Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1905-06-08
TO PROTEST. TO THE PRESIDENT
PASSING OF THE PARLOR.
Another Old institution Thnt Il Going
4 source Of Interest to Visitors.
(From The Savannah, Ga, Morning
News,

a writer in a furniture trade journal
refers to tho fact that tho old fashioned
parlor has seen its day and * not I" be
found III modern homes" So tho fine
old institution is going. is il" Maybe it
is lust rs we'll that it should go. 1t was
usually Il place of silence and gloom to
the children Of the household; n forbid
den place. like the secret room in Blue
boards castle. Nevertheless it WAS tho
! pride of mamln;. and tn" "hcte n"ii'' Of
papa. who COUNT smoke there. and
was always leaving the blinds open so
that the sun would shine in and fade
the beautiful red carpet.
How wildly the picture Of tho old
fashioned paror comes back to the
mind, There was IT," mohair covered
sofa. the mohair covered rocking chairs
and tn" m"hair covered standing chairs.
lall very shiny. very -licl, and very I'M
comfortable. The chairs stood as
straight as if their Perpendicular had
been determined with a plumb-lnc and
their seats were springN and hubous.
! The small boy who attempted To sit on
ono OF them found himself pcrpotually
sliding off. and then crawling back on
again. In one corner was the what
not" an ornate affair. on which were
!
Legends as For a Good BoN. For At
Good Girl" ''ro our Mother and the
like. in addition to Il hundred gcweawS
and jircraoks defyinG description In
the centre of the room was the centre
table" usually round. with marble top.
ON this WAS the family album and the
family Bible. the former containing the
faded pictures of Uncle ircd in ill-httiug
clothes and Aunt Fanny in hoopskirts.
/ frills and curls. and the latter pre-
serving II record of tn" births and deaths
for several generations. The family
album was an indispensable feature OF
every oldfashionod paror \ family
might get along without the stuffed
birds or the wax flowers under the
glass case. but an alubum WAS a noccs-
sity. Visitors always found it source
lof interest. ana it was usually we'll
lthunlbed
The very atmosphere of the old paror
VAS different from that found anywhere
else in the house out OF doors. There
was a sort OF 'parlor smell" about it
that, once shifted. may never be forgot
ten. This was due. of course, to the
fact that the room WAS kept shut tight
NEARLY all the time. parlor is, or used
to be, the only room that didn't need
ventilation. The luxury of it had to be
kept shut up. for purposes of preserva-
ton. II didn't matter if il vas a bit
nusty in smell; wasn't it the parlor
and didn't everybody else's parlor smell
the same way?
And SO the old parlor is passing
Maybe it Is all right for 1t to go But
we shall ever remember 1t with tender
lest feelings. 1t was in the old parlor
that We courted our swcethearts. mar
Tried our wives, Christencd our babies,
and took our last views of loved ones as
lthey lay with hands folded upon their
breasts. Modern modes Of living may
abolish the parlor as it used to be- but
they can never abolish from the minds
of those who know the dear old insttu-
: ton at its best tho love and vcncration
, lthey feel for it.