engravings such as
you can afford — only not stop-gaps, but real works of art
— on the wall ; or else the wall itself must be ornamented
with some beautiful and restful pattern. We shall also
want a vase or two to put flowers in, which latter you
must have sometimes, especially if you live in a town.
Then there will be the fireplace, of course, which in our
climate is bound to be the chief object in the room.
f That is all we shall want, especially if the floor be
good ; if it is not — as, by the way, in a modern house it is
FURNISHING 279
pretty well certain not to be — I admit that a small carpet
which can be bundled out of the room in two minutes will
be useful : and we must also take care that it is beautiful,
or it will annoy us terribly. Now, unless we are
musical and need a piano, in which case, as far as beauty
is concerned, we are in a bad way, that is quite all we
want, and we can add very little to these necessaries
without troubling ourselves and hindering our work, our
thought, and our rest.' After this description, think how
very rare it is to see a room on these lines at all. One of
the most disfiguring and vulgar forms of modern
ornamentation is sticking about quantities of photographs
— masses of men and women of our acquaintance, or
royalties and celebrities. I do not mean that we should
not have one or two framed photographs, of dear friends or
relations ; for certainly, in a small degree, photographs of
those we love do fulfil Dr. Johnson's description of
portrait-painting : ' That art which is employed in diffus-
ing friendship, in reviving tenderness, in quickening the
affections of the absent and continuing the presence of
the dead.'
Mr. Morris spoke of the fireplace as such an im-
portant thing in our climate ; it is so indeed. One of the
first essentials is that it should not smoke or be ugly, and
another is that it should give out much heat with little
consumption of coal. I consider the greatest increase of
delight possible in any kind of fireplace, no matter of what
size or make, is to have a very broad hearth of tiles, or
bricks, or stone, or marble, or anything of that sort that is
hard and fireproof, and then do away with every form of
fender or raised rim round the hearth. People have an
idea that this is not safe ; but that is an entire mistake.
To be able to stand easily on the hot tiles is an immense
joy added to life, and one much appreciated by men.
Even for children instead of tumbling over the low fender,
28o POT-POURRI FROM A SURREY GARDEN
Page 165
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engravings such as
you can afford — only not stop-gaps, but real works of art
— on the wall ; or else the wall itself must be ornamented
with some beautiful and restful pattern. We shall also
want a vase or two to put flowers in, which latter you
must have sometimes, especially if you live in a town.
Then there will be the fireplace, of course, which in our
climate is bound to be the chief object in the room.
f That is all we shall want, especially if the floor be
good ; if it is not — as, by the way, in a modern house it is
FURNISHING 279
pretty well certain not to be — I admit that a small carpet
which can be bundled out of the room in two minutes will
be useful : and we must also take care that it is beautiful,
or it will annoy us terribly. Now, unless we are
musical and need a piano, in which case, as far as beauty
is concerned, we are in a bad way, that is quite all we
want, and we can add very little to these necessaries
without troubling ourselves and hindering our work, our
thought, and our rest.' After this description, think how
very rare it is to see a room on these lines at all. One of
the most disfiguring and vulgar forms of modern
ornamentation is sticking about quantities of photographs
— masses of men and women of our acquaintance, or
royalties and celebrities. I do not mean that we should
not have one or two framed photographs, of dear friends or
relations ; for certainly, in a small degree, photographs of
those we love do fulfil Dr. Johnson's description of
portrait-painting : ' That art which is employed in diffus-
ing friendship, in reviving tenderness, in quickening the
affections of the absent and continuing the presence of
the dead.'
Mr. Morris spoke of the fireplace as such an im-
portant thing in our climate ; it is so indeed. One of the
first essentials is that it should not smoke or be ugly, and
another is that it should give out much heat with little
consumption of coal. I consider the greatest increase of
delight possible in any kind of fireplace, no matter of what
size or make, is to have a very broad hearth of tiles, or
bricks, or stone, or marble, or anything of that sort that is
hard and fireproof, and then do away with every form of
fender or raised rim round the hearth. People have an
idea that this is not safe ; but that is an entire mistake.
To be able to stand easily on the hot tiles is an immense
joy added to life, and one much appreciated by men.
Even for children instead of tumbling over the low fender,
28o POT-POURRI FROM A SURREY GARDEN