_Mrs. M._ Those delicately-furnished rooms grow shabby and faded very soon when lighted and used freely. _Frank B._ You see we come back to my notion that in order to live elegantly one must have a house furnished in a certain solid, old-fashioned way. _Philip M._ Exactly. Nothing is more inelegant than being over-fine. True elegance consists in the fitting of our surroundings to our needs. There is no elegance in extravagant furniture, which must claim the first place in one's thoughts and forbid real comfort and ease. I don't spend many days at home in the course of the year, but when I am in the house Jenny has a bad time of it, and actually suffers for her chairs and sofa. I like to "glorify the room," as Sidney Smith used to say. I _will_ have light everywhere; I _will_ have the good of my furniture: if the fire is too hot to bear, I will put a screen in front of it; if the screen is too fine, it is direct impertinence to me: I consider myself more precious than the screen. _Frank B._ Speaking of Sidney Smith, he had good views respecting household comfort. Every guest in his house was formally introduced to a particular easy-chair, table and reading-lamp in the parlor, and informed that said chair, table and lamp were to be sacred to his or her individual use so long as he or she remained. _Philip M._ Now, that was a man's idea. Men are the only judges of what is pleasant and convenient in a house: women know nothing whatever about it. _Mrs. M._ (sarcastically). Oh dear! no!--nothing at all! _Philip M._ Women always want to save in essentials that they may waste in non-essentials. If a woman orders a dinner--that is, unless she has had a long and valuable experience under some sensible man's directions--she will stint you in everything except entrées and dessert. _Mrs. M._ For shame! Women are so lectured, so tutored, about extravagance, that they feel the necessity of making their money go as far as it can. Most of us experience a positive sense of guilt when we assume a masculine prerogative and insist upon having the best of things. _Philip M._ Indeed! So far as my limited experience goes-- _Mrs. M._ It is all very well to be sarcastic about us poor women, when you know all the time that you are dependent upon us for everything that makes a house pretty and cheerful. You men know just one thing about furniture--how to spoil it; and one thing about meals--how to eat them. As to knowing how to live, that is wholly a feminine accomplishment. _Frank B._ I quite agree with you, dear Mrs. Markham, but then how few people do live! _Mrs. M._ My instinct tells me what you mean--that there is either vacuity or an air of bustle and haste about our lives; that we waste our strength upon what is not worth having when it is attained; that we are never satisfied with to-day, but are always longing for the morrow; that we surround ourselves with beautiful things, but fail to get the worth of them in improved ideas and culture.