Evening star., 1936-11-26

the dea while engaged in the pro-
duction of a play"
All of Mr.. Maugham's writing is
based on life-either incident in his
own life or that of some other per-
son. AS a matter of fact, he told us
that when his publishers suggested
that he write his autobiography he
had to confess that it was impossible
Il had already used everything that
had ever happened to me in a play,
a novel or short story" he said.
AS a result The Summing Up"
which is scheduled for publication
in 1898, is. ''if you will pardon the
rather grandiloquent expression, a
spiritual autobiogrophy-a leisurely
survey in which I have tried to clarity
all my ideas on the art of drama, the
art of fiction, the art of life"
Mr.. Vaughan has a definite writ
ing schedule. He sits down each day
at 9 am. and writes till noon Then
he is through for the day and free
to swim or golf, play tennis or read.
Must Read Every Day.
"UnleSsI read for while every
day." he said. Il am like a dope fend
deprived of his dope"
He writes always with a fountain
pen and wastes no time.
IF what I want to say is not i'm
meditely clear, write few foolish
sentences, and presently the very i'm
portant imp in my pen comes to life
and We proceed in the direction we
wish to CO."
All the while he spoke the image
OF the poker player was before us.
You knew exactly how he would play.
He would be provocatively silent, ex-
pressionless, confident but detached,
an intellectual machine in perfect
control whether he won or lost. He
would be the kind of player who
tempts others to recklessness and yet
is ready all the while to punish them
if they succumb.
In conversation such a person is
vitally interesting, but, question as
you may, you feel he is learning more
Of you than you of him.
Presently one of the men in white
announced dinner, and we we're
joined by Mr.. Maugham's secretary
and his nephew. Robin Vaughan, a
student at Cambridge. In the dining
room the two men in white stood by
to serve.
Meaning of Symbol.
We asked Mr.. Vaughan the sig
nificance of the design that appears
on his books, on the white pillars at
the entrance of his driveway, on his
match boxes even.
1T is Moroccan good luck SYM
bol," he said MY father ran across
it first. 1t simply means May good
fortune be upon this house,"
Dinner over, we returned to the
living room and talked of books and
authors. Mr.. Vaughan told of the
influence of Maupassant on his early
writing and of his admiration for the
writing style of Swift and Dryden.
i should say that the three essen
tials Of good writing are lucidity,
euphony and simplicity, and in that
order of Importance" he said. And
thus time passed.
About II pm. Mr.. Vaughan walked
out to the car with us. We said good
night. Again the wiz ing roads.
Again the curve and sweeps around
Castle Hill to reveal Nice Just ahead.
But now there was darkness and the
city took on new interest with its
pattern of glittering lights.
Design of a Life.
We though of Philip Carey. in "Of
Human Bondage" aglow with happi-
ness when he found tina life per Sc"
Is meaningless, that mans power is
but to design its pattern to please
himself as a weaver would design q
Persian carpet.
out Of the manifold events of his
LIE, his deeds, his feelings. his
thoughts. he might make a design,
regular, elaborate, complicated or
beautiful; and though it might be no
more than an illusion that he had
the power Of selection, though it
might be no more than a fantastic
iegerdemain in which appearances
were interviewer with moonbeams.
that did not matter, it seemed, and
so to him it was"
And, motoring along in the dark
ness, it seemed to us that, the indi-
viduality of the author lay in those
words-that the detachment that en-
ables w. Somerset Vaughan to see
clearly is because he sees life as a
pattern and does not lose himself in
contemplation of only the good or
only the bad, only the ugly or only
the beautiful.
Merit. Trn;r Nbnr1n}ors