before 9 I think he was a master craftsman. He was 

 not a success as a novelist • Perhaps he lacked 

 imagination* And I don*t think he realized it* He 

 asde several attempts at writing pleys^ too^ X 

 think as an essayist he was best* 



dilbl What did he look lik»? 



Coggins: You might have taken him for an Englishman* He*-do 

 you remember the English actor Aubrey Smith? Well, 

 John looked likt a smaller edition of Aubrey Smith* 



^ilbJ Correct me if I'm wrong* I think of Aubrey Smith 

 as having a handle <*bar mustache and a sort of 

 reddish complexion and heavy eyebrows* 



Coggins t Yes* John was—Aubrey Smith was sort of an 

 enlarged caricature of John* 



diXbt Wellf both of them then must have been a caries turs 

 of a certain type of Englishman? The God and 

 Empire type of Englishman? 



Coggins t Although John was Irish* Apparently the Barrys 



originally came from one of the towns across from 

 England—in France* But John's father came from 

 Xvalsild* John was bom a Catholic and grew away 

 from itf although he retained lots of Catholic 

 friends and he used to be invited to the Archbishop's 



