The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-05-13
AMEL1E RIvEs AND HER CRITICS
A Great Many of Them Think She
heeds Instruction.

a Great Many of Them Think She
Needs instruction.
New YORK, May 12-Pretty and talented
Amelie Rives is having hard time with
the critics Her recent story, "The Quick
or The Dead, )" has brought an avalanche of
letters upon her. Over 500 missves of all
kin Is, from men and women, and particu-
larly young girls, have reached her at her
home at Castle Hill, Albemarle county,
Virginia. All of these letters Miss Rives
has read carefully. Some of them were
queer specimens of chiro2raphy and syn
tax. With the exception of three, all bore
the names and addresses of the writers. All
sorts of questions were propounded. Nearly
all of the writer's pay tribute to the clever
young Virginia wOman's genius, and all the
letters were written with the idea that
this coming great novelist of the
new South needed instruction and advice
1t may be interesting to the writers of
these letters to know that Miss Rives is not
at all upset or disconnected by the crisis in
hsr life, brought about by what she is
pleased to tell mo twas my crude and some
what hastily written study Nor is she to
be frightened or bullied out of her convic-
tions. A half-doZen OF the letters received
merited replies, because they were written
by authors and editors of prominence who
y
deep interest in her welfare. 1t might also
interest some of the letter writers to read
the preface of Charles Kingsley's 1.-THE
Saints Tragedy The view there taken of
human passion is that held by Miss Rives.
We'll meant books, strongly written and
from a clean heart, resemble mirrors
wherein all who read behold their own re-
| Fiction. The pure minded will see purity,
the foul minded foulnesS, said the authoress
to a recent visitor.
People who have taken so much interest
in Miss Rives may like to know that she is
in the most radiant health, and in spirits as
brimful of life as any girl in all Virginia.
She is hard at work on new story, and she
has moro orders from publishers for novels
than she can supply. A recent paragraph
has made it appear that she is to be paid
$50, 900 for her next novel. There has been
no contradiction of this from the publisher.
If the figures given be correct, it is the
largest sun ever paid by an American pub
Usher for a story.
In appearance Miss Rives is a well-built,
wel-rounded Young woman of 25 She has
a perfect profile Her eyes are soft and
poetic. Her mouth is small and firm. She
wears her abundant brown-gold hair in
fluffy disorder about her forehead AND
neck. She is a perfect picture of health.
She is graceful equestrian. She delights
| in long rambles. She is an excellent tennis
player, and handles an oar with ease and
| grace. She loves outdoor life, and knows
how to take care of her health rs well as she
knows how TO write stories. Her compan-
| ions in most of her rambles are pair of
magnificent greyhounds.
In the matter of work, Miss Rives is very
punctilious. The room in which she does
her writing is a bower-like study, fitted up
with odds and ends OF brc-a-brac and arti-
Giles Of virtu. Here and there on the walls
/ "a pnpraNiupS Wptnr collars and oil mint