The evening times., 1898-05-28
RESPECT cH1LDREN's ROOM.
1t Should he So Arranged ms to In
nuence Their Goodness.

nucnce Their Goodness.
Many children, besides being surround
ed by ugly furniture and bad PICTURES
are overwhelmed at Christmas. and on
every other anniversary. by presents not
always selected with a view to the forma-
ton of taste. So long as they are in the
toy age no great harm is done: 1t Is wneh
they are considered old enough to appre-
ciate something pretty for their rooms
that the season of danger begins Par-
ents themselves are often the worse of-
tenders in this respect and the sooner
they begin to give their children presents
which, IL not beautiful. are at least use
full, the sooner will the example be fol-
lowed by relatives and friends. The Sc
lection of such presents. while 1t might
necessitate a little more trouble. need
not lead to greater expense. A good
print may often be bought for the same
price as a poor one. and the money spent
on u china .ornament." in the shape Of q
yellow Leghorn hat, with a kitten cslmb-
ing out of it, would, probably buy good
reproduction of one Of the Tanagra
statuettes. a plaster cast of some French
or Italian bust, or one Of Cantagalli
copies of the Robbia bas-reliefs-any of
which would reveal a world Of unsus-
pected beauty to many a child imprisoned
in a circle Of articles de Paris.
1t is essential that the schoolroom
should be cheerful. Dark colors. besides
necessitating the use of much artificial
light. are depressing to children and con-
sequently out of place in the schoolroom;
white woodwork and walls tinted in
some bright color form the best back
ground for both work and play.
Perhaps the most interesting way OF
decorating the schoolroom Is that which
might be described as the rotation sys-
tenn. To carry out this plan-which re-
quires the cooperation of the children's
teacher-the walls must be tinted in some
light color. such as turquoise blue or
pale green, and cleared of all miscella-
neous adornments. These should then be
replaced by q few carefully chosen
prints, photographs and plaster casts.
representing objects connected with the
children's studies. Let 1t, for instance,
be supposed that the estudies in hand in
clude natural history. botany and the
history of France and England during
the sixteenth century. The subjects
might be respectively illustrated by some
of the clever Japanese outline drawings
of paints and animals. by Holbein's por-
trait of Henry VIII Clouet's OF Charles
TX, and of Elizabeth of Austria. Durer's
etchings of Luther and Erasmus. and
views of some of the principal buildings
erected in France and England during
the sixteenth century.
This plan, of course. necessitates more
trouble and expense than the ordinary
one of giving to the walls Of the school
room a permanent decoration; an ar
rangement which may also be made in
teresting and suggestive, II the childs $
requirements are considered. When casts
and pictures are intended to remain In
place It Is a good idea to choose them at
the outset with q view to the course of
studies likely to be followed. In this way
each object may serve in turn to Illus
trate some phase Of history or art: even
this plan win be found to have a revivi-
flying effect upon the dry bones of ''les-
sons"
Above all, the walls should not be
over-crowded. The Importance of pre-
serving in the schooiroom bare wall
spaces of uniform tint has hitherto been
little considered: but teachers are be-
ginning to understand the value of these
spaces in communicating to the child's
brain a sense Of repose which diminish
es mental and physical restiessness.