El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1919-09-01
War Gives Man OF Fifty Chance To
Enact Successfully Lovers Role
Girls Respond to Kindness and Sympathy and, Once
in Love, Make Heroes of Romance of
Mafnra Adnnirers
Mature Admirers.
y BEATnIClt FATRFAV

DIFFERENT times. different GUS
Il toms Particularly in the case OF
the elderly widower or bachelor. the
man Of 50 or so who Is really eligible
from the matrimonial point Of view
but who has only recently begun to
realize ito zee himself as a figure
OF romance.
It's an Intoxicating knowledge.
And It's invested him with a totally
new personal atmosphere. Hes come
overnight TO think extremely well OF
himself He beams eomplacently upon
the world at large. he addresses It
genially and at length. he makes a
point OF exhibiting the briskness Of
his walk and the Quir lzness Of his eve
Lie hasn't passed him BY. after
all So he tries 20 pretend that he
never suspected life % any such IN
tention- He loves and is loved And
the successful lover Is on hilariously
good terms with the whole world
Naturally a lover must be NAL
adrOit indeed not to succeed when a
girl is bored and lonely and when
competition Is reduced 10 a highly IN
interesting minimum And il must be
that this is Just the situation in a
multitude Of cases
Young men are far fewer than they
were before the war. Young. free.
unimpajred suitors don't cluster about
an attractive girl as they once did
It's a forIorn thing 20 feel within
ones self the capacity for PLAYING the
game Of youth and life and love and
yet 20 have ones partner. indeed any
partner at all. as 10 seems endlessly
delayed. les the loneliness that the
girls OF Europe have come to know
50 well and SO bitterly. and that many
American girls have OF late come TO
know. too.
How Does II Hanpens
But this is an 81 wind OF whose
propelling pswer the elderly lover has
skilfuIy availed himself Carefully.
deliberately. he has looked at the
charming. loverless young girl whom
he once regarded with the eyes OF an
uncle. He has felt first impersonany
sorrv for her. then tender. then i'm
passioned-
He has taken an enormous amount
Of trouble 10 make himself agreeable
to her. 10 prove 10 her that the spirit
Of youth still dwells in him. and
finally to propose himself TO her as
a lover and a husband
Kindness and sympathy are very
disarminE- The lonely girl IS In a
mood to respond to love She actually
sees her elderly lover somewhat as
he would have her see him-but not
in the least as she would have seen
him had there been a youthful rival
at hand Then. too. she is sure to
feel the maternal urge 70 take care
or him. and the further removed he
is from youth. the better excuse he
viii offer for this tender solicitude OF
hers
UnromantIc7 Not necessarily so. By
any means. II the spirit OF romance
is alive in you. such a trifle as dis
parity IN axe isn't Of the slightest
moment These June-and- December
affairs viii often amaze you by the
range and reality Of their romantic
feeling
Indeed. II they are spontaneous and
not the result Of avarice or ambi-
ton, I know Of no reason why such
marriages should not be among the
happiest that there are In explain
ing how so many Of them come TO
pass nowadays. that it's because Of
the sad shortage. so marked in many
localities. Of masculine youth. I
haven't meant TO imply the slightest
disparagement or warning.
If an elderly sutton happens along
at a time when a young girl is feel
ing rather forlorn, and II he succeeds
in making himself Indispensable,
there's nothing to be regretted or
wept over. It's simply his good luck.
and perhaps hers. too.