The evening times., 1900-05-11

George Bernard Shaw, critic and play
wright. declares that there is a drunken
tainJ N modern writings. Mr.. Shaw him
self Is not only teetotaler, but a vege-
tartan, and holds various other theories
more or less diverse from those Of the
average artist. He says:
..when ! want to work have to 90 in the
country IN the fresh air early in the morning.
That j. what makes my work different from that
Of other writers. They write in town al night
fiT>t they poison themselves with alcohol and to-
bacco, drinking and smoking at their dinner.
Then they 20 in their studies, draw the blinds.
turn the light and work. The consequence
Is that almost all modern literature is drunken.
taiut Of tobacco, wine, and Of meat-eatiag
runs right through it
This explanation of the way in which
Mr. ShaW's works are evolved will prob
ably interest the reading public, though
not precisely in the way that he thinks it
Will This brilliant and ultra modern
author has evolved some things in the lire
Of dramas which are, to say the least, ex-
traordinary in their prurient and 6ecadent
auaiities. He seems 10 be able to see all
sorts Of horrible possibilities CT an Ibsen-
ish nature in the most innocent relations
Of human life, and some of the problems
which he chooses TO treat are Of a kind
which would not commend themselves to
the principals Of young ladies' seminaries-
TO put it mildly. In shcrt, great deal Of
his work impresses the reader as warped,
unnatural, and eccentric, and IT, without
knowing anything about the writer, ore
were to hazard a guess as to the circum-
stances in which his plays Pleasant and
Unpleasant" were produced. one wCu,d
say that they were written some time
after midnight. under the stimulus of
champagne and Turkish cigarettes. at the
very least. il not absinthe and opium.
The theory that ones best wcrk can he
done in the fresh air and the early morn
Ing is all right for people who can COM
xland their own hours and find it easy to
work under those conditions. But there
are many who cannot do this: and they
choose to write from 10 p. m. till tie
small hours Of the morning because things
are quiet at that time and they can lie
undisturbed and free from noise and in
terruptons. II after some years of this
regime they are obliged 10 rise early. il
affects them precisely as sitting up late
would probably affect Mr.. Shaw.
The theory that certain kinds Of food
viii produce intellectual briliiancy is an
old one. and has been worked hard at /,
various times. Some OF the New England
transeendentalistS claimed TO be able TO
Iio their best work on graham crackers and |
raw apples, while Emerson calmly ad-
mitte6 that he liked both meat and the /
thrice forbidden pie. There are novelists |
who can write wildly--exeiting adventure |
stories on a diet OF the plainest and most
bourgeois description, while others affect |
complicated French menus. late suppers.
and rare wines. The whole truth of the |
matter is that individual taste dictates in |
diyidual habits, and. short of certain easily |
noted forms of excess. the writer. artist. |
musician, or scholar should order his table |
and other habits as suits his constitution. |
II he eau do his best work In the middle of |.
the night after a supper of Welsh rabbit |
and beer. let MIN follow that plan. but be |
careful rot to burn the candle at beth /
ends or give himself indigestion by com
bining the rabbit with 100 many other |
Eastronomie curiosities. No diet in the
world viii make a clodhopper into a /
genius, nor can the powers Of tie latter
be destroyed by failure 10 adhere to a
scheme of living which is. on tie whole.
best FOR the average man Each individual,
be he artist, mechanic or day laborer.
should find cut wlat sort Of, facd ard /
what plan OF livirg best agrees win him, !