Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-12-19
PRAISE FOR THE SUBURBS
THEIR LIFE DEFENDED By A
COMMENTED DENIZEN.
Small Town Attached to a Large
Provincial Center the Ideal
Residence Place.

From the London Spectator.
BY this time il is an accepted dogma
that If God made the country and man
made the town, It must have been the
devil that made the suburb. One OF the
most hideous circles in The RuskInian
inferno is that described by the ten-mile
radius-a district covered with pack
ing cases for the temporary storage OF
q population of monkeys that have lost
the use Of their legs" and that are more
passive and infinitely less witty than the
balloons in Regents Park. No type OF
the modern Englishman is more dtscred-
tied than the suburban. except possibly
the provincial. How lost beyond re-
demption. then. must be those who unite
two heinous ofrenses by dwelling in a
provincial suburb! At present I am OF
their number. and so far from appearing
in white sheet. l am brazen enough TO
eXtol my own choice as an example TO
others.
No doubt for those who can afford it.
the ideal scheme of existence is to divide
ones time between house in London
and a cottage in the country. Six months
in solitude and six months in the stream
of life should develop an admirable COM
bination Of character and talent. But my
personal concern is for the man whose
decision is affected by the cost OF rent.
furniture and travelling. and who has
to spend eleven months of the twelve in
steady work. with his own apparatus o.
books and papers close at hand. AS the
unexpected result Of wide experience in
many environments l have formulated
the heresy that for such man there is
no -the-year-round habitation SO de-
sirable as one on the outskirts of large
provincial city.
Value of Fresh Air.
My postal address excjtes the pity Of
all friends Of mine who have not yet paid
me a visit The last word of it suggests
to them a place of purgatorial function
for one whose daily occupation it is to
study and write-the perpetual din Of
mills and factories in ones ears. and other
by-products of our commercial prosperity
in ones eyes. When they defy their pref
udices and make the bold venture of see
ing for themselves, they declare that
week at my house is good as week
at the seaside. The air we breathe Is
fresh and tonic. and with a few excep-
tons we keep our windows open day
or night throughout the year without dis
agreeable results. We do not wholly es
cape fog. but the atmosphere up here is
often quite clear when the lamps have to
be lit down in the city streets. Both in
front Of the house and behind 1t there is
a prospect Of fields and woods.
The westward view is especially calm
and restful. and gives lis the refreshment
OF glorious sunsets over the opposite hill.
From our back door we can start without
more ado in a moor,a or woodland ram
BILE: there is no waste of time in first get
ting clear Of the houses. We are five
minutes walk from the main road. from
which no sign of even the motor-car traf-
fic reaches us except an agreeable hum.
All the morning. as ] have been writing
near the window. there has been no irri-
tating disturbance from outside. Three or
four tradesmen's messengers have called
for orders. but otherwise the stiffness has
been unbroken. At night our quiet Is alb
solute. Midnight roisterers never come
this way. and the first morning call is the
knock Of the milkman's boy at O'Clock.
In fact. we are so closely in touch with
vantage Of rural life is lacking to US. In
situation more remote from the town
the change of the seasons would reveal it
self In a larger variety of floral growth;
but what ! most seek and prize in rural
conditions il not so much a wealth Of bo-
tanical detail as a general atmosphere Of
restfuness and leisure. and where I am
now the opportunities Of uninterrupted
contemplation are all that the most medi-
tative temperament could wish.
In Touch With Town.
And these boons have been gained with
out payment of the great price that life in
the country ordinarily demands. We are
not isolated have known city men
whose exhilaration at their escape from
streaming 1ondons central roar has
been frozen into repuenance by the dreari-
ness OF their first country winter. The
dark and lonely roads have chilled their
spirits as the frost has chilled their bones.
To have only one postal delivery in the
day. and to be five miles from TIE nearest
telegraph office, may sound attractive to
those who are weary with much hustlng.
but it Is soon discovered that in matters
Of communication defect is quite as irri-
tating as excess. Even in household al
fairs the combination OF town and country
offers a distinct advantage. While our
milk and eggs come fresh from a neigh
boring farmhouse. we have also within
reach a large market and the city shops.
and If some domestic article should chance
to have been forgotten. there is no need to
wait until the next visit of the carrier.
for short tram journey will supply the
deficiency. In more serious concerns our
proximity to a great city insures us
against exile. 1t supplies the intellectual
stimulus for lack of which rustication has
so often proved equivalent to rusting
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