Middle-aged Beauties

History is full of the accounts of the fascinations of women who were no long-er yonng. Helen of Troy was over forty ïvhen she perpetrated the most t miiiius elopement on record, and as toe siege of Troy lasted a c could pot have been very juvenilo when the ill-f ortune of Parts restored her to her husband. Strang-e aa it may s-'m, the long-sufFering spouse received the. fair Helen, sósays report, with unquestioninr love and gratitud . Pericles wedded Aspasia when she was thirty-six, and yet she afterwarda for thirtyyears or more wielded ;m undimini ' itation for bea i he beautiful and íaseinating serpent of oíd Nile, Cleopatra, in whose history every woman is interestcd, was uwr when A n tony feil under her apella and which never lessened until ten year8 afterwards. Ljvia wa ■ thirty-three when she won the heart oí Augustus, over whom slie maintained her chai-m until the end. Turning1 t more modern history, wher 'M i to reriiy dates more b curately, there is the extraordinary De Poictiers, who was thirty-six when Henry II. then Duke of Örleans- at that time just half her age, beeame attached to and fascinated by her. She was held as the first lady and most b :autifnl woman at courtup to the period of the monarch 's death and the accession of Catherine li Mediéis. Ann of Austria was thirty-eight when she was described as the handsomest yueen of Europe andwhen Bnckingbam and Biehelien were her jealous admire rs. Ninon, the most celebrated wit and beauty of her day, was the idol of three generations of the golden youth of Franco and, behold, old ladies, take courag-e ye who still to youth and emulate its charms, Ninon was only seventy-two when the Abbe de Herais feil in love with her. Trae it is in the case of this lady a rare combination of culture, talents and personal attractiveness endowed the poesessor seeming-!y with the gfifts of eternal youth. liianca Capella was thirty-eig-ht when the (rand Duke Franciscan of Florence feil captivo to her charms :ind mnrla lim his wife, thoug-h he was five years her junior. Louis XIV. wedded Mme. ds Maintenon when sh was forty-three years of age. Catherine II. of Russia wasthirtythree wli.-n slv sizod the Empire of Russia iiri captivated the dashina General Orlofi'. Up to the time of herdeath - sixty-seven- she seemed to have retui in-d the saine bewitohin powers, for the lamentatioas wera heartfelt among aU those who had known herpersonally. Mlle. Mars, the French tragedienno, only attained the zenith of beauty and power between forty and fortv-five. At that period the loveliness af her hands especially was celebrated throug-hout Europe. The famous Mme. Iiecamier was tnirty-oifj-Jit when Barras was ousted from power, and she without dispute was declared to be the most beautiful woraan in Kurope, which rank she held for fourteen years. Among all the ax ampies given thcre is no Entflish woman. They were nearly all French women who retained their beauty, probably from thcir briffht and lively dispositions and vivncity of manner. A few years ag-o 3 solid but eharming Southern belle visited St. Louis and other Eastern and Western cities. She seemed disappointed at her recentinn and sa id that one thinsr struek her forcibly in the society in Western cities; it was eomposed mostly of quite younggirls, and a woman over twenty-five received little attention and was eonsidered passé. 8he had had her day and must stand aside. Now, the Southern belle referred to was quite thirty, and aJthoug-h it was knowa in (irleans and other cities where she had lived and reigned a beUe, it made no difference so as she was beautiful, fascinatinn- and yontliful looking. Shrugging- her statuesque sliouldersone mg sne saio: "J am sick of the discussions on age that I Mear in the West. It is the first question that one hears as soon as a girl's name is mcntioned, 'IIow old is she?' In the Soutli a woman is as old as she feels and looks, neither more nor loss. There a g-irl is foreed to marry before she matures to give place to others who will point at her in scorn as an 'old girl,' one who has seen several seasons. I am g-lad to live where women can enjoy their youth before they settle to the graver duties of wife and