Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-10-01
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRAcEWELL.

| 1t was an cid house, in which the
| former tenants seemed to have left
their troubles and sorrows.
Why is it that some old homes affect
one so?
Surely it was not matter, merely
of gloomy rooms. caused by the late
! afternoon, and the dark woodwork, and
! the somber walls.
| Nor could the musty smell of long
! shut rooms explain the feeling of sad
ness which crept over one, as he
walked through the halls. the silence
broken only by the footballs.
| The atmosphere of the whole place
was of a pattern. Great hedges
| bounded it on the front sides and back
hedges, marking the places where
! formal gardens had been.
Tightly locked from the front, the
| back of the house was wide open,
I entrance. being easy by means OF a
door opening from the back porch into
! the yard.
But, somehow, the calm of the front
yard set the tone for what one found
inside 1t is not often that one STUN
bles into such silent frontage near
busy city.
Mostly lawns are wide and open but
| this one was private. The hedge was
| too high, too thick, to permit the curl
Gus gaze of passersby to penetrate
| much.
The unlimited visitor had to walk
| UP the driveway, along which lllacS
| lowered to a height of 10 to Is feet.
| What is more beautiful than a real
| lilac hedgs?
1t was easy to imagine them in full
| flower, in those mysterious years when
| the lilacs bloom Those who love the
clean smell of lilacs know chat it Is
not an annual fragrance, except in a
| small way.
Only every now and then, perhaps
| twice In ten years, do the lilac bushes
of an entire city burst forth into the
| full. fresh fragrance which delights the
! world.
One went up the front steps, onto
! the semi-large porch, and peered into
| the veStibule, but it was so dark inside
that it was impossible to see anything.
A vestibule!
No. builders do not build vestibules
any more. The modern fashion is for
a direct entry into the living room, or
hall
Vestibules went out with latrobes,
curiously but naturally enough called
after their inventor, the French Maj.
Latrobe.
Here was a, VeStibule, like the high
hedges, setting the tone of the interior.
One juggled the handle of the big front
door, to find it shut tightly. There was
no entering here.
Yet curiosity was unsatisfied. The
big For Rent" sign which hung askew
over the front wall spoke of interesting
sights inside Even If one had no In
tention or need of renting, houses are
always interesting.
Some persons are interested in houses,
Just as others make ships their hobby.
One does not have to be builder, nor
yet realtor, to have an abiding inter-
est in the visible home, the house.
We know of q sailor who is building
two houses just for the fun OF 1t. One
of them has been practically completed
for several years and has never had a
For Sale" sign on 1t. We know sub
marine offlcer who spends most Of his
spare time constructing, with loving
care, q model of the home he hopes to
build some day. 1t Is beautiful thing.
Here was an old house Of good archi-
tectural lines, yet speaking somehow OF
a bygone day, perhaps of the horse and
carriage days gone beyond recall. The
front door was shut tight, but expert
ence taught that there might be some
way to get in. AS one stood on the
porch he saw that the grounds, broad
and deep, looked surprisingly well, con-
sidering the drought.