East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1919-06-18
By OWEN CONNER.

BY OWEN CONNER - -.
He is fortunes favorite child. Head walters
how deferentiaIly at sight of him and bartend-
ers can him BY name. Always his lips are
ready 10 break into smile and he electrif'es
his surroundings with the magnetism of good
cheer. He is the new type of figure once so
ridiculous that it lost its appeal to pathos.
end In making himself into this new form of a
vorId-oid character he has made the character
ana himself the envy of other men, He is the
old beau-the old beau of New oYrk. of Fifth
Avenue and Broadway.
The old beau picks as stage setting fer the
drama in which he plays the richest back
ground that his purse afford. The restau-
rant de luxe. the concert affected by folk Of
the smart world. the more successful of the
theatrical offerings and the supper palace that
has been the last to find novelty to put be-
fore the jaded eyes of the cty's amusement
seelsers are his accustomed haunts- And he is
never alone. Beauty in youthful form is ever
his companion That is the why of the envy
with which other and less fortunate men regard
him.
His age may be any number of years between
those last nilcstores in the period that we
call middle lie and the three score and ten
th.t ordinarily eni the worldly interest of
man Ia tls. Tcilies OF the world. Yet sometimes
he succeeds in passing far beyond the seventy
mark without losing one particle of the debo-
nair ligEtness with which he threads his way
through tie maze of the city's night life And.
at sny rate 50 far as he is concerned. age is
entirely matter of the family Bible. which
he has not given even a glance for many. many
years. His own estimate Of age is based on the
number of cocktails he can drink without dis
tress and the number of dances through which
b. can glide without losing his breath
Dresden China Dolls for Him.
His chief pride IS in the beauty of the young
women who are his dinner convises and his
rartners in the dance. 1t is his boast that he :
is never seen with dead one" Those who
kisow him say he is never encountered IN pub
lie with a feminine companion VINO has
reached the years that entitle her to vote
Glorious young things who are successful In
their struggles to keep something of the child
ish in their expression are his greatest JOY
Big eyed Dresden china dolls are the type
that he likes the best--tiey so decorative.
whether they have heart. brains or soul mat
ters not to him. Pulchritude is his fetish and
the other and more permanent charHls oI
women do not interest him
On. could find touch of the most ptiful
form of egotism in the old heau's dfferent at
t:Lede regarding his own age and that OF the
women he knows. He chooses TO think OF him-
self as Being sJill young. even thourh he may
-ever again seventy. but he 'ooke upon
woman Of twenty-five as ho2elessiJ passS
snd qui'e on the shelf
Pcrhsps Il Is his subconscfc1s reariHess mat
Ssnx youth. hoping 10 Stimulate his own
ueather beaten heart to GloI by the reflec-
a.n OF warmth and interest in the eyes OF
f,e Young. girl who dimes with him or VINO sits
eth him al the theatre. One Of them nut TINS
s.,ea into expression recently when he asked
= very Young woman Of his acquaintance tp 90
10 dinner with him and TO the theatre TO see
seart interest play. She asked MN "here
they would dine. and he replied
'Iyherever you like. I'D prefer you to choose
the place that would please you the most ny
eyes are heavy and tired and l would IKE to
see through the fresh. clear lights in yours-
To younger men. out for the evening alone
or with women of negligible charm. it seems
a mystery that the old beau always Is the
escort of the belle of the ball"
He's Their Interlude.
But there isn't much mystery IN IL. and the
old beau could give the answer IL he would.
lie never does for the reason that when he
admits Il 10 himself u is hurtful TO his vanity.
The truth Is that the sweet young things look
gpon him nice iittle intertude in their lives.
he fills sn the gaps between the sweetheart.
v.s,h u-honl they ha - Just quarreled and the
sfrival ON the scene OF another youth 10 whom
they will give serious attention possible
husband or he fits In entertainment
v,bat might otherwise be blank evenings when
some body else ~ away
Whcre men sti young fail to realize this
attitude Of the young siri toward the old beau
nd fiue and fret and become Jealous. the
eel herself Is never in any doubt She knows
inst what she is doing and she sees harm
.-,.,rt,y rrnce and devoted attention showered
unon hef BY the old beau. She reioiees In his
never fannE seif-sssvrsnoe IN ail siTrvund-