Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1947-06-05
This and That
By Charles E. Trace,oeH.

one OF the grand scenes of the old-time novel
was laid in the attic, This part of the house
usually was unfinished, with careful stepping
necessary, but that only added to the excite
ment. g.
There was never any dearth of fun in such
place. as the story characters foregathered
there to explore old trunks, loaded with mystery
old books and very old magazines
SUCH attics, then, have a halo of mystery as
well as OF cobwebs. They have for us of today
literary flavor, added to the very real
atmosphere which greets us as we step up the
stairs
Coming up the attic steps, on the very first
step OF all, there is an aroma of faded paper
and unfinished wood. Since both are basically
the same, they combine well. They have a
fragrance that might be labeled "odeur of
Old Times"
Heat usually hits one in the face upon poking
the head up above the floor. Especially In
summertime, in such attics, it is wise to- 20
up only in the morning
the f1rst sight of the place, as ones head
goes above the floor boards, is reassuring.
There are the well-remembered articles, the
dear things laid away in lavender, not all of
are odds and ends of much living. huddled up
here to exc out lingering existence on
their own.
They are not forgotten. At stated times, some
one In the family comes up here, and looks
around with remembering eyes, eyes that see
so much more than strangers might.
why do you keep these old things?" is a
question. why don't you turn them over to
those who can use them?" These are usual
questions, but like so many usual questions they
leave out too much, too many things known
only to the owners, too much living and
especially too much remembering. 1t is all the
dfnerence between the mechanical theory of
things and the spiritual. Surely this old rocking
chair, once priced possession, with a broken
rib and hole in its seat is not just something
to be repaired and sold for $500 It once was
niied with romance, as two souls might tell
you, but they won't. Yonder bureau still looks
remarkably glossy. 1t would not need much
repairing by good man to put 1t in as fine
shape as ever Here it stands, and the visitor
might wonder why, but such inquisitiveness
would never be satisfied; the ways of life and
living are too many and too twisted with souls
and hearts to be unraveled in few seconds
Roaming around the attic is good for a
sensitive soul these hard-hearted days when too
many people seem to have forgotten the good
Things of the world, If they ever knew them
Perhaps they never did. It may be that much
Of the stress and strain of modern living comes
from the upstairs, suddenly pushed through the
cellar ceilings before their time for emergence
had come. On whose shoulders we may place
the blame nobody knows; the only sure thing
is that there is blame, and no inferiority or
persecution complex can account for It, Such
glib phrases really solve nothing. They only
make us more insure.
Here In the attic are sure things, though
most of them are broken or cracked or need
fixing up in some way. The doctor of physical
therapy ought to be q member of souls, too.
Here with old fragrances, high in the sky, at
least for house, we need not worry about
fixing things. The cracking and the breaking
and the holes make no difference now. This
old glass lamp once was beauty The very
sight OF it rolls back silken curtain, dissoIyes
score of years, puts hearts, minds and souls
in condition for futurity.
We are too eager in these sad DAYS to
advance, to go ahead. We fail to realize as
well as the old folks did that standing still is
something, too. and that going back in memory
Is very much worth while. Browning said the
best was yet to be. the famous last of life for
which the first was made, but advancing wears
with their toll OF hardened arteries, tired hearts
and changing tresses make one doubt it some
what, except at times and in certain places.
The attic is one Of these places. In it we see
and somehow understand that all was good
then, all Is besically good now. and all win be
good in the future. The blots on times past
and present will extend into the future but We
shall rise triumphant against ali the blots they
can send against us. We must, If We are 10 be
true 70 these old things and their memories