Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1876-06-01
A Cheerful ROOnl.-

Cu0cElUk HOOnl.,~---.-~
The first essential for cheerful
room is sunshine. Without this,
money, labor, taste, arc all thrown
away. A dark room cannot be cheer
full :; and it is us unwlOlesome rs it is.
gloomy. Flowers will not blossom in
It; neither will people. Nobody
knows or ever will know, how many
men and women have been killed by
dark rooms. - - =
''Glorify the room!'' Sydney Smith
used to say of q morning, when he Or
dered every blind thrown open, every
shade drawn up to the top OF the Win.
dow. Whoever is fortunate enough
to have southeast or southwest cor
ner room, may, if she chooses, live. IN
such floods of sunny light that sick
ness will have hard work to get hold
of her; rs for the blues, they will not
dare to so much as knock ut her door.
Second on my list Of essentials for a
cheerful room l put-color. Many a
room that would otherwise be charm.
ing is expressionless and tame for
want of bright color. Don't be afraid
Of red. 1t is the most kindling and in.
spring OF. colOrs. No room can he
be perfect without 4 good deal Of it.
All the shades of scarlet or of crimson
are good. In IN autumn leaf, ina cur
tain. in Il chair.cover. in !, pin.cush-
ion, in Il vase. in the binding OF Il
book, everywhere you put it, it makes
q brilliant point and gives pleasure.
The blind say that they always think
red must be like the sound OF trlm-
pet and | think there is 4 deep truth
in their instinct. 1t is the gladdest,
most triumphant. color everywhere.
Next to red comes yellow this must
be used very sparingly. No bouquet
Of flowers is complete without q little
touch of yellow and no room is as gay
without yellow as with it. But bo.l-
quet in which yellow predominates is
ugly; the colors of all the other
flowers are killed by it J; and room
which has one grain too much of vel.
low in it is hopelessly ruined. have
seen the whole expression Of one side
of the room altered, improved, toned
up, by the taking out of two OF three
bright yellow leaves, from big sheaf
Of sumacs and ferns. The best and
safest color for walls is 4 delicate
cream color. When l say best and
safest, mean the best background for
bright colors and for pictures. and the
color which is least in danger Of dis
agreeing with anything you may want
to put upon it. So also with flowers ;
the safest and best tint is a neutral
gray. If you cannot have bare wood
en- floor, either Of black walnut. or
stained to initiate it, then have a plain
gray felt carpet. Above all things,
avoid bright colors in carpet. In rugs.
to lay down on i plain gray. or on il
dark.browu floor, the brighter the
cOlors the better. The rugs are only
SO many distinct pictures thrown up
into reliefhere and there by the under.
tint OF gray or brown. But pattern.
Gather set or otherwise, of bright
colors journeying up and down, back
and forth, breadth after breadth, on /,
floor. is always and forever ugly. If
one is so unfortunate us to enter on
the possession of a room with such 4
carpet as this, or with wallpaper of
a similar nature, the first thing to be
done, if possible, is to get rid of them
or cover them up. Better have ten.
| cent paper OF neutral tints, and have
| distinguishable figures on the wall, and
have floors painted brown or gray.
Third on my list Of essentials fol
making rooms cOsey. cheerful. and
beautiful, come books and pictures.
Here some persons will cry out: ''But
books and pictures cost 4 great deal OF
money! Yes, books do cost money
and so do pictures; but books accumu'
late rapidly in most houses where
books are read at all; and if people
really want books, it is astonishing
how many they cOntrive to get togeth
er in few years without pinchine
themselves very seriously in other di.
rections.
As for pictures costing money, how
much or how little they cost depends
on what sort of pictures you buy. As
| said before, you can buy for six slill
ings good heliotyre (Which is to all
intents and purposes us good as III en-
! graving), of one of Raphaels or Cor
reggio's Madonnas. But you can buy
pictures much cheaper than that. A
Japanese fan is picture; some OF
them are exquisite pictures, and blaz.
ing with color too. They cost any.
where from two to six cents. There
are also Japanese pictures, printed on
coarse paper, some two feet long and
one broad, to be bought for twenty.
five cents each; with a dozen OF these
a dozen or two of fans, and say four
good heliotypes, you can make the
walls of small room so gay, that a
strangers first impression on entering
it will be that it is adorned for a fes.
tival. The fans can be pinned on the
walls in endless picturesque combina.
tiOns. One of the most effective is to
pin them across the corners of the
room, in overlapping rows, like an old.
fashioned card-rack.
A Converted Jews Dilemma
From the Pulaski Citizen. s.-. III. - =.
One day last week Mr.. II. L. SOlinsky
was accosted in the street by q man
who asked him what he thought of
Hirsh the Nashville Israelite who re.
nounced Judaism and turned Baptist
preacher, Mr.. SOlinsky replied: II