The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-05-01
THE DIARY OF A MONTANA GIRL
She Calls on the Devil For Her Hap
piness-Trsanity or Geniuse


She Calls on the Devil For Her Hap
piness-Irsanity or Genius9
There was published in Chicago last
week one of the most astonishing ut
terances given TO the world since the
diary of Marie Bashkirtseff, 10 which,
indeed, il bears a marked resem blance.
II is called The Story Of Mary Mac
Lane" and a slight notion OF its char
acter may be had from this statement
by the publishers, which was printed
by Herbert Z. Stone Of that city
The book is the work Of Insanity or
genius. To US it is human document
wild and untamed, but with something
deep underneath. 1t is extravagant up
to the limit. 1t is young and radical
and pagan. but if you can read a page
Of it without reading more you are not
gifted with curiosity. So far as we
can discover, it is sincere anG the girl
is a real girl of the name she uses.
The book is in the form Of diary. 1t
opens thus:
I of WOmankind and Of 10 years, viii
now begin to set down as FIJI and frank
a portrayal as I am able of myself
Mary MacLane, for whom the world
contains net q parallel.
am convinced Of this, for I am odd.
1 an distinctly original innately and
in development.
have in me a quite unusual intens-
ity Of life.
I can feel.
have a marvellous capacity for mis-
cry and for happiness.
1 am broad-minded.
am a philosopher Of my own good
peTipa tetiC school.
/ care neither for right nor for
wrong-nly conscience is nil.
Ny brain is a conglOmeration Of ag-
gressive versatility.
I have reached a truly wonderful
state of miserable morbid unhappiness.
I know myself, OH. very well.
I have attained an egotism that is
rare indeed
I have gone into deep shadows.
All this constitutes, Oddity. / find,
therefore. that am quite, quite odd.
Presently she compares herself with
Lord Byron and Marie Bashkirtseh,
but as to the latter she says, lin most
things I go beyond her"
Where she is deep, I am deeper.
Where she is wonderful in her inten-
sity, I am still more wonderful in nay
intensity.
Where she had philosophy. I am
philosopher.
Where she hand astonishing vanity
and conceit, I have yet more astonish-
ing vanity and conceit.
But she, forsooth, could paint good
pictures-and I-what can do?
She had a beautiful face and I am a
plain-featured, Insignificant little ami
NAL
She was surrounded by admiring.
sympathetic friends. and I am alone
alone, though there are people and peo-
pie.
She was genius, and, still more am
a genius.
She suffered with the pain Of a wo-
man. young; and / suffer with the pain
o. a woman, young and all alone.
And so it is.
Along some lines I have gotten to
the edge of the world. A step more
and I fall off. 1 do not take the step.
stand on the edge. and I suffer.
Nothing, oh nothing on the earth can
suffer. like woman young and all
alone!
After setting forth some unimportant
family statistics, this strange young
person goes on to say that she is a
high school graduate. knowing Latin,
French and Greek, mathematics, his
tory and literature, but that she is very
miserable because she has no particular
thing to occupy her.
write every day. Writing is a neces-
sity-like eating. 1 do a little house
work, and on the whole / am rather
fond of it--sOme parts Of il. ] dislike
busting chairs, but I have no aversion
II scrubbing floors. Indeed. / have
gained much Of strength and graceful
ness Of body from scrubbing the kitch-
en- fiOOr-to say nothing OF some fine
points Of philosophy. 1t brings a Ger
tain energy to ones body and to ones
brain.
Again:
find myself at this stage Of woman
hood and 10 years, genius. a thief. a
( lara general moral vagabOnd, a fool
more or less. and a philosopher Of the
peripatetic school Also l find that even
this cOmbina ton cannot make one hap
py. 1t serves. however, to occupy my
versatile mind, to keep me wondering
what it is a kind devil has in store for
me.
There is a long vail for Fame and
Happiness, concluding thus:
For one single hour Of Happiness
7 WVdtN give up at once lneSe Lnl1ES.
Fame and Money, and Power, and Vir-
tue, and Honor, and Righteousness,
and Genius. The while I would say.
What a little, little price to pay for
dear Happinessi
/ am ready and waiting 10 give all
that I have to the devil in exchange
Tor Happiness. 1 have been tortured
SO long with the dull, dun misery of
Nothingness-an my 10 years. 1 want
I TO be happy-oh. want to be happy,
. 9, q
/ Then follows q Whitm3nesque rhap-
sody on the beauties Of the human
body. II includes such frank sentences
as these.
I Ny red blood flows swiftly and joy
ously-in the midst Of the brightness Of
October
My sound. sensitive liver rests gent
~ with its thin yellow bile in sweet
/ content.
Ny calm, beautiful stomach silently
! sings. as I walk, a song Of peace. the
while il hugs within itself the chyme
/ that was my lunch.
| Ny lungs, saturated with mountain
ozone and the perfume Of the pines, ex-
pand in continuous ecstacy.
Ny heart beats like the music Of