Evening journal., 1897-09-09
A vALuAeLE sEcREr.
French Women Know How to Give a
Home "A ssCared-For" Look.

requires no comment. The curious way
in which it pervades every little partic-
ular furnishing must strike even the
least casual observer abroad. Such
bright, CHEEKY aspect everything has,
such a cared-for look so different from
our gloomily Indifferent house-fronts.
The houses are like the women-they
can hardly be called pretty, but their
charms are set off with such taste that
they are more attractive than if they
were regular beauties. 1t is not beau
tiful furnishing which creates this eff
feet in French homes, for though ex-
uuisitely fine furniture can be had in
Paris, it is beyond the price of ordinary
households, and the moderate priced is
not nearly so good or so cheap as ours.
One charmingly CHEEKY apartment high
up in a New York fiat house possesses
all this dainty coquetry, and its secret
really lies in the arrangement of flow
ers in the different rooms. The mis-
tress of this bower is a little French
woman, and TO a visitor the other day
she proudly exhibited her "salon gar
den," as she calls her window boxes and
her other floral treasures. A perfect
bank of brightness hid the stove, the
corners of the room were filed with
blossoms, and the windows were gay
with boxes of flowers. Now, the plants
themselves were common enough, and
probably cost but few cents pot at
the Union Square flower market, but
the blending was exquisite and the ar
rangement novel 1t would take too
long to describe the graduatedstands in
the corners of the room, except TO men
ton that the wire supports were COW
cred with long trailing creepers, so
that they looked like banks of verdure.
The window boxes were particularly
| interesting, because the possessors of
cNpensively decorated rooms dislike
the "mess" produced by flowers in
masses. This objection cannot hold
good against the window boxes, for
they can be carried out bodily TO be
trimmed and watered.
Now, outside window boxes are pret-
ty enough from the street, but not at
tractive from the interior Of the room.
Madam had discovered this and had
ordered boxes to fit the inside sills.
The outside ledgss were fitted with
some of similar shape, but of commoner
material, which the weather could not
affect. Those in the interior of the
house matched the furniture, and were
of unpublished satinwood, with an orna-
mental molding of darker wood. y
green-painted tin fitted the inside. but
the popularity Of construction consist
ed in the satinwood rails behind. These
were securely fastened into the boxes
themselves and strengthened by two
cross rails. All the bars terminated in
little knobs of black wood. and the
boxes had feet of the same. This sounds
very simple, and so It was, but the
boxes were beautifully made and well
finished. Any carpenter or handy
man" could make such boxes, but, in-
stead of satinwood, any light wood
could be substituted. though they look
better and last longer II not polished.
The ornamental beading only requires
to be stained to resemble ebony, and
such holdings, in various woods, car
be easily bought. The boxes must be as
perfect as possible. because they are par'
of the furnishing of the room. They
need not be light wood If dark is pre-
5 ferred, as walnut. oak or Honduras ma
p hogany look equally well.
n just at present the inside window
T. boxes described above are riot of pinl
= sweet peas, which run up and over tn
d rails in the most luxurious profusion
l. They were sown in pots and transplant
q ed into the earth of the window boN
! for It is astonishing how well swee
peas grow In warm and sunny room
e Flies. for some reason, hate the flow
II ers and avoid the room in which the
l. are growing. This is a decided advan
It tage for an invalid's sitting room, oi
" indeed, for any place in warm weather
,e Pots of pink, white and red roses fill tn
n. the front Of the box, with their pots sun
,- I'm the earth. One color or harmon
is more effective in window box tha
a mass Of varied tints. Nasturtiums az
hardy, beautiful and Inexpensive, an
III there are dozens of other hardy flower
IS suitable for either the trellis work {
u the box itself.
rn These boxes are not alone summ'
n ornaments. In winter variegated IL
yn can be coaxed and twisted along Il
I'M trellis work, while pots Of green plan
nd can fill the box. In the spring yello
- tulips and acacias can take the place
!. the green things. still keeping the Il
- background during thechilly weathe
do but in summer the pots of ivy must
III taken out and replaced by fowerii
lot ereeper-N. Y Commercial Advertise
err -
In The Uses of Responsibility.
-, Every mother should remember tn
~ the making of her daughter is OF (
'is greater Importance than the admin
ART tration of things in her house, a
ing every daughter should realize that S
in can learn to avoid mistakes only VIII
hat she sees them. She enjoys most seei
in her mothers mistakes, and resolvi
tho that when she has a house she "
49,. "never do So" 4 beginning may
III" made with a small and comparative
unimportant responsibility, and it
to be remembered that responsible
and not mere work is the great thii
ior The very little girl may have tho. Ct