Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-07-20

II was sitting on a sofa, l remember
when suddenly woman who was quite
unknown to me sat down by my side
and asked.
Are you Shave
~ am 1 replied.
Then, holding out her arms. the
woman said: Come to me; have loved
you all my lifer"
AS Shaw repeated this story he
laughed; the recollection of it seemed
to please him enormously.
And what did you do?" / asked.
II performed the second act to Iris
tram and Isolde" said Shaw. For
about an hour Isadora and 1 kept 1t up
I can't remember all we said to one
another but I know the audience
which listened to every word, was very
much amused. think at first my
hostess was little nervous about how
would take the situation!"
Impression of IsadOra.
1T can we'll imagine it," said. lisa
dora was always telling me that she
ought to have married either you or
Augustus John. What impression did
she make on you?"
We'll" replied Shaw, calmly, "the
odd thing is that cannot remember
her as looking in the least like any of
her photographs; which is curious, be-
cause in all of them she appears to
have very distinctive features. To me
she appeared fat and, well, rather like a
piece of battered confectionery"
1 told Shaw that the description
fitted poor 1sadora well. At the time
he met her she had ceased to care
about her personal appearance, and the
tragedies she had passed through al
v-ao du bod ho07IY1 IN find q reflection in
her features.
she had the cheek of the devil, T"
said Shaw. "She said just what she
liked. Yet there was more in her than
that. Somehow one didn't feel like
telling her to go to the devil"
I realized that now-with Shaw in
an excellent mood, sitting opposite me
was the time to settle once for all the
question of that celebrated anecdote so
Isadora Duncan.
According to this anecdote Isadora,
at a time when her figure was consid-
cred by sculptors and artists to be one
of the most graceful in the world,
wrote to Shaw asking him If he would
consent to have child by her. She
was supposed to have said: "You have
the greatest brain in the world, / have
the most graceful body. Let us then
produce the perfect child" To which
Shaw replied: But what If the child
turned out to have my body and your
brain?"
The anecdote made Shaw smile. All
good writer's smile at their own WITH
cisms.
Actually" he said, "it was not
Isadora who made that propositlon 10
me. The story has been told about
me in connection with several famous
women, particularly Isadora Duncan,
But I really received the strange offer
from a foreign actress whose name you
wouldn't know, and which I've forgot
ten. But 1 did make that reply"
I forgot to tell Shaw that shortly
before her death Isadora had thought
of asking him If she might be allowed
to play Saint JOAN"
THE part in Shaws great play" she
said, has always been played by thin,
women; But Saint Joan was
have just the figure for the part"
One can talk to Mr.. Bernard Shaw
as one cannot talk to the average man.
The reason for this is that the cele-
brated dramatist, having much to be
conceited about, Is not conceited at
all. So I next asked him question
which few authors in his place would
have cared to answer. A question
which, suppose, few young men in
my place would have cared to ask him.
But it is my belief that the more in
telligent a man is the less is he likely
to resent a nice little piece of frank
interrogation. And in this particular
case I am thankful to say that my
belief was entirely justified.
Smiles at Criticism.
"TelI me, Mr.. Shaw" I said, what
is wrong with George Moore? He told
me recently that he thought you were
such q bulgarian. He accused you,
too, of advertising to the world the UNI
important fact that you had changed
YOUR address. Also he declared that
you were far too fond of talking about
yourself And, in addition, he said
that your plays made him sick"
Some famous men / know undoubt-
edly would have turned crimson with
rage at being told for the first time of
these criticisms against themselves.
Mr.. Shaw, however, only smiled; and
in that calm, rich voice of his he said:
IT do not see that these Sallies Of
Georges prove that there is anything
wrong with him. l doubt If he thinks
me excessively vulgar. A man without
vulgarity could no more exist than a
man without a stomach. made my
change of address known TO save
George from sending letters to the
wrong address He cannot seriously
complain of this. I talk about myself
because / have had a good deal OF
significant and interesting experiences
which are useful as evidence. I ought
to do more in this way; but I am a
little tired of myself and am apt to
shirk my social duties Everybody's
plays make somebody sick sometimes.
George must put up with IT II he can
not resist reading mine. The sickness
is probably salutary."
Encouraged by this frank answer to
frank question, ! decided that there
was no question one need be afraid OF
asking.
Tell me, Mr. Shaw" I asked, how
would the definite assurance that YOU
had another $50 years to live affect
your present manner OF living?"
IT Wonder!" replied Shaw. At first
thought the question was too much,
even Tor him. Yet in Back to Me-
thuselah" he had suggested that 300
years was q reasonable age to reach,
one which might enable the individual
to understand something of life. !
waited. The reply came.
II should take up a new profession,
of course" he said thoughtfully. and
make the new development of my old
profession a recreation. Beyond that
obvious change I can see nothing
without an effort of imagina ton too
arduous TO be undertaken for the mere
fun of i'll"
A pause. 1t is often harder to think
of questions to ask than it is to answer
them. When Shaw is watching one,
lingering his handsome white beard
and OlDcnnEpiOilglvl making Ope auTa re
that his answer to any question is likely
because of his unique position in the
world to go ringing through the CEN
turtles, one has to be careful what one
asks him. 1 had a vision of myself
either drying up" altogether or forced
in desperation to ask him what his
faYnrite flower WAS. or To name his