sixteen] nooks and CORNERS 



packed with object lessons and truths that make 

 up character. 



A plenty of nooks and corners, making good use 

 of nature's quiet places, indicate the great truth 

 that the most of one's living processes must be car- 

 ried on out of doors, and that a house, at the best, 

 is only a place of retreat — possibly a confinement. 

 A healthy person longs for fresh air and sunshine, 

 and companionship with all the things that whisper 

 and sing. The old Saxon word for dwelling is 

 stopping-place, and that for house is hiding-place. 

 Neither of these words originally implied that a 

 house was intended for anything more than a shel- 

 ter. We make too much of indoors altogether. 

 We have got into habits of conforming to house 

 regulations which entirely dominate. Health is 

 not possible in the shade of fashion. We have too 

 many curtains to shut out the sunlight, and our fate 

 is tied up with infinite bric-a-brac. House dust is 

 the worst of poisons. Try a bit of it in a spectro- 

 scope, and you will get lines that will astound you. 

 House air, with a hot-air furnace, is charged with 

 carbon dioxides. The heat in winter is irrational 

 and debilitating; in summer our only hope is to let 

 in as much as possible of out of doors. If your lot 



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