The Washington herald., 1917-02-20


Do you ever get tired of hearing people
talk about my life, my work. my art,
my nome, my children and SO on ad
innnitum? Monomania seems to be
sPecial popularity Of the half successful
aaust srt IN almost any field OF endeavor.
iney nave worked SO hard. and tried
Win such infinite patience to achieve
.heir ultimate dreams, that they have
iost right perspective on themselves, and
cah only see their own little hopes trav-
ehns around in a weary march before
lheir mental vision. How my heart has
acneo Tor these struggling people who are
coiis sinced that they are the real wonders
oi tne age only waiting for the right man
10 discover them.
1 nave In mind one old friend of Jacks
"hom he lodges every time he sees him
coming We have known him off and on
Ior some time, and he is really a very
nice sort of chap. / know that he has
appeared In quite good dramatic COM
panies and for some time before he went
Il'o the picture field he did a monologue
III vaudeville, and has been doing one
ever since for the benefit of whoever he
coulu get to listen to him. Jack had a
letter from him just little while ago,
SAYING ne was out of an engagement, and
open Tor offers, but that his price was
one hundred and fifty dollars a week.
iou KNOW" said Jack, "Charlie's
particular mania is trying to convince
people In general that he Is worth that.
I conio get him work, but he'll starve
petore he'll cut his price and he talks
SO much about himself, that people run
from him as IL he were the plague. He
Duttonholed me out in front of the
hhickerbocker the other day, and
nearly froze to death while he tried to
tel me that certain booking office
sixty per. but he was thoroughly in
dignant at their trying to cut his price.
yet III swear he needed a square meal
more than anything, as he was blue
around the gills; but he was ready to
give his monologue to anybody who
would listen to him along Broadway"
l wonder what 1t is that makes people
do this. Lack OF perspective on their
own characters perhaps. 1t really is a
GIT oeing able to see ourselves as others
see US. 1t would probably be a perfect
revelation to that man TO listen to his
own personal monologue on a phono-
graph.
l think myself that such people are
completely. selfish; they never think of
the welfare of those around them. They
never seem to realize that we are each
and all of us responsible for the happi-
ness and comfort of those who make up
our individual world. / am quite sure
that this is form OF mania, this self
concentration. this utter forgetfulness of
other peoples rights and comfort.
One OF the greatest charms of child
hood is this quality of putting oneself in
other peoples shoes, as It were. This is
so especially of the children of large
families. 1t is usually the only child
who Is supremely and comfortably a
monomanac. He grows up believing,
like the fly in the fable. that the dinner
table Of life has been spread solely for
his delectation 1t doesn't matter par
ticularly in~what walk of life his lot may
be cast. selfishness is absolutely indie
pendent OF poverty or riches, and the
man or woman who is completely self
centered seems to exist in a little magic
circle surrounded by the mirrors of illu-
sion like those you see in a maze at
Coney Island. l will never forget being
lost in a mirror maze when 1 was a little
girl. and scared to death at all the Mes
around me in endless perspective. Just
think OF not being able to escape from
such a place!
1t seems to me that monomania is ex
actly such condition, only mentally.