CHAPTER VI.
THE TOILET.
HERE is no prettier object in either
bedroom or boudoir than the spot
where "the toilet stands displayed."
Whether it be a shrine à la Duchesse
(Fig. 19) or the simplest form of
support for a mirror, it will probably be the most
interesting spot in the room to its fair owner.
Consequently there is nothing upon which the old love
of decoration has more expended itself even from
its earliest days, or which modern upholstery
makes more its special study than this truly
feminine shrine. I will say nothing of mirrors
with three sides which represent you as a female
"Cerberus, three ladies in one," or indeed of
mirrors of any sort or kind, as our business lies
at this moment more with the tables on which
they should stand. These can be found or
invented of every imaginable form, and contain every conceivable convenience for receiving and
hiding away the weapons which beauty (or rather
Fig. 19.
would-be-beauty, which is not at all the same
thing) requires.
Here (Fig. 20) is a sort of old-fashioned tiroir of
an exquisite simplicity, and with but little space
outside for the "paraphernalia" of odds and ends
Fig. 20.
which the law generously recognises as the sole and
individual property of even a married woman.
Such articles would need to be stowed away in one of its many drawers. Instead of the
frivolous drapery which would naturally cover a deal
toilet-table, the only fitting drapery for this
Fig. 21.
beautiful old piece of furniture (of French design
evidently) would be an embroidered and fringed
strip of fine linen which should hang low down on either side. In a darksome room, imagine how
the subdued brightness of its metal mountings
would afford coigns of vantage to every stray
sunbeam or flickering ray from taper or fire! And in
its deep, commodious drawers too, might be neatly
stowed away every detail of toilet necessaries.
On it should stand a mirror which must imperatively
be required to harmonise, set in a plain but
agreeable frame without anything to mar the severe
simplicity of the whole. There are several pieces
of old furniture, however, which are better adapted
to be used as toilet-tables than the subject of the
illustration. Such a piece of furniture is more
suitable when it is divided, as is often the case, into
three compartments, the centre one being considerably
further back than the side-pieces. In this way
a place is secured for the knees, when seated at
it, and this central cupboard, when filled with
shelves, makes an excellent receptacle for brushes
and combs, and so forth.
The defect of these old tiroirs is that they are rather small and low, and consequently look best in a small room, but they offer great variety of decorative embellishment (Fig. 21), and are very satisfactory, as stands for a small oval toilet-glass in an old frame to match. The designs too of the brass mountings for door and drawer are nearly always exceedingly beautiful, and vary from the simplest shining ring to a small miracle of artistic brazen work. These shining handles take away a good deal from the severity of decorative treatment which would naturally exist in the rest of the room, and it is under such conditions, where form takes precedence of colour, that we learn the full value of these little traps to attract and keep a warm glitter of light.
Here is a simpler design for a toilet-table (Fig. 22) which would look very well standing between the windows of a lofty room. If it was found that a good light for the looking-glass had been sacrificed to the general harmony of the room, then a smaller glass might be placed in a window, just for occasional use.
Some of the old-fashioned "toilet-equipages" are very beautiful just as they have come down to us. They are occasionally made in silver, and comprise many articles which cannot by any possibility be brought within the faith or practice of a modern belle. Still they offer charming forms for imitation, especially in the frames of the old hand-mirrors, whose elaborate simplicity (if one may use such a paradox) puts to shame the more ornate taste of their modern substitutes. Next to silver or tortoise-shell, I like ivory, as the material for a really beautiful and artistic set of toilet appendages, its delicious creamy tint going especially well with all shades of blue in a room. But I prefer the surface of the ivory kept plain and not grotesquely carved as you get it in China or Japan, for dust and dirt always take possession of the interstices, and lead to the things being consigned to a drawer. Now I cannot endure to possess any thing of any kind which had better be kept out of sight wrapped carefully away under lock and key. My idea of enjoying ownership is for my possession to be of such a nature that I can see it or use it every day—and all day long if I choose—so I shall not be found recommending anything which is "too bright and good for human nature's daily food." I have seen toilet-tables under difficulties, that is on board of real sea-going yachts, where it has been necessary to sink a little well into which each brush, box or tray securely fitted; and I have seen toilet-tables in Kafir-Land covered with common sixpenny cups and saucers, and shown as presenting a happy combination of use and ornament, strictly in conformity with "Engleez fasson."
But perhaps our business does not lie so much
with these as with the ordinary dressing-table
which is now more used in the modern shape of
a convenient table with a scoop out of the middle,
beneath which the knees can fit when you are
seated at it, and with a couple of drawers on each
side. This too is covered by a white serviette of 
Fig. 22. some sort, and supports a large toilet-glass of
equally uncompromising utility and convenience.
But however readily these good qualities may be
conceded to the modern toilet-table it is but an
uninteresting feature in an ideal bower. If the
room be an essentially modern one, and especially
if it be in the country, nothing affords a prettier
spot of colour in it, than the old-fashioned
toilet-table of deal covered with muslin draperies over
soft-hued muslin or batiste. Of course the
caricature of such an arrangement may be seen any day
in the fearful and detestable toilet-table with a
skimpy and coarse muslin flounce over a
tight-fitting skirt of glaring pink calico, but this is a
parody on the ample, convenient stand for toilet
necessaries, the draperies of which should be in
harmony with the other colours of the room. It
would need however to possess many changes of
raiment, in order that it may always be kept up to
the mark of spotless freshness. These draperies are
prettier of plain soft white muslin without spot or
figure of any kind, and may consist of two or three
layers, draped with all the artistic skill the
constructor thereof possesses. It is also an improvement, if
instead of only a hideous crackle of calico beneath,
there be a full flounce or petticoat of batiste which
would give colour and graceful folds together.
This is a very humble arrangement I know, but it can be made as effective as if it cost pounds
instead of pence. And this is one of the strong
points in all hints on decoration, that they should
be of so elastic a nature as to be capable of
expansion under favourable circumstances, though not
beyond the reach of extremely slender resources.
I do not recommend draped mirrors for modern
toilet-tables on account of the danger from fire,
and I like the style and frame of the looking-glass
on the table to harmonise thoroughly with the rest
of the furniture.
