Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1889-07-19
THE QUEER WAYS OF OUlOA.
She Is Somewhat of a Crank and Keep
People on Nettles When Near.

She Is Somewhat of a Crank and Keeps
People on Nettles When Near.
l think, by all odds, the most grotesque
and absurd little creature who ever came 10
London was the novelist, Ouida, said a Lon
don woman Of fashion to a correspondent.
She was here two years ago. and there was
constant reign Of terror among the women
until she left; everybody was afraid Of being
put into her next book. Talk about her beau
tiful eyes or tempestuous manner is talk Of
the most absurd kind She is almost small
enough TO be q dwarf, with no particular
color TO her eyes or hair, Ill fitting gownsiand
the most extraordinary independence that
has ever been known Instead Of stopping
with the many people who invited her TO stay
with them, she went OFF and lived alone at the
Langham hotel because she felt that there
her movements would be unrestricted.
She was the great woman Of the season
here, and the most intractable and unman-
ageable one we ever had She went to see
whoever interested her without waiting for
the form Of an invitation or even an intro
duction- For instance, one day early in the
afternoon she took an umbrella, put on a pair
of sturdy walking boots and walked down TO
the city and al around st. Pauls church
yard and back TO the Langham hotel, for
exercise. Her squat little figure attracted
some attention on the streets, and apparently
the physical exertion set her brain going, for
she made up her mind offhand TO go and see
two or three people whose names were known
to her, and 10 whom she was more or less at
tracted on that account She came up from
St James on her way TO the city, stopped at
Arlington street and told the man that she
wished to see the Marchioness of Salisbury
The man took Ouida's card, sauntered up
stairs with it To the drawing room, and
when he got there found that Ouida was
stalking calmly along at her heels. As he
entered the drawing room with the card
Ouida pushed by him and went up to the
marchioneSs and shook her warmly by the
hand As the marchioness had never seen
her and had not yet seen the card, she was
rather surprised; but after a few minutes
pause she was more or less interested in the
whimsical novelist, and they chatted along
for nearly an hour.
Then Ouida rose, took her umbrella,
started to go, and, changing her mind, sat
down again, and told the marchiOneSs that if
she would send for Lord Salisbury she would
see him This manner of asking for the
prime minister of England as though he were
kept on Tap as IL were, ana ready 70 De pro
duced at q moments notice to any one who
cared TO drop in at Arlington street, was too
much for the marchioness She would have
stood anything but that; but she was the
wife of diplomat, and she told Ouida grave
ly that the marquis had gone to Downing
street and hence could not be seen. There
upon the novelist expressed a slight regret,
seized her umbrella and drifted out. That
was q specimen Of the way she passed her
time in England. 1t Is a curious thing, by
the way, that a woman with such a wonder
full foun- Of humor as Ouida displays in her
little book, "A Rainy Month in June should
be SO utterly destitute Of humor herself
Once in a while, in talking, she is odd and
grotesque, but never in the least degree
witty | dined with her several times, but
never discovered any Of the CLEANS Of humor
in her talk which are so prevalent in that odd
little book By the way, before she left she
announced that there was only one man in
England who was worth looking at or talk
ing to, and he was Oscar Wiide.-New York
Sun