The Magnolia gazette. [volume] (Magnolia, Miss.) 1872-current, 1888-01-14
AUGUSTA EVANS WILSON.
A Sketch Of the Southern Authoress---
a Her Hsme and nss Books.

in noticing the new work of this
gifted authoress, gives the follow
ing sketch:
Miss Evans was born in the
year 1882, on the banks of the
Cbattahoechee, near Columbus.
Ca, and when she was quite a
child her parents removed with
her to the historic city of San
Antonio, in Texas. There the
romantic tradition of the Texas
revolution impressed permanent
ly her forming mind. The rum
cd missions of st. Francis, the
walls of the Almo, battered by
Santa Annals cannon; the Vera
1nendis old oakened paneled doors,
pierced by the balls that summon
ed Milan to his last account; the
tall trees that shadow the grounds
OF the arsenal, and then, as now,
looked down upon the union of
the San Pedro and the San Antoine
asthey rush over the rocks that
be IN their way; the dark-eyed
senoritas of Flores street that
Mirabeau B. Lamar has typilicd
in his wonderful song to the beaus
tiful daughter of Mendoza; the
ineffable air of antiquity that SUR
rounds the gray old cathedral
walls; the calladiums that bow
in the swiftly flowing Acequias--
these all impressed her childish
imagination, and these she cele-
brates in her first story or ssIncz,''
which she terms taic of the
Alamo. IT. this old town her
father resided; near it hsranched ;
and Mrs. Wilson has written that
one Of her earliest rcmembrances
is of the delight she experienced
when she watched her fathers
sheep wind o er the hill.
From San Antonio the Evans
family removed to Mobile, Ala,
a town beautifully situated upon
tho western shore of Mobile bav,
and named by its Spanish settlers
in memory of Maubila, the city
of the chief black warrior, de-
stroyed by Hernando de Soto in
his search for gold. At this place,
which Is remarkable for having
been once the residence of Nine
LsVort, the most distinguished
Southern authoress, Miss Evans
has composed all her works, the
most noted of which are ssInez,"
written in 1856; .Beulah," in
1859; "Macairia, in 1864; .sSt.
Elmo in 1866; "Vashti," in
1869, and "Infelice,' in 1876.
"Macaria, or the Affairs of Sac
rifice,'' was wrItton and published
in the Confcderacy, and is re-
markabls for most of the beau
ties and vices of style that chars
acterized the writings OF this
gifted woman. Her beauties of
style are numerous, else she
would not be so widely read; the
final criterion at last being sue.
cess. Her worse fault is an ex,
trayagance Of luxuriance and
waste of verbiage. She is elo-
quent, perhaps, all the time, but
it is frequently turgid eloquence,
AsiatIc and mereiricious. Against
all such criticisms which were
made with more force and per-
sistence against est. Elmo than
against any of her previous books
for the war had put her out of
sight for tim e--shc very ingeni-
ously defends in the prefaces to
her later works. For instance,
in the introduction to "Vashti, /"
she quotes very pointcdly from
Lesslng: every mau has his
own style. as he has bis own nose |;
aud it IS neither polite nor Chris
tian to rally an honest man about
his nose, however singular 1T may
be. How can | help that my
style is net different? That there
IS no affectation in it am very
certain OF this she may be
convinced; yet when one 8
writings are overloaded with quo
tations, there must be the affec-
iation of learning; and the best
instance of such an affected style
and Tho extent TO which it carries
writer, is the curious old book,
now worthless, except for ITS vice
having become thesaurus of droil
qaotations. Burtoa's ssAnatomy
OF Melancholy" IN tho preface
to s1nfsIice, the writer is con-
tent with defense; she return,
the attack, and 1T must be admit
ted, that she has there the decided
advantage over the literary gen.
iemen Of the press. She quotes
from DiIsraeli's sLothair- - 4sTo.
morrow the critics win commence