Fasten the edges of the side cushions to the boxes with gimp braid and tacks. Make a deep plaiting of the cretonne and tack it across the front of the large box. When there is a lid a narrow plaiting must be tacked across its front edge, which will, when the box is closed, lap over the top of the deeper plaiting.
That this combination of window-seat and shelves is both comfortable and convenient, one may easily imagine, and that it adds not a little to the furnishing of a room, we leave to our illustration to show.
CHAPTER XL.
SOMETHING ABOUT MANTEL-PIECES AND FIRE-PLACES.
THE spirit of hospitality and comfort presides over the ruddy blaze of an open fire; yet, as we gather cosily around and bask in the delightful warmth and radiance, its cheerful influence is too often retarded by its very unattractive surroundings. This lovely household spirit should have a more fitting habitation than the one frequently accorded it. The fire-place should at least be pleasant to look upon, and not depend wholly upon the bright fire to make it inviting.
The ordinary marble and marbleized slate or iron mantel-pieces are the reverse of beautiful, but they may be very much improved at the expense of a small outlay of money, time, and trouble.
The examples we give here of the treatment of commonplace mantel-pieces are simple, and can easily be managed by the girls themselves, with but trifling aid from a carpenter.