A most singular note has reached the public ear, and it concerns none other than Barbara Eden, that lady of 95 years whose name has long been held in high esteem by admirers of the ancient and honored arts of the stage. She has, by her own hand, declared herself “okay” — though the circumstance which brought forth this word is one of no small melancholy interest.
A Sudden and Dreadful Illness
It appears that Mrs. Eden was to have honored the Classic Festival of Antique Moving Pictures with her presence, an occasion long anticipated by those devoted to the keeping alive of pictures from a former and more splendid day. Yet a sudden illness, arriving as a tempest arrives upon a calm sea, prevented her attendance, to the deep sorrow of her many admirers.
The lady herself has taken pains to quiet the anxious voices of her friends, stating plainly that her condition, though distressing, is not of a fatal or lasting character. She attributes the disturbance to the peculiar effects of a new medicine, lately given her for her constitution, whose consequences proved more severe than anticipated.
The Festival Proceeds, Though Lessened
The Classic Festival of Antique Moving Pictures, that venerable occasion devoted to the remembrance of pictures of an earlier and more splendid time, continued in her absence, though not without a plain sense of loss among those who met there. Her admirers, come together in hope of beholding her in person, were compelled instead to content themselves with memory of her past labors and the wish for her quick recovery.
Such is the melancholy lot of age and weakness, that even the most celebrated among us must sometimes yield to the severity of the body. Yet there is, in this very yielding, a proof of enduring spirit — for Mrs. Eden, at 95 years, remains a figure of remarkable life, her heart calm even where her frame gives way.
A Word of Comfort to the Public
In her word to the public, Barbara Eden expressed thanks for the concern shown by her admirers, while making plain that her indisposition was neither grave nor lasting. She spoke with the calm of one long accustomed to the observation of public affection, offering comfort rather than alarm.
It is a mark of her lasting regard among the many that so small a cancelation should occasion so great a stir. Few figures of the stage command such constant devotion across so many years, and scarcely any meet the trials of age with such plain good humor.
A Closing Reflection
We may take from this occurrence a small but sincere lesson: that even the most luminous among us are subject to the frailties common to earthly existence, and that calm under such trial is itself a kind of quiet triumph. Barbara Eden’s brief absence from the Classic Festival of Antique Moving Pictures shall no doubt be forgotten in the joy of her desired return, when she may once more receive, in person, the affection so plainly hers.