The New York herald., 1920-01-04

Mr.. Maeterlinck said al this apropos OF
something he well remembers anu ue
thousands that packed Carnegie han ffl'
day night well remember. For the beneti'
OF those who did not understandi.,slr
Maeterlinck's English the HERALD mas op-
ta1ned copy of the very manuscript IRON
which he read. When those In the gal
lery began crying that they could not un
derstand he was reading this passage:-
'Bat tou bring lou thisse taistimons
woude nave told lou nathingi Al have
ebanedonnd thi aida; and Al inetainet
more simple tou diskasse ouith 10 Tor e
momennete ssertaine kouaistchionez ouitcl
rekouaire laisse silokouainesse and ars
more familiar tou mi, Al refer TOT
problalmze owe thi BLONDE, owe that athel
ouordd ouitch lie match moro aour oouns
ouorld thane oui djainairalle think"
The reader is in error II he thinks II
some Slavic language as the ks might
imply. 1t is English, merely written with
the French letter powers. The manu.
script was given to Frenchnan yester-
DAY, man who knew nothing of the
matter. and he read It off in English rap
idly enough. The words are written just
as. In a reverse instance, the French-Ene-
lish dictionaries inform one that "oui' is
pronounced '.we."
But the scheme. theoretically perfect,
learn language from a text book. Mr..
Russell said yesterday that Mr.. Maeter-
linck would lecture in French for the rest
of his engagements in this country. 1t
was explained that the attempt at Eng
lish was the result OF pressure by the
Pend Lecture Bureau, and that the noted
Belgian did not harbor kindly feelings as
a result. The contract Mr.. Russell said.
specified nothing about what language
should be used.
SO since Mr.. Maeterlinck only read
little English and spoke none at all, the
best alternative was concocted by Mr..
Russells son, Sheridan Russell. who
knows his French we'll. The poet wrote
his lecture in French. it was translated
into English, and then young Mr.. Russell
put it into phonetic English
from French idea of letter sounds.
Staggered by Thunderbolt.
Out of a-clear sky this thunderbot was
handed to Mr.. Maeterlinck on the stage
of the lecture hall. How he staggered on
and finally how the Rev. DR.. Merle Saint
Croix Wright came TO his rescue and
translated the phonetic English" into
English h-English" is history
SO the paragraph quoted above became
as follows:-
but to bring you this testimony would
have told you nothing; have abandoned
the idea, and intend more simply to dis
cuss with you for a moment certain ques-
tions which require less eloquence and
are more familiar to me. l refer to prob
lens of the beyond. Of that other world
which is much more our own world than
we generally think"
Mr.. Maeterlinck, however, is pleased with
the result of the experiment If not with
the experiment itself He said so yester-
day In Mr.. Russell's studio, at NO. ~
West Fortietfh street. where he is stopping.
He appeared with apologies in suit that
was so alien to New York and America
as to BATTLE the interviewer until its SINH
larity to pajamas lightened the surprise.
The suit was Of fluffy flannel, of light
color and striped. The trousers were as
full as those of the pajama. and the blouse
was cut along similar lines except that the