The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-03-23
OUIDA'S Love AFFAIR.
Her Experiences with De Stufa Made
the Foundation for a Novel

Nord, at Florence, VITA the son OF cele-
brated confederate general, the conversa-
ton turned upon Ouida- Her villa is
about two miles from town." said my COM
panion, "but she lives very much IN retire
ment since her unfortunate love
affair with the Ma quis de Stufa, mem
Der of one of the oliest Florentine fam
lies. Ouda has always boosted. that she
was above the weakness of love, but she
found the marquis a man of literary tastes,
artistic refinement and passionate energy,
which interested her at once. Acquaintance
soon ripened into friendship, and after
ward, on Ouida'S part, into love--her first
love, and she is maiden of forty summers!
But the marquis, viii e he admired the
writer, only trlfied with the woma he
not only failed to return her affection,
but fell in love with a fair Italian,
less brilliant but younger and more
beautiful than herself. The result of
this affair was the novel "Friend-
ship" in which Ouida gave her version of
this real romance, taking care to make the
marquis" a very weak character, like
"Hamle :" 'infirm of purpose" but not
possessing "Ha nlets" superb me 1tal gifts.
This love affair was not only a bitter dis
appointment to Ouida, but it made her for
time the laughing stock of Florence. For
weeks she shut herself up in Der villa, with
visitors. Her evening drives to the Casino
and on the Arno were abandoned,
and the places which had once seen
her every day, now saw her no
more Although this strict seclusion is no
longer kept up, still she is much lees access
ible than she was before this disappoint-
ment in love. She has said of love and women
that the latter are the exact antipodes Of
olives; the one begins in salt, and leaves us
pleased with the delicious aroma; the other
is nectar to commence with, but how soon
they turn into very gall. Nine times out
of ten a woman does not care rush for
man who is dying at her feet, while she is
crazy ABOUT some ugly brute who takes no
more notice Of her than he does Of his dirty
boots u
NotwithstandingyO uida's sentimental re-
tirement from the world at that time, she
did not refuse to see me. Her villa is sit
uated on one of the lovely hills tnat over
look Florence. Her gordon, though small,
was in beautiful order, and well guarded
by two large Maremma sheep dogs. The
villa is in the Italian style, and the vine
clad piazza commands charming view of
Florence and the classic Arno; the stately
Duoma, which inspired Michael Angelo to
rear the mighty dome of st. Peters, raises
its lofty head in the center of the city;
Santa Croce, the Westminster Abbey of
Florence, is seen to the right, while above,
the azure sky of Italy smiles perpetually
upon one of the fairest scenes in the world.
The Protestant cemetery, Just outside of
Florence, contains the remains of Mrs.
Browning, Arthur Clough and Walter
Savage Lander. Swinburne ad dressed the
following lines in memoriam of Lander:
And thou, Florence, to thy trust
Receive and keep,
Keep safe his dedicated dust,
His sacred sleep.
There is a mystery about Ouida which
pques curiosity, but which the most per-
sistent interviewer has never been able to
penetrate. She was once asked how she
came to know SO much about camp life,
clubs, barracks, gambling houses and other
places only frequented by men, and she is
reported to have leaned her head upon her
hand, and, looking straight at her ques-
TONER with a provoking smile, to have
saucily answered.: SIT is none of your bust
ness" Her real name is Louise de la
Rama. Her father was a Frenchtnan, her
mother English; and while her tastes
and mannersi are French, her features are
decidedly English. Her face is fair and
oval, her eyes are deep blue in color aud
very large and expressive; her golden
brown hair, whicl formerly was worn loose
and flowed down her shoulders. is no longer
kept in much admired disorder" but is
discreetly braided as BELTS a middle-aged
\ oman. She is about the medium hight,
slender and graceful She passes much
time in the open air, driving
and walking, and from April
To October is out all the time, except wien
-eatingk and sleeping. Her favorite time for
driving is in the afternoon from to 6
o'clock. She drives herself, and always
has a couple of pet dogs with her; in fact,
whether walking or driving, at home or
abroad. eating or reading, thinking or
writing, she has her canine companions by
her side. She has q buryiag place for her
dogs in her garden. and they are laid to
rest with q tenderness not always bestowed
upon human beings Her favoiite st.
Bernard dog, Isla, has a marble tomb over
his remains, with an inscription quito as
pathetic, but less missntbropic, than Byrop's
famous lines On his favorite Newfoundland,
Boats swain.
Ouida is an early riser; tempted by the
lovely climate of Flrrence, she is up at 6
o'clock in winter and O'clock in summer.
Her literary work is done chiefly in winter,
but she has no particular hours of the day
for writing, taking up her pen only when
she Is in the humor to write. She does not
remember when she commenced authorship,
for, at the age of 4, she wrote in printed
letters child's story. From her
earliest girlhood she has been
student, bel trained to mas
culine modes of thought by her
father, who was a man of rare intellectual
gifts, but his genius was wasted in utopia
d cams of political millennium. This love
of study, begun so young, has never left
her, and she has added to it an appreciation
of all the arts that lend grace and charm
to life. She paints with great cleverness,
both in oil and water colors, and she finds
her favoriue subjects in her own household
pets. A dog or cat always appears in her
landscapes, and sometimes a horse is added.
Before her love affair with the Marquis
de Stufa, Ouida held her regular + iday
receptions during the fashionable season,
which we're much frequented by Americans
and English, with a sDrinkling of French,
Italians, and other foreigners who were at
tracted 10y her literary lame. At these re-
ceptions she usually wore black velvet, and
the refreshments were very simple-tea,
coffee, wine and cake, also cigarettes, but
Ouda never smokes nor drinks wine. Her
conversation Is lively and interesting, and
she expresses her opinion without reserve,
both in society and in her books.
did not expect to hear from Ouida so
true a description of woman's greatest
charm as the following: "The greatest
Charm hat woman yields over man 10 the
charm of divinity-the charm of sex; and
half this charm has flown when Christina
of Sweden wears her Hessian boots and
smacks her whip; when her imitators Of
to-day enter salon with weeds in their
mouths and swing through the stable yard,
talking in loud voice Of d Jgs with good
strain" Ouida has given q picture Of an
ideal life as an existence Of mingled