New-York tribune., 1919-05-04

R
ticle which satisfies a very
persistent human curiosity.
How have the great things of litera-
ture been produced? Just how do
writer's go about their task? The
writer says:
ut is interesting to learn how the
great creative artists work and the
various methods they employ to light
en- the task Of making thoughts and
feelings articulate.
Lord Byron, for instance. worked.
at one period, on starvation diet
Of raisins and soda water, but that
was simply because he was vain of
his figure and wished to reduce his
weight.
The somewhat theatrical talent of
Bulwer Lytton found stimulation in
working at dead of night and in a
bed draped with black bugles.
"A much more curious case than
either Of these is that of Theophile
Gautier, one of the most luxuriouslv
sensuous of poets and a master Of
literary style. Here is the account of
now he wrote his Travels in Jta1v,
given by his friend, Maxine du Cat,n.
Inns book, which one would sunnose
10 nave been thought out in retire
ment, in library of works of refar-
ence, was actually written in print
ing mouse, amidst the clatter of COM
posltors' the noise of printing presses.
lhe mum OF machinery, slamming of
doors, and hubbub of a busy workshop
NOT note, book, or document did the
author make use of. His memory sur-
passed belief, and he could draw on
1T at will without fear of BEING led
astray. he composed without erasinp
or correcting. When he had finished
ten hnes, the overseer would clip them
from the MS. and hand them to the
composltor, repeating the process un-
I'll the article or chapter was COM
plete. Then, when the proofs were
set before him, Gautier would Indicate
errors by marking them with his nail.
and would go on his way, breathing
deeply, like miner released from his
subterranean gallery at the end of a
days work
After The year 1850 (Gautier's
thirty ninth year, almost all his books
were composed in this haste. He spoke
OF himself toward the end as poor
Theo,' the slave of the printers devil,
and indeed, in spite of his extraordi-
nary talents, he was always under the
whip Of poverty.
Robert Burns has described his
method of writing in a letter to George
Thomson, the editor of his songs. He
writes: My way isl consider the
poetic sentiment correspondent to nv
idea of the musical expression: then
choose my theme; begin one stanza;
when that is composed, which is gem
orally the most difficult part of the
business, l walk out, sit down, and
then look out for objects in nature
around me that are in unison and
harmony with the cogitations of my
fancy and workings of my bosom;
humming every now and then the air
with the verses I have framed. When
l feel my muse beginning to jade,
retire to the solitary fireside of my
study, and there commit my effusions
to paper; swinging at intervals on the
hind legs of my elbow chair, by way
of calling forth my own critical strict
ures as my pen goes on
"To this piece of -portraiture
Allan Cunningham has added a few
touches by telling US that, as soon
as Mrs. Burns heard her husband hum
to himself, she knew that he had some
thing on his mind, and was prepared
to see him snatch up his hat and
silently leave the house. Once he was
alone, and in the open air, his ideas
flowed freely, words came at will, and