The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1893-06-29
SWEETNESS AND LIGHT.
BY MRS. TALBOT COKE.

Few combinations OF words have,
perhaps, of late years been more ridi'
culeu than the above no doubt be
cause they became a ''catch word
with the s'too, too preciously divine''
class OF beings, male and female, with
which the world was flooded at the
time of the blue teapot and peacocks
feather craze. Yet, looked at dlspas-
slonately, what a lovely combination
they suggest. ,
fancy most OF US, however, know
very ssweet' wCmen who are not only
infinitely depressing but aggravating
bsyond belief in their selfish mono
tone. This special form Of, so-called
sweetness often accompanies naaIode
imaginaire, by which mean the in
valid who can do anything she agants
to do, but nothing she doesn't! 81
have my good days. she says with a
smile of narrowing sweetness and 1t is
ouite remarkable how those ''good
davs" coincide with any pleasant lnvi-
tation. or how the "bad days" crop
up when it is case OF drearv duty to
be QOGe, or DOrCOOH w OO OANtuIC CO.
Sweetness, therefore, is not SO at
tractive without light, i.e., brightness
and unsel6shness, and if this be so in
woman it is so in her surroundings.
Take in that case sweetness to mean
beauty of color, freshness of idea, and
ouaiutness of arrangement, We still
want light by which to really enjoy
these attractions. Now, we are all far
too fond of blocking mp our windows,
in town or country-ln The former, in
deed, this fed amounts to mania.
Look as YOU drive through the squares,
terraces, streets, and "gardens" of our
large cities where people most do con-
creeate, and notice the arrangement
of even the dining room windows; at
best there are heavily patterned lace
curtains almost meeting, with thick
curtains tehind; at worst the lace cur
tains are heavily crossed half way
down. so that no breath of air in sum-
mer, no ray of light in winter, shall
ever penetrate that gloomy dining
room.
And achy is this sacrifice offered up?
ONLY presumably, because (if in street)
it would be so dreadful if "ihe people
oppos to" could see US at breakfast!
For the life of me could find no other
reason.
"But then you've never lived in a
city," I am told, which in no whit
changes ny opinion that if I ever do,
T will have all the light ito say nothing
of the sweetnessD which the city cln af-
ford mel I own, however, that many
town windows are quite ugly enough to
make Us thankful to hide them, but a
delightful fashion has come IN of fixing
more or less elaborate tracery of wood
work on the upper plate glass pane,
thus partly frustrating cover the ways )"
o7erpowering desire to see what We
haye for luncheoni and certainly max
ing a pretty window out o. al undeni-
ably pain one, and that at 7e-y tri-
fling cosF.
Now vIh Id that such an arrangement,
with a Tow of p ants IN summer, and
smsll e1on7mus bushes in winter, IS
Quit screen eDough for any dining
room window. Ii in town I would
(regardless, for once, of the look out
side bave no thin curtains whatever
dnriog the winter months, but have o
SILK frili edged with pretty fringe add-
ed. TO just break the hard line Of the
thick ones.
How much less excuse, is there for
Yelling and blocking the windows IN
square or "gardeus'? I am always
glad when I see q crusade beginning
in a drcary street as to bringing in
more light. l noticed one the other
day in which the proprietor appeared
to lie knocking the two Ear7ow-minded-
locking "uJe Of the drawlag-roo:n
into one broad smi ing projecting eH-
panse OF cGecry bay window. snd l
loaeed to stop, peep into the dull din
iug-l oom, anu then ran upstairs to
realize the sweetness and light" THIS
wise alteration must have shed into
the front draWing-room.
What difference to the outside of
a dull level street it would make #
everyone threw out pretty windows,
even in dining and drawing-rooms.
Another bobby of mine, in dark town
houses, is that the rooms, though not
leading Into each other, should Vct
hclp Hgat ench othrr, and thus, say IN
a street where side windows are impos'
>ihIe, do away with the defect of the
light being all at one end Of tie room.
it is a common fashion in city
houses. having one dark room sand
wiched in between two lighted oues,
to have only unglazed sliding doors,
or even door-ways with portieres max
ing the dark room practically but