New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-11-05
JOHN PAUL ON OSCAR WILDE.
CERTAIN AFTER-DINNER SPEECH.

J u
those girls whose brother is sure to be good look
ing and who would be good looking
herself had she been horn boy. But beyond the
femiuiaelv disposed HAIR and a certain redundancy
of collar and cravat there was nothing particularly
70 distinguish hun from the other eminent journal
lists round a1out-and sat s, the same table HIS
speech is cultivated and pleasant and inmarner he Is
courteous and we'll poised-as why should he not
he be1rp of gentle birth and good schoOnngl Fhls
is where the pitF OF it comes IN. For he has put
himself in q false position; position which ne
feels to be false l fancy. though unwilling to ac-
knowledge II to be. And that standing In IL all
this while ne has suffered, and does suher, poig-
nantly. none can doubt who on this evening
heard the bitter cry he sent mp in an after-dinner
speech--a speech, By the way hardly Germane TO
tine OCCASION. inasmlch L. did not rise to qnes-
ton of privilege.
Lest II be tnoucht that I violate the social pro-
rre;ics ia thus publicly commenting on a speech
made - q club dinner let me premise that tho oc-
clSiou was a scml-public one and that the speech
obviously intended for larger audience, has BE-
come a wholly public by report and COM
ment in various wspapers.
Mr.. Wide complained not quaruousy, thourh,
of his treatment az the hands Of tho press
and tn, fog Of misrepresentation by
which he has been surrounded. Gen
orally speaking. the case was well condlcted-it
wolld have gone better perhaps, had the trief
been hrisfer; but Art provcfbially long, aud
being On ny legs myself i,st nov. | 81 heartily
to condemn the custom Of CO. CHING Speake.
down. For the rest of it, Mr. Wilde has q delicate
fancy and a lively wit he deprecated very anus
irgly the quality of his critics, and from the
heights of the moral stcpladder which he
dexterousy mounted. let fall upon them
most canningly a finely sfted saow Of
satire. Butt piai INTO see that even he play
fullest shafts 81 those whom be considers his as
sailarts had stricken home. aHd hat under and be-
hind 'be br1ad-spread shield o. scorn ard shirt.
front green wounds still ranked
This was sad TO see. but does not Mr. Wilde for
get that he came to this country uuiavited guest
upon a srf-impoSed m.ssIon--a mission that he has
not yet made very clear to the public ard Of which
it il darkly hutcl that lie himself has
no remarkably definite idea May he uot have
come under miqconcepuonl There was
little need. indeed, that one sh0nl cross
the ocean 10 rePaiLt TO our imagnqtio1s the deli
cate white OF the lily o. TO gid again for rs Ito
golden disc Of our own s1ufower. As the repre-
sentative Of RUskIu. the interpreter Of Dante
Ro.sett the exponent Of William Morris thar were
ano. her thing but hr brought rith him no credeu
tials AMI la hi. u'terllces We did not catch the
tones u. the chiefs whose envoy he claims 10 he-
tones which are 100 familiar the most of 20 be
mistaken. There was a mild brayrug aboEt art and
things in general great biazon Of self AMI an
ostcu atious display of sinEull riy on & costume
bu. ~ fer JIc teaching Of any new truths Oh the
f.reille enforcement of oil oue---.iy there was
uauo Even the outre costume was not new
TO us. In velvet knee-brceches and buckles
long hose and longer Lair, tie King Of Pain wa
wont. long years ago. to shoot through streets
and be- had q coach and four uors,s u his bacL a.
well. Is IL ~ be wondered 40 that. reading 10 MI
Wild-'- BOOK Of Poem about me House of Pa
and the LAZY Of Pain" older generation
thoqeht they SOW not 700 lsicqtely veil j al, r
tisemeut a. jumped al tue conclusion that their
old friend had simply returned on footi
Mr. Wilde sorrrts or pcr,istently ignores, that be
came 20 us ianoc.ut OF Any achievement emitting
him 10 speak or CON peng "a, 20 hear; That he was
only known to Us through carr AZURE, IN Punch and
popular stage pur!esque Of which he
was the butt And ne came and was
exhibited under the same management which
brou-lt The b1T.cs4uei heraded by cauc9ture, he
came "a -eq.el 80 the real circus ini accot panied
IL through the land As q slle--how. his was not
Glgmfid part for an English gentleman TO ly
E.taa English c.utlen1u Nr Wilde l,-Dr should
be-b4 education IS sell IS or birth. Again >ay
This j, yghere the pity Oft comes IA For even now
there q another English gentleman IN tue A-d;
one who caJ0e and moves among rs modrstly and
ln very different g4rb sIi sIi-e. An. IS la VIII say
that re has had other than kindly and not 40
intrusive welcome Bat verify l say unto you,
for al the bold Ie has on our hearts had Herbert
Spencer come il -panF'es aud with a b' 70 Of tin
truup.t, like r4tolr, would have followed &C his
heels, and he, too. would have been the
recipient of assiduous. if not eugabie, o.t.l.i1ns
from the independent scribe, of free and lutr-u-
rDel.l press. Jumbo dad not escape. Bat that Gle
phant. being thicker skinned than Mr. Wilde. did
rc- mind aaI Ms bowman pocketed ;h5 money
winch the gratuitOas advertising brought aud was
grateful Tor It.
As for the quality of SIR. Wide's critics. whose
ldeas" as me says of sculpture have evidently
b en- derived from the figures Ia iroIt OF the CObac-
couis's shops" 10 might perhaps be aqSwerei. with
some show of reason, better ideas derived frcl such
figure, rather than from the eHibirius winch dgurr
over the doors of some shops IN excavatcd PomP"l,
and from which not q few p 6 OF the new school,
- well Is Mt Wilde, 20 derive their Ideas and
inspiration. But, without saving that, has II o.
currsd to ilr Wide that tine .eaIing critics Of
this new world may not have been detailed to
report upon his movcmeutsi There ara phaanTes
Of ali grades m journalism rs well In war; aud be
aud Mrs Tom r. Jon were perhaps received and
INHALED on the points of the ,ame pens II he met
no Wort her steel the fault possibly in that his
elnpri.es did not cdl il forth. But there be mel
among u sufficiently "a lIliar with classic TO
know snort and cr,p-lot lOlg and auk-hsir has
has been handed DOWN tOUs by the GlccIan mas Crs,
and tnar no barber oi thu Prix.tele, p r.od would
have ordered Mr Wldrs hel al q, lie dresses II,
and to recall that long-hared boys iu br,n Greece
and Rome-rjdr the PAGES OF Prtronus Arbiter and
>uctonius-were reproachfully regarded it not
/ severely sat upon by tho more seemly
+ elders Of tine Pagan churches. Long
hair, never The fashion even under th. bead Of the
Inost proh.s4'e Of The Cus rs had always sI,r.ih.
] f.frft IL.