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PHILOSOPHYOFFURNITURE.
Intheinternaldecoration,ifnotintheexternalarchitectureoftheir
residences,theEnglisharesupreme.TheItalianshavebutlittle
sentimentbeyondmarblesandcolours.InFrance,melioraprobant,
deteriorasequuntur—thepeoplearetoomucharaceofgadabouts
tomaintainthosehouseholdproprietiesofwhich,indeed,theyhave
adelicateappreciation,oratleasttheelementsofapropersense.The
Chineseandmostoftheeasternraceshaveawarmbutinappropriate
fancy.TheScotcharepoordecorists.TheDutchhave,perhaps,
anindeterminateideathatacurtainisnotacabbage.InSpaintheyare
allcurtains—anationofhangmen.TheRussiansdonotfurnish.The
HottentotsandKickapoosareverywellintheirway.TheYankees
alonearepreposterous.
Howthishappens,itisnotdifficulttosee.Wehavenoaristocracy
ofblood,andhavingthereforeasanatural,andindeedasaninevitable
thing,fashionedforourselvesanaristocracyofdollars,thedisplay
ofwealthhasheretotaketheplaceandperformtheofficeofthe
heraldicdisplayinmonarchicalcountries.Byatransitionreadily
understood,andwhichmighthavebeenasreadilyforeseen,wehave
beenbroughttomergeinsimpleshowournotionsoftasteitself.
Tospeaklessabstractly.InEngland,forexample,nomereparade
ofcostlyappurtenanceswouldbesolikelyaswithus,tocreate
animpressionofthebeautifulinrespecttotheappurtenances
themselves—oroftasteasregardstheproprietor:—thisforthereason,
first,thatwealthisnot,inEngland,theloftiestobjectofambition
asconstitutinganobility;andsecondly,thatthere,thetruenobility
ofblood,confiningitselfwithinthestrictlimitsoflegitimatetaste,
ratheravoidsthanaffectsthatmerecostlinessinwhichaparvenu
rivalrymayatanytimebesuccessfullyattempted.
Thepeoplewillimitatethenobles,andtheresultisathorough
diffusionoftheproperfeeling.ButinAmerica,thecoinscurrentbeing
thesolearmsofthearistocracy,theirdisplaymaybesaid,ingeneral,
tobethesolemeansofthearistocraticdistinction;andthepopulace,
lookingalwaysupwardformodels,areinsensiblyledtoconfoundthe
twoentirelyseparateideasofmagnificenceandbeauty.Inshort,the
costofanarticleoffurniturehasatlengthcometobe,withus,nearly
thesoletestofitsmeritinadecorativepointofview—andthistest,
onceestablished,hasledthewaytomanyanalogouserrors,readily
