Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-05-26
ANOTHER Library ROW.
This Time it IL Ella wheeler Will
cox and Laura Datntrey.


This Time it IL Ella wheeler will
cox and Laura Daintrey.
Mrs. Ella Wheeler Wilcox, "the poet
ess of passion" has another literary duel
on hand. This time Miss Laura Dain-
trey is the challenged party, and as the
weapon selected for the combat has been
the pen, it promises to be both lively
and lengthy. One week ago the Graphic
published the details of tilt between
Mrs. Wilcox and Mrs. Atherton, and
yesterday it gave the text of the little
pleasantries and courtesies which led up
to the announcement of the fray.
Mrs. Wilcox first became entangled in
il in syndicate letter which she wrote,
defending Amelie Rives, who is gener-
ally recognized as disciple of the
passionate school Of literature. In her
endeavor to throw glamour OF poesy
over the writing of her fayorite,
Mrs. Wilcox instituted COMPARE
son between her and Miss Daintrey,
in which the latter was made the
example of what Mrs. Wilcox endeav-
ored to illustrate. Miss Daintrey was
supposed to be in Rome when the criti-
cism appeared, though in reality she had
Just arrived in this city, and the first bit
of literary chit-chat which her eyes fell
upon was this:
The author of Eros" (who will, never
theless, when she is older and wiser, rank
among our greatest novelists) has de-
scended to even lower and coarser depths
than Mr.. Saltus. She has chosen de-
bauched maiden for her heroine, and she
infinitely describes lustful and unholy
scenes between this debased creature and
her roue lover. The woman marries a
good man, ruins his life, and then goes
back to her lover, and finally becomes a
demi-mondaine; and all these meetings
are described with detail as disgusting
as it is unnecessary and inartistic.
Miss Daintrey was as angry as the
proprieties ever permit lady to be-
come, but, believing that recrimination
was never yet the way to a proper un-
Outstanding, she laid aside her chagrin
and wrote Mrs. Wilcox.
The CHELSEA, February 1, 1889.
My Dear Mrs. Wilcor know you
are a woman who would do no action
not generous and open hearted, therefore
wish to call your attention to the grave
injustice which you do me in your syndi-
cate letter on Miss Rives.
In the first place you assert that Mamie
Remington is the heroine of Eros. "
This is not 80, and l can hardly imagine
one of your discernment forming such an
opinion, unless upon a superficial reading
OF the book. Neither by the authors
showing nor by the recognized canons
governing the novel can she be so ad-
judged. 1t is Marie's life which be-
gins and ends this story, COM
pleting itself and that of Sha-
pira in its native atmosphere Of purity
and peace, merely complicated in its
course, as Shapira's is, by that of Ma
mic. If the corrupt woman shows in
holder colors than the pure one, this
should not be taken for preference OF
the author for the character, but esti-
mated Justly and artistically as the
painting, true to life, Of it's more start
ling attributes.
As your letter containing this assertion
was syndicated, and thus dispersed
throughout the States, l write to ask
you to do me the justice of contra
dieting it, according to this explanation
of my book, through the same channel.
You deprecate with eloquence the gen.
eral misconception of Miss Rives. and
therefore l know you would not be will
ling to deliberately create a misconcep
ton of my work. Sincerely yours,
LAURA DAINTREY.
This authoritative announcement that
Mamie Remington was far from being the
heroine of the story did not, however,
satisfy Mrs. Wilcox, and she wrote in
reply:
No. $40 WEST FIFTH-ETGHTH STREET.
Dear Miss Daintrey-So long as you
made Mamie the most pronounced and
prominentvcharacter in your book you
must bear with your readers if they call
her "the heroine of the story. The de-
delineation of her animal-like amours
with the man whose mistress she was,
was in no sense "artistic" or necessary
to the strength of the book.
There is always a grandeur in the
portrayal OF great love in art, its phases,
even it's abandon. There was a sub
Unity in the struggle of Barbara. There
was q lustful degradation in the des-
cription of Mamie's life. The book
made me feel that 1 wanted to take a
Turkish bath after reading it. had ex-
pected to like it; l was Mortified
beyond measure at the perusal. Several
periodicals declared me to be the
founder of the school from which
you sprung. l defended myself
in the article to which you refer.
We're l to write another article on
"Eros" it would be less pleasing to you
than the last.
have done with the subject, and if
have misunderstood your book you must
find some one else, to defend you. have
no word of apology for what l wrote, no
word of defense for the book. Yours,
sincerely, ELLA WHEELER WILCOX.
As may be imagined, this ended any
heightened epistolary effusions between
them, and Miss Daintrey at once had a
syndicated letter of her own published,
in which she defended "Eros." A pecu-
liar feature of the outcome is that in
public both ladies now deprecate the
action and the criticism of each other,
and "csnnot imagine the cause of the at
tack"
1t has it's funny as well as its sober
side.-[New York Press.
kern Leaves.