The Detroit times., 1912-02-02
BY ELEANOR WARNER.

MINI OF the average woman (mOri
especially those who have, durini
their youth, received an unusua
amount OF admiration and adula
tom, than the conviction that as the!
approach the meridian OF life the,
must be content to fill the dreary role
Of merely useful, instead of an In
teresing and attractive member o
society. And this conviction-quite In
keeping with various other platitudei
, OF our present-day civllization-ii
cherished by large majority OF wo
men. in spite Of the fact that history
is filed with accounts of wonderful
and fascinating women who were fal
from juvenile. Helen of Troy was
over forty when she eloped with
Paris, and as the siege OF Troy LASTED
/. I. decade she could not have been very
youthful when the ill-fortunes OF Paris
returned her to her husband, who re
ceiyed her with open arms. And
Pericles welded the courtesan, AS
pasta, when she was thirty-six, and
for thirty years afterward her charms
were undiminished. Cleopatra was
past thirty when she first met An
thony, and she held his love until her
DEATH ten years later.
when she was described as the hand
soonest queen in Europe. and when
Buckingham and Richelieu were her
jealous admirers. Madame de Main
tenon became the wife of Louis XIV.
when she was forty-three. Catherine
of Russia was thirty.three when she
seized the Empire of Russia and cap
tivated the dashing young General Or.
ON 10 he Of
at sixty-seven, she retained all her
bewitching powers. Mile. Mars, the
celebrated French tragedienne only
attained the zenith of her beauty and
fame between forty and forty.five, and
the loveliness OF her hands and arms,
especially was celebrated throughout
Europe.
Madame Recamier was thirty-eight
when she was renowned as the most
beautiful and fascinating woman in
all Europe, and this distinction she
held for fifteen years Ninon de / En-
clos, the most famous wit and beauty
OF her day. was seventy-two when the
Able de Berais fell in love with her,
and she had been for three genera
lions, the idol of the golden youths
OF France. Ii Is true that in her case
there was a rare combination OF tai
ent, culture, and personal attractions,
which seemed to endow her with
eternal youth.
And these are but few OF the
many instances which history records
TO prove that the most potent in
tiueLces in all history were women
who were no longer youthful. And,
coming down TO the present, where
facts and dates can be more accurate
ly verified we find that the most fas-
cinating and charming women-both
in society and on the stage-are past
forty. and many OF them nearer sixty.
There is no doubt that the dread OF
old age hastens it's premature arrival
and IL were wiser not to squander
time In woTriment that had better be
spent i'm precautions Beauty Is deli
cato plant that must be carefully
nourished and tended. From an
esthetic point OF view, ugliness Is a
sin. and physical imperfections are
usually due to transgressions OF
Natures laws either by our ancestors
OF ourselves.
Because Nature has neglected to
bestow beauty is no reason why we
should remain ugly. Nature does not
bestoy knowledge, yet we do not re-
main forever ignorant, and the body
may be cultivated quite as readily as
the mind--in some respects II is even
more receptive and responsive. Edu-
Gators are now directing their efforts
against ugliness in the flesh, as well
as mp!ness In the spirit. realizing that
tie cultivation of material beauty aids
the spiritual, and vice versa
We should grow in beauty as We
grow in knowledge, and no woman
need be unattractive and uninterest-
ing ct any age, who realizes that her
brain and soul may be cultivated to
that degree that mere youthful
charms will appear insipid in com
parison. With the finest libraries on
every hand II is quite unnecessary to
be college graduate in order TO be
cultivated and well-informed and the
woman who recognizes the fact that
as she approaches the critical age her
body requires much less food and her
brain more-if she would grow old
gracefully-need not fear advancing
years. Beefsteak and dairy products
NAV soar in price until only the rich
Care aspire to them. but good books
are always within reach of the poor
est IN purse. And II is a fact that
too much food after youth has passed
is quite likely TO result i'm an excess
of adipose tissue rather than a super
abundance OF intellectual perception.
THE least dominion over the palate
ia attended with good results not
easily estimated" and IL more wo-
men were alive to this truth. instead
OF allowing themselves to become
reckless in regard to their diet. and
careless as to their toilet, we should
soon behold a marvellous transforma-
lion in the majority OF middle-aged
women.
ThJ digestive organs have an extra.
ordinary influence over the whole sys-
tenn, and they must perform their
functions properly or there can be
ucither health nor beauty Every wo-
man, therefore who desires 10 be-
come beautiful. or TO retain her beau.
~, should use discretion regarding her
diet. famous medical authority
wrote just previous to his death-.'T
leave behind me two great physicians
- diet and water
But vastly more important even
than diet. Is pure air. The air is a
cordial OF ircredible virtue" wrote n
great man, many years ago. Frequent
deep breathing OF pure air Is an alb
solute necessity 10 health and beauty.
rhe air in our homes and in over
,.rowded huildinRa becomes contamfn-