The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1902-05-11
MISS MARY MACLANE AND
HER LOVE FOR MEPHISTO.
Butte, Montana, Girl Who Proudly PrOclaimS That
She Is Enamored Of Old Nick---COn-$
verses With the Devil.
Mary oconnor in Chicago Record-Her-

The sensation in the book world il
The Story of Mary MacLane." Every
body is talking about it, whether he has
gt1and who form their opinions from ex-
cerpts in the daily press agree pretty
generally. that it is a blatant, egotisttcal,
irrelevant, blasphemous, immoral thing.
The plea that its English Is rarely good
and its descriptions at times brilliant falls
on deaf ears. The common verdict 10 that
the girl is mentally unhealthy and NOR
bid, If not unbalanced. ~
One whose name is we'll known among
Chicago newspaper readers. and who at
home Is the mildest Of mild parents and
stickler for moral suasien in the train
Ing Of children. finds no vent to his in
needs sdsuar good saie spahEin kin 'ss' ~
Instead Of being surprised that girl
of 10 wrote that book" said the erst-
while professor OF. literature in one of our
large State universities Il should mar
Il, III If anybody else but girl Oh L "''''
Thus. the battle RACES. 1t must be said
that those who have read the book tenn
per the austerity OF their Judgments. 1t
Is not so bad, say they. read in It's en-
tirety. as 1t sounds piecemeal. :.
A few there are that accept it as II
Is and enjoy II. Their point Of view is
different from the average, readers. be-
ing that of specialist In literature. For
those who having read the book, find
In it nothing out of the ordinary save
in its colossal impotence and conceit
and are repealed, even disguised by Mary
MacLane'S vivisection OF hersif, tnere IS
much to be said.
The book reveals an appalling inability
to comprehend moral beauty. This is its
greatest limitation. The doctrine OF los
ting ones self that ono may hnd one
self appeals to Mary MacLane in no way
shape or manner. Beyond question the
book Is morbid. and in places crude. at
ta1 nd far cd G
with It's endless iteration OF certain
phrases and poses. Not many readess
will mount its stony steps OF despair ana
egotism t. pluck tSo mere tho ana edeiWe,ss Us is
there in tho shape of passages OF rars
description and wonderfully wei i-,sl
English. - ~. Il.
Mary MacLane' demands attention. Foe
The student Of human nature, the ms9f
whose business is fiction. 1T IS treasure
trove. Its value is pathological raehfT
Than physiological 1t onsrs s,, s5nay ,,r e
cesses. All this. assuming that We
Story of Mary MacLane" Is sincere. hort-
estly meant, honestly self-revealinE
{ Such is the statement OF tine nupEspr
Seading. The girl declares that sac So
genius. Most people will agree WIZ 4f1t
qualifying the noun with pecul1aE ID
Disregarding the .,; common n,s eo ave hsrs
a. the world the result of her nineteen
Eears of study of herself. of probing ana
enalyzing and dissecting TO the inmost
= In this respect her book is UNIQUE. The
oniv other who has done anything like
! II is Marie Bashkirtseff. 4
| Moral vivisecticn Is horrible and re-
pugnant to many people 2. fehhsa r sas-
esting, whether the interest be paintpl
only. or merely poignant, or simply cal
icuIating and categorical.
Up to the present there seems to be
! little more to be told of Mary MacIane
than what she tells of herself In her
portrayal" She was born in Winntpeg,
canada. and was brought to. Butte at
tSe age of 10. where she has lived UP to
this, her 2Jth year. Her father Is DEAD.
she lives with her stepfather, her moth
.r. one sister and two brothers.
Judged from her description, they nave
in affluent circumstances. neither are
they poor Therefore she assists in the
housework. even scrubs the kitchen at
times. task which she enjoys; ana t fOs
bathroom. She knows the comforts OF
life such as good porterhouse steaks
pretty rooms pretty dresses and some or
Its Injuries as f plenty %sk Of an spa te s se to
Culture and Ibsen clubs and pink teas
have not lain entirely out of her round
of experiences. 80.
with very good Latin. good French and
Greek, indifferent geometry and other
mathematics. a broad conception of his
tory and literature. peripatetic phiioso-
ply. acquired without aid from the high
school: genius OF kind. that has always
been with her; an empty heart that has
taken on a certain wooden quality; an
excellent. strong, young woman's body;
a pitiabiy starved soul:
In har nDklndneSS.
there is no hatred, except me and my
bitterness. l am the only one of them
whose bitter spirit cries out against things
But there is that which is subtler and
strikes deeper. There is the lack of sym
pathy the lack of everything that counts;
there is the great deep nothing. How
much better were there hatred here than
nothing"
Before going further. it might be well
to say that, from what the. Butte cor
respondents tell. Mary. MaeLane,s wick
edness, if it be so called, is entirely an
Intellectual attitude.
In her neighborhood she is held to be
a good little girl, who attends faithfully
to her domestic duties and who is not
without friends. She is considered eccen-
trio. and often oversteps the bounds of
pc likeness and propriety in expressing
her views. but she Is brilliant and peo-
pie like to hear her talk. Her parents
say that her only fault is that she thinks
too much.
Plain hard working folk. with little
leisure or inclination for overmuch think
ing. believe that sort of curse falls
upon one who pierces- below the super
fetal layers of life, and that Mary rests
under it. In this they remind one of
Browning. who represented Lazarus, ris-
en- from the dead. as one who could never
again be at one with humanity. He had
crossed the boundaries OF permitted
knowledge.
1t seems that Mary's declaration that
she is a genius has not been confined
to her. portrayal" but has been her
opening chapter of her book begins thus:
Il of womankind. and 10 years old.
will now begin to set down as full and
frank a portrayal as / am able of my
self, Mary MacLane. for whom the world
contains not parallel.
II am convinced of this. for I am odd
II am distinctly original innately and
Il have in me a quite usual intensity
OF life.
~ can feel.
II have a marvellous capacity for mis-
cry and happiness.
al am broad minded.
81 am a genius.
i am a philosopher of my own good
neripatetic school.
II care neither for right nor for wrong
my conscience is nil.
NV brain Is a conglomeratiOn of aE-
sressive versatility. @f'afi
1 have reached a truly wonderful state
Of miserable morbid unlsPpiness2.
II know myself oh. verv we'll
Il have attained an egotism that IL
~ have gone into deep shadows. e.
'Au this constitutes odditv I find