The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-05-09
ROMANCE OF A HOUSE.
Nv IRoHTTEcT,s THEORY AMOUR An
OLD SUPERSTITION.

The Fate OF ~ u NNnoV hnouHn NNenINnIys
Lived rininiy Most Of mis- Life, and In HE
old Ago Carried Out . long-Cherished Plan
to Iiuiid n Ftne House Tor Eis wire.
"peoplo are not often deferred from building
anew house by the superstition that q death
will occur in tho family within a year II they arc
the first to occupy It," said tho architect.
"snrcrstitions are too easily ovaded TO prcvart
people from undertakings which they really want
10 carry out. They are like the other elements
10 this world Of ours; like the laws, say, which
s,c a net that catches only those who do not
know how TO make use OF them. Superstitions
may be made to servo a mans convenience, In
stead OF interfering with It. Thus, n rich man
in New York once built an exceedingly fine
house, and then found that he was not quite ready
TO occupy II, besides being troubled to some OK.
tent by the superstition that pointed to q death
in his family. So he let 1t for the FIRST year at an
enormous rental. 100000 a year; / have the
figures quoted. In this way everything was
made comfortable all round; his convenience
WIS suited. tho superstition was deferred to,
and his tenant lived In great style, for, you
know, the superstition does not apply to tenants.
A good many people who build new houses for
themselves try to fool their destiny by letting
the house TO a friend for n day or a week before
actually moving in themselves. In some re-
spccts fate would seem to DO wonderfully easy
to cajole and deceive.
"Novcrthcless, VINO cnn doubt that the super
ptition has n certain ~shadowy, elusive basis Of
fact on which to found itself. There can be no
bcttor proof of this than tho fact that 1t has
existed among prehistoric people in many lands,
and rests therefore upon the experience Of indie
pendent observers separated widely by time,
race, and country. In tho ruins which mark
the spots where vague ghosts of empires roam,
we find imprints of bloody hands upon the lintcls
Of ~doorways which arc symbols Of sacrifices
intended to appease tho deity or demon feared
by the builder of the house. Many blind customs
and ceremonies in building may DO attributed
us we'll to this desire to appease as to
anything else. To believe in tho supcrsti.
ton, however, It is not necessary to believe in
the theory OF n deity or demon that has to DO
appcasod. Common sense will supply plenty OF
other reasons why there should be a superstition
that follows tho building of n new house. It is
to be borne in mind that people are vastly moro
impressed when one man dies after he has built
an exceedingly magnificent residence than they
arc when one hundred other men continue to
live and be happy aftor building houses Of q loss
pretentious character. Now, as u rule, the mon
who build the magnificent residences are those
who have been battling with tho world all
their lives and have reached the stage when they
expect to rest from their labors. They may be
advanced in years and their vitality may have
been Slapped by tho labors with which they
hCnleNCu buCCCSS. AltCE IL pTtSSuTo ullubE
which they have been accustomed to work ia re-
Taxed, it often happens that the whole ma
chinery runs down and stops for good. So It Is
not surprising that such men should die after
they have completed a new house, not within
the frat year, perhaps, but within a few years.
"Still moro important is the psychological as
pcct OF the matter. One does not need to be al
together u theosophist and believe in the aura
and currents and such things to admit that sur
r1,nl;r-o 80 which N hna HraI fcr N - q
may become impregnated with ones vitality.
Ones life may grow into q place, as a plant
sends Its roots into the ground. You get accus-
toned to each detail Of the house, and wherever
the eye turns it meets nothing that is not fa-
miliar, nothing that attracts conscious atten-
ton, and so cxcites a little effort to make itself
understood. Just as the tool adapts itself to the
hand Of the workman who has long been using
It, Just as the violin becomes a part of the player,
90 the house becomes joined sometimes to it's
tenant by bonds which arc invisible and intangi:
BILE, but still can be traced ICED, and dissinsuI Is II
chanic who has a new tool to work with, or the
PLAYER with a new violin has to give thought and
along mechanically and almost, unconsciously.
and SO a greater expenditure of his stock of ner-
things which distract and exhaust by their nov
slant, Il not always Conscious ssieSia Strain It whSsis
more wearing than sight seeingI Have you
S VIXEN n yo% ioar noT the s'e e%oan fS1 S %hero al iidiS Is aaiet
and the scene is ever the same. and return to the
f ehe e %ne IS allied lie EYE With 4 S hsara Wi'f s rsmegm Sse
when Grants body lay in state at the City Hall.
iIspsed. having been overcome and worn out sim.
ply by the sight OF the nevcr.ending stream of
h hah lire Se for thirty niGwio os P forty y yans . IN P' one p Tf0
house, passing tho most hundrum. uneventful
Simplest, most e elementary Of Habits itHIH and You
vii! see with what force this process OF uncon;,
sS'9G' to ' hi@ Il he 3 Gy t 1nnS stedG Snddealy into
the midst OF luxury, and magniacencc. You will
s so so sss . ons a nS ' Ssios SsC cessp ps Isst Il Si ths hS %iif
Avail toayert the threatened death In the family
81 Q. the ise . SIalasd, 30 I Misho %s n resor fh sT q a aei1R
ora demon. It is n risky business, that Of trans.
planting az old plant, tearing up its roots. and
The nY Ssn all Mh sai sa II lP]r fSe SoG.s to ai { aa WSsn az s Sassi
different hate lies the moral. He Was a German u
Or q Swiss, but, above al, himself; 50 much &C e, 90
alLdopinating concentration Of purpose. He
s sery b here q an sRRt sS nnS lis Gn % ls shaesai s sbeir # fI ,ss
in narrow, sordid lines. They were not misera;
1phIsy simply PG. . kne% nothing Ing e sfs 4 than toll:
stand. The. wife managed her household
In the plainest fashion. and is doing 50
herself and Sd' to o, save. She had d a nsr waiy
20 asPIratio9s beyond The sphere in which she
millionaire. she would be content, TO live in 2
tenement Perhaps II they had had children 1t
m 2 tt hav9 p1G inh TiIhe a T ham sne hm m9ht IN w ,bsir
companions might have given wider interests to
the parents. and SO, may be, have saved the life
of the father. But they were alone In the world,
and their existence remained colorless.
,"The man may or may not have been a mil
like the late Mr.. Fayerweathcr, who are found
occasionally in New York. Their most intimate
friends don't know whether they are worth
300, 900 or 500, 600, 900. The general public
would have been likely to scott at the suRees-
tiOn OF my mans being worth even 800, 600.
When | first met him he was living In a house
for which no had paid $2s a month rent when
forty years before. When his landlord died no
had bought the house from the estate, probably
some $4,000. There he had continued to live.
~ you may imagine, 9 g. 900 house is apt
years, and my man did not spend any
more money for repairs than he could help. 30