Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1897-04-24
rus NATURE BELLE.
Womnn's Age of Greatest CharHh -
BeIng Extended.

btlAE
The ruling woman Of the present day
Is The mature woman. The maiden OF
hashful Is, the bud OF IS the clear
eyed girl of 20, all must stand aside
for their older sister, who leads the
procession. The age at which women
are supposed to exercise their greatest
charm varies with the varying OF taSh-
inn and taste. In the E~lizabethan
era il was IA. Other heroines as cele-
brated in their day and generation as
Juliet were the instigators OF tragic
loves and hates at that extremely
juvenile age. Half a century ago, Bal-
FAC astonishedhi his countrymen by claim
ing unusual powers of fascination for
the woman of 30. Ever since, she has
held the stage as nm incarnation OF CO.
ouettlsh attraction. At the present
day the period of beauty and charm has
been extended even further. Balhacs
30 has received an additional ten years
Women of 40 are no longer looked upon
as ruins in which the antiquarian may
trace relies of bygone ~splendor, with
the vanishing Of the term "old mald'
the old maid herself has withdrawn
into the place of departed spirits. In
| France an unmarried girl of over 20 is
looked upon as dead stock, for which
there is nothing but a convent To-Day
in the United States, women of indie
pendent means, women of society, wom-
en- who are self-supporting, rarely
marry under 25, and generally put OIL
that episode in their existence to five
or ten years later.
There are many reasons for the pres
ent vogue of the mature belle. She IS
more attractive, understands human
nature better, than her younger sister.
She is still good-looking. Her youth
lasts longer than it used to, because
she has learned how to take care OF her,
self. American women formerly ruined
their beauty by bad diet, no exercise,
and too little fresh air. Now they
know better. A healthy, well-groomed
woman, who is not ~overworked or over
NOTIItU, HUNS uboul Wv SthiN r 49,
40 as she did at 25. With her addition
al years has come additional wisdom.
If she has not the engaging simplicity
that was hers at IS, she has a knowledge
of men and manners which makes her
a more interesting companion, a more
lovable human being. Experience has
given her the gift of sympathy, of which
the young girl feels nothing. To mer
she has come to represent not only al
that is graceful and gracious and tact
full in w%omanhood, but all that is broad
and tender and feminine.
Among working women-from thear
tistic to the plain working woman
the maturcr ones are naturally in the
ascendant. The young girl among thu
workers is the novice woman no ont
knows or cares much about. 1t is whel
the years of endeavor have been passed
and mind and heart have reached thei
fullest powers of comprehension ant
feeling, that she is at the pinnacle o
her development. In these days of nur
~ anu pressure anu INTENSITY VI u
, fort. such a creature naturally take
precedence over the untried girl VIII
is waiting with expectant eyes for tn
} message of the future. Existence is to
> full. the struggle too serious, for tn
return of those days when youth, ie
l.. %norance, beauty and folly were To
Y great requisites of women. The time
are stirring, the pressure of eXistenc
) desperately earnest, and man in hi
= struggle demands a helpmate who ca
' assist him onward, not drag him bacl
Chivalry, in its downfall, carried ava
n many pretty myths, the prettiest tn
p myth of the childwife hanging, frigh
ened and faint-hearted, on her hui
+ bands arm.-San Francisco Argonau