Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-03-03

lures. but that if We confined ourselves to
the necessities We would be contented with
little.
This is the value of simple life expert
ments: we see that We can thrive without
multiplying bodily necessities. We can
curtail limit our bodies to certain needs
and give a chance for the mind and soul.
When
We have once begun to renounce the world
We may be disposed to renounce it alto
gether. to forget to eat, or to half starve.
or to live for the sake of art and letters.
Students often have done this 1t is not in
the least beyond the pale Of reason and OF
| human practices. Brainy women have been
celebrated as frumps. They are going to
extremes. neglecting bodily beauties in the
i ardor for supra-bodily beauties.
Well. that merely is quitting one extreme
| for the other, and although brains are bet
ter than bodies bodies are the foundations
for brains. And they require first thought.
i We must attend to the bodily B C's II
we are going to be orderly in our reading
! and our spelling. We cannot do the higher
perfectly before attending to the lower.
| The house is more important than the
| foundations because we can live In the
| house and we cannot live in the founda-
tions. But the foundations are more impor-
| tGnt IN TINS respect. lHdt we c tiic
| house without first laying the foundations.
We Hear
| People say. can't afford this, I can't af-
| ford that. OF course. perhaps they can't.
| But again. perhaps they can. Our best
| goes to crude bodily needs and then we can
| not travel nor subscribe to charities, nor
| get good books. nor hear good music, nor
go to lectures, nor study art.
1t. is in the way We divide our expendi-
| lures. Get the mental the spiritual neces-
sites and the bodily will take care OF them
selves Insist that the spirtualties. the
esthetics the mentalities are necessities. 1t
is pitiful how cheap they are-free lectures.
free libraries, free music, free art, free
friendship.
raiment.
Forget the body for year. Think of the
soul Live with the soul. Do not renounce
heaven. renounce the world. Get heaven.
get music, art life amusement beauty, Gull
ture. Be fine bird as well as finely
feathered bird.
And people are alike in their love of fnery.
And we admire both handsome plumage
and handsome gowns. Still we say that
"'Tis not fine feathers that make fine
birds" And people, too, must be finer than
their clothes. The clothes need just their
due need of attention. And that need rela-
lively is little. In fashion magazine a
young girl was asking counsel about her
wardrobe The reply urged upon her the
fact that clothes did not belong to her i'm
portant interests. that she should have her
outfit planned at the beginning of the sea-
son and give it no further thought than to
keep il in repair. A woman of many inter
ests it is said, got four new gowns every
autumn and depended on them until the
warm weather regardless of minor changes
in the modes. She had more important in
terests on hand than the fashions
These are good examples. She is blessed
among women who can see that there are
more important avenues for her to express
herself through than in dress. and yet keep
the dress attractive and appropriate