Evening star., 1922-02-12


ings of the general assembly and
council Of Maryland-proceedin
that were set down from one hun
dred to two hundred and fifty years
ago-One comes upon a number OF acts
and resolutions, petitions and the like
which stir the interest, that is. II one
has mental slant toward old things
that admit their age. The United States
is pretty we'll populated with persons
who would be thought so up-to-date.
or of such advanced ideas" that they,
have no interest in old things. or at
least. they affect to disdain old things.
These people Of advanced ideas"
sing new" songs. which are old songs
revamped or kidnapped and rechristen-
ed. They buy 1.-The latest books" in
bright bindings. but if they are any
good they are probably old books re-
written with perhaps some elegant
new phrases introduced to give mod
ern atmosphere to the work. Or.
there may be some references to "the
beautiful rouge-lipped cake-eater" or
some such modern ideas thrown in
for the purpose of improving the
mind. These people of advanced
ideas" will not dance the waltz, the
redowa. schottische. polka and Vir-
ginia reel because they are so old
fashioned. and besides. in order to
dance the old-fashioned dances one
must really know how to dance. 1t
is much more up-to-date to toddle.
slew the feet. shake. squirm. wriggle
and shimmy, because it's the newest
thing. don't you know! Why, bless
your young hearts! The danciug girls
Of Nineveh. Babylon. Cathay and 9TH
er old-fashioned places did those
things five thousand years ago.
X + 4 X
put ] am not going to quarrel
with you. my young people. be-
cause il you keep your health you
will be old people almost before you
know it. and IL you do not learn
anything more than you know now
you will know quite as much as some
old men know now. My children.
there is good deal of piff1e and
fudge and all that in this talk about
some close connection between wis
dom and gray boards. Gray boards
are not a sure sign of wisdom The
only thing q gray beard is a sure
sign of is that its owner needs
shave. 1t is also a pretty good sign
whether man chews tobacco or does
not chew tobacco. a man who chews
tobacco should wear a brown beard.
The Rambler often goes UP against
an old citizen for Information and
hnds that the o. Z. after having
lived by the side of the main road
of the village for III years. remem-
bers nothing of interest and has got
that wrong.
But, to stray back to the records
of the Maryland council and assembly
of little more than a century ago,
which. by the way. does not seem
long time when you are looking
backward. The road over which We
are to travel looks long. but that
over which We have come seems
short. Some ladies' who are reading
these lines are perhaps approaching
forty wears old. though nobody
would suspect it,: at least. no gem
tleman would be so rude or tactless
az to mention it. The roses in their
cheeks bloom as brightly as those
that fame in the cheeks OF sweet
sixteen. and perhaps those roses
came. not from the same flower shop.
hut from the same drug store.
In the matter Of dress the lady OF
forty or thereabouts may show just
as much variety in colors as lady of
any other age and in the matter of a
skirt she may be just as conspicuous
and every bit as saving in material
as any other young lady. Well. l
know some ladies' who were born
about forty years ago. but have not
had nearly so many birthdays. who.
looking backward over the pathway
Of the past. say: at seems only yes
treday that Jack brought me bou-
uuet of hundred-leaf roses punched
tightly with a tall calla lily in the
middle. all set in , white cardboard