The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1876-01-15

A Constant Reader.

| Sat wondering-moneyles wight
| If his Office would ever be cleared of its debt,
With the times so deplorably tight
When the tread of old leather was heard on the
| stair
And stranger stepped into the room,
Who asked with the "dont let me bother you
| air
Which the bore is so apt to assume
GLOW are YEP" The editor rose with smile
| And pleasantly yielded his chair
Placed the visitors sadly unbeautlfu tile
! (Which exhibited symptoms of wear)
On the top of the desk, alongside of his own
| CA schocking old plug, by the way,
! And then asked in a rather obsequious tone,
"Can we do anything for you today"
"No-I Jest called to see ye"-the visitor said /;
"Im a friend to the newspaper man
| Here he ran a red handkerchief over his head !,
And accepted the editors fan
II hev read all the piece you've writ for your
sheet,
And they're straight to the pint confess
That ar slap you gin Keyser was sartinly
neat
You're an ornynent, sir. to the press p
81 am glad you are pleased" said the writer,
''indeed
But you praise me too highly, by far
Just select an exchange that you're anxious to
read,
By the way, I've melon laid up for treat
| I've been keeping it nestled in ice,
It's beauty, sir, fit for an angel to eat
Now, perhaps, you will relish slice p
Then the stranger rolled up half dozen or
Of the choicest exchanges of all
Helped himself to the fruit, threw tho rinds on
| the ioor
Or flung them AT fl les the wall.
He assured his new friend that his "pieces
were wrote
In manner oncommonly able"-
AS he wiped his red hands on the editors coat
That hung at the side Of the table.
"By the way, I've neglected to ask you your
name,
Said the scribe the stranger arose.
"That's fact" he replied, Pm Abimalech
Bame,
You have yeard o that name, suppose?
I'm a lvin' out here on the FddIetown Creek
Where l own a good house and lot;
The Gazette" gets around to me wunst every
week
I'm the constantest reader you've got !"
"Abimalech Bame,' unused the editor, "B-a-
Here his friend begged a chew ofhis twist)-
Il am sorry to say your mellihuous name
Doesn't happen to honor my list"
"Spose not;" was the answer, mo reason it
should,
For We see jine lots with Bill Prim-
He's reglar subscriber and pays ye in wood,
And borry your paper O. him !"
-
The LIVING -RooM.--Let us begin with the
frank abandonment of any formal parlor, but,
taking the largest and pleasantest and most ac-
cessible room in the house, let US give it up to
the wife and children in the day time, and to
the meeting of the whole family when evening
comes. There is not much need at the present
time to emphasize this suggestion, for it is one
which experience and necessity have already
made to a good many people ); and now that
the problem, show to get a dwelling at rent
within moderate means" is being solved by the
increase of "iats" and apartment houses, the
parlor must be given up there being no provi-
sion made for it in the common plans. But it
is by no means my notion that the living-room
should be homely matter of-fact apartment,
consecrated to the utilities, while the MUSES.
and Graces are left to kick their heels in the
hall. On the contrary, We want in the living
room, for foundation, that the furniture shall
be the best designed and best made that we can
afford, and all of it intended to be used and
necessary to our comfort not an article to be
allowed that doesn't earn it's living, and cannot
prove its right to be there. These wants being
provided for first, then we will aGmit the orna-
nents Uf flife-a&sts, pictures, ,e2grg wings, 5-on-
zes, books, eniei nourlshers IN iltGs feast; but
in the beginning these are to be few, and of the
choicest, and the greatest care IS to be taken in
admitting new conner. The room, from the
first, ought to represent the culture Of the fam
ily-what is their taste, what feeling they have
for art it should represent themselves, and
not other people and the troublesome fact is,
that it will and must represent these, whether
its owners would let it or If young people,
after they have secured the few pieces of fur
niture that must be had, aud made sure that
they are what they ought to be, have some
money left to get picture, an engraving or
cast, they ought to go to work to supply this
want as seriously as they would the other,
which seems the more necessary, but in reality
is not bit more necessary. l look upon this
ideal living-reom of mine important
agent in the education of life; it will make
great difference to the children who grow up
in it, and to all whose experience is associated
with it, whether it be a beautiful and cheerful
room, or only homely and bare one, a
merely formal and conventional one. The re-
laton of these things to education is all that
gives any dignity poetry to the subject, or
makes it allowable for reasonable man to
give much thought to it. But it has real vi
tai relation to life, and plays an important part
in education, and deserves to be thought about
great deal more than it is. 1t is therefore no
triAing matter whether we hang poor pictures
on our walls or good ones, whether We select
fine cast or second rate We might al
most as well say it makes difference wheth-
er the people we live with are frst-rate or
second rate.-Scrl6ner.