Motion Picture Magazine (Feb-Jul 1915)

THEIR PBEFEBEXCES AND PREJUDICES 105 by the woodland sprites mentioned above, declaring that her favorite food is ' ' thought. ' ' So vitally human a personality as Miss Woodruff discloses on the screen might, I venture to say, be induced to dally with a pork chop — when thought becomes monotonous. Edith Storey unaffectedly registers a partiality for potatoes, however prepared. This plainness of taste accords with what she says bores her supremely— formal dinners. Consistency in preferences and prejudices, as everywhere, is admirable and refreshing. My friend, Bryant Washburn, for instance, is a man whose every taste accords with the other. The simplicity which he says he admires, more than any other quality, in everything, influences his choice, from his favorite flower — lilyof-the-valley — to his paramount interest, which is his home life. The melodic quality of MacDowell's "To a Wild Rose" is simplicity, and it is not unwarrantable to assume that Mr. Washburn's enjoyment of this musical cameo comes chiefly from its simple perfection. Edgar Jones, who is conceded by many to be the ideal of the do-anddare type, oddly enough finds forgetfulness in the soothing harmonies of "The Swan," by Saint-Saens. This reflects but one facet of his musical taste, however. Liszt's Second Rhapsody gives him stimulation and adds fuel to his ambition, which, in passing, you must know is the desire never to be forgotten by those he makes his friends. Romaine Fielding, another man with personality plus, is influenced by his work in forming his ambition ; he wants to produce a photoplay which will elevate his audience and make them think. While aiming high, he is content to find his chief interest in life, along the road to the stars, in his friends. Even his motto includes those he honors with his friendship — ' ' God Bless Us ! " Miss Theby — Rosemary of the Radiance — probably generates the magnetic whole-heartedness for which she is noted by living up to her favor ite precept : ' ' See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil." And it is hard to adhere to such a rigid standard. Richard Travers concentrates his philosophy in "There is some good reason why that was not to be," and in it we find the resignation of a big soul. Edwin August's standard is upheld by the strength of "Let it be the Truth. ' ' Believing that the measure of a man is best gauged by his toleration, Joseph Kaufman, the versatile and polished Lubin player, in two words sets down what he considers should be every man's guide, "Be generous." Eleanor Blanchard's knowledge of human nature crystallizes itself in her favorite aphorism, "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he"; and Lottie Briscoe, too, noted for her determination and grit, says, "Be sure you are right; then go ahead." Ruth Stonehouse has emblazoned on her crest the essence of mental science, "Thinking God is thanking God." That love of art in any form which characterizes all the preferences of Gerda Holmes finds its way also in her motto, a favorite passage from Marcus Aurelius: "Love the art, poor as it may be, which thou hast learnt and be content with it." Francis X. Bushman, than whom there is no man among film favorites richer in sympathy, accounts for it in the words which he tells me epitomize his conduct : ' ' Seek daily opportunities for doing good." Little Muriel Ostriche, level-headed beyond her years, soberly expresses herself in the homely observation: "Never become conceited, for after you're gone you'll never be missed." There is no more beautiful couplet than that chosen by Carlyle Blackwell to serve as his daily stimulus: "No star is ever lost we once have seen; we all may be what we might have been." The origin of the maxim I forgot to ask Mr. Blackwell, for as soon as he had quoted the lines he jumped into his motor to keep an engagement. The ideal of the opposite sex, or, perhaps, it might better be said that those qualities which are most ad