Who is Brown from Collected Short Stories Volume Three and what is their importance? W._Somerset_Maugham English & Literature Brown | Collected Short Stories Volume Three

When Witherspoon tells Ashenden his story of his affair with the acrobat, he tells it as if it happened to a friend of his. Witherspoon decides to give this friend the name of Brown. Despite this intent to fool Ashenden, Ashenden realizes that Witherspoon is actually talking about himself.