Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1903-08-07
THE OlD-MAlD AGE.
A Woman Not Beyond the Line Mo-
Until She Is 80.

A Woman Not Beyond the Line Now
Until She Is 80.
A few years ago % was regarded
as the age at which a woman became
an old maid
The limit has now been set at 30.
In other words, at 80 is the imaginary
line which separates the term of
spinsterhood into halves, the first
stage being that of eligibility to matri-
mony and the second that of forced or
voluntary resignation to single bless
edness.
Although the cry of "old maid" may
still be heard, it has ceased to alarm.
Indeed, there are no old maids in the
sense in which the expression was
once used, and the idea that marriage
Is the chief arm of women no longer
exists in the minds of sensible peo-
pie.
Nor Is a woman supposed to have
lost all power Of attraction because
she has entered her third decade
Balzac had laid down the theory that
a woman at 80 is at her most fascinat-
->~o s~A~ N<3ASSAouS' aSS, uohSSLooSS
that Is, to the hearts Of men.
She cannot boast, perhaps, of long
train Of admirers. Partners at balls
are less persistent and fewer in num-
Der. The delicate aroma Of fiattery
has become fainter. and now and then
a very young man may make her feel
like her own grandmother by asking
advice about his love affairs Never
theless. many women who have enter
ed the thirties are the center Of a
drama upon which the curtain is not
likely to fall for many a year. ..-
In all womanly honesty, it may be,
she revels in her part of heroine, and
In the disturbances and agitations Of
which she is the cause. This kind Of
woman, as Landor puts it, warns
both hands at the fire of life.''
1t is not only a fact that women
marry later in life than they used to,
but it Is equally true that everywhere
the more mature woman is to the
fore. The young and inexperienced
bud has ceased to be the reigning
queen of the hour. She has been fore
ed to yield her place to the maturer
woman, the woman of broader expert
ence and wider knowledge.
AS a matter Of fact, the woman of
80 or thereabouts often has a feeling
which is akin to pity for the sweet
young thing of 1S-a feeling which
would doubtless surprise the wide
eyed girl in muslin and blue ribbons
who thinks the whole world lies at
her feet.
Zone thing l am thankful for" says
the bachelor maid, land that is that
miss.
'Ihere is no period of her existence.
think, wherein woman appears to
less advantage. 1t is almost impossi-
BILE for girl of IS not to be conscious,
and she has so little knowledge Of the
world that she is unable to hide her
awkwardness.
''It is amusing, even pathetic, to see
the efforts of the poor thing to ap-
pear natural and at her ease and to
say her little say without betraying
that she has prepared it beforehand
A word to the glorified spinster Of
to-day-let her take her stand boldly, =
firmly. Let her never pretend to a
day less than her years really number.
Let her look as pretty as she can and
as young as she can as long as she
can. Let her preserve all the graces
and coQuetries Of womanhood that
possess so potent an attraction. This
is her woman's prerogative.
But no kittenishness, no juvenility.
no shyness. That is not her role.
Shyness in a young girl is charming.
But it weakens the position of the un-
married woman. 1t makes her seem
apologetic, and this she should never
seem to be- as her position needs no
apology.-Chicago Inter Ocean.
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