ON GROWING OLD

Evening Star, Issue 20137, 30 March 1929, Page 19

ON GROWING OLD

The fear of age has always been rhe .principal complex of the human mind. Ever since man became a civilised being he has taken anxious thought iur tho tnonotv. 'This peculiar mental state is tho penalty of reflection, tno consequence of reason, the outcome of ambition and desire. The birds and animals, plants and ilowers, the multitudinous insects -whose file is so transient, so ephemeral, take the passing of time as a matter of course. No intellectual fear haunts their liny day to make it unhappy, no morbid anticipation disturbs their brief existence. But man, that cogitating, aspiring, {(nesting creature is eternally in scarcn of the elixir of life. This obsession colours all hi.s ideas from religion to the most practical commercial institution.-; of to-day. We strive to tmd tho way to eternal spiritual file been use we fear death and decay. Mo have invented money and ail that it involves, banking, insurance, and investment, because wo tremble lor oar old age. 'There are only a lew children of nature, such as the so-called savage and heathen peoples, who emulate the lilies of tho field, but the rest of us are P.once de Leons, frantically, feverishly seeking the fountain ot perpetual youth. Whether we travel by way of ortkdoox religion, psychology, beauty culture, or monkey glands, our goal is the same, tho defeat of old age and its consequences. It is said that women dread the on coming of old age more than men. Perhaps women realise more acutely what if means to lose tho privileges of youth. Time is the great enemy ot physical comeliness, and when we consider how much a woman’s prestige depends u,’.oti her good looks, we cannot blame her for the desperate light site puts up against this implacable foe. “ A woman is ns old as she looks ami a man as old as he feels.” says tho proverb. No doubt age takes Jess away from a man than it does from a woman. As long as a man can stand on his legs and has the price ot a ccnple of tickets, he can command most of the pleasures of youth. He can escort young and beautiful girls tt? places of amusement and gaiety and get quite a thrill out of it. but how many old women or even middle-ages:! ones, arc able to bid for the favours ol young men. apart from their immediate male relatives with a sense of duty and ability to .sacrifice? This desperate and unjust situation compels women to cling to tho semblance ot youth a-> long as they possibly can. With all the bravery of soldiers lacing certain death they don their jaunty uniforms of short skirts and luight colours, bob their hair, and get their faces lifted so that the modern grandmother cannot be distinguished from the flapper as far as outward trappings are concerned. Now, I am not inclined to ridicule this procedure, but to applaud it. Why, if tho time conies when men have to depend upon their looks for any little pleasure in life, they will not hesitate to adopt the mo.-i extreme measure to secure their end. Even Eauntlerny suits with lace eallars might come into fashion if things got very bad!

I look at tho elderly women about me and wonder how they arc facing the great inevitable problem of advancing years. One dare not ask fit them “How does it feel to he old? That would be hurtful, unforgiveable v/hcre most women are concerned. Nevertheless much knowledge can be gained from sympathetic observation. Some dear souls have a sad, wistlul look in their eyes, as if haunted by regret and a sense of loss. Others have an expression of patient resignation, a quiet, unmilled gaze, allied to a peaceful unquestioning spirit. Many give to my inquiry hard, defiant glances. a> much as to say, “ Wo will not give an inch. We are rebels who ask for no quarter.” There are others, again, very few, very rare, whose eyes

have never lost 1 lie merry glint ol youthful enthusiasm for life. One of these I met the oilier evening at a party, celebrating, if you please, her sixty-ninth birthday. Now, here was a woman 1 could question without tear of offending. “ Lady, what of lile? ’ 1 asked her. “ One mad rush, to the tomb!” said she, with a dazzling smile above Tier pink-tinged cigarette. J thought of my grandmother at seventy, dicssed in sombre garments, with a tiny lacc cap perched primly upon her sleek grey hair; hands meekly folded in her lap when they were not busy will- knitting needles, and on her face a serene, somewhat bovine expression. What contrasting pictures of old age! It is hard to make comparisons, it is difficult to say which faced the issue with a braver heart. It is indeed a matter of individual taste whether we grow old patiently, defiantly, stoically, fearfully, grudgingly, daringly, or jok-

ingly, hut grow old we must unless wo come upon a miraculous antidote. And who can deny that even that may happen in these days of scientific wondcis?—Edna. Graham Macky.

THOSE GREY HAIRS HOW TO KEEP THEM AWAY. If early greying of the hair runs in your family, yon should take special pains, from twenty-five onwards, to keep your tresses their natural colour (says a writer). The two main conditions which encourage premature greyness are a tight scalp and excessive dryness. Both ol these can lie counteracted considerably by regular sea Ip massage with deodorised castor oil. First apply tho oil to the head with a screw of cotton wool wrapped round an orange stick; then massage- it in thoroughly with the balls of the fingers. When a, few white hairs do appear, tackle them at home with a simple vegetable preparation that will restore the natural hair colour and make the whole head match again. Get an ounce of dined sage from the chemist and make a strong tea from it by pouring boiling water over and allowing the sage to steep in it for thirty minutes. Drain off the herb and apply the liquid tn the grey hairs with a toothbrush about once a week. Vegetable mixtures such as this restore tho hair colour onlygradually, so don’t be disappointed if it takes several applications to make your white hairs match the rest. Sage tea is perfectly harmless, and there is no need when using it to protect the skin with vaseline, as m the case of most regular dyes. In Tact, it is a definite hair tonic that will improve sheen’and growth.