The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-12-06
A AT HOME.
The Residence of Rhoda B~roughton, at Ok
ford, England.

AOANS 500
London World.
1t forms one Of the most curious contrasts
which so frequently exist between authors aud
their immediate surroundings, that the home of
Miss Broughton should be in Oxford. Of all
places in the world, the one least suited to Miss
Broughton's genius and to the circle of her ad
mirers is the University city, Oxford, as Mr..
Matthew Arnold has told US, still retains some
what of a medieval conservation and of an an
antique poets dream; its towers and chapels
whisper the secrets of the middle ages, the me-
MORALS of a time when all the learning was in
the hands of the monks, and the more daring
spirits OF the renaissance were yet unborn.
Even in the present day the ecclesiastical inter
ests are in many respects supreme, and such So
ciety as the place affords is not devoid of a GER
tain prim starchness, which is rigidly conservative
of its narrow responsibility, and replete with the
dull decoFum of middle-cldss life. In the midst
of such a city of ancient learning and orthodox
piety, it is startling to find the home of a
novelist who has in her day done more to shock
the sacred routine of domestic existence than
any other writer of the contemporary age. 1t
would not be surprising to find Mrs Oliphant
was SO domiciled, or Miss Muloch. But the
creator of such likely persOnases as Nancy, Joan,
and Belinda ought certainly. in the expectation
of the public, to have a more congenial atmos-
phere and less austere surroundings.
No doubt this want of harmony between her
self and her social medium has weighed on the
spirit of Miss BroughtOn herself. Nothing
could have exceeded the rudeness with which,
some nVe or SIX years ago. Sne WIS received Dy
Oxford society. One or two ladies deliberately
turned their backs upon her if they met her in
drawing rooms. A well-known member of the
University, who boasts his acquaintance with
leading actresses, refused to visit her, while a
terribly virginia. Mrs. Grundy is reported to have
charitably asked where the authoress had left
her son. Poor Miss Broughton," said an AGA
demic duenna with ironical pity; latter all, there
are some consultations in not being clever" Nor
did the production of Belinda serve to improve
the social p0aitinp nf tne authOPaca The story
is personal and satirical, and the principal char
acter is a parody of the head of an Oxford col
lege who has now Joined the majority. The eff
feet of such a work has naturally been to empha-
size the line of demarcation between Miss
Brouehton and her environment, tomake the in
terval between the novelist and her fellow-citi-
zens as a deep gulf fixed. 1t is, however, but
fair to say that the provocation did not come
from the novelist.
Holy well street is one of those ancient thor
oughfares in Oxford which is full of houses
built according to the antique pattern, with gable
windows and floors which are anything but hor-
izontal. One of these old houses is the home of
Miss Broughton. The visitor is first greeted
with the bark of innumerable dogs. principally
of the pug species, among which the original
Slutty, who plays so prominent a part In the
novel of Belinda" may be easily recognized by
its incurable propensity for swapping at unfa-
miliar heels. Behind the house is a narrow
garden, bounded by lofty walls, within which
the most absolute seclusion is possible, and
where no noise, except the monotonous elang
of chapel bells, ever disturbs the solitary stu
dent. The garden is a favorite resort Of the
owner of the house at those times when she is
acquiring her singular acquaintance with French
novelistic literature. But her own literary
work is done in the early morning, when she is
sometimes content with writing only a single
chapter, or. perhaps, only two or three pages.
For Miss Broughton is a leisurely writer. and,
unlike some of her sisters in art, allows two and
three years to elapse between the productions of
her pen. If she becomes fond Of a particular
person in her novels, the scenes in which she or
he appears are written with considerable rapid
ity. but, in most part, she is not inclined to
hurry her muse, waiting with patience till the
inspiration comes. Perhaps of all her gallery of
portraits, Sarah, in Belinda, is the one which is
the most like the authoress. She has put into
her mouth sentences which have all the audacity
and %pi1naut observation which ara so character
istic of herself. For she is, above all. the critic
Of contemporary eharacter-somewhat petulant,
largely cynical, and undeniably acute.