Furniture.

come , as it were , and be the salve which the Romans presented to the first glances of their guests . The ornaments should be co-ordinate and yet subordinate to tbe general effect , No one of them should attract attention from the rest , nor should they exhibit qualities calculated to inspire a wish to examine them in detail . Their function is not to arrest the attention of the passer-by or to induce him to loiter , but simply to convey to him a general sense of ease , wealth , and well-being , without

occupying Ms mind by any special indication thereof . We do not require to be spoken at by a man ' s wealth , nor to have evidences of it obtruded on our notice , for that we esteem a vulgarity ancl a source of vexatious comparison , as well as a cause for envy , if we happen to be poor . AVe desire rather to feel the effects of his riches through the enjoyments he procures for us by their means . Barely do we ' see the character iven to a

diningproper g room , which should be that of quiet and geniality . The pervading colours , which should he neither hot nor cold , are often oppressively hot , as though it were sought to raise the temperature of the diners to fever heat . Taking , for example , an ordinary middle-class house , it will often be found that , under the idea of obtaining an air of warmth ancl comfort , the curtains are redthe walls are decorated with crimson embossed

, flock paper , the predominating colour in the carpet is red , the chairs and sofa are covered with morocco , ancl the mahogany of the furniture is of the same hue . AA'hatever relief there may be is obtained by the gilded formes of pictures ancl looking-glasses , the latter stuck up wherever they can find a place—over the mantel-piece , between windows , in the backs of sideboards , ancl opposite the

fire-place . On the Continent thoy may be seen let into the panels of doors . Mirrors , moderately ancl appropriately used , are effective means of decoration , producing a light aud cheerful effect ; but employed , as they too often are , in profusion , they are elements of disturbance and unrest , light is reflected to where the eye looks for shadow ; ancl if for change or relief one looks from what is immediately before and about—from the table ancl the faces of one ' s neighbours—the same is reflected from all sides , and the eye , like Noah ' s clove , wanders to and fro , seeking in vain a place of rest . Then again , pictures on the

walls , if they are works of art , the trifles which goby the name of ornaments and nicknacks which people love to strew about , are all causes of what our neighbours term distraction . They excite the attention of the mind to observation and inquiry , instead of encouraging it to repose . The fire-place , which is a point of attraction , is , from some unreasonable whim of fashion , of black marble , or else of dark serpentine . No gastronome who cared for his digestionhis appetiteand bodily comfortwould

, , , eat a second time in such an apartment , for the genius of Caremo would be lost upon him , and the highest efforts of fineart cookery would procure no more enjoyment to the sense than the ordinary doings of a common kitchen wench . How differently the ancients , who had a proper reverence for the art of feeding and an intelligent appreciation of cookery , fitted up ancl ordonnaneed the triclinium ! In their dining-rooms the

pervading idea was that of repose . Hyperpenestration shed a calm and equable light over the apartment . The entrances were closed by draperies , that afforded all the colour that was required for contrast and effect ; and the decorations of the walls were frescoes , tinted flat or architectural , of Ceres , Pomona , ancl Vertumnus bearing the fruits of the earth . Instead of these , we decorate our dining-rooms with pictorial representations of

the creatures we may happen to be feeding on—dead game , hunting scenes , poultry yards , ancl cattle pieces—and , in some instances , with battle pieces , lurid with fire , and filled with maimed and bleeding bodies , as though wo were anthvopophagists . If , as it often happens , the room is so filled with furniture as to afford insufficient room for attendants to pass , and the table so crowded that the guests elbow one anotherthe evil

, effects of the apartment are augmented . They rise from table heated , all excitement , and the nerves high strung , in consequence of attention having been diverted and the faculties occupied , instead of being allowed to remain quiescent while the stomach was performing its grateful functions . If an occasional visitor suffers to this extent , what must be the condition of the unhappy inmates who are doomed to undergo the same infliction

every day ? Is it to be wondered at if they are irritable ? AA earied of the common style of dining-room furniture and decoration , some heads of families have sought relief and variety in the use of Gothic or Elizabethan forms . AA e can call up the picture of one so fitted before us . The walls are papered with

Furniture.

a dark chocolate paper , dotted here and there with gilt fleur-de lis . The sideboard is carved into projecting knobs , points , ancl crooks , as though specially designed to contuse the limbs and catch the dresses of guests . The chairs are too heavy to move , are high-backed and straight , so as to afford no support to the body , and they also are carved into instruments of torture . The covers , of Utrecht velvet , cause an uncomfortable sensation to the sitter , and set the teeth of some on edge . The woodwork

of the doors and shutters is dark , and so are the looking-glass and picture frames . Every article of furniture has points and angles , which oblige one to be constantly on his guard to avoid bodily injury . The whole aspect is dismal and gloomy in the extreme , and the sensation of relief which one experiences on leaving is comparable to that of a poor wretch on being released from a chamber of the inquisition . The latest novelty in the shape of seats aro the Cromwellian chairsand nothing more

, abominable and atrocious was ever designed . Heavy , square , angulated frames , and with seats of bright scarlet , they must be the invention of some wretched misanthrope who wishes to see men dyspeptic . Chairs are intended to be moveable ; they should , therefore , be not too heavy for the strength of a person of ordinary physical force to lift ancl carry easily without exertion . 1 . or the same reasonthey should afford tho means of handling ; instead

, of -which they present nothing to lay hold of that is not carved into angles , ancl consequently disagreeable to touch . The artcanon that ornament should never interfere with usefulness is universally admitted ; and Mr . Redgrave pointed out , ' on the occasion of the ' 51 Exhibition , how the famous St . Hubert hunting- knife was defective , through the handle being carved in

high relief , and thereby rendered inconvenient to employ for the purpose it was intended to serve . Chairs too heavy to ! lift , presenting no plain , service for the hand to grasp , but , in place , many pointed projections to catch ancl tear the dress , are absurd ancl in bad taste . It should always be borne in mind that no article of furniture should present angles , or junctions of right lines that are likely to come in contact with the person . Selfevident as is this propositionit is surprising how often it is

, violated , more particularly by French upholsterers in designs for bedsteads—precisely the objects one would expect would would carefully avoid presenting angles that the head might come in contact with . As it is only in very rare cases that furniture is designed for a particular house , it hecon-. es all the more difficult to fit up a room with taste , and to give it an air of freshness and origi

nality , except by calling in the aid of colour , and in the addition of objects for purely ornamental effect . Furniture is made to suit all kinds of rooms , and to accord with ail sorts of decoration , and for this reason cannot exhibit originality or character except at the risk of being unsuitable for general use . It is , therefore , not desirable to aim at a high artistic design , or to spend time , thought , and labour in elaborate decoration . The simpler the formsancl less pretentious the ornamentationtho

, , better ; not but what the outlines should be as elegant as it is possible to design them . Nor would there be any chance of such designs being vulgarized because of their being used . The artistic beauty and grace of the outline of an Etruscan . vase remain the same , notwithstanding it was employed for utensils of the commonest use , and no matter whether the material was coarse or fine . —Building News .

Structures In The Sea.

STRUCTURES IN THE SEA .

AT tho meeting of the Institution of Civil Engineers , on the 31 st ult ., John Fowler , Esq ., Vice-President , in the chair , the Paper read was ou " Structures in the Sea , without Coffer Dams ; with a Description of the Works of the New Albert Harbours at Greenock , by Mr . D , Miller . It was stated that the immediate object of thio Paper was to treut of the various methods of constructing the foundations of

quays , walls , piers , or breakwaters , for the formation of docks and harbours , in deep water ; and to describe works of this kind which have been carried out on principles different to those usually practised , ' and to point out the further application of those principles to other structures of a similar nature . The plans which had chiefly prevailed were , founding upon piling carried up to about the level of low water , constructing within caissons or coffer-dams , or building under water by means of diving apparatus . Instances of the failure of the first of these