“In laying double floors one simple matter must not be neglected.  The under, or lining boards, which are usually wide and imperfectly seasoned, should be laid diagonally upon the joists; otherwise in their shrinking and swelling they will move the narrow finished boards resting upon them and cause ugly cracks to appear, even though the upper floor is most carefully laid and thoroughly seasoned.  The liberal use of nails is another obvious but often neglected duty of floor-makers, who seem, at times to act upon the supposition that as a floor has nothing to do but lie still and be trodden upon, it only needs to be laid in place and let alone.  This may be true of stone flagging; it is far from being true of inch boards, that have an incurable tendency to warp, twist, spring and shake.  Lining floors, especially, whatever their thickness, should be nailed—­spiked is a more forcible term—­to every possible bearing and with generous frequency; to be specific, say every three inches.  The finished hoards must also be secured by nails driven squarely through them.  If you object to the appearance of nail heads the boards may be secured by nails driven through the edges in such way that they will be out of sight when the floor is finished; but this should never be done except by skillful and conscientious workmen.  There is no excuse for this “blind” nailing in floors that are to be covered by carpets, and it is seldom desirable under any circumstances.  All thorough nailing adds greatly to the strength, and will alone prevent the creaking of the boards, so annoying in a sick room and so discouraging to burglars.’”

“Whatever else we do we must make it all right for the burglars.  Tell him we will have floors that can be used either way, with rugs or without, with matting, with carpets, or with nothing at all but their own unadorned loveliness.  Those in the chambers, where there is not much wear and tear, may be of common clear pine, and we can paint or stain a border around the edges.  The others ought to be of harder wood, and, as they will last as long as we shall need floors, we can afford to have them cost rather more than a good carpet, perhaps thirty or forty cents a square foot.”

“I don’t see the necessity for that,” said Jill, who had a frugal mind—­at times.  “I know they will outlast a great many carpets, but it is considerable work to keep a bare floor in order—­or rather to put it in order—­which must be taken into account; and, as for saving the expense of carpets, we shall be likely to spend twice as much for rugs as the carpets would cost.  However, extravagance in rugs is not the fault of the hard-wood floors and ought not to be charged against them.  We might have a few parquetry floors, but for most of the rooms plain narrow strips, with a pretty border, will be good enough.  What do you think about it, Jim?”

While Jim was preparing to say that he didn’t think he knew much about such things, there came a crash on the floor above, followed by loud and incoherent observations by the chambermaid.  The chandelier began to shake, as that substantial domestic fairy flew through the passage that led to the back stairs, at the head of which she was distinctly heard to exhort the cook in good set terms to “hurry up with the mop, for the water-jug was upset and the mistress would be raving if the water came through the ceiling.”