St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-07-05
The Drawing-ROOm. Its Name, It's Fur
pose and Its Furnishing Freely
Handled.
Beauties Of Home and Styles for the Break
Fast Table That Should be
Observed.
Dishes That Can be Served on the Spur
OF the Moment--V Valuable
Hints.
Gossip About the Fly American Girl
Happiness i'm the Home
Circle.
Taste i'm furnishings.

The later furnishings of the best houses
are wide step forward in taste. i'm that
they avoid the Alterations of antique STYLES
winch SAVIOR of theatrical and strained ef-
lects. Whatever is good and useful in the
Old architecture and interiors is freely ac-
copied, but with notifications strictly in
tended for modern convenience. which mark
II as latter-day and unpretentiOus. Thus
IN place of uncomfortable Straight-backed
chairs. knobby with carving i'm smutty oak.
begrimed to look ancient. there is abundance
of polished paneling i'm native woods. OF
smooth turning in common woods. richly
stained TO suit the fancy. of simple. wide.
easy shapes, without distortions to the ewes
or afront TO sensitive spines. Penthouse
cnimney-pleces, in place when the control
OF drafts was not well understood. seldom
| culnDer new dTawing-rOOmS; the ranges of
oak shelving over the mantel are found
troublesome TO keep in order with the ordi-
nary houSemaid; neither curule chair. or
monklsh seat of penance, OF renaissance
scroll-work disfgure the modern house.
which is meant for living and enioving. moi
for vatican or museum. The settle against
the wall, which used to be the seat for pages
IN ante-roOms; the inconvenient fire-placeS
In the corner, built when convenience was a
thing unstudied; the heavy, throne-like
pieces, only fit for palace. and the cmber
of royalty, ara decidedly out OF place in the
drawing-room of 1885.
-
The pretentious name drawing-room has
nearly had its day as a word of all use for
the solitary room of state in a common
house. People of good education have the
good taste TO drop il and its train OF terms
formed on English housekeeping and man
ners, which have diSagreeable sound from
American lips. Not country merchants
daughter now, who reads the magazines. but
talks of the servants and the maids-out OF
their hearing, you may suppose, however
the drawing-room and the men servants.
and dignilies the handy man as the butler.
II he handles dozen of champagne at a
supper occasionally. 1 knew a young
woman IN Western town who paid calls
through the village in state, wearing a
cream-colored silk, party dress made over,
riding in one-horse chaise driven by col
ored boy who sat beside her which she re-
ferred to as a turnout" She ran away
with local banker who kept similar top
buggy, and was quoted by her girl friends
as saying that ''she did not marry so much
for love as she did for an establishment"
Such young people will allude in the most
dlgnihed way to the family plate, comprised
in spoons, sugar tongs and cake basket. and
to their jewels, perhaps a cameo set, an
earring or two and chatelaine. They always
manage TO bring the term gentlewoman into
conversation, and always speak Of their
rooms at hotel, as if they had a suite of a
dozen at least. Better people are not ex-
empt from the same foible of putting the
largest name to their belongings 1t strikes
one as part of that amiable pretension
which is part of nature i'm such book-bred
women, when Mrs. Hawthorne persists in
writing of her drawing-room. even in the
red cottage among the Berkshire hills. and
the plain rented house in Salem. 1t was of
a piece with her perpetual clarifying of
Hawthone'S ''god-like head ''divine
brow" and ''kingly majesty even when he
passed the bread''-part of the dedication
of themselves and their belongings which
alone can suit the aspirations of over-strung
women.