The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-11-06
Daughters of the South.

ATLANTA, Ga, Oct. 20.-There is no more
readable paper in the south, or for that
matter anywhere else, than the Sunday
issue of The New Orleans Times-Demo-
crat. Always good, it took on two or three
years ago an added charm in the very SUI
perior quality of its editorials on literary
topics They were unsigned, and it was
hard to guess their authorship, they seemed
too strong and frank for a woman, too
delicate and penetrating for man. They
were written by Julie *. Wetherill (Mrs.
Marion Baker,, whose poems have given
beauty and grace to The Critic and other
critical papers To my mind they are the
best editorials, take them all in all, have
ever seen in their line, and a bound vol
ume of them would make a valuable book
for the collection of any man or woman of
letters. Their distinguishing qualities are
earnestness and honesty. You feel sure in
reading the flashing criticisms that you are
at the very core OF the writer's fearless con-
victions, convictions that have been tenn
pered by rare culture and deep reading
Julie X. Wetherill is a young woman,
the child of Thomas Wetherill, of sturdy
Quaker descent, and of a daughter of Cotes-
worth Pinckney Smith, once chief justice
of the state of Mississippi. Mr.. Wetherill's
typically spacious and beautiful southern
home is at Woodville, Miss, and it was
here that the subject of this sketch spent
her childhood. When very young she
had short poem, "Autre Tempo Autre
Muurs," accepted by Scribner's. now the
Century, for which she received a check
for the modest sum of s.. The fact that
her little poem was good enough for print
and pay so elated her that she never pre-
scented the check for payment, but kept it
for her scrap book, where it still remains.
Now, while she still continues her fine
work on the Sunday issue of The Times
Democrat, with which her husband is
prominently connected, she writes the
Bric-a-brac columns in that paper, the de-
partment once in charge of the talented
Miss Bisland. If it was good then is is
even better now, for Mrs. Baker develops
in its best form every branch she under
takes. She is contributing a series of es-
says TO one of the magazines. SO she has
enough TO do in addition to the social du-
ties imposed upon her by her family en-
vironment and marked talents. In person
she Is described as slender, of medium
height, with brown hair large, beautiful,
speaking eyes. Gentle and winsome and
modest in her demeanor, Mrs Baker is by
the strength of her character rapidly max
ing her influence felt in the social and lit
erary circles of her new home New Or
leans. Her poems are deep and tender,
generally swelling with the melody Of sad
minor chords, and no one who ever loved
and suffered could fail To catch their noble
meaning, for she writes much of the sweet
est of all miseries, the most miserable of
all sweet earthly things-love.
Mrs. Mollie Moore Davis, formerly
known in Texas as Mollie E Moore, the
poet, now resides in New Orleans, and has
added to her early fame as a singer her
noteworthy successes as story writer.
Her long poem 'Pere Dagobert" and her
story The Song OF the Opal" the lat
ter in narper's for December. both show
the strength and Intensity Of her style.
She is poetical alway :. even in her prose,
and has a rich an glowing fancy that
kindles into light asd warmth every sub
iect she touches. Mel Z. COLQUETT.