Evening star., 1932-07-20
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

Many of them do not read at all, If
they can get out Of it, and are willing
to admit, If you pin them down, that
they get great deal more kick" out
of looking at good illustrations Of all
sorts.
Then there are all these good people
who have been going to read" certain
books for years on end. Maybe since
high school days. Somehow they
never get around" to them, and the
years slip by with the masterpiece un-
read To date it has not seemed that
the masterpiece minded, in the least,
The incipient reader, however, ought
to mind. Occasionally he may. Then
he takes down the book, with a con-
trite heart, and proceeds to attempt TO
read it. But he finds the old delight
gone, where old delights go.
Valiantly he tries to bring himself
back to the old.time zest in the writ
ten word. His efforts are useless. The
shouting and the tumult of words dies,
lust where, in the march of his years,
he does not know, but know he does
that the strange light which illumi-
mated words in the old days is no more
for him, except upon occasion.
It is a sad revelation he makes to
himself. AS likely as not. II he has
any sense he keeps it strictly to him.
self. In time, even. he may tend to
fool himself about it. He no longer
reads as much as he used to because
he does not care to read as much as
he did. There are at least score OF
perfectly valid reasons for it, he tells
himself
The appetite for words does become
jaded in many case, not only Ior
readers. but also for writers. Inc
latter find themselves eagerly adopting
strange combinations Of phrases, which
like as not, sprang from sources whlch
they would not care to recognize.
| Because others use the same phrases
| these combinations tend to take on all
the semblance OF wit and humor. under
/ the stimulus of a certain number OF
! repetitions.
! lust how much repetition cute
word phrase or saying may STAND, no
man knows. Some of them can toll
crate an enormous amount OF punish
ment at the tongues and pens OF man.
kind.
Even these are as nothing, however
! to that other trick to tickle the Jaoeo
word appetite That is the simple ex-
pedient Of using words OF a type WHICH
! should be used elsewhere.
| The listener or reader-lor many
speakers have used this device 10 AT
! tain attention-finds himself startleo
even intrigued for a time, at the nov
city of finding the worst sort OF slang
words used in discussions Wnlch py III
/ means call for such words.
n he is not what we call serious
minded individual, or person who
sees through such tricks easily, he Is
yery apt to be taken in" by them
10 the extent that he feels that he Is
hearing or reading something "peppy,
It NAV be admitted without at all
DESTROYING our general thesis, we De-
/ lieve, that now and then one runs
across an individual with flair lor
this sort of thing. He possesses git
prominent "wisecracking executive
always manages to get the pest OF ms
opponents in repartee, but NOBODY ever
remembers what he said two days after
he said it, because the stuff WASH I
there: it was just verbal trlcKery'
which left its mark on Jaded nearing
appetites only. ..
doubt of that. Solemn honesty Will
not appeal to all natures, and Tor those
, to whom it does not appeal there are
countless avenues of escape left open
1t NAV be claimed for it, however. that
/ it is in its place and has all the dig
nifty and decency Of the right thing IN
the right place.
This is something. great deal one
NAV think, when asked to mix banter
with chocolate ice cream, and badlnage
with chocolate layer cake.
Make your cakes that way II you
want to. ladies. but most men would
! prefer just a fine old chawklut cake
with the ingredients mixed we'll and
covered with thick-not sticky-choco-
! late, nice and crunchy.