The Scheme of Things

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 23, 27 January 1934, Page 7

The Scheme of Things

'Owing'to a certain amount of caustic comment- by visitors on the climate of tlds country, the "fors" arid "againsts" of it have cciuc in for a good deal of discussion among the re- ! iidents. The first coisiilcration is that the elimato is healthy.,' The death-rate compares.'favourably vilh that of all other c/ouutfies,'and the moderation in heat, and -cold make for pleasantness undoubtedly, as well as for health..The question of wind is the most acute. Perhaps it is the narrowness. of the islands . that makes, them so continually wind-swept—perhaps the nearness to the Antarctic, which seems to,be a fruitful.cause, of "cyclones," though it se.ema: to. manufacture but few "anticyclones"—and" those of brief duration, AlL'these things are only known to the experts. .Therest of the. world is left guessing, apd is getting very tired of th,e. continual, breezes that blow. It seems,in other parts of the world that they/ get long periods of almost coin Mete ,w l indle.ssness, which may bo folflowed'by a "monstrousbig blow," causJVg a good .deal of damage. But when it. is- o.ver : there is a settled period of peace.;: ,'' ;■ ' '.' •■ .. -,",' ■ '.'. .'■': . ■Now: the; almost continual • wind makes a great deal of difference to women, far more than it does to mon. The reasons:are not far to seek. /The household", to4 begin with. Most people like fresh, well-aired rooms,' -and the only way to' get them1 is to hare a -the windows ■ open. •• Common happenings are i these: In .th o diriing:rooins, : the table-' vases blow over, the tablecloths 'or 'polished' fables are' damaged,'' and work is caused- in clearing up and redoing the flowers. The- same in the drawing-rooms,^ with the. addition .that in both rooms and all over the house dust comes in to the- best regulated places,-and to avoid these troubles continual watchfulness is required to shut jtiic'i windows, ' which when done produces la stuffiness that is neither pleasant nor healthy. Then, take ithc question of washing- Those who still have hpme washing Know well the many times'; ithci jarticles are/ blown off'the lines,' and valuable linen,.' napery, etc., 3» ' irretrievably damaged "through "licking about" in dust or mud. Or the thingsliar.e completely blown away and '.have-. to: be replaced. These are. common.happenings., -The noise is another consideration. There is a great wear'and tear of nerves.caused by tho groaning.and whistling of wind round the house, and at night it is a choice again: of a: stuffy closed room,\orwakefulness -because 'of the flapping .'. of blinds and; curtains, or rustling of papers, the blowing down of photos, etc.,, .and the general; feeling of restlessness that often culminates in the shutting of the windows. ,Then.'there is 'the-/difficulty/- caused by' dress. . The trousered women "certainly sacrifice beauty .'and grace, a-nd". most .of .'them somehow give ,the idea of '"freakishnessi'' >i:but.they undoubtedly gain in comfort. /The wind plays all,sorts of prank's 'with skirts, to the annoyance of wearers, and, at times, toHhe amusement'of onlookers—which is not shared by wojirten themselves. Hair is another distress;, for but few have arrived at the 'heat, close clips-favoured by- men; and; "to •find "that.: they cannot • open ;a do'6tyTor-sit hear a-.window,1, without getting: their- shingle or bob blown up on ;'«nd"in a ridiculous manner, is a BlpSt irritating thing. Then most small children hate, wind; it makes them tired'and cross usually, and also they require; more watching-when there is a very high, or. suddenly gusty wind whichYmay blow theni over, or bring,, down something heavy upon their small heads. .The games which are shared by both; sexes are .equally affected unfavourably by wind—golf, croquet,; cricket; and others can bo painfully marred^ or at all • events, the erijoyjAjihl lessened by wind. r ' -~ :■' ! Another important point in regard to wind .is' that with gas fires it creates-a distinct menace, or has done, for ,fcS>y people nowadays'"think- of leaving ttie jfas'lDw in the'6vens,,.as used to be clone. It. is a great convenience to do: so, as

. By M.H.C. .;. .; ; ' > :\ : '-■ .■/.. .'-,; I .■' the dinner'cooks happily enough with a low gas, and the housewife goes out either shopping or visiting with the feeling that dinner will cook without her aid. But it is a fact now that, unless special precautions are taken to prevent draught, no oue leaves the ovens alight, or they may come back and find a.terrible smell of gas throughout the place, a cold oven, and wasted gas. Gardeners, men and women, know well the real tragedy of wind when their beloved .flowers are reduced to little grey rags after they have spent months in. looking forward to their beauty.. Trees suffer in the same way, and many times their beauty is spoilt by their being! blown out of shape by the prevailing wind. The lovely round shape of trees in other lands emphasises this, for. the joy of trees is a very great one to lovers of Nature. ' ' For all .these reasons'it may be' said that it is not unreasonable, or absurd to feel that, a windy climate has to' be endured, not enjoyed, and, .certainly, one of the pleasures of - less gusty parts of,.the world is the quietness and-, peace enjoyed by lack of wind. : ■'■..",.', ".>■ . • ■ "Life is an adventure," said a wise woman recently, and added: "It is successful' in .accord, with what people put into; it.•, Whit \ you possess is not so; valuable, "as 'what, you are." She was touching on the equipment for life of the youiiger people, and the necessity- .for the'parents to give this general ■'ei}uip,uieiit a grca't .deal: more consideration:,''; Slost pcoplo thought, if fiey'looked after the health of their children, their education at some school or ' Other,; their being taken to (lancing oivother';''ornamental classes,'1 and, perhaps, to church, that they had fulI filled, the. whole duty of parents. .Quite a, number of ' writers ' and speakers are r.urgimg nowadays that a great deal; more !is needed. The bodies are" certainly- important, but the souls arid'spirit's (otherwise the characters) are far tore, jmpojrtiuit. After having considered the fopd, and environment' of 'tb,e, ;child,, there is quite time to j think1: seriously about what is going on jn the yoking heads and minds, and it is; surprising how. few parents really understand their own adolescents. Their wonderful 'minds' are, largely closed books to their; own folk,, and it; happens sometimes that outsiders understand them ~bettci\ bceauso they take the trouble, ttf draw out the ideas which] are ■•.sometimes splendid, and :at other times disastrous: The time has ■ come in the' world when the.career iof J the girl has to be ;considercd just as much as that of "the;boy. The former, idea that they would certainly niarry '.'and ;:thejr : :tisef ulness would be bounded by. th^ ;walls of home has proved fallacious. Perhaps the: Great Wai- brought homo to millions that-they had married '■■' expecting that' \ they \vould: always have' a•/'breadwinner for themselves and /their ■ families, -and when they were left without that useful1 and necessary person, they were faced with' the fact that within themselves therfl was not an -atom of cul: tivation ; which .could be turned:, to monetary rvalue, and. that '.their sole ■ resdurce- waa io do,the ,'* 'ugly,chores?,? in other i eople's liouses/ for, which they would be inadequately paid, which would lead to nothing fcjr them in-tho future, and for which they would soon become too; old. Just, a horrible' situation for anyone,, but as common as it is posssible to find. Therefore ; the wise woman who" talked of "the advent: ture of life,'' expressed a great truth, for no one can tell in what direction: that adventure; niay turn. Education is ■ tho wall of protection which is going to prevent many tragic things from happening. The/ education .given by. the parents ;is quite as important, :. or more; so, ■ than : that of the school; if .'they see -to it that the young people are .first and foremost "decent people," in the ordinary sense of the expression, they will have, clone a great' work towards making their lives as successful as they naturally wish them to be. . ; ■■■ ■ ■'.<■-•; . ' ■