OCR Text |
Show J4ooi to Orooa Old. Somo OHIol Xi1oh Advanced. LU, Skmmkg and Dancing, "" f Dhfclllon Should le tarty Aeouhed -The Kindt of Girls lko Make Htagreeai'e Old lfe-DiMir Otand ,na-Cr,llcUlng Humanity's nallnett-MUd Daughters and UtttyGtrh- Ugty Old Women-Smithy WUhour rellws Bring, Ut,ne and Con- Unlmtnt Whin t ife's Shadows are railing I To grow old gracefully, one must commence when very oung. It l 1 ke dancing, swimming, or speaking foreign tonguci-a thing not to be perfcc ly acquired suddenly, or If begun too late I am comtanlly amused with a sort of sorrowful amusement at healing the very Just criticisms which many young people pass upon the disagreeable oW persons whom they encounter while their criticisms arc well founded, they do not realize that they are every hour of the day forming and solidifying habits which shall eventually render them "disagreeable old people " The pretty joungglil, all bloom and dimples, who relates In a musical voice the misdemeanors of her schoolmates, and criticise their conduct dress, and appearance, Is called, at worst nothing more than "discriminating ' or "very particular." I have heard such girls praised highly by blind patents or relatives re-latives for their comments upon their companions Yet this same habit In dulgcd In by some withered grandmother, grand-mother, whose face Is hard and whose voice Is harsh, wins unltersal disippro val. "Grandma Is so hypercritical, so faultfinding, fault-finding, so censorious, she has no sm-Cathy sm-Cathy with joung peoplel ' cries the looming grand daughter, who, ten minutes later, will tear to tatteis the character or costumeof some companion with her sarcastic comments She does not realize that every time she Indulges this habit she tikes one more step toward to-ward that hideous goal of disagreeable old age. The extremely well behatcd young girl, who has never been tempted nnd who cannot understand how another could commit a folly, Iscertan to be-mmc be-mmc the most censorious of old women. If she does not develop Into a cruel, malicious tongued scandalmonger It will ben wonder. Isothing is so easy as the descent from uncharhableness to malice As a oung girl she prides herself upon her lote of morality and good behivlor, all her friends speak of her as ' such a strict gill ' In her Ideas. No one would think of appealing to her for sympathy or ndvice In an hour of temptation, but she Is respected for her high Ideils if feared for her severity. As on old woman she is simply held in abhorrence, and her name becomes a neighborhood synonym for cruel judgment. judg-ment. Criticism of our frail fellow beings Is a I rice which takes possession of us like a I stimulant or n drug, once we encourage it It may begin In our high moral standud and our hatred of sin, but once Itbccomrs a habit, we Indulge in It for the pleasure it gltcs us It Is a bad habit In the young In the old It It intolerable, in-tolerable, for nothing rendeis old age Interesting or lot able save s nipatliy lort the joung and chatity for the tiring I. Is strange that we all do not era chirl table as we grow old, at we learn inoro and more of our own Irailtles and more ond more of the temptations and II luslons ol lire we ought to become more and more tender and pitying One can be sympathetic without encouraging vice and wrongdoing ol cloak ng sin The gill with no object or nlm In lire save to lino a good lime 'and outshine her companions must speed forward to a miserable old age, for alter n ccttaln lime sic become unsatisfied with, or grotesque in, a pursuit for gacly, and If we have formed no other tastes or learned no other occupation there It a wretched outlook for us The witty glil is one who makes rapid strides toward unlovable old oge I mean the girl whose bright arrows of wit are almost alas tipped with the poison of sarcasm. American society teems with such girls A quick brain, a ready tongue, a (ondnes for repartee sends the laughter making retort straight to Its mark, no matter what sting may follow it Ho long as the possessor of this dangerous gift l young and charming she is a sot.nl fatoille I ten those who are stung by her shafts of wit forgive her freely because of her youth and charm, and only oversensitive oversensi-tive people accuse her of malice. The great majoilty Join In the general laugh, and her bright ton molt are repeated and tossed about until they become neighborhood proverbs They create an occasional enemy, and they cause a great many little hurls Hut the witty girl Is so pleased with her own wit that she docs not stop to think about that She cultivates her gift, and seeks for opportunities In which to exercise It Whenever site meets a new person she studies him or her with the direct purpose of finding something to be w Itty over. If She possesses the powers of mimicking she Is liable to Indulge In it behind her dearest friends' back out of sheer love of making people laugh As she grows older, the bright ebullitions turn acid and bitter. What was once sharp wit becomes biting sarcasm l'eople w Ince more and I lugh less Her friends decrease In number and her enemies multiply. She- Is a sarcastic, bitter tongued old woman, dreaded and disliked by every one Hut she did not become so nil at once I icr first arrow s of wit, which were tipped with sarcasm, laid the foundation of her disagreeable old age When she allowed herself to ridicule and mimic unoffending people just to raise a laugh, she chose the path way that Icadt (o unattractive And unlovable un-lovable old age. The petted daughter nnd society belle usually builds an Indestructible nnd solid masonwork ol ugly old nge for herself in hervouth, and nil her friends, rchtitcs, nnd admirers lend n helping hand "biie rules us all," says the doting mother before the daughter Is out ol short clothes "There it no such thing as den) Ing her nn) thing Why, her papa would bring down the roof over our heads If wo should refuse her anything any-thing she asks lor." As she grows into young ladyhood the same false Idea of dcvollon governs the parents bhe is petted, praised, nnd waited upon, nnd encouraged In every selfish w him 1 ler comfort and pleasure are paramount to all other considerations Mir it so pretty and charming that her extreme selfishness Is not obiervant to the casual etc fal o It a bel o and n favorite while she ilt j oung, but she makes n poor wile and a none mother and a most detestable detes-table old woman bhe has never known what it wat loJte up anything for the sake of others, and she Is forever llirutt-Ing llirutt-Ing her "nerves," nnd her 'sensitive feelings," nnd her whims In the way of others enjoyment All her relatives dislike her, and strangers stran-gers abhor her. Yet she Is the same sort of old wo-nan that she was child and maiden, only, the hlostom and leaves of jouth having fallen away, the bale broan branch of selfishness Is more fully rev ealcd There ore more disagreeable old men than women in the world, because women nt a rule, are obliged to practice more self sacrlfico nnd unselfishness and patience In carl) life than men practice Men who have ruled their households wives, children, servants and emplovcs by a rod ol fear rather than love during youth and middle nge make very unpleasant un-pleasant old men Mentally and physl cally Incapacitated from inspiring fear, they are unable to inspire anything but hatred or the pity which springs from scorn Unable to rule, which lias been the source of their happiness in earlier )cars, they pass their old age In carping criticisms criti-cisms and fault finding of those who succeed them The children who have formerlyobcy-cd formerlyobcy-cd them only through fear now Ignore their w Mies and fall to show them the respect due to gray hair a respect Impossible Im-possible to feel where thera are no qualities to Inspire it, but which good breeding nnd humanity ought to impose In seeming, It Is all very well to talk about the love and respect we owe our ancestors, but those are emotions which cannot be prompted by duty. If old people render ren-der themselves absolutely unlovable, it is not in the power of their children or grandchildren to love them; but it Is possible for those descendants to treat them with kindness, consideration, and patience. An old man who has lived n grasping, mercenary, selfish life cannot expect to be respected on account of hit i,rny hairs, but out of self respect his children and relatives ought to show forbearance and kindness The sons and daughters of such a man will bemoan the fact that their father Is so captious and unlovable, while nt the same time they InduUc in habits nnd cultivate qualities In themselves which will lead them directly to the same goal In time They forget that one does not grow old in a day It takes a lifetime to produce old age The man whu passes his jouth In the pursuit of pleasure nnd his maturity in the pursuit of gold, ignoring the feelings and rights of others during lioth periods, cannui fall to become n most unp'easant old man , It Is only through sympathy with others and through n lifelong habit of loving and thoughtful consideration for those about ustlntwpcan hope to av old swelling thegratarmyof "disagreeable old people " No matter how you may get along without these qualities In early life through brilliancy, power, beauty or position, oil will e disliked nnd avoided, avoid-ed, and possibly neglected In Jour old nge If you do not possess them they alone can offset the unpleasant anil unattractive phases of old age, and urlest they nre cultivated In early life it will be almost impossible to acquire them when needed I believe the wave of theosophlcal thought which Is passing over the earth will serve to dignify and glorify old nge as orthodox religion has failed to do. tt Idle our churches teach respect to the aged they do not teach the advantages and desirability of long hie rhey impress im-press us with the Idea that n joung angel occupies quite as exalted a position posi-tion as an old one In the heavenly cnoir, mid south seems to have the advantage In the next world ns well as this. The belief in re Incarnation and all that belief Involves will w oil. a vast change In human thought In this respect The v aluo of a long nnd varied experience In this phase of life will, If properly llllIU cd, be of vast account to us when we return, ns we must, to still further develop de-velop the divine element within us. The earnest and sincere student of reincarnation re-incarnation must desire n long nnd complete com-plete life, he must wclcoaio sorrow as well as Joj, pain as well as pleasure, since only through these well borne experiences can be hope to occupy a better and higher position In his next earth life He does not believe that he can repent upon Ids death bed for an ill-sp-nt existence, nnd bathe In the glory of paradise through ctcrnitj. He knows that ns ho sows shall he reap, and that he must carve out his future position by the use of his opportunities here The noro extended thos tppnrtuniti't, the belter. He docs not think that the ' time of his usefulness Is past,"nnd that he has nothing more to do save to die, because lie has reached threescore years and ten He believes that while he hat the power to think he It still carving out position and events for his coming Incarnation, Incar-nation, and therefore- he rejoices in life Once let the old people be filled with this thought nnd the young must respect nnd venerate them, nnd find In them tint strength, help, and guidance which so few old people ever give It Is a great step toward the uplifting of old age when the head of an orthodox church preaches re Incarnation from tlio pulpit a miracle which occurred In one of our prominent parishes recently, and which nuurs still greater miracles for those who listen and understand I i LA WimriLFit.Wit.cox, |