The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1908-04-10
COURTESY FROM THE YOUNG TO THE old.
BY MARION HARLAND.

Inc peESlmist, reading the meaning
Of this chapter, would be inclined 10
ask II one writes nowadays Of lost
quantity. While we do not consider
the grace Of courtesy as entirely LOST,
We are at times tempted to think that
II has gone before" and SO far be-
Tore that 1t is lost sight Of By the rs
ing generation.
The days have passed when the
hoary head was crown Of glory, as
the royal preacher declares. Il - Ger
tain that If it is crown, it is one
before which the youth Of the twentieth
century do not bow.
Before we condemn the young un-
sparingly for their lack Of reverence,
we must look at the other side OF the
question. Today there are few old
people. First, there is youth That
lasts almost until one is grandpar-
ent; then one is middle-aged. No one
Is old-at least few viii acknowledge
It, The Woman Of forty-fVe is on the
shady side OF thirty" she Of sixty-hVe
Is ION the down-slope from fifty. And
even when the age is announced, one
is reminded that "a woman is only as
old as she feels" There is sound COM
mon sense in all this. Can not we af-
ford to snap our fingers at Father
Time and his laws, when the law with
In ourselves tells us the principle that
bids US shut our eyes at the figure on
the milestone we are passing is good
one. As long as we feel fresh still for
the journey, as long as every step is
a pleasure, what difference if the walk
has been five miles long or fifteen? We
judge of the strain by the effect it has
had on us. If we feel unwearied and
ready for miles and. miles ahead of us,
who shall say that the walk has been
ten miles long when we are conscious
in our energetic limbs that it has only
been two delightful miles?
The fact that no one is now old has
its effect on the young person in our
midst. She hesitates to say to the
matron, Take this seat, please"
when she knows that in her soul the
matron will resent the insinuation that
she is on the downward grade. Not
long ago witnessed the chagrin of a
woman OF thirty-fiye who rose and
gave her seat in street car to wo-
man who was, if one may judge by
the false standard of appearances, at
least fifteen years her senior. The elder
~ woman flushed Indignantly.
spray keep your seat, madam!" she
commanded in stentorian tones. Il
may be gray-haired, but l am not old
or decrepiti"
She of thirty-iye had cast her pearls
Of courtesy before swine, and assuredly
they had been trampled underfoot.
One point in which Young America
displays vulgarity is in the habit of
interrupting older people. Interrupt
tons, we Of former generation were
taught, are rude. That is a forgotten
fact in many so-called polite circles.
And when people do not interrupt they
seem to be waiting for the person
speaking to finish what he has to say
in order to "cut in" (no other express
sion describes it fitly) with some new
and original remark. That is, appar-
emily, the only reason that one listens
to others-just for the sake of having
some one to answer. The world is full
of things, and getting fuller every day,
and unless one talks most of the time
he will never be able to air his opinions
on all points. And every ones opin-
ion is of priceless value-at least to
himself This seems to be the attitude
of Young America. Yet in courtesy to
the hoary head one should occasionally
pause long enough to allow the own
er thereof to express an opinion. AL
though one has passed fifty, one may.
nevertheless, have sound judgment and
ideas on some subjects that are worth
consideration. l wish young men and
women would occasionally remember
this.
The woman of sixty or over can real
ly learn little of value from her grand
daughter-even when that granddaugh-
ter is college graduate, and has all
the arrogance of twenty years. OF
course, grandmother may need enlieht-
eminent on college athletics, on golf.
even, perhaps, on bridge-although that
is very doubtful, if she lives in
fashionable neighborhood. But, after
all, these are not the greatest things
of life. She would, perchance, be glad
to listen to her young relatives account
OF her sports il she would take the
trouble to tell the happenings that in
terest her in loving, respectful spir-
1t. Our elderly woman does not like
to be patronized, to be told that she
dresses like an old fashion plate, and
that she is, to use the slang oil the day
black number" The grandmother
knows better. She has lived and she is
sure that from her store of knowledge