Show MONTAGUE Has Something to Say About The Noble Art o of Self Mastery f f s h ha ht t a f S The Young Man l Looked at Me IVIc As I Took Tool Up the thc Stick Gave a Low Lon Cry and Darted Out of the House By Cy JAMES J. J MONTAGUE l VERY few years or so I hear E EVERY a lecture or read a magazine maga maga- magazine zine article or am assured by some friend that I ought to be something besides a mere creature of habit Then I get to thinking what an aimless and miserable thing I am to drift along without any rudder to allow circumstances circumstances circumstances circum circum- stances to shape my career for me a and d probably ruin it I dont don't know just exactly what a career is but it is something that sounds imp important important or- or tant and I always wanted one ore My turning point as you might call it came a few weeks ago when talking to a young nephew who had been studying in a college a branch of learning he called behaviourism He said that there is no need for a person to continue to be what he is provided that what he is is is not as valuable to him as what he isn't but could be if he changed his hab hab- its It was all an a little vague to me meat meat meat at first but after he h had d t talked to tome tome tome me for three quarters of an hour one evening it dawned on me that possibly possibly possibly bly I had not built up within myself myself myself my my- self the character that I ought to possess and that it might not hurt any if ff I uprooted some of my old habits and substituted new ones for them So I asked him which habit I ought to begin with The most te tenacious tenacious tenacious te- te one you have got he said Get rid of that first and then you will be so Imbued with self confidence confidence confidence dence that the other habits will almost almost almost al al- al- al most get rid of themselves What is your worst habit Well my worst habit is probably golf No I dont don't mean that That's more of an affliction than Ulan a habit Why not break yourself of drinking drinking thinking drink think ing I dont don't drink enough to hurt me I cant can't afford to Maybe after enough states have voted for repeal I can drink enough for a while to tomake tomake tomake make reformation a task worth taking taking taking tak tak- ing up But for the last 12 years or orso orso orso so drinking hasn't been one of my addictions What else could I do doto doto doto to build or rebuild my character How about cutting out tobacco Dont be foolish How could I Ido Ido Ido do any work without tobacco How could I aim my golf shots except by sighting down over a cigar to keep my eye on the Ule ball How would I solace myself when I looked at my card after a game if it it were not for forthe forthe forthe the narcotic and soothing influence of the weed weed weed-No No Ill Ill I'll have to give up something else Said the young character rebuild rebuild- er cr At last we have it The thing that will will will-be be the Ule hardest for you to do dois dois dois is the thing you must do Remember ber that when the pioneers came to this country they had to start with the job of killing off the Indians which was very disagreeable and dangerous Not until they had the noble Red men thoroughly cowed and afraid of them them- did they possess the normal stamina and self sel confidence confidence confidence dence to build up a new nation My nephew enlarged on this subject subject subject sub sub- till he had me worn out even evenI I though I was not convinced But I Iwas Iwas was eager to do nil all I could to gain that self control whose lack had been a fatal flaw in my system so soI soI soI I agreed to try to stop smoking for fora forn a n trial period of two weeks My mentor insisted that this was not a sufficient period to prove anything but it was the best bargain he could make so he let it go at that i And dont don't think Im I'm going to I I trust you he said warningly I Ishall Ishall Ishall shall personally see sec that there Is no tobacco in the house and secure from you a pledge not to buy any when you are down town It would be foolish to try to help you if every time my back was turned you lit a pipe or a cigar Bear In mind that Ill I'll have my eye on you or get Information In- In Information information In in- formation from other people about what you are doing And so I began my training Self confidence and a desire to prove to this young man that I was not a amere amere amere mere creature of ot addictions carried me through the first three days I soon felt as if it there was something to me after alL Then I began to sniff the air when anyone in the vicinity was smoking and ond in in- as the fragrance of ot th the weed titillated my nostrils to begin be- be begin begin be be- gin pawing through my pockets for Cor fora Cora a cigar or a pouch Presently however however however how how- ever I would remember my determination determination determination nation to go through with Ulis this test and setting my teeth together try try- to concentrate on my job But I found that every time I t tried to work I would feel that something something something some- some thing was missing and be unable unable- to get a start If I did by a supreme supreme supreme su su- su- su preme effort brush away this yearning yearn yearn- yearning ing along would come somebody somebody- smoking a pipe or a cigar or a cigarette cigarette cigarette ciga ciga- rette and I would have to come toa t toa to to- a full mental stop until the scent of or orthe the tobacco had been blown away by a breeze or a draught Then came the chewing hewing period It there was not a butt or a pipe stem between my teeth I was seized with witha a sense of incompleteness It seemed to me that I was not all there I would pick up any object that met my eye and chew on it till ill my jaws ached from weariness Gum I was not allowed to use so se soI I chewed lead pencils bits of sticks spools which I found on my wife wife's sewing table handfuls of grass that I plucked from the front lawn and now and then the leaves that fell from the trees Presently I found myself gnawing gnawing gnaw- gnaw y ing at the door jamb and biting at atthe atthe atthe the corners of fence posts as I r passed them on the Ule way to the of of- of fice flee Work became practically out of the question for I was wholly wholly- unable to persuade my office mates not to smoke and whenever they lit litany litany litany any nicotine containing object the the- scent came carne to me as ns the scent orthe ot or the lotus must have come to travelers travelers trav trav- elers nearing an oasis and all abil ability ity to think straight departed from rem me I must have had far more resolution resolution resolution tion during these days than Ulan I have had before belore or since for I kept this asceticism up the Ule full two weeks while I constantly grew thinner and and my temper gained such a sharp edge that I would throw a book at atthe atthe atthe the cat if it lashed its tail while while- dreaming before the fireplace If the reek reck from a pipe in the the- mouth of a delivery man seeped into the house and I sat up and sniffed the Ule air my nephew would pat me affectionately on the head and whisper Be strong Then one day on a little motor tripI trip trip- I took to get away from it all aU and breathe in a little gasoline smell which anyway was something I t found sitting by the roadside an aa elderly man whose car had broken down He had telephoned to a ga garage garage garage ga- ga rage for tor assistance but it was slow v in coming and he was whiling away the time with a short clay pipe I fell Into conversation with him and discovered that he was an old gentleman gentleman gentleman gen gen- of some considerable distinction distinction distinction tion whose name if it I told it you would immediately tely recognize H He said he was five eighty-five ye years old and still hale and strong able t to to- eat anything he liked which I judged was practically everything to drink whatever he chose which included many beverages now temporarily temporarily temporarily tem tem- proscribed and to smoke a pound of strong tobacco every day You dont don't happen to have another another an nn- other pipe about you sir I asked him Yes I always alwa's carry four tour or these Ulese They're the only kind that dont don't soak up any of thO the nicotine from tobacco and allow you to get all aU the strength of the weed But they break easily so I II always carry extra ones I I He filled one and handed it to me I half shut my eyes drew in and omitted a blue cloud and there and then put into words declaration a-declaration of independence which I proclaimed to tomy tomy tomy my nephew when I reached home He said merely I knew you couldn't keep it up But youre you're a n better man for Cor the Ule fight you made I thought of all I had missed for those weeks Then I rose and seized a cane merely intending to take a short walk out of doors and give the birds a breath of ot tobacco smoke The young man looked n at atme atme t me as L I took up the stick gave a n alow alow low cry and darted out of at th the house I often otten wonder what he thought I Iwas Iwas Iwas was going to do to him e Dell Syndicate Service |