The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1881-06-29
The Death of = ouida. /"


Louise de Ia Rance is dead The su-
thoTsss OF Moths is no more She to 4
too much truth of her own Order and tie
r4bid poodless Of mediocrity snapped Il h,I
heels therefor. Poor Ouida She wru &
Idalia," and that covered a multitude d
sins.
ouida = IS dead, having attained wide
measure Of renown. Rigidly moral jourua-
lists and high-church curates with polished
manners AMI subiued risuslistic tendencies
must alike mourn the loss Of heir favorite
pi-ss ds FsSiStlHos We wonder hat she as
like,-the graceful wOrd-wielGer, the weaver
Of honsyed sentences ! atsst counts de-
seubed her as growing sioat- dreadful
thought, Loving luxury, drss ing neatly.
talking little, and tanning from the embers Of
fTuiueSs grand pGS.JOs of her own the soft
dreams Of love and sarcastic mos about
women of society with which sic alternately
hecked her psges-lhese are tie salient
touches of her latest pen-and-ink PORTRAYAL.
Like most females of pruI ounced literary
character she was, we may sspp Sc, plain Of
feature and Indifferent to oriin " feminine
dellcGcies- Much abused rs were her novels,
they have obtained world wide circulation,
especially among the gilied youth of both
sexes. AeretriciOus sentiment and false feel
u.
end power TO reproduce the most delicate as
well IS the most striking touches Of the light
and shade Of Continental life and manners
these form her specialities as a writer.
While the enc may, with her prunency, repeI
The cultured taste and refined sentiment. The
other must ever invite the appreciation Of the
Imaginative reader open to the charms Of the
sunny romance OF lightly-limued legendary
story. Among all her works our fzvorite is
" Pascarel the gossipy, garTulOus Pas
carel." Who cannot recall her graceful de-
scription IN that volume OF those little Italian
towns, :" half monastery, half fortress, scat
tered over bill and plain. by sea and Tiver, on
marsh and mountain" within the clustered
aisles Of whose Swallowed basilicss the artist
grew TO be ! man, making his dwelling in
the heart CT his birthplace, with the tender
sadness OF the olive bills stretching above and
around ," With what delicacy Of touch and
fneness Of fancy does she not pourtray in a
scv well-choseu words tie history Of that
complete Il some what dreamy life And how
markedly the contrast comes olIt between the
quick distinction which size attained and that
won BY the artists quiet life-Iabor =" His
work lives after him. The little towns are
all gray, and still, and silent now; The iris
grows on the raIuparts; the reeds wave in the
niost; The shadows sleep IN the deserted
market-pls the great converts shelter half
a-dozen monks, and the dim majestic churches
are damp and desOlste, and have the scent Of
tie sepulcllre- But there above the altar his
wife lives In the Madoun.., his child smiles in
tue angel, and the olive and wheat are Jade
less On their grounds Of gold and blue; and BIZ
the tomb IN the crypt the sacristan viii shade
his lamp, and pausing, muTmUr with sacred /
tenderness, Here he sieepsl'"
She has gone from the scene Of her word
pictures and literary tFi1mphs while Moths
and @Pipistrells," her latest volumes, are still
on the shelves Of her publishers. And her
work lives after ber-for good or bad as It
happens. OH sany
"Osida," shortly before her death, wrote
TO the London 7izes on International copy
wright Abiding to American piracies Of her |
works, she wrote go Why shodld the whole |
American nation profit BY ard am1se itself with /
the writings Of English authors without fh0se /
authors leave and pro6t in return 1t Is 10 |
question Of free trade; It Is a question Of m !
biGshing robbery 1 can project ny horse, /
ny rings. The sa1cepzns ny cook uses, the 1
spade my gardener works with; 1 cannot pro-
tect that work Of nv own brain which with
ont ne could never have taken shape or seen /
he light, and must BE more intFinsicaIiy and 4
utterly mine than anything On earth. The 4
etter Is dated from RODe.-Q Esszst11dT.