Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1905-03-10

CIlNPrI |; Vi Continued
"N,..I Wish dat this art wee i.n.,
h-.,..,'l ,.....i il X. ~ education should
consist ii ILi.!ain- with ones mind,
feeling with ones heart expressing the
little personalities of the Utmost. inviS-
ibl" Il which, On the contrary. are
reprcs>cd. lcNcled down. by conformi-
ty would That the young girl in her
nnvitiutc of womauhood. the future
mother. might early become the little
exponent of this art Of the toilet her
own lressmakcr. in short-Sbe who one
day shall make the dresses Of her chill
dren, but with the taste and the gift
to imprnvisr, to express herself In that
masterpiece Of feminine personality
and skill. Il gown, without which "A wo-
man is 40 more than a bundle of rags
The dress you have made for your
self is almost always the most becom-
ing, and, however that may be. 1t Is
the one that pleascs YOU most. Wom-
en- Of leisure too often forget this;
working women .lSo In city and cOun-
try alike. Since these last are cos
TUNED by dreSsmakerS and milliners
in very doubtful imitation Of the mod
iSli world. grace has almost disappear
ell from their dress. And has anything
more surely the gift to please than the
fresh apparition Of n young working
girl or daughter of the fields wearing
the costume of her country and beau
tiful from her simplicity alone?
These same reflections might be ap-
piled to the fashion of decorating and
arranging our houses. If there are toll
lets which reveal an entire conception
Of life. hats that are poems. knots OF
ribbon that are Veritable works OF art
SO there are interiors which after their
manner speak to the mind. Why, I'M
der preteXt of decorating our homes,
do we destroy that personal character
which always has such value! Why
have our sleeping rooms conform TO
those of hotels, our reception rooms to
waiting rooms, by making predomi-
nant uniform type Of official beauty!
What a pity to 20 through the
houses Of city. the cities Of country.
the countries Of a vast continent, and
encounter everywhere certain forms
identical, inevitable, exasperating by
their repetition. How aesthetics would
gain by more simplicity! Instead Of
this luxury in Job lots, all these deco
rations, pretentious, but vapid from
iteration, we should have an infinite
variety; happy improvisations would
strike our eyes, the unexpected In
thousand forms would rejoice our
hearts, and we should rediscover the
secret Of impressing on q drapery or
piece Of furniture that stamp Of hui
man personality which makes certain
antiques priceless.
Let us pass at last to things simpler
still; mean the little details Of house
keeping which many young people Of
our day find SO unpoetical. Their con-
tempt for material things, for the hum
BILE cares house demands. arises from
confusion very common, but none the
less unfortunate, which comes from
the belief that beauty and poetry are
within some things, while others lack
them; that some occupations are dis
tinguished and agreeable. such as Guilt
waiting letters, playing the harp, and
that others are mental and disagree
able, like backing shoes, sweeping and
watching the pot boil. Childish error!
Neither harp nor broom has anything
to do with it. All depends on the hand
In which they rest and the spirit that
moves 1t. Poetry Is not In things; II
is In us. 1t must be impressed on OBJ
jects from without, as the sculptor i'm
presses his dream on the marble. If
our life and our occupations remain
too often without charm In spite of any
outward distinction they may have 1t Is
because we have not known how to put
anything into them. The height Of art
Is to make the inert live and to tame
the savage. would have our young
girls apply themselves to the develop
ment Of the truly feminine art Of CIV
The triumph Of woman's charm is In
that work. Only a woman knows how to
put into home that indefnable some
thing whose virtue has made the poet
soy, 1.-THE house top rejoices and is
glad" They say there are no such
things as fairies or that there are
fairies no longer, but they know not
what they say. The original Of the
fairies sung by poets was found and is
still among those amiable mOrtals who
knead bread with energy, mend rents
with cheerfulness, nurse the sick with
smiles. put witchery into ribbon and
genius into q stew.
1t Is indisputable that the culture of
the fine arts has something refining
about it and that our thoughts and
acts are in the end impregnated with
that which strikes our eyes. But the
exercise of the arts and the contempla-
uon Of their products are restricted
privileges. 1t is not given to every one
70 possess. to comprehend or to create
fire things. Yet there Is a kind OF
ministerlng beauty which may make
its way everywhere-the beauty which
springs from the hands Of our wives
and daughters. Without itswhat Il
the most richly decorated house? A
dead dwelling place. With it the bar.
est home has life and brightness
Among the forces capable Of trans.
forming the will and increasing happi
ness there is perhaps none in more
universal use than this beauty. II
knows how to shape itself by means
Of the crudest tools in the midst OF
the greatest difficulties. When the
dwelling is cramped, the purse limited
the table modest, q woman who has
the gift finds q way to make order
fitness and convenience reign In her
house. She puts care and art into
everything she undertakes. To do well
what one has to do is not in her eyes
the privilege OF the rich, but the right
of all. That Is her aim, and she knows
how to give her home dignity and an
attractiveness that the dwellings of
princes, II everything is left to mer-
cenaries, cannot possess.
CHAPTER XII.
PRIDE AND SIMPLICITY IN THE INTER
COURSE OF MEN.
T would perhaps be difficult to find
more convincing example than