Omaha daily bee., 1888-09-16

of her girlhood had been spent in the
mountains of Tennessee, and hence,
though the family moved to st. Louis,
it was but natural that Miss Murfree
should write of scenes amid which her
girlhood had been passed. A sketch of
life in the Tennessee mountains was
one of her earliest productions and APP
peared in the Atlantic Monthly when
she was little more than Il girl. 1t
found favor and was succeeded by SIN
the Tennessee Mountains" which was
published in book form. Miss MUIR
frees later stories have generally been
of somewhat similar character, and
have been most pleasantly received by
public and critics alike. Among them
might be mentioned Down the Ravine'
AID 1.-THE Prophet of the Great Smoky
Mountains"
Amelia Rives, or Mrs. John Arm
strong Chanler, as her name now is, is
prominently the American authoress
of the present. A year ago she was
comparatively unknown. To-day the
name of The Star of the South" is on
~everyone's lips. The delicate lines of
patrician beauty, the sensitive mouth
and nose, the deep, large eyes and the
high, thoughtful forehead all speak
louder and in more genuine tones Of the
COIlDOSlblOu vi VIC duUllOE vi nc
Quick or the Dead" thar can any mere
word painting. BY birth Miss Rives
is one of the most patrician families of
the south. Her grandfather, William
Cabell Rives, was congressman, senator
and minister plenipotentiary to France
in the earlier half of the present cen
fury. His daughter, Amelia, after
whom Miss Rives is named, was her
self named after the French queen, the
consort of Louis Philippe. Colonel
Alfred l.. Rives, the father of the
%authoress, was born in Paris and had
Lafayette as a god father. In 1861 he
married Miss Macmurdo, a grand
daughter of Bishop Moore Of Virginia,
famous for her beauty. OF these par
ents the novelist was born at Richmond
absences from home the child
passed most of her time at
the home of her grandfather, in
Albermarle county, Virginia. Even in
childhood she was of a singular sensi-
tive temperament and widely different
from her playmates. She was fond of
solitude, and spent much of her time in
wandering about the deserted woods.
In early childhood she accompanied her
parents TO Paris, whore she remained
for several years. Since her return
from tnlS maiden trip Sne mas ulvlded
her time between her Southern home,
New York City and Paris. Her first
essay in literature was "A Brother to
Dragons" and was accepted by the
editor of the Atlantic Monthly, who re-
marked, not knowing its authorship,
1.-The man who wrote this will never do
anything stronger" 1t was published
anonymously, and scored an immediate
success. ''The E'arrier Lass o. Piping
Pebworth" followed in Lippincott's,
and afterwards came "Nurse Crumpots
Story" and the "Story of Arhon." The
work which has made her name famous
The Quick or the Dead"-was pub
l.shed in Lippincott's of last April. Its
construction portrayed the amateur, but
withal there was a force and originality
about it that demanded recognition,
and Miss Rives found herself a cele-
brity in the literary world. Her latest
production-"Herod and Marianne
appears in Lippincot's for the current
month, and is found more ambitious
than any of her preceding efforts, and
has been more highly eulogized and
severely criticized.
Less than three months ago the en-
gagement Of Miss Rives to John Arm
strong Chanler was announced, and in
June the marriage took place at Miss
Rives' home in Virginia. The groom
is a resident of New York city. and a