Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1904-08-13

Special Correspondence.
r ONDON. Aug. "A. Il. w. Mason
Is interviewed so seldom that
It is pleasant TO be able
to give here the results
OF recent talk with him, es-
pecially as the conversation was most
ly about his work and his ideas on
literary topics The young author Of
MIRANDA of the Balcony and The
Four Feathers Is comparatively sell
dom IN London. lie Is almost as con-
slant a traveller as Cutchite Hyne,
Captain Kettles creator. who makes
a point of covering 10000 miles Of new
ground every year On getting back
from a trip, TOO Mason generally has a
new book to write. For this purpose
he goes away 10 the country, where he
finds ideas come best, and the result
Is that his friends here see little of him.
However, since his recent return from
Morocco Mason has been taking II easy
for q few weeks I'm his fiat In Queen
Anne's mansions, which is the scene
OF the opening chapters Of THE -Four
Feathers" and he consented to see
the interviewer there, a day or two
ago. Mason really Is 80. but never
4
Of about the average height, 1.-the ana
active of frame. with dark hair, Il
broad forehead and unusually refined
features.
After telling Of his rather dlscourag-
ing early attempts at writing, the au-
thor gave an especially interesting ac-
count Of how THE COurtship OF Nor
rice Buckler," which was his first nov
ol came to be written.
First Of all" he said, 1T started
with n sort OF picture in my mind.
There is a scene where two men are
fighting together IN n room, and a
woman walking IN her sleep comes
between them, Well this was the pic
ture that presented itself 20 me, and
from IL / worked backwards, asking
myself why they should be iighting.
what We're their relations TO each oth-
er and TO the woman, and 80 on grad
ually weaving a plot around the Incl
dent. But. OF course, ones methods
change. | do not work from detached
pictures now, but start from a central
idea and a group Of people, ana let the
scenes and incidents develop out OF thut
conjunction. Ii takes me about year
TO write book. and / do not begin
until ] have the whole scheme aDso-
lutely fixed IN my mind beginning,
middle, and end. | am a somewhat la
borious writer. and write out each
chapter two or three times over"
Mason's fine story, The -Four Fea-
Tiers" with it's acute study OF now us
hero's original tlmorousness developed
into bravery. Is too well-knoWn AT
home to need any description Ques-
toned about Il, Mason said, Il nave
always been attracted by the idea
al
of imagination, weighed down win
the idea that he was going to shirk his
duty. and since the book has been writ
ten soldiers have corrohorated my view.
mean 10 say that 1 have had letters
from distinguished soldiers, some OF
whom personally ! don't know, men
who have won the Victoria Cross ana
have great reputation for bravery
and those letters have all been sym
pathetic. Nowadays there are many
men with highly developed imagn3-
lions who have TO go through much
more than the merely stupid people
who do not realize the dangers, and |
was very glad 10 find my idea confirm
ed, as It Is one | have always been rath-
er keen on
Mason's travels must have made him
to some extent an authority on the
emotions OF courage and fear, for there
has been plenty Of excitement mixed
up with them. lie has had several
close calls while mountaineering In the
Alps, not TO mention some rough eX-
periences with the North sea fishing
feet especially once when, on fish
cutter, the main fleet missed the APP
pointed place OF meetlng-The Dogger
Bank-by 100 miles.
His last trip through the soudan-