The Washington herald., 1915-09-08
Old and New-F ashioned Homes.
NJ JOHN ID. BARRY.


By JOHN D. BARRY.
"The old-fashioned homes are disappearing" i
recently heard woman say, with regret in her
tone. When asked her what she meant, she re-
piled: "When l was girl, though we dlsn't
have much money, We lived in big, comfortable
house. and we had enough to eat and enough to
share with any friends that happened to drop in.
We had an open-hcarted way of living. Our
house. like most of the houses of friends, was
an active social center, and it had all kinds of
wholesome associations In true sense of the
word, it gave us the feeling of home. Whenever
We went away we knew we should have this place
to 60 back to, and we should find the old happy
life going there just the same. Nowadays
people tending more and more to live in
make-shift way. in apartments and fats. They
move often. In my youth the idea Of moving
would have been like a revolution earth
quake. We felt that we were as deeply rooted
in the home as if we were trees. We had our roots
in the ground. Now people think nothing of NOV
ing once year, or even oftener. The result is
that losing the old stability and the old
associations that did much to give home its
healthy atmosphere"
1t seemed to me that in those remarks there
was a good deal of truth. Perhaps the greatest
OSS ldy III ScHtlHCHt me OiQ-ldSHlOHcQ HOIlCs
brcathcd into the spirit kind of poetry radating
out of the deepest and the most sacred human re-
lations.
And yet the spirit of the home did not actually
require such accessories 1t could exist it could
flourish in fiat apartment.
In both the od-fashioned homes and the new
fashioned homes the same human forces were at
play. When first New York, for example,
had the feeling that this great wilderness of city
contained no real homes. The rush and the roar,
the life in the streets and the cafes and the ho-
tells seemed to deny the home feeling.
But l soon discovered that l mistaken.
Home life fourshed there it did everywhere
else. And some Of the very people who were most
con spicuous in public managed to have sheltered
little nests Of their where they led quiet and
sane lives.
my home is under my hat" once heard a
travelling say. When l got to know him bet
ter found out what he meant. Wherever he
was he managed to create about him the home
atmosphere by being at peace with himself With
few books that he carried, with his pipe and his
slippers, he could make hotel room homeke.
He knew how to achieve of the greatest of
human feats to maintain serenity and poise under
all conditions. He seemed to me much more re-
HldrkdDlc tTdn TWO actors OF my acquaintance,
husband and wife, who, for the sake OF being to-
gethcr, would accept engagements apart,
and who, whenever they the road, would
turn couple of rooms in lodging house into a
delightful home.
There are homes, usually old fashioned, so
self satisfied in their atmosphere to be ,rritat
ing. Their members likely to look out on the
Of the world with of fheirl
own superiority In this kind of home there is
likely to be good deal OF happiness, and there
is sure to be narrowness that may lead to trou-
ble usually through the rebellion of the younger
generation. So often, in those sclf-satished fam-
lies an alien spirit appears, unable to endure the
conditions, eager to break away, to the bewilder-
mcnt of the others, who cannot understand this
phenomenon.
In some homes there is hatncss, dullness,
an unSpeakable WEAKNESS that a vast
amount of misery and that sometimes expresses
itself in unwholcsomc reactions. The trouble is
usually due to lack of relation between the home
and the healthy forces OF life outside. For, it
should be remembered the home is essentially
human and requires circulation OF the blood With
cut such circulation there is likely to be stagna
ton, and, VIC all know, stagnation inevitably
leads to disease When, to the individual. life is
fiat, there is obviously something wrong. When
the home is fiat i-health is operating there. Some
of the most wrctchcd homes present the hardest
appearance to the world. Their disease is all the
more dangerous because it gives warnings to
the eye.
The religious spirit used to be great aid to
happiness in home life. Multitudes of homes it
has helped to establish and to maintain on
sound basis. But with the decline of religion its
influence has been considerably weakened. 1t was
to religion that the home owed its old sense of
permanence. And religion contributed the i'm
portant factor of community of interest, express
ing itself in community OF spirit. During the past
twenty-five years. however the rebellion against
orthodoxy has been fearfully disturbing factor
in the home. Many home that would otherwise
have been happy it has torn with disscnsion.
On the other hand in well-ordcred homes kept
healthy with good feeling. the best in human life
is sure to flourish, and the highest types of hu-
manity are invariably to be found. =.
Fortunately. we arc now reaching broader
and finer conccption Of the home institution.