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Evening Post, Volume CXIX, Issue 110, 11 May 1935, Page 19

"He who-is convinced against' his will is of the same opinion still," is a very old saying,; and one that 'comes to ,«und jnany; times, not only when talking with men but with women. It is ;»9tQJiiihing to flnd how people, will wriggle round an argument in order to' keep their own opinion, and will not meet;'any issue face- to face in case their opinions .must needs be forcibly dislodged.' This tendency with some people seems to increase as they grow rolder, while others allow their settled ideas-to' mellow as time goes on and are .-vyilling to keep eyes and ears opea t0,: .-jaiqdern developments of thought' and'•action; -:- Yet, with some, if the world does riotappear to wag as it used in;the days of their youth, they have: .no time for any of the changes or the people wha bring them about. In His clever and interesting book, "As We Are," E. F. Benson takes ;an, imaginary case'of;'three generations of a" family, which would typify thousands in Great Britain and other countries since the ■war. The story begins, in a ducal family., Where the house party and family oh Sunday go to the church services in. the morning, for walks, ortd view: the. cattle, horses, and what-not in: the, rafternoojti, and there are "no cards" in the evening. The lines of life run ,;on "■" rather, ■severely.: Then the writer follows,on with' the post-war days, and with a degree of severity that is scathing as t&:the coldness towards those jwho; -hadi suffered : and matte the.--w.ay clear for:the.enjoyment aiid^.c.ertainty possible'for the younger generation.!,'.. .:: . • ... : .':

Bensqn writes of the gradual developing, of .stereotyped ideas, and says: 'But, -unfortunately, there comes to the majority-of those of middle-age an inelasticity, not of the: physical muscles alone but of mental fibre. Experience has its dangers; it may bring wisdom, but it may bring stiffness and casehardened deposits in the mind, and the resulting inelasticity is'crippling. Those who suffer, from it merely sit woodenly by while the, days stream past; the days no.longer nourish them or are digested. "• Nobody in the world (such seems to be th,e inexorable provision of Nature) is of any use unless he is capable of assimilating new idea's so that they-work that change in him which is helpful for the due appreciation of changes. .His jeremiads about what the wbr}d is coming to may afford him a-piquant .though bitter sauce to experienced-he may hold forth about ,the good old days (unwittingly producing the' impression that they were queer old days), but he does not count, nor is-.there the slightest reason why he should. , Only those of middle-age count, who. though they may.not be able to initiate any longer, taste promise in the new Wine of Life, though they may personally prefer the old. The new wine may mature into a I nobler vintage than that which has I yet i been known, and to note only all |

its present rawness is to miss all its potentialities." • . / •." A very wide and wise view of. life is summed up in this brief extract, and to women especially \t appears to rest ontheir affairs. No one. can say it was a "good old world" in earlier centuries for women. Students of »history are ever the most -wide-minded about the; other sex, that is, unless their personal experience ■ has brought them in close contact with the ill-brought-up, the dishonest by nature, the warped mmmd, the; cunning, and the burrowers after

'evil. One or all these things are enough, when present in man or woman, to warp judgment of the other sex, and to cause an unfortunate complex .which militates against their own happiness, and against the interests of other people with whom they'come' in contact. Very few can look back through their lives and fail to remember homes spoiled, some children's lives warped, and a bitterness towards life engendered by the actions of people, who, in a way, could not help themselves for two reasons—one that they were born with disabilities of temper and character, and the other that they were. perfectly unconscious throughout their lives of having such disabilities. No , one could tell them anything, not the faintest criticism was allowed, and every avenue of improvement, and, therefore, of happiness, was closed by their own action.

Such cases are less common than formerly, by reason of the widening thought of the world in family as well as in public life; E. F. Benson in his book develops in the kindest way the pain and sorrow it was to the really old-fashioned folk when the new "Bright Young. People" overwhelmed | their homes arid lives, spending money they had not earned, sacrificing properties which'had been in families for centuries without the faintest sentiment of regret, so long as the money for the present/was forthcoming; and, lastly, showing such an utter incomprehension of the wishes and ideas of the older people. Probably it was all inevitable, as nothing stagnant is healthy; the great world is under this rule of Nature, so the upheaval of ideas had to come, but, according to accounts, it came very harshly, and no one'could fail to haye compassion' with the older generation, who saw everything they cared for in this world taken from them, and not even ldye or respect left. J

Heading, side by side with this book, that written by Mrs. Kate Meyrick, the '•Night Club Queen," it is particularly interesting to trace the lives of those who tore up the old ideas of life and conduct with such a careless hand. She gathered wisdom along her exciting career, that people loved to be in crowds; .that they loved to see into a place which was already full, to jazz in a yard or so of space because they could not; by the cleverest wriggling, get a little.more room; that if the time, for liquor , Nto be served was limited they .drank far more than they did in Prance, where the time was unrestricted, for fear they would not get enough. AIL these things were facts,' at the time, but the story of incessant Suicides, murders, thefts, burglaries, and other crimes attached to the stpry,:,explain a great deal of the heartbreak merifiorie'd'Ky the other writer. The incessant'rushing to and fro, the turning of night into day, the noise, extravagance, emulation, and "envy, malice, hatred, and al] uncharitableness" are set forth for all to read and ponder; over.. Probably the book will fill a useful place, for no one reading it with any'kind of attention could fail tp be'wearied just with the stories of unfortunate, 'ill-balanced doings in one of the finest and most wonderful cities'in the world. '