Evening star., 1931-12-17
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

Then Columbus wasted it And Walt
Whitman wasted more when he spent
his time In hymning his glory.
II all the time were wasted which
those who do not understand say is
wasted, nothing would ever be done in
this world. II all the time which those
who do not care to understand-which
perhaps Is more to the point--say is
wasted. there would be no time left for
many to do anything at ALL -,
Happily. saying does not make true.
Inc child who seems to be wasting
his time may be evolving great things
Tor the future. II those things do not
appear in the fullness Of the ocean Of
time, do not feel too sure that you are
justified In your criticism.
Perhaps the child did great things
for himself in silence which no one else
could 90 for him. No human being can
become the exact criterion for another,
although many think they are
| The callow youth who 1ippantly
passes judgment as he supposes, upo.I
a painting or piece of writing Is not
| judging it half as much as he Is being
judged by Il
In silence let him look until he dis
covers why such things exist.
One may feel sorry for the man or
woman, grown, who has not yet found
out that Hamlet was right when he
warned Horatio that there are more
things in heaven and earth than he
knew about.
Dawns and sunsets are two Of these
| immortal things. We should rejoice all
the more over them because they are
free. God gave them to us, ana only
He can take them away.
Impatience is to be watched for, in
order to be fought, in the happy diver
SION Of sky watching, either morning
or evening
| mere glance, few words of praise
a turning away TO someting else
These will not do.
| One had better ignore the sky alto
! gether than treat 1t summarily, as If 1t
were a sort of curiosity In a sideshow.
Look at the sky for what it is-the
very portal TO infinity. Despite the
theories of scientists (Which change
every 20 years, some one has said, the
universe Is an unknown quantity.
The very theories Of space, Of galaxies
Of universes, Of infinity and OF limits
| to space, elfconverging mean posi-
lively nothing to the average human
being
AS he looks into the sunset sky,
cleaning with original color, he sees
exactly what his savage ancestors saw,
little more and not one jot less.
| II he refuses to consider what Is
out there" he knows that it Is because
his consideration gets him nowhere
What he can do is to admire. ana ad-
miration Is a sort of veneration.
| Morning and evening pictures, painted
! alott, stir the observer if he will take
the time to watch them carefully, not
merely glance at them indifferently.
/ For these celestial displays are moving
pictures, changing from moment to mo-
ment, as If some master electrician.
sitting in far wings, had determined
upon showing least to those who would
not look long. His changes are subtle.
from within, as if an invisible brush
were adding color here, brushing it out
| there. ever moving over the face of the
canvas. ever dissatisfied.
Gradually darkness grows drawing a
| veil tighter and tighter over created
things until deep velvet comes into
being, in which the last tinge of pink
turns black Tomorrow morning the
observer will look out at a dark world
and suddenly wonder If the sun win
come up. Suppose it should not? But
! there-there are the colors at last
the colors Of Washington morning!
| For we have dawns and sunsets here
! Just as they do in Europe.