Evening star., 1932-12-14

1.-THE SHOWS are not as deep as they
were," sighed the old man. And. do
you know, I don't think they are as
white as they used to bel"
They are white enough, however, to
make house painted the same color
look somewhat dingy. Cream color
shows up to better, advantage.
Modern SHOWS are still white enough
to make the landscape look supremely
beautiful. White enough to give the
children a merry time.
White enough to make cats hold up
a reproachful paw as they gingerly ven
ture forth all on a snowy morning.
Youth regards snow as thing devils
ed for its happiness. Maturity looks
upon 1t as q spectacle, In which one
invariably finds beauty.
Officially, snow is regarded as q nui-
sance, especially in and around a great
city, although in times like these it
may furnish employment.
Unofficially even the most critical
person perhaps is able to discover the
good points Of a snowstorm, II he can
view them from the vantage point Of
physical comfort.
From any other viewpoint snow Is a
treacherous demon, monster capable
of destruction, like an angry sea which
only a few hours before presented a
lovely and deceptive picture to the
beholder.
The snow which comes at the week
end is seen and appreciated by thou
sands Of persons who thus have the
opportunity to view 1t calmly and. as
1t were, In q perfectly detached man
ner.
If 1t were on a weekday, so-called,
1t would be the recipient of many a
crouch and a grumble, but when it
comes on Sunday it has an audience
of many thousands of persons who see
it through warm window panes
Warm on the inside, that is
What wonderful stuff window glass
is! 1t takes a snowy, sleety day. with a
fair wind blowing, to make hurrying
mankind realize the sheer miracle Of
these fragile but strong sheets, shat
tered by q comparatively slight blow,
yet withstanding severe winds.
Their tensile strength is equaled
only by their resistance to heat and
cold. In view Of their transparency
this latter is a marvellous phenomenon
It is one Of those happy happenings at
which mankind, even after all these
centuries, may hug itself In warm con-
gratulations.
Suppose Nature had endowed glass
with other qualities, r-crer than with
those which it had? Mankind could
have done little about 1t. Glass would
not have been glass, 1t would have been
something else.
Water, and snow, and sleet, and even
gigantic hailstones. may rain against
these slender sheets. they take all
their blows, and are seldom hurt from
them.
How pleasant it is, on a snowy day,
to look out into the yard and watch
the familiar becoming the unfamiliar
right before ones eyes!
Here Is q transformation stranger
than any in childhood's story books
It is stranger because it is truer, and
as common as daylight and dark.
1t is so old that man requires an ef-
fort Of the will to think about 1t at
all.
To think about 1t, that Is, conscious
ly enough to realize its essential won
der and its sheer beauty.
One is brought face to face again, II
only for a second. with the mystery Of
the why Of loveliness.
We say a thing is beautiful, and we
think we know what we mean when we
use the word, but Why is it so. what
makes 1t so. and. II it had been other
wise, in the bounty Of great Nature,