ABSTRACT
Nothing is more boring to the onlooker than common reminiscences of old fogies. There is a curious pride in the most commonplace incidents of their long-ago youth, which is merely ridiculous and annoying to those whose youth is less distant. Why there should be this pride it is a little hard to say, but I think it comes of the universal desire to be many-sided. When a man has been for many years accustomed to taking the chair on public occasions, being pompous and grave and weighty, and uttering well-considered words on matters of national importance, he finds it a relief to remember that there was a time when he was different, when he could be gay and irresponsible and full of pranks. 'You see,' he says to himself, as these reminiscences pour into his mind, 'you are not at heart a tedious old bigwig; at heart you are still a boy, and if your public position permitted it, you could still engage in harum-scarum escapades.5 As these thoughts pass through his mind, he begins to think himself more lovable than he seemed, and he reflects what a nicer person he is than anyone could know who only sees him performing his duties to the community.
