“Shut in from all the world without We sat the clean-winged hearth about, Content to let the north wind roar In baffled rage at pane and door, While the red logs before us beat The frost line back with tropic heat; And ever, when a louder blast Shook beam and rafter as it passed, The merrier up its roaring draught The great throat of the chimney laughed. The house-dog on his paws outspread Laid to the fire his drowsy head, The cat’s dark silhouette on the wall A couchant tiger’s seemed to fall, And, for the winter fireside meet, Between the andiron’s straddling feet The mug of cider simmered slow, The apples sputtered in a row. And, close at hand, the basket stood With nuts from brown October’s wood. What matter how the night behaved? What matter how the north wind raved? Blow high, blow low, not all its snow Could quench our hearth-fire’s ruddy glow.” For the sake of restfulness to the eye, the walls and carpet should be neutral in tone, making a good background to the family figures; the wall paper being of a good all-overish pattern that will not detract from pictures that may hang on it, and the carpet or rug well mixed, of not too loud a pattern, and without strong contrasts of light and dark. Blue wall papers are hard to deal with, but creams, fawns, soft greenish or olive-grays, and simple leaf patterns with slight variations of color or shade are all good for walls that are to be hung with pictures, as a sitting room should be. Common butchers’ paper, put on in sheets, the better textured cartridge paper, or sheathing paper with a pretty variation introduced by way of frieze or dado are all restful to the eye and good for the sitting room walls. The greens used should not be sharp and crude, but should be modified, making them yellowish, bluish, or grayish. So with reds, which will be better yellowish, slightly bluish (not purplish), or brownish; and yellows which must be modified into creams, old-golds, or fawns. This rule is for large surfaces. A little pure, bright color can be introduced here and there by way of decoration, and must appear somewhere in the room if it is to have a cheerful look, but wait till your pictures are hung before you introduce much brilliant color. It may take the life out of them. Picture-rods are a great convenience, and, after the first expense, save much trouble, and much marring of walls by driving nails. The picture-rod should run below the frieze, and a box of picture-hooks of suitable size for the rods should be kept ready to hand, and picture-wire so that a new painting or engraving when it comes home may find its place at once and not stand on the floor for a month waiting till the master can drive a nail. As for the wall decorations, there should be a looking-glass for family convenience either in this parlor or the entry way (the