Chapter I: Front Matter

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THE STORY

OF MY HOUSE

BY
GEORGE H. ELLWANGER

AUTHOR OF

“THE GARDEN’S STORY”

These are but my fantasies.

MONTAIGNE

NEW YORK
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY
MDCCCXCI

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COPYRIGHT, 1890,
BY D. APPLETON AND COMPANY.

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EPISTLE DEDICATORY.

A house without woman is a house without a soul.

TURKISH PROVERB.

_THERE is expressed from the grapes that ripen on the sunny slopes of Aÿ a wine called_ Fine Fleur d’Aÿ blanc—_Fine Flower of white Aÿ—a sparkling, golden, perfumed nectar, to sip of which is an exhilaration._

_In every ideal home there exists an essence that likewise diffuses its fragrance—the fine flower of noble womanhood, without which the house is a habitation, not a home._

_Alone under the ministering care of woman may the routine of daily life be relieved and varied, and the course of the household made to flow free from friction and asperity. Caressed by her gentle touch, order ranges itself, beauty finds a dwelling-place, and peace enters as an abiding guest. Pre-eminently it is woman that idealizes the home, and, with her sweet, refining presence, mingled with the joyous laugh of children, creates its atmosphere of serenity and content._

_To the gentler sex, therefore—to the old and to the young, to the dark and to the fair, to all who woo for us the sunshine of the home—a health in the Fine Flower of Aÿ!_

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CONTENTS.

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PAGE
EPISTLE DEDICATORY 3
PROLOGUE 7
I. THE PERFECT HOUSE 9
II. OLD ORIENTAL MASTERS 29
III. SIGNS IN THE SKY 46
IV. THE IDEAL HAVEN 64
V. WHEN LEAVES GROW SERE 86
VI. DECORATIVE DECORATIONS 105
VII. MY STUDY WINDOWS 119
VIII. MY INDOOR GARDEN 143
IX. A BLUE-VIOLET SALAD 170
X. FOOTSTEPS OF SPRING 187
XI. MAGICIANS OF THE SHELVES—I 205
XII. MAGICIANS OF THE SHELVES—II 225
XIII. AUTHORS AND READERS 250
XIV. THE PAGEANT OF THE IMMORTALS 272
EPILOGUE 285

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