EFFECTS, pretty effects, if possible, producing an impression of luxury, are the pervading purpose of furniture and decoration. Nine times out of ten it is all done for the eyes of strangers, with little or nothing sacrificed for the restful comfort of the family and for that of its head and master. There is but one parlor or drawing-room in the average house of a citizen with an income of less than ten thousand dollars. What is provided for his evening comfort? Where shall he be at perfect ease? Certainly the money was his that bought those slender chairs, those slight, stiff sofas and fanciful seats, frail enough to be easily broken, and designed with utter disregard of weary shoulders and heads. Tables filled with delicate and too expensive ornaments, from which a strong arm withdraws itself quickly, fearing disaster, and a fireplace cold until the gas logs blaze. These things are surely meant for the admiration and approval of the chance visitor who arrives, careless whether the hostess is at home or absent. Not one thing in the shining, brand-new room imparts pleasure or comfort to either father or children; if the wife and purchaser has the aid of pride of possession to soothe her regret12that no familiar, inviting place of assembly is provided for her careless boys and their tired father, she alone receives any satisfaction from the chamber of honor in her home. The old-time family evening gathering, with perfect relaxation as its curing influence for overtaxed brains and bodies, has passed into the history of “what we used to do when we were young.” We blame the altered conditions of society, the brilliant inducements of the outside world, for the separated lives of children and parents and for the influence of club life upon young men. I sincerely believe that modern ideas of furnishing have a great deal to do with the disintegration of our family life. When the foundation idea is to make the home an absolutely comfortable, unrestrained place of rest to the men of the family, it is not unlikely that delightfully easy chairs, large, steadfast tables, excellent lights for reading, a cheery hearth, an open piano, and cordial, simple hospitality toward any entering friend could successfully rival those outside charms which draw father and son each to his own haunt.—“Home Thoughts,” in the Evening Post (N. Y.).