Life Begins at Thirty !sx THE thirtieth birthday dawns .sx How many of us look in the glass and sigh for the care-free thoughtlessness of twenty , the feeling that most of life is still to come , the deliciousness of not being able to look round the nearest corner with any certainty ?sx Now - you are married , perhaps , settled down .sx Or , maybe , you have merely slid into a business rut , and Prince Charming still tarries by the way .sx Or you stay at home and watch other younger girls growing up into careless beauty , attracting men to their side with the flickering candle flame of their youth and gaiety .sx Life seems to be shouldering you aside , marooning you in a dull backwater .sx What nonsense all this is !sx The very best years of your whole life are coming now .sx The years when your intellect and matured beauty are at their best .sx Many women are far more attractive physically at thirty than they have ever been before .sx They have achieved grace , poise .sx They have lived , and worked , and suffered - and laughed .sx In those precious years between twenty and thirty they have gathered a few real friends , a great deal of useful knowledge of the world , a tolerance and understanding that gives them sympathy .sx They are learning the supreme lesson of necessary independence and self-reliance .sx Armed with all these riches , which only experience ca bring , how silly and short-sighted to regret the approaching march of the thirties , often the most important period of a woman's life , the most useful , the busiest , and the happiest .sx The Happy Years .sx THE best part of marriage does not lie in the honeymoon .sx The real joy of married life comes when two people who love each other make a home together and settle down in it .sx The happiest years are the busy years , when we are strong enough to bear our burdens fully , when our children are growing up round us .sx In all the anxiety and work that children bring , it is when they are small and helplessly dependent upon mother that they are their sweetest .sx Now I look back I can see this wonderful truth .sx The married relation , too , is at its most perfect when children are little , and mother and father are young enough to enjoy playing with their babies .sx The love a man and woman have for each other then is far more precious and complete than the unreasoned passion they felt in the early days of their marriage .sx This second love is finer and more enduring because it contains humour .sx It has not spoilt romance to know what one's husband looks like when he shaves , and he can love his wife even in curl-papers .sx Mutual struggles and trials do not alienate a husband and wife , as the grousers would have us believe .sx Instead , they draw a sensible couple together as nothing else can do .sx There is a deal of the mother about every real woman , and a man who realizes that out of the whole world his wife will stand by him and love him has the greatest incentive towards success .sx The dawn of thirty is a wonderful date for any woman , whether she is married or not .sx It marks the time when she can live life more fully , because her brains are more mature , her tastes more simple .sx If she is in business , or lives quietly at home , she should shake herself resolutely out of any real or fancied rut .sx Brains have not been given us to rust .sx Reading books , joining and helping to run interesting clubs , learning a language , perhaps - going out and about , making fresh interests and laughter all the time - the woman of thirty can do all these .sx She is old enough and wise enough to look at herself .sx She can travel , see the world .sx Several interesting women I have met have contrived to see much of the world by hiring themselves as ladies' maids , governesses , nurses , and even stewardesses .sx We make our own walls .sx For the Unmarried .sx AND if you are not yet married - remember this :sx Many women nowadays marry later in life than formerly , and such mature marriages are nearly always extremely happy .sx Romance may come when you least expect it .sx Keep busy and happy , and you will stay young and attractive in the eyes of all your friends .sx When Prince Charming appears , he will not need to be told where lies his chance of truest happiness .sx The day of the " old maid " is over .sx She only existed in the times when women lived such uninteresting lives that marriage was a release .sx In any case , it has always been a mystery to me why old maids should be looked down upon .sx Where would the world be without its maiden aunts ?sx Many little girls and boys would be very sad if it were said that they were to be no more , and mothers and fathers , too , would realize how much they missed them directly they had to do without them !sx We cannot all be married , and when the romantic twenties are left behind some of us realize how thankful we are that we have remained " bachelors .sx " The women who are doing good and interesting work in the world might never have been thus useful if they had married ; and though happy married life is one of the idealistic forms of existence , there are many men and women who realize that " he travels the fastest who travels alone .sx " Some of us are born adventurers , and when we attain the balance of the thirties we realize that happiness for us is world-wide and that a life of many interests must be the one for us .sx It's fine to be thirty - if you can keep awake !sx MARRIAGE OR A CAREER .sx by Marie Ney .sx MARRIAGE or career ?sx Such is the choice , we are often told , that confronts , sooner or later , every girl who has set out to earn her own living .sx But is the matter to be stated quite so crudely as that ?sx Does every girl who gets a job sit down forthwith to calmly reason out an answer to this question , setting down the " fors " and " againsts , " and then arriving at an irrevocable decision ?sx I have been glad and proud to make the acquaintance of a great many British girls who work in offices and shops .sx I have been deeply impressed by their pluck and common sense .sx But I have also been struck by the curious discovery that a large number of them fail to maintain their usual business-like attitude towards life's problems when they are reflecting upon the question of marriage .sx Some of them shirk altogether the consideration of this vital possibility in their future .sx There are girls who regard business life as merely something to keep them going between leaving school and meeting Mr. Right .sx They may not be perfectly satisfactory to their employers - but that , as Mr. Rudyard Kipling says , is another story .sx The point is that these girls know what they want , and they mean to get it .sx If true love and happy marriage evade them , it will be through no fault of theirs .sx Then there are a few girls who have put all thought of love and marriage out of their heads .sx They have devoted themselves to some form of work that is to bring them fame , wealth , or the contentment of achieving some great sacrifice for humanity in general .sx These girls are rather rare , and the majority of their sisters do not envy them .sx But they , too , know what they want , and are determined to obtain it .sx By far the greatest number of girls in business to-day , however , belong to neither of these two classes .sx They are just drifting through life .sx They don't think seriously about either marriage or career .sx If you were to discuss the problem with one of these girls , she would probably admit that she would rather be married and looking after a husband than striving for success in business .sx " But there's heaps of time yet before I need to start worrying about a husband , " she will say .sx " I'm getting a good salary , and I'm quite happy just now buying nice clothes and having a good time .sx " She never pauses to reflect that she may drift along in this care-free way until it is too late .sx She may be lulled into an easy content by her new-found independence , and fail to recognize true love when it comes her way .sx Then , as the years slip by , the day arrives when she is seized with panic .sx She is getting older .sx She is not so attractive as she was .sx Suddenly the routine of business life grows irksome , and her leisure hours appear to her infinitely boring .sx The vision of her future self , growing old in the office , appals her .sx She realizes that she has made a mistake in not keeping an alert watch for Mr. Right , or in not appreciating him at his real value when he came her way .sx In her despair , she may even plunge into a marriage that has no prospect of happiness for her .sx Or she may face , bravely enough , the lonely vista of the years ahead .sx And it would be an exaggeration to say that she is doomed to a life of misery ; there are many women who lead lonelier lives than hers , and who would be glad of the stir and bustle of business life to occupy their thoughts .sx But she is never free from the regret that she has missed , perhaps because of her self-complacency or carelessness , the greatest gift life has to offer her .sx Business , if accepted in the right spirit , can be an invaluable training for marriage .sx In this connection , here is a hint for the girl who regards her work as just a necessary nuisance , to be tolerated until Mr. Right comes along .sx The girl who learns to look after her employer's interests will look after her husband's .sx She will also learn to be subservient to rightful authority , which will teach her , later on , to respect the authority of her husband .sx This may seem old-fashioned counsel in a time when people are never tired of talking about woman's new freedom and equality .sx But it is common sense , just the same .sx She will be able to sympathize with her husband's difficulties and worries in business , because she " has been there .sx " She will appreciate the immense importance of punctuality and system and efficiency in the regulation of her household affairs .sx So that when I am asked if I think a girl should choose marriage or a career , I reply :sx " Marriage , every time , provided , of course , that she has met Mr. Right .sx " But I also believe very firmly that her working days can do a good deal to train her for this , the finest career a girl can have .sx Beauty for the Bathing Girl .sx WHETHER you are a strong swimmer who can do your quarter or half mile , or one of those who are content merely to " bob " about near the shore , your seaside holiday would not be complete without the daily dip .sx For a dip in the sea is not only pleasant but health-giving ; and if you wish to develop your arms or chest , remember that during your seaside holiday you have an opportunity for either which you can get at no other time .sx Swimming is the best of all means of developing the muscles , and gives grace to the whole figure .sx Practise the breast stroke , and even after only a fortnight you will find a great improvement in your figure and the way you carry yourself .sx When the skin is fine and sensitive , the delicate type that burns red and blisters , it is a good plan to apply a few drops of olive oil to face and throat before going into the sea .sx Be sure to rub a drop gently over the nose , for this is the feature which the sun generally " catches " first , and a red and blistered nose is not only unbecoming but very painful .sx You need not fear that you will look greasy as you go down the beach , for a dusting of powder will hide all traces of the oil .sx