That sensible and oft-quoted old lady, Mrs. Glasse, begins one of her recipes thus: "First catch your hare." Following so good an example, we will first take a house and furnish it, before laying down axioms for its management.

Before any steps are taken, the income or pecuniary means of the parties about to commence housekeeping, should be well considered. It is not well to rush into matrimony without due attention to such sublunary matters as dollars and cents; for the notion that when once a couple is married, all will go right, is a foolish one. A young man with an income of four or five hundred dollars, every cent of which has been annually swallowed up by his own expenses, falls in love with a young lady who can sing and play well, speak French and produce marvels in the way of crochet or ornamental work, who loves sentimental poetry and romance, and can trim herself a neat bonnet; but knows little of the realities of life. Having never known what it is to want any thing - she has no idea that any thing can be wanted. The young man feels certain in his own mind that a wife will be an actual saving to him; and makes an eloquent declaration of his affection. The prospect for the future is but slender; for he ignores the fact that he has been accustomed to spend half his income on clothes and amusements, which he does not think of doing without; and she forgets how much she is in the habit of spending on gloves, ribbons, perfumes, et cetera. When they are married - the bridal dress and entertainment not being reckoned among their expenses - they find themselves fettered by a thousand inconveniences, and obliged to deny themselves travelling and many other kinds of recreation; more than that, they discover that the etiquette of this enlightened age, imperiously demands reckless expenditure, when common sense would advise more than usual economy; and without losing the social position they aim to preserve, they can do nothing but submit. What an effect on the success of after-life must be such a beginning !

However, we do not consider it our mission to enter on Quixotic quarrels with the ways of the world. It is, as our young people soon find -

" A very good world to live in, To lend, to spend, or to give in; But to beg, or borrow, or get one's own, 'Tis the very worst world that ever was known.'

In taking a house, the first matters to be considered, are the rent we can afford to give, or the money that can be devoted to its purchase, and the locality that suits us best.

A dwelling in town affords many opportunities for social intercourse, amusement, and the acquisition of general knowledge; a suburban residence offers some advantages in healthiness of location and convenience. The remote country has a distinct class of enjoyments, though want of society often makes time pass slowly. "Where locality is not specified, always choose one as open and airy as may be, and where the soil, or at any rate the subsoil, is not clay, where the drainage is good, and there is an ample supply of water, and no neighboring factories giving out noxious gases and poisonous smoke and vapor. Too close a vicinity to a churchyard is likewise to be avoided. Of course, the house must be capable of accommodating the family who are to occupy it, and there should always be a spare room or two which can be used for bed-rooms, or other purposes in case of emergency. There should be closets, cellars, etc, and good ventilation front and back. A fee to a well-qualified surveyor is often well bestowed; for he may detect serious faults in a house which, to an ordinary observer, seems well built and comfortable.

The agreement with the landlord should be clearly understood, and all liabilities as to taxes, local rates, house repairs, with charges for fixtures, etc, inquired into, and definitely arranged, before the agreement is signed.

It will be well for every house to have some shelter at its entrance; a porch or portico, in a style regulated by that of the rest of the building, will be found useful. A hall, vestibule, or entry, is es-sential, and the size and location of the staircases considerably affect the convenience of the dwelling. The dining-room should be so placed that the way to it from the kitchen is easy, and yet so that the noise or odors do not prove annoying. The general style of the drawing-room should be light and cheerful; that of the library plain and quiet. The bed-chambers should be as lofty and spacious as possible, and so contrived that a thorough draught can be obtained, to change the air completely. Each should have a chimney fireplace. Small closets and recesses are to be avoided as sleeping apartments. The nursery should be near the chamber of the mistress.

Dressing and bath-rooms should be as uniformly attached to bed-rooms as the size of the house and means of the owner will permit; the bath is an indispensable convenience. Every house should be provided with two water-closets at least In large establishments, a breakfast-room looking eastward and with glass doors opening on a garden or lawn, a billiard-room for exercise within doors, a room for hunting and fishing tackle, a gallery for music, paintings, or statuary, a lady's boudoir or sitting-room tastefully ornamented, a school-room, and domestic laboratory, with a conservatory, are convenient additions. A number of rooms for domestic offices are connected with the house, and various cellars, as well as separate buildings, appropriated to many different purposes - which we shall not describe particularly. The kitchen will be examined under another head.

In contriving the mode of warming a house, attention should be paid not merely to economy of fuel, but to the preservation of a salubrious atmosphere. A chimney fireplace or grate is preferable to a stove, which is apt to give the air a close or disagreeable smell, and produce headache and stupor. Count Rumford imagined that the hot iron roasted the dust that settled on it, which dust was composed of all sorts of animal and vegetable matters; others complain of the extreme dryness of the air. Stoves of brick or earthenware, used in various parts of Europe, are said to be better than iron; but all close stoves are liable to the objection, that in using them it is difficult to change the air continually, or procure proper ventilation. The same difficulties prevail, to some extent, in warming a house by a furnace, and the dryness of the air is often productive of discomfort. Steam might afford an agreeable and convenient method of warming apartments. Of all the modes usually adopted, the advantage seems to lie with the open fire. The temperature should be steady and not too high: say 60° or 62°. Apartments in our cities are generally kept at a dangerous degree of heat. Bed-rooms should not be warmed, more than to have the "outside chill" taken off.

Ventilation is a very important consideration. The atmospheric air in breathing loses the constituent that sustains life, and must be got rid of, and replaced by air that is fresh and pure. This change of air should be continually going on in our apartments. Windows that open at the top are useful, the vitiated air ascending to the ceiling. The practice of sleeping in rooms not sufficiently ventilated, is utterly destructive to health. It should be remembered also that the vital part of air is exhausted by a burning light. It would be well to have a ventilator in the centre of the ceiling, which can be concealed by ornamental work in plaster; and in the admission of fresh air, care should be taken that it does not come in a direct stream, so as to produce unpleasant draughts.

It is often necessary to fumigate or disinfect the air contaminated by noxious effluvia. Muriatic acid and nitric acid fumes have been employed for this purpose, and chlorine, a most effectual agent in destroying noxious qualities in the air, is generally employed. Chloride of lime and chloride of soda are used as the most convenient preparations. The latter is called Labarraque's Disinfecting Liquid. Vinegar is used in sick rooms, and quick lime, alone or mixed with ashes, in sinks, sewers, etc.

Having taken our house, it generally wants a thorough cleaning and airing. In spring, autumn, and winter, fires should be kept for three or four days, according to the time the house has been empty, and to the repairs it has undergone during that interval; for of course nobody ought to enter a house in the state of dirt and disrepair in which it is usually left by an out-going tenant, or if they do so under the notion that the landlord will set it all to rights after they are in, they will find out their mistake, and repent their confidence.

It sometimes happens that the chief rooms are not papered and painted until the house is let. In such case the in-coming tenant generally has the power of choosing the papers, or panellings, and paint. He will, of course, select such as will best harmonize with the color which the furniture and hangings should have.

We will now suppose the house taken, cleaned thoroughly, and well aired, and will proceed to furnish it. But first we must pause to observe that young people will do well carefully to consider matters before they take upon themselves the troubles and responsibilities of housekeepers. Where their joint savings, or some sum especially bestowed for the purpose by friends or parents, will enable them to make the necessary outlay for furniture, linen, etc, and yet have something left to put by for "a wet day," and the rent and taxes can be afforded by the income of the husband, it is all well and good. But if money must be borrowed, or debts incurred, begin life in the quietest way, rather than with these incumbrances. Take board or apartments for a time, until you see your way clear. From $150 to $400 a year will pay for part of a house in a city, and much less in a village. Board can be obtained in respectable houses at four or five dollars a week and upwards in our largest towns. There are some disadvantages in this mode of living. It is customary to say that boarders are victimized; one is sometimes brought into contact with disagreeable individuals, who become enemies if they find they are not received in a sociable or friendly manner; and on the whole, it is wiser to keep house with three or four rooms. There are always respectable families to be found, who will let a set of apartments.' Now to the business of furnishing a house.