high as ever in the good
housekeeper's favor, with no prospect of falling from grace--our old
friend the dainty, modest snowdrop, a quiet, unobtrusive little figure in
a garden array of roses, English violets, lilacs, tulips, irises, and
poppies--for these are flowery times in linens. Occasionally we meet
with a scroll or fern design, though the latter is gradually falling into
disuse as being too stiff to twine and weave into graceful lines. So
true to nature and so exquisitely woven are these posy patterns that they
form in themselves a most charming table decoration. In order to secure
perfect reproduction a manufacturer in Belfast has established and
maintains a greenhouse where his designers draw direct from the natural
flower. This care is but the outgrowth of the more refined living which
demands that beauty shall walk hand-in-hand with utility.

PRICE AND SIZE

Before our housekeeper starts a-shopping she must lock up her zeal for
economy lest it lead her away from the straight and narrow way of good
taste into that broader path which leads to the bargain counter. She may
as well make up her mind at once that desirable table linen is not cheap,
the sorts offered at a very low price being neither economical nor
desirable, and that a cheap cloth which cheapens all of its surroundings
is dearly bought at any price. Occasionally the experienced shopper can
pick up at a sale of odd-length or soiled damasks something which is
really a good offering, particularly during the annual linen sale which
falls in January. But as a rule beware of bargains! The fabric is
liable to be a "second" with some imperfection, or to contain a thread of
cotton which gives it a rough look when laundered, and there is generally
a shortage in width--which suggests the advisability of measuring the
table top before buying, for cloths come in different widths, and one
which is too narrow looks out-grown and awkward and--stingy! The average
table is about 4 feet across, and requires a cloth 2 yards square, though
in buying by the yard it is safe to allow an extra quarter for
straightening the edges and hemming. The cloth should hang at least a
foot below the edge of the table, with an increase of half a yard in
length for each additional table leaf. A cloth 2 yards square will seat
four people; 2 by 2 1/2, six; 2 by 3, eight; 2 by 3 1/2, ten; and 2 by 4,
twelve. A wider table calls for a half or a quarter of a yard more in
the