let us have books, not a lot of books, but books that are friends with
whom one may spend a comforting hour anywhere; books that have power to
charm away the gloom of discontent, books to lend gayety to festal days.

Rugs and draperies a few, those you find satisfying to your sense of
color, of design, and with which you feel at home. Ugly tables, chairs,
and "sofas" disappear under an Indian shawl. A Persian or a Navajo blanket
covers a multitude of aesthetic sins. Only let these harmonize with each
other, let them be chosen once for all to go in company; then if they are
distributed, it will not matter; but in any case avoid the "museum" look
given by mere collecting. Alas! these are expensive articles, and the
young people may not be able to get all at once. Let society then turn
over a new leaf in the wedding-present line, and cease this senseless
giving of cut-glass and silver to those who may go to a mining-camp in the
Rockies or to Mexico, or even into a ten-by-twelve New York apartment.
Let there be a committee--we are so fond of committees--to receive
contributions in a money-bank or in sealed envelopes, and then when all is
collected, let this committee scour the shops for articles of value, and
when found consult the bridal pair as to their preferences. The choice may
be made of one or more, as the money permits. The particular gift will
still be a surprise and yet of permanent value. Lace and embroideries are
always good, but let the waste of money on the "latest" in orange-knives,
oyster-plates, go up higher, that is, to the class with money for
conspicuous waste, if it must still exist, but let sensible people be
sensible, and not require the young folks to live up to their hopes for
future advancement. Wedding gifts are meant to be kindly help to a young
housewife, not a burden which drags her down to the level of a drudge. But
if the house is surely their own, and in the country, there will be
shelves to fill and walls to cover; _then_ is the opportunity for
individual gifts of china, glass, and pictures.