The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1883-07-29
Whlassa Iaea Of Americans.
VIEWS or rHE GsTHErH ON HIS wANpERINGs
IN fsIE UNITED STATES.

IN TIN UNITED sTAtEs.
Reported In London Newsl
"Stating that he had very little useful
information 10 give, Mr.. Wilde described
his first experience OF the interviewer,
the literary pirate Of The States who
sprsng on board In the midst OF storm
of New York, and asked his opinion Of
America. Not having seen Il, he found II
easy 10 give an unbiased opinion, which
was very favorable as far rs II went. Now
Il was more difficult. The first thing that
struck him on landing was the prosperity of
the people and the absence Of rags. He
saw Millions Of chimney-pot hats In all
thch dreadful proportions, but no rags.
The second thing was that every one
seemed to be in hurry, and this made
him think 1t could not be country OF great
romance, for romance was difficult where
II was vital necessity to catch train. The
beautiful he found where the Americans
had least strivcn for 1t, I'm their great
bridges and their perfectly beautiful use
Of the electric light.
"The travelling when one got into a
Pullman car was the perfection OF luxury.
but had no more privacy than II one sat in
an armchair at the Hamilton-street corner
OF Piccadilly. Bows ran up and down
selling literature, good and bad, and every
thing one could eat or not eat, but what
narrowed his feelings most acutely was u
zee a pirated copy OF his own poems sell
ing for ten cents. He explained To the
boy that he got no profit out OF this edition
Of ms work, but the boy said he got some
and seemed 10 think that settled the ques-
ton. He had never been called
Stranger but had received the title
OF Captain and Colonel 1.-THE latter In
Texas-but he had been very mach dis
tressed by being called Professor Mag
ara, like the Atlantic ocean, was extremely
disappointing, principally, he believed, be-
cause IL was ordinarily seen under condi-
lions extremely unfair. In order TO appre-
ciate its splendor and strength II was
necessary to 90 under the fall itself in
suit Of yellow sealskin so ugly that he
should never have consented TO wear il but
that he was informed that a similar dress
had been worn by the great artist Nine.
Sarah Bernhardt. [Laughter.l
"Of America itself the most beautiful
part was the West, and California most OF
all; and the most depressing the alkali
plains through which the trains travelled
for days, stopping occasionally at small
stations, where what, by some curious pro-
cess OF reasoning. was called a meal was
served. Here he met the Indians. who
were very picturesque and charming as
long as they wore their own clothes, and
very ugly when they put on European
dress. Their language struck him as re-
sembling German metaphysics-very fine
rs long as il was not understood. Laugh
teri When it was interpreted he generally
found it to convey a. request for half a
dollar or some tobacco. One OF the great
features OF America was the advertiser,
who defaced the most beautiful parts of
the Rocky Mountains with his advertise
ments, generally Of some horrible medi-
cine. The names of American towns,
where they were French or Spanish, were
often beautiful, but the English names
were very often ugly. He was asked to
lecture on art at Griggsville, but he re-
fused unless they consented to change the
name of the town, which they declined TO
do. How dreadful il would have been if
he had founded Griggsyille school OF art
"American children did not seem TO be
numerous, and were not rs healthy or as
JOYOUS as in England, but very precocious.
They grow up, some OF them, into girls
who are the prettiest despots in the world.
Each American girl seemed to De an oasis
OF picturesque unreasonableness in desert
OF common sense, able To talk on every
subject. whether she knew anything Of it
or not, with lovely hands and feet, and the
prettiest boots i'm the world. There were
no idle men. Every man had something TO
do, and very few took any interest
in politics. One career they went
into extensively was journalism, for the
first thing q baby did in America
when he was able TO read and write was to
start newspaper. Ii seemed strange to
English people, their intrusion into private
life. He was asked by an interviewer at
Chicago for some details OF his private life,
but he told him he had not got one-it was
stopped at the custOm-house in New York.
Their humor was, he thought, sort OF
philosophy, and one thing he admired
about the American journalist was that he
could write about the price OF wool with
out referring TO Jason and the Golden
Fleece. The lecturer also referred to the
distinguished actors Of America, aud con-
Guided with some remarks on American