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Page 31
"Shutters that coil up into a box over the window or down into a box
below it have the modest excellence of being always out of the way when
they are not wanted, of staying where they are put when partially open,
of occupying but little space and never standing in the way of the
window curtains. They are, in fact, wooden shades similar to the
old-fashioned green slat curtains, that were rolled up by drawing a
cord, but are far more substantial. The single slats of which they are
composed do not revolve, and consequently it is not easy to 'peep
through the blind just to hear the band play.'
"Venetian shades, with their multiplicity of bright-colored straps,
cords, hooks and trimmings, are picturesque and graceful. They are
somewhat subject to dust and repairs, and when the window is open are
not proof against tornadoes and thunder showers.
"Inside blinds are sometimes contrived to slide sideways, like barn
doors, into cavities formed to receive them. If built with extreme care
and handled with the utmost tenderness they are a degree less obtrusive
than when wholly dependent on hinges. Likewise, outside blinds may be
contrived to swing horizontally as well as vertically, standing out
from the top of the window like a small shed roof. They are not quite
wide enough to serve as awnings, and are liable to catch more wind than
they can hold."
"It strikes me that the whole thing is a 'blind.' What is he driving
at?"
"The conclusion of the matter seems to be given in this sentence: 'You
will perceive, therefore, that a decision in regard to blinds should be
made even before the house is staked out, since the size of the
foundation itself may be affected by it, as well as the minor
details.'"
"I'm ready for the question; are you?"
"Yes. In the bay windows and for the long windows that give access to
the balconies and piazzas we will have blinds that roll up out of the
way. A few of the windows on the sunny side will have for summer use
outside blinds, a few more will have cloth awnings. The most of the
windows will have no blinds at all, only such shades and curtains as we
choose to furnish. I don't think the eyes of a house ought to be closed
much of the time. It is certainty absurd to hang blinds at all the
windows when we only need them at a few."
"Oh, but won't the neighbors rage and imagine vain things when they see
a house with here and there a blind and here and there an awning?"
"The wise ones will approve; the foolish ones will demonstrate their
folly by criticising what they don't understand."
"Very well, that point is settled. Unless the next is sharp and short
you must decide it without my help. It is high time I was at the
office."
"We will defer them all. It is time for me to be at my household
duties. You know Cousin Bessie comes this afternoon, and I've noticed
that extremely intellectual people are sometimes extremely fond of a
good dinner."
"If Bessie is coming I must anoint my beard with oil of sunflowers and
trot out my old gold slippers. Shall I send up some pale lilies for
dessert? And that reminds me--Jim came home last night and I asked the
old fellow to come up to dinner. How do you suppose Bess found it out?"
"Don't be spiteful, Jack. She didn't find it out at all. I invited her
a week ago. Now go to the office, please, while I put the house in
order."
During this important process Jill entertained herself by philosophical
reflection upon the style of living that requires a house to be
constantly "put in order." She recalled certain of Uncle Harry's
observations to the effect that in a truly civilized state housekeeping
would be so conducted and houses would be so contrived that instead of
causing care and labor proverbially endless, housekeepers would no more
be burdened by their domestic duties than are the fowls of the air.
Jill had too much of the rare good sense, incorrectly called "common,"
to attempt to reduce Uncle Harry's theories to practice all at once.
She knew that though we may not reach the summit of our ambition, it is
well to advance toward it even by a single step, or failing in that, to
help prepare a way for some one else. She understood the wisdom of
striving to increase the fraction of life by dividing the denominator,
and at the same time cherished the broader hope that her life and her
home might be filled with whatever is of most enduring worth.
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