Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1884-05-02
Who Famous sOuida' Is.

A sketch OF Her In Her Beautiful Home
Florence Letter to Philadelphia Press.l
Louisa de la Rance is of French extraction
her grandfather having been Frenchman
but she is English on both sides of the house
having been born at Bury st. Edmunds
Suffolk, forty-three years ago. The stor
| runs that her father and mother, being in
harmonious in their domestic relations, sep
| arated during her girlhood-he coming to th
continent and she remaining in England.
Ouida's youth was passed in various couu
tries, SO that she may be said to have no pal
ticular nationality. She speaks fuentl
French, italian and German, as we'll as he
native tongue, and writes those foreig
languages with facility. She has often de
| clarsd that she had no childhood, and indee
| no youth; for her experiences were unpleas
ant and forced her very early into kind o
morbid maturity. For years she has beer
overfowing with cynicism and bitterness
disEking men and distrusting women, anC
giving the most unpleasant pictures of fash
ionable society, indicating that selfshness
rascality and wantonness are the distinguish
ing traits of humanity. She is even more O.
a misogJnist than a misanthrope, for sh'
never allows an opportunity to pass withou
arraigning her own sex at the stern bar O.
her warped judgment.
To read Ouida's later novels one woult
form the same idea of society on the CONT
nent to-day that one would have formed Of
France had she lived in the time of the Re
gent, Philippe d'Orleans, or of England dur
ing the reign of Charles II, Her representa-.
tives are repulsise; but she VOWS they are
strictly true, not even exaggerated for the
sake of fiction. Doubtless there is always
more or less corruption in society which
claims to be the best, but the corruption is
rather exceptional than general, while Ouida
portrays it exactly the reverse.
THE PLAN OF HER NOVELS.
She ia very prolific writer. She has pro
duced in the twenty years that have passed
since "Held in Bondage" appeared some
thirty-five novels, besides any number of
magazine articles and contributions to the
newspapers. 1t may well be said that her
pen is never idle. If it were, her literary
reputation would stand higher, for she fre-
quentIy repeats herself and is obviously care
less In construction, incident end the develop
ment of her characters, which are decidedly
prone to resemble one another. She almost
invariably introduces two or three rich, bad,
brutal men and several handsome, artificial,
impure, mercenary, completely selfish women,
all of them occupying exalted social positions,
in salient contrast with a preternaturally
good, noble, sslfsacri6cing woman, who is
commonly prosecuted and whom nobody
understands.
The celebrated suthoress lives in hand
some villa outside the gates, furnished and
decorated handsomely and expensively. 1t
is full of pictures, ongravings, statuettes
bronzes. books and all sorts of bric-a-brac
for which she has great fondness and fine
taste. II SIZE has little love of her own kind,
she loves dogs, horses, cats, birds and ami
mails generally, having in her house many
pets. She often says that they are neither
perfidious nor ungrateful, and that to call
man dog, as most men are constituted is q
that he seldom merits. She
drives out daily when the weather is pleas
ant and is usually accompanied by two or
three dogs.
Every body in and about Florence knows
her by sight. She is rather striking figure,
strong rememberable face, with light eyes
and an abundance of yellow hair She
dresses handsomely and expensively, but in
an unconventional manner and not always in
good TASTE At times she is overloaded with
color and ornaments, and then again she is
,imple in attire to a point of severity. 1t
would seem that she enjoys attracting atten-
1retends otherwise. An American artist here
,alls her a feminine imitator of Byron, for
shom she cherishes an enthusiastic admira-
ion She also adores Heinrich Heine and
Ieopardi which shows that the bent of her
mind is sombre and cynical. In fact, most
If her literary tastes are what would be de-
dominated unhealthful. Her views of life
re not cheerful. and her countenance is gen.
rally marred by an expression of unamiabili-
y. What has made her bitter nobody knows
t is due partly to Temperament and partly to
Her early life has probably
,een such as to sour her. Moreover, she is
N idealist and, consequently, doomed to die
ppointmOnt in all her relations with the
World. The poor are very much attached to
)uida, which is natural, as she is very kind
O them personally and pecuniarily. She
ives freely and largely in charity, and she is
aid never to hear of case of indigenee and
uffering which she does not try to relieve.
IN the whole, she appears to be strong,
arnest, generous, honorable, pure-mindsd
woman, whose faults are mostly on the surface.
Jhe believes she does much good by exposing
he weaknesses and meannesses and vices of
ocisty, and by presenting patterns of men
nd women who put the common Creatures
# life to shame. She travels good DEAL |
psnding six or seven months here and the
est of the year in France and England. she
las a few friends Who are devoted to her,
nd f0E tnem anu TO I1em S0S Is ROoOeeSs IL |
elf With all her talents and successes she |
) discontsnted, and is. inNardly, solitary |
nd unsatisfisd soul. |
FHK PROFITS OF EER PEN. |
If Ouida's books (she derived her pens
anne from the childish pronunciation by her |
tile niece of her first name, which Is Louisa
Q la Rameo) are not quite appreciated by
he critics, they are appreciated by her pub
shers, for they sell largely and rapidly.
Ter first novel, 'tHeld in Bondage" brought
err, understand, $3 900, and she now gets
t least $40, 900 for every new work in three
olumes that she writes. She has grown SO
opuiar within the last eight or ten years
aat. she can make very favorable terms With
ubhshers, and she never neglects, it is said,
or own interests 'Moths'' and "Friend-
alp" have been exceedingly profitable, yield
~ her to date, respectively, $4,000 and
I5, 600, and are still in demand.
The fact that her stories are reputed to be
licked gives them zest with many young
omen, not few of whom have, am told
cen sorely disappointed in them in this re-
oect. They may have becn thought TO be
LIED in some manner to the grossly indeli
ate stories of Crebillon, Louvet and other
rench authors of past age. who reyelled in