The Plymouth Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1869-1941, 1870-04-21
THE DOOR.
BY THE "FAT CONTRIBUTION"

Casting about for theme, the door
seems to afford a very good opening for al
article. We don't recollect seeing any
thing written on the door, not since we
| were startled by seeing "Small-pOx
written on one in an obscure portion Of
the city.
| The door is about as old as architecture
ITSELF and we are inclined to believe was
| invented before windows were, though
that is a disputed point. 1t is our opinion
that house architecture began with the
| door. In the early days when people
lived out Of doors (and out Of almost every.
thing else), it occurred to one of those un
easy individuals of inventive minds, who
are constantly disturbing the calm
| placidity of the world with new tangled
ideas, that door would be a good thing
to have. Sleeping in ten-acre lot, for in
stance, Of stormy night, it would be SC
| comfortable to have door to his lot; and
what sense Of security would be afforded
| when he weht away from home, to know
| that the door was locked!
This, of course, excited the envy Of his
neighbors, who slept in lots adjoining, and
| who began to repine at their lot. Some
said he was putting on airs; others that
| he was unduly suspicious of his neighbors,
| and they asked him tauntingly why he
didn't put number on it and have door
| plate: in fact, they slammed that door in
his face continually. Then another in
dividual of an inventive turn set himself
| to work to get up an improvement on the
door, and thus vitiate his patent, just as
men do nowadays when a fellow thinks he
has got good thing. There are several
things we have thought of inventing, only
we knew if we did an improvement would
come out the next day that would knock
our patent higher than..a kite.
This other man hit 1t at length; he took
door and built house to it and doors
have been constructed in that manner ever
since. We give this theory for what it is
worth (writing as we do, by the column
but it is probably as correct theorizing as
much that is INDUCED in concerning the
early origin Of matters and things. Win
dows, of course, followed doors, for it was
natural for people to want window to
look out of when the door bell was rung
late at night, to see who was there. Or,
perhaps, before the inventing of windows,
some man laboring under delirium tre-
mems wanted place to jump out of, and
thus realized the incompleteness Of the
house of the period, supplying the def
cheney so soon as he recovered.
1t is not with the window that we are
now dealing, as we shall reserve that for
another able article; we are, metaphorical-
ly, knocking at the door.
The door is more intimately associated
with our everyday life than one would
think, if he didn't think anything about
It. How cold aud forbidding to some, and
how slow to respond to their knock, while
to others it wears face as genial and in
viting as that of an old friend, and at their
approach flies open like lovers arms in
viting to warmost embrace. Dark and
stern it scowls from within its portals
upon the hOuseless wanderer, who gaIes
sadly and pleadingly in its tace as he half
pauses on the sidewalk, and then creeps
fal,eringly by; but there is radiance in
its look, and a welcome in its creak when
the loved and honOred arc invited to en-
ter.
In the olden times it was usual for the
wealthy and hospitable to decorate their
doors with ribbons and banners o.s .s
above the door they Sometimes INSCRIBED
a senl,.@@;,.cc, as The Good House," or the
name OF tne king who bad honored the own
er With O',Ce and einoluments. There are
inscriptions now, but they usually read
Mutual" Home Insurance Company"
"To Let" or something of that kind, and
the only banner We see is the red flag of
the -auctiOncer.
If some of the ancient customs have
passed away there are hospitable doors
left yet doors that when opened reveal
glimpses of brightness, and gladness, and
beauty that do the heart good to look
upon There are doors, too, that are
never closed uron the unfortunate, and
doors that long to receive back the way
ward wanderer, whose footsteps are
ashamed or afraid to turn in the direction
of their thresholds Mournful doors
there be, bearing the significant Grape
that tells its own silent tale Of the sorrow
that is within, and that breaches to us the
eloquent, though oft unhceded, sermon OF
morality.
If the doors could only speak, what stO-
ries they could tell. Of warm and Joyous
greetings; of heart gatherings and misgiv-
ings, as trembling hands rang the bell /; of
cold tarewells of longing glances through
fearful eyes, that follow the departing
form OF the loved one; of the letter that
brings joy, and the message that brings
grief; of tender whisperings and loving
partings; of bGtlet-dour going out, and
bills coming in; of gay weddings arriving,
and sad funerals departing Tell you,-
the door sees a great deal of life in its day.
1t sees your first visit to the outer world,
borne in your nurses arms. You give it
a stunning slam as, with boyish shout,
you hasten to your play and when you
"cOme to be man" and learn to smoke
and drink, and, therefore, find it necessa-
ry to JON club, it sees you stumble up
the steps late at night, and laughs as you
try to find the keyhole-tickling it, as one
might say, with your nightkey 1t sees
you tOtter out ard tOtter in when YOU get
old, and at last closes upon your final de-
parture for your long home Pray Heaven
that the eternal door you knock at then is
not shut upon you
We did not know there was so much in
the door until we got to writing about it.
Our attention had not been attracted to it,
owing, probably, to the fact that we were
never shown the door," not as we recOl.
lect. Our only advice, in concluding, is,
beware of evil DOORS Cincinnati Tines.
The Sun Spots.
We are reaching the maximum of solar