating landlord. But then I -say, let no considerations allow anyone to take such a house, for if it -be hideous, and the owner is really poor as well as the tenant, nothing -can be done for it because there is nothing to spend, and without money -all are powerless. An impecunious landlord should never for one moment -be allowed to exist. He is a danger to the community. He cannot and will -not repair his roof, see to his drains, or keep the outside of his house -in order; and though in some places, notably Brighton, the local -authorities<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_146" id="page_146"></a>{146}</span> can give him notice to put his house in order, and should -he fail to do so, can proceed to do the work themselves, sending him in -the bill and seeing that it is paid; this power is, I fancy, rather the -rule than the exception, else should we not see the fearfully insanitary -houses we constantly come across, and are as constantly and continually -condemning. I go as far as to say that if a landlord cannot cultivate -his land, or keep his houses in good order, the State should have full -power to buy at once at a regulation price; but I expect that is too -Socialistic a move for most people to endorse. Still, I do most -unhesitatingly implore my readers, first never to take a house on a -repairing lease, and secondly to make sure that the landlord can spend, -if he ought, whatever may be necessary to keep the place in really -proper repair.</p> - -<p>I have suffered from an impecunious landlord, who, while willing to do -his utmost, yet really had nothing to spend; therefore I know how -disagreeable this state of things can be; more especially if he is, as -he generally is, a nice<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_147" id="page_147"></a>{147}</span> man. Then one can’t bear to trouble him, yet -why should we replace his tiles and chimney-pots, and sink our money in -his drains, or why should we replace his hideous grates with our -charming ones, or his worn-out kitchener with our new and superior -‘Eagle’ range? Yet, if we do not have these things done we are wretched -and unhealthy too, and a good landlord is always willing to improve his -property, if we are willing to pay him a proportionate interest on -whatever capital he may lay out. If we not only find an impecunious but -a crusty landlord, all negotiations must be broken off at once and -without delay. It is bad enough to have to pay for improving another -man’s property, it is unbearable to have our improvements called -‘dilapidations,’ and treated with scorn and contumely. Strange as it may -appear, there are men whose ideas of the beautiful include grained -panels, heavy and ornate cornices, and the preservation of the plaster -excrescence in the very middle of the ceiling. If one finds such a man -we can be quite sure he will allow no tamperings with his doors or his -beautiful marble mantelpieces, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_148" id="page_148"></a>{148}</span> that we shall have to keep the house -as we find it, or incur endless expense and litigation when we leave, as -leave we undoubtedly shall,—thus bringing on ourselves the expense and -trouble of a move,—because we are prevented from settling comfortably -into a house, into which we should never for one moment have been weak -enough to have gone. In the suburb where we do not find the pretty -houses I have written of just now, we generally discover the houses to -be high and light, and glaringly vulgar and hideous in every way. They -have the orthodox three rooms on the ground floor, and have above that, -in a couple of stories, from six to eight bedrooms and dressing-rooms -and a bathroom, while all the terrible ingenuity of a vulgar mind has -been taxed to produce striped paint, heavily moulded and odiously-tinted -cornices and vast glaring windows, which drive the artistic woman wild, -because she feels almost powerless to cope with them. But she must do -it, and at once. She must seek out the landlord himself, flatly refusing -to leave matters to the agent; and dealing in these matters direct, must -obtain the landlord’s written permission to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_149" id="page_149"></a>{149}</span> deal with the horrors to -the best of her powers. Let us hope that the decorations may not be new -and freshly done. In this case the house must not be taken and I am sure -that houses would let twice as fast as they do, if when one family -leaves, the walls could be stripped and left bare, the woodwork being -either left as it is or merely primed for painting. As a rule, no one -likes another’s taste, and even if the taste be good, it may not suit -the next tenant’s belongings, neither, should she be about to furnish, -may she care to adapt her new possessions to the colours and styles she -finds ready for her in the fresh house. Fancy the anguish of being -forced to make and inhabit a green drawing-room, after one has longed -for years for a yellow one; or pining for a blue hall to find a -terra-cotta one one’s portion! That it is not ugly is its worst fault, -it is only ‘inoffensive,’ ‘unnoticeable,’ too clean to touch. A thousand -times better had it been hideous, or so black, that questions of hygiene -could be raised at once, and the way opened to secure, what everyone -should have, an artistic and beautiful home. If the drawing-room cannot -be made<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_150" id="page_150"></a>{150}</span> into a charming parlour, if we must keep the heavy cornice and -the frightful mantelpiece, we must e’en do the best we can for the -wretched thing. Anyhow we must secure a simple, tiled hearth and -surround, and a slow-combustion stove, and we must disguise the -mantelpiece by painting it, if we can, to match the rest of the paint in -the room, and putting on it the simplest drapery in the world, which is -known as the ‘Gentlewoman,’ after the paper of that name, and which is -made by taking a plain strip of material 24 inches wide, and 24 inches -longer than the mantelpiece itself. This is trimmed round the sides and -front with ball fringe or cord. If cord is used, a bunch of pom-poms -should hang from each of the front corners, and the corners are lined on -the cross with thin silk or sateen the same colour as the material, and -this is simply put on the shelf and drapes itself. It is so simple that -people cannot understand its virtues until they have seen it, then they -understand at once what a valuable help it is to circumventing the -ordinary marble mantelpiece of badly-designed houses. Mind, I am not -saying one word against<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_151" id="page_151"></a>{151}</span> the beautiful old mantelpieces one finds in -really splendid and venerable houses; these are often lovely and rightly -placed enough. But the usual monstrosity is not like these or to be -spoken of in the same book, and can only be treated as I have just -described. The tiles of the grate should never be anything save severely -plain and of one colour, for anything else is out of place and generally -most expensive, and also more frightful than I can say. If the room is -glaringly light it must be toned down, and much as I dislike green, it -is the only colour one can have. The ‘green ash’ paper always kept by -Smee & Cobay is a delightful colour to live with, and should have paint -the same shade of green as the palest in the paper; and one should -moreover have some kind of floral frieze with pink in it. I like the -‘Magnolia’ bought of the same firm, but both Knowles & Haines always -keep beautiful floral friezes, and should both be asked to supply or -show designs if the ‘Magnolia’ were not liked, or were out of stock, as -might be the case. The frieze-rail from which the pictures should hang -from hooks on copper wires, should be coloured the same as the rest of -the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_152" id="page_152"></a>{152}</span> paint, and should come in an ordinary room about a couple of inches -below the top of the door. Now, just one word of explanation in <i>re</i> the -matter of a frieze, for strange as it may appear, everyone is not yet -acquainted with what is meant when the word frieze is used. First of all -it is not a border and should never be treated as such; it should never -be less than 16 inches wide, and can be as much wider as circumstances -will permit, and it should never, under any circumstances whatever, be -put on in strips like ordinary wall-paper is, but should be run round -the room the length of the roll, not the width. Most floral friezes are -so designed that one would imagine such treatment to be impossible, but -I have actually known of cases where a ‘festoon’ frieze, which one would -have thought no one ever could possibly make a mistake about, was cut in -lengths and hung sideways in snippets, and even then the owner only -thought the design ‘queer:’ She could not see how absolutely idiotic had -been the treatment of the unfortunate thing. Then there is another thing -to mention: all too often the wry prettiest friezes designed as such, -are disfigured with two or<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_153" id="page_153"></a>{153}</span> three straight lines which suggest to some -vague, chaotic and inartistic minds that they replace the most necessary -frieze-rail. They do nothing of the kind; a frieze-rail must be had if a -frieze is used at all, and I trust that paper-stainers and makers may -some day eliminate those lines altogether, and so no longer give a hint -that it is possible to do without the real wooden rail. Even on the -score of economy those lines are a mistake. One must hang one’s pictures -from something, and the frieze-rail is cheaper and far more effective -than the usual brass picture-rod provided for this purpose. If we have -pink in our frieze, we can have a pink or green carpet, or else a dull -green one, just flecked with pink, which I think Morris has, or yet -again can we have the entirely satisfactory green ‘Isis’ matting and -rugs. I advise the ‘Isis’ most strongly, for not only is it beautiful -and cleanly in itself but it is a home manufacture, and being made from -the rushes in the higher Thames, should certainly claim our patronage. -If we want a pink carpet, nothing surpasses Wallace’s pink ‘Iris,’ while -Smee’s soft green carpet, made on purpose to match the ‘green ash’ -paper, is a great<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_154" id="page_154"></a>{154}</span> success. If the room is very light it is well to keep -to the same shade of green as the carpet for curtains and coverings. -This does not go black at night, but keeps its colour well. All drawing -and dining-room papers and materials should be chosen at night as well -as by day, for great may be the disappointment that awaits the woman who -only makes her selections in the upholsterer’s shop, and by daylight -alone. I have seen two materials which are absolutely the same by day -become quite contrasts at night; notably in some shades of green, which -turn brown in some materials, while in others they retain their colour, -and the result can be imagined if this mischance occurs when two -materials, such as plush and serge are used together: or when a fringe -is used which turns brown at night, on a material which does nothing of -the kind! Of course, the windows all through the house should be treated -alike, and in all should be the double or single sets of frilled muslin -curtains, according to the amount of sunshine which the special window -in question admits. Every care must be taken too in all the rooms to -keep out<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_155" id="page_155"></a>{155}</span> draughts, and to let in a certain amount of fresh air, and the -rooms must be ventilated in some manner at the top of the wall. In some -cases a brick can be removed and the opening covered within -wire-netting, the space between being filled with cotton-wool, which is -supposed to filter the incoming air; while if possible there should be a -moveable ventilator in the windows. Then Tobin’s tubes should not be -forgotten, albeit the expense of this patent is an item one should not -lightly incur. The drawing-room must be lighted by one good duplex lamp -in beaten iron or copper, from Benson in New Bond Street, or from -Strode, and the wise will have a transparent globe or shade, and will -refuse to grope about in the semi-darkness of silken-shaded light. But -the amount of further light must be determined by the owners of the room -and their pursuits, and may consist of properly weighted Standard lamps: -procurable at Benson’s, or at Bartholomew & Fletcher’s: or by one or two -movable lamps placed on steady tables. In any case great care must be -taken to ensure perfect safety; a very small table, or one that has no<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_156" id="page_156"></a>{156}</span> -double tray, should never be selected as a lamp-carrier, for if it is, -an accident is almost certain to occur. Great care should be taken in -selecting the small table-cloths which should be on all tables, and -these can be procured at Colbourne’s, Godfrey Giles, and the Cavendish -House Company Cheltenham, ready to use; and equal care should also be -taken to secure proper pictures and ornaments, which must not be -overdone in any way; while it is well to recollect that the dreadful -‘chair back’ is no longer with us, and has been completely ousted by the -Liberty frilled pillow, which is as useful as it is undoubtedly -beautiful and comfortable.</p> - -<p>If we cannot have a new mantelpiece, let nothing induce us to have a -regulation overmantel, for never can we procure one which shall in any -way harmonise with a marble mantel; so there is no good trying to get -one, for we can’t. It is best to repeat instead the Chippendale mirrors -spoken of before, and equally good to possess oneself of the round -glasses with the eagle and ball at the top, which one often is able to -pick up in the shops in Great Portland Street along with charming<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_157" id="page_157"></a>{157}</span> bits -of real blue china, if one understands the craft of bargain-hunting, not -unless. Under any circumstances nothing but severe simplicity is -permissible. A real overmantel, which may be beautiful in itself, will -only emphasise the misery below it, in the shape of the mantelpiece, by -displaying its evident contrast to what should be a component part -thereof; while either the ‘Eagle’ or the ‘Chippendale’ has frankly ‘no -connection with the party next door,’ and is existent on its own merits -alone, and is therefore all it should be. Now one last word only, and -that is about the position of the piano. If it be a cottage grand, it -can be placed like the one in the room illustrated. A piece of brocade -should be put carelessly on the end of the piano, and kept in place by a -few books, and a tall palm should be placed on the table in the bend. No -other decoration must be allowed at all. If we have a cottage piano, it -is well to put it in one of the recesses by the fire, straight out into -the room, and to conceal its hideous back by a simple curtain on a rod, -sold by Shoolbred. We should have in a small room a piano stool to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_158" id="page_158"></a>{158}</span> hold -music, as well as to sit upon, and in the other recess we could place -either the grandfather chair or one of the charming courting settees -sold by Hewetson. But let me implore my suburban readers, when placing -their pianos to do so with a kindly remembrance of their possible -neighbours, to select an inside wall in preference to an outside one, -and to practise whenever they can with the windows closed and carefully -fastened. I have once been near enough to other folks to suffer the -tortures of the lost from my neighbour’s piano. I cannot, therefore, -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 considered. I suppose it -<i>is</i> too much to suggest that no one should play and sing who has -neither taste, nor voice, nor knowledge, so I will only content myself -with remarking that the farther the piano is placed from one’s neighbour -the better, and that some consideration on this subject is due from -everyone who may<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_159" id="page_159"></a>{159}</span> possess and will manipulate that which in some hands -may be as much an instrument of torture as the wretched barrel-organ -itself!<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_160" id="page_160"></a>{160}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI<br /><br /> -<small>THIRD ROOMS</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">I have</span> already discussed one manner of disposing of the usual third -room, but I hope most devoutly that the unparalleled sacrifice of -devoting it to the use of the maids may never be required of anyone. For -unless people can sit in their dining-room in the morning; and I cannot -imagine anything more distasteful; the drawing-room or parlour must be -turned into a regular hack room, 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 evening. It is a great thing to have entirely different -surroundings then, and a pretty, well-aired and ventilated room in which -to spend the fag end of a day. Circumstances must always govern cases, -and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_161" id="page_161"></a>{161}</span> there can be no set rules for the universal regulation of all -lives, and if English people would only realise this fact, their sojourn -here would be made far more interesting than it is at present. No one -has ever taken the third room for the maids, therefore no one can ever -do so. The door has always been in that position, therefore it must -remain so. That room has always been draughty, therefore draughty it -shall continue until the end of the chapter. These are the arguments -used, if argument of any kind is allowed. As a rule the position is -accepted unconditionally, and because an error has been made from the -first, it is allowed to continue unchecked when a little forethought -would circumvent that special mistake, and would make a room charming, -habitable and warm, which hitherto has been nothing of the kind.</p> - -<p>Let me illustrate what I mean by an example. At a small house we possess -in Watford there is the third room in question, which has been made into -a very pretty library by the clever hand of Mr Arthur Smee, but which -the first year we were in possession had never been used save as a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_162" id="page_162"></a>{162}</span> home -for books and a reception place for anyone who might come on business. -No one had ever sat there, nor could I discover anyone who would; but I -myself was then ‘on the shelf,’ and had never entered the room at all, -being often absent from home, and always, whether there or elsewhere, -confined to the circumscribed area of my own bed and sitting-rooms. I -had asked questions about the room but could never get a satisfactory -reply only the ever-repeated answer, ‘Oh, it looks all right, but just -you try to sit there, that’s all, you’ll soon see why we can’t do -anything of the kind.’ Now here is the room produced just as it was -before I went into it, and I wonder if anyone can see the real mistake -in the design? I own I could not perceive it from the picture. At first -I asked if my people were ridiculous enough to fancy the room had a -ghost. No not a ghost exactly; but in a tentative tone of voice -something quite as uncanny and quite as intangible. Was it draughty? -They didn’t think so; and yet it was impossible to warm it. In fact, it -was quite out of the question that it could be sat in, and there it -remained until one day<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_163" id="page_163"></a>{163}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_015_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img src="images/ill_015_sml.jpg" width="337" height="280" alt="LIBRARY AT WAYSIDE." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">LIBRARY AT WAYSIDE.</span> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_164" id="page_164"></a>{164}</span></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_165" id="page_165"></a>{165}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">when I felt rather better than usual, and went downstairs determined to -conquer or die in the attempt. Dear readers! if you could only have seen -that room you would, some of you, never have believed in me again for -one single moment. The centre table was heaped with books, old papers -and magazines. The matting on the floor had one long, thin and solitary -rug. There were aimless cretonne curtains at the window, which couldn’t -possibly be reached, because the desk was stuck right against it; and, -worst fault of all, the door opened on the wrong side, and so whenever -it was open the fire was as it were in the passage. And as had been -rightly said, there was not a single place to put a chair; and, indeed, -the untidy thing in the photograph was the only specimen of the genus -that the chamber possessed, if we except an ordinary bedroom seat, and -another of a similar kind by the desk, neither of which could be sat -upon, save by an individual who had serious writing to do. Then someone -had placed in one corner a deck-lounge, in, I suppose, a feeble attempt -at being happy, and never did a lounge less deserve its name. It was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_166" id="page_166"></a>{166}</span> -located between the window and the fire, and therefore succeeded in -nothing, save in being entirely out of place and in the way. There too -the shelves for books were left as shown in the photograph, and had none -of the small curtains over the smaller recesses, so necessary to break -up the lines and to serve as hiding-places for old and way-worn -literature. The fireplace was hideous, and a Moloch as regards coal, -while, of course the room could never be brought above freezing pitch, -because of the relative positions of the fireplace, door, and window, -each of which was put just exactly where it ought not to be. The design -and colour of the room were right enough, but the touches which turn a -room into a habitation were never more conspicuous by their absence.</p> - -<p>I don’t know how it is, but I can put a room straight in five minutes -when another person merely grumbles and declares that nothing can be -done; and in a pious rage I set to work and very soon had made a -considerable alteration in the place. Although, of course, much could -not be accomplished until I sent for my<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_167" id="page_167"></a>{167}</span> factotum Joe, and had the door -moved to the other side, that elegant plaster in the ceiling dislodged, -and the hideous tiles in the grate renovated. Then I had a good thick -<i>portière</i> placed inside the door, hung the pictures properly, arranged -the books and china, put the curtains where they were required in the -bookcase, altered the window-curtains, put the desk on one side, not in -the very centre of the window, and imported a couple of deep, good -basket-chairs from Heelas, of Reading, and some smaller Liberty chairs -and tables. The centre table was put on one side, and not in the middle -of the room, with magazines and newspapers; and after that I put down -proper and suitable rugs, instead of the big one,—beautiful in itself -and in its proper place which was a passage—but ridiculous in the -middle of a matted floor, where it resembled nothing so much as a garden -walk. Since then the room has been more used than any other sitting-room -in the house, and is now pronounced one of the most comfortable in the -dreary little place, or, I should say, in what was a dreary little place -until it was taken vigorously in hand. Albeit,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_168" id="page_168"></a>{168}</span> nothing can make the -house a real success, because it is built east and west, and with all -the windows to the west and to the north and south: these, by the way, -raking the back yards of the neighbours fore and aft: while, except for -the bath-room window, there is not one which looks towards the east, -where, of course, one gets the pleasantest view and the morning sun: a -great consideration in a house which is literally a summer house, and -where therefore, the western sun is useless and tormenting. Even in the -winter an afternoon sun is no earthly use, for by the time it comes -round to the western windows it has to retire ignominiously into a bank -of fog or cloud; therefore such a house as this especial one should -never be taken unless the owner will close the north and north-west -windows, 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 built. It is always a pleasing reflection to me that the man who -designed this house is dead, and cannot now make any other person as -miserable by his awkward vagaries as he has made me.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_169" id="page_169"></a>{169}</span> If he had simply -consented to one or two alterations, and had given us decent grates, and -proper servants’ accommodation, the house wouldn’t have been ‘half bad,’ -and I do not suppose would have cost a farthing more to build than it -cost at first. The cornices were so terrible that they had in some cases -to be cut away and reduced to one-fourth, while the elaborate and -expensive style in which they had been liberally picked out in all the -colours of the rainbow, was obliterated by colour-wash at once; yet the -money spent on this ‘decoration’ would have gone some way towards new -grates; and my pet plain wooden mantels would not have cost half what -the monstrous marble ones did, with which one can’t wrestle, because of -the round openings in the mantelpieces, which would not allow of the -cheap introduction of the pretty, square, slow-combustion stoves, with -plain tiles, to which I must confess I am absolutely devoted. I think, -if their third room in any way resembles the one illustrated here, this -picture will help my readers very much, if they are anxious to have a -library, a room where the master can sit and smoke, and where business -people can be<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_170" id="page_170"></a>{170}</span> interviewed. But, if books are not plentiful, and the -husband doesn’t smoke and is not much at home, the room would not be of -very much service to the mistress and her girls, should she be fortunate -enough to be the proud possessor of grown-up daughters. And there are, -of course, yet other means of treating and disposing of the room. If -children are numerous, and bedrooms few, this third room may have to be -taken for schoolroom purposes, or, at best, may have to be used by boys -and girls in the holidays, or when lessons have to be prepared, and in -this case it would require quite different treatment to what it would -receive were it merely a pretty sitting-room, as it should most -undoubtedly be.</p> - -<p>If the sitting-room aspect has to be considered it should be made as -bright and charming as possible, and should be furnished with an eye to -the particular occupation of the house mistress, who is sure to have -some idiosyncrasy, and will either work, write or ‘housekeep’ -indefatigably. If she does this latter, she will want room for her -household<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_171" id="page_171"></a>{171}</span> books, her receipt books, and her house books, containing all -kinds of hints as to what to do and when to do it, which any woman -collects if she is in the least house-proud and anxious to make the most -of her surroundings. In this case, one of the recesses could be fitted -with shelves on the same principle as those shown in the photograph, but -they should not be higher than the mantelpiece, and where there is a -gaping space, curtains should be hung, or else doors placed to make a -species of cupboard with copper hinges and a good lock. In the other -recess a writing-table could be placed, with some shelves above it to -hold books of reference, and this table must be furnished with really -good locks, for here should be kept account and cheque books, and -receipts and any private unanswered letters. Though let me once more -impress on all my readers never to keep any save business letters, and -never to keep those when the business to which they refer is completely -done with and ended. No one knows how long he or she may live, nor if -sudden death or illness may<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_172" id="page_172"></a>{172}</span> not leave all one’s secrets, should one -have any, or the secrets of others, open to anyone who may have access -to one’s belongings; besides, we have no right to keep other folk’s -letters, once they are replied to. We may ourselves be secrecy itself, -but we cannot answer for the secret-keeping capacity of our nearest and -dearest.</p> - -<p>If the window should be, as I hope it may be, one of the delightful -Caldecott ones, it should have a straight window-seat arranged exactly -as in this sketch, and thus we should be provided with a most -comfortable place to rest in, more especially if we supplement it with -several big Liberty pillows. These can be covered in plain linen covers, -edged with frills of the same or of Torchon lace. If this latter be -used, a wide insertion should be laid on all round the pillows, about an -inch from where the lace is sewn on. The lace must not be too full. If -the pillow should be a yard square, or the more ordinary size of -three-quarters of a yard, the quantity of lace used should be one-half -longer than the length of the sides of the pillow, <i>i.e.</i>, 6 yards of -lace<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_173" id="page_173"></a>{173}</span> would be wanted for a pillow the sides of which measured 4 yards, -while 3 yards would be sufficient for the smaller size, as the lace is -only just fulled on. It should not be heavily gathered, or it will not -look well.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_016_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img src="images/ill_016_sml.jpg" width="212" height="229" alt="" /></a> -</div> - -<p>Beautiful pillows can be made by Miss Goodban, of 9 Westbourne Terrace -Road, Hyde Park of these same linens. She embroiders them all over in -flax and edges them with Torchon, and if these cases are simply -buttoned<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_174" id="page_174"></a>{174}</span> on like an ordinary pillowcase they can be washed in an hour -and replaced. Liberty silk covers also wash splendidly if one has a -careful maid. I have never sent mine to the ordinary wash; but washed at -home they came out of the trial as good as new; a fact I do not think -many people can know, or we should not see as many dirty covers as we do -in the houses of folks who ought to know a great deal better. The -window-seat cover should be of some hard-wearing material, such as -ribbed and stamped Victoria cord, or a really good all-wool tapestry. It -is never the least use to use one of the cheap tapestries provided so -lavishly nowadays for this purpose, for if we do, we shall at once be -terribly disappointed by the effect. 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 time. To ensure real and satisfactory length of days for -any material, we must have one made of all wool, and not wool and cotton -mixed. The actual expense of these seats, and indeed of any<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_175" id="page_175"></a>{175}</span> fitted -seat, is the upholstress’s time and work, which costs as much if the -material is only 1s. a yard, as it does if one pays a guinea for the -same amount, besides which there is the continual worry of the British -workman amongst us. Though why women should not be their own -upholstresses I for one can’t think, 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 dinner. Then if the husband has -a knowledge of carpentering and is handy about the house, 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 required.</p> - -<p>Given the window-seat there should be no need for a sofa, and that is a -decided consideration, but whatever chairs are had they should be -comfortable ones, and none are better than the excellent wicker ones of -which I have so often spoken. If expense be a great object one can -frequently buy these chairs from travelling hawkers who go about the -country with vans of chairs<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_176" id="page_176"></a>{176}</span> tables and baskets, and sell these special -chairs for about 5s. or 6s. in wicker, simply stained a faint brown, -which said staining I much prefer to paint or enamel, as it never -becomes in the least shabby. A cushion must be made to fit the seat -finished off with a 4 or 5 inch frill, not any deeper, and another -cushion must be made to fit the back, while another must be placed round -the sides of the chair, properly stuffed and ‘buttoned down.’ 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 -packthread. And I consider such cushions should all be made in this -style, as a plain surface wears out twice as soon as one that is -arranged with buttons; while, if one is clean and careful, the buttons -need not mean an accumulation of dust and dirt, both being got rid of -perfectly well if the cushions are properly brushed and beaten and -attended to by a housemaid who knows her work. By the way, it takes 2¼ -yards of double-width material to make a cover for an ordinary wicker -chair, or 4½ of single width material or of cretonne, but I cannot<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_177" id="page_177"></a>{177}</span> -advise cretonne for the purpose, or for any real hard wear on any -chairs, it so very soon becomes dirty, and is always in the wash-tub and -in the hands of the upholstress. 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 ends. Of course, the number of the drawers -will depend on the length of the window-seat, but three should be the -outside number. In any case they would come just under the seat and be -hidden from observation either by the deep frill or a woollen fringe, -and should open and shut very easily indeed. 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 them, -neither are there many recesses which we can utilise as wardrobes should -we require to do so. 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 ‘Panton’ blue, than which nothing is better in -every way to live with, she would then have the short curtains shown in -the picture<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_178" id="page_178"></a>{178}</span> of some yellow material, Wallace’s diamond serge for -choice, lined with sateen or plain serge, if there be many draughts or -very much sun: then the material for the window-seat should be in golden -brown or turquoise blue stamped Victoria cord, and the cushions should -be in yellow, blue and pink linen, worked in very coarse and thick real -flax by Miss Goodban. If the room has very much traffic, the floor -should have a surround of plain brown cork carpet, with a good blue -square of Wallace’s Dunelm carpet in the centre, just lightly fastened -down in such a manner that it can be easily removed for shaking. -Personally, I never like nails put in any carpet; they cannot help -spoiling and tearing it, and it is far better to sew on the carpet -itself a succession of tiny bits of tape, of course on the wrong side, -and close to the edge. In these pieces of tape should the nails be -placed. The tapes can always be renewed, and in this case the edge of -the carpet is never touched, and cannot present the ‘worried’ appearance -which characterises so many really good floor coverings. In this special -room the carpet should<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_179" id="page_179"></a>{179}</span> be in a special shade of blue, which would -harmonise with the paper. There are two or three different ways of -treating the walls of such a room, and the one I prefer is to have -electric turquoise Aspinall for all the paint, the Panton blue paper, -and a floral frieze with a great deal of yellow in it; or, again, one -can have the blue paper, but with real ivory paint, and an anaglypta -dado painted in the same shade instead of the frieze; while a really -useful and hard-wearing room may have a soft brown dado, and all soft -brown paint, and a darker blue paper. In this case both paper and paint -must be selected by someone who understands the science of colour. The -brown should have a good deal of cream in it, and the blue should have a -great deal of indigo and not any shade of green or turquoise at all. -Here the window-seat cushion should be covered in brown stamped Victoria -cord, and the curtains should be in blue serge or Tanjore cloth. I have -never yet found a blue serge which would stand sun, and not fade in a -couple of weeks in the most distressing manner, while almost any<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_180" id="page_180"></a>{180}</span> yellow -serge stands the sunshine, and I can myself guarantee Wallace’s diamond -serge in yellow, for that has proved itself absolutely fast. Shoolbred -guarantees the Tanjore cloth, but personally I have had no experience of -this material, having had neither opportunity nor occasion to try it. It -is 4s. 9d. a yard, and is very pretty to look at; and is besides a most -excellent width. Need I say that any cornice in this room must be simply -coloured cream, and the ceiling papered in some inexpensive and pretty -yellow and white paper? If blue should be objected to, or one is tired -of it, a very pretty sitting-room can be made from any floral paper -which is really good, and, <i>I</i> say, hand-made. I am devoted to a -beautiful heliotrope and green clematis paper sold by Smee & Cobay, and -also to the ‘ragged robin’ paper sold by Haines, and either of these -papers should be used above a dado of some kind or other. A full green -sateen curtain dado is the best, and in this case all the paint should -be the same shade of green as that chosen for the dado, and that should -be one of the tints in the leaves on the paper itself. Then the carpet -and curtains should be green,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_181" id="page_181"></a>{181}</span> and so should be the window-seat and the -ceiling paper. The other shades in the paper should appear in the -cushions and table-covers: although as regards the clematis paper I have -never come across any good heliotrope materials, and have only found -this colour in silk and in a capital cretonne sold by the Cavendish -House Company, Cheltenham. I fancy that Warings, of Liverpool, have also -a good ‘lilac’ cretonne. They certainly possess an admirable wall-paper -with lilacs on a striped background, which should not be forgotten by -anyone who thinks of using that always satisfactory decorative harmony -of heliotrope and green. If there is not much wear in these rooms, I -should advise the green ‘Isis’ matting as a background for rugs, but if -there be a great deal of traffic, the soft green ‘Roman carpet’ sold by -Shoolbred does excellently with some sort of a ‘surround’ which is -easily cleaned, such as Jackson’s varnish stains, or plain cream -matting, or plain cork carpet, according to the state of the floor and -the particular tastes of the owner of the room, who should of course -have one of Giles’s removable parqueterie surrounds<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_182" id="page_182"></a>{182}</span> if she can afford -it. In any case she must never allow either a fitted carpet or a -patterned surround to fidget the eye, avoiding as a real sin against the -first principles of art, those terrible materials which imitate -parqueterie or tiles, or pretend to be anything save what they are, and -giving a wide berth to felt, an admirable material to look at, but a -fearful and abominable dust-trap. 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 duster, which just passed over them once a day, -keeps the stain or matting or cork carpet in order, and prevents the -accumulation in corners that must ensue if we have not a washable -material as a surround to whatever carpet we may select. If we have -matting all over the floor, it is well to recollect that salt and water -form an excellent mixture to use to cleanse it with, the salt in some -way preserving and toughening the fibres of the matting as well as -cleaning it in a most effectual style.</p> - -<p>The principal things to recollect in this, and, indeed in any room are, -first, that it must be<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_183" id="page_183"></a>{183}</span> made draught-proof and be properly ventilated, -that we must so arrange that the door does not open right on the fire, -that while the furniture may be as simple as we like, everything must be -made to harmonise, being either bought for or adapted to the room itself -and the special occupations of the room’s mistress. Fortunately if our -purses are light, there is abundance of inexpensive furniture in these -days which I cannot, I feel, praise too highly. I remember the dreadful -struggles I had, to make my own first house pretty some six-and-twenty -years ago, when there was nothing to be had but heavy wood and solid -repps, and no one had whispered ‘Liberty,’ or mentioned serge, or bamboo -and wicker furniture, or, if they had, had murmured it so gently that -the murmur had not reached the ears of anyone at all. Now, scoff as one -may at wicker work and bamboo, I venture to say that by them lies the -way of salvation for the third room in an impecunious household. I have -bought the most charming and beautiful little cupboard tables at -Shoolbred’s, the most comfortable and excellent<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_184" id="page_184"></a>{184}</span> chairs at Smee & -Cobay’s, at Heelas, of Reading, and at Wallace’s, which have all the -delights of a real upholstered expensive arm-chair, if one has the -cushions made at home, at as many shillings as the other costs pounds. -While the most useful bookcase I ever came across is also matting and -bamboo, and this can have a species of cupboard shelf made by hanging a -curtain over the third receptacle for books, which said curtain is like -charity: it covers a multitude of sins in the shape of rolls of wall -paper, odds and ends of patterns, and old books which have seen better -days, and yet are not good enough to re-bind, and yet are too good to -throw away. Indeed, no book should ever be treated in such an -ignominious fashion. At the worst it can be sent to a hospital, or be -kept in our own special hospital box, which should be in every house, -for how can we tell when infectious disease may not find us out? In that -case we shall be thankful to be possessed of something to read which we -can afterwards burn without any <i>arrière pensée</i> in the matter at all.</p> - -<p>One thing should be in every morning-room, or<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_185" id="page_185"></a>{185}</span> third room, or library, -call this little chamber by what name we will; and that is an invaluable -small closing-table I have discovered in Kensington High Street. It -costs about 4s. 11d., simply stained dark brown, can be folded up and -put against a wall, or laid under a sofa when not in use, and is -altogether most unobtrusive and excellent, for it can be set up in one -second, and is admirable for a thousand purposes. I think it is large -enough to ‘cut out’ upon, although I am not an authority on the subject -of work. I know it is extremely handy for tea, and that one can make -scrapbooks upon it, and write upon it too, while as it can be folded and -put on one side at any moment, it does not get over-crowded with books -and ornaments, and is therefore always available. The ordinary small -occasional table never can be that, for it is usually clad in a nice -square table-cover and has flowers or a plant in the centre, and has -moreover, every available corner filled with books and ‘twos and -threes,’ while the modest and retiring folding-table only comes out for -use, and is never ornamental, and will<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_186" id="page_186"></a>{186}</span> not be used otherwise than for -the purpose for which it is made. Of course the walnut Sutherland table -is much nicer in every way, but is not to be had under 30s., is often of -most inferior wood liable to scratches and spots, and is also all too -often opened out clad in its tablecloth and ornamented to death. But we -have no qualms about the little cheap folding-table. 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 better. Just one -word <i>en parenthése</i>, as it were, about stains. Do not let anything -anyone can say induce you to attempt the beautiful green staining we all -so much admire at home, for if you do, it can be nothing but a most -ghastly failure. True, the particular piece of furniture will be green, -but such a green! for the proper effect can only be obtained in the same -way really good French polish is procured, and that, as everyone knows, -can never be got save by a professional hand who knows the work, and has -never yet been known to divulge the secret of success. No; the green -stain is not for the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_187" id="page_187"></a>{187}</span> amateur, be sure of that, while the ‘oak,’ and -‘dark oak,’ and ‘walnut’ varnish stains are exactly all that they ought -to be.</p> - -<p>In this room a screen by the door is often a most blessed possession, -and as screens can be bought so cheaply nowadays everyone can avail -herself of the comfort procured by a judicious use of them. Liberty -first, and Shoolbred next, should be searched for an inexpensive screen, -for sometimes Liberty has none, and then Shoolbred may come to the -rescue, or our experience of both shops may be reversed; it all depends -on which place has had the last consignment from Japan. I bought a -beautiful screen at Liberty’s one year, about a month before Christmas, -for 18s. 9d., but on applying for another in the following March, found -all were sold out, and I had to go farther afield, discovering the one I -wanted in a shop in High Street, Kensington, the name of which I have -forgotten. True both Liberty and Shoolbred had plenty of screens but -neither had an inexpensive one, with a back warranted to resist the -frequent and uncalled-for assaults of the British housemaid. By the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_188" id="page_188"></a>{188}</span> -way, a screen should always be placed behind the door, which should in -most cases open from left to right into a room if the room is in the -least degree like the one illustrated. I am not fond of a door opening -into a hall, and of course the perfect door should not open, but slide -into the wall, but perfection is a word never heard, and certainly not -understood at all in the usual suburb.</p> - -<p>If the room be blue, the <i>portière</i> should be of printed velveteen in -shades of yellow. With a floral paper it may be pink or green, but in -any case a plain material should not be employed as a <i>portière</i>. One -should always have a figured stuff there, and if one can afford it one -cannot improve on the aforesaid velveteen. <i>Portières</i> should be made up -by a really competent hand and should be lined, and edged with either -‘grip-cord’ or fan-edging, as ball fringe is apt to come to grief in -this situation, the <i>portière</i> being often caught in the door, 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 door. I may seem to -speak unduly on the subject both of <i>portières</i> and screens<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_189" id="page_189"></a>{189}</span> but unless -they are employed freely, I can assure my readers they will never -circumvent the ordinary suburban residence, but that if both are used, -any house, even the most jerry-built one which ever disgraced a ‘Park,’ -or blotted the erst-while fair appearance of a ‘Grove,’ can be made -habitable. Without these aids to health, to say nothing of decoration, -such a house would be an impossible home for anyone not born and bred in -the Arctic regions; while outside blinds, if they can only be just -nailed up <i>pro tem.</i>, and be mere grass mats bought for a few shillings -at Treloar’s, can circumvent extreme heat, which often is as bad to bear -in these terrible houses as the excessive cold and draughts which -characterise them. I know that as a rule three years sets the suburban -tenant on the prowl, and, as I said before, 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-tight. But three years’ experience of untoward -weather in a jerry-built structure can undermine the health of any -woman, whereas she probably would not move and would certainly keep much -better in health if<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_190" id="page_190"></a>{190}</span> not entirely well, did she do her utmost to get -over the drawbacks at once. At the same time the hall must be warmed by -using the small, portable stove sold by Wolff & Sons, 119 New Bond -Street, if it is out of the question to obtain warmth from a real -fire-place, and very great care must be given to ventilation by -wide-open windows whenever it is possible, and it is always possible -during some part of the day: and by ventilators, as suggested before, -which should always be open at night, especially when lamps are lighted -and fires kept up. For an unventilated room means a sleepy head, 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 done.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_191" id="page_191"></a>{191}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII<br /><br /> -<small>THE NURSERIES</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">Well</span> 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 -children! Nay, one can hardly believe that they are meant for them at -all, for nowhere are two rooms placed in such a manner as to make real -day and night nurseries, and she is lucky indeed who has not to place -one room on the first, and the other on the second floor, 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 storey. -But it is always possible to have them on the same storey if convention -is defied, and the ‘spare room’ is relegated to the attics, or the -nurseries themselves are placed there; and moreover no considerations of -any ‘spare room’ should prevent there being<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_192" id="page_192"></a>{192}</span> a couple of nurseries in -any house. 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 resident; but it is far worse to keep the children in -one room only, alike for day and night use, and I sincerely hope that -this unhealthy and disagreeable practice may soon cease entirely to -exist. If in a tiny house and with one baby only, a second room cannot -possibly be had, the only way to arrange matters is to proceed on the -lines of a Harrow boy’s room, and to have either a system of ‘fitments,’ -or to shut all the washing and dressing apparatus into a cupboard sort -of arrangement, and to have one of the small folding iron beds, with a -wire mattress complete, which cost about 16s. 6d., and which can be put -under another bed in another room during the daytime, the mattress and -other bedding being folded up and disposed of in a similar way. Yet in -such a wee house as this, the baby would usually be in the mother’s -room, and the nurse could share a room with another maid, having her -meals in the servants’ sitting-room or the kitchen, while the mother<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_193" id="page_193"></a>{193}</span> -herself looked after the infant. But I fancy where this would be the -case, decoration would not be a study, all the energies of the mistress -being spent, and very properly too, on making both ends of the income -meet if that be possible. At the same time, I can never see why a -cottage need not be pretty and comfortable, and I hope that no one will -be debarred from attempting to possess a pretty house because she is -poor. Pretty things are nowadays as cheap, nay often cheaper, than ugly -ones, 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 -comfortable. Let us take first the unfortunate who really can only have -one nursery, and who has to allow the child to sleep there at night with -the nurse, for I always think it is unwise for the parents to have an -infant in their bedroom even when it is very small. A man’s rest broken, -means bad work during the day, while a woman is unfit for anything and -certainly cannot do her work if she has had no sleep during the orthodox -hours of repose. In this case the best room in the upper part<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_194" id="page_194"></a>{194}</span> of the -house should be taken for the nursery; it should be as near the mother’s -room as possible, and if there be a dressing-room attached, so much the -better in every way, for out of that can be constructed the very -necessary nursery pantry. Therein can be kept everything which is in any -way unsightly, and it is possible that all signs of the nursery itself -being used for a double purpose can be concealed, if one has at one’s -service just an ordinary bedroom and dressing-room. We will therefore -suppose that, in the first place, the suburban villa contains a bed and -a dressing-room, and another bedroom and a bathroom on the same floor. -In this case, I should propose that the so-called ‘best room,’ with the -dressing-room, should be given over to the nurse and child, the master -of the house having the bathroom entirely for his own use as -dressing-room. If this arrangement is made, the bedroom which I trust -may face south or south-east, can be treated entirely as a day-room, and -be properly and prettily painted and papered. Under no circumstances -should one of those fearsome ‘nursery’ papers be allowed, neither must a -cheap and vulgar flower paper be<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_195" id="page_195"></a>{195}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_017_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img src="images/ill_017_sml.jpg" width="368" height="238" alt="COMBINED DAY AND NIGHT NURSERY." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">COMBINED DAY AND NIGHT NURSERY.</span> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_196" id="page_196"></a>{196}</span></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_197" id="page_197"></a>{197}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">used. If expense is a great object, and it would be probably in such a -wee establishment, an inexpensive, geometrical-patterned paper must be -chosen, with as little real pattern on it as is possible, great -attention being given to the colour; which after all is the principal -thing to think about in all decoration. For such papers, one cannot -improve on the ‘Olive Leaf’ papers, sold always by Godfrey Giles; and -though these special colourings have been obtainable for quite ten -years, I have never found anything which would quite take their place. -They are 9d. and 1s. 6d. a piece. I advise the latter, the extra 9d. -quite doubling the time that the paper will really wear. Some of -Liberty’s damasque papers are also most suitable for these and, indeed, -for any rooms; but these are 2s., and, in consequence, would cost more -to put up. Lower than 1s. 6d. I cannot think it is wise to go, for after -all, the great expense of papering is the labour, and the vagaries of -the British workman render it undesirable that we shall have to employ -him more than we can possibly help. For, once he is in the house, heaven -only knows when<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_198" id="page_198"></a>{198}</span> he will leave; and while he is there, everything is -disorganised, the maids being engrossed by him and his doings and his -followers, and nothing going on in its accustomed and regular routine. I -am very fond of the soft apricot shade in the damasque papers, and -should often advise one of these used with either real ivory or -<i>café-au-lait</i> paint. At first, one need not put a dado, especially if -the room be prepared for ‘number one,’ as that can always be added later -on, when the room begins to look a little shabby round the base of the -wall. Then if the master knows how to use his hands at all, he can -simply screw on a dado rail, made of the ever-useful ‘goehring,’ while -the mistress can make a full curtain dado of some inexpensive blue and -cream cretonne. Oetzmann often has one at about 5¾d. a yard. This is -easily made up, a very deep flounce is manufactured, and a yard and a -half of cretonne suffice for a yard of dado. It should be slightly -gathered on a tape, and the width of the cretonne makes the depth of the -dado. On the tape are sewn very small rings, and these are passed over -brass-headed nails put<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_199" id="page_199"></a>{199}</span> close under the dado-rail, which should be -painted after it is fixed, the heads of the screws being covered with -putty also painted over; this effectually conceals all traces of them. -It is easy for anyone to calculate the cost of such a dado exactly; but, -as I said before it can always be added to a room, should it not be -advisable on the score of expense to put it up at first. If the soft -apricot paper is selected and the room is a very sunny one, I should -advise blue Bolton sheeting curtains from Burnett, made double and edged -with grip cord, as most undoubtedly anything in such a room should be -capable of being washed, while a square blue ‘Dunelm’ carpet should be -laid in the centre of the floor, the outer space being covered with -plain brown cork carpet. On no account should a nursery be covered with -linoleum, oilcloth or cork carpet; a real woollen carpet should be <i>de -rigueur</i>. Nothing is worse for a child to creep on than the cold surface -of any material which resembles oilcloth, while it is the fault of the -nurse entirely should a carpet be spoiled in any way. So, should the -mother find the carpet becoming the worse for unfair<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_200" id="page_200"></a>{200}</span> treatment during -the first eighteen months of a child’s life, she must realise that her -nurse is to blame, and that a woman who permits such ‘accidents’ is -unfit for her position, and should take some situation where the -spotless carefulness and cleanliness which should mark anyone who has -the care of a child are not required. For be well assured, if a nurse be -careless and untidy in one way she will have these same failings in all -she has to do. A nurse may herself look the picture of all she ought to -be, but if her rooms bear the least signs of neglect, if the child is -not ‘turned out’ like a new pin, and has not perfect ‘manners’ by the -time it is a year old, she must go. Unless she does, there will never be -peace in the nursery, neither will the children ever be well. People may -feel inclined to scoff at the notion that a child’s health can depend on -its appearance; but this is a fact, and no amount of scoffing will alter -it. If, for example, you see a child sent out with untidy boots, coarse -stockings in which there may be a hole or two, and which said stockings -are not pulled up trimly and correctly under the short<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_201" id="page_201"></a>{201}</span> skirts or the -neat little knickerbockers; if the under-garments are showing either at -waist or knee, if the clothes are unbrushed and awry and the hair -unkempt, send the nurse away at once. If she be careless about the looks -of the children she will be careless about their health. Her rooms will -be either stuffy or draughty; she will not discriminate about the -children’s food or their times of sleep or play; she will not see the -boots are repaired and the clothes aired; she is utterly untrustworthy.</p> - -<p>I have had a large experience of people of all kinds, and I can honestly -say I have never found a sloven a good servant, or an untidy woman one -who could be trusted in any position in one’s household. Bad as this -fault is in anyone, it is desperate indeed where children are concerned, -and should therefore never be endured for a moment. The nurse who is -really fit for her post takes as much pride in the children’s appearance -as the mother does herself. Should she not do so, colds are incessant, -and small illnesses frequent, while should there be an infant matters -are still worse, for the baby’s bottles are sure to be badly<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_202" id="page_202"></a>{202}</span> kept; -indeed a child may die, or at the least may suffer severely because of -the untidy habits and slovenly ways of the nurse. One of the easiest -ways to discover what manner of woman she is, is this very question of -the carpet. And should she object to one and suggest oilcloth, be quite -sure she does not know her business, or only wants to save herself -trouble. A carpet is a necessity in a properly-managed nursery, and that -should be an axiom which should never for one instant be forgotten.</p> - -<p>I should never paper the ceiling of a nursery, neither should gas be -allowed there; neither should we overcrowd this room with furniture, nor -should we permit a vast accumulation of toys. The ceiling should be -washed cream-colour once a year, and the room, if small, should be -lighted with a good duplex lamp from the centre of the ceiling; also -from one swung out on an arm near the fireplace, if the room be large -and the nurse wish to sit near the fire to do her work, or wash and -undress the children there in winter. No lamps should be allowed to -stand about anywhere<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_203" id="page_203"></a>{203}</span> and all must be out of the reach of the children, -else will accidents certainly occur. The lamp must be re-trimmed and -refilled daily downstairs by whoever attends to the sitting-room lamps, -and must have a metal receiver. It must also be the reverse of cheap. -Cheap lamps are dangerous and abominable in every way. Yet a lamp must -we have in our nurseries if we wish the children to be well, and to -escape the blighting influence of a gas-vitiated atmosphere. If no maid -can be trusted to do the lamps the mistress must see to them herself. -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 health, and in feeling confident that the -lamps will not smell, and that they will burn brightly, and not expire -suddenly because they have not been properly filled in the morning.</p> - -<p>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 deal, stained a good -dark brown. This is quite large enough to ‘dine’ four people, and can -be<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_204" id="page_204"></a>{204}</span> used to cut out on, if required; and then when not in use it can be -folded back and put against the wall, thus giving the child or children -more room to play about. This table, a low chair or two, the children’s -chairs, and about two or three rush-seated chairs are quite sufficient -furniture for a nursery, if we add a big cupboard which, if we are lucky -enough to have recesses each side of the fireplace, can easily be -constructed by any working carpenter. If there are no recesses I should -put this cupboard in one of the corners of the room; it would take up -less space there, and would not cause as many accidents as if it stood -out into the room, always ready to deal blows to the unsteady toddler -for whose sake such danger must be steadily avoided. The lower part of -the cupboard can be sacred to toys, the higher part to work and garments -in course of construction. All clothes in wear should be placed in a -cupboard in the dressing-room, which room should also contain the -nursery cups and saucers and property generally, and all washing and -dressing matters.</p> - -<p>An excellent thing for the nursery is a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_205" id="page_205"></a>{205}</span> wide box-ottoman placed in the -window, and if we can have one with sides and ends so much the better, -as this can be turned with the back to the room, and here in a species -of crib or cage, can a young person be placed safely to look out of the -window, any attempts at falling over the back being frustrated by the -nearness of the nurse. Of course baby cannot fall out of the window if -open, or through it if shut, because of the most necessary nursery bars, -which must be erected <i>inside</i> the window, not outside in the ordinary -way; in this position they do double duty, and not only prevent -accidents, from the child falling out of the window, but render it -almost impossible for the glass to be broken. Of course a nursery window -should be of plate glass if no other window in the house is, and should -have a cheerful outlook, an amusing outlook being better for a child -than any amount of toys. The window should be absolutely draught-proof. -It must have a ventilator capable of being almost hermetically sealed in -its top pane, and at the same time very easily opened. It must never be -stuffed up<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_206" id="page_206"></a>{206}</span> with blinds and an undue amount of curtain. Sunshine means -health, and the more sunshine a house or room receives the better. This -should be impressed on a nurse at once, and she should never have the -means of making the room dark and dismal in her hands, or else she will -certainly do so at the very earliest possible opportunity.</p> - -<p>Another most excellent thing to have in a nursery where there are -growing children would be a regular hammock on good supports, to be -erected or taken away at will, and to be sufficiently low to ensure that -a fall therefrom would do no harm. This hammock would be as useful as a -sofa, and as amusing as a swing, without the disagreeable after-effects -and danger; and, of course, it should be heaped with the humble pillows, -made of curled paper, in linen cases, which are so invaluable, because -they cost nothing, and can be thrown about genially without doing any -amount of damage at all.</p> - -<p>The walls of the nursery must either be pictureless or embellished by -really good autotypes, sufficient of which can be procured for about £5 -for quite a large room. For let nothing allow any<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_207" id="page_207"></a>{207}</span> mother to put up the -glaring vulgar nursery pictures which one sees so often in children’s -rooms, and which undoubtedly vitiate the children’s tastes, and give -them bad and false ideas of art from their earliest days. Then, too, I -most thoroughly recommend that the amount of toys allowed be of the -smallest: a Noah’s ark, a really good box of bricks, a horse and cart, -dolls, and a nice doll’s house are quite sufficient for any small -person. The child who is dependent on a constant supply of mechanical -and expensive toys is a poor thing, and is never likely to grow up to be -much good to itself or to anyone else.</p> - -<p>If we arrange our nursery on these lines, and have the dressing-room -also, we should require the simple bed for the nurse only to be brought -into the room for use at night, and the dressing-room should be entirely -kept for dressing purposes.</p> - -<p>Our nursery needs a good cupboard. Wallace sells a good deal ‘linen -cupboard,’ which, painted ‘real ivory,’ or electric turquoise enamel, -makes a capital nursery wardrobe, and here the child’s clothes should be -kept, while the nurse should<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_208" id="page_208"></a>{208}</span> have one of Wallace’s indispensable corner -wardrobes for her dresses, which costs by the way the ridiculous sum of -28s. 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 possesses. One of Shoolbred’s -small bamboo cupboard-tables would hold boots and shoes and bonnets -quite well, and no accumulations of any kind should be allowed. The -nurse’s box must never be kept in either room, but be relegated at once -to the box-room; and directly a child’s garment is outgrown, or the -worse for wear, let it be given away. The only good I have ever been -able to see in a small house is, that no one can possibly hoard there. -If hoarding is begun it cannot be carried on, because if it were, there -would speedily be no room to turn round.</p> - -<p>Now, if one room only can be given up for a nursery, it must have -fitments which can be removable at will in case we stay there not longer -than the ordinary three years; or they can be on the lines of a -‘workers’ room,’ I designed for Messrs Wallace & Co., and which<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_209" id="page_209"></a>{209}</span> said -fitments are part and parcel of the chamber. In the first place the bed -must fold up by day into a species of ‘combined bedstead and bookcase -arrangement,’ which is a bed by night, and looks like a -bookcase-sideboard by day; and in the second, another cupboard must be -furnished with a shelf to draw out from above, resting on brackets: on -which shelf are to stand the basin ewer, etc., when in use. The brushes -and combs must be shut away, while the looking-glass should be an -ornamental one over the mantelpiece.</p> - -<p>With a room such as this the nurse must take the child to its mother -when she herself is dressed, and she must throw up the window and open -the door while she breakfasts with the other maid or maids. She must -then ‘do’ her nursery thoroughly, and after that wash and dress the -infant. While the child is quite small this should not be done later -than 9 a.m; after it is a year old it must be dressed before breakfast, -and go to its mother while the nurse has her meal. Indeed, no meals must -be allowed in the nursery under these circumstances; and the fact of -there being only<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_210" id="page_210"></a>{210}</span> one nurse means that the mother must act as upper -nurse herself.</p> - -<p>Such a situation I cannot recommend to any girl who has had but little -acquaintance with the ways and manners of an infant. If she undertakes -it, she will always be sending for a doctor; and, much as I love the -profession, I would rather recommend the payment of a good nurse, for, -if she is good, she knows far more about a baby than any doctor can do. -He has most excellent theories, she a great amount of experience to aid -her in wrestling with infantile complaints, which are generally treated -far more satisfactorily by strict attention to diet, exercise and air, -than by any amount of the newest and most wonderful drugs in the world.</p> - -<p>If there are a couple of deep recesses, one each side of the fireplace, -it would be quite possible to treat the room on the principles of the -worker’s room and at no great expense. In one recess should be a folding -bed, closed up in a cupboard during the day time, exactly on the same -lines as the Harrow boys’ beds, and into this cupboard all the bedding -can be shut. The second recess should have four or five shelves<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_211" id="page_211"></a>{211}</span> fitted -in, and these should be covered by doors in three divisions. The upper -and lower doors should be shorter than the centre one, and they should -all shut and open quite independently of each other. The top cupboard -should be used for garments; the second one should enclose two shelves, -the lower one of which should be double width and hinged half way, so -that when in use, it could open out and be brought forward and be -supported on folding brackets. This shelf must be painted with -Aspinall’s bath enamel or else covered with white American leather to -resist the action of water; and on this the washing apparatus must be -arranged. Above, on the first shelf, all brushes and combs may be -placed, while the glass over the mantelpiece can be used as a -dressing-glass, or we can have one fixed inside the cupboard door that -faces the light. On the other door should be fixed a brass rod for -towels, then all would be complete. The cupboard under this shelf could -be used on one side for the slop-pail, etc., and on the other for boots -and shoes. These fitments could be made out of deal by any decent -amateur carpenter. The wood could<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_212" id="page_212"></a>{212}</span> either be ‘goehring,’ which cannot -warp or crack, or else well-seasoned deal, ‘primed for painting.’ It -should receive a coat of Aspinall’s enamel, and after two days have -elapsed and allowed that coat to harden thoroughly, a second should be -applied. Paint is saved and a good decorative effect is obtained by -filling in the panels with Japanese leather paper or else with -anaglypta, while carved panels can be bought very cheaply in the -material ‘goehring,’ which of course would require the same amount of -paint as would the rest of the cupboard fitments. Then the window-seat -can either be the box-ottoman one already suggested, sold by Story & -Triggs for about £6, 6s., and called the ‘Desideratum,’ or it can be -made at home from more deal or more ‘goehring.’ In this case the -simplest way to proceed is to put a straight piece of wood right across -the bow or Caldecott window, hiding it by a flounce of cretonne. The -back of the window would form the back of the ottoman, while the bottom -could be made of brown holland, tacked in on the inside all round. The -hinges of the top should be fixed to the back of the window, and the -sides should<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_213" id="page_213"></a>{213}</span> rest on wooden bars nailed on the sides of the window, and -the top should be composed of a stout deal frame, supplemented by straps -of webbing, and on these straps a cushion should be laid stuffed with -flock. This box should be made very strongly indeed and need cost very -little; but although it holds a great deal, and can be most useful to -supplement the cupboards, it can never be half as serviceable as the -real box-ottoman with the ends and sides of which I have already spoken.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_018_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img src="images/ill_018_sml.jpg" width="229" height="97" alt="" /></a> -</div> - -<p>The decoration of such a room as this must depend on the aspect. If this -be very sunny, as indeed it should be, green or blue should be used, the -latter for choice. I do not think anyone who has not tried it can have -the smallest idea how delightful this colour is to live with, or the use -of it<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_214" id="page_214"></a>{214}</span> would be far more universal than it is even now. Of course people -get the wrong blue, and then rave against it, and rightly too, for a -drab or dull shade is simply awful. There are some shades which go black -or grey at night, but no difficulty is found where Aspinall’s ‘electric -turquoise’ or ‘hedge sparrow egg’ blue is taken as one’s guiding star. -An <i>old</i> turquoise, or a rather dark-coloured duck’s egg are also very -useful as guides to colour, should Aspinall be unprocurable, and the -rather prohibitive price (4s. 6d. a piece) puts Smee’s Panton blue paper -entirely out of the market, as far as a small suburban nursery is -concerned. The cupboards and all the paint can also be of a soft brown -shade, and then the dado should either be in anaglypta painted the same -colour, or else in a blue and brown cretonne, which can be found -sometimes at Colbourne’s, or at Liberty’s or at Oetzmann’s. Above that -should be hung one of Knowles’s less expensive blue papers, if one can -get it the right shade and he generally keeps it now, or the -ever-faithful blue ‘Olive-leaf’ on which we cannot improve for a small -room. The furniture should be as advised before,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_215" id="page_215"></a>{215}</span> though, if the room be -tiny, and there is only one child, Derry & Toms’ folding-table at 4s. -11d. is quite large enough for all purposes, and leaves us far more -space in the centre of the room than we should otherwise possess.</p> - -<p>If the room is sunless: well, I should like to say that this is -impossible: but, alas! I know that it is not: the room should be done in -yellows and browns, and have blue curtains and carpet. But a sunless -room is a crime, and should never be allowed. Neither should a -tree-shaded house be chosen. Trees mean damp and flies and all sorts of -misery; and if the trees which luxuriate in some suburbs cannot be cut -down these suburbs must be avoided, for trees are all very well in their -way, and lovely and pleasant enough in a big park, but they always come -much too close to a small house, and I personally have been almost -crippled with rheumatism and obliged to make two or three expensive -moves, 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 -suffering. Besides they keep out sunshine and light, and moreover -harbour<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_216" id="page_216"></a>{216}</span> insects and dirt; 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 existence.</p> - -<p>By the way talking of flies let me give one or two simple ways of -dealing with these torments and with their friends, the wasps, which -however should never be destroyed heedlessly, because they in their turn -prey on the flies and reduce their numbers pretty considerably. For -flies the eucalyptus spray is a capital treatment, the only drawback -being the extreme stickiness of the eucalyptus water which falls about, -and often marks our cherished possessions. Then, Sanitas is very -valuable, and if people are not sensitive to smells, no flies have ever -been found which would face carbolic acid, a fact that I proved during -one damp summer, when we were almost eaten alive by the little wretches. -For one of my children caught scarlet fever, and the moment the orthodox -sheets were erected, and the mop used freely on the floors to spread -about the same disgusting stuff, with<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_217" id="page_217"></a>{217}</span> one accord the flies departed, -and as far as I can make out have not yet returned at anyrate in any -great numbers. I discovered, too, that wasps dislike eucalyptus, but not -as much as flies do (these by the way retreat also before paraffin), -while they vanished absolutely before Liberty’s ‘joss sticks.’ These -when burned liberally, kept them entirely at bay, and that in a year -when the newspapers were filled with complaints as to their numbers and -ferocity. Gnats are sometimes circumvented by hanging ‘southernwood’ on -the bed, or about the windows, while, if the house be old or much -covered with creepers—I advise nothing but tiny virginian creepers and -clematis, 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 outside. This keeps out every -insect, does not show, and does not keep out the very smallest amount of -air or light. Only are earwigs circumvented by these means, or by a -liberal use of disinfectants and of paraffin, but such remedies are to -me<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_218" id="page_218"></a>{218}</span> worse than the disease and can only be employed if folks are not -highly sensitive to smells. Carbolic makes me physically sick for hours -at a time, and I think even the worst plague of flies which was ever -experienced is better than the misery and discomfort of almost perpetual -nausea. But when carbolic has not this effect it should undoubtedly be -largely used to keep all insects at bay.</p> - -<p>Now let us just for one moment describe a suburban house where decent -nurseries are possible, where a good spare room is left, and a bedroom -and dressing-room do exist, and which yet costs no more than £95 a year, -for I see no reason why all small suburban houses should not be built on -these lines. The staircase comes up from the hall to a narrow landing; -on the left hand is the spare-room door, opposite that are good bed and -dressing-rooms; and then on the right is an arch, beyond which are -bathroom, day and night nurseries and a nursery pantry, designed first -as a dressing-room to the room used for the night nursery.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_219" id="page_219"></a>{219}</span></p> - -<p>This arrangement is small but perfect, for if infectious disease entered -the nurseries, they could be isolated in one moment by a match boarding -doorway erected in the arch and protected each side by the usual -carbolic sheets. The strength of the carbolic, by the way, is 1 in 20, -and the sheets are kept damp with an ordinary garden syringe. At the -first hint of infection the rooms should be cleared of all superfluous -furniture and draperies, and the carpets taken away and cleaned at once, -while all floors should be mopped at least twice a day with the same -carbolic as used for the sheets, etc., and in this every article used in -the sick-room must be steeped before it leaves the place. Every mother -and every nurse should know what to do on an emergency, and the moment -anything infectious appears, the utmost precautions must be taken to -prevent a spread of the complaint. Of course the doctor and the master -of the house notify the complaint at once to the authorities, but the -neighbours on each side and in front and back should be told too, and -the tradesmen be<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_220" id="page_220"></a>{220}</span> warned; indeed, no precautions are too great to ensure -that no one shall suffer by our fault or our carelessness and -selfishness. Remember that we may be unconscious murderers if we are not -super-careful at such times, for some child may die because we have not -sufficiently realised the situation, or known how really wrong it is to -run the very tiniest risk of giving someone else anything that may be -fatal. As children more especially are liable to take infectious -diseases the nurseries cannot be too lightly furnished, though of -course, comfort must not in any way be neglected, nor must draughts be -allowed. All curtains and <i>portières</i> must be washed, and the carpet and -all furniture be removed at once, even if it have to be stored in the -passages and other rooms, and be greatly in the way of the other -inhabitants of the house. If the children have pets the dogs and cats -must be washed with carbolic soap and water, and sent away at once, and -the canaries must be removed downstairs. I do not think anyone realises -how easily cats and dogs can spread complaints, else I<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_221" id="page_221"></a>{221}</span> should not have -heard my nurse exclaim, ‘Oh! I should never have thought of sending away -the dogs.’ Neither, by the same token, would the doctor, although both -our dogs were in the habit of reposing on the beds, and one at least had -extremely long hair.</p> - -<p>To sum up briefly the necessities of a healthy nursery, I should say -that they include two easily-isolated rooms, plenty of sun and air as -opposed to heat and draughts, and above all, spotless cleanliness and -well-made, simply-designed furniture, which can be easily moved, which -allows of no accumulations, and which finally can be kept by the nurse -herself in a state of perfect dustlessness without an undue amount of -labour. 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 home.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_222" id="page_222"></a>{222}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII<br /><br /> -<small>BEDROOMS</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">In</span> the rooms set aside for the purposes of rest and sleep, I venture to -remark that the ordinary builder, to say nothing of the ordinary -decorator, rises to his very worst heights of villainy, and makes the -task before us one of almost superhuman effort. I have had three of -these houses to live in, and in all of them, when the doors did not face -the only possible place to put the bed, they came exactly at the side of -the fire, and left no space whatever to put a sofa, 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 repose. And as illness is -always possible, and moreover more than possible is it vain to ask when -further ‘eligible sites’ are cut up for building, that the landlords of -the future will kindly keep an eye on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_223" id="page_223"></a>{223}</span></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_019_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img src="images/ill_019_sml.jpg" width="372" height="230" alt="BEDROOM." /></a> -<br /> -<span class="caption">BEDROOM.</span> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_224" id="page_224"></a>{224}</span></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_225" id="page_225"></a>{225}</span></p> - -<p class="nind">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 -resources? How I should love to design just for once the small ideal -house with its square hall, capable of being used as an extra -sitting-room or a billiard-room, we need not then have the ‘three -reception-rooms’ which sound so grand and mean so little. Upstairs -should be three good bedrooms and a dressing-room, bath and day nursery; -the servants’ rooms and box-room in their turn above these, and whenever -possible, reached by a separate staircase. I see no reason why such a -house with reasonable and rational servants’ downstairs accommodation, -as already described, should be out of the reach of the usual suburban -resident with his £800 to £1000 a year.</p> - -<p>If arranged in this compact and comfortable style, and if every -labour-saving appliance that is obtainable is introduced, the number of -servants required would be minimised. A great consideration in these -days, when though we are always being badgered to help the unemployed no -one<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_226" id="page_226"></a>{226}</span> seems able to get any servants, and, even if they are forthcoming, -they have to be paid double the old prices, while they do half the -amount of work. At least that is what I am always hearing. Personally, I -have never found any difficulty in obtaining all the maids I myself -require.</p> - -<p>At the same time, if I were building ever so small a house, I should -undoubtedly have hot and cold water taps and a waste pipe in every -bedroom and dressing-room, and would even go as far as to have fixed -washing-stands there too. I would put at least one cupboard in each -room, also a window-seat, and, of course, the regulation tiled hearth -and slow-combustion stove with its tiled surround and its simple black -fender. The short curtains to the windows, the carefully-selected -pictures and ornaments, and the matted floor should all help to make the -work light, and to render it unnecessary to keep any superfluous number -of maids.</p> - -<p>But we have at present to do with the suburban residence as it is and -not as it<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_227" id="page_227"></a>{227}</span> might be, and therefore it is not much use in dreaming about -perfection, for if we do we shall most certainly be disappointed, and do -no real good at all. We shall have to combat shrunken doors and -ill-fitting windows, poor grates and bad floors, and therefore the -sooner we set about remedying these faults the better it will be for us. -I do most certainly advise that whatever else is put up with, the usual -black wide-mouthed all-devouring grate may be altered and replaced with -some kind of a very simple slow-combustion one. These grates can be -bought for £3 or £4 at Shuffery’s in Welbeck Street, and will probably -save their cost in coal in one month’s use. Besides which they will -ensure the warmth and comfort which cannot possibly exist without them; -for pile on coal as we may on the grate of the past, the heat goes -mostly up the chimney, while the fuel is exactly as useful as regards -keeping the fire in, as would be leaves or pieces of paper. Our sole -occupation with such a grate is to jump up every five minutes and -prevent the fire from going out altogether,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_228" id="page_228"></a>{228}</span> by putting on more coal, -and yet again more; until our patience, to say nothing of our coal -supply, gives out most completely. I have recently spent some months in -the company of such a grate, and I can assure my readers I have not had -a pleasant time of it. I happened to be obliged to have a fire in all -night, 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 -out, notwithstanding that half an hour before I had not only fed it -copiously with coal, but put briquettes in considerable numbers into its -vast and hungry jaws. Briquettes which will as a rule keep in the fire -for nearly twelve hours were useless here, 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 winter.</p> - -<p>Once more, I can assure my readers as regards the grates, that it is -absolutely no use to temporise; and that both the one in the day nursery -and that in the best bedroom must go, even if it cannot be managed that -the grates in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_229" id="page_229"></a>{229}</span> the other upstairs rooms can be changed; while let -nothing persuade anyone to have gas stoves erected. They are both -cheerless and unhealthy, albeit I know they are a great saving in -trouble, that they are now properly ventilated, and that they can be -turned on and off at a moment’s notice, and can be so regulated that the -proper temperature for all rooms—60 degrees—can be maintained either -at night or day. But I cannot breathe in any house where gas is allowed -to warm the air. I know plants never last in such an atmosphere, as my -plants do, and that, moreover, wherever gas stoves are employed largely, -anyone in that special place is pale, wan and susceptible to cold. -Indeed, the more I see of any attempt to heat our rooms otherwise than -by open fires, the more I am convinced that such attempts are harmful -and unsuccessful, and that, therefore, coal and wood fires should be -‘our only wear,’ at least until some genius invents something better and -less costly. At the same time I don’t see why anyone need make such -attempts—given the proper grates—for nothing can<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_230" id="page_230"></a>{230}</span> take the place of a -cheery blaze, which apart from its health-giving properties, always -seems to greet us when we enter the room, is a delightful companion, and -oftentimes provides us with a pleasant occupation should we be bored or -tired. 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 air.</p> - -<p>Then the last thing at night it can be banked up and left, rather -dull-looking perhaps and surly and sad; but when the early morning comes -one poke of the judiciously-applied poker and out leaps the eager blaze; -a few good knobs of coal are put on, and in less than five minutes back -comes our cheery friend, making even a foggy morning bright and -cheerful, and a wet or snowy one vivacious if nothing else, under its -bright and charming influence. What stove, what emotionless gas glitter -can be anything save prosaic in comparison? while I am certain health -suffers where anything save a proper fire is ordinarily employed.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_231" id="page_231"></a>{231}</span></p> - -<p>A careful tenant can keep the landlord’s grates and replace them when he -leaves, but I never think this is worth the expense, the principal -expense about changing the grates being the fixing them; at the same -time, I cannot say too often that we shall not want to move in the -insensate manner in which suburban residents do move nowadays, if we -make ourselves comfortable at first, and do not sit down to discomfort, -with that depressing sentence on our lips—‘After all, it’s only for -three years, and therefore it is not worth while!’</p> - -<p>Having begun our reform by putting in new and decent grates, we can turn -our attention to the doors and windows and the floor. The draughts must -be excluded by ‘Slater’s patent,’ and the floor properly stopped, and -moreover planed if rough; while should the door show gaps, as I once -knew one to do, in a manner which allowed the unfortunate owner to -perceive, without opening it, whether the gas was burning in the hall -outside or not, these gaps must be stopped, either by inserting slips of -wood, or with putty, or some sort of stopping:<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_232" id="page_232"></a>{232}</span> the door, as usual, -being covered inside and out by the ever-useful, ever-faithful and most -decorative <i>portière</i>. I cannot understand the firm and pugnacious way -in which the ordinary householder clings to his bare and undraped doors, -and will not avail himself of the shelter and warmth which can be -obtained in no other way. It cannot be the expense. Wallace supplies the -rods at 4½d. a foot, the brackets cost about 4½d. each, and as a yard -and a quarter of double-width material suffices for the ordinary -suburban door, though I advise an extra half width; and this costs, at -the outside, 5s.; I see no reason why this should not be put over even -the humblest suburban door in the world. As it cannot be the cost, I can -but come to the conclusion that as usual paterfamilias has interfered, a -thing no man should do in a house on the matter of decoration and -management. He may give an opinion if he is asked for one: though he is -most judicious who takes care that that opinion coincides with that of -his wife, so if he has been hardy enough to veto the <i>portière</i>, he must -be gently, but firmly, shown that it is<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_233" id="page_233"></a>{233}</span> not stuffy—the thermometer -will do that—and that neither is it a dust-trap. This can be -demonstrated in a few minutes by taking it down before his eyes, and -having it removed, shaken, and replaced all in less time than it takes -to tell of it. If after this he objects to moving it on one side as he -enters the door, he must be carefully trained to see how ridiculous such -a notion is, 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 gate. -This is a lesson all men can be taught just as many of them have been -taught, thanks to me, that the hall need not be strewed with hats, -gloves and brushes, and hung with coats and waterproofs in the last -stages of dissolution, 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 entrances, at their own sweet wills. It is, however, -usually impossible to live in an ordinary suburban house unless the -furniture be made, in a measure for that special abode. For the rooms -are so awkward and tiny that ‘combination’ furniture<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_234" id="page_234"></a>{234}</span> must be employed, -or else one cannot have space to move.</p> - -<p>No bed should ever be draped in any way. If the bedroom is properly -arranged and ventilated, while all draughts are excluded, curtains -cannot be required, and no bed need present a starved or undecorated -appearance if pictures are properly arranged behind it, or a bookcase -hung on the wall above it, and the pillows properly put into frilled -cases, and placed during the day high up on under pillows. At night the -look of the bed behind the sleepers cannot trouble them, but it will be -all right if, as I said before, pictures are hung properly, just, and -only just above the top rail of the plain and simple brass bed, the only -kind which should ever be allowed in any house. If brass is too dear, -then plain iron must replace it; the iron can be Aspinalled ‘real -ivory,’ and so be made to look quite superior in every way, should the -plain black iron be objected to.</p> - -<p>I am quite shocked to see that a strenuous effort is being made to -revive the beautiful, but unhealthy, wooden bedsteads<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_235" id="page_235"></a>{235}</span> of our ancestors, -but I do hope someone will form an ‘anti-wooden bed league,’ and scotch -the thing in its very earliest days, for there are people who will buy -anything if assured by an enterprising tradesman that it is the newest -thing out, and that a similar article was sold to a member of the -aristocracy during the last week or so. Now, the very idea of the -newness should warn off any wary buyer, for a new thing cannot have been -really tried and found successful, while anyone can be fairly sure that -a thing which has been sold, and sold largely for ten or more years, -must be a success in one way or the other.</p> - -<p>Really it does seem a little late in the century to combat the vast -disadvantages of wooden bedsteads! still, it must certainly be done, -else once more shall we have to put up with them, to the great detriment -of our health. Just think how impossible it would be to make a wooden -bed absolutely safe should infectious disease seize the owner! Then too -it encourages insects, and is open to all sorts of other objections -which those who think can discover for themselves.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_236" id="page_236"></a>{236}</span> Therefore stick to -brass and iron and the excellent wire-woven mattresses, which only need -supplementing with a really good hair mattress to make an ideal couch, -particularly if we see the latter is turned every day, and moved from -the head to the foot of the bed, to ensure an equal amount of wear.</p> - -<p>The simpler the furniture in a bedroom, the better it will be for the -owner thereof, and if she can visit Hewetson and have real old -Chippendale toilet-tables and washing-stands and wardrobes she should -certainly do so; if not she should buy new things made on similar lines, -and these she can always find at Smee & Cobay’s, while for good plain -furniture in a less expensive make, Wallace is always available, and -should certainly be consulted on this ever-fascinating subject.</p> - -<p>But I am indeed thankful to have to note that the brief reign of -brightly-enamelled and coloured bedroom furniture is now at an end, as -dead as the peacock’s feather and the Japanese fan, and the dreadful -stuffed storks and chenille monkeys so dear to the heart<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_237" id="page_237"></a>{237}</span> of the -would-be artistic woman. Enamel is most excellent and useful if we must -have the plain deal furniture, which we used to have to buy grained and -varnished, and of an awful sickly yellow brown that would have ruined -any room. But in this case we must buy the furniture in the plain wood -‘primed for painting,’ and either ask the upholsterer to follow our -directions implicitly, or else have it home in this state, and paint it -ourselves or turn on the handy man, without whom no suburban residence -can be made in the least degree habitable, unless we can afford reckless -expenditure, in which case we should hardly take up our residence in a -similar abode. If this style of furniture be gone in for, it should be -recollected that there are only two shades of enamel which can be used -in a would-be artistic house for this purpose, and those are ‘electric -turquoise’ and ‘real ivory.’ Green pink and yellow are truly terrible, -and cannot be excused. Plain brown stain is bearable but I do not advise -it, while let no one attempt to use an amateur green stain on any -account. It is a failure at once and makes any room abominable<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_238" id="page_238"></a>{238}</span> because -of its pretentiousness, for as I have said before, the beautiful green -stain made familiar to us by Liberty first, can only be obtained from a -professional hand, an amateur cannot get it, try how he may to do so. -Now there are about three ways of decorating a suburban bedroom, though -of course the details as regards special papers and special furniture -can be varied infinitely. At the same time no one should make the fatal -mistake of treating such a house or such rooms either in the Moorish, -Japanese or Old Empire style, or in any eccentric fashion at all. -Neither way can be suitable for it. Indeed, I do not care for the jumble -of styles made by having an eastern-looking hall, an Old English -dining-room, a Queen Anne drawing-room and a Moorish landing, which is -so inexpressively dear to the would-be artistic decorator, and I can but -suggest that my readers will resist the temptation of similar -eccentricities to the very utmost, contenting themselves with the simple -furniture kept by my pet firms, and using this in connection with the -papers and paint which are specially made and designed to go with the -different styles.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_239" id="page_239"></a>{239}</span> If a really good hand-made floral paper can be -afforded, nothing can approach it for bedroom decoration; but the -printed cheap imitations must not be looked at for one moment, for they -cannot possibly be the success the others are. Where a floral bedroom -fails to charm, it is always because the paper is just not quite right, -because every detail has not been thought out and carried out to the -very smallest item, or because a timid person has advised on the -subject, or the advice has been given by someone who does not understand -the subject. Now to obtain success, Jeffrey’s papers or Knowles’s or -Haines’s must be used, and here let me name some which are always in -stock, and which can always be procured. First of all is Haines’s -‘ragged robin,’ a French paper on a soft ground, which is perfect; then -comes Jeffrey’s clematis in different shades and combinations of colour, -my pet one being the mauve and green I have already mentioned, while -Knowles’s ‘rose’ and dahlia papers are beautiful, as are Godfrey -Giles’s, and although the cost is awful we must not forget Mr Smee’s -magnificent ‘Hamilton,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_240" id="page_240"></a>{240}</span>’ albeit that could only be used as a frieze, as -it is something like 10s. or 12s. a piece. Having chosen the floral -paper the dado should be either in cretonne which matches the paper -exactly; or else a dado should be made like a deep flounce in some plain -material. If we select the cretonne, it must be run round the room so -that the pattern goes in a different way to that on the wall, and the -window curtains must match precisely. But should we select what Godfrey -Giles calls the ‘Muriel’ curtain dado, the curtains should be in plain -linen and lace, as should the table-covers, mantel drapery, and any -cushion covers we may have in the room. Unless we use Miss Goodban’s new -linen and flax curtains, draperies, etc.; these, of course, are much -more expensive, but then they are ideal, and the bedspreads at any rate -should not be forgotten, for they wash and wear better than any others I -have ever come across.</p> - -<p>Then too the ware should match the flowers employed in the decoration; -and in all floral rooms, save where blue and yellow are employed -together, the floor should have either<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_241" id="page_241"></a>{241}</span> 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 ‘Isis’ matting should fit the room as the old-fashioned carpets -used to, supplemented of course with a certain amount of rugs -judiciously arranged, and not put down in straight lines each side of -the bed or in front of the toilet-table and washing-stand and fireplace, -as they are all too often arranged by those who do not understand the -matter. The paint should always be the exact shade of the ground of -these floral papers, and this generally shades from pale ivory to still -paler <i>café-au-lait</i>. Not that I mean for one moment that the paint in -one room should be anything save one even surface of colour, but that as -a rule the shade of the ground of these papers differs one from the -other, and that whatever shade is chosen for the ground, that and that -only must be taken as a guide for the paint for the room itself. -Further, all cornices must be coloured cream and all ceilings, save -those just written of, should be papered in some<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_242" id="page_242"></a>{242}</span> pretty and inexpensive -ceiling paper, which, as a rule, in ‘floral rooms,’ should be Jeffrey’s -‘tie’ paper in pale green and white.</p> - -<p>The best furniture for these rooms is Wallace’s set of green-stained -furniture with tiles to match the shade selected in the wall paper; that -is to say if we select pink and green, the tiles should be absolutely -plain pale pink in the palest shade of coral pink, and if we have yellow -and green, the tiles should be yellow; while if plain dados and curtains -are used, the colour for these should be green as should the carpets. -These rules should apply to any combination of colour we may select, the -only exception being if we should have blue and yellow. Then blue must -be our foundation, so to speak, while the tiles must be yellow and -patternless, and the furniture in some good dark wood, such as walnut or -Chippendale mahogany, my pet wood of all the woods one can buy.</p> - -<p>If we select real Chippendale furniture, we should not have a floral -room, although it would be correct to have one of the strange and to me -hideous Chinese papers Knowles sells, and which were, I<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_243" id="page_243"></a>{243}</span> believe, the -only correct wall papers at that special date, and which should be used -with chintz, not cretonne, curtains. But then it would be still more -correct to paint and panel the walls, and that would be singularly out -of place in a suburban bedroom; unless we fell upon one of Mr Ernest -Newton’s little houses, when we should probably find the panelling ready -for us and have nothing to do but paint it. Still I never can bear a -plain painted wall, or one that is colour-washed or plainly papered. -Such a room can never look really furnished, and has a most depressing -effect; and in consequence I always advise paper; for, after all one had -better be comfortable than correct. If we were absolutely correct, by -the way, and remorselessly turned our backs on all anachronisms, we -should have bow windows with tiny panes, rush-strewn floors and all -sorts of detestable things which have long since vanished along with the -‘bad old times’ which gave them birth. Therefore as we will not be -severely correct, we should have either an ivory anaglypta dado, and -above that a ‘sea-green’ paper from Knowles or Smee & Cobay: or we -should have an<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_244" id="page_244"></a>{244}</span> anaglypta ceiling coloured real ivory, and all sea-green -finishings-off, as suggested before. Also we can use a really beautiful -old-world material called linen damask, which can be bought of Smee, and -which is a washable imitation of the damasks used by our ancestors, only -in really beautiful colours, and not in the crude and awful greens, -blues and reds which were so dear to their hearts. If the bedroom is -sunless this green idea must be most studiously avoided; and yellow must -take its place, arranged either with a dado or frieze of the anaglypta, -or else with nut-brown paint and a brown linen curtain dado and yellow -printed damask curtains.</p> - -<p>A dado is far more useful in a bedroom than a frieze, for it saves the -base of the wall from the tender mercies of the housemaid, and allows -the bed to be placed against the wall, which is by far the best position -for any bed; for, placed with the head and one side against the wall, it -cannot take up half the space it does when stuck out into the middle of -the room, as so many beds all too often do. I would by the way, most -strongly recommend the beds<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_245" id="page_245"></a>{245}</span> which are known as ‘twin bedsteads,’ and -which allow two people occupying one room to sleep quite independently -of each other’s movements, and which are therefore most invaluable in -every way. There is no greater misery than for a restless person to have -to control his or her every movement for fear of disturbing a bedfellow, -no greater misery than for a quiet sleeper to be aroused every moment by -some impatient gesture from a restless one: and all drawbacks are -removed by having these twin bedsteads, which make each individual -sleeper comfortable, and which also are very simple and well devised -without any undue amount of embellishments.</p> - -<p>Beds, by the way, should always be thoroughly dusted once a week, the -entire bedding being removed for that purpose; while twice or three -times a year the ironwork should be taken apart and well washed with -Sanitas or carbolic soap, not because there is any chance of strange -visitors having taken up their abode there, but because in no other way -can one ensure the spotless dustlessness, to coin a word, that makes a -house as healthy as it should most undoubtedly be. The third<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_246" id="page_246"></a>{246}</span> manner of -decorating a bedroom, and the least expensive, is to take some definite -colour—such as blue, yellow or pink—and ‘live up’ to that, and that -only in that special room, taking care to choose an inexpensive paper in -the right shade, and not deviating from it in the smallest degree. For -example, the blue should be ‘electric turquoise,’ and none other. -Knowles has always inexpensive papers the right shade, and if we avoid -the detestable ‘feather’ which is dreadful, we shall be all right. Then -the paint should be ‘electric turquoise.’ We should have a yellow and -white ceiling paper, and should have Wallace’s blue ‘lily’ or ‘iris’ -square carpet, taking care to have a woollen fringe round it and a -stained surround; using as always, Jackson’s invaluable varnish stains. -If the room be light, we can use Burnett’s Bolton sheeting in the same -blue, with a ‘turned-over’ top of the new-patterned sheeting to -harmonise; but if it is dark and sunless the curtains should be yellow, -in a similar material, although nothing should induce anyone to have -coloured muslin curtains should the windows require a second set. All -muslin curtains<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_247" id="page_247"></a>{247}</span> should be white, or at most only a faint shade of -cream, and muslin curtains should be in all windows; upstairs and down; -edged with very-softly-falling frills; unless the windows are -‘Caldecott’ ones, and therefore only require the one short set of -material ones, which can be easily drawn and undrawn as required. In the -blue room I am very fond of ash furniture and this can be bought at -Wallace’s quite well, but avoid here as elsewhere the ordinary chests of -drawers, or my pet abomination, a chest of drawers to be used as -toilet-table too; neither, under any circumstances, must a toilet-table -be placed in the window; neither must ‘half blinds’ be indulged in. -These two things look more vulgar than I can say, and are to be -studiously avoided by anyone who cares about the outside appearance of -her house.</p> - -<p>If yellow be fixed on, we can have a real orange damasque paper, and -ivory or brown paint, green carpet, curtains and furniture, or we can -have ‘buttercup’ yellow, with ‘earth brown’ paint, matting and rugs, or -else a brown square ‘Dunelm’ carpet from Wallace, Liberty’s brown and -yellow<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_248" id="page_248"></a>{248}</span> Java cretonne, and walnut or mahogany furniture. Or yet again -the paint can be real ivory, the carpet and curtains blue, and the -furniture ‘real ivory’ too, in fact a little taste and common-sense will -provide an artistic room for any furniture that my readers may already -possess.</p> - -<p>If pink is chosen, there is only one paper I can really recommend as to -colour, and that is a very old one: Pither’s bay tree: which could be -used with ivory paint, a deep frieze of Knowles’s ‘rose-garland,’ and -cretonne curtains to match, and here without any doubt at all we should -have a green carpet and Chippendale mahogany furniture. I am very often -asked by young girls about to get married what they can be working for -their future homes, and I always say, ‘very little,’ unless they have -already made up their minds what furniture they are to have, and how -their rooms are to be decorated; because if they have a large stock of -pretty things, pretty in themselves, they may find themselves either -unable to use them at all or obliged to do so in rooms in which they -become frightful at once, because they are utterly<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_249" id="page_249"></a>{249}</span> out of place. A room -cannot be a success unless every detail dovetails and harmonises, and -where the bedspreads, cushions and toilet-covers live in harmony with -their neighbours; the curtains, paper and paint. However it is always -safe to choose certain papers, such as those I have mentioned, and to -work bedspreads to match, while, if we select pink as our leading -colour, or yellow or blue, the flax and linen cushions and covers I have -spoken of as prepared for work or worked by Miss Goodban can always -provide occupation. Neither must it be forgotten that initials must be -embroidered on the house linen, and that sets of sheets and towels must -be kept for each room, and duly embellished with monograms in -appropriate shades of Duncan’s excellent washing silks.</p> - -<p>Where a house fails to be a real success, be sure it is because some -detail has been forgotten, and under these circumstances let no one rest -until it is remembered and carried out. And here I am sure, is a great -opening for an artistic woman with a keen eye for effect—if only she -could persuade some of our larger upholsterers<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_250" id="page_250"></a>{250}</span> to employ her—for such -a woman is badly wanted to go round every newly-furnished house, and -note down as she goes the small things which will invariably escape the -best male eye in the world, and even the eye of the best decorator. She -will, pocket-book in hand, note the differences in the paint, which -always occur where Aspinall is not used, the bolt or knob forgotten -there, the curtain placed in the wrong room, the <i>portière</i> that has -been left out, and she will finally put the last touches which none but -a woman can, 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 science. But nothing must be passed over; no doubt it takes time and -thought to obtain perfection, still both are to be had, ay, even in the -shoddy villa of the suburbs. But there must be no temporising, no ‘it -doesn’t matter, it’s only for a short time.’ Neither must draughty doors -and windows be allowed to remain; if so, pneumonia will come to stay, -chronic colds will be our portion, and we shall be miserable from the -moment we<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_251" id="page_251"></a>{251}</span> enter the house until we pass out of it in search of another, -where we shall only once more meet with a similar fate; for the ‘move -on, please!’ 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 ours, if we have not really -circumvented its idiosyncrasies and made the very best of an absolutely -bad job. Remember too, the great help a screen is in every bedroom which -is big enough to have one without over-crowding, that one can easily -have too many pictures and ornaments which encourage dust and enrage the -housemaid, and that even the soiled linen basket should be chosen -carefully. In these happy days, cheap things are quite as prettily -designed as expensive ones, and if we take our time, know our shops and -our own minds, and set to work carefully, there is nothing to prevent us -nowadays from having a quite perfect house, and that without any undue -expenditure of money or time.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_252" id="page_252"></a>{252}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX<br /><br /> -<small>DRESSING-ROOMS AND BATHROOMS</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">Lucky</span> indeed is that suburban householder who finds himself the proud -possessor of one or more dressing-rooms beside the orthodox bathroom, -which, thanks to the march of the ages, is now to be found in the quite -small houses which are only meant for such a humble individual as the -ordinary city clerk. As a rule, there will be a dressing-room leading -out of the ‘best’ bedroom, and if this need not be used as described in -the chapter on nurseries, it were well to contemplate it and consider -carefully if it cannot serve the purpose of a small private retreat for -the house-mistress, should the ‘third room’ have to be devoted to the -maids, or to the master, or even to schoolroom purposes. For it is -absolutely necessary that she should have such a retreat; and if the -bathroom<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_253" id="page_253"></a>{253}</span> be available for the husband as indeed it should always be in -a little house, where visitors are the exception and not the rule, there -can be no reason why the dressing-room should not be so arranged that -the wife could use it in the daytime, ay, and even see her more intimate -friends there, if she cares to do so. I have twice had houses which have -had fireless dressing-rooms, and these were, of course, very difficult -to deal with, even when the rooms were used as dressing-rooms only, and -I do not quite know what I should have done had I not had other rooms -available for myself. Yet as both dressing-rooms were on the outside of -the house, fire-places or stoves could have been placed there, and, of -course, ought to have been erected at once. But the bathroom in each -case was used for a dressing-room, and the hot water always kept at a -proper state of warmth even in the coldest weather; though in both cases -fire-places were available had it been necessary to have greater heat. -But when frost appeared we were always ready for it; we kept gas and -fires burning whenever<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_254" id="page_254"></a>{254}</span> pipes were likely to freeze, and as all the -outside pipes were properly protected, 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 -company.</p> - -<p>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 house. Of course all dressing-rooms -should be painted and decorated to match, or else to harmonise with the -bedrooms to which they are attached, 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 day. Suppose, for example, we -have a very sunny bedroom, and we have selected a soft green paper, such -as Smee’s ‘green ash,’ and a rose-frieze for it, in that case we could -have a pale pink paper in the dressing-room<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_255" id="page_255"></a>{255}</span> above a matting, or -Japanese leather dado in green and gold, with all real ivory paint, and -the furniture here could be in the stained green wood which I always -admire so much, and of which it seems impossible to tire. We could have -the green ‘Isis’ matting and rugs on the floor, and the curtains could -be of sage-green serge; this would make a charming room, and while it -would not slavishly copy, neither would it flatly contradict the scheme -of colour in the bedroom.</p> - -<p>In the same way a blue bedroom could have a yellow dressing-room -attached, and this could be managed by selecting some real yellow paper, -and placing it above either a gold-and-brown Japanese leather dado, or, -yet again, above a matting dado, remembering that the matting used for -this purpose must never under any circumstances have the smallest -pattern on it; if it have, the look of the wall will be spoiled and the -decorations will be anything but a real success. I am compelled to -impress this fact upon my readers, because I have often seen a house -spoiled simply because a matting dado to the room meant<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_256" id="page_256"></a>{256}</span> to the owner -merely a dado made of matting; and she had not realised that chessboard -patterns or large diamonds are entirely out of place in this situation. -The only matting that should be used is the thin plain string-coloured -kind made on purpose, and which is sold at Shoolbred’s, Oetzmann’s, and -sometimes at Wallace’s for 10½d. a yard; sometimes Treloar sells it for -something less in a roll of 42 yards, but this matting is essentially -what the French call ‘<i>a vende d’occasion</i>,’ and has often to be really -looked for until the right thing is found. If by the way a red and cream -paper is put above a matting dado, and red paint is required to be used, -a matting should be found which has a red thread running through it in -an irregular way; it must not on any account have a set or formal -pattern on it, or it will not be the success that it deserves to be.</p> - -<p>Yet another hint, on no account should the dado or frieze rail be in the -least degree heavy, the lighter it is the better, and I do not care for -it to be more than an inch, or at most an inch and a half in depth. A -wider<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_257" id="page_257"></a>{257}</span> rail always brings itself far too prominently before us, and -attracts undue attention, while the lighter the rail is the cheaper will -it be; and once more I say use ‘goehring,’ and then matters will not -fail to be all that they ought to be. If the paper is yellow and the -dado is brown and yellow, the paint can be brown also, while the -curtains can be blue, as can the carpet, or else plain, patternless -matting can be used, and the usual rugs.</p> - -<p>If a blue square carpet is preferred, and lucky is she whose house -contains a dressing-room large enough for this, the ‘Dunelm’ carpet is -the best to have. It is made in most excellent colourings, is all wool, -and very thick, and, moreover, is very inexpensive considering its -admirable qualities. But as a rule a dressing-room resembles a tube or -part of a hall more than a room, and as such we must think about it. It -is generally long and narrow, and has a window in the most awkward -situation, with, maybe, the door opposite; while the fireplace, if -fire-place there be, is about a foot to the left or right of the door, -and admirably<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_258" id="page_258"></a>{258}</span> situated for anyone who may be on the look out for a -cold. This absurd situation can often be successfully treated by making -the door open into the room on the fire side, thus making the door -itself act as a species of screen to whoever may be sitting in the room. -This alteration gives at once a place for a box-ottoman or an arm-chair, -or one of Hewetson’s admirable ‘courting settees,’ which can be placed -with one end against the wall, standing straight out into the room. The -high back of this settee shields anyone using it from draughts, and -these are further to be combated by hanging <i>portières</i> over the door, -inside and out, which will complete the task, already satisfactorily -commenced, by a judicious use of ‘Slater’s patent.’</p> - -<p>Then we have to consider very seriously how to arrange for the raiment -that all men collect in such astounding quantities, and from which it is -so desperately hard to part them, try how one will to get possession of -venerable garments, which are of no possible use to the owners, but -which would be of immense service to many<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_259" id="page_259"></a>{259}</span> unfortunates who all too -often have not only no decent clothes, but do not possess any at all. -This is however a vice all men develop sooner or later, and as they are -made absolutely miserable by casting from them the oldest rag they may -have, it is best in extreme cases to let them have their foolish way, -taking care the moth does not enter into possession, and at the same -time ensuring that they have not over-much space in which to keep their -miserly delights. In a ‘combination’ room all shirts and underclothes -can be kept in a charming piece of furniture Liberty sells, and which -looks like a cabinet mounted on a couple of good deep drawers. It is -made in plain white wood, clamped and ornamented with beaten iron and is -very inexpensive indeed. In the deep drawers can be kept shirts and -trousers, while there are plenty of smaller drawers in the cabinet part -for socks, ties, handkerchiefs and other garments; coats being kept in a -second cabinet, or else in a box-ottoman, or hung up behind the curtains -of Wallace’s ‘P. T. C.’ wardrobe, which can be erected in any corner<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_260" id="page_260"></a>{260}</span> of -the room and has nothing at all of the bedroom about its appearance.</p> - -<p>I have seen a most admirable piece of furniture at Oetzmann’s, which he -calls a desk washing-stand, and which would really be invaluable for -such a room as this. When closed it is exactly like a desk with a flat -top, and could be used as such in the day time most conveniently, but -the top must not be laden with odds-and-ends, books, paperboxes or -similar encumbrances. These should all be in one of Shoolbred’s capital -little cupboard tables; another of these, by the way, being procured for -the boots and shoes in wear. These cupboards would hold three or four -pairs of each, as they have a division-shelf inside, and though I know -starvation is suggested to the ordinary male, to whom such small -provision of foot-gear is indeed nothing short of pauperism, I venture -to suggest that it is sufficient for every day, and that the rest of the -stock can live in a proper boot cupboard in some other locality, which -can easily be found if the house-mistress is clever and able to see at -once the utmost capacity of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_261" id="page_261"></a>{261}</span> the special rooms which are available for -such a purpose. Indeed, a properly-made boot-cupboard can stand on one -side of quite a narrow passage, and would never be noticed; for it could -be either the proper one Wallace makes on purpose for boots, or else be -formed merely</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/ill_020_lg.jpg"> -<br /> -<img src="images/ill_020_sml.jpg" width="131" height="185" alt="" /></a> -</div> - -<p class="nind">by placing three narrow shelves, one above the other, the top shelf -enamelled the colour of the paint in that special passage, and the whole -concealed from view by a double serge curtain, nailed along the top -shelf with ornamental nails. This curtain must not be run on a rod, for -it is<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_262" id="page_262"></a>{262}</span> no trouble to lift it; while if it be on a rod, it will be always -out of place, and leave the boots and shoes on view in the most -embarrassing manner. The contents of the shelves can be kept from dust -by nailing Holland on the shelves of a sufficient width to fold over the -boots, and so keep them quite safely from any undue accumulation of -dust, while the top of the outside shelf can be used for ornaments. But -the fewer of these there are in any passage the better, especially in a -small house; 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 plenishings.</p> - -<p>The over-mantel must serve as a toilet-glass, and this arrangement I -personally prefer to any other, especially in the winter; but if the -husband shaves—as it seems to me so many more men do nowadays than -formerly—despite the hateful influenza, fogs and other trifles born of -the end of the century, a regular shaving-glass can be set for him when -the room is put ready for him at night; this can<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_263" id="page_263"></a>{263}</span> be removed to the -bathroom during the day and the room need not give it a home then on any -pretext whatever!</p> - -<p>It is an excellent thing to have instead of either the ottoman or the -courting settee a sofa-bed which resembles a couch by day, and can be -turned into a regular bed at night, for often such a bed can be most -useful. I like the ‘grasshopper’ couch, which I have only seen at -Hamilton’s, at Ship Street in Brighton, but this has no provision for -the bed-clothes. These could be placed quite well in a drawer made under -the couch; or Shoolbred has a species of convertible box-ottoman which -would perhaps be best, as the bed-clothes could be quite well placed -there during the day. Yet another cheaper method would be to purchase -one of the folding beds with wire mattresses complete, sold by Story & -Triggs for about 18s. 6d. These could have the extra mattress and -pillows put into frilled cretonne covers all day, the bed-clothes being -folded and put under the mattress comfortably during the same period.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_264" id="page_264"></a>{264}</span></p> - -<p>Of course, a deep cretonne flounce should be placed round the frame of -the bed, which under these circumstances would look like an ordinary low -broad sofa. The bed should be pushed against the wall, against which -pillows and cushions should be placed, and this would make a species of -back, against which it would be possible to lean most comfortably. Given -this, the desk washing-stand, and two or three low and comfortable -chairs, and I think little else is necessary.</p> - -<p>If much sewing has to be done, a little work-table can always be brought -here from any other larger room, for there are plenty to be had now -which hold a great deal of work, and yet can be carried by one hand. I -have seen one specially good table the top of which is deep and is -fitted for all kinds of sewing, while the under tray has a bag-like top -of sateen or tapestry drawn together by strings, and this, I am assured, -is invaluable for holding socks and other garments which require mending -and overhauling by materfamilias herself. I am no ‘stitchist,’ and I do -not think I ever possessed a thimble since my very earliest schoolroom -days, and even then it was more often lost than available<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_265" id="page_265"></a>{265}</span> for its -purpose, and I can most certainly say that I never had the smallest -desire to know how to sew, but there are heaps of women who love to -work, and of course there are more still who are obliged to do it and -take it as a matter of course. And if the special mistress who may want -to use the dressing room during the day is in any way devoted to her -needle, she must have a good work-basket which she can remove when not -in use, and which can stand in the bedroom or sitting-room when she does -not require it. If the dressing-room is thus arranged I am sure it will -add immensely to her comfort, for here she will have a refuge from -everyone, and be able to be alone for some hours during the day, in a -room where she will not be easily accessible and which will have nothing -of the bedroom about it. That, by the way, is a great consideration; for -let no one, not even in the smallest house, fall into the desperate -error of sitting in the room in which she sleeps. I have twice had -similar rooms where, of course, the bedroom portion has been carefully -screened or curtained off, but unless one is a chronic invalid, such an -arrangement is no good<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_266" id="page_266"></a>{266}</span> at all, and even if one is ill, and yet is able -to get up, it is far better to go into a second room on the same floor, -for no screen or curtain can give one any sense of real seclusion, and -no one can have a room properly aired or cleaned unless it is left when -one rises and not entered, save perhaps for dressing purposes, for the -rest of the day. Therefore resist the temptation of the idea of a -combined bed and sitting-room, unless you are reduced to one room only -for all purposes, or are not a householder, or are a ‘paying guest’ -(polite language for ‘lodger’) in someone else’s abode. Under these -circumstances, Wallace’s ‘worker’s room’ must be sought after and found, -and its arrangements of course, make any room habitable at once. If the -dressing-room is used, as suggested, for a retreat, the bathroom must be -arranged in such a way that the master of the house can dress there with -comfort; but no garments of any sort must be kept there, neither must -the linen closet be on any account near the hot-water apparatus which -dominates the bathroom. If it is, the linen will become yellow and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_267" id="page_267"></a>{267}</span> -rotten, and in a small house it is much better to apportion the linen -into so many special amounts for each room, and keep these portions in -the rooms for which they are intended. An extra cupboard being put up -somewhere: perhaps in the maids’ sitting-room, in which all table-linen -can be kept. Great attention must be paid to the linen closet, and -something should be bought for it every year without fail. As a rule I -am no friend to ‘sales,’ and believe not one jot in the ‘ruinous -sacrifices’ and ‘vast reductions’ which characterise them, but linen can -often be purchased most wonderfully reduced in price at such times, more -especially at Walpole Brothers in New Bond Street, and the -house-mistress should always avail herself of these opportunities to -keep up her stock, not laying in vast quantities, but keeping it up to -its full strength. Unless this is done it is wonderful how soon a small -stock of linen wears out and disappears, and one has the vexatious and -expensive task of renewing the whole at once, which no one should ever -be called upon for one moment to do.</p> - -<p>So many people possess what is called a ‘hot<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_268" id="page_268"></a>{268}</span> closet’ in or near the -bathroom, that these words of advice are not so out of place as they -appear to be at first sight when writing about this special chamber; but -the charms of this said ‘hot closet’ must be resisted if the linen is -meant to wear, while great care must be taken to see that every single -thing sent home from the laundress is properly aired, not only before it -is put away, but also before it is taken into use. Damp clothes may kill -or maim a person for life, and clothes may quite well become damp again -after the first airing, more especially if they are kept in the ordinary -cupboard of the very ordinary suburban residence.</p> - -<p>Now if the bathroom should have to be used as a dressing-room, it must -not have more furniture in it on that account than would be placed there -under ordinary circumstances, but it should be papered with a really -good tiled and varnished paper, and the wood-work should be enamelled -‘real ivory.’ I think Godfrey Giles’s ‘Mexican Tile’ paper simply -perfect, but this is a little expensive; still, if it cannot be -afforded, it will serve as a hint to go upon, and Mr Giles must be asked -for something in the same admirable<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_269" id="page_269"></a>{269}</span> colouring, but in a less expensive -make. At the same time a cheap paper will not do in a bathroom; if we -use one, the steam from the hot water will soon destroy it and make it -flabby and untidy; and we shall either have the expense of re-papering -or have to endure the sight of a torn and spoiled wall, which will make -us unhappy every time we enter the place. The ceiling in the bathroom -should always be colour washed the same pale cream colour which is used -for the cornice, and the floor should be entirely covered with cork -carpet. If the window is overlooked at all, it should be filled in with -cathedral glass in leaded squares, or else should be stippled all over; -we should then have serge curtains to draw easily over the glass, but we -should never put muslin here: it rots at once, and is always flabby and -disagreeable to look at and touch, and no decorative considerations -should allow us to put it where it must be so singularly out of place.</p> - -<p>In writing of the bedrooms, I quite forgot to urge upon my readers the -fact that they should never under any circumstances allow themselves<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_270" id="page_270"></a>{270}</span> to -be talked into buying the detestable regulation towel-horse, which is -always in the way, and can never under any circumstances be necessary, -while no skill can make it anything save an eyesore. Its place can -usually be taken by putting a brass rod on very small brackets at each -end of the ordinary washing-stand, or on the wall itself should the -washing-stand be a round or a corner one, while a good brass rod must be -put on the bathroom wall for the same purpose, sufficiently out from the -wall so that the wet towels do not touch the paper. Moreover in -well-regulated houses, the bath towels should be dried by the housemaid -at the fire, and each person should bring his or her towels into the -bathroom when he or she is about to use it, and take them away again -when the bathing is finished, the brass rod being used merely to hang up -the bath blankets, though they also must be duly dried by the fire, and -not be laid down on the floor except the bath be in the process of being -used.</p> - -<p>These bath blankets can be purchased ready embroidered of Mrs -Hanbury-Jephson,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_271" id="page_271"></a>{271}</span> Towcester, and, like every other thing, should be -bought to harmonise with the colours already used in the decorations of -the room. 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 on, and have also one -good strong kitchen or Windsor chair, and a proper lavatory glass with a -shelf to hold brushes and combs, we shall not require any more furniture -here, for remember steam and heat spoil anything in the way of good wood -or manufacture; but I do plead very hard for a lavatory basin, with hot -and cold water laid on and a self-emptying basin. It does not seem very -much to ask for, but I wonder how often such a contrivance is to be -found in the orthodox small house? Yet it is in just such a residence -that these necessities should be found, for if hot and cold water be -easily get-at-able, what an amount of servants’ work is saved! No one -minds washing his or her hands in the bathroom, while if there is no -such convenience, the maids have continually to be placing hot water in -the bedrooms and emptying<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_272" id="page_272"></a>{272}</span> basins, to say nothing of the fact that heavy -jugs have to be lifted and replaced every time the bedroom washing-stand -is used. This is a thing which is bad even for a strong servant and -hurts a delicate woman in a serious way, therefore let us hope that -lavatory basins will soon be found in all houses, small and big, and -that the labour-making washing-stand may soon be numbered among the -dead-and-gone mistakes of an ignorant past.</p> - -<p>Another thing that no one seems able to rise above is the usual mahogany -margin to any fixed bath, which always become disgracefully untidy, and -makes the bathroom look squalid before it has scarcely been used. If the -house belongs to the tenant, I should advise him ruthlessly to paint the -mahogany with Aspinall’s bath enamel, which does not mark with water; if -he is only a tenant, the margin should be covered at once with the -American leather which has a woolly back, cut out and fixed to the -shape. If this is not done, the expensive process of French polishing -will have to be resorted to when the house is left; besides there is the -fact to consider that the margin will always be an eyesore,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_273" id="page_273"></a>{273}</span> because of -the manner in which people will either rest the soap on it or put one -foot up on it, or even sit on it, while they are drying themselves after -their bath.</p> - -<p>We should likewise always have plain, unpainted deal shelves put up for -the hot-water cans in the bathroom; and if, as is the unsavoury case in -many bathrooms, there is a housemaid’s sink there, the shelves should be -put just over it, and should have gimlet holes in them for drainage; -this will keep them from rotting, as no housemaid I ever met could be -persuaded to dry a can before she put it down, and months of wet cans -are guaranteed to spoil and rot the stoutest undrained shelf which I -ever came across. Oh! if only every single person would know and learn -each separate detail which goes to make up the perfect house and -housekeeping, life would not be half as expensive, half as ‘sketchy’ and -untidy as it now is in the vast majority of households, where people are -content to jog along comfortably if things are just bearable, and where -no preaching will, I fear, induce them to cultivate the twin talents of -observation and regularity,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_274" id="page_274"></a>{274}</span> which alone suffice to keep any house going -in the way it most undoubtedly should go.</p> - -<p>When the bathroom has been used it should be properly aired, and the -moment it is quitted the housemaid should go in, throw up the window, -top and bottom, and take away and dry the towels. If the weather is -cold, the fire or gas must be kept going night and day to keep out the -frost, and always the floor must be wiped over and the bath blankets -hung up until they can be properly dried, then will the room remain nice -much longer than it otherwise would. The mistress of the house herself -must see that the bath is properly dried after use, and that the basin -and housemaid’s sink are duly cleaned and disinfected. For even soapy -water decays and smells, and drains that are used for nothing else can -be as offensive, even if they are more innocent than others, about which -lurk absolute and imperative danger. It is well to cover all outlets for -water with very fine hair or wire netting. I personally prefer hair, as -that is much finer than anything else. Then there is no chance of any -drain being stopped up as<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_275" id="page_275"></a>{275}</span> nothing save water can pass through it. The -sink basket sold by most ironmongers is a very good possession, and acts -in much the same way, but the netting does just as well, and should be -nailed across the housemaid’s sink about an inch above the bottom, and -be erected just above the plug-hole in a lavatory basin, thus saving -endless heartburnings, and endless sending for that fearsome creature, -the regulation British plumber. There should be no <i>portière</i> inside the -bathroom door, but most certainly there should be one outside. It -prevents sudden surprises, and, furthermore, conceals the room from -passers by, should the door be left open, as is all too often the case, -by either a careless maid, or a yet more careless user of the room!</p> - -<p>There is one more aspect of the suburban villa to consider, I am sorry -to say, and that is the one where there is neither a bathroom nor a room -which can be adapted for the purpose, and where all baths have to be -taken in the different rooms themselves. In such a house as this there -must be large squares of American leather ready for use, to be covered<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_276" id="page_276"></a>{276}</span> -in their turn by bath blankets, on which the bath itself can be placed. -These would be for use in the bedrooms, and then the dressing-rooms must -be used as dressing-rooms, and will allow of no compromise or other use -at all. In this case, I very strongly advise a high dado of plain brown -patternless linoleum or oil-cloth, having the paint the exact shade of -the dado, above which can be either a good blue or yellow sanitary or -tiled paper, while the floor must be covered entirely with plain brown -cork carpet, on which one or two rugs can be placed, the inevitable -bath-blanket being put under the bath itself, and the rugs put out of -harm’s way for the time. These precautions will allow of the wondrous -amount of splashing which invariably marks the progress of a man’s bath, -while the furniture for such a room should be regular dressing-room -furniture, removed as far as possible from the spot sacred to the bath. -A good housemaid will carefully look over the furniture when she ‘does’ -the room, and will rub off at once any marks of soapy water she may come -across. But such excellent and conscientious<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_277" id="page_277"></a>{277}</span> maids are few and far -between, except in the ‘highest circles,’ and they don’t inhabit -Suburbia; therefore should every mistress cast an eye over every room -once a day, and see for herself that the depredations of her husband, -and all too often those of her visitors too, are carefully eliminated.</p> - -<p>It used to be difficult, nay well nigh impossible, to buy really good -and suitable dressing-room furniture, and I have had many a painful hunt -after wardrobes which were not evidently meant for the raiment of -females alone; but now all is altered; and should we be able to afford -it, we can buy an admirable wardrobe at Wallace’s which has a place for -everything a man can possibly require, and this with a boot-cupboard, an -ingenious combination toilet-table and washing-stand, a couple of -chairs, and a comfortable basket chair, form the most perfect equipment -a man can want, whether he reside in the suburbs or in any other part of -the civilised globe. But he must have no room for unending hoarding, -else will the heart of the house-mistress fail her by reason of the -fearful amount of rubbish he will accumulate, and from which nothing -will induce him to part!<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_278" id="page_278"></a>{278}</span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X<br /><br /> -<small>THE GREAT SERVANT QUESTION</small></h2> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">In</span> the chapter about the kitchen arrangements, the most burning question -of the hour was just touched upon, and a few hints were thrown out as a -species of guide to solve the knotty problem, which certainly is more -acute in the suburbs than in any other place. First, because it is often -found impossible to coax the best maids away from the wiles and -entrancements of the town; and secondly, because the accommodation for -them is often little short of disgraceful. Though for the matter of -that, I have seen worse servants’ rooms in big houses in grand -localities in London than in any other, while the rooms set apart for -them in flats would be ludicrous if they were not so pernicious, and did -not so largely account for the unpopularity of what ought to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_279" id="page_279"></a>{279}</span> be an -almost ideal place of residence for a husband and wife, who have either -settled their children in life, or have no children to settle or think -about in any way.</p> - -<p>We have described at length how we should circumvent the ordinary -suburban kitchen, now for a while, let us think about the servants’ -bedrooms, which are often quite as difficult to manage, and are all too -often much too few to be in any way comfortable or decent. Should the -general number of four maids be kept, or should a fifth be required, it -is almost impossible to make an arrangement that only allows of the work -being done properly and in order. I have had a large, a very large, -experience of servants in more ways than one, and I venture to remark -that where they are a nuisance it is because, first of all, they have -not been chosen with care and common sense; secondly, because no attempt -is made to make them comfortable or cause them to feel part of the -household; and thirdly, because what I may call ‘composite maids’ are -engaged. That is to say that the cook is required to clear the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_280" id="page_280"></a>{280}</span> -breakfast and answer the bell in the morning, and do a certain amount of -housework; while the parlour-maid has to help with the beds, and the -nurse to do the washing as well as look after, dress and walk out with -the children. Now I state boldly that such a division of labour can -never be either necessary or successful, and if the dwellers in the -suburbs will amalgamate the several duties of a servant in this way, -they can never know the least peace, for no servant worth her wages or -even her salt will take such a nondescript position unless under very -exceptional circumstances. These may include places where the mistress -has taken her maids from the first, and has carefully instructed and -brought them up herself, or they may be personally greatly attached to -her themselves, and value not only her kindness but the comfort and -comfortable home she gives them. But these circumstances are as rare as -they are satisfactory. Therefore unless these things are the case, let -no one abuse the maids unmercifully because they will not one and all be -maids of all work, but rather consider how best<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_281" id="page_281"></a>{281}</span> to arrange the day’s -routine, so that each shall stick to her task cheerfully, giving -presently a helping hand to another out of real good-will, and not -because she is imperatively requested to do so as a matter of course.</p> - -<p>Unfortunately there are hundreds of women who can neither give good -wages nor keep a sufficient number of maids; and these are the -miserables who join their wails to those others who, more unhappy still, -have not the slightest idea how to manage another woman, whose one idea -is that a maid is a thing whose capacity for work is endless, who can -never tire, never want to go out, and who, above all, can never be ill. -Such a mistress treats her servant as he or she does a horse who has -never been used to possess this quadruped, and seeing only that it is -made to go, drives or rides it to death, because previous experience has -been wanting to teach the driver or rider the amount of work which can -be obtained without undue exertion and pressure. Now it is necessary to -point out that, if a sufficient number of servants cannot be employed to -do the work decently and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_282" id="page_282"></a>{282}</span> in order, the work must be lessened in some -way or another, by the mistress herself giving a helping hand, and not -only directing it but doing some of it. She must be content to call a -spade a spade, and not have any hankerings after ‘agricultural -implements.’ A cook she may not possess, a good general servant is what -she requires, 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 sham! If a good general servant, who can cook -is engaged, at once the way is made plain before all concerned. Such a -woman cheerfully keeps her own kitchen, the hall staircase (if in a -basement), and front steps in order, and has the dining-room under her -charge. She will likewise clear out the breakfast and answer the front -door up to twelve, but she must not be called a cook; if she is, she -will cook, but she will not for one moment step out of her province to -do anything else whatever.</p> - -<p>In the same way must the housemaid be managed, for in such an -establishment the parlour<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_283" id="page_283"></a>{283}</span> work can but be of the most meagre -description, and if the mistress is house-proud, and really has desires -after fine and careful living, she must keep silver, glass and china -clean herself, and see herself to the laying of the cloth and all the -thousand and one items which go to form the finer portions of -housekeeping. An occupation which will no doubt trouble and disgust the -woman who demands to ‘live her own life’ and ‘develop 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-winner. I am not going to -express an opinion on the merits of a career, bounded by the nursery on -the one side and the kitchen on another, there will always be a -difference of ideas on the subject; but I am going to say very forcibly, -that when a woman marries she undertakes this special business; and -should she regret it or allow the reins to slip out of her hands, she is -‘obtaining money under false pretences,’ and is undoubtedly neglecting -the work she solemnly promised to perform. Therefore, all women who -marry<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_284" id="page_284"></a>{284}</span> must be prepared to face the situation and to know that before -they can ‘live their own lives’ and ‘develop their souls’ as mentioned -before, they must see that their houses are in order and that their -houses are homes in the widest sense of the word.</p> - -<p>People are continually writing to me, and also to everyone else who -gives advice on the special subjects of house management and decoration, -about this servant question, and, moreover, as continually ask how to -divide or apportion their special incomes to their special wants; but -they cannot see how utterly impossible it is for a complete stranger to -do more than vaguely generalise on either subject. The servant question -has always been simplicity itself to me, and I cannot understand the -difficulties which beset so many women in these days, simply because I -have never come across them myself. But then, I do not expect -perfection. I give fair wages, and am as considerate to the maids as -they are to me, and I am not unduly dismayed or cast down when I discern -faults and failings that are human after all, and denote that at -present,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_285" id="page_285"></a>{285}</span> at least, we have not reached the golden age. At the same -time, I am convinced that the real trouble, as I said before, is caused -in small houses by the ‘composite maid’ being called a cook, or house -parlour-maid, when she is just either a general servant, or else a -housemaid; and in larger ones by sufficient care not being taken to -obtain the kind of maiden one really does want, and by expecting too -much from her when she is in our service.</p> - -<p>The life of the ordinary domestic servant, despite the delirious joy of -the tradesman’s daily calls, is an extremely dull one. The routine is -everlasting, the relaxations few, and the changes still fewer. In many -households a friend to tea is a crime; an unexpected holiday an -impossibility; 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-servant. How many brilliant summer days pass, -and no one suggests an afternoon or evening stroll, or even a drive -through the country lanes. How many dreary winter days go by, and no one -says there<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_286" id="page_286"></a>{286}</span> is a good play at such and such a theatre, go and see it. Or -who takes concert seats, and sends off the maids for a couple of hours -from the everlasting kitchen and the weary round of unending duties? -Well, some people do, and where this occurs there the maids often stay -on and on, giving real and loving service, and doing their utmost for -those who try to do their utmost for them.</p> - -<p>Then once more how few maids really have and possess their mistress’s -confidence. They hear a vast amount of grumbling about ‘the books,’ and -the dreadful waste which does go on, often enough more through ignorance -than through their carelessness; but they do not comprehend that there -is an all-important reason why such waste should not be allowed, because -the mistress has never explained matters to the maids, or told them -there is necessity for great care in all the household departments. As a -rule servants have what they consider the ‘honour of the house’ very -near their hearts; and they cannot endure the notion that their mistress -shall even be suspected of ‘meanness.’ And this is often the cause of -the needless orders<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_287" id="page_287"></a>{287}</span> given in those establishments where the tradesmen -are allowed to call; for, rather than send them away without an order, -the servants will rack their brains to think of something, not because -they really desire to swell the bills, but because they like their house -to be one of which the tradespeople speak well, and because they will -not have it spoken of as a ‘mean sort of place, where every halfpenny is -counted and made to do the duty of a penny piece.’ Then too, at the -bottom of a great deal of domestic mismanagement is the utter and really -ghastly thriftlessness of the lower classes, which no one who has not -seen it could credit.</p> - -<p>I have had to be a great deal away from my own house, owing to -long-continued illness, and in consequence I have seen a great deal of -the way in which other people manage, 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 waste, did they not consider it wicked to do so. While -the lower one goes in the social scale, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_288" id="page_288"></a>{288}</span> more one finds waste the -order of the day; and not only actual waste, but the waste of having the -best joints, the most expensive butter, and the continual variety of -food that no one in the upper middle classes can afford, even should -they think it necessary to have it. I have noticed real want existing -among a specially improvident set of people, while, at the same time, I -have been shocked to see great lumps of meat and bread (unpaid for) in -the pigs’ tub. The young people of these households would have their -boots blacked for them, their hot water and bath water carried up for -them, and be waited on, before they went out to their shops or work, as -one’s own children would never dream of being waited on, in a much much -higher rank of life. In these households the servants have simply an -awful time of it, and hence class prejudice is fostered terribly, while -the unthrifty ways of the household leave their mark on all who pass -through it, and help to build up a class that is in every way -unsatisfactory.</p> - -<p>We hear a great deal of the competition of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_289" id="page_289"></a>{289}</span> the foreigner, and there are -loud shouts for ‘protection’ and ‘fair trade,’ but the ‘protection’ we -want is against our own wasteful habits and ways of living, and we can -never have ‘fair trade’ until we comprehend what waste really is, and -know what is necessary to keep a household going and what is not. And -this servant question is the very <i>crux</i> of the whole matter, and, alas! -is very little understood by the public at large, which seems quite -incapable of grappling with the problem, although few people exist who -have not a more or less loudly-expressed opinion on the subject.</p> - -<p>It is also a problem which can never be solved until all have learned -real thrift and carefulness, and until all classes learn how to trust -each other, and the special conduct which should be maintained in all -relations in life. Though the tendency nowadays to live in flats, and -have as many meals as one can at a restaurant or hotel, may solve the -servant question quicker than in any other way, regardless of the fact -that a class of useful women will thus be improved off the face of the -world in a manner I, for one, shall<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_290" id="page_290"></a>{290}</span> be extremely sorry to see. But -flats are fleeting joys at best. I have heard of many people going to -live in them, and have never known anyone renew his or her lease; so -perhaps the pendulum may swing back again, and houses become the order -of the day.</p> - -<p>As long as servants are required, the best way to obtain them at first -is for the young mistress to train them herself, always keeping on hand -an under-study for the part of the upper-servant in the shape of kitchen -and under-housemaids; in this way lie a sure success and comfortable -domestic arrangements. Of course there are hundreds of small -establishments where a couple of maids is all that can be allowed. These -must be as described before, general and housemaid, then all will go -rightly, providing care is taken to obtain good girls from good -families, who have not been spoiled by a careless or bad mistress, or -ruined by an unhappy and thriftless home training, which is often indeed -worse than none. In a larger house where there are children; six maids -and a boy to help, are the maximum; namely, cook and kitchen-maid,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_291" id="page_291"></a>{291}</span> -parlour-maid and housemaid, nurse and nursemaid; here again things will -be all right, and there will be no over-work or under-work in the -matter. Lucky is she who, by tie of birth or friendship, is connected -with some country town or village, which shall act as her preserve, 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 -maiden.</p> - -<p>But in all and every case should the registry office be most carefully -avoided. If a servant or mistress has a ‘good name,’ exceptional indeed -must be the circumstances that drive her to make use of these places. If -a decent maid is leaving her place, the tradespeople know all about her -and will tell her of the good places which may be open; and in the same -way a really ‘good place’ doesn’t go begging. The tradesmen know of that -too, and often act as a sort of informal registry-office which I have -invariably found most useful in every manner. Then having caught one’s -maids, let us consider how best to keep them, and undoubtedly is this<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_292" id="page_292"></a>{292}</span> -done by making them as comfortable as we can, and by showing that we -have a real interest in whatever they may have or do.</p> - -<p>I have already written about the room they should have to sit in. Now -let us consider those they should have for sleeping purposes, for often -these are as badly arranged as they can be; economy is studied on the -one hand, which on the other results in an amount of expenditure which -is as unnecessary as it is worrying and distasteful to all concerned. -One of these petty economies is that which consists of making a couple -of maids share one bed, and that one anything but a comfortable place of -rest and refuge. Now this should never be done. The economy consists in -the saving of the washing of a pair of sheets, the misery comes in when -the unwilling bedfellows quarrel and determine to move on elsewhere. In -no case should more than two maids sleep in one room, and in every case -such room should hold a couple of beds and a double set of -washing-stands, drawers and toilet-table, and, moreover, there should be -a good hanging wardrobe of some kind. If possible, once more the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_293" id="page_293"></a>{293}</span> -ever-useful P. T. C. from Wallace’s should be pressed into the service, -and should decorate a couple of the room corners, one being devoted to -the use of each maid, whose dresses will last twice as long if she have -proper room for them, and if she have not to cram them into her small -chest of drawers, shared all too often by her fellow-servant.</p> - -<p>I consider Knowles’s sanitary papers quite ideal for the maids’ -bedrooms, and there is a dainty ‘daffodil’ paper that no one can dislike -or despise, and which can be wiped over once a month, if necessary, with -a damp duster and come out as clean as a new pin. With this paper we -could have earth-brown paint, and Liberty’s ever-useful dark blue and -white butterfly cretonne, edged with frills, and blue and white dhurries -on the stained floor. But if the floor is bad, and in the least degree -draughty, it must first be covered with cork carpet, on which rugs or -the ever useful dhurries can be laid down. Some suburban floors are -amenable to no other treatment. We may plane them carefully, and ‘stop’ -them as<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_294" id="page_294"></a>{294}</span> carefully too, but they will begin to gape at the smallest -change in the weather, or at the sight of the first fire, and one can -neither keep out the draughts nor the gently-drifting dust that -penetrates at every corner, and spoils tempers and properties alike. -Cork carpet I consider a most blessed invention, as it makes a capital -background, and is warm and comfortable and quite spotlessly clean. This -should be ‘gone over’ once a week in bedrooms of this class with a damp -duster; and once a month should have a healthful polish with Jackson’s -camphorated beeswax polish, made on purpose. The rugs should be shaken -out of doors once a week, and, whenever possible the beds and bedding -should be alike exposed to the sun and air in the garden; or, if not, in -the rooms themselves, taking care that all windows and doors are open -and a thorough draught ensured.</p> - -<p>Indeed if we got more sun and more air into all our houses, every girl’s -health would be far better than it is now; but despite all the preaching -in the world, English women stuff up the windows with blinds and -curtains, and shiver at the idea<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_295" id="page_295"></a>{295}</span> of fresh air, while they dread the -fading of their curtains and carpets in a manner that would be ludicrous -were it not so essentially harmful. Naturally too the genus domestic -servant dreads open windows more than her mistress does, and will not -air her bed if she can possibly avoid doing so. But if there is a rule -that a fine, hot day shall see the mattresses, blankets and pillows on -chairs in the garden for at least an hour after breakfast, the airing is -ensured without the ‘poking and prying about,’ which is as distasteful -to the mistress as it is disagreeable to the maid. In all cases too, the -beds here as elsewhere, should consist of good hair mattresses laid on -chain mattresses. These chains should be covered first by a square of -holland, tied at the four corners, and this should be sent to the wash -about every three months. The mattresses and pillows should be covered -also, either with crash or holland cases, capable of being washed -whenever necessary, and these covers will save the beds immensely from -wear and tear, and ensure cleanliness at the same time. Wallace has a -very good suite of servant’s furniture to sell for something under<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_296" id="page_296"></a>{296}</span> £5, -but I think we should spend rather more on the bed, which is a very fair -one, but not quite good enough if we are very particular, as we should -be, about the comfort of the bed, as a hair mattress is impossible for -this sum, and a hair mattress must be had if the bed is to be a real -place of rest. Furthermore, I think the beds should have two pillows, as -well as a bolster, and a second pillow should therefore be added, and -all beds should have five blankets: one for the under blanket, and two -pairs for over use. These should be sent to the wash in the spring; one -pair at a time; and the beds should be supplemented with good heavy -coloured counterpanes; the colour looks cheerful, and also ensures the -quilts not looking dirty before they ought to.</p> - -<p>The simpler the sets of ware the better, for, somehow, china never lasts -long in the ordinary servant’s room. I think she rushes up at the last -moment to wash and dress; she certainly gets up in the morning at the -last possible instant she can, and the usual results of haste ensue. The -handles come off the carelessly-seized jug, the soap-dish flies about, -and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_297" id="page_297"></a>{297}</span> basins are literally ‘whacked’ down, because there is not time -to treat them properly, therefore the excellent sets of blue and white -ware Wallace sells at about 4s. 6d. should be the outside price to which -we should go, taking care all the sets are alike; then one can -supplement the other when smashes begin; and quite plain glasses and -water-bottles should also be procured, in as stout a make as possible. -Glass tumblers literally vanish in servants’ bedrooms, and I am often -amazed at the way in which they disappear, one after the other, to a -grave on the ash-heap or in the dust-bin.</p> - -<p>Another thing on which we may with advantage spend a little more money -is the looking-glass, and that without unduly encouraging vanity, for -the usual one sold with the cheap suits is much too small to be of any -real use. 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 aid, and we -should therefore choose the maid’s looking-glass as carefully as we -should our own; but we should allow one each, if we wish for peace. More -domestic<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_298" id="page_298"></a>{298}</span> quarrels are caused by the usual one small glass than many -house mistresses are probably aware take place at all.</p> - -<p>It is certain that all mistresses should, at least twice a year, -thoroughly inspect all the furniture in the maids’ rooms, and replace -then if possible, all that has been worn out during the past six months, -but under no circumstances should this inspection take place without the -presence of the maids, or when it is not expected. Nothing is more -disagreeable to the ordinary mind than the idea that one’s room is not -one’s castle; 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 so. That the right is so undoubted -should render it unnecessary to exact its performance. By all means see -the rooms are all right, but do it at a proper season, and without the -smallest idea of ‘pounce’ in it.</p> - -<p>I do not think it wise to have gas in the maids’ rooms, unless it is -turned off at the meter by the master at a certain hour, and yet it is -undoubtedly safer than any other light,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_299" id="page_299"></a>{299}</span> and is as undoubtedly cleaner. -I have for years used nothing save the little ‘Butterfly’ lamps sold by -A. & A. Drew, of Wareham, Dorset, but these are not good in careless -hands, because the chimneys are so constantly being broken, and because -the oil is capable of being spilled. Candles are worse possessions, as -so many maids will read in bed, will smash the shades without which no -candle can possibly be safe, and will drop grease from them on every -available space. Remembering also that the dark winter mornings have to -be considered, I am fain to retract my old belief that gas in a -servant’s room spelt ruin, and to allow it reluctantly, placed near the -looking glasses and not near the beds, and having woven-wire globes to -protect the flame, similar to those used in places of business and in -large schools; as the ordinary glass globe has even a shorter existence -than the tumbler, and is broken in less time than it takes to tell about -it.</p> - -<p>If in any way possible, the beds should be placed against the wall, and -foot to foot, with about 2 feet space between the ends of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_300" id="page_300"></a>{300}</span> beds. In -this case a dado should be run round that portion of the wall where the -beds stand, and this should be of plain brown patternless oil-cloth, and -should have a real dado rail; this would keep the wall tidy for years. -In no case must the dressing-tables be placed in the window, and blinds -must never be allowed. If there is much sun, the dark blue and white -cretonne curtains can be lined with still darker blue sateen, and if the -windows are large muslin can be stretched upon them as in all other -windows in the house; but blinds are an expense and an abomination. They -are always out of order, are very rarely drawn up straight, and are as -needless as they are dear and unsatisfactory. The dark curtains draw -easily and cannot be drawn crooked, and are in every way much more -sensible and useful than blinds.</p> - -<p>I think that there should be fireplaces in all servants’ rooms. First -because of the ventilation a chimney affords,—and the bi-annual -inspection should include a glance at the chimney to see it is in nowise -stuffed up—and secondly, because<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_301" id="page_301"></a>{301}</span> it is imperative that we should be -able to have a fire there if necessary. It may sound improbable, but it -is true, that the average suburban villa is colder than the cottages -from which country maids come, where the thatched roofs and the thick -walls often keep out extremes of temperature in a manner a jerry-built -house ever can.</p> - -<p>And here is one more hint. Let the roof of the house be white-washed in -summer, if it be slated and the bedrooms come right up under it, for -this makes an enormous difference to the temperature of the rooms, which -is often enough simply awful even in a merely average summer without any -very abnormal heat, while, should we have any real heat, these rooms -become similar to ovens, and are really terrible for anyone to have to -sleep in. Then have outside blinds of some kind; plain strips of dark -green or blue linen placed outside the glass are better than nothing, -though Williams’ green reed blinds are the best things in the world, if -they can be afforded; and above all white-wash your roofs. You will be<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_302" id="page_302"></a>{302}</span> -rewarded in the difference in the maids’ tempers, and health, which, are -very often one and the same thing.</p> - -<p>Now just one word more, and that on the vexed subject of food. You -should feed the servants as much as possible as you feed yourselves, and -then will you have peace and not otherwise. In another place I have -dwelt at large on this matter; here it is sufficient to say that if a -thing is good enough for the dining-room, it is good enough for the -kitchen. Allowancing should never be resorted to, there is something -about it that revolts the kitchen or servants’ hall, and it is as -unnecessary in a well-managed house as it is useless and suspicious.</p> - -<p>It will be seen, from the perusal of this little book, that the art of -living in a suburban house is not quite as easy as it appears at first -sight. At the same time it is without doubt one that can be acquired, -and if our lot should be cast in the suburbs, it is positively necessary -that we should learn to live there comfortably, unless we wish to be -always on the move. Should what I have written on the subject help -anyone to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_303" id="page_303"></a>{303}</span> circumvent the special house he or she has selected, and to -turn it from an unsatisfactorily-built villa into a comfortable home, I -shall not have written in vain. At all events, the book has one merit, -it is the outcome of real experience, and there is not a single ounce of -imagination in the whole of it!</p> - -<p class="c">THE END.</p> - -<p class="c"><i>Colston and Coy., Limited, Printers, Edinburgh.</i></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_304" id="page_304"></a>{304}</span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_305" id="page_305"></a>{305}</span> </p> - -<hr /> - -<p class="cb"><big><big><big>STORY & TRIGGS</big></big></big></p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="font-size:80%;"> -<tr valign="top"><td> -<img src="images/ill_001_sml.jpg" width="394" height="271" alt="" title="" /> - -</td><td> -<p class="c">THE CARVED OAK BUNGALOW SUITE</p> - -<p class="c">COMPRISING</p> - -<p class="c">Sideboard, Dining-Table, and Eight Chairs</p> - -<p class="c">COMPLETE</p> - -<p class="cb"><big>£18, 10s. 0d.</big></p> - -<p class="c">As shown in their</p> - -<p class="c"> -BOOK OF THE DAY<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 10%;">ON FURNISHING</span><br /> -</p> - -<p class="c"><i>An entirely new idea</i></p> - -<p class="c">NOW READY</p> - -<p class="c">A Catalogue of 625 Coloured Designs</p> -<p class="c">Highly commended by Mrs <br /><span class="smcap">J. E. Panton</span> in <i>The Gentlewoman</i>,<br /> 24th -Aug. 1895</p> - -<p class="c"><i>Sent on Application</i></p> - -<p class="c">Carriage paid on all Orders over 20s. to any Station in Great -Britain</p></td></tr> - -</table> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr> -<td>ONLY ADDRESS—</td> - -<td><big><big>152, 154, 156 QUEEN VICTORIA STREET, E.C.</big></big></td> - -<td>Near St. Paul’s and<br /> - -Ludgate Stations.</td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_306" id="page_306"></a>{306}</span></p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/ill_002_sml.jpg" width="315" height="465" alt="ASPINALL’S ENAMEL - -ASPINALL’S OXIDISED ENAMEL - -The finest colors in the world. - -BEWARE OF IMITATIONS." title="" /> -<br /> -</div> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mrs</span> PANTON, writing in the <i>Lady’s Pictorial</i>, says:—‘I can tell you, -from my own experience, which is large, that a house painted with -<b>ASPINALL’S ENAMEL</b>, which is <b>absolutely free</b> from all poisonous matter, -such as arsenic, white lead, &c., &c., <b>is far healthier to live in than -a house where ordinary paint is used.</b>’<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_307" id="page_307"></a>{307}</span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p class="c">CHAS. KNOWLES & CO.</p> - -<p class="c">The Venice Design, 5s. per piece.</p> - -<p class="c">Manufacturers of</p> - -<p class="c"> -Art, Wall AND<br /> -Ceiling Papers<br /> -</p> - -<p class="c">As recommended by Mrs PANTON</p> - -<p class="c">The Largest Showrooms in London</p> - -<p class="c"><i>PATTERNS ON APPLICATION</i></p> - -<p class="c"> -BLENHEIM WORKS<br /> -164 KING’S ROAD, Chelsea<br /> -LONDON, S.W.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="c"><big><big>CAVENDISH HOUSE, CHELTENHAM</big></big></p> - -<p class="c"><i>A reputation of over three quarters of a century.</i></p> - -<p class="c"> -Artistic House Furnishers, Decorators, &c.<br /> -<i>DESIGNS AND ESTIMATES ON APPLICATION</i><br /> -<b><big>VENDISH HOUSE CO., LTD., Cheltenham</big></b><br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_308" id="page_308"></a>{308}</span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p class="cb"><i>SMEE & COBAY</i></p> - -<p class="c">Manufacturers of</p> - -<p class="c"> -High-Class<br /> -Furniture<br /> -</p> - -<p class="c">Of Good Design</p> - -<p class="c">AND AT</p> - -<p class="c">Moderate Prices</p> - -<p class="c">Drawing-Room, designed by SMEE & COBAY, in conjunction -with <span class="smcap">Mrs</span> PANTON</p> - -<p class="c">—29 to 39—</p> - -<p class="c">Moorfields</p> - -<p class="c">A Few Doors from Moorgate Street Railway Stations.</p> - -<p class="c">LONDON, E.C.</p> - -<p class="c">Catalogues, containing Estimates for Furnishing, free on -application.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_309" id="page_309"></a>{309}</span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p class="cb"><big><big><big>GODFREY GILES & CO.</big></big></big></p> - -<p class="cb">Specialities and Novelties in</p> - -<p class="cb">Furniture and Decoration</p> - -<p class="cb">AS RECOMMENDED BY MRS PANTON</p> - -<hr /> - -<p class="hang"><span class="smcap">Mr</span> GODFREY GILES has made a study for many years of Internal House -Decoration, and either he, or one of his competent staff, may be -consulted Free as to how to make the best of a house as regards</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="font-weight:bold;"> - -<tr><td>PAINTING<br /> - <span style="margin-left: 2em;">PAPERING</span><br /> - <span style="margin-left: 4em;">DECORATING</span></td> - -<td>FITMENTS<br /> - <span style="margin-left: 2em;">CABINETWORK</span><br /> - <span style="margin-left: 4em;">UPHOLSTERY</span></td></tr> -</table> - -<hr /> - -<p class="cb"> -RESIDENTIAL FLATS—Special treatment for same, combining -economy of space with comfort and effect -</p> - -<p class="c"><b>Estimates and Designs</b> prepared and submitted</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="font-size:75%;"> -<tr valign="top"><td> - -<img src="images/ill_005_sml.jpg" width="144" height="213" alt="" title="" /> - -</td><td> -<p><b>Regd.</b></p> - -<p class="cb"><big><big><big>SCREEN DESK</big></big></big></p> - -<p class="c"> -Admired by Everyone<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 10%;">A most acceptable Present</span><br /> -</p> - -<p class="c">Enamelled White, complete</p> - -<p class="cb"><big><big>£5, 5s. 0d.</big></big></p> - -<p class="c">Also made in Oak, Mahogany, Walnut and many other woods</p> - -<p class="c"><i>Prices on Application</i></p> - -<hr /> - -<p class="hang">Extract from <i>Lady’s Pictorial</i>:—<br />‘Messrs <span class="smcap">Godfrey Giles & Co.</span><br /> are -the inventors and makers of<br /> this piece of furniture. They<br /> are also -the inventors and patentees of</p> - -<p><big><b>COSY CORNERS</b></big></p> - -<p class="nind">now so deservedly popular.’</p> -</td></tr> -</table> - -<p class="c"> -<b>‘PEN AND INK SKETCHES’</b><br /> -A Guide to Artistic Furnishing, free on application.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="cb">CARRIAGE PAID on all Goods over 20/-to any Station in the United -Kingdom.</p> - -<hr /> -<p class="cb"> -<big><big>19 Old Cavendish Street</big></big> Oxford Street, <big><big>W.</big></big><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 12em;">{ LONDON }</span><br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_310" id="page_310"></a>{310}</span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p class="cb"> -<big><big>COLBOURNE & CO.</big></big><br /> -Decorative Furnishers<br /> -</p> - -<p class="cb"> -<b>80, 82 REGENT STREET, LONDON, W.<br /> -45, 46 NEW STREET, BIRMINGHAM<br /> -26, 78, 28 EAST STREET, BRIGHTON</b><br /> -</p> - -<p class="c">———</p> - -<p class="c"><big>FLOOR COVERING SECTION</big></p> - -<p class="cb">‘The Roman Carpet’</p> - -<p class="c">Woven exclusively (in every Artistic Colouring) for Messrs <span class="smcap">Colbourne & -Co.’s</span> Customers, very heavy in texture, and recommended for durability</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/ill_006_sml.jpg" width="305" height="249" alt="" title="" /> -</div> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> - -<tr><td>9 feet by 7 feet 6 in., <b>28/6</b><br /> -9 feet by 9 feet, <b>33/9</b><br /> -9 feet by 10 feet 6 in., <b>39/6</b><br /> -9 feet by 12 feet, <b>45/-</b><br /></td><td style="border-left:1px solid black;"> -10 feet 6 in. by 10 feet 6 in., <b>47/6</b><br /> -10 feet 6 in. by 12 feet, <b>52/6</b><br /> -12 feet by 12 feet, <b>60/-</b><br /> -12 feet by 15 feet, <b>75/-</b><br /></td></tr> - -</table> - -<p class="c"><i>‘The Roman Carpet’ can also be had in Stair and Corridor Widths</i></p> -<p class="c">———</p> - -<p class="c">CURTAIN FABRIC SECTION—Colbourne & Co.’s Exclusive Designs</p> - -<p class="c">Forwarded post free on application<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_311" id="page_311"></a>{311}</span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p class="c"><big><big>B. BURNET & CO.</big></big></p> - -<p class="c">MANUFACTURERS OF</p> - -<p class="c">SPECIALITIES FOR FURNISHING PURPOSES</p> - -<p class="c">UNIQUE IN COLOUR, TEXTURE AND DESIGN</p> - -<hr /> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="font-size:85%;"> - -<tr valign="top"> -<td>PILE FABRICS<br /> -<br /> -24 in. Silk Plush<br /> -24 in. Utrecht Velvet<br /> -24 in. Frieze Velvet<br /> -24 in. Genoa Velvet<br /> -50 in. Venetian Velvet<br /> -50 in. Linen Plush<br /> -50 in. Plushette (Plain and Printed)<br /> -27 in. Plain Velveteen<br /> -27 in. Corduroy Velveteen<br /> -27 in. Printed Velveteen<br /> -<br /> -<br /> -WOVEN FABRICS<br /> -<br /> -50 in. Cotelaine<br /> -50 in. Satin Sheeting<br /> -50 in. Silk Damask<br /> -50 in. Silk Gauze<br /> -50 in. Cotton Tapestry<br /> -50 in. Wool Tapestry<br /> -50 in. Silk Faced Tapestry<br /> -50 in. Wool Brocatelle</td> - -<td class="brdl">SPECIAL FABRICS<br /> -<br /> -Bordered Table Covers<br /> -Washable Bed-Spreads<br /> -Butter Muslins<br /> -INDIAN, PERSIAN and<br /> TURKISH RUGS and<br /> CARPETS<br /> -<br /> -<br /> -LININGS<br /> -<br /> -50 in. Italian Silk<br /> -54 in. Merino<br /> -31 in. Koula Cotton<br /> -31 in. Sateen<br /> -31 in. Cotton Twill<br /> -<br /> -<br /> -EMBROIDERY<br /> -FABRICS<br /> -<br /> -36 in. Italian Linen<br /> -54 in. Tapestry Canvas<br /> -45 in. Leather Cloth<br /> -54 in. Leatherette<br /> -36 in. Embroidery Linen<br /> -54 in. Embroidery Linen<br /> -72 in. Embroidery Linen</td> - -<td class="brdl">PLAIN FABRICS<br /> -<br /> -72 in. Diagonal Cloth<br /> -54 in. Diagonal Cloth<br /> -72 in. Curtan Felt<br /> -72 in. Yorkshire Serge<br /> -54 in. Printed Serge<br /> -54 in. Yorkshire Serge<br /> -54 in. Wool Serge<br /> -50 in. Wool Damask<br /> -63 in. Plain Bolton Sheeting<br /> -50 in. Dyed Flax<br /> -36 in. Kabul Canvas (for Floors)<br /> -<br /> -<br /> -PRINTED FABRICS<br /> -<br /> -60 in. Printed Bolton<br /> -24 in. Glazed Chintz<br /> -31 in. Cretonne<br /> -31 in. Reversible Cretonne<br /> -31 in. Dimity<br /> -31 in. Queen Anne Cretonne<br /> -50 in. Printed Muslins<br /> -60 in. Madras Muslins<br /> -31 in. Quilt Sateens<br /></td></tr> -</table> - -<p class="cb">UPHOLSTERY DEPARTMENT</p> - -<p>Curtains, Portières, Blinds, &c., made to order in a few days. Fringes, -Cords and Trimmings kept in stock or made to match all fabrics. Curtain -Poles, etc.</p> - -<p>The above list includes many novelties both in colour and design, not -procurable elsewhere. We shall, however, be pleased to forward samples -of any other class or quality of material specially required.</p> - -<p class="cb"><big>42 KING STREET, COVENT GARDEN, LONDON</big></p> - -<p class="c">Branch Establishment—226 REGENT STREET.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_312" id="page_312"></a>{312}</span></p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/ill_021_sml.jpg" width="282" height="420" alt="Artistic Fittings - -Oil + Gas & Electric - -STRODE & Co - -Electric Light & Gas Engineers - -Art Metal Works + Showrooms - -48 Osnaburgh ST + 188 Piccadilly · W - -London·N·W + 67 ST Pauls Chyp·E·C" title="" /> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_313" id="page_313"></a>{313}</span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p class="cb"><big><big>IRISH LINENS</big></big></p> - -<p class="cb">DIRECT FROM THE LOOMS</p> - -<p class="cb"><big><big><big><i>WALPOLE BROS.</i></big></big></big></p> - -<p class="cb">(ESTABLISHED 1766)</p> - -<p class="c">Offer THREE great inducements to the public to give them a trial—</p> - -<p class="nind"><b> -SUPERIORITY OF TEXTURE ...<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 10%;">BEAUTY AND NOVELTY OF DESIGN</span><br /> -EXTREMELY MODERATE PRICES ...<br /></b> -</p> - -<p class="nind"><b>WALPOLE BROTHERS</b> are the only Irish Linen Manufacturers who offer the -public the great advantage of selecting goods</p> - -<p class="cb">IN LONDON AND DUBLIN AT BELFAST PRICES</p> - -<p class="c"><i>Samples and Price List are sent free</i></p> - -<p class="c">They will enable any lady to mark the great saving and greater -satisfaction gained by buying direct from the Manufacturers</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="font-weight:bold;"> -<tr><td align="left">Cambric Handkerchiefs </td><td align="left">from 2s. 2d. per doz.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Damask Table Cloths</td><td align="left">from 3s. 6d. each.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Damask Napkins</td><td align="left">from 3s. per doz.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Glass Cloths</td><td align="left">from 4d. per yard.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Dusters</td><td align="left">from 1s. 9d. per doz.</td></tr> -</table> - -<p class="c">A complete set of Linens, consisting of Blankets, Quilts, Table Linen, -Sheets, &c., suitable for a small house, for £7, 19s.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p class="cb"><big><big><big>WALPOLE BROTHERS</big></big></big></p> - -<p class="cb">Irish Linen and Damask Manufacturers</p> - -<p class="cb">16 Bedford Street, Belfast; 8 and 9 Suffolk Street, Dublin</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="font-weight:bold;"> -<tr><td align="left">89 NEW BOND STREET (Two Doors from Oxford Street)</td><td align="left" valign="middle" rowspan="2"><big><big>LONDON, W.</big></big></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">and 102 KENSINGTON HIGH STREET,</td></tr> -</table> - -<p class="cb">Established over a Century</p> - -<p class="c">W. Bros’. Special Designs in Table Damask are different from, and -superior to, those to be seen elsewhere<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_314" id="page_314"></a>{314}</span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p class="cb"><big><big><big>HEWETSONS</big></big></big></p> - -<p class="cb"><span class="eng">House Furnishers and Decorators</span></p> - -<p class="cb">212 TOTTENHAM COURT ROAD</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/ill_023_sml.jpg" width="233" height="180" alt="HEWETSONS’ ‘Princess May’ Bedroom Suite - -Enamelled White Carton Pierre Mountings, Brass Handles, and -comprising:—Wardrobe (Glass Door), Dressing Chest with Glass, -Washstand (Marble Top, Tile Back, and Brass Towel Rail), and Two -Cane-seated Chairs. - -£7, 15s. 0d. THE SET" title="" /> -</div> - -<p class="cb">Hewetsons’ New Illustrated Catalogue</p> - -<p class="nind">Is the best and most complete Furnishing Guide published, and is -forwarded free of charge. It contains <b>Estimates for Furnishing -Houses</b> for £150, £300, £500, £1000, &c., each article in detail, -illustrated and priced.</p> - -<p class="cb"> -Decorating <b>Hewetsons give Estimates Free of Charge</b> for<br /> -Painting and all kinds of Interior Decorations,<br /> -Structural Alterations, Sanitary Work, Electric Lighting, &c.<br /> -</p> - -<hr /> - -<p class="c"> -The Largest Stock of ...<br /> -ENGLISH CARVED OAK FURNITURE<br /> -<b>... IN THE WORLD</b><br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_315" id="page_315"></a>{315}</span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p class="cb"><big><big>JAMES SHOOLBRED & CO.</big></big></p> - -<p class="cb">TOTTENHAM HOUSE</p> - -<p class="cb">Tottenham Court Road</p> - -<p class="c"> -<span style="margin-left: 15%;">LONDON, W.</span><br /> -</p> - -<p class="cb"> -Direct Carpet Importers<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 10%;">Bedding Manufacturers</span><br /> -Cabinet Makers and Upholsterers<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 20%;">Blind Manufacturers</span><br /> -Artistic Decorators, and<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 12%;">Complete House Furnishers</span><br /> -</p> - -<p class="cb">Three Passenger Lifts convey Customers to all Departments above Ground -Floor</p> - -<p class="cb"> -<big><big>JAMES SHOOLBRED & CO.</big></big><br /> -<i>TOTTENHAM HOUSE</i><br /> -<span style="margin-left:15%;">LONDON</span><br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_316" id="page_316"></a>{316}</span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p class="cb"><big><big><big>BARTHOLOMEW & FLETCHER</big></big></big></p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td> -<img src="images/ill_025_sml.jpg" width="212" height="163" alt="" title="" /> - -</td><td> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td align="left">Chippendale Cabinet,</td> -<td class="rt">£6</td> -<td class="rt">10</td> -<td align="left">0</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Old Mahogany Vase or Lamp Stand, </td> -<td class="rt">£2</td> -<td class="rt">5</td> -<td class="rt">0</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">‘Richelieu’ Settee, in Tapestry,</td> -<td class="rt">£5</td> -<td class="rt">18</td> -<td class="rt">6</td></tr> -</table> - -<p class="cb">Catalogues Free</p> - -<p class="cb"> -Most Moderate<br /> -Prices<br /> -in London<br /> -</p> -</td></tr> - -</table> - -<p class="cb"><big><big>219 Tottenham Court Road, W.</big></big></p> - -<table border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="font-weight:bold;"> - -<tr valign="middle"><td>CARPETS</td> - -<td><p class="c"> -‘REVIREDIS’ Regd. SPECIALITIES<br /> -———<br /> -‘ISIS’ Art Rush Matting<br /> -‘ROYSSE’ Hand Loom Carpets<br /> -‘ARTS and CRAFTS’ Rugs<br /> -———<br /> -THE ABINGDON CARPET MANUFACTURING CO.<br /> -<i>ABINGDON-ON-THAMES</i></p></td></tr> - -</table> - -<p class="cb">JOHN HARRIS & SONS, LIMITED</p> - -<p class="cb">ART LINENS. PURE FLAX. Over 40 Artistic Shades.</p> - -<p>Unrivalled for excellence of Quality and Colour. Of Special Manufacture -and Dye. Suitable for every kind of HOUSE DECORATION and ORNAMENTATION. -Embroideries of every description. Patterns and Estimates for Curtains, -Portières, Hangings, &c., on application.</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="font-weight:bold;"> - -<tr class="c"><td>Showrooms—<br /> -25 OLD BOND STREET, LONDON<br /></td> - -<td class="brdl">Works<br /> -Derwent Mills, Cockermouth, Eng.</td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_317" id="page_317"></a>{317}</span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p class="cb"><big><big><big>BOOKS TO BUY</big></big></big></p> - -<p class="cb">Mrs PANTON’S Books on the Furnishing and Decorating of Houses, and the -Management of a Household.</p> - -<p class="hang"><b>1.</b> <b>From Kitchen to Garret</b>: Hints for Young Householders. By <span class="smcap">J. E. -Panton</span>. A New and Revised Edition. Crown 8vo, cloth, 6s.</p> - -<p class="hang">This work of Mrs Panton was first published in December 1887. It -has since been seven times reprinted. The work has now been closely -revised by the Author, new information on many subjects has been -incorporated in the text, and many new Illustrations have been -added.</p> - -<p class="hang"><b>2.</b> <b>Nooks and Corners.</b> A Companion Book to ‘From Kitchen to Garret.’ -By <span class="smcap">J. E. Panton</span>. Crown 8vo, 6s.</p> - -<p class="hang">‘A veritable encyclopædia of useful information in all matters -pertaining to the home.’</p> - -<p class="hang"><b>Our Viands.</b> Whence they come and how they are Cooked. By <span class="smcap">A. W. -Buckland</span>. Crown 8vo, cloth, price 6s.</p> - -<p>‘She has succeeded in giving us a very interesting history of our -own ordinary dishes, and of the most curious and characteristic -dishes of other countries.’—<i>Spectator.</i></p> - -<p class="hang"><b>Ladies in the Field</b>: Sketches of Sport. Edited by the <span class="smcap">Lady -Greville</span>. Crown 8vo, cloth, price 6s.</p> - -<p>Contents: Riding in Ireland and India, by Lady Greville—Hunting in -the Shires—Horses and their Riders, by the Duchess of -Newcastle—The Wife of the M.F.H., by Mrs Chaworth Musters—Fox -Hunting—Team and Tandem Driving, by Miss Rosie Anstruther -Thomson—Tigers I have shot, by Mrs C. Martelli—Rifle Shooting, by -Miss Leale—Deer Stalking and Deer Driving, by Diane -Chasseresse—Covert Shooting, by Lady Boynton—A Kangaroo Hunt, by -Mrs Jenkins—Cycling, by Mrs E. R. Pennell—Punting, by Miss Sybil -Salaman.</p> - -<p>‘The several chapters are entrusted to skilful hands, and deal with -sport, as practised by ladies, in a very sensible and business-like -fashion.’—<i>Times.</i></p> - -<p>‘It is not often one comes across such a tempting book.... We -cannot too strongly recommend "Ladies in the Field" to our readers, -and think that it is a book to be on every sportswoman’s library -table.’—<i>Sporting Life.</i></p> - -<p class="hang"><b>In Ladies’ Company</b>: Sketches of the Lives of Six Notable Women. By -Mrs <span class="smcap">F. F. Miller</span>. One vol., fcap. 8vo, cloth, price 5s.</p> - -<p>‘A volume to be grateful for.’—<i>Daily Chronicle.</i></p> - -<p>‘Ample, suggestive, and neatly finished—turned out with true -literary skill.’—<i>Globe.</i></p> - -<p class="hang"><b>Love in a Cottage</b>; or, Making the most of a Small Income. By <span class="smcap">Agatha -Hodgson</span>. Post 8vo, paper covers, price 1s.</p> - -<p class="cb"> -<i>FROM ALL BOOKSELLERS</i><br /> - -Or from the Publishers} WARD & DOWNEY LTD.<br /> - -12 YORK BUILDINGS, Adelphi, W.C.<br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_318" id="page_318"></a>{318}</span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p class="cb"><big><big>A GOLD MEDAL</big></big></p> - -<p class="c">HAS BEEN AWARDED TO</p> - -<p class="cb"><big><big><big>Wm. Wallace & Co.</big></big></big></p> - -<p class="c">FOR THE ARTISTIC FURNISHING AND DECORATION OF</p> - -<p class="cb"><big>‘OUR FLAT’</big></p> - -<p class="c"> -AS EXHIBITED AT THE INDIAN EXHIBITION.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="cb">‘How to Furnish "Our Flat" or House for £100,’</p> - -<p class="cb">AND ALSO FOR £300</p> - -<p class="c">By <b>Mrs J. E. PANTON</b>, may now be had, post free, on application to</p> - -<p class="cb">WM. WALLACE & CO.</p> - -<p class="c">151 to 155 CURTAIN ROAD, LONDON, E.C.</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="font-weight:bold;"> -<tr valign="middle"><td> -<p>Mrs PANTON says, in the ‘Gentlewoman’:—‘I<br /> should strongly advise, -before buying Furniture anywhere,<br /> to send to Wm. Wallace & Co., of -Curtain<br /> Road, for sketches of their New Furniture Catalogue.<br /> All -Goods are Carriage Paid anywhere in the United<br /> Kingdom, and if you -require really good Furniture,<br /> go to Wm. Wallace & Co., the wood -being properly seasoned,<br /> and the workmanship seems to me to be<br /> as -good as it possibly can be.’</p> - -<p>BEFORE placing your orders, send for our New <br />Catalogue, entitled -<b>‘Beauty, Skill and Economy.’ Post Free.</b></p> - -<p>The ‘Daily Telegraph’ says:—‘Wm. Wallace & Co.<br /> have an -artistically designed catalogue, which is<br /> a most instructive guide -to householders.’</p></td><td> - -<p class="nind"> -‘OUR FLAT’<br /> -‘OUR FLAT’<br /> -‘OUR FLAT’<br /> -‘OUR FLAT’<br /> -‘OUR FLAT’<br /> -‘OUR FLAT’<br /> -‘OUR FLAT’<br /> -‘OUR FLAT’<br /> -‘OUR FLAT’<br /> -‘OUR FLAT’<br /> -</p> -</td></tr> -</table> - -<p class="cb"><big><big>WM. WALLACE & CO.</big></big></p> - -<p class="cb"><i>Artistic House Furnishers and Decorators</i></p> - -<p class="cb"><big>151, 152, 153, 154 and 155 Curtain Road</big></p> - -<p class="cb">LONDON, E.C.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_319" id="page_319"></a>{319}</span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p class="cb">HEALTHY. ECONOMICAL. ARTISTIC.</p> - -<p class="cb"> -JACKSON’S<br /> -<span class="smcap">Varnish Stains</span><br /> -FOR<br /> -FLOORS & FURNITURE<br /> -HAVE THE LARGEST SALE<br /> -<br /> -Staining and<br /> -Varnishing in<br /> -one operation<br /> -<br /> -<i>No Preparation<br /> -required.</i><br /> -</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr valign="middle"> -<td> -<p class="cb">Made to represent<br /> the following<br /> woods—</p> - -<p class="cb"> -<big>Mahogany<br /> -Walnut<br /> -Rosewood<br /> -Light and<br /> -Dark Oak<br /> -Satinwood<br /> -Ebony<br /> -Leaf Green</big><br /> -&c.<br /> -Packed in Tins</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="font-weight:bold;"> -<tr><td align="left">Pints,</td><td align="left">2/-</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Quarts,</td><td align="left">3/6</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">½-Gallon, </td><td align="left">6/-</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">1 Gallon,</td><td align="left">10/-</td></tr> -</table> - -<p class="c"> -<i>Cans Free</i><br /> -——<br /> -Bottles<br /> -6d. and 1/- each<br /> -</p></td> -<td> -<img src="images/ill_028_sml.jpg" width="217" height="246" alt="" title="" /> -</td></tr> - -</table> - -<p>The Stain dries in twenty minutes with a brilliant hard surface equal to -French Polish with no unpleasant smell. Used in Hospitals, Asylums, -Schools, Hotels, &c. Recommended by Professor Wanklyn, the eminent -analytical chemist, and many members of the medical profession, for its -sanitary properties as a floor covering. Besides very numerous private -testimonials, these Stains are being constantly recommended by the -principal writers on domestic matters.</p> - -<p>Dr Andrew Wilson, in <i>Health</i>, says:—‘We hope it will be used by -all who value health, economy and beauty in their homes. It will -cost but a few shillings to stain the floor, where pounds would be -spent in carpets, and rooms where it is used can always be kept -clean, healthy and bright.’</p> - -<p>The <i>Court Circular</i> says:—‘We predict that <b>Jackson’s Combination -Varnish-Stain</b> will become a household word, and that it will be -used as a floor covering in every home where health, beauty and -cleanliness are appreciated.’</p> - -<p>The <i>Lady’s Pictorial</i> says:—‘You cannot possibly do better than -use <b>Jackson’s Varnish Stains.</b> They are most excellent.’</p> - -<p>The <i>Queen</i>:—‘Have found <b>Jackson’s Varnish Stain</b> very good. As its -name implies, it requires no varnishing, dries quickly, and gives a -beautiful polish.’</p> -<hr /> - -<p>These Stains are sold by all high-class Stores throughout the World, and -must not be confounded with any of the low-class rubbish, which will -only cause disappointment and trouble. Coloured picture labels on all -packages. Manufactured only by</p> - -<p class="cb"> -<big>T. S. JACKSON & SONS, 186 OLD KENT ROAD, LONDON, S.E. Established 1853</big><br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_320" id="page_320"></a>{320}</span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p class="cb"><span class="eng">By Special Appointment To Her Majesty</span></p> - -<p class="cb"><span class="smcap"><big><big><big>Warings</big></big></big></span></p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> - -<tr valign="middle"> -<td class="c"> -<i>Specialists</i><br /> -<br /> -<i>and</i><br /> -<br /> -<i>Manufacturers</i><br /> -<br /> -<i>of</i><br /> -<br /> -<i>Decorative</i><br /> -<br /> -<i>Furniture</i><br /> -</td><td class="c"> - -<img src="images/ill_029_sml.jpg" width="224" height="302" alt="" /> -</td> -<td> -<i>The largest</i><br /> -<br /> -<i>bona-fide</i><br /> -<br /> -<i>Manufacturers</i><br /> -<br /> -<i>in</i><br /> -<br /> -<i>the Kingdom</i><br /> -</td></tr> -</table> - -<p class="cb"><i>Messrs WARING invite inspection of their Suites of completely furnished -Rooms, illustrating how to furnish tastefully at the lowest cost</i></p> - -<p class="cb">ESTIMATES AND DESIGNS FREE</p> - -<p class="cb"><big>181 Oxford Street, London, W.</big></p> - -<p class="cb">MANCHESTER</p> - -<hr class="full" /> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Suburban Residences, by J. 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