I have seen very ugly rooms on which people had spent heaps of money, and there are lovely ones which have cost their owners very little beyond good taste and the exercise of common-sense and care. In the first place, cleanliness in a room is in itself a great beauty. Make war on every bit of dust, every cobweb, every speck and stain. A perfectly clean room, although quite bare of ornament, is inviting, and when its owner puts in her little individual touches, her books on a hanging shelf, which her brother can make for her, or which she can buy for forty or fifty cents, her favorite engravings, cut from illustrated papers if she chooses and simply tacked on the wall, her pot of primroses on the window-sill, her toilet table draped with white net over pink silesia, her plain scrim curtains at the window tied back with bits of ribbon, the room will be dainty and pretty enough to please the most fastidious. If you have not much to do with, manage with what you have, is a good rule for girls to follow.
A carpet is by no means a necessity in any sleeping-room. In fact, many people prefer a stained or painted floor, with a rug which may be easily lifted and shaken. A small wooden rocking-chair, a table or stand for a candlestick, a two-leaved screen, which you can make yourself, and a little rack over your washstand for your towels, and then, with a nicely made bed, the room will be complete.
One's own room is so dear to every girl that I do not wonder she prizes it. One must have hours when it is a pleasure to be alone. One likes to be by herself at times, to think and read and plan. After a little space of solitude we go back to others rested and cheered. Where sisters share the same apartment, each should have her corner, divided from the other part of the room either by curtains or by screens, so that when they prefer to be alone they may be so. In some schools which I have known there are twenty-minute or half-hour intervals during the day, when every pupil is required to be by herself, and in home life girls who can should try to adopt a similar rule.
And cannot you contrive, girlies, to give your dear mothers the same chance to take a rest all by their precious selves every day.
When mamma goes to her chamber and shuts the door, you, I am sure, can take care that the little ones do not disturb her privacy; you can entertain the caller or dispose of the person who comes on a business errand. The mater will gain new life if her daughters secure for her this little daily space, and I am sure they will at least make the effort.
Charlotte Bland.—For an afghan large enough to cover a lounge you will require three pounds of worsted, if you crochet it, as the crochet-needle takes up a great deal of work; a knitted afghan will take less wool, and I think two pounds will be sufficient
Dora T.—If your hands are rough and chapped use cold cream on them at night, and sleep in a loose pair of gloves. An old pair of brother Tom's will answer the purpose. You should be careful to wash your hands in warm water only during cold weather, and to dry them thoroughly before going out. Rose-water and glycerine in equal parts makes a nice lotion for the hands. Rose-water diluted with ordinary rain water is very soothing to the eyes.
Arline.—A white and gold room is very pretty on the sunless side of the house, and it can be easily managed without much expense if you have clever fingers and good taste.
