The Washington herald., 1913-02-09
By FRANCES sHAFFER.

Possibly, Judged from the inside, It
Is better taste, more retiring. to keep
ones window shades tightly drawn at
night, shutting the home and the evil
dences Of home life away from the gaze
of the passing stranger.
But viewed from the outside, It makes
a mighty CHEEKY. pretty picture to the
average passerby who just strolls along
and looks in upon life. light and the
changing home scenes. casually wonder
ing all the while what the manner of
folk, their aims, their purposes and all
Maybe II is Just the commonest brand
of curiosity, but. again, maybe II is a
healthy, whole-souled interest in our
fellow men and women. At any rate.
II Is sort OF human, particularly when
one Is In a strange town. and more
particularly when ones feet are on
foreign soil. where there is a pleasant
note of difference at every turn.
The other evening IN a little nearby
town a couple of strangers passed two
adjoining houses. both with curtains
flung wide open. shades raised away to
the top. frankly inviting the attention
Of all who chanced that way. And the
two stroIlers did look in upon the pic
lures offered They were fieeting books,
but not so brief that We failed TO see
the different ideals worked out IN the
two homes. They were the ordinary
homes of ordinary folk. with their meas
ure of beauty and appeal dependent upon
n blend OF art and care rather than upon
the money expenditure.
Crowded Conditions.
In the one there was a merry tumble
of everything. The walls were literally
covered with pictures and all sorts OF
curious little novelties that locked as II
they had dropped somewhere from the
clouds, alightinG wherever they could
find n vacant spot. Chairs pushed and
crowded against tables and the poor
little room was plainly overloaded.
And right next door. with just Il wall
between them. quite another ideal was
In evidence, and this time everything
spoke OF the rest that comes when there
is room TO rest in. Here. there were
few pretty pictures on the walls. no
superfiuous furnishings. no unlovely
bric-a-brac-at least. IL all looked very
inviting. very tasteful and appealing to
those simply on the outside.
The rooms themselves were identical.
the one not a particle larger than the
other, but such a differencei And as
the passersby drifted slowly along, their
minds drifted, too, to the two types of
women supposedly guiding the destines
and making the homes for the folk who
peopled those little houses
The one-we called her nervous and
unschooled in the art OF creating a home
atmosphere that inspires u love for the
fine and the simple. Somehow We felt
that all those cheap. SNOWY furnishings
were indicative Of her trend OF mind I'm
other things, and We wondered II she
was not one of the many women who
simply must go to a show once or
twice a week, whether II is good or bad.
Maybe We Interpreted that little room
quite contrary to its true self and pic
tUred the woman in an unreal light, but
We really could not think Of a spirit OF
rest and wholesome ideals emanating
from those crowded, jumbled quarters.
Changing fashions have much to DO
with our ideals, and fashions in home
furnishings just now call for quiet ele-
esnce for those who can afford II, and
simplicity for those who follow. near or
afar of. But, whatever the fashion may
call for. II is true that our homes do
in a way reveal ourselves. and we don't
like them to stand for confusion of
everything, making folk tired and rest
less just to look at the mixture.