davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times., 1923-03-04

mindedly, thinking about business
letters during the sermon, drows-
ing during the music, and rousing
themselves to slide to their knees
when the women rustic into that
position.
In America also we have the
several million members OF the
new churches, the men and women
who have seized avidly upon what
might be called painless theology"
Let anyone who questions the
hold Of these dogmas upon human
hearts stand for an hour or two
in one OF the book stores where
psychological and metaphysical
and mental culture and new
thought" books are sold, and
watch the people browsing over
them, eagerly selling the new and
going forth to build churches and
temples and halls for its better
propagation.
And in all OF these religions one
has to except the honest, the en-
viable minority Of persons who
have true faith, who really believe.
who really serve, who have made
the difficult Journey for them
selves, and are safe in harbor.
LONG FOR RELIGION.
In his secret heart every human
being longs for what we call "reli-
gion."
But these are the days when we
logically analyze everything, from
the contents of the baby's bottle to
the oldest philosophers in the
world.
And when the opponents of any
religion are found wanting, when
narrownesses and hypocrisies and
prejudices creep into the admins
tration of Christ's kingdom on
earth, then we are apt to ques-
ton the existence of the kingdom
at all, and that dreariest Of posi-
tions, the "oh.what 's-the.use" feel.
ing, comes over US as we leave the
sun-flooded portals of the church
on Sunday morning and see DIR.
Furthermore graciousness to the
Smiths. who own that block Of un.
speakable houses in Ferry street,
and remember that poor Mrs.
Brown, who is struggling to raise
eight fatherless sons and daugh-
tiers, was kindly but firmly put
out Of the pew reserved by the
same employer whose factory
The Washington times., 1923-03-04

wheels caused John Browns un-
timely death.
And we read of murderous reli-
gious prosecutions under Mary
and under Elizabeth, and we say
to the churches: You claim divine
guidance. Where is it, then?
Hasn't murder always been MUIR
der and torture always torture?
Does God change, or do you? And
If you were wrong then, why be
so sure that you are always right
now?"
CHURCHES ARE SILENT.
We see with our own eyes
Christian" nations going to war
with every hideous device that
devilish cruelty can construct,
with smothering gases. with sub
marines, with machine guns and
bombs and ''dum-dum" bullets
and the voices Of the great
churches are silent.
They depiore, they Deseech
yes. but they do not thunder
forth their prohibitions as If they
really believed that we should
love our enemy and do good to
them that hate us; as IL they
really believed in the words, "By
this shall all men know that
We are my disciples. II We have
love one to another"
The Washington times., 1923-03-04
FOOD FASHION, FURNITURE THREE ESSENTIALS OF MODERN

our apology for suggesting the
institution of a Furniture Day.
in the programs OF the various
wonen's clubs OF the country.
The proudest title any city
wears is to call it q city Of homes.
The furniture in those homes, II
tasteful. ministers to culture and
refinement. m
Quality furniture that is easily
and quickly convertible into num-
Der Of uses to meet emergency
needs in the small home, and
more especially the two or three
room apartment, Is shown in the
illustration. Besides. It shows an
excellent grouping Of unmatched
pieces, Of Colonial design. all har-
monizing when combined for util-
ity and decorative purposes.
copyright. American Homes Bursau.)
The Washington times., 1923-03-04

heightened and doors fitted, it
lost itself in the clothes press
of the forefathers. and the ward
robe OF today.
DESIGN IS FIRST.
The first element in all good
furniture Is design. 1t is design
which determines whether a given
style sof furniture shall last
through the ages, or pass with
the generation which produced it.
And al the fundamentals in
good furniture designing were
worked out long ago. Modern
furniture designers have really
achieved nothing good which is
not based upon the same essential
, lines to which good furniture In
all times, has 0onformed.
This fact argues no lack Of
creative impulse in the designers
Of our time. 1t means simply that
furniture, being intended pri-
marily for definite uses, Is sub
ject to definite structural limita-
tons. The designer who disre-
CARDS these, produces furniture
which is useless or freakish, or
both, and while his work may
satisfy a passing desire for nov
city, it cannot possibly endure.
All good furniture of today is
"old wine in new bottles" The
work Of men like Chippendale.
Sheraton and Heppelwhite was
not original. It embodied the old
essentials and added new features
of grace and beauty. And not
all of their work was good. But
only the good remains. Time
The Washington times., 1923-03-04

that the soul IL q very lonely
thing, alienated here in conditions
that are strange and painful, be-
wildered by limitations not OF its
own making, struggling in the
dark to find the answer to all
these puzzles and problems.
II 1t is to emerge from the dark.
ness and doubt at all, It must
emerge by its own bitter and,
solitary struggle. Nobody can
give you religion, no set OF facts
or proofs can give It to you.
But there are lights in the
darkness-some Of them two thou
sand years OF scorn and protest
and argument and persecution
have been powerless to quench.
Pick up today, in our western
world, in any little bookstore Of
your town or mine, the one book
they all carry, in anything from
ten to two hundred editions.
THE RIGHT ROAD.
What makes them carry it.
this New Testament, this frag-
mentary, hearsay story Of a sin
gle, obscure life Of the covenant
between the mortal and the i'm.
mortal?
What but the fact that here.
thousands and thousands, millions
The Washington times., 1923-03-04

They say, or at least clergymen
Of various denominations have
said to mo, on this point, that 1t
would not do much good II they
did denounce war or any other
popular evfl.
Well, suppose 1t didn't. Suppose
SO per cent of all their massed
congregations fell away when this
attempt was tried. Then at least
we would have something definite
in that remaining minority-we
could feel that we were sincere.
We might even have to die
for it, which would be refreshing
and stimulating to those who
came after us.
CHURCHES NOT TO BLAME.
However, the churches are not
really to blame. They are admin
istered by human beings Of con-
siderably higher moral average
than ourselves.
Mistaken and narrow some of
them may be, but at least they
have given their lives to God, to
serving His people here, and to
belief in His everlasting Kingdom.
And while they are merely hui
man, we must expect merely hui
man weaknesses and blunders.
Our error ia in ever. forvetfinc.
cause 1t seems 50 wrong to force
The Washington times., 1923-03-04

brighter than its sisters. Your
heart and your beauty are among
other women what the diamond
is among other stones.
"Sweet fountain Of gentleness,
you are filled with all virtues.
Oh, that must die far from you.
But you know the path that will
reunite US; it is the path to
heaven; there I shall wait for
YOU"
A TERRIBLE FATE.
The fate Of the troubadour's
hear was terrible. The master
of Fayel discovered the letter Of
the crusader to his lady. and he
was a jealous and cruel man. He
had the heart of poor de Coucy
cooked and forced the lady OF
Fayel to eat it.
To be sincere is an art, and
the troubadours did not under.
stand that art. Their love letters
prove it. It cost very much time
and many efforts before the love
letter outwore it's baby shoes, for
got the nowery language, the
stars. the allegories and the
mythology. Centuries passed be-
fore the first man had tho simple
and sincere idea Of writing 20 hts
sweetheart these few words:
IT love you" And since then
they have been repeated billions
Of times.
The Washington times., 1923-03-04
Mother of Fifteen,
at 1O3, Tells How
To Gain Long Life

1T seems probable chat any
centenarian whose hundredth
birthday found him still strong
enough to work could earn .
comfortable livelihood by opening
a, consulting. room and advising
his juniors how to order their
lives If they also wish to be long
in the land.
AS It Is. they generally give
their advice gratis to the repre-
sentatives Of youth" and
that advice varies so widely
from case to case that one Is
always left wondering whether
any centenarian has ever really
solved the secret Of his own
longevity.
The latest Of them to throw
her wisdom and experience into
the common stock is q woman OF
103 who has been interviewed
by several newspapermen.
"She attributed her long Hfe,"
we read. ''to her simple habits"
and that sounds well.
But when we go on to read that
she Is the mother Of fifteen chill
dren, eats as much as anyone In
her house. includes cakes. sweets
and chocolates In her daily regi-
men, and regularly winds UP the
well-spent day by drinking hot
"toddy" at night. we are forced
to doubt whether her, example
gives any useful guidance.
Surely. we then feel. these
pleasant ways OF frightening
our days cannot Do dependeu
upon to prove efficacious in all
cases; and our doctors win echo
our doubts; but even they can
not prescribe any Specific Tar
longevity. @
The Washington times., 1923-03-04

home-maker In the selection Of
furniture az In preaching civic
beauty.
When we assist in creating
the home of taste we are min
istering to culture and intel
ligence. It is impossible that
one should continue without the
other.
with household goods in which
the kindred quality Of each IL
well established and interrelated,
without being improved by the
contact. Mental efficiency, moral
breadth and the sheer pagan
joy of life are all promoted by
our intimate environment.
If all other evidences of civil.
zation were destroyed, and the
furniture of the ages left In.
tact. still could be traced, with
reasonable accuracy, mans prog
reSS since mat Obscure age When
he IL said to have roamed like
q beast in the forests.
The study Of furniture IL, in
q measure, the study of mans
progress in war, peace, religion,
art, politics. handicraft. commerce
i'm short. in nearly every de-
partment Of endeavor in which
he has distinguished himself.
Students OF history affirm that
the beginning Of the decline of
the Byzantine, the Egyptian, the
Grecian and the Roman nations
each dated from the introduc.
ton Of the custom Of the people
partaking Of their meals while
The Washington times., 1923-03-04

"If my eyes do not see you, be-
lieve me, my heart does see you.
When the breezes blow from your
direction, 1t seems to me as
though the sky were sending me
a carriage on which my heart
might fly back to you"
Very much more exciting and,
indeed, tragic was the story of
the love letter. which Raoul de
Coucy, the troubadour, sent to
his beloved Gabrielle. wife of the
master Of Fayel.
Raoul went on a crusade in
order to make a name for him.
self, and while he was IN the
Holy Land poisoned arrow
wounded him, and he was dying.
When death was near, the trouba-
dour said to his servant:
POISON KILLS HIM.
LAS soon as am dead, take
my heart, bring it to France, to
the lady Of Fayel. Likewise bring
her this letter and all jewelry L
possess as tokens of my love and
remembrance"
A little note accompanied his
heart:
Lady, I wish to tell you that
remained faithful to you. T
took your heart with me. I am
sending you mine. Oh, charming
creature, you surpass all women
as the evening star shines
The Washington times., 1923-03-04

does throughout the ages every.
where. Only the frame into which
it was pressed was small and
monotonous. People didn't travel.
1t was very rarely that new per-
sons made their appearance in a
castle or village.
Gossipping was much better de-
veloped than it is nowadays. A
love declaration to woman was
not done with and forgotten with
g. smile Of amused Indifference; it
caused a scandal, often terrible
revenge, cruel assassination, bru-
talities, blood.
Love was considered a thing Of
art, delightful distraction, a sort
of game in the best society. Trou-
badours, poor young men who
made a living by poetry and
music, developed the art.
FIRST EXCHANGES.
Some Of them, perchapce, had
aspired to become influential
priests and suddenly found out
that one got much quicker into a
good position under the protection
of lady than by the recommends
ton of an archbishop.
Love service in the Middle Ages
was the pretex for the ?rst ex-
change of small love messages,
little rhymes, which were the
The Washington times., 1923-03-04

reclining-by which we can meas
ure the tremendous responsible
ity that rests upon the makers
of our dining tables!
There IL literally nothing In art
or literature that reflects more
clearly the progress Of civIliza.
ton than the writing desk.
from the evolution of the knee
hole table" to the modern desk,
the business mans roH-top.
And how important q period
Ia the history Of man II marked
by the time between it, inven.
ton and that day when It shall
become obsolete! For obsolete,
no doubt some day It will be-
come, when wireless telephony
has supplanted every other means
Of communication, and the meth.
DDS Of automatic writing have
rendered the pen an out-of-date
and useless implement.
The shapes, forms and even
the decorations Of all furniture
had their inception in some hui
man want or within, passion or
sorrow. The history of every
piece of furniture affords ma.
terial for a story which may be
so interestingly told that 1t will
fire the dullest imagination with
higher ideals while storing the
mind with useful information.
From the hutch or chest of
the thirteenth and fourteenth
centuries we have a continuous
and fertile growth. BY itself
1t was bed, seat. table and cup
board. For upon legs It be-
The Washington times., 1923-03-04

has eliminated the unfit.
Our modern American designers
base their work on the old mas
tiers. They do not servilely copy
every detail OF these fine designs.
but they do utilize the main char
acteristics, and. at the same time,
impart to the designs distinctive
impression of their own individ-
uality.
>'FURNITURE DAY"
Think not that real art, as well
as science, is not essential In the
shaping Of wood to give express
sion to its greatest beauty In
furniture. Nature in its slow but
generous process, has provided us
with wood OF such beauty, charac-
ter and variety that the pro-
auctions Of the worlds greatest
artists suffer by comparison.
When one looks upon a fine piece
of furniture the imagination
reaches beyond the mere human
elements of design, construction,
practicability and finish-all of
which are important and interest
ing; but we should also realize
that, in its creation, natures
workshop has been active for
hundreds Of years In producing
each piece Of wood Of such char
acter that its exact counterpart
does not exist.
Good furniture, hike good wine,
may need no bush; but It does
seem to require an inordinate
amount OF plain boosting-which
must, in the final analyses, BE-
The Washington times., 1923-03-04

she may bug pearls and bring
home carloads Of French furni.
| tnre for theu sw house.
But theshour u coming when
she VIII realize that she u old, and
that the doctors cant keep her
withered bodv alive much longer.
and that the grandd daughters are
already cycling the pearls, and then
she would Give All the properties,
al the bonds, an the Jewels she
owns for Just ona day-fer just
one hour-of honest belief thar
there il another world, close and
sure, and that the Master does
not discharge. his servants when
the world korgets them and when
the undertaker's men walk in.
Just to be sure JUST not to say
one believed because one was old
and sick and frightened
.SEEK, AND We SHALL FIND"
Let her so. then, to some con.
vent and look into the eyes Of
some other old woman, who for
eixty years lAas given up this life.
90 sure IL she. Of the reality Of the
life to come, and let her see there
the radiance, and the confluence,
and the faitk that she cannot buy.
or let her watch the face Of the
stupidest little missionary, the
dullest and dowdiest little Saliva
ton Army Iassie. to whom. in the
midst of things material and
things seen, has come the revela-
ton Of the reaIer world unseen.
we can't give it to our children,
and unless we have It ourselves
we can't even show them how to
find it. But life is short. and
surely. IL anything on earth il
worth while, it is this. When
some better rule than seek. ana
We shall find" comes our way, then
perhaps we can try that, whatever
It is. But for 1000 years that
promise has never been broken.
Copyright, 1898. BY the Repuhlie
Syndicate.1
This is one Of . series Of Woman
to Woman Talks on present-dax
family. and social problems that
Mrs. Norris Americas best loved
and most popular woman writer
IL writing especially for The
Times-H Herald. Another talk win
be printed next Sunday.
The Washington times., 1923-03-04


upon them what she only hair
believes herself, or distressed be-
cause their religion IL to them 80
lifeless . thing, VIII re-establish
the good old family custom Or
daily Bible reading and study. this
coming year viii Be to her the
most momentoua in her life.
She (and every one Of us) must
fight for her own belief, no mat.
ter how many generations Of orth.
odox men and women. have gone
before her, how fixedIy ''our
family" belongs to thiS church
or that.
And when she has wrestled this
thing out for herself. she viii
find q new definiteness In her
whole. attitude, little softnesses
and weaknesses and vaguenesses
will vanish, she win direct her
children with new confidence, be-
cause she knows!
She will express lersek In her
club with new firTnness, and other
women will surprise her after
ward by coming up TO say. ''Tt
did me good to hear you. Mrs.
Jones. I wish more Of Us had
your courage"
Courage. She win look ut the
speaker in establishment. why,
that took no couragel It was SO
obvious, somehow if one Il
real Christian.
RICHES OF FAITH.
And gradually. az weeks and
months go by, the wells will open.
Not for her neighbors, not for her
club, but for her herself.
Gradually this life will come to
seem to her but q fragment OF the
long cycle; its only worth while
achievements spiritual achieve
ments. its only duties, service and
love, and its beginning and end
stretching into infinite time, into
boundless existence under the
same Hand that guides 1t now.
That. after all, makes her richer
than the richest woman in the
world who has not that faith.
This other woman. may 60 on
wintering in Biarritz and summer
ing at Newport and-as. the coun-
try woman said springing and
falling at other fashionable places:
she may be entertainer by ambas-
sadors and honored by royalties;
The Washington times., 1923-03-04
PARIS, March 8.

" HIS is an obituary Of the love
letter.
u The telephone and the
postal card have killed the love
letter. Yes, they have. Just ask
the mailman and the telephone
operator.
There are too many love tele-
phone talks nowadays which might
be collected in an anthology as
one formerly gathered love letters
in print. Perhaps the operators
will work out that anthology some
time. 1t certainly would be
amusing. But the love letter is
dead, writes Robert de Flers in
Conferencia.
Do you know when it was born?
Love letters did not come spon-
taneously. During the first cen.
turtles, In fact, no person in Europe
wrote to another person of differ.
ent sex: II love you" or else "I
detest you." or "I should like to
see you tomorrow between Z and
T." or "If you don't believe that
shall always love you, I'll kill
myself this evening. and you'll see
that then l can't change my mind
any more"
LOVE ALWAYS EXISTED.
During the first centuries not
the ttniest note tells Of love. And
yet-love existed. flourished az It
The Washington times., 1923-03-04

and millions Of human hearts
have found the way out.
laundering, stumbling, imper-
feet, still we know this lie the
right road.
We cannot be wholly humble,
but we know 1t would be better
for US If we were.
We cannot be wholly merci-
full, but we can try.
We cannot. love our neIghbor
as ourselves, but after awhile we
begin to see that IL we Nigh.
ever do so, the kingdom would
be nearer to us than it is today;
we begin to see that IL ever the
world becomes better, love, and
not hate, must accomplish it.
70 "get religion is an indi-
vidual adventure
Automatic orthodoxy may bring
US to the places where we pray,
and prayer may do the rest, but
mere church going il not in itself
religion.
It IL on our knees, asking, that
we separately and individually
receive"
DAILY BIBLE READING.
II any mother Of children,
IA . - Z
wondering what to give them in
the way Of belief. troubled bc.
The Washington times., 1923-03-04
1-UT you belong to
church, don't your"
"Well-I usually &c

<<-UT you belong to a
OR church, don't your
H. "well-I usually go.
And the children go to Sunday
school, of course. But Will never
goes"
Thus speaks the typical Ameri-
can wife and mother.
She isn't quite happy spiritually,
or quite sure herself. but she does
want the children to get some
thing definite and bracing, spirit
ually speaking. and the church
seems the place to which to go
for 1t.
She feels rather virtuous when
she starts the girls off, spic and
span. on Sunday morning, and
personally sees that the boys
hands are clean for Sunday
So the boys go, just SO long
as they are forced to go and not
q Sunday longer, and the girls
uHtu lACy are III lhSA 1SOAS
and now and then a girl goes
through a real religious phase and
"a a churchgoer all her life.
Many families, whose forbears
brought one Of the two old re-
ligions from the Old World, have
q somewhat different position.
"But aren't you orthodox He
brews?" one sometimes asks.
"Aren't you Catholics?"
Well, yes, of course. Or that
Is, we ought to be. But inter-
marriages and the influences Of
the new world have vitiated the
strain.
SIMPLEST THING TO DO.
Or else we are faithful.
The women are, anyway, and
the men go late to services, and
kneel upon one knee, and break
a good many lesser economical
laws, and let 1t go at that-call-
ing themselves sons of the church
Just because It is the simplest
and the most comfortable thing
TO do.
But to hundreds and thousands
Of these their religion has never
been an actuality. They don't
think Of It a. anything personal
20 themselves.
Il is only q big machine, which
Gxacts certain pastures, certain
words, from them, on given days,
and these words and gestures they
pay good naturedly and absent