The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-11-29
wOMAN'S CHARMING AGE.
GOOD WORDS FOR TER AT SIXTEEN
AND At SIXTH.

"
Young Mes and MiddIe-AEcd Men Civ
Their Viewa-when Is Woman Mntures
In BODY and MindI-AdvnntnEes OF Girl
hood and OF Full, Cultivated Womnnhoct
1t was certainly n strange subjsct for then
to fall on. L very man of them was past middle
life except two. and they had been allowed L
join the mystic circle Of seven as q great favor
One of these two was very young. being Just
out Of college. TWAS his trial heat In bust
ness. The other man was \ Yale man OF 'BS
was about thirty, and had feen a good deal Of
the world. The sights hadn't sappod his boy
ish joyousness. however, and after all ho was
very young. too. The seven always luncked
together. and on this particular day they lin.
Rered even longer than usual over their coffee
and cigars. 1t was because tho next day was
Thanksgiving. and n holiday Is about as de.
moralizing TO the oldest fellow on Change as
II is to the average schoolboy.
Society isn't what it used to be-" said a
handsome, robust man of sixty as he twisted
his white mustache. "A woman Is never adj
mitted to.be an old woman in New York So
ciety now. Why. thirty years ago-I'd been
married ten years then, mind you-a girl was
n girl. and II woman n matron: the line of de-
markation was as rigidly drawn as that oetween
the old woman and the new woman to-day. Then
twenty-three or twenty-four was considered
an advanced nge at which to become engaged,
and the woman who had reached the age of
thirty and was still unmarried was thought of
and spoken OF as an old maid. and through
sheer force of circumstances became very old
maidish in her ways. A girl Of twenty was
considered n .full-grown woman. To-day she
is looked upon as II mere chit, and n woman Of
thirty is not yet in her prime. The fact that
q woman is gray before she is engaged is a fact
not even commented upon. it so frequently is
the case. This is decidedly a change for tho
better. 1t was tho essence of cruelty to expect
n woman of thirty or forty to he cheerfullv
laid away on the shelf. such Il thing wouldn't
be tolerated for an instant in these days. We
are more reasonable, more humane. Why, u
woman Of fifty is young to me now"
"Gad!' exclaimed-the youth fresh from:col-
leGc. she isn't TO me-"
Its altogether owing to ones viewpoint,
old chap said tho other young fellow, pa
tronizingly. You possibly think n girl of TWEEN
" one qnite mature now. Just wait till you
get my age" The old fellows smiled.
And ell this talk about woman's age leads to
a very old but an always interesting question:"
put in "A jolly man of AT least fifty. who did
not look his age by ten years.
Lay 1t on the table" tlurted out the man
next to him.
At what age is a woman most fascinatingT"
he ierked out, with emphasis on the verb.
"Sixteen." yelled one. Twenty" another.
Thirty" chortled three, while tho sixth
shouted Forty and the seventh and oldest
man OF tho party held his ground that fifty
was the age for him.
"Lct-tho kid have his say first" shouted tho
oldest man. beating on the table with his fist
for silerce.
That's a GO consented the half dozen.
What age has most charms for you, kid2"
asked one. addressing tho youugster.
Thirty" he answered., without hesitation.
Give me n woman of at least thirty. School
girls don't interest me u minute. Thomas
Carlyle says something about putting boys I'M
der barrels and keeping them there until they
are twenty-five. | guess the old chap didn't
know much about girls, or he would have in
cluded them. too. Really. q woman has no
interest for me whatever under that age.
Mind and body are undevelopcd. and hor char
acter Uniformed. She thinks OF nothing but
herself. her looks, aid her beaux; of dances.
dinners. afternoon teas, and theatre parties.
Great bore, those things, TO me. Now. | met n
woman o. about thirty last year at the junior
Promenade
"'Thatu do interrupted the confirmed old
bachelor of the party. as he made several dives
at the feet of the others with his own. You
know we settled the other day that we weren't
going to hear any more about your Junior
promenade last year. Besides. boy, how do
you Know Wien a woman IS at a a'yinnttnE
80, 80 - ' 'AAa ISllNN
has To go through the stage of falling in love
With some woman years Older than himself.
under thirty, AS for Inc give III. IL girl from
sixteen to eighteen. She is spontaneous In her
from ever being wicked. She DOESN'T need zee r e
pose OF manner that you other men find SO fas.
einatlng in older women; She has nothing TO
said, Old women are never lacking but he
spoke the unEarnished truth. They are never
lacking In society. and one gets very tired OF
anything that one has too much OF. It's the
style to consider a woman OF thirty young. l
know, but she isn't. all the same. Age cant
be reckoned by years. but by knowledge. and
the woman, OF. thirty today knows too much
emotions, and this makes her unnatural and
Keeps her from really enjoy lug anything. On
the ne, other hand: the girl Of sixteen or eigh-
from n glass OF ice cream soda to an Assembly
bail, and doesn't care who knows 1t. She
again the days OF ones own youth. Even
twenty years ago girls of this age were looked
upon as women, and were allowed to 20 into
societI' Nnw they are made to wear short
dresses. wear their hair In braids. and keep up
ana Erandmothers, too, for, that matte, and
tAelr old.lnaid auhts. who have proved hard
stock y the market, come down to entertain
YOU. When ! do, talk to these people | feel liEo
n fossil. but when / can get a sweet slXtccncr
under my wing at II matinee or u football
zane ! forget my torty-hye years ana really
,Bosh and nonsense;" exclaimed the next
Is all CYCLE, and from that age to twenty-five
she's all gabble. After she has spent n quar-
ter OF n century here, II she haA a good mind,
plenty OF tact, and a really Kind heart. she be-
gins To-, be fascinating, even il she IL ugly as
SIN. Then she Is more interested In you than
che, is in herself, or she has the good sense 10
make II look that way, and she pretends that
she'd rather lear you talk than talk herself.
Sho doesn't grow hysterical over mountains,
much less mole h Ills, and her manner Is anil
able even II she is mad enough To pound You
into uince meat. She studies tn please you
IN small things; In other words, she caters TO
ynnr small idiosyncra'ics. and that's a winner.
We can forgive II man for differing with us in
q matter 0t much importance, bu: In the little
Li.ings or lite, never. What girl under twenty
hye Is going to take the trouble 70 please you?
None. They. are all too busy pleasing them
selves up TO tina! age. And the beautiful thing
abo. ! the woman. OF thirty, the most e~nchant-
ing. tewltching thing about her IL that all Tho
time she makes YOU think that sle IL pleasing
you, III b. darned If she isn't pleasing herself