Dusk

“ Dusk comes, and its cool benediction rests and recuperates the day—wearied earth, and it and its little inhabitants rest with bowed heads a moment, like some child at its mother’s knee, drinking in quiet. ”

“ Fades in pale dust and vaporous distances,
Stained with far fumes the light grows less and less
And the sky reddens round the day's retreat.
Now out of orient chambers, cool and sweet,
Like Nature's pure lustration, Dusk comes down. ”

“ As the dusk grows deeper it hides in its embrace the red and white houses which sink submissively into the earth. It hides the gardens with their trees, and leaves them lonely, like orphans, on the hillsides. ”

“ By daytime it is commonplace enough, and lends itself with facile ease to the cheerful and homely nature of its surroundings. But at dusk, at night, by lamplight, or under the white, insinuating moonbeams, the mirror assumes a distinctive and uncanny character of its own. ”

“ Darkness spread boldly across the floor on every board and square, to the very fire, but the next moment the light leaped back again and sent the dusk flying to all sides, with the light pursuing it, up the walls and doors, above the brass latch. ”

“ It had grown dusk when the ‘fly’—the rate of whose progress greatly belied its name—after climbing up four or five perpendicular hills, stopped before the door of a dusty house, with a bay window, from which you could obtain a beautiful glimpse of the sea—if you thrust half of your body out of it, at the imminent peril of falling into the area. ”

“ Dusk was falling as we entered our ancient capital—the dusk of a cold, raw day, quite in keeping with the sorrow which filled our hearts. We found the streets crowded to their utmost holding capacity. ”

“ Towards dusk it swells in a wave heavier than any that has yet come. All through the second night the inferno lasts. In the grey dawn of the second day it increases in a manner almost unbelievable—the dust of it covers everything ”

“ "That narrow window, I expect,
Serves but to let the dusk in—"
I cried "But please to recollect
'Twas fashioned by an architect
Who pinned his faith on Ruskin!" ”

“ “I was on the point of crying at her, 'Don't you hear them?' The dusk was repeating them in a persistent whisper all around us, in a whisper that seemed to swell menacingly like the first whisper of a rising wind. ”

“ From the dawn of the day to the dusk he toiled,
Shaping fanciful playthings, with tireless hands,—
Useless trumpery toys; and, with vaulting heart,
Gave them unto all peoples, who mocked at him,
Trampled on them, and soiled them, and went their way. ”

“ She may very well pass for forty-three
In the dusk, with a light behind her!" ”

“ Dusk, suggesting the almost imperceptible procession of giant trees, settled with a purple haze about the cane. I felt strange, as I always do in Georgia, particularly at dusk. I felt that things unseen to men were tangibly immediate. It would not have surprised me had I had vision. ”

“ it is one of the simple pleasures that we lose by living cribbed and covered in a house, that, though the coming of the day is still the most inspiriting, yet day’s departure, also, and the return of night refresh, renew, and quiet us; and in the pastures of the dusk we stand, like cattle, exulting in the absence of the load. ”

“ I was coming home about dusk yesterday—you remember how it rained, don’t you? Well, I was so miserable that I didn’t even attempt to hold up my skirts—it was a kind of a comfort to let them get thoroughly draggled. ”

“ A silver salver filled with tall glasses was set carelessly on one edge of the table; a half-open fan of sandal-wood lay beside it; a man's glove had fallen on the hearth just within the tarnished brass fender. Cobwebs depended from the ceiling, and hung in loose threads from the mantel; dust was upon everything, thick and motionless; a single ghostly ray of light that filtered in through a crevice in one of the shutters was weighted with gray lustreless motes. The room was empty and silent. ”

“ For the cliffs and boulders of discoloured limestone shone then with an inward glow that signalled to the Desert with veiled lanterns. The misshappen hills, carved by wind and rain into ominous outlines, stirred and nodded. In the morning light they retired into themselves, asleep. But at dusk the tide retreated. They rose from the sea, emerging naked, threatening. They ran together and joined shoulders, the entire army of them. And the glow of their sandy bodies, self-luminous, continued even beneath the stars. ”

“ The light which still shone was derived mainly from a large hole in the western bank of cloud; it was like a piece of day left behind by accident, dusk having closed in elsewhere. ”

“ Perspective danced its tricks of false, incredible deception. The soaring kites that were a mile away seemed suddenly close, passing in a moment from the size of gnats to birds with a fabulous stretch of wing. Ridges and cliffs rushed close without a hint of warning, and level places sank into declivities and basins that made him trip and stumble. That indescribable quality of the Desert, which makes timid souls avoid the hour of dusk, emerged; it spread everywhere, undisguised. ”

“ She may very well pass for forty-three In the dusk, with a light behind her!" ”

“ And lately, by the Tavern Door agape, Came stealing through the Dusk an Angel Shape, Bearing a vessel on his Shoulder; and He bid me taste of it; ”

“ But if the closely-folded upper wings are quiet and sober in colouring this is only for protective reasons; for brilliant toilets are presented when twilight falls and affords its dewy veil. Under the closely-folded wings of dusky grey are bright bodices of red, scarlet, crimson, and orange. ”

“ The dusky, filmed, chestnut roof, braced and tied in by huge collars, curves, and diagonals, was far nobler in design, because more wealthy in material, than nine-tenths of those in our modern churches. ”

“ To remove dust! Dust from what? From the mantel-shelf probably, upon one end of which I found it. But no! one look along the polished boards convinced me that whatever else had been dusted in this room this shelf had not. The accumulation of days, if not of months, was visible from one end to the other of its unrelieved surface save where the handkerchief had lain, and—the greatest discovery yet—where five clear spots just to the left of the center showed where some man’s finger-tips had rested. ”

“ To any one unused to the mysteries of dusting, it is surprising to find how easily the ornaments of a drawing-room may be kept in order, and how well the gilt frames of pictures preserved, by a light play of the feather-brush every morning. The French use the plumeau in nearly all cases where we rub with a hard duster, and with great advantage, especially in the case of gilding.
A man or woman hired once a month will keep the windows bright ”

“ Unless a parlor is in constant use, it is best to sweep it only once a week, and at other times use a whisk-broom and dust-pan. When a parlor with handsome furniture is to be swept, cover the sofas, centre table, [Pg 306] piano, books, and mantelpiece, with old cottons, kept for the purpose. Remove the rugs, and shake them, and clean the jambs, hearth, and fire-furniture. Then sweep the room, moving every article. Dust the furniture, with a dust-brush and a piece of old silk. A painter's brush should be kept, to remove dust from ledges and crevices. ”

“ Here is a simpler design for a toilet-table (Fig. 22) which would look very well standing between the windows of a lofty room. If it was found that a good light for the looking-glass had been sacrificed to the general harmony of the room, then a smaller glass might be placed in a window, just for occasional use.
Fig. 21.
Some of the old-fashioned “toilet-equipages” are very beautiful just as they have come down to us. They are occasionally made in silver, and comprise many articles which cannot by any possibility be brought within the faith or practice of a modern belle. ”

“ This means that the floor gets darker and darker with each additional coat, and particles of dust which sift in after lying on the floor, absorb sufficient oil so that they become more or less of a menace to any delicate objects which may be in the room, as in sweeping there is bound to be a certain amount of dust raised which will not fall back on the floor again but will alight on the objects in the room. ”

“ A drawing-room, the window of which has been carelessly left open during a dust-storm, is indeed an extraordinary sight. A lady who has resided in Dubbo for some years says that the dust lies so thick on the carpet that it is necessary to use a shovel to remove it. ”

“ A carpet harbours dirt and dust, which dust is constantly floating about the atmosphere, and thus making it impure for him to breathe. The truth of this may be easily ascertained by entering a darkened room, where a ray of sunshine is struggling through a crevice in the shutters. ”

“ The carpet being all strewed over with tea-leaves and brushed—a sweeping-broom, with a wet cloth wrapped round it, should be put in under the bed, and gently moved about, so as to collect the dust which gathers there, without raising it so as to settle in the bed, and the same should be done under the chest of drawers, or any other piece of furniture too heavy to be moved. ”

“ Then, stumbling about blindly among the rose spray cabinets, electric baths, and other apparatus—for Conover’s private bathroom was equipped with every known variety of dinkus intended to separate man from bodily dirt—I found the source of the blinding vapor. It came from the vapor bath, a cabinet sunk in the floor! With difficulty I located the knobs and shut off the hot vapor. Then, by dint of Horrocks’ help, I managed to clear the air somewhat by swinging my jacket like a fan. ”

“ It is not enough to merely wipe over furniture and let the dust loose; the duster should be folded over bit by bit as it becomes soiled, and once or twice during the process of dusting, shaken out of a window in another room or in the staircase. ”

“ I had it, these impressions in the dust of the shelf were just such as would be made by a person steadying himself for a close look at the old picture. And this accounted also for the overturned chair, and for the handkerchief used as a duster. Some one’s interest in this picture had been greater than mine; some one who was either very near-sighted or whose temperament was such that only the closest inspection would satisfy an aroused curiosity. ”

“ Using a carpet-brush every day wears the carpet. Every article in the room should now be dusted, the ledges round the walls, the window-frames, the mantelpiece, the backs of the sofas and chairs, shaking the dust, from time to time, over the window while doing it ”

“ Perhaps one day when you’re at breakfast, you’ll see the curtain move slightly, and at first you’ll think it is the air from the open window, and then you’ll see a bulge in the green curtain—don’t forget it’s to be green—and then a white hand will draw it back, and she will come stepping down out of her frame on to the nearest chair, with her rustling silk petticoat and her scarlet high-heeled shoes. ”

“ Nothing that can hold dust should be allowed in the nursery. There should be no carpet nailed down over the floor; it can not be taken up sufficiently often to keep the room sweet, and the accumulation of dust under such a carpet is astonishing. ”

“ By the use of moist tea leaves in the sweeping of carpets, by the use of soft-textured fabrics, frequently shaken out-of-doors, or by moist cloths or chamois in dusting, much useless dust-scattering may be avoided. ”

“ In your operating room, dust should be carefully excluded. It should be furnished with nothing apt to collect and retain dust; a carpet is therefore not only a useless article, but very improper. A bare floor is to be prefered ”

“ The only rug we possess which might be so described is a Persian one, and is on our cat at present. When she has done with it I intend to spread it over the only part of the bathroom floor which is permanently dry. And, suffering as our bathroom does from that lack of space which the writer on bathrooms so justly laments, the "profound chair" is out of the question. ”

“ Choose a suite of some light wood, consisting of a wardrobe with a plate-glass door, a washstand with tiled back, and a toilet table with a fixed glass and with plenty of small drawers, the latter being invaluable for keeping light easily crushed articles, such as feathers, flowers, &c., which otherwise are apt to litter about the room in cardboard boxes. ”

“ We can hardly have too little of the carpet-broom (which all housemaids love to use every week to the detriment of our carpets) , and hardly too much of the feather-brush for lightly touching curtains, walls, and pictures, or of the duster for rubbing furniture. If a little is done daily, furniture will never need polishing, but will always look bright, as dust will not have entered the crevices. ”

“ In cases where a polished wood floor is adopted and shown, soft durable matting or strips of carpet must be placed along any routes, such as from and to the hot rooms and the boot-room, by the sides of couches, to lounges and tables, &c.—anywhere, in fact, where the bather may require to tread. ”

“ When closing a house in a place where there is much dust, it is well to lay pieces of paper on the [350] window sills, just far enough over the outer edge to be held by the window when it is shut. These keep the dust which sifts in from lying on and discolouring the sills. ”