Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1880-06-10
An Idea in Decorative Art.

''It's perfectly useless; the thing is
my bete noire-dont laugh, Elsie, I'm
not joking If there is any such thing
rs the contrariness of inanimate OBJ
jects. then of all inanimate objects that
hideous black mantelpiece is tie
most contrary"
Pretty Mrs. Van Schenck threw her.
self back in Ier chair. gazing with min
gled wrath and disgust at the object of
her animadyersion, high wooden man
telpiece, painted black, and diversified
with various dull yellow streaks and
spots, fondly supposed by housekeepers
thirty years ago to be most faithful
imitation of marble. Fastened across a
portion of the front, and from thence
trailing TO the floor, hung a strip of
mummy cloth richly embroidered with
a garland of poppies. but looking sadly
out of keeping, depending from the
high narrow shelf it was intended to
adorn.
Now just look there, Elsie! Owe
and again | have tried to cover, drape,
alter that detestable mante,piece, and
each attempt has proved a more
wretched failure than the last one.
I've blistered my fingers knotting
: macrame lace, hammered my thumbs
till they were black and blue trying all
sorts OF devices suggested by all sorts of
people. really did think should sue
ceed this time, and perhaps if the bor-
der had heen twice as deep it might
have looked passably; but that narrow
strip halt way between floor and ceiling
is perfectly ridiculous. Grace Aston
gave me the pattern. 1t was lovely on
her modern mantelpiece. How stupid
in me not to think of making it widerl
believe the thing is bewitched"
Here she paused to take breath, and
meeting her sisters merry eyes, bursi
into ringing laugh.
1t does seem absurd to rail so, but
the whole room is spoiled, and it would
be so pretty but for that frightful old
mantlepiece."
II am sure it is lovely as it is.
Nothing can spoil the beautiful oak
floor and wainscot," replied Elsie Hor-
ton, glancing around the spacious apart
ment of oblong shape. lighted by four
large windows, two on the southern
side, overlooking the sparkling waters
of Long Island Sound, and two facing
the west, where dense pine wood at
no great distance from the house-a
huge old mansion dating from colonial
days--shpt in the view and gave an i'm
preston of great seclusion.
The first glimpse of the room revealed
the fact that the pretty hostess wor-
slipped at the shrine of decorative art,
though good taste fortunately excluded
the horrors OF scrap vases, bedaubed
draln-pipes, and spatterwork tides.
Nay. at this moment, brightly illumined
by the flood of sunlight pouring through
the southern windows, the apartment
might have given an artist suggestion
for most charming interior. The
hoor and richly carved wainscot were
of polished oak, almost black with age;
handsome Persian rugs lay scattered
here and there; soft muslin draperies
shaded the windows; bits of rare old
china made spots of bright color on
bracket and table; an easel supported a
fine old painting; Kensington art work
appeared in screens and chair cover
ings; and quaint spindle-legged table,
nearly century old, stood in one
corner.
Fit subj ects, too, for any artists
brush were the occupants of the room.
Mrs. Van Schenck, dark-eyed, dark
haired, and : ghtly flushed with exer-
tion and wrath, formed exactly the
right contrast to her sister Elsie's
blonde beauty, as the latter leaned care
lessly back in large easy-chair, her
white draperies, relieved by knots of
blue ribbons. sweeping over the dark,
polifhed oaken floor, and her violet
eyes sparkling with amusement at her
companions vivacious TRADE.
.' like to listen to you, Kate" she
said at last. 1t seems like the dear
old times before you were married to
hear you set off on one of those Don
Quixote tits against windmills. Now.
in the name OF common-sense, let me
ask why, instead of blistering your
fingers and hammering your thum BIS,
you didn't have the mantelpiece taken
down, and another one put in its place?
You could have had something carved
just to match this beautiful old VAIN
scoting.
8 My dear. that highly sensible sug-
gestion strongly reminds me of Marie
Antoinette's equally pertinent query {:
Why, if the poor people. can't Get
bread. don't they eat cakep' You for
get that we're not rich enough to
crafty all our whims, and an oak
mantelpiece carved to match the VAIN
scot would cost pretty penny, l as
sure you. If only the original one had
been left Harry remembers it per-
fectly, and says people would rave over
it now. Great clusters of fruits and
flowers on the panels, connected BY
dropping wreaths-exquisitely done
too. And they split it up. and burned
1t tor kindling wood, the Goths ani
Vandals, when this new and elegant
monstrosity took its place"
But couldn't Won have the lovel,
stDutch tiled mantelpiece in the dining
ityoom moved here at very little ex
e.pensep"