Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-08-04

~ No MNl, sDe naO scarcely the
N 49,: !; !: s: ::
| childhood. to put the
thought into words. her own private opin-
| lon was that they were past all enjoyment,
| while the men and women who, by some
| extraordinary provision and assistance of
nature, had managed to keep body and
| soul together for sixty winters, were the
objects Of her unmitigated commiseratlon
| as individuals who had drained life's goblet
| to it's bitter dregs
If a single. long step m erged human be-
| Ing from youth to maturity and from ma
turity to decrepitude. there might have
been some foundation for the erection of
such childish fancy. But this Is not the
case. The gray hairs come, one by one, and
why should We grieve at their appearance
or essay to pluck them out as impudent in
truders?
Miss MULCH says: ITO grow old grace
fully Is a good and beautiful thing. but to
grow old worthily is a better" 1t is wisely
decreed that added years shall whiten the
locks and soften down the ruddy tints of
youth In the face. and II this assertion be
doubted we pray you, when next on Penn
sylvania avenue. to note the painful incon-
gruity between the features of some dap
per old man and the raven hue of his mus
tache. or the one unchanging spot Of hectic
bloom on either faded cheek of the elderly
woman, which serves but to emphasize
twice over all that is unyouthful in her ap-
pearance. We suddenly discover some day
that We have ceased running up and down
stairs, and do not remember when we laid
aside habit which had been fixed for at
least twenty-five years. Well, what if We
do walk now! We are not sure but that IL
Is gain instead OF loss, since we take
more pains TO think of the necessary err
rands on each floor while there, and SO
make one trip take the place of three.
We somehow have no further ambition
to distinguish ourselves pedestrians.
What of that? Thanks to the Ubiquitous
street car, We can ride almost anywhere
and save SO many precious moments there
by the few pennies spent are not worth
considering.
Annoying Failure of Memory.
We are amazed and annoyed to find that
our memory cannot be entirely relied on
CT late. Although when We meet Mr.. -
unexI ectedly in market some morning we
know that he is from Montgomery county;
that his wife is fine musician, and that he
| had five children sick with the measles
when his DaIn burned down, yet to save
the whole family and all their possessions
we cannot recall the mans name, and he
bids us good bye presently, with the i'm
preston that we are much more unSociable
and stupid at home than abroad. While
this common disability is no crime, ii is a
serious inconvenience and a failing that
should be striven against with our whole
might A resolution to compel the mind
to do its work is half the battle The act
OF learning some verse or paragraph by
| rote each day is said to be the greatest aid
to q treacherouS memory. But even this
| apparent defect may have a silver lining to
| Its cloud IL we can school ourselves to for
| get the injuries, the debts and the nisun-
| n limo. Of and ,lNx.r
| the blessings and the pleasures alone.
The editors have evidently conspired
| nowadays to use nonpareil type instead of
r'iEion, ard the eyes of No. 8 needles are
| certainly good deal smaller than they
| We're twenty years ago. Shall we for these
| reasons consent to strain and impair the
| optic nerve? Not fer an hour. How for
| tInate that there 50 many degrees
and styles of eyeglasses in vogue and that
| they are almost universally admitted to
| promote certain dignity of Bearing in the
| frequently adopted unnecessarily, fiom the
| belief that they are becoming. Believe us,
1t is much more comfortable and admirable
| to frankly admit, once for all, that our
| young days have departed forever and
| recognize in ourselves the same immutable
| order that has made the seasons change,
| assured that each epoch has Its pleasures,
| its privileges, Its duties, and all are equally
| worth possessing and enjoying. Although
| we may not recall the vanished years. let
| us "ihank God and take courage to go on
| steadily and fearlessly in the knowledge
| that there is point in life from which
we may not ascend mentally, morally and
| spiritually.
To ThyscIf he True.
Perhaps one OF the greatest negative
benefits of added years is the frequent
diminution of self-consequence That man
and woman must irdeed be dull observer
who has not learned, ere the forty-fifth
mile stone be passed on iife's highway.
| that the unknown, dreaded world concerns
itself much less about US all personally
| than was once supposed. If the tongue be
| truthful and discreet, II the actions be
| open and above board, the Individual scrup-
ulously honest. the nature refined and the
manners gentle none need fear a perma-
nent loss of social standing from the acci
dent of clothing, or even homes, being a
| little behind the times. If men and women
have responsibility In the broadest sense
Of the word, they have Ii under all circum-
stances, and when we meet those who are
constantly in terror lest they be deprived
Of caste by trifies we may safely take 1t
for granted there was less than the re-
quired amount at first.
Said bright girl to us once: II don't in
tend to spend all my money on clothes.
People don't care a bit what I wear and
they would rather be better dressed than
I am than not, I shall save up and try
| to decorate the inside of my Uranium first"
The same logic holds good In more import
ant matters than Dress and. while we do
|
kindly interest in it's fellow creatures, the
young can hardly realize. what all over
forty know to be the truth, that maturity
generally brings the compensation Of great
er latitude of thought and action. 1t has
ceased to torment what average ac-
Quaintances will think or say of us II our
consciences do not reprove u.s. Explorers
Of the great dark continent tell us that in
the far interior of Africa dwells a tribe of
dwarfs who possess such courage and pow
ers of endurance they are scourge to
| the other wild tribes Of that section some
| of whom are of extraordinary stature and
strength. Who has not noticed the fact
| that most small men and women seem en-
dowed with an unlimited supply Of pluck
and staying qualities, which enables them
to stand abreast in achievement with
| those more literally built physically? So,
| though the youth and the maiden may ac-
| complish tasks at break-neck speed, IL the
| same be performed by the older members
| Of the family, in more deliberate man.
| ner, the result Is usually more substantial
Efficiency With the Years.
When We were young If grandmother
| darned a rent, or tried her hand at French
ga do oil oIya