behind the door the same sort of curtain can be put up and has all the appearance of a portiere. The cretonne should match the window curtains and harmonize as ijiuch as possible with the shade of the carpet and the whole tone of the room. Boxes and trunks, which never look well in a bedroom in their natural state, may be converted into ottomans by cretonne covers, made to fit loosely and take off and on. A flat piece lined for the top of the box, a piping cord round, and a loose flounce gathered on, is the best way to make them. And when curtains, box covers, portiere, and hanging wardrobes are all made of the same pretty light cretonne to match, the effect is very good. When " doing up " a bedroom it is well to buy as many yards of cretonne as you are likely to want at first, in case of not being afterwards able to match the pattern. Nothing looks worse than a " patchy " room, and the idea should be fully carried out or not attempted at all. FLORICULTUp^iND H0]^TICULTU1|E, O improvement is more marked in the modern home than the prominence which is being more and more assigned _, to the cultivation of flowers. This taste is a develop- ment of the general sense of beauty and picturesqueness which is one of the best signs of a pure, healthy and intellectual life. A few years ago it was a rare thing to find flowers in the windows and on the tables of any but the wealthiest classes in America. Hothouse flowers were purchased by the wealthy because they were costly, and the more they cost the more necessary they were deemed. But for any but the rich, flowers were deemed little more than litter, or, at any rate, were not thought of as among the most beautiful adornments and attractions of the simple home. Now they are prized in every household, and so universal is the apprecia- tion of them becoming in all English-speaking communities, that there are societies of benevolent ladies in almost every city for sup- plying hospitals and sick-rooms and the dwellings of the poor with flowers. Next to the necessaries of life are those little comforts to the senses which " adorn and cheer the way." It is wonderful how much the senses of sight and smell have to do with tranquillity of mind, aspira- tion after all that is good and noble, patience under present gloom and hope of future welfare. Hearing may reveal things to us on a grand scale. The sound of martial music may thrill the soul with more sudden impulse and stronger energy. But the sight and per- fume of flowers has a quiet power of beneficence over the feelings, which makes bare walls seem fairyland and " the wilderness to blos- som as the rose." To all thoughtful minds, they have ever been (263) 264 THE hearthstone; or, life at home. emblems and types of qualities, virtues and blessings. The purest mind that ever pondered the great parable of nature saw in the lilies of the field a beauty which Solomon arrayed in all his glory could not equal. The language of flowers is a language that speaks directly to the heart. Even if "A primrose by the river's brim A yellow primrose was to him, And it was nothing more,"

AI-modernized reading of the original text

behind the door the same sort of curtain can be put up and has all the appearance of a portiere. The cretonne should match the window curtains and harmonize as much as possible with the shade of the carpet and the whole tone of the room. Boxes and trunks, which never look well in a bedroom in their natural state, may be converted into ottomans by cretonne covers, made to fit loosely and take off and on. A flat piece lined for the top of the box, a piping cord round, and a loose flounce gathered on, is the best way to make them. And when curtains, box covers, portiere, and hanging wardrobes are all made of the same pretty light cretonne to match, the effect is very good. When " doing up " a bedroom it is well to buy as many yards of cretonne as you are likely to want at first, in case of not being afterwards able to match the pattern. Nothing looks worse than a " patchy " room, and the idea should be fully carried out or not attempted at all. FLORICULTURE AND HORTICULTURE. O improvement is more marked in the modern home than the prominence which is being more and more assigned _, to the cultivation of flowers. This taste is a development of the general sense of beauty and picturesqueness which is one of the best signs of a pure, healthy and intellectual life. A few years ago it was a rare thing to find flowers in the windows and on the tables of any but the wealthiest classes in America. Hothouse flowers were purchased by the wealthy because they were costly, and the more they cost the more necessary they were deemed. But for any but the rich, flowers were deemed little more than litter, or, at any rate, were not thought of as among the most beautiful adornments and attractions of the simple home. Now they are prized in every household, and so universal is the appreciation of them becoming in all English-speaking communities, that there are societies of benevolent ladies in almost every city for supplying hospitals and sick-rooms and the dwellings of the poor with flowers. Next to the necessaries of life are those little comforts to the senses which " adorn and cheer the way." It is wonderful how much the senses of sight and smell have to do with tranquillity of mind, aspiration after all that is good and noble, patience under present gloom and hope of future welfare. Hearing may reveal things to us on a grand scale. The sound of martial music may thrill the soul with more sudden impulse and stronger energy. But the sight and perfume of flowers has a quiet power of beneficence over the feelings, which makes bare walls seem fairyland and " the wilderness to blossom as the rose." To all thoughtful minds, they have ever been (263) 264 THE hearthstone; or, life at home. emblems and types of qualities, virtues and blessings. The purest mind that ever pondered the great parable of nature saw in the lilies of the field a beauty which Solomon arrayed in all his glory could not equal. The language of flowers is a language that speaks directly to the heart. Even if "A primrose by the river's brim A yellow primrose was to him, And it was nothing more,"

The hearthstone; or, Life at home