The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1865-09-16
Old Age in the United States.

The following lively but exaggerated
description from the pen of George Angus
tns Sala has q spice of truth in it. Our
readers, We think, can easily seperate the
wheat from the chaT:
| The drolest thing is, that when the Amer
can lady comes to be about fifty years old,
she gets over her leanness and herplainness,
and suddenly becomes young again. The
population of Broadway seems to he COM
posed (apart from the middle-aged ladies,
who are as rule heart-rending in appear
ance) OF pretty young ladies of sixteen,
and pretty young ladies of sixty. No, sir,
l have not tripped in my speech repeat,
young ladies of sixty. A juvenile grand
mother is any thing but a rarity here;
gushing young things Of threescore are not
uncommon and have ventured to cast
more than one humbly tender glance at
damsel OF seventy. You very seldom meet
with an old man in society The men work,
fret, smoke, speculate, chew, or drink them
selves to death alta comparatively early
age. Nor are old men very popular in the
States; they are passed by, as = Played
out" have heard more than one law
giver and statesman called a "worn-out
cuss." 1t was an unfailing topic of sarcasm
against the Hon. Edward Everett that he
was so very old and George Bancroft, the
lllustrious' historian of the United States
writer who combines the accuracy of an
Alison with the research ola Pinnock, the
copiousness Of a Grimshaw with the viva
city of a, Peter Parley-is usually spoken
OF by the irreve rent young men of Gotham
as old Fuss and Feathers" The truth is
that American men have little reverence
for age amOung their own sex. Strong,
active, energetic, unscrupulous, noisy, push
ing men, they admire and almost deify; but
age generally brings with it wisdom, experi=
ence, calmness, judgment, depreciation OF
wild enthusiasm, dislike to rash innovation.
These qualities are not to the taste of
Young America. They are not go-abead.
They do not go far towards making up the
beau-ideal of transatlantic humanity: GA
real live man, Sir" / have heard of
venerable partners in mercantile firms be-
ing superseded and pushed off their stools,
as obsolete and incompetent, by their
Juniors and an American-mind, an Amer
lean, not an English-friend once told me
that he saw over store front in Jersey
City this announcement, Tompkns and
Father" Therein lay mine of philosophy.
Fomkins the elder was evidently 'played-
out :" he was " cuss," and of" no account y
and " very small pototoes." He was per-
mitted, just for charity's sake, to continue
in the business, mind the shop, dust the
counter, and see the shutters put up by the
black porter but the real live man in the
concern was young Tompkins, who, despis-
ing and disparaging his antiquated progen-
itor, was making rapid strides, no doubt
towards running for Congress, taking the
presidency of petroleum company, and
putting himself in nomination for the high
est offices in the State-say the secretary
ship of the treasury, the postmastership of
Communipaw, or the lighthouse -keepership
at Cape Knob.
An old American gentleman, when You
do meet him, which is but rarely, is gener-
ally most delightful companion-very
benignant, very tolerant, very free from
preirdice, and usually q strong friend to
England. The old American lady, whom,
fortunately, you very often meet, is the
most charming person it is possible to con-
ceive See her in Broadway; handsomely,
but warmly and sensbly clad smiling and
noddlng and joking; with her wrinkled but
rosy little face; in guise something between
waxen peach and we'll preserved pippin
with the incest set of artificial teeth that
Doctor Zachary could carve from rhein-
oceros' tusk and her own hair disposed in
snowy silvery lunches on either side OF her
temples. 3l3sd N GH