Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1878-07-04

" paid forty cents a yard for the
muslin" she said. "and I bought fifteen
yards. Five yards to window will be
plenty, it is so wide. And the cretonne
will make charming shades 1t was
sixty cents yard, and here are six
yards. Well make some lambrequines
of it, too, for the windows, and for that
ugly wooden mantel shelf. You can
make some blue and white tassels,
Harrie, like those on your tidy, bat
larger. And here are the fixtures fOl
the shades. They cost a dollar and a
half for the three"
So We hung the blue shades in Oul
three windows, with a blue and white
Crotcheted tassel pendant from each
and over them We draped the full white
muslin curtains with pretty blue lambre-
quins at the top. Harrie sacrificed hel
freshest blue ribbons to loop the cur
tains, although Harrie IS a blonde, and
blue ribbons are very becoming, twisted
among her golden ringlets.
"Why, it is charming ~ she cried, adj
miringly, regarding the effect from the
doorway. Now, Bessie, bring in your
furniture !"
"Ben will bring the table this even
ing" said Bessie. "And [ can promise
a lounge and two arm chairs and pair
ottomans. There my ideas and the
money will give out together
Ben did bring the table-a great,
round pine affair of his own manufac-
ture-rude enough, certainly, but he
planed it smooth, and stained the legs
with amber, in imitation of walnut; and
even that did not matter much, for very
little Of them showed when Bessie
had covered it with a sheer-cloth, alb
stracted from the dining-roOm.
"There now " she cried in triumph,
could anything be neater? 1t will
hold piles Of books and papers. and that
is all we want it for. Who's going to
lift the cover, to see if it is walnut
Well cover it with white cloth for the
summer (thank our stars, we've plenty
of table linen ,, and next winter l
promise to save ten dollars from my al
lowance to buy cover for it. | had
Ben make it nice and big, because ]
hate small table [ like one that
every one can gather around and be
sOciable."
After the table, followed, at intervals
of day or two. the other articles which
Bessie had enumerated First a lounge
perhaps it would better be called a
sofa-compOsed of long pacl1ing-boX
with one side knocked out, and a square
block under each corner. These square
legs were stained with amber, in imita-
ton of walnut, like the table legs.
Bessie expended all the rest OF hel
money for blue-and-white chintz-a dis
tractingly pretty pattern, and bought al
a bargain. With this she covered that
uncomprOmising sofa, stuf1ing the cush-
ions with cOrn-husks, and the two big
square pillows were Ornamented at each
corner with Harrie's pretty tassels
Upon my word, the sofa was as pretty
an article of furniture as the Bentons
had in their house.
Then Ben brought them two large
casks-or hogsheads, or whatever you
call them-sawed down lengthwise to
the proper height for a seat, and then
sawed off crosswise and a board fitted
in. These also were covered with the
pretty chintz, and well cushioned with
husks, and they made the cOsiest arm
chairs imaginable HaIrie finished
them off with crochet and melted tides.
Bessie's ottomans were simply two
sOap-bOXes, cushioned on top and COW
cred with chintz.
We took few chairs from the other
rooms and added to this array. We
cut engravings out Of old magazines,
and framed them with straw and pasSe
! pdrtOm frames; took the fine landscape
painting from the dining-room, and
brought into the parlor; Bessie brought
down her pet chrome Of the Cenci''
from her bedroom, and placed it be-
tween the eastern windows; lastly, we
filled two great coach shells with grow
ing vines and suspended them at each
corner of the high, old-fashioned
mantel-shelf, now prettily "uphC lster-
ed' in blue cretOnne, and our front
room was finished.
say nothing about the flowers with
which our room was adorned, but per
haps they did more than anything else
to make our room attractive to us and
all our friends 1t was cool and pleas
ant to the eye, and all summer om
| friends kept telling Us how pleasant il
was to come in there and sit down.
Sam and Mile Benton came in Otter
of an evening, and they thought it q
prettier room than their mothers granC
| parlOr.
And all for thirty-ive dollars.
And forty-three cents!" says Harrie