PERSONALITY GUIDE

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 813, 6 November 1929, Page 14

PERSONALITY GUIDE

LESSONS TO BE LEARNT FROM HOMES Is there anything more fascinating than guessing at personalities? AVe move continuously among other human beings, with whom we periodically form points of contact, but with whom we may he acquainted for years without really knowing them. AVe skim over the surface of their lives and they over ours, only now and again getting a glimpse of the depths beneath. Even the most spontaneous people build around themselves a certain armour, the joints of which are well sealed against the too inquisitive mind. But there are a few things that give us an indirect view of certain sides of the personality of our friends; and the way they plan or arrange their houses is one of them. This largely explains the tremendous interest taken by people in the houses, not only of the people they know, but. of those they may only know by name. One of the most popular features in a periodical is the description and pictures of houses and gardens of people who are talked about, whether they are actors, authors, poets, musicians or successful business men. A picture of the features of a man or woman expresses certain characteristics, but those features in combination with the building that frames them gives one not only a new viewpoint, but often crystaiises what was previously only a fleeting impression. Just as one member of a family or school may reflect the general tendency of the whole, so the characteristics of a nation may be partially shown bv the prevalent, style of its housing. Two crouching hares in pale green jade form an effective base for a clock of jade and silver. The circular clock face, which has silver figures, is surrounded by a narrow hand of silver and a broader one of the jade, and the hares form a rest, at each side.