owner.  There are few colors used, as in mediaeval days, but wonderful effects are produced by a method of winding the threads together which gives a vibrating quality to the color.  When the warp in some of the coarser fabrics is not entirely covered it is sometimes dyed, which gives an indescribable charm.  Tapestries of all sizes have been made on these looms, from the important decoration of a great hall, to sofa and chair coverings.  Special rugs are also made.  It is a pleasure to think that an art which many considered dead is being practiced with the highest artistic aim and knowledge and skill in the midst of our modern rush.  This hand-woven tapestry is made to fit special spaces and rooms, and there is nothing more beautiful and suitable for rooms of importance to be found in all the long list of possibilities.

The effect of modern tapestry, like the old, is enhanced if the walls are planned to receive it, for it was never intended to be used as wall-paper.  It is sometimes used as a free hanging frieze, so to speak, and sometimes a great piece of it is hung flat against the wall, but as a general thing to panel it is the better way.

Another beautiful wall covering is leather.  It should be used much more than it is, and is especially well adapted for halls, libraries, dining-rooms, smoking-and billiard-rooms, and dens.  Its wonderful possibilities for rooms which are to be furnished in a dignified and beautiful manner are unsurpassed.  It may be used in connection with paneling or cover the wall above a wainscot.

Fresco painting is another of the noble army of wall treatments which lends itself beautifully to all kinds and styles of rooms.

Amidst all the grandeur of tapestry and painting one must not lose sight of the simpler methods, for they are not to be distained.  Wall-papers are growing more and more beautiful in color, design, and texture, and one can find among them papers suited to all needs.  Fabrics of all kinds have become possibilities since their dust-collecting capacity is now no longer a source of terror, as vacuum cleaners are one of the commonplaces of existence.  Painting or tinting the walls, when done correctly, is very satisfactory in many rooms.

There is no doubt that in many houses are wonderful collections of furniture, tapestries and treasures of many kinds, that are placed without regard to the absolute harmony of period, although the general feeling of French or Italian or English is kept.  They are usually great houses where the sense of space keeps one from feeling discrepancies that would be too marked in a smaller one, and the interest and beauty of the rare originals against the old tapestries have an atmosphere all their own that no modern reproduction can have.  There are few of us, however, who can live in this semi-museum kind of house, and so one would better stick to the highway of good usage, or there is danger of making the house look like an antique shop.