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Page 55
"If you were not my own husband, Jack, I should say you were dreadfully
obtuse. Concerning _fashions_ in house-building and furnishing I feel
very much as Martin Luther felt about certain, formal religious dogmas.
If we are asked to respect them as a matter of amiable compliance, if
we find them convenient, agreeable and at the same time harmless, then
let us quietly accept them; but, if we are commanded to obey them as
vital, if they are set before us as solemn obligations to be reverenced
as we reverence the everlasting truth, then, for Heaven's sake, let us
tear them in pieces and trample them under our feet, lest we lose our
power to distinguish the substance from the shadow. The moment any
particular style of building, finishing or furnishing becomes a
recognized fashion, that moment I feel inclined to turn against it with
all my might."
"If you were not my own idolized wife, I should say that was 'pure
cussedness.'"
[Illustration: MOULDINGS FAIR TO SEE, BUT HARD TO KEEP CLEAN.]
"On the contrary, it is high moral principle; that is, moral principle
applied to art. It is a simple, outright impossibility for human
beings to have any true perception of art while a shadow of a thought
of fashion remains. It is, indeed, possible that fashion may, for a
moment, follow the straight and narrow road that leads to artistic
excellence, as the fitful breath of a cyclone may, at a certain point
in its giddy whirl, run parallel with the ceaseless sweep of the mighty
trade-winds, but whoever tries to keep constantly in its track is sure
to be hopelessly astray."
"My dear, indignant, despiser of fashion, you know you wouldn't wear a
two-year-old bonnet to church, on a pleasant Sunday morning, for the
price of a pew in the broad aisle."
"Certainly not; that would be both mercenary and irreverent; moreover,
my bonnet has nothing to do with artistic rules. It is not a work of
art or of science, of nature or of grace. It is a conventional signal
by which I announce a friendly disposition toward the follies of my
fellow-creatures--a sort of flag of truce, a badge of my conformity in
little things. I wear it voluntarily and could lay it aside if I
chose."
"Undoubtedly, _if_ you chose. Now, let us resume the original
discussion. I had given one powerful argument in favor of paint when I
was rashly interrupted: here is another--it is much cheaper."
"That would depend," said Jill. "Ash, butternut, cherry and various
other woods cost little, if any more, than the best pine, and the pine
itself is very pretty for chambers."
"Ah, but you forget the labor question. It is one thing to join two
pieces of wood so closely as to leave no visible crack between them,
and quite another to bring them into the same neighborhood, fill the
chasm with putty and hide the whole under a coat of paint. The
difference between these two kinds of joints is the difference between
one stroke and two, between one day's work and five days, between one
thousand dollars and five thousand. My third argument you will surely
appreciate. Paint is more artistic." Here Jack paused to give his
words effect; then proceeded like one walking on stilts. "Pure tones
symphoniously gradated from contralto shadows to the tender brightness
of the upper registers and harmoniously blended with the prevailing
quality--"
[Illustration: FRAGMENTS OF ARCHITRAVES.]
"Oh, Jack! _Don't_ go any farther, you are already beyond your depth.
When you attempt to quote Bessie's sentiments you should have her
letter before you. Perhaps I have a dim perception of the principle
that underlies your thirdly. If so, this room is a pertinent
illustration of it. Instead of all this white paint, if the wood work
had been colored to match the predominant tint in the background of the
paper, or a trifle darker, this being also the general 'tone' of the
carpet, it is easy to see how the coloring of the room would have been
simple and pleasing, instead of glaring and ugly. Yes, your plea for
paint is not without value. I think, however, it would be entirely
possible to stain the unpainted wood to produce any desired symphony,
fugue or discord. It might be unnatural, especially if we wished to
look blue, but it would not conceal the marking and shading of the
grain of the wood which is so much prettier than any moulding or
carving, and vastly easier to keep in order. Your economical arguments
are always worth considering. I think the happy compromise for us will
be to use hard wood in the first story and painted pine in the
chambers, with various combinations and exceptions. The bath-rooms,
halls and dressing-rooms of the second story should of course be
without paint, and we may relieve the solid monotony of the hardwood
finish with occasional fillets or bands of color, painted panels or
any other irregularities we choose to invent. But this is invading the
mighty and troublous realm of 'interior decoration,' from which I had
resolved to keep at a respectful distance until the house is at least
definitely planned in all its details."
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