New-York tribune., 1920-12-26
Interesting Chat and Stage Gossip for Playgoers
Barrie's Simplicity
Is the Badge Which.
Shows His Ceni,n

Imagine a quaint little figure in
seedy brown coat, more to be venernxr
for its age than is cut: a large hsI
covered by a hat very much the wonA
for wear and want OF brushing, a shasI
bling gait. tightly held pipe. pufi,I
great clouds Of smoke. a pair of desf
thoughtful eyes. the breaking Of loI
mysterious ailences for the telling X
beautiful stories-pus together tbeI
traits and some ides Is gained Of 81
James Matthew Barrie, the man.
There Is about the famous n,aJ
wright, In whom New York playeoel
are especially interested Just now II
cause OF his latest work, MARY Rosel
IN which Ruth Chatterton has ius, al
peared at the Empire Theater. curl
GUS union of the comic. the grotesous
sne pathetic, the profoundly humat
enat give a singularly vercatile chars|
20 even an hours companicnship wit
him.
Barrie 10 one Of the moss delghrtJ.
companions one could meet in litts
time. He has mind so rich in folIk
lore, so fertile in strange fahcieas
partly made up of fiction, partly 4
fact, which he can narrate over tabis
or on country walk with fine fascI.
nation of easy diction and person,
charm, that It is easy to think of his
as kind of modern Aesop.
Yet Barrie is far from being a tall.
ative companion. In an associatiu
with him of whatever length there s
sure to be an entire absence of col
ventional conversation, compiled
avoidance Of ordinary current topics
and there may be, to the great ens
barrassment Of his companion, pre
found silence extending over severt
hours. Almost all OF the little detaiH
possible to get hold of nowadays abod
the personality of Charles Lamb aH
exactly the kind Of characteristics tn4
would best describe Sir James.
Barrie's conversation is a kind
poetical and pastoral excursion ff
atelo from the modern, noisy worlI
He is as simple as farmer boy drit
ing his team to field, or sitting undi
the hawthorn piping TO his flock. II
though he never should grow old"l3
the very essence Of the spirit he IA.
personlfed In Mary Rose" In cod
pany wiki him one seems to conve ri
with his forehead, which is broad ali
high, light as II built OF ivory. wiI.
large projecting eyebrows and sym1s
thetic eyes of wonderful s,esdiness Il
gaze His face has the ogis. .aoughttll
complexion q ths Cd 5 ,a1lsz oortrds
: pal-.e-z Il
?sria7s C,a~iea 7runnan l,3erstol
1arr'', 1'stissr man iny 1r.ier 4mericd.
PNd .Ney taev nm. 'heiv ,n1 ;erenol
1n,u /
Conn ware 'T.-'enaa IL :ni1set" " ratbls
ilan 1nHlnesB sa.Aa. ar q = .mpossibs
And 1erlnDs tanay'n4 sc anal result
;I iri..snlpr y pm sar~,e down to busi
1eaa nerlgda. rhle r. vas a freoueI;
a~sser'enca - III frahns- % sit doa'
De ~ irerlce the curioI
-7'-As1':e = 9ar--ss rc1se, thinks.
;il1 - vas ss -ear - full detaii
u .,t -.-i - possible play abos
Tr-.a 1a--,s nzj gwen ant in a lett{
a. sns sTe1 = wss sure 10 be plenj
- u rs .el.ag q many plots tds
KS. picturesque, fairy book fashi
~-icn Is 81 barrle's. but II was eGuaE
certain tnat the entire evening woA
wear away without ever a recurren&
TO the ore plot or material for a p&
which Was the original occasion q
Nr. Froi mans visit &
Barrie is comparable to no one e4
in English literature so much as !
Robert Louis Stevenson. And III
finest illustrations Of the mood th4
created the most delightful e Barrit
pages are to be found in several II
says by his forerunner, ar l. s."
Johnson used to say that it takes o4
Scotchman to explain another. al
that therefore the whole race is iaI
conspiracy Co cheat the word
1t needs but a walk In Kensingtj
Park. London. to know Barrie by dr3
knowing his friends. Here has
spent many an hour at nlay and 4
storytelling with the litt.est of BID
ish ladies and gentlemen. And in II
way does it happen that better I'd
any other modern writer. Barrie knoi
tie manner Of speech. the walk al
the ways Of tie little dwellers in n
land OF Make Believe.