The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1885-01-12

VIM OAt ~ anu III LL3 luc uLSSL
show Of reason, and invariably without life
preservers, and no humane station near other
than the proud heart of the noble lady, who
condescends to save all of use to the story.
All this seems very unpromising material
FOR a novel, and yet one gets interested. The
cloud castle changes into stone and marble;
the impossible characters take on life and
individuality, and up to certain point the
most intellectual holds to the book with an
interest deserving the works of superior
genius.
Up to certain point. say, fer suddenly
the interest dies out, and, at least remain
ing third falls as fat az our average debate
in the s ate Of the United States
Ouida las her weakness, and 1t comes in on
her religion. This peculiar lady has her re-
hgion. 1t is a worship of rank, and it is as
blind and bigoted as any creed known to
humanity. a French playwright, the mas
ter-artist Of to-day, the Greek of modern
Europe, will sacrifice all the character of his
drama for a telling dramatic situation.
Ouida will sarifice both character and situa-
ton born of her dramatic instincts upon the
altar erected to the rich and well horn
The hero OF this story is a superior beingin
all things but one and that is fatal. He is
handsome as the son-in-law of the late
Horace Greeley. His attachments equal his
intellect, and both are ridiculous. He could
knock Theodore Thomas cold as the leader OF
an orchestra. He could paralyzs Bierstadt
as painter Of stage scenery. Thinking
aloud upon his legs he was able to staggef
the silver-tongued orators OF all Europe. AS
diplomat he made Bismarck sing small.
AS finished man Of the world he won all
hearts, especially rich and well-born hearts,
as if by magic. -E#s
He had but one sin, and that was being
born out of sgedlock. The son of Russian
prince and slave woman, he had the mark
of Cain all over him under his silken attire.
This at last betrayed him, for being stripped
in the forest after being wounded by a wild
boar, his enemy, another bore on two legs,
saw the marks and hurled him down to the
vile depths to which such q degraded creature
belongs, in Ouida's church Of worship dedi-
| Gated to the god Of gig society. From being
as brave as clever, he suddenly passed to a
cowardice that sickens one. From the keen,
clear-eyed sagacity of finished diplomat,
be changed to a sneak, and more fatal than
all, from being deliciousIy wicked fellow
he developed the goody goodness of the man
who escapes sin by being incapable Of trans
gression. atl -
! This is fearful rot, and the more exasper-
Rting because the author so narrowly escapes
q superb dramatic situation, and the preser-
vation OF her hero, upon the interest in whom
centres the interest of the story.
| When this beautiful hero staggers from
his sick room of the cloud earth, to the apart
ment of his rival, the superb nobleman born
in the holy wedlock Of generations of noble
man-kiuers, gorgeously gotten up stupid
lty on aristocratic legs, and the interest
culminates-we know the back counties have
been heard from, that the returns are all in,
and the momentous result is 20 be an
nounced-we expect our hero to tower up,
master Of the situation.
1t is nothing of the sort. The poor devil
Of a husband willis
"You know met" he says, holding on to
some piece of the gorgeous upholstery, Pc
culiar to this high-born earth st.-fE
=, 'Iknow you," responds in icy GOODNESS
and contempt the evolved greatness on aris-
tocratic legs. And then the miserable hus-
band begs for mercy.
say this is not only exaspereting because
of the jolt we get in the loss of a high dra-
matte situation, but for the fact that we have
wasted so much valuable emotion on thedog.
i 1t was all right and proper for this fraud
to seek the chamber of his enemy, to find, if
possible, how much of his case was known
to his prosecutor, but having done so he
should have wrapped the folds of his coun-
tFy's flag about his illegitimate person and
gone down to slow music.
A French artist would have done better.
After a scene in which the hero would have
had the best of the argument, and triumphed
over the pet of legitimate aristocracy,
lhe would have preferred one request, and
that was to have the privilege of bresir1nl
the awful news of his wcef 10 to hi
gorgeous wife hin,o-- thRt nsfd mis- nobl
rival in terr.> 10 furn
1t eaIs thatnste of good ink and the tim
&rrARf1ght be given to an agricultural report
to READ this fustian. but for the melanchol
fact that this makes the staple reading G
our educated idiots, and our educated idiot
make the vast ma jority of our reading pub
lie. Stop at the first book store or news
: stand for light literature, and ask VIVA
novels are most in demand, and you vii
; find Ouida leads all the rest, ten to one
Drop in at the nearest public library and de
mand of the librarian the books most sough
for, and the response will be "Ouida an
Southworth." $50
On such rot are our people being fed. Gu
. citizens grow up on such literary training
It was an Irishman who, noting the increas
+ of crime, said ''be dad, but crime is in
proving." Between the lascivious dram
l and such novels as those of Ouids
: stolen by managers and publishers froI
= Europc, we are educating the masses to
= cheerful condition, evidently.
: In England where tie people see hourl
the very commonplace class that go
, make the aristocracy, there is a healthy al
tidote in the knowledge. But with us tn
: class is unknown, save in the novels an
plays, where it is depicted as composed (
superior beings
:. An American lady foolishly carried
: letter of introduction to Ouida at F1orenc
4 In the conversation that followed, the vulgt
. creator Of an absurd aristocracy said:
!. "Ihate Americans"
V "You should not" was the keen rotor
"for they are the only people who req
= your nasty books"
h And this is not only true, but they are res