THE BEST ROOM.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2574, 7 August 1909, Page 4 (Supplement)

THE BEST ROOM.

With due solemnity, its door was opened to us. We had been in it bofete, and knew what to expect. Yet ", ' a feeling of depression came over us 3 , as we entered a sanctum in which home * j iife had no part. [ The atmosphere was heavy, as if it. j had been closely sealed for days. The p blinds were down; the thick curtains r drawn. In the semi-darkness, -we j! feared to move a stop, lest we f should knock over some .of the j many valued possessions which 5 ! were strewn as traps for the unwary. When light was admitted, it revealed [ a room of pleasant possibilities. It was now crowded with spindley, tmgraeeiul ’ furniture, and with incongruous orna- , ments, which painfully recalled tho ’ mid-Victorian era. But tRe apart- . ment itself merited the young Australian’s highest meed of praise. It was “not half bad.” , It was spacious; a large fire-place conveyed a vision of cosy winter evenings; while a bay-window alcove gave , cheerful, easterly outlook. There was nothing the matter with the room. But, tho furnishings. Wo could scarcely conceal our surprise. Somo considerable time having elapsed since our last visit, we looked for some signs of reasonable wear and tear, but there were none. .(Dolors and materials appeared precisely as when we first saw them, ten, nay, fifteen years ago. During that time the owner’s hair :| had lost its gloss and colorbut the j upholstering and curtains had retained ifa&irs in all freshness; on her cheeks, tin'' bad-paled; but th,o garlands rnoai AeUng over the carpet glowed vividly ey<M ‘- Ft was uncanny. We felt, an unreasoning anger againstinanimate things which could remain new, while human beings aged. To | our 5 own furnishings, we had always) felt inclined to say, “Grow old along with rflo,” That had seemed their natural destiny. .Ffi l "hut oilier had they been woven ? Tho owner -f this room evident!? bold t uilferent' opinion. She sat back in her chair regarding her treasures with happy, complacency. We wondered how she could. HeV dwelling was small, her household large. How crowded her tiny dining-room must he; her sleeping accommodation how strained beyond all limits of healthfulness! After we had been seated a few ' ’ . antes a shy, pale-faced cluld v* . “ (1 T to peep in at the open door. --nturea tilv retreated when lm~ 15,1(2 a "word of introd" m°tl er after stand on the -ctum, saul, Don t O' dear. Your shoes daindP nasty.” Presently an elder & came in and balanced herself ° - the edge of a chair. Her want of ease betrayed the unfamiliar ground. She nervously supported herself for a minute by laying her hand on a polished table. On her mother carefully rubbing out an imaginary mark the girl colored painfully and soon afterwards quitted the room. That tho mother was devoted to her children was beyond question. The pity was that she could only view the situation from a narrow standpoint. iSho confided to-us now with a touch of pride: “I couldn’t have kept this like it is if I’d ever allowed the children in here. They’ve begun to grumble a little lately at being kept out. They say they’re stowed away at the back of the house. It’s true enough too. I’m sorry for it, but we can’t afford a big- . ger place. In many ways I find it hard to keep up a proper sense of our selfrespect. Yet through the worst of times we’ve always had this ready to show ' any callers into. No, we have very few indeed. Still, while other people have their nice drawing-rooms I’d be ashamed if we couldn’t.” It seemed hopeless to hint that if it were only thrown open 20 or 30 times during the 305 days of tho year, it didn’t justify its existence. Equally useless, also, to put forward the theory that household dignity might not topple . over, though deprived of this support. We had our convictions; but not the courage of them. Oh! to have been invested with nower to pack off to an auction-room half th © articles around us. In other environments, somo of them might have been beautiful or useful. Here, they were neither; but simply, “Smoke to tlie eyes, and vinegar to the teeth.” Had they been absent, the vacant space might have been ,worthily occupied by a generously wide table, and by chairs on which people of normal proportions‘might subside without fear of disaster. These could have been brought in from the present dining-room, which as an additional sleeping apartment, would have been received with joy. Who knows what happy results might have followed a- tactful presentation of tlie one-room idea ? We —not being of tho noble race of “derring-do”—kept silence, 'fearing to offend by officiousness. Yet we sighed as we went our way, thinking hero was an abode that might have, been “Sweet home,” but was not. —“Curra Moore.”