Year: 1877

windows of 'the best roop,' when cheerful
fires burned in the FURNISHED franklin CRATE.
or the highly polished air-tght; when the
hidden glories are all revealed, which are shut
in by the four walls of that sacred apartment
Can't you recollect the feeling of awe which
crept over you as you entered it, feeling
which was first aroused as you were being in
Quoted by the maternal hand into the best
crimson merino dress, and white apron with
its edge of cambric edging? You realized the
importance of the occasion and you felt that
your toilette did honor to it.


In those days the carpet was the important
object in the room. II was the centre of at
traction to the visitors and the fetish of the
housekeepcr She did reverence to it unccas-
ingly. How carefully she excluded every ray
of light, lest by chance the sun, audacious
robber that he is, should steal one bit of color
from it. How solemnly she strewed newspa-
pers over its sacred surface, lest some idle
foot should step thoughtlessly upon it and
how sadly she sighed when etiquette demand
cd that for the sake of the respect which she
owed to company" she should take up the
coverings and give the sun chance for few
hours, on some festival occasion.


Oh, that carpet! vivid in coloring stand
ing out map of red, and green and yellow,
throwing everything else into shade covered
with sprawling figures that meant nothing in
the world, and that certainly never suggested
harmony of proportion and color 1t was
gorgeous, but that was the most that could be
said of it, but that was recommendation
then Thank goodness it isn't now Tastes
have changed, for the better, too, and as peo-
pie arrive at higher degree of culture it will
show in their house-furnishing and their dress
quite as much as in their manner and CONVEX
sation.


All this is apropos of an invitation receiv-
ed to n carpet exhibition at Jordan & Marsh's
rooms They had succeeded in obtaining a
few pieces of old fashioned carpetings, which
they placed beside the carpets of the present,
and invited few friends to see the contrast.
l wonder if the sight of these old carpets
would have affected you as it did me. They
brought to mind ThAnksgivings and Christ
masses long past. l could smell the good things
cooking and felt like dancing about with all
the hungry impotence of child, whose
mouth is watering for the goodies in preparn-
ton. i had little of the old awful feeling
left, and involuntarily looked down to see if
my bronze boots shone properly, if the rufile
of my dress showed underneath my white
apron, and if stockings and apron alike re-
manned spotless had forgotten that was
no longer the romping little girl, whose
clothes were always getting her into difficulty
and disgrace, and was somewhat startled at be-
ing brought back to the stern fact that l was
rather stout very grown up person in a
''bull-back." 1 regretted for moment that
had come to see the carpets


But the modern carpets. Sunshine is the
fashion, and colors are used nowadays which
do not fade when exposed to the ardor of the
suns rays. Soft, dark, subdued shades are
used. in olives and bronzes, browns and grays
with small figures in fate blue, green and the
| dull Egyptian red if yellow is used it is in
one of the tarnished shades. These are the
carpets themselves the brightness is all found
in the borders


The province of the carpet is defined at
last. 1t is not portion of the furniture, it
is like the walls of the room, the medium for
showing the furniture upon. 1t is like the
background TO picture, an important acces-
sorry, without which the picture would be
meaningless, unfinished, but not the picture
itself Many persons in furnishing a house,
fall into the old mistake of considering the
carpet as furniture, and they buy whatever
strikes their fancy, regardless of what is to 60
ON it, Just as some thoughtless women buy a
bonnet because they like it, without reference
to what shall be worn with it. In house fur
nishing or dress, it is never wise to purchase
anything independently of the rest of youI
furniture or wardrobe. | wish | could make
women understand the importance of fitting
things together; there would be more artistic
and harmonious houses In these days it is
by no means difficult matter to select a car
pet that shall be Just what you want, for there
is such a variety to choose from. All houses
have private patterns of their own / wai
shown fifty of these the day visited the old
carpets. There wasn't one that any lady
might not select for beauty of design or color
ing. The tendency is to small Persian or In
dian figures these have been brought in by
the introduction of the Persian and Indian
rug which are so fashionable. With nice car
pets, borders are always used, and they giv'
just the finish that is required. think th'
oldest, most artistic carpet l. ever saw, had
ground of Nile green on which were lotu
leaves and small Egyptian beetles; the borde
was a row of Sphinx's heads on a ground colo
of Egyptian red. Can You fancy the oddit.
of IL? This came to a private order and Their
is but this one carpet in the country.


very convenient and pretty fashion give
| bal etair ~ IA, ha col
or and design, the difference being only in tn
size of the figure, that for the parlor beinl
nearly double the size of that for the hall
There is harmony in this mode of carpetin
that is exceedingly agreeable.


In selecting carpet or carpets for house
not only should the furnishing of room b
considered, but the situation of the room il
light, and the amount of sunshine in it. Th
lighter and SUMMER room is, the cooler an


more subdued should its coloring be; tn
darker the room, the warmer and brighte


should be the decorations. Think for me


ment what the effect would be of carpet j


which there was a great deal of red, in a ROOF
which had a southerly exposure, and was aoOC


ed with sunshine. 1t would be disagreeabl


in the extreme. The northerly light is tn


cold light. If your room faces that way, Sc


lect something which is suggestive of warmth
You've no idea how much it will add to you


comfort remember room which We


once forced to occupy, which had nortl
easterly outlook. 1t was the bleakest cornt


in the house, and might have been made e'
cessively disagreeable but for the quick, a
tistic sense of the mistress of the house, VIII
had carpeted the room with a pretty scarl'


and gray Brussels carpet; the walls were gra