A CRITICAL BIOGRAPHY OF EDWIN JAMES BRADY - Mallacoota ...

167
A man’s sense of his own injuries may be keen; but he will bear the inflictions
more bravely when he traces them to the correct pathogenic source; he may
even get to bear them with as much fortitude as if they were those of his
friends. 1
Brady went on to state that there was a limited market in Australia’s small population,
that a sense of grievance might even aid a writer’s creativity, and that as a class
writers have been notorious complainers (instancing E.A. Poe and Keats), and makes
it clear that he also has endured the same difficulties that Lawson experienced.
Lawson’s confessions are candid; but they must be accepted in the light of a
personal example – the example of a man of unquestioned ability who has
worked so far under a considerable handicap; not the least of which is a
generous, confiding temperament.
Brady concluded with reference to the pessimism of Kendall, Gordon and Clarke and
noted that “the men, and not the country are responsible for the gloom and misery of
the song”
Lawson, considering Brady was reflecting upon his deafness, of which he was
inordinately sensitive, took umbrage, but the two were soon reconciled and this time
remained friends. In fact when Brady’s The Ways of Many Waters appeared a couple
of months later, Henry wrote to him from lavender Bay, referring to his verse as
“breezy, running and stirring” and stating that the book would have a “refreshing and
bracing effect” on every Australian reader. He wished Brady every success with it
and a “smooth passage through the Straits of Review”. 2 Brady naturally appreciated
this approval from Lawson, who was well on the road to established recognition, but
unfortunately did not live up to the sentiments expressed in his Bulletin article,
growing, especially towards the end of his life, as complaining and querulous as
others he had spoken of. In the main though, he kept this querulousness out of his
work, which was usually characterised by optimism and unbounding good spirits.
Brady often wrote and spoke by invitation bout his friend Lawson. His major writing
on him was in Henry Lawson by His Mates 3 but was reprinted as “The Voice of
Australia” at the end of Mann’s edition of the collected Lawson stories, along with
similar contributions from T.D. Mutch, Bertram Stevens, A.G. Stephens, John
Tierney and H.M. Green. 4 But in addition, there are numerous shorter essays and
articles, several addresses and at least one radio broadcast on Lawson – one of
Brady’s favourite subjects.
An examination of “The Voice of Australia” (and the title is significant) shows
Brady’s great familiarity with his subject. If there is a fault in his appreciation of the
poet and short story writers, it is that he makes too many excuses for him, regarding
him through a romantic haze; but at the same time it is also fair to say that he is aware
of Lawson’s weaknesses. While he can perhaps be accused of glossing over them in
his writings, it is apparent that he is conscious of them; he certainly forgave them.
1 Lawson’s original article was on the Red Page of The Bulletin, 21.1.1899; Brady’s reply, 11.2.1899,
also on the Red Page. Brady expanded this theme further in “Concerning Australia and Some Writers”,
The Grip, 10.8.1901, p.3
2 Lawson to Brady, 23.4.1899, in Mitchell Library.
3 B.L. Lawson and J.L. Brereton (eds.), Henry Lawson By His Mates (Sydney, 1931).
4 C. Mann (ed.) The Stories of Henry Lawson, Third Series (Sydney, 1964).