The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1907-03-14
OUR WOMEN OF FIFTY
EUROPEAN CRITICS CLAIM THEY
TAKE A BACK SEAT.
She May DO Much to Make Herself
Charming In Dress and Manner
Disguise Age.

minated entirely by the young
son. This used to be pretty
.'ly true, but 1t Is true no longer.
the contrary, 1t may be claimed,
G3l unanswerable arguments ad-
iced to prove 1t. that the woman
&, atty holds the controlling social
iaal In most American communities.
Srobably no one who has not
s.U died the work OF the women's
clubs and patriotic and philan-
thropic societies has any idea Of the
extent to which they have increased
the capacity and the happiness of the
middle-aged woman. One of Will
liam Morris most striking lines Is
this:
The happy are the masters Of the
earth.
In China. the older a woman be-
comes the happier she is. The same
thing Is gradually becoming true,
as 1t ought to be. in this country.
And when you become happy, you
become powerful.
Tho woman of fifty among US
might as we'll appreciate the fact;
She is now chief factor in the
higher civilization, and 1t behooves
her to seize her scepter and make
the most of her position
To this end. let her beware of the
ways Of the kitten. They may do
for the maiden of seventeen, but
they become ridiculous when mated
with gray hairs. Cooling and frisk-
ing and giggling are not for the wo-
man of fifty, except In the retirement
OF her own home. Even If she be
incurably light-minded she must
learn when in public to express her
frivolity in a staid way. or be in
suferable. AS the Duke of York
said of himself in the play. she must
have not thought but things on
dignity"
1t has been fashionable during
late years for elderly women to wear
delicate pinks, blues and lavenders
and even rather violent shades of
these colors, which is all very we'll
for the handsome ones but re-
member that these light tints make
one very conspicuous. You cannot
usually bear them, unless you are
GOOD looking
The woman of fifty, If she amounts
anything at all, will probably have
ew wrinkles. By cultivating en-
point. she can escape them. But,
.2e slenderness and delicacy of flg-
l'9e are fashionable, the face must
Paare in this general meagerness-
and the thin face Is bound to wrinkle
by the time the late forties are
reached.
Gray hair comes with wrinkles
Fortunately, the old-time hair-dye
has largely disappeared among de-
cent people, Gray hair Is often a
disadvantage to those who work for
a iiving-but, for others 1t may be
desirable.
Women who try hard to rub out
their wrinkles and color their hair
forget this sound rule. Appropri-
ateness and consistency are great
perhaps the greatest-considerat
to keep In mind In matters of this
kind. Wrinkles and gray hair and
certain unmistakable angles, and Pc
culiarities of figure 60 with advanc-
Ing years. A sense of offensive ar
hfciality marks any case In which
the usual accomplishments Of par
tcular times Of life are wanting.
There are, as 1t we're, anachronisms
The qualities do not compare" and
the artistic eye Is shocked.
II is we'll enough for the woman Of
nifty to use certain amount of
''cerate" on her face (though II is
probably useless and will only make
1t downy); to be careful when she
sleeps, that the flesh of her cheek
Is pulled up, and not down; to take
massage and physical culture" and
especially to devote attention to the
niceties Of dress. being careful not
10 overdo II. But she must remem-
ber that she has reached "a certain
age"-and. however she may de-
pIure the fact and determine to con-
ceal 1t. 1t will not.
There ts something contemplate
In trying to hide ones age-unless,
perhaps, ones living depends upon
It. In most instances, all such
efforts are useless. There are vague.
but sure, indications, which, to the
observing eye. number your years, o
vomani-and the most undignified
thing which you can do Is to try to
deceive the matter.
In short, the main effort should
be. lot Us say. to make ones appear
ancs \ symphony. as 1t were, of
which ones age Is the keynote and
Of which the details are lost In the
beauty and distinction of the
whole. 1t IL the emily way in which
one may, to use the pleasant old
phrase. grow old gracefully."-Bos-