under the cornice--garlands of roses on a gold ground;
it would tell wonderfully in a white room."

The Colonel returned less courageously to the charge.
"I presume you'll want Eastlake mantel-shelves and tiles?"
He meant this for a sarcastic thrust at a prevailing foible
of the profession.

"Well, no," gently answered the architect. "I was
thinking perhaps a white marble chimney-piece, treated
in the refined Empire style, would be the thing for that room."

"White marble!" exclaimed the Colonel. "I thought
that had gone out long ago."

"Really beautiful things can't go out. They may
disappear for a little while, but they must come back.
It's only the ugly things that stay out after they've
had their day."

Lapham could only venture very modestly, "Hard-wood floors?"

"In the music-room, of course," consented the architect.

"And in the drawing-room?"

"Carpet. Some sort of moquette, I should say. But I
should prefer to consult Mrs. Lapham's taste in that matter."

"And in the other rooms?"