Four-poster bed

“ This style of bed canopy absolutely belongs to the decoration of the wall to which it is attached. But when we have to deal with a large four-post bed—“a room within a room,” as poor Prince Lee Boo said—the bed may, in its own decoration, be totally independent of the wall hangings; and care must be taken that we do not injure the effect of both by too much contrast or too much similarity. Every room has its own individuality, and the first beginning of its decoration must be the key-note to guide the rest of the furnishing and adornment. ”

“ I perceived that I was upon a low couch of elegant construction—without curtains—but in their stead a mosquito-netting spread its gauzy meshes above and around me. The snow-white colour and fineness of the linen, the silken gloss of the counterpane, and the soft yielding mattress beneath, imparted to me the knowledge that I lay upon a luxurious bed. ”

“ How these six-foot men can sleep in any comfort in five-foot beds is a mystery. The mattress is a well stuffed feather bed, the coverlet is of eider down. The down is stuffed into a tick like a pillow and like a pillow it has a white case. One virtually sleeps between two feather beds. In the nightly struggles to kick the foot board out of my short bed, the overgrown pillow, used as a blanket, often fell to the floor and sometimes as a last resort to straighten out, I followed the coverlet to the floor, used it for a mattress and with a steamer rug slept in peace. ”

“ If the bed is low, there should be four solid blocks of wood prepared, upon which to elevate it, after removing the casters, and it is also a good plan to have a large board, or table 158leaves, in readiness to slip under the mattress to make it firm, particularly if the bed is soft or sinks in the middle. ”

“ It is not necessary to use real beds. Boards on low horses or boxes will make excellent substitutes, and a strip of cloth will conceal their structure. An advantage of this plan is that they need not be as long as regulation beds. Four children to a bed means packing them like sardines, but it can be done, and it always amuses the audience. ”

“ If it is a box couch, further economy will be gained by its use as a place to store the bedclothes. But the simplest of all arrangements is a divan bed, formed of springs and mattress alone, and supported on legs nailed to the corners of the spring-frame. Over it a cover should be thrown during the day, and the pillows in use, if there is not room for them elsewhere, should be slipped into covers harmonious in color with the couch drapery. ”

“ In many instances where a customer is interested in investing in good bedding but cannot afford to buy the entire bedroom suite at one time, it may be well to suggest a box spring and mattress on legs with detachable headboard and a small dressing table with detachable skirt. An inexpensive chest of drawers completes the ensemble. Later the box spring and mattress can be used on the regular bed, the dressing table maintained or moved into the guest room, and the chest of drawers used in another part of the house. ”

“ The frowsy old feather bed of one’s infancy has so completely gone out of favour that it is hardly necessary to place one more stone on the cairn of abuse already raised over it by doctors’ and nurses’ hands. A couple of thick mattresses, one of horsehair and one of wool, will make as soft and comfortable a bed as anyone need wish for. ”

“ Single beds, wire and hair mattresses, clean and comfortable clothing of woolen and linen, clean uncarpeted floors and pure air, a box or locker for each man, make up a sum of comfort for the lodging of one accustomed only to the blanket and the bunk, which is well nigh perfect, and not to be found for the same person in the most luxurious bed-chamber wealth could provide. ”

“ I know what these occasional visitors beheld, because it, too, I have seen with my own eyes: seen the two balayeurs staggering downstairs with a bed (consisting of a high iron frame, a huge mattress of delicious thickness, spotless sheets, warm blankets, and a sort of quilt neatly folded over all) ; seen this bed placed by the panting sweepers in the thoroughly cleaned and otherwise immaculate cabinot at the foot of the stairs and opposite the kitchen, the well-scrubbed door being left wide open. ”

“ Finally, according to Havard, the true difference between a lit d’ange and a “lit vu de pieds” of to-day is not to be determined by the dimensions of the canopy, nor by the arrangement of the curtains or lambrequins, which are the same, but that the foot of the bed is not simply covered by a long courtepointe, or counterpane, but should have the squares of drapery (cantonnières) , hanging from the mattress repeating the form and trimmings of the upper valance and rest of the bed furniture. ”

“ The second series of folderies to which the novice was initiated concerned themselves with his bedding. This consisted of a mattress, three blankets and a pillow. It is an outfit at which no one need turn up his nose. I never spent a bad night in army blankets, though when out on leave I am sometimes a victim of insomnia between clean cold sheets. But the moment the Réveillé uplifted you from your couch, that couch had to be made ship-shape according to rule. No finicky "airing"! The mattress must be rolled up, with the pillow as its core, and placed at the end of the bed. ”

“ Remove pillows and bedclothes, one at a time, being careful not to let corners drag on the floor, and put to air. Turn the mattress over from end to end one day, and from side to side next day. If the patient does not have to return to bed at once leave to air for at least half an hour.
An old blanket, old spread or a quilted pad, spread over the mattress not only protects the mattress but prevents the sheets from wearing out, and may make the bed more comfortable. These should be kept clean.
The bed for a sick person is frequently made with a rubber sheet and a draw sheet. ”

“ Then your mattress will wear evenly, and not have a hollow in the middle where [120] you sleep all the time. Then you two will lay the mattress cover straight, and tuck it in firmly, so that you will have no hard wrinkles to sleep on. The under sheet, smooth and straight, must be tucked in all around. You will make the bed as smooth as the table. Now the upper sheet, which is the hardest thing to manage in bed making, must be neatly tucked in at the foot. But you must allow eight inches at the top to be turned over the blankets and spread. ”

“ A hard mattress beneath a sheet is the sole furniture of the huge four-poster, surrounded by thick muslin curtains to exclude air and creeping things; pillows are stuffed hard with cotton-down, and no coverings are provided—an unalterable custom possessing obvious disadvantages in a climate reeking with damp, where the walls of a room closed for a day or two become green with mould. ”

“ HEAL & SON'S SPRING MATTRESSES.—The most durable Bedding is a well-made SPRING MATTRESS; it retains its elasticity, and will wear longer without repair than any other mattress, and with one French Wool and Hair Mattress on it is a most luxurious Bed. ”

“ While it makes the rooms cooler, it cannot, by any possibility, interfere with the occupations of those who do nothing. The bed affords a curious contrast to the rest of the furniture. While the apartments exhibit a deal-table, badly made chairs, probably a Dutch clock, and an old looking-glass, the bed "challenges admiration by snowy white sheets, fringed with lace, a pile of soft pillows, covered with the finest linen or the richest satin, and a well-arranged drapery of costly and tasteful curtains." ”

“ In the daytime an ample quilt thrown over the bedding will be quite drapery enough, and at night it is just as well to have a current of air beneath the frame of the bed. The new spring mattresses are very nearly perfect as regards the elasticity which is so necessary in a couch, and they can be suited to all tastes by having either soft or hard horsehair or finely picked wool mattresses on the top of them. ”

“ Some people prefer beds and pillows of an adamantine hardness, others of a luxurious softness. Either extreme is bad, in my opinion. As a rule, however, I should have the mattresses for children’s use rather hard—a firm horsehair on the top of a wool mattress, and children’s pillows should always be low. Some people heap bed-clothes over their sleeping children, but I am sure this is a bad plan. ”

“ They are wooden four-posters, these native beds, with a cotton roof, usually red, set off by a frill of lace all round the top, above the mosquito curtains. Some of the bedsteads I have seen, made of native woods, are very prettily carved round the pillars, and a really handsome piece of carving fills the space at each end to the height of two feet or so. All right so far as looks go, but the bed itself is an appalling instrument of torture to lie on, for in pattern and material it is the same as the seats of cane chairs, and as hard as iron—all for coolness. ”

“ I cannot imagine anyone sleeping calmly in such a room!
This bedroom is eminently suited to the needs of a man. The hangings are of a plain, soft stuff, accenting one of the deep tones of the wall covering, and the sash curtains are of white muslin. The furniture is of oak, of the Jacobean period. The bed is true to its inspiration, with turned legs and runners, and slatted head and foot boards. The legs and runners of the bed were really inspired by the chairs and tables of the period. This is an excellent illustration of the modern furniture that may be adapted from old models. ”

“ The bed is the most remarkable of all its comforts. It is more of a box than a bed, and so high at head and foot, and so solid at its sides, that it only needs a lid to make the comparison complete. There is always at its foot an inflated eider-down quilt puffed up like a French soufflé potato; and there are always at its head two little oval pillows solid as bags of ballast, surmounting a bolster that slopes off to an edge. ”

“ There is a look of retirement about the beds, which stand in dim recesses of the inner apartment, with their old but well-cared-for chintz hangings, differing from the free uncurtained openness of the blue nose settler's couch; a publicity of sleeping arrangements being common all over America, and much disliked by persons from the old countries, a bed being a prominent piece of furniture in the sitting and keeping rooms of even those aristocratic personages, the first settlers. ”

“ The head of the bed may be placed against the wall, but both sides must remain freely accessible not only at the time of delivery but also throughout the lying-in period.
A smooth, firm mattress, made in one piece, should be provided. One which has been used several years and possibly worn in a hollow will require renovation to be made comfortable. A feather bed should not be used under any circumstances. ”

“ As no room contains any article of furniture like a bedstead.—the bed consisting of wadded comforters, being made up temporarily upon the soft mats,—it is obvious that the bedding can be placed in any room in the house. The absence of nearly all furniture gives one an uninterrupted sweep of the floor, so that the entire floor can be covered with sleepers if necessary,—a great convenience certainly when one has to entertain unexpectedly a crowd of guests over-night. Certain closets are used as receptacles for the comforters, where they are stowed away during the day-time. ”

“ The Bed.—The best kind of bed for the sick is a small iron bedstead, about 31⁄2 ft. wide and not too high, with firm, level, spring mattress, and light warm covering, avoiding large heavy linen counterpanes, which, though oppressively weighty, give but little heat. It should be placed in such a position as will be most out of draughts, and at the same time convenient for the nurse in performing personal services for the patient. It must never have either side against a wall, nor be between the door and the fire. ”

“ Similarly tuck the upper sheet in with great care at the bottom of the bed, so that it will not work loose and leave the feet of a restless sleeper exposed. Be sure in laying on your blankets that the open end of them is at the top of the bed. A person often requires a second thickness of blanket before morning, and can arrange it as she wishes if the closed end of the blanket is at the bottom of the bed. ”

“ In addition to what is considered the regulation bedroom furniture, there should be a small table at the head of the bed for the glass of water, the candle or night lamp, and books of devotion; a couch for the mistress's rest hours, and to save the immaculateness of the bed; a comfortable rocker, with a low sewing chair and one or two with straight backs; and, when two people occupy the room, a screen which insures some degree of privacy and affords a protection from draughts. If one is restricted in closet room, a box couch is a great convenience ”

“ The mattress is of high-grade duck and non-stretchable webbing, reënforced with leather where attached to the springs. This bed is also equipped with strong tensile steel springs that prevent sagging of the mattress, thus assuring perfect satisfaction and comfortable sleep. It can be used as an extra bed in the house. This bed when on a floor stands 17 inches high, with a length of 6 feet 4 inches and a width of 47 inches. It rolls into a bundle 47 inches in length with a diameter of 5 inches. The weight is 46 pounds, and the list price $24.50. ”

“ A few simple things, as an orange, a tiny bouquet, one or two playthings, or even a pretty book, may well take their place.
The ideal bed is single, made of iron or brass, and provided with woven wire springs and a hair mattress. Feather-beds are always objectionable in the sick-room for many and obvious reasons. The proper making of a sick-bed, with the forethought and skill demanded in certain diseases, is of great importance and an art learned only after long experience. ”