He's Interesting The French In Becke

French journalist and author Freddy Drilhon, who has two hooks and a number of outstanding illustrated articles on the Pacific in leading European magazines to his credit , recently travelled to his mother’s homeland, Scotland.

While there, he met one of Britain’s best known authors of the older generation, Sir Compton Mackenzie, who is also editor of “The Gramophone” and president of the Siamese Cat Club.

They eventually got to talking about the Pacific, in French, which the Scotsman speaks like a native. “J’ai des livres d’un auteur du Pacifique que vous ne connaissez prohahlement pas”, Mackenzie said (“I’ve got some books by a Pacific author with whom you’re probably not acquainted”).

He was astonished and delighted when Freddy replied: “I guess you mean Louis Becke”.

Looking keenly at Freddy, he said, “Wonders never cease! How ever did you get to know about him?”

As a matter of fact Drilhon has been a constant reader of “PIM” since he was correspondent for Reuters and the French News Agency, and newsman on Radio Noumea after the war. “PIM” aroused his interest in Becke, and when in Australia he made a point of intro ducing himself to one or two people in Sydney who may fairly claim to know something of the life of our old trader and supercargo.

Freddy is now trying to arouse interest in Paris in this rather neglected Australian writer, who lived for a few of his productive writing years in Normandy.—LEW FRIDAY.