where the moulding which made a part of the frame
was an orderly line of carved cockle-shells, used as a border, and this
little touch of recognition of its sea-neighbours was not only
decorative in itself, but gave even the chance visitor a sort of
interpretation of the spirit of the interior life.

Suppose, on the other hand, that the summer house is placed in the
neighbourhood of fields and trees and mountains; it will be found that
strong and positive treatment of the interior is more in harmony with
the outside landscape. Even heavier furniture looks fitting where the
house is surrounded with massive tree-growths; and deeper and purer
colours can be used in hangings and draperies. This is due to the more
positive colouring of a landscape than of a sea-view. The masses of
strong and slightly varying green in foliage, the red, brown, or vivid
greens of fields and crops, the dark lines of tree-trunks and branches,
as well as the unchanging forms of rock and hillside, call for a
corresponding strength of interior effect.

It is a curious fact, also, that where a house is surrounded by myriads
of small natural forms of leaves and flowers and grasses, plain spaces
of colour in interiors, or spaces where form is greatly subordinated to
colour, are more grateful to the eye than prominently decorated surface.
A repetition of small natural forms like the shells and sea-mosses,
which are for the most part hidden under lengths of liquid blue, is
pleasing and suggestive by the sea; but in the country, where form is
prominent and positive and prints itself constantly upon both mental and
bodily vision, unbroken colour surfaces are found to be far more
agreeable.

It will be seen that the principles of appropriate furnishing and
adornment in house interiors depend upon circumstances and natural
surroundings as well as upon the character and pursuits of the family
who are to be lodged, and that the final charm of the home is attained
by a perfect adaptation of principles to existing conditions both of
nature and humanity.

In cottages of the character we are considering, furniture should be
simpler and lighter than in houses intended for constant family living.
Chairs and sofas should be without elaborate upholstery and hangings,
and cushions can be appropriately made of some well-coloured cotton or
linen material which wind, and sun, and dampness cannot spoil, and of
which the freshness can always be restored by laundering.