The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1883-09-27
THE "ENEMI.o
How III" Consciousness "f Growing old
First Ntnrtlcs Us.

Nc'n )ort lIoii
liuw unliiG women do men NEE, The
enemy. Age The l:>t time TINT man
noiiccs that the years arr Mastering him
lie is slightly surprised but il never en-
t"rs his mind Ia undertake To dodge old
Father Time or to keep him nj le, pcct-
tui distance. He doesn't run up and
down stairs as lie once did. He grum.
h'cs rs he gets ready to go to the ihcatcr,
and declares he would rather stay at
home. lie wishes his wife were TO,
always wanting 10 "gai somewhere" !"
He avoilE crowds, and begins to iulmi-
nate again>, high ,urrcrs these chan.
gradually that he never wonders at their
appearance or thinks about what causes
| them.
n,c night he is 81, ,hc ,heater. and
before the curtain rises he is entertained
i'll his Incidence by the chatter of two
youthful ships who sit just in front Of
him. They are pxubcrant AS to spirits,
empty. headed and long tongucd. They
look q, everything from decided stand.
point Of extreme youth and mental shall
lowncss. Their comments amusc the
man behind them, and he smiles, half in
pity for their lack of sophistication and
hall i'll pity for his own sad knowledge of
life. suddenly he hears his own name
mentioned, and is startled by the strange.
ness OF il. II is the younger of The
gabhcrs who refers TO linn. and the re.
terenccS is surprising. The man of forty
hears himself spoken OF hy the BOY OF
seventeen as "Nls! Wilson," or whatever
may be his surname.
The little lcttcred adjective falls
upon him like hundred. pound weight
| of asl0nishmcnt. "Oid Wilson," he re-.
peats over and over to himself, trying to
get accustomed TO the Quccrness OF tn
unllattcring arpellation. Sitting there
in the blaze Of the lights, with the
throng Of play gocrs about him and the
music filling the air with sentiment, he
loses himself in "reminiscences Of youth,
| which he never before dreamed had slim.
ped away from him.
| He does not hear tho overture or see
the curtain rise. lie isaway in the prim-
rose spring, young again. lie is rctruct.
my those forty years in memory. He is
trying to think when he first noticed lines
upon his face Mnl silver in his hair. lie
is looking 1t himself mentally TO see if
he really is old He thinks uf !; rs he
goes home, and that evening becomes to
him forever af'crward the milestone
which marks the boundary OF his youth.
lie may have been old to Others before,
but never until then WAS IL, old 20 him
self. lie can not think Of it for Il long
time without q sadden sinking If the
heart. Strangely enough, he accepts the
charge "f being old without u d!ispula-
ti"us word o, thought. Never once does
he say: ooh, intidcl mistake! Or, pa
gan no such lhing!"
| The next time he finds himself protest.
ing against some little plan for recrca-
ton which he once delighted in he thinks
OF himself in his character Of Old Will
son, laughs gravrly and says, Il little sad
~, that he believes he is getting old
From that time lio speaks of it often
and without violence to his feelings. lie
drops into Older ways quite suhmissivcly,
and loosens his grip little upon the
world. lie does not resent the usurpa-
tions OF age. lie submits because it is
his destiny, and because his religion and
his philosophy both teach him that it is
| folly 70 fight the inevitable But he
never sits III thcatcr again that he does
not experience anew that sudden sink
ing Of the heart tha, followed hcarinr
himself called old.
|
life at all fences with time and manages
TO keep little ahead Of the years. Old
ness never takes her by surprise as it
does man. Lhc knows that "thc foe
waits for her down at the end Of
life She knows, too, that he is
sure to send out his messengers to keep
her appriscd Of the day he will claim
her, and she meets them defiantly. They
| como III crows feet and streaks in her
| hair; in loss of color and disappear
! ance OF elasticity of movement and fair
ness OF outline. She is on the watch for
| them and she erases their tracks with the
| marvellous cunning of her sex.
at the first intimation that Time is
| pcnciing her face she throws dash
more OF youthfuncss into her attire and
| II possible, little more sweetness into
| her smile, and the effect is to show under
the old thiefs penciling. For while
she laughs ut the audacity Of the wretch
rs Love is said to laugh at locksmiths.
She sits in the thcater and notices the
fair, young faces here and there, and
knows that Time is closing in on her, but
she thinks TO cheat him by assuming ig.
norance of his power and his intentions.
She INDUCES in no spoken "reminiscences,
ceases to date her stories and begins TO
associate more with women great deal
younger than herself. When the crows
feet become noticeable shc resorts to n
mask vail which comes just to the top of
her nose and takes at least five years
from her record. y little later and she
makes her hat defy the thrusts OF the
enemy by II jaunlicr poise than ever.
She fights the foo openly, cheats him
with her cherished arLiiccs, contests
every step he takes and scorns him al
ways. She never admits his mastery, as
men do. The theology Of the toilet tells
her to resist Age and he will flee. This
is a dc ctrinc she faithfully lives up to.
when she feels the weight of years upon
her she affects not to know that time, the
all 'devourcr, is going to be the victor,
after all. just as bravely does she fight
him as though there WAS hope that she
would win the day. When she can no
longer dciy him utterly she yields grim
~ to his dictation, though she never ac-
knowledgcs his mastery.
ISprmuda (Irnsc