Evening star., 1938-08-14
Rv NC. r.

saying goes, Their Place. But she
afiirms to the entire world that that
place Is nowhere where even moder-
ate degree Of intelligence is customarily
employed. And that, she has hoped,
would dehar them from these present
columns. This week, however. she
finds herself in . position where she Is
obliged to eat crow.
It came about through the kindly
news dealer who takes . great interest
In her purchases Of periodicals and
never fails to be as helpful as he can.
And 80, this week he said anably,
why don't you take House and Gar
den? Or House Beautiful? Lots OF
ladies like them"
"Lots?" asked the reviewer, WONDER
ing how she could manage to refuse
without hurting the good mans feel
ings. "Really?"
YES" said the dealer, quite
number. You see. those magazines are
intended for ladies. But" he added,
with an fortuitous lapse into his sub
conscious. they amt so bad. even 90"
And 50 the reviewer bought House and
Garden. She also bought House Beau
tiful. And The American Home. And
Better Homes and Gardens II they
amt so bad. she told herself, might
as we'll see them.
And 1t turns out that the trust in the
news dealer was well placed. These
magazines are designed for milady,
sure enough, but still they amt too
utterly bad. Milady gets . break here.
It would seem that these editors have
decided to treat her as II she had
flashes Of intelligence after all. After
the insults visited on womankind by
the publishers Of those great femi-
nine monthlies which use fiction. who
evidently believe that their readers
are all foolish or neurotic or under
developed. the sensibleness of these
four non-fiction home-making sheets
Is almost incredible.
Since the reviewers acquaintance
with the group Is limited to their cur
rent issues. she will not attempt to
say which one seems to her best. She
did find something Of interest in every
one.
IN American Home there is an ex-
traordinariB intelligent and well
written piece about the history Of the
"parlor" as . national domestic in
stitution. The author is Della T.
Lutes, who wrote the very pleasant
book, The Country Kitchen" Mrs.
Lutes looks back on the days when
the parlor was the best room" in every
home that made even . slight effort
toward elegance and gently correccts
our modern impression that those
apartments were always chambers OF
comic horrors. She takes as her ex-
ample q little town in South Michigan
and remarks Of 1t that today The
houses are practically the same as
stood along both side OF Main street
in the early SOS, but the parlors have
changed And in my opinion. consid-
erably for the worse"
She then describes typical smsas
town parlor Of that supposedly be-
nighted day for us. and it may perhaps
strike some chord in your own memoir
les. It may do 80 even If you can not
remember 50 far back yourself; cer-
tally 1t will II you ever were taken in
your modern childhood to visit some
revered great aunt who had stayed on
among her old-fashioned belongings
right in the stream-lined teeth Of prog
ress. calmly preferring her square
black mahogany grand piano to the
radio and her Brussels carpet to do
mestic oriental rugs. Hear how Mrs.
Lutes describes the currently derided
best room." as she remembers it:
Mis- Diapers parlor carpet" she
writes, 90. was almost cream color
the ground work Of it-Jersey cream
with big urns in it and vines and
flowers trailing over it. The big room
was long and large. and the urns and
vines and things didn't look out OF
proportion. or if they did we didn't
know it. We thought 1t was beautiful!
(And I still think so)
Their wallpaper had gold In 1t, too
gold wallpaper was very stylish them,
fleur de lis. or something like that.
Gold cornioes held up the long lace
curtains and velvet draperies. The
curtains were tied back to glass knobs
and . big mirror at the end Of the
room had . gold frame with an eagle
on top. 80
There was certainly something
about the rooms in the homes at
Millbrook that I do not see tn most
of those enter today.
A ND Mrs. Lutes is right about that.
= There was something in the
homes then which we do not have,
although some of us are cropping
back for 1t. It was something COM
pounded of the smell Of baking bread
and blackberry jam. and Of old clothes
laid away in the attic. and Of kittens
in the cellar, and of polished stair
rails and poster beds which were
not called antiques. and. above all. OF
permanence unafraid. We cry out In
ama1ement today ut the weight OF
the furniture which our grandparents
used, attributing that solidity to sheer
lack Of Imagination. Much more likely
it seems that they bought their great.
heavy pieces because they knew. and
beyond question. that their homes
would endure. That Is what We do
not know today. and that, As much
as anything. determines the fashion
that DEGREES mobility. And when one
goes beyond it to the spirit one hnds
that an object made to be kept is
likely to be made also to be loved.
But one made to be stored or shipped
easily, or constructed 80 that 1t may
be sold secondhand at no great loss.
is not made generally for any other
eventuality.
In the words Of Mrs. Lutes. Coming
into some of the overcrowded, over
decorated, overcurtained. overfur-
nbhed parlofs Of that time, II you
ras,1A - sut> os,n ~ than fnflav II