The Washington herald., 1909-03-21
Mr.. BARRIE AT HIS BEST
Traits of the Author of What Every Woman
Knows as Told in an Interview.

fact that I think has never been told be-
fOre-Barrie had a scene in the last act
IN which ffteen mothers appear upon
the stage 20 claim their lost children
Now, the principal enjoyment that ar
RE gets from Peter Pan IS % al one
Of those children, their playulJe, and
their friend. But when he found that
he would have 70 20 among the fifteen
mothers and also be their playmate and
their friend. he very speedily cut out
the whole scene and drove the mothers
from the theater-
Next 10 the children who play the
parts in these Christmas performances Of
Peter Pan / suppose Barrie IS most fond
OF Mrs. Barrie. and then that they are
both fOndesJ Of the wonderful family
dog at their cottage In Leicester road.
The creature is a shaggy Newfoundland
uOg with really remarkable intelligence
he Is the original OF Mana, the dog IN
Peter Pan and Barrie has forever i'm
mortalized him IN that wonderfully in
genious description Of the way Mana
should deport herself. which Barrie put
into the manuscript Of Peter Pan One
time Barrie brought his dog 10 the re-
hearsal OF Peter Pan when the dog in
the play was getting up in his part
After apologizing % the actor who played
the part for the Way In which the really
hard work in IL used him up. Barrie said,
looking sffect;onately az his own dog.
You see how easily she takes il all. but
she's just a dog Barrie IS very fond
Of repeating the remark one old lady
made 10 another as they came slowly
out Of the theater after seeing the per
formance Of Peter Pan when one said
70 the other:
Well, it's wonderful how they can
train a dog 20 do this
But he has another st0ry-that when
Peter Pan had become famous The world
over. and just as the man who had writ
ten it might feel some joy IN its fame,
he one day overheard an old couple going
out OF the theater. the one murmurinE
10 the other. well, you would come
And 50 he viii ramuIe along in con-
versation when the mood strikes Barrie
20 talk. Perhaps he has wasted any num-
Der OF wonderful stories that would have
become famous IN print or told in drama.
but / am sure they never would have
given him nearly as much pleasure as
he gets from telling them 10 the Peter
Pan children. the little children that play
In the fantasy, with whom he chums be
tween the matinees and the night-which
is always great event ar the Duke OF
Hork's Theater. in the large room OF the
stage where tea and cakes are served
and everybody gathers around the floor.
with Barrie sitting in the middle telling
stories.
When Barrie visits Paris he likes best
not fashionable Paris. but the fair
grounds. where All the takers are gath
cred. II Is the acme Of Joy for him 10
throw the rings for knives. and once
running ar the Vaudeville Theater. and
Barrie was living az the Maurice Hotel,
the maitre d'hOtel formed grave suspi-
ciODs or having such a person IN the
house on finding seventy-fve knives IN
Barrte's room one morning That was
the time when he telegraphe6 from Paris
10 his little friends I'm London what he
had been doing. and ended his telegram
with the comment, Won much; lost
more
The first meeting OF Barrie and Maude
Adams occurred in London. and was a
great surprise. even 20 me Mss Adams
had just arrived. following her success in
The Little Minister I was going 10
superintend the meeting myself. and
set out for BaTrie's home with that idea
IN mind. but when I got there I found
the little playwright and the little actress
already very fast friends Without q
word to me. Barrie had himself called on
Miss Aams dressed in a tall hattie rar-
est OF costumes for him II seems that
when they first met but one word passed
between them-'WeH' And then Miss
Adams returned the visit 10 AIr Barrie's
place in Leicester road
1t Is a saying with Barrie that Miss
Adams understands his characters bet
ter than he understands them himself
When Barrie first told me the story OF
Peter Pan. he always spoke OF the
character as Peter Adams.
During the writing Of What Every
Woman Knows. when I wrote Barrie
asking him how he got on, his answer
was, I think. the finest, and the fullest
ever sent by playwright 20 manager. Il
was the simple remark that 'Maude
Adams dances all over my pages Bar
RES great desire is 10 have Miss Adams
appear in one Of his PLAYS n London
a wish I am going 10 grant him some
day-and that day-or night-will mark
the birth Of the next play in the great
cycle of Barrie dramas"
His Function