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traceabletotheoneprimitivefolly.
Therecouldbenothingmoredirectlyoffensivetotheeyeofanartist
thantheinteriorofwhatistermedintheUnitedStates—thatistosay,
inAppallachia—awell-furnishedapartment.Itsmostusualdefect
isawantofkeeping.Wespeakofthekeepingofaroomaswewould
ofthekeepingofapicture—forboththepictureandtheroomare
amenabletothoseundeviatingprincipleswhichregulateallvarieties
ofart;andverynearlythesamelawsbywhichwedecideonthehigher
meritsofapainting,sufficefordecisionontheadjustment
ofachamber.
Awantofkeepingisobservablesometimesinthecharacterofthe
severalpiecesoffurniture,butgenerallyintheircoloursormodes
ofadaptationtouseVeryoftentheeyeisoffendedbytheirinartistic
arrangement.Straightlinesaretooprevalent—toouninterruptedly
continued—orclumsilyinterruptedatrightangles.Ifcurvedlines
occur,theyarerepeatedintounpleasantuniformity.Byundue
precision,theappearanceofmanyafineapartmentisutterlyspoiled.
Curtainsarerarelywelldisposed,orwellchoseninrespecttoother
decorations.Withformalfurniture,curtainsareoutofplace;and
anextensivevolumeofdraperyofanykindis,underanycircumstance,
irreconcilablewithgoodtaste—theproperquantum,aswellasthe
properadjustment,dependinguponthecharacterofthegeneraleffect.
Carpetsarebetterunderstoodoflatethanofancientdays,but
westillveryfrequentlyerrintheirpatternsandcolours.Thesoulofthe
apartmentisthecarpet.Fromitarededucednotonlythehuesbutthe
formsofallobjectsincumbent.Ajudgeatcommonlawmay
beanordinaryman;agoodjudgeofacarpetmustbeagenius.Yet
wehavehearddiscoursingofcarpets,withtheair“d’unmoutonqui
reve,”fellowswhoshouldnotandwhocouldnotbeentrustedwiththe
managementoftheirownmoustaches.Everyoneknowsthatalarge
floormayhaveacoveringoflargefigures,andthatasmallonemust
haveacoveringofsmall—yetthisisnotalltheknowledgeinthe
world.Asregardstexture,theSaxonyisaloneadmissible.Brussels
isthepreterpluperfecttenseoffashion,andTurkeyistasteinitsdying
agonies.Touchingpattern—acarpetshouldnotbebedizzenedoutlike
aRiccareeIndian—allredchalk,yellowochre,andcock’sfeathers.
Inbrief—distinctgrounds,andvividcircularorcycloidfigures,
ofnomeaning,arehereMedianlaws.Theabominationofflowers,
