The herald., 1898-11-04
COMFORTS IN A FLAT !:
+ r + + + + + 1. + + + r. + + + + + + + 4

pleu WnOle mouse, tue llrst SeussttlOIl Is oIis
of infinite satisfaction and relief. Every
thing is so convenient, so compact There
is no running up and down stairs-one has
only to step from ones bedroom into the
drawing-room, and cook and kitchen are
almost as easily reached. Indeed, the most
delightful thing about the new domicile il
the emancipation from slavery to servitude
You feel reclSlcssly independent. Cookinl
on the model gas range is merely like chat
ing-dish cookery magnited. So many
things may be bought ready cooked, and
the janitor's wife stands ready to wash the
dishes. If a more elaborate meal is want
ed you can telephone and have what yor
wish sent in from the nearest restaurant
or, if there is one attached to the building
there is nothing easier than to dscend and
order a la carte. The snow may drift tC
the second story windows, the water may
food the basement, it is no concern ol
yours. The price OF coal is Il matter OF nc
moment to you, and "P. 4 II. may charge
what they like, and dawdle all day; If gas
or water pipes are out of order you have only
to send for the janitor and you are quit OF
all responsibility; If he cannot remedy the
matter himself he will stand over the plumb
er until that functionary does the work.
BY AND BY DISADVANTAGES DAWN
BY and by, however, you discover that
advantages, and wonder whether everything
is not too close to everything else. Iot
have portieres instead OF doors; ergo, ne
privacy. Every whisper, every step in the
bedroom is heard in the drawing-room, ant
vice versa. Then it is an incubus to fee
that every time you pass between the por
there's you must stop to see that they are
drawn, so as completely to cover the aper
ture. You soon make the discovery that
l-NI
pretty kitchen without scenting the whole
house. Onions or corned beef and cabbag,
are an actual sin against your neghbor; they
may easily be tabooed but it is annoying tC
discover that the frying of fish or OF ham anC
eggs must be done with all the window.
open, albeit the mercury is at zero. If you
make chile sauce or sweet pickles everyone
in the building is cognizant of the fact.
Then, too, You must learn to be careful
what you say, and where, since converse
tions carried on near an open window are
distinctly audible across the narrow wei
upon which your windows, as well as those
of your neighbor, face, so that the words
spoken in your bedchamber may be heard
upon the housetop next door.
NEW THINGS BRING DISMAY
You learn to be content with what you
have, yet the knowledge is not unmixed
happiness, philosophers TO the contrary not
withstanding. Your model fiat, with all the
latest improvements, is like case of in
struments. Unless everything is kept in
place nothing can be found, and everything
is in confusion. Order is heavens first
law but order becomes irksome when it is
When your husband, thinking
to give you pleasant surprise, sends home
a lovely piece OF furniture you receive il
with dismay-there is absolutely no place
in which to put it. Even an extra chair
becomes an incubus, and the acquisition of
a new gown is not the delightful thing it
used to be; wardrobes and closets are al
ready overflowing, and you fear to crush it.
1t is no longer JOY to acquire brc-a-brac
you have no room for superfluites, and are
content to admire pretty things without
purchasing. However, you astonish your
self by the amount of belongings which you
can bestow effectively. Ii you have any
inventive genius whatever the emergency
brings it out. 1ou cover your walls with
brackets and rejoice at the space afforded
for pictures. One clever woman had a
broad shelf put around her drawing room,
just below the picture line. 1t was effective
and held quantities of pottery and objects
de vertu, and room for something else could
always be found by rearranging the things
already on the shelf.
BEAUTIES OF A BOX LOUNGE
There is no piece of furniture so desirable
in flat as a box lounge. For, in the first
place it makes charming divan upon which
any number of cushions can be piled, and in
the second it is an excellent and a roomy
for dry goods of any sort. Dress
skirts especially may be laid in it at full
length, and the most airy creationl of tulle
or chiffon is safe if you have sticks like those
Al l-ar hon ,fr
suits which are to be shipped by express.
They, the sticks, are slender, but are made
of tough, yet flexible wood, which bends
like bow and spring back as readily. They
fit diagonally, from corner to corner, keep
ing one gown from weighing too heavily
upon another.
Box seats, which are smaller, answer ad-
mirably for shirt waists, or for any other
SORT OF clothing. The house furnishing
stores advertise them Tor holding children's
toys, and they make convenient catch-alls
for odds and ends, for which you are at a
loss to find place-a sort of standing rag
bag. You may buy them ready made, but
anyone who can handle hammer can make
one herself. Any box, the size required,
with a good lid, will serve as foundation
Line with slesia in pink, blue, cream or any
color you fancy, over an interlining of a
single layer OF cotton wadding, fastening
the lining firmly with tacks. The lid must
be hinged, and should be padded for seat.
Cover with cretonne or chintZ, or with any
thing you fancy, to suit the furnishings of
he room. The covering may be put on plain
and smooth or laid in scant plaits, as you
prefer. Before doing this, cover the wood
with burlap or any old material
you have on hand-an old sheet, for ex-
ample.
SOME EASILY MADE ECONVENIENCES
One Of the splint clothes-b baskets sold for
A trihe at the large stores makes a most con-
venient receptacle for unfinished work.
Line and cover with cambric or clNntz to
prevent the splints from tearing the delicate
abrics it may contain, and from catching
n basting threads to the detriment of the
work. Such basket will hold great deal,
md may be placed on high shelf, out OF
reach, when not in use.
Pockets like those which experienced trav-
elers tack on the wall of their stateerooms on
ocean steamers, or in larger size like shoe
pockets, will be found on any and every
closet door. Nailed on the inside, they take
Up next to no room and hold any small ar
ticles for which YOU want place, from shoes
and gloves to hairpins. A strip of wood
holding IA dozen or more clothes hooks nailed
On the wall in the back hall affords good
place to hang waterproof and wet skirts,
and row OF shoe pockets, fatened to the
below, will serve to hold your
overshoes.
The storeroom in the basement or attic,
which is one of the perquisites attached to
Hat, is more or less inaccessible, making a
visit to it disagreeable, not to say difficult
Therefore, instead of two or three large
,runks, it is better to have several small ones
for storing things not in constant USE Label
each trunk clearly with your name and it's
2, 3, etc.-written on white pa
per and pasted on with flour paste. Then
ieep list Of the articles in each trunk. ac.