architectural picture, decorative and appropriately impersonal,
as the wall decorations should be in a room used merely for
transacting business.

[Illustration: _A Corner of the Same Office_]


Some prefer antiques a bit dilapidated; a missing detail serving as a
hallmark to calm doubts; others insist upon completeness to the eye
and solidity for use; while the connoisseur, with unlimited means,
recognises nothing less than signed sofas and chairs, and other
_objets d'art_. To repeat:--be always on the lookout, remembering that
it is the man who knows the points of a good dog, horse or car who can
pick a winner.

Wonderful reproductions are made in New York City and other cities,
and thousands bought every day. They are beautiful and desirable
pieces of furniture, ornaments or silks; but the lover of the _vrai
antique_ learns to detect, almost at a glance, the lack of that
quality which a fine _old_ piece has. It is not alone that the
materials must be old. There is a certain quality gained from the long
association of its parts. One knows when a piece has "found itself,"
as Kipling would put it. Time gives an inimitable finish to any
surface.

If you are young in years, immature in taste, and limited as to bank
account, you will doubtless go in for a frankly modern room, with
cheerful painted furniture, gay or soft-toned chintzes, and
inexpensive smart floor coverings. To begin this way and gradually to
collect what you want, piece by piece, is to get the most amusement