Letters to a Daughter and A Little Sermon to School Girls | Page 7

things may seem trifles, but they are not, for they are the
outward expression of an inward grace; all these marks really reveal
character. An untidy girl may be talented and good-tempered, but she
lacks one of the most essential qualities for gaining and retaining
respect and affection.
The room of any young girl is a great revealer of character in respect to
real refinement and purity of taste, especially if one comes upon it
somewhat unawares. Not very long since, I was called by unexpected
circumstances to spend a day or two at the house of a friend, where,
owing to the severe illness of two members of the family, the spare
rooms were not available and I was without delay or warning shown to
the private room of a young lady member of the family. It was a low
attic room with a deep dormer window, and, seen unfurnished, might
be regarded as unattractive in size and shape. But the impression it
made as I entered and surveyed it was of refinement, beauty, repose,
and purity. The furniture was plain, but the bed was made up so
beautifully, and looked so inviting in its snowy covering that I did not
notice whether the bedstead was fine or plain. The carpet and papering
of the room were of light neutral tints, and the broad sloping walls
which made the sides of the dormer window were ornamented, the one
with a long branch of dogwood blossoms, the other with graceful

groupings of poppies and swamp grass, painted thereon by the
occupant of the room herself. A wicker rocking-chair had a cushion of
bright-colored satine firmly tied in, and matching the ribbons which
were drawn through the bordering interstices of the chair. A small table,
another chair, a footstool, and two or three simple pictures on the walls,
along with wash-stand and bureau, completed the furnishing of a room
that instantly attracted and delighted the beholder. But the impression
above all others that the room gave was of perfect purity and sweetness
and health; and this was due to the beautiful tidiness and cleanliness
everywhere apparent. Wash-stand and bureau were in perfect order,
with their white mats, clean towels, and every accessory of a refined
lady's toilet. The wide deep closet was filled with the appurtenances of
a young lady's wardrobe, but was strikingly neat and attractive. Shoes
and slippers were laid neatly in a certain place on the shelves; articles
of clothing that are usually difficult to dispose of in an orderly manner,
all had an appropriate place, and so neatly and tidily was everything
arranged that one felt sure the purity and order extended to the most
secret recesses of every place in the room. There was no danger in any
direction of coming upon anything that was not in keeping with the
room of a refined and delicate young girl. The drawers of bureau and
wash-stand, as I happened to have opportunity to observe them, were as
sweet and clean and orderly as the rest of the room. I felt better
acquainted with the character of that young girl after two days
occupation of her beautifully kept and appointed room than a year of
ordinary acquaintance would have given me.
And while I am on the subject of an orderly and daintily kept room, let
me tell you that the modern bane of order and neatness in a house is too
many trivial and useless things, intended perhaps for ornament, but
confusing to the eye, offensive to good taste, and more effective for
catching dust than for anything else. The multiplication of cheap
picture-cards, wall-pockets, brackets, and all sorts of little useless
knicknacks, has helped on this confusion, till one is almost tempted to
regard them as nuisances. A few of these ornamental trifles, arranged
with an eye to a certain unity of design, may do very well; but, as
William Morris, the great apostle of true decorative art in England, has
said, "Better pure empty space than unworthy and confusing

ornament." You may have heard it related of the great naturalist,
Thoreau, that he made a collection of stones during his rambles, and
placed them on his writing-table; but when he found he had to dust
them every day, he threw them away.
This same general principle applies to dress. Too many little trivial
ornaments will destroy the character and dignity of any costume. Better
one or two ornaments of good quality, or better none at all, than half a
dozen of poor quality. And in regard to a young girl's wardrobe, the
same fundamental rule prevails: if every article of apparel is not
daintily clean, it is unbecoming and unworthy a refined personality.
Soiled laces and soiled ribbons are to be shunned; but better untidiness
and soil of