The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-10-17
a EY interest in psychic phenom-
MI ena has from childhood been
exceptionally vivid. My dar-

M T.. from s, ss'sn: Cd
ling mother-a slight. pale. dark-eyed.
often dreamy creature. the close COM
panion and mentor of all my boyhood
time-was representative to psychic
influence and possessed, in notable de-
gree. the strange but undeniably real
and potent faculty called clairvoyance.
Indeed. to her possession of that
faculty-a mystic prescience of the
spirit which, with most miraculous
organ. seems to perceive at least the
fore-thrown shadows of coming events,
IL not such events themselves owe
my escape, on several occasions. from
early and violent death. Once. when
was a lad. in California, / had for
weeks planned to travel with n pleas
ure party on a steamer plying up the
Sacramento River. My dear mother
had readily given her consent to my
going. and had put UP a lunch for me
to take along. But, on the morning
when we were to start, as l was pre-
pairing to leave the house, she came
to me, white with agitation. "Davy."
she said, mo matter how disappointed
you feel, nothing must induce you to
go on that steamer to-day, because
you certainly will be killed If you do"
protested-expostula
--fumed and stormed-but, at last, my
mother being In tears and almost
frantic, / gave In and abandoned my
Iong-anticipated pleasure. The boiler
Of that excursion steamer blew up less
than five minutes after she left the
wharf and dozens of persons on board
her were manned or killed outright.
My mothers clairvoyant faculty and
our frequent conversatio on psychic
subjects intensified my natural bent
toward occultism and almost from the
beginning Of my theatrical career I was
continually turning over In my mind
what we used to call "spookey" themes
with a view to stage p-egentment of
them. One of the subjects involving the
element of supernaturality to study Of
which I ea-ly devoted myself was the
sublime poem OF Faust. and / REAL!
that an epitome OF that maste-gork
was among the plays which I prepared
for frank Gardner and which. under
at Egyptian Hall. San Francisco. in 1871.
other plays dealing with the occult
some OF them faceuously. some serious
(which I wrote and brought out In
my earlier days were "Spirtland." THE
Haunted House." THE Prosecuted Trav.
eller." "A Storm OF Thou shts" and
She" (the latter an adaptation of Will
lam Gillette's play based on Rider Hag-
CARDS novel of the same nnnie,.
It was not. however until 1902 that I
was able to bring out In my own way a
drama, The Darling of the Gods" i'm
plicating the doctrine of immortality.
and In which two of the major charac-
ters pass from the mundane to the spir-
itual world. Since then. however. have
several times been able to Indulge, dra-
mhtically. my strong inclination toward
themes Of occultlsm. First, there came
my play OF The Return OF Peter
Grimm a document in splrltualism, in
which my associate and lear friend Mr.
Devid Warfieid has given one Of the
most subtle and touching personations
known to the contemporary stage, bring
irg the comfort OF faith renewed and
the blessing of rational reinsurance to
tens of thousands OF bereaved and suf-
ferlng persons.
"Tbe Case of Becky
Then cane THE Case of Becky" a.
true drama OF psychology dealing with
a problem and experience of dual per-
sonality and with the scientific employ
ment Of hypnotism in controlling and
correcting an appealing affective In
stance of abnormality.
Next in the sequence Of occult dramas
] presented The Phantom Rival" which
duplicates what is. perhaps. the great
est mystery of all this strange. eventful
life OF ours-namely, that astounding
phenomenon (which only custom has
rendered commonplace, sleep. and the
weird experience of Dreamland which
II brings to all of us.
Not long after Becky" came my Van