Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1885-08-14


times sixty years Of age, and I have (
never seen two accounts that agreed S
as to her manner or. personal APP ,
pcarance, but all have tried to show !
a sarcastic, overbearing, loud and i
bitter character. You may think it S
strange that ] find in this summary
of characteristics anything lovely,
but | do, and will endeavor to point
it out to you. What has she writ
ten? Why is she thus set apart and
the mark of isolation branded upon
her? What Infamous book has she
penned that has brought down "the
wrath of the gods" upon.her head ?
The great fault found with her writ
ings is that they are immoral-in-
deed, it would be 4 grave one if it
was true, but l say it is a mistaken
conception of immortality that calls
them so. Do the characters she has
created have a tendency to destroy !
purity Of thought, degrade the
morals or lower the standard Of |
goodness, truth and honor in the
mind ? If so, she has justly merited
the condemnation she has received,
but if not, she is entitled to all the
PREPARATION we can make. Without
being too long we will take her So
called worst book "Moths." It re-
lates the sad story of a young girl
who was the victim of her mothers
ambition. We fiGd her sinned
against in every way, insulted and
abused by her husband who leads a
most degraded, sensual life, yet
through it all she leads . life of
strictcst purity, life of deep devo-
tion to her God. We are made to
feel that only through her earnest
faith in God she is led to do her
duty, that truth, virtue and obedi-
ence are firmly seated in her soul
and she remains firm to the last
No turning away from the hand tlat
presses the cup to her lipS-she
drinks the bitter dregs, feeling that
it is right to live up to the sense Of
truth and right her Heavenly Father
has inStilled into her mind. Yet,
, they say, it is unnatural, there are
no such women in the world-if not
it is well to have a high standard of
morality. | think only two charac-
ters have ever been conceived of as
beautiful as Vere's, -George Eliot's
"Romola" and Charlotte Bronte's
"Jane Eyre" But, you say, the
immortality comes in for such a large
share of the story that one cannot
sift the wheat from the chaf.
admit that no more degraded, SEN
r suous character can be conceived of
than ''Prince Zoarof," but can any.
/, one deny that 1t Is true, and in what
is considered the best society ? Are
there not more like him than women
i, like We're? What startling news it
was to read in the Pail Mall Gazette
, those fearful disclosures. Can we
not find in our beautiful towns a
counterpart of the vice in the great
-, city? Who can say that it is toe
immoral to read Because it is the
truth it should be read, and by our
daughters and sons. If our daugh-
> tiers cannot read "Moths" without
becoming corrupted, how shall they
withstand temptation in the world
In "Ouida'S" heroes and heroiaes are
always found high sense of honor,
q strong adherence to truth ard
obedience even unto death. Dogs
and horses are introduced, not
merely as pets, but friends, and all
who are acquainted with these
animals, know she writes truthfully
when she finds in them fidelity and
! changeless affection. What beauti-
! full descriptions of country life!
What vivid conception of all the
wonders of Nature! What compre,
hension Of the arts and sciences
Who but "Ouida" can make us feel
the happiness there is in living and
having our freedom, who but she
6 can make us forget, as we did in our
childhood, as Sigma did when he
sang, all but the simple fact that we
live, we breathe, and the sun shines,
the birds sing and God is good.