Los Angeles herald., 1892-02-13
MIR. WILLIE WILDE.

shakes, and the gallant assurance that
America, instead Of having lost daugh-
ter, had shared the fate of all good moth
ers-in-law and gained SON. At this
time-not long after his marriage-Mr.
Wilde was the manner Of man in ones
mind on hearing that good old rousing
chorus from sPinafore:"
For he is an Englishmani
Big, brawny, square shouldered, free
fsted-not a bad man by any means to
stand between woman and the sledge-
hammersl
Mr.. Wilde is anything but young
man. His hair is streaked with gray,
his beard so trimmed as to cut out the
gray about the chin, and under his good
blue eyes are the footprints of late
hours and high living. There is the
portly figure and the heavy veins of the
hands showing the elimination, not the
incipiency, of manhood.
Mrs. Leslie is no longer young. It
were an insult to her work and expert
ence to call her such. She is better than
young-she is the full grown, capable
woman. Her skin Is clear and smooth,
her eyes bright and quick to fill with
tears, and her figure almost girlish in
its rounded symmetry. At her worst,
in the untempered glare of day and her
Office dress, she looked fully young
enough for Mr.. Wilde.
"These notices must be very amusing
to you, Mr.. Wilde" said, referring to
the clippings.
He smiled, then frowned. eyes," he
answered, 'sif they were only not vu1-
gar. Vulgarity in journalism, like vitu-
peration in argument, weakens the
point"
Among these clippings was one from
London paper, which, in speaking of
Mr.. Wilde as 'commoner," went on
to say that he was no common COM
moner, but a gentleman, journalist, a
musician and man of marked individ-
uality."
The gross misconstruction which the
papers have put on Mrs. Leslie's remark
that her devotion to Lady Wilde had
much to do with her marrying her son
is most unjust. It is well known fact
that Mrs. Leslie and Lady Wilde have
been the warmest of friends for eight
years. 1t is a friendship of which Mrs.
Leslie, as much younger woman, a
visitor to England and fellow jour-
nalist, may well be proud. Her refer
ence to it as bearing upon her marriage
to Mr.. Wilde was the natural tribute of
friend to friend, daughter to mother.
A pretty incident showing the oneness
of these famous women was the joint
appearance of their biographies and pic
lures in Dublin magazine called ''The
Lady Of the House." dated Sept. 10,
when neither they nor the public knew
that they were ever TO be more closely
united. In this article Mrs. Leslie is
spoken of as ''the beautiful newspaper
queen" and Lady Wilde as "'Speranza,
who still queens it in her magnificent
drawing rooms at LAG Oakley street,
London, where come together men and
women of all nationalities, each one dis
tinguished in his or her way, the Ameri-
can element, perhaps, predominating
and numbering among its representa-
tives such women as Mrs. Frances
Hodgson Burnett, Louise Chandler
Moulton. Mrs. Frank Leslie, Mrs. Proc
tor" etc.
This article then goes on to mention
Lady Wilde's latest book, a collection of
essays bearing the title, "Men, Women
and Books" and dealing with such sub
jects as Jean Paul Richter, The Giron-
dins, Miss Martineau, Lady Blessington,
George Eliot, Lord Lytton, Disraeli,
Thomas Moore, Leigh Hunt, Words
worth, Alfred Tennyson, etc.
Besides being able to write charmingly
of all these distinguished personages,
Lady Wilde knew and entertained
Browning, Carlyle, Petrie, Lever, Fa-
ther Prout, Thackeray, Denis Florence
Mccarthy, etc.
/ don't blame Mrs. Leslie for being
proud of the friendship of such woman
and marrying her son.
But the interview have written of was
more than month ago. Since then the
light of the honeymoon has waned for
this happy couple and sickness and worry
have cast their dark shadow over them.
Mr.. Wilde has been prostrated by
serious attack of hemorrhage of
the stomach, malady which came
near ending his life more than year
ago and to future and fatal recurrence