Los Angeles herald., 1891-09-03

carry on his little campaign for the heart
of this beautiful and talented woman with
out any danger of interference from his
friends and relatives At his club, the
Manhattan, he left orders that all his mail
should be forwarded to the Continental
hotel at Philadelphia. At the Continental
he left his servant with instructions to for
ward mail and kilograms to Gotham, Albe-
marie county, Va, and to tell all inquirers,
if any there should be, that he did not
know where his master was These and
other precautions Mr.. Chanler took to
avoid intermeddling on the part of any
one.
e Mr.. Chanler spent three weeks at Castle
Hill, and before going away proposed for
the hand of Miss Rives. He was not ac-
cepted nor yet rejected The matter was
taken under advisement Some notes
passed between them which gave sugges-
tion-a mere suggestion-for the notes
which appear in the story. He wrote in
one: "If you need me or want to see me at
any time you only have to telegraph Man
hattan club. | will send you my address
if go abroad" This was part of the
real as we'll as of the imaginative story.
So also was the ride to Charlottesville, the
famous ride in which-in the story-Bar-
the carriage robe, and he, like the sensible
fellow that he was, took off his glove that
he might the better caress that lovely hand.
Whether or not this occurred in real life, of
course ! do not know. Nor do | know
whether the kisses which figure in the ro-
nance had their prototype In reality. Nor
do care. The point is that here and there
in substance and form, if not in details, the
story of Barbara Pomfret's struggle be-
tween her old love, the dead husband, on
the one side, and her new formed, but half
confessed affection for Jock, was suggested
by the courtship of Amelie Rives by John
Armstrong Chanler. That is enough to
acquit the fair authoress of the charge
which has been made against her of delv-
ing in eroticism.
The story had its origin in that which
was pure and noble. A guilty or improper
thought never entered into it's composition.
Barbara was intense, hysterical and exag-
gerated; she kissed the cigar which Val
had left half smoked; she wept her eyes
out; she moaned herself asleep upon his
grave. But is there anything so awful in
all this? Did she do anything that ma
ture like hers might not have DONE and
still be as pure as snow? We might Ques-
tion her good sense, even her sanity; we
might say that what she did was so wild
and unnatural that it was bad art in the
author to make her do so But the man.
ner in which Amelie Rives has fallen
under the condemnation of the critics and
the harsh judgment of q credulous public
is not for lack of sanity in her characters,
nor for any offenses against art which she
may have been guilty of, but for sup
posed transgression of the laws of decency
for the writing of an impure book which
could only have come from an impure
mind. 1t is this form of criticism that
protest against. 1t is this which say has
been cruel and malicious and false.
The struggle which Amelie Rives had in
giving up her ideal was probably not one
tenth part as fierce and retching as that
which she made Barbara endure But it
was probably enough of struggle with
herself to give her the suggestion for those
wonderful bits of realism by which she in
tensified and made graphic poor Barbara's
soul torture. | am not one of those who
believe that to the pure all things are pure,
but the realism of ''The Quick or the
Dead'' is as-pure as the fair young woman
who made it. The man or woman who
can see anything erotic in that story or in
any of its incidents has dangerous imag-
ination and an Objectionable sixth sense
1t is as far removed from pruriency and
sensualism as the sweet and holy court
ship of any honest and manly man for a
tender imaginative woman. Amelie Rives
simply had the genius to seize upon the
nucleus of an idea suggested by her own
wooing.
Barbara Pomfret held to her ideal. With
tears and travail she tried to give it up,
IL - 4
blood was more fortunate. Amelie Rives
was able to surrender her IDEAL and / am
sure she is glad she did. have the best of
reasons for saying that she is a happy
young wife, and that between her and her
husband the sweetest sympathy and affec-
ton prevail. Mrs Chanler will soon visit
her old home at Castle Hill, Albemarle
county, Va. 1t is picturesque old place,
and there is nothing or no one that does
not love her-the horses, the COWS, the
mules, the dogs, the cats, all the country
folk, black and white, great and small.
All who are fortunate enough to be re-
ceived as guests at Castle Hill come away
full of admiration for the beauty and rev.
erence for the genius and lovable character
of the author of ''The Quick or the Dead"
Mrs Chanler is fervently religious. The
Bible and Shakespeare have been her con-
slant companions since she learned to
read. There are Bibles and Shakespeares
in every room at Castle Hill. The copies
which belong more particularly to Mrs.
Chanler are literally covered with marginal
notes, all in her dainty, even and beauti-
full chirography. In almost every line she
has ever written the influence of these two
books may be seen, and if one adds to
them her love of nature and almost con-
stant communion with it, the chief sources
of her inspiration, excepting, of course, her
own great soul, will have been described.
In q recent letter about Pacific coast
statesmen fear l did an injustice to ex-
Senator Conness, Of California. On the
authority of an old Californian 1 stated
that the senator had Figured in the Credit
Mobilier Scandals" and that he was "one
of the leading spirits in the Pacific railway
legislation" A friend of the ex-senator
tells me the first of these statements is an
error. Senator Conness did not figure in
the Credit Mobilier scandals. No suspicion
ever attached to him in that connection.
My old friend, the Californian, must have
had some other statesman in mind. AS to
playing a conspicuous part in Pacific rail-
way legislation, that is true of Senator
Conness. But in doing all in his power to
secure the building of the Pacific roads he
was only doing that which his constitu-
ents expected him and every one of their
representatives in congress to do. Mr..
I II