Evening star., 1949-06-18
This and That
By Charles z. TracetDeU

6y CHUFteS T.. 1TGCeDGH
Templeton Jones Is one of these isolation
LIST sort Of persons who believes that there is
altogether too much taxing and being taxed.
He feels that mass apathy should give way
to individual action. His own plan Is q sort
Of negative one.
He proposes to stop buying things
Some purchases. now and then. will be
necessary. Of course. One must live even
when taxed and supertaxed.
But when 1t comes to books and music
Jones Is more or less self sufficient.
His home is loaded down with books he
has never read. and records he has played
but one or two times each.
Plenty Of books came about because Jones,
since the age Of years, has never been able
to resist one.
occurred because Jones had succumbed to
the lure of recorded music. This meant Cat
least for jones' that he had always new
records. What does an orchestra leader
do?" he asked. Does he play the same old
music all the time. He does not. And neither
do l."
The result has been that Jones has hun
dreds Of good books of all kinds, patiently
waiting on his shelves for the touch Of the
master.
He has not only volumes generally cred
tied with being the worlds great books. but
all sorts and conditions Of books. including
the works of old-time fiction geniuses.
One of these he is now reading Is Mrs
Henry Wood. In the old days, around 1850,
lady writer's used their husbands names.
To-day she would sign her books Ellen
Price Wood" but then IL went ON the title
page as Mrs. Henry Wood, no less.
Jones thinks i has pretty look.
He b now going through East Lynne"
that tremendous success OF the old days,
whichsas play. went on year after year.
Some people today. Jones realized, would
not be caught reading East Lynne" not
that there Is anything In 1t to bring blush
to the most modest cheek Gas they liked
to say In the old days., but simply because
it is old-fashioned. Better to be bored with
the new than really enjoy something old
and goodl
Ternpleton Jones, In his attempt to thwart
the rising tide Of taxes. was thrown back
on to East Lynne" and he found 1t good,
but not 50 good as Roland Yorke," another
of the lady's books. The latter had detec-
tive In 1t, as real and up-to-date as any
In the latest mystery thriller. ]. Jones
Butterfly was his name.
Jones was amazed at how few strange
names and words occur In these old stories.
There is o kettle-drum. OF course. which
he figured out was the name OF the then
equivalent Of the modern afternoon tea,
"And there was hectic on the face Of
the patient" In other and more modern
words. o tinge Of red.
Photographers were then tis69) just COM
ing in. The impecunious and tmpetuous
Roland thought he would hire himself out as
q photographers man. Such places were
springing up all over London. They were the
rage But instead fate turned him into Sir
Roland. which was title he liked better.
with its 5000 q year. roughly equiya-
lent 10 $4,000. It seemed q lot OF money
to him. since ut that time it must have been
worth about $4,000 TO $4,000 year. mod
ern rate.
They had great liking for death-bed
scenes In the old novels. Dickens was the
man who did 1t best. 70 ali the other authors
Of the day had to try their hand Mt 1t.
People got iii with strange maladies. but no
matter how strange. they always had enough
energy left TO talk prettily and not be
offensive 10 the senses cf sight. touch and
smell When one died. In those days, espe-
cially Il among the quality. one died nicely.
neatly and not with too much dispatch.
for 1t was necessary to wiring the last tear
both from those around the bed and, of
course. the dear seader.
Yet those old books were % solidly based
On human. nature. Templeton Jones thinks.
as our latest best sellers He is glad that
the tax collectors have sent him winging
back to the old books. They had something.
he believes, that most OF the modern ones
do not have, q sense Of rfghtness and In
tegrity and decency that In good 10 taste
again In the explosive days Of The li-cmened
atom bomb. Il