, 1921-09-17

E . It Is Sir Henri who Is making
e all the trouble. He is attacking one
{. of the oldest and dearest ~piatitudcs
! ! know" He paused for the general
: to speak. but the older man nodded
, his head for him to go on He has
!. just said hat fiction Is stranger than
truth" continued the novelist He
says that THAT people who write
could never interest people who read
IL they wrote of things as they really
are. They select. he says-they take
the critical homer In a mans life
and the crises and want others to
believe that that is what happenes
every day. Which II is not. so the
General says He thinks that life Is
commonplace and uneventful-that
is. u~neventfui in a picturesque or
dramatic way. He admits that
lwomen's lives are saved from drown
ing. but that they are not saved by
their lovers. but by a longshoreman
with a wife and six children. who ac-
cepts 1--WE pounds for doing IT. That's
II. is IL notg" he asked.
The General nodded and smiled.
what / said to Phillips was" he
explained. that ~ things were re-
lated just rs they happen. they would
not be interesting. People do not
say the dramatic things they say on
the stage oil in novels; in rea life
they T commonplace or sorrid-or
disappointing. / have see men die
on the battlefield. for INSTANCE. and
they never cried, L die thai my coun-
try may live or 7 have got my pro
motion at last; they just stared up
at the surgeon and said. Have I got
to lose that arm?' or 4 am killed. /
think You see. when men are dying
around you. and horses are %plunging.
and the haAAa ara GrtnO 0nA
doesn't have time to think up the APP
propriate remark for the occasion. 1
don't believe. now. that Pitts last
words were. Roll up the map of
Europe A man who could change
the face of q continent would not use
his dying breath in making epigrams.
II was one of his secretaries or one
OF the doctors who said that. And
the man who was capable of writing
home. All is lost but honor was just
the sort of n man who would lose
more battles than he would win. No;
you. Phillips" said the General, rails
ing his voice as he became more con-
fdent and conscious that he held tho
centre OF the stage. and you Ire
velyan. don't write and paint every
day things as they are. You intro
ducc something for a contrast or for
an effect; n red coat in q landscape
for the bit of color you want, when
in real life the red coat would moi
be within miles: or you have a band
of music playing a popular air in the
street when a murder is going on
inside the house. You do II because
II is effective; but II isn't true. Now
Mr.. Caithness was telling us the
other night at the club. on this very
matter"
oh. that's hardly fair" laughed
Trevelynn: you've rehearsed all this
before. You've come prepared"
mo. not at ALL" frowred the gem
eral. sweeping on. II said that be-
fore he was raised to the bench. when
he practiced criminal law, he had
brought word to a man that he vas
to be reprieved. and to another hat
he was to die. Now. you know" ex-
claimed the General. with a shrug,
and appealing to the table. how hat
would be done on the stage or in a
novel. with the prisoner bound ready
for execution. and a g~alloping horse.
and a luttering piece OF white paper.
and all that. Well. now. Caithness
told US that he went into the mans
cell and said. You have been re-
prieved. John or William, or what
ever the fellows name was. And the
man looked at him and said: is thar
so? That's good-that's good; and
that was all he said. And then.
again, he told INT man whose life he
had tried very hard to save: The
Home Secretary has refused to inter-
cede for you. / saw him at his house
last night at nine o'clock.r And the
murderer. instead of saying, My
Godi what Will my wife and children
do?' looked at him. and repeated.
AT nine o'clock last night!' just as
though that were the important part
of the message"
well, but, General" said Phillips.
smiling, that's dramatic enough as
It Is. / think. Why"
YES" interrupted the General.
quickly and triumphantly. But that
is not what you would have made
him say. is it, That's my point"
There was a man told me once"
Lord A%rbuthnot began. leisurely-
"he was a great chum of mine. and
1t illustrates what Sir Henry has said.
l think-he was engaged to a girl.
and he had a misunderstanding or an
understanding with her that opened
both their eyes. at a dance. and the
next afternoon he called. and they
talked II e in the drawing-room,
with the tea-tray between them. n
agreed to end It. On the stage he
would have risen and said, Well, the
/ comedy is yer. the tragedy begins,
or the curtain falls: and she would
have gone to the piano and played
Chopin sadly while he made his exit.
Instead of, which he got up to go
without saying anything. n as he
rose he upset a cup and saucer on
the tea-table. and said. oh. I beg
your pardon: and she said. 1T isn't
broken: and he went out. You see."
the young man added, smiling. there
wefe two young people whose hearts
were breaking. and yet they talked
of teacups. not because they did not
feel. but because custom is too strong
on us and too much for US. We do
not say dramatic things or do theatre
cal ones. 1t does not make interest
ing reading, but it is the truth"
Exactly" cut in the Austrian
Minister, eagerly. And then there