Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-10-19
AN AMERICAN BEAUTY.
The Sad History of One Of the south's
Fairest Daughters.

A6l5 York World.
A strange fatality seems always to have
attended beautiful women from the time
Of Helen Of Troy down to the present
hour. Cleopatra. after having triumphed
over both julius Cesar and Mark An
thOny. sought relief n suicide. Every
body knows the sad story Of Petrarch and
Laura, Of Ahelard and Hel0ise. and Of
Beatrice Ce1ci. TIE tTUthfnIsigss Is uall
as the pathos Of this idea is wonderfully
wrought out and fixed forever in Shakes
peare's Romeo and Juliet" There seems
10 be a sort Of penalty for being surpass-
ingly beautiful. Very few women who
have become famous because Of their
beauty have lived to mature age Of reas-
enable cOntentment and happiness. Prob
ably the most beautiful woman known
in the country during re-
cent years was Matte Ould, Of ' IT.
ginia. She was net only girl Of trans
cendent beauty OF face. but Of wOudrOusly
brilliant intellect. Her father, Robert
Ould, was famous during the war as the
commissioner for the exchange Of PRISON
ers on the part Of the Confederate Govern
ment. When young man he was Dis
trict Attorney for the District Of Column
bia, and lived in Washington. He was q
lawyer Of much dignity and ability, but
the latter part Of his life was clouded BIZ
the defeat Of the ConfedeTacy and the IN
happy ending Of his daughters life. She
was the person more than any other who
gave White Sulphur Springs, in Virginia,
great fame as a watering-place. Some
times a fashion resort owes It's
success TO the patronage OF sin
gle person, Il was largely, il not
entirely so, in this instance. Matte
OuId was the bright and shining leader
of a cOterie of young girls that grew up
in Richmond Just after the war. They
were the last and the most famous repre-
sentatiTes Of a society Of Virginia and the
South that u0W seems to be well-nigh ex-
tinct. They were at " hlte sulphur dur
ing the summers of 1928 and thereabOut.
No sue1 assembiages have since been
seen there, nor VIII any ike them Re ever
seen there CT elsewhere again. Ii was
the last brilliant glow Of Southern chiv-
alry-a something that has now passed
into the realms of memory and of worth
mainly as foundation upon which TO-
manceTs Of the future may
White Sulphur was the rallying
place for that limited number of
southern gentlemen and ladies whose for
tunes had not been altogether swept away
By the war. Most Of the men had beea
distinguished officers in the Confederate
army. such ss Gen. Butler, Gen. Gary,
and Gen. Hampton, Of South Carolina;
UEl4s uEE UNAAstQlls u F4L=4A41. NTEE.
Gordon, Of Georgia; Gen. Beau3 egard, OF
Louisiana, and dozens OF commanders Of
lesser reuoWn. Most OF them were vet in
the yigOr Of manhood, and had about them
the fresh fame that had come from their
achievements on the battlefield, The old
South had not yet entirely faded away.
Many Of the opinions and prejudices
held before the war were still entertained: I
the herClsm Of jackson, lee. and hundreds
Of ne r.r- % q 49,
conEratul2tlon; battles we're fought anew
and victories were won afr5sh. In this
charmed circle, almost closed to people I
Of the North, Matte Odl1 was the ac-
knowled5ed queen, She was the belle CT
every great ball given az White SULPHUR
for TWO OF three seasons. And she justly
earned the distinction given her. OF al /
the brilliantly beautiful women Of the
sunny South none have been her equal. [
Her company was sought By every distin- (
guis1ed soldier ana statesman. Her
70 every assemblage. In voice,
look, gesture, movement, every
thing. she was superlatYely at
tractive. She was the realization 10 every (
man Of all that he had ever to the widest !
stretches Of His imagination pictured a
beautiful woman 70 be. Hair that fell
about her head and face and neck and
-
were great and luminous and appealing,
that subdued every beh0lder; such eyes
under such a wealth Of hair; such cheeks
OF rose tint, fun and round; a neck Of per- !
feet poise. graceful as the swans and /
white and soft as the swans down; a |
bosom that rose and fell ike the bosom
Of toe sea. and a mouth that could
but give some sweet Utterance TO
charm every listener. Whether in the
ballroom, at dinner, or IN q simple social
gathering Of a few close friends. she WAS
the same unspeakably delightful crea- (
ture, too unearthly 70 De touched by hu-
man hands and TOO valuable a TrIza for
any one man, whether he be the con-
QueTer Of g hundred battle-helds or statas-
man full Cf LonOrs. All these came to
her and bowed themselves at her feet. No I
woman was ever more completely the I
master Of men. and many one lives To- I
day to testify to the sharpness Of his Z
grief at her refusal Of his addresses.
But shadow comes suddenly and shuts |
out forever all view OF this lovely 1rl. |
The sad story Of her departure from her /
pateraal roof, hssty marriage and untime- I
IL death. viii probably never be told in |
ful-aud probably ought not 10 be. Her
own mother had died when she was q
child; and, just as she was coming into 1
girlhOCd, her father married a second /
time, and between her and her step
mother there arose an lTTec }EciIa0Ie [
feud. which embrOiled even the father, and |
at a moment when she was piqued and
humiliate5 at some cruel word where
there ought to have been expressed /
a kindiier sentiment, she left her
home forever. and consented 70
marriage more through a feeling
Of revenge than the prompting Of her own
heart and judgment. She made the fatal
mistake Of marrying a man She did not
love, and from the day she went TO live
under his roof her spirit was broken, and /
she wilted away like flower plucked by
rude hands. In two years she had died.
still unreconciled to her father, and it
was not long till he had followed her, mis-
heart having been completely crushed by
the death OF his beautiful daughter. In
this tragedy there were no swords OF
pistols, nor was there poison. except that
poison that comes from bitter words IN
justly spoken, AID from pledge Of love
where n love existed.