The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1882-03-19
Oscar Wilde to Joaquin Miller.

Our readers will remember that
two or three weeks ago the World
nublished letter written by Mr.. Joa-
ouin Miller to MIR. Oscar Wilde,
denouncing the "Pnilistine press" OF
certain towns for its abuse of the
aesthetic apostle, and generally ex-
tending to him the poetical right
hand OF fellowship, for 1.-The besuti-
full and the true.
We publish with pleasure to-day
Mr.. Wilds's response to this epistle.
kindly forwarded to US by him tor
that purpose from St. Louis:
"St. Louis. February %. My Dear
jos quin Miller: l thank you for your
chivalrous and courteous letter to me
published in the World. Believe
me, I Won d as lief judge OF the
strength and splendor of sun and sea
by the dust that dances in the besLn
and the bubble that breaks on the
wave, as take the petty and prottless
vulgarity OF one or two insignificant
towns as any test or standard to the
real spirit OF a sane. strong and SIM
pie people. or allow i. to affect my
respect for the msDy noble men or
women whom it has been roy priv
lege in this great country to
know.
Ser myself and the cause which |
represent | have no fear as regards
the future. Slavery and folly have
their way for season, but for q sea-
SOD only, while as touching either
the few provincial newspapers which
nave so vainly assaulted lne, or that
ignorant and itinerant libeller OF New
England who. lecturing from village
to village in such open and ostenta-
tIous isolation, be sure | have no
time to waste on them. Youth be-
ing so glorious. art 80 godlike. and
the very world about US 90 full OF
beautiful things, and thugs worthy
OF reverence. and things honorable,
how should one stop to listen to the
lucubrations Of a literary gamin, to
the brawling and mounting of a man
whose praise would be az insolent as
bis slander is impotent, or to the
irresponsible and irrepressible chat
ter OF the professionally unproduot-
iveS
"'Tis great advantage, l admit,
to have done nothing, but one must
not abuse even that advantage
who, after all, that | should
write of him, is this scribbliug
anonymuncie in grand old Massa-
chusetts, who scraWls and screams 80
elibly about what he cannot under
stand? this spostls OF inhospitality,
who delights to defile, to desecrate
and to defame the gracious cour-
tesies he is unworthy to enjoy? Who
are these scribes, who passing with
purposeless alacrity from the Police
NeUs TO The Parthenop, and from
crime to criticism, sway with such
serene incapacity the Office which
they 60 lately swept? "Narciesuses of
imbecllity," what should they see in
the clear waters OF beauty and in the
we'll undefiled of truth but the shift
ing and shadowy image Of their own
stupidity
Secure of that oblivion for which |
they toll so lstoriously and, must
acknowledge, with such success, let
hem peer at US through their tele-
Icopes and report what they like of
Is. But my dear Joaquin, should
ge put them under the microscope
here would be really nothing to be
cen. +
IL look forward to passing another
elighttul evening with you on my
eturn to New York, and l need not
ell you that whenever you visit En-
land you will be received with that
ourtesy with which it is our plea
IRE always to welcome all Ameri-
ans, and that honor with which it il
ar privilege to greet all poets. Most
merely and afeCtionstely yours,
OSCAR WILDE"
-Netc York World.