291. Taking a House.

Before taking a house, be careful to calculate that the rent is not too high in proportion to your means; for remember that the rent is a claim that must be paid with but little delay, and that the landlord has greater power over your property than any other creditor. It is difficult to a.s.sign any fixed proportion between income and rental to suit all cases, but a reasonable basis for the settlement of this point may be found in the a.s.sertion that while not less than one-tenth of a man's entire income need be set apart for rent, not more than a sixth, or at the very utmost a fifth should be devoted to this purpose, and this amount ought to include parochial rates and taxes.

292. Having determined the Amount of Rent

which you can afford to pay, be careful to select the best and most convenient house which can be obtained for that sum. And in making that selection let the following matters be carefully considered:

293. First--Carefully regard the Healthfulness of the Situation.

Find out the nature of the sub-soil on which the house stands--for example, a gravel or chalk subsoil is better than a subsoil of clay, because the former admits of a speedy escape of the surplus water in time of heavy and continuous rain, while the latter does not. Avoid the neighbourhood of graveyards, and of factories giving forth unhealthy vapours. Avoid low and damp districts, the course of ca.n.a.ls, and localities of reservoirs of water, gas works, &c. Make inquiries as to the drainage of the neighbourhood, and inspect the drainage and water supply of the premises. A house standing on an incline is likely to be better drained than one standing upon the summit of a hill, or on a level below a hill. Endeavour to obtain a position where the direct sunlight falls upon the house, for this is absolutely essential to health; and give preference to a house the openings of which are sheltered from the north and east winds.

294. Second--Consider the Distance of the House

from your place of occupation: and also its relation to provision markets, and shops in the neighbourhood.

295. Examine the House in Detail.

Having considered these material and leading features, examine the house in detail, carefully looking into its state of repair; notice the windows that are broken; whether the chimneys smoke; whether they have been recently swept; whether the paper on the walls is damaged, especially in the lower parts, and the corners, by the skirtings; whether the locks, bolts, handles of doors, and window fastenings are in proper condition; make a list of the fixtures; ascertain whether all rates and taxes have been paid by the previous tenant, and whether the person from whom you take the house is the original landlord, or his agent or tenant. And do not commit yourself by the signing of any agreement until you are satisfied upon all these points, _and see that all has been done which the landlord may have undertaken to do, before you take possession of the house_.

[A BLUNT KNIFE SHOWS A DULL WIFE.]

296. If you are about to Furnish a House,

buy merely enough to get along with at first, and add other things by degrees. It is only by experience that you can tell what will be the wants of your family. If you spend all your money, you will find you have purchased many things you do not actually want, and have no means left to get many things which you do want. If you have enough, and more than enough, to get everything suitable to your situation, do not think you must spend all, you may be able to lay out in furniture, merely because you happen to have it. Begin humbly. As riches increase, it is easy and pleasant to increase in comforts; but it is always painful and inconvenient to decrease. Neatness, tastefulness, and good sense may be shown in the management of a small household, and the arrangement of a little furniture, as well as upon a larger scale. The consideration which many purchase by living beyond their income, and, of course, living upon others, is not worth the trouble it costs. It does not, in fact, procure a man valuable friends, or extensive influence.

297. Carpets.

In buying carpets, as in everything else, those of the best quality are cheapest in the end. As it is extremely desirable that they should look as clean as possible, avoid buying carpeting that has any white in it. Even a very small portion of white interspersed through the pattern will in a short time give a dirty appearance to the whole.

298. A Carpet in which all the Colours are Light

never has a clean, bright effect, from the want of dark tints to contrast and set off the light ones.

299. For a Similar Reason,

carpets whose colours are all of what artists call middle tint (neither dark nor light), cannot fail to look dull and dingy, even when quite new.

300. For a Carpet to be really Beautiful

and in good taste, there should be, as in a picture, a judicious disposal of light and shadow, with a gradation of very bright and of very dark tints; some almost white, and others almost or quite black.

301. The Best Carpets

The most truly chaste, rich, and elegant carpets are those which are of one colour only, the pattern, if pattern it may be called, being formed by a judicious arrangement of every variety of shade of this colour. For instance, a Brussels carpet entirely red; the pattern formed by shades or tints varying from the deepest crimson (almost a black), to the palest pink (almost a white). Also one of green only, shaded from the darkest bottle-green, in some parts of the pattern, to the lightest pea-green in others. Or one in which there is no colour but brown, in all its various gradations, some of the shades being nearly black, others of a light buff.

302. The Curtains, Sofas, &c.,

must be of corresponding colours, that the effect of the whole may be satisfactory to the eye.

303. Colours of Carpets.

Carpets of many gaudy colours are much less in demand than formerly.

Two or three colours only, with the dark and light shades of each, make a very handsome carpet.

304. Hearth-Rug.

If you cannot obtain a Hearth-rug that exactly corresponds with the carpet, get one entirely different; for a decided contrast looks better than a bad match. The hearth-rug, however, should reflect the colour or colours of the carpet if possible.

305. Sheepskin Rugs.

Large rugs of sheepskin, in white, crimson, or black, form comfortable and effective hearth-rugs for a drawing-room or dining-room. In the winter these may be removed and an ordinary woollen rug laid down as long as fires are kept up.

[A BAD BROOM LEAVES A DIRTY ROOM.]

306. Wallpaper.

In choosing paper for a room, avoid that which has a variety of colours, or a large showy figure, as no furniture can appear to advantage with such. Large figured papering makes a small room look smaller, but, on the contrary, a paper covered with a small pattern makes a room look larger, and a striped paper, the stripes running from ceiling to floor, makes a low room look higher.

307. Kitchen Floors.

The best covering for a Kitchen Floor is a thick unfigured oil-cloth, of one colour. Linoleum or kamptulicon is warmer to the feet than the ordinary painted oilcloth.

308. Family Tool Chests.

Much inconvenience and considerable expense might be saved if it were the general custom to keep in every house certain tools for the purpose of performing at home what are called small jobs, instead of being always obliged to send for a mechanic and pay him for executing little things that, in most cases, could be sufficiently well done by a man or boy belonging to the family, if the proper instruments were at hand.

309. The Cost