Jasper County Democrat, Volume 4, Number 15, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 July 1901 — WOMANS REALM [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

WOMANS REALM

THE MIDDLE-AGED WOMAN. HE sees, or thinks she sees, neglect and a lack of appreciation on every side. Even the fashion magazines forget her needs and cater largely to those who are young. So she either, quite Inexcusably, allows herself to subside into a nonentity or else she fills her dressing table with lotions, and creams, and massage rollers and enters upon a combat with youth. She starves her mind, sometimes she neglects her soul, that she may find time to use her many appliances to urge back retreating youth. All the while she forgets that an eternal youth abides with those who are tenacious In tlielr hold upon a youug and ardent spirit—a spirit which looks from merry eyes; which Impels the tongue to loving words and the hands to brave and tender deeds. It is like one of those old-fashioned plaster-of-parls castles which Image peddlers used to carry In numbers on the boards willed held tfieir wares. White nnd smooth and flawless and inane these castles were, until, a lighted candle being placed within them, the tiny windows became radiant and the small structure a thing of beauty. What the middle-aged woman needs most of all is a better understanding of her privileges and of the amenities of her position. Let her refresh her mind and comfort her heart by a glance at the fragile dainty blossom and the golden fruit, at the lovely rosebud and the gracious rose, which is odorless until all its petals are unfolded and Its golden heart exposed. Let her look at the loveliness of June and then at the glory of October. Then let her remember that she is October. let her remember that the youth of creation was chaos, and that .the completed universe is maturity. Then will she the better understand the chorus of the morning stars. Then will she wonder at the mad chase after fleet-footed youth. Youth which accepts happiness In place of Joy; the false for the true; the unknown for the knowable; the shadow for the substance; the apparent for the real. Then will she know that her years are jewels. The middle-aged woman should lend herself to all sweet and pervading emotions. She could give herself to the varied influences of pictures, of sculptures. of music, of literature and of sweet and noble thoughts. She should watch the splendor of the dawn and the glory of the night. She should thrill at the grandeur of the tempest as well as the peace of the sunlit, windless sky. She should be compassionate, she should be loving, she should be true. Then will a charm more potent than that of youth abide with her, and her gracious influence will make her an added power for good in a needy world. —Ledger Monthly.

To Mjr Wife. I. as an actor, hnve played well my part. Not showing how the sons of men I scorn; Those shriveled, greedy souis who crave the corn. The oil and wine, the treasures of the mart; Deep in my soul I burn the flame for Art. As one who was a lyrie poet born, As one who leads a singer's hope forlorn Yet with unshrinking and unconquered heart. 1 can exißt on what a Spartan can; Endure as granite; smile when friends do fail; Face Poverty; and see the years grew stale. Or bide my time with any sort of man; Full in the teeth of Fate I fling the glove— Come age, come dcuth, while I have you, my love! —St. Louis Mirror. Women to Fight Fire. Mont Clare, a suburb of Chicago, has a fire department organized by women. The Assistant Marshal 18 Mrs. E. O.

Eames. The Captain is Miss Harriet M. Sayre. The suburb awaits a fire in calmness. The chemical rests in a barn, resplendent in red paint, and charged with a deadly soda coni p o und. Aiderman Keeney helped In the organization. If possible, he will be Invited to the first Mont Clare fire and

be given a seat of honor while the feminines of the department drag the hose about, scuttle floors and dig out walls. The ProgreM of Woman. A well-known English writer In a leading Ix>ndon paper, commenting upon the Idleness of British women, says that “owing to their exclusion from the higher grades of employment, women of the better classes are given over to useless and frivolous pursuits.’’ Dress and fashion, aupKfcfnenta and flirtations mainly mc’.e up the giddy round of their occupations and bar all solid Intellectual work. What Is such a life but a protracted debauch? Yet wbc can blame fhese gilded butterflies of society for being what their fathers and husbands have made them. Here the situation Is different. The progress of woman in her efforts.to take her position in the army of workers mny be seen when It Is shown that In all occupations, whl|e from 1880 to 1890 man Increased bis numbers only 27.04 per cent, woman Increased her numbers during the same period 47.88

per cent. In the professions woman Increased In numbers 75 per cent and man 48 per cent; in agriculture, fisheries and mining man Increased 12 f>er cent, woman 14 per cent. But the most remarkable showing is that made by woman in trade and transportation, In which callings, while the men Increased between 1880 and 1890, 71.75 per cent, women Increased in numbers 263.35 per cent—over three and onehalf times ns fast. These figures bespeak the Industrial energy of the up-to-date American woman.—New York News.

MRS. EAMES.