The evening times., 1895-10-15
.elPRlelQus lIEllE Il e RlVEs
One Strangely VayVard Nature Which
Could Not Endure The Welded Life.
Incidents Which Illustrate Her Dis
position, and an Explanation of
the "Qulck or the Dead"

WRESTLING VoH 10 the CnlcdBp luhes-1etdiu
Miss Riyes was always woman oi
caprice, wayward, tickle. When in q
normal mood she was one of the mos
loving and lovable of women. as she Ger
tainly was and still is among the mos
beautiful of her sex; but her capriciousness
petulance and childisbness tried the pa
tience of her family and her husband
Both as girl and as a married woman
Mrs. Chanler often visited here, and
men and women who are cunnoisseurs il
feminine beauty agree that no more fas
cinating woman antbe Virginia authoress
| was ever seen in Washing ton drawing
| room.
An incident of one of her visits to
this city may be taken as an indication
| OF her peculiar character. At the request
of her hostess she brought out of her trunk
batch of poems written in her girlhood
and read them to another guest of the house,
/ an elderly man noted for his literary
| judgment. Miss Rives and the literary
| man were left alone, and In speaking oi
| the incident afterward the literary man
said:
| II don't remember word she read Ia
| me; all l can remember is the sweetness
| OF her voice, the charm of her presence.
She read poem after poem, In a low, i'm
passioned voice, standing with her face
near to mine, her eyes ablaze with poetic
! fervor. To me she seemed unearthly angelic.
1 had no power to concentrate my mind
upon her words. l could see nothing.
think of nothing, but the petite, radiant,
woman by my side"
This pretty story has a sequel and it is in
the sequel that the contras st of moods found.
An hour after Miss Rives had fascinated
the elderly literary man and lulled him into
an intellectual trance with the cha rms other
| voice and person, the company sa t down to
| dinner. There were six or eight at the ta-
BILE, and Miss Rives, though simply attired.
was nevertheless picture of youthful
beauty.
An unbidden guest soon appeared. The
household kitten leaped to Miss Rivcs' lap
and was given warm welcome. As the
young poetess fondled the visitor. placed
pussy's little black nose at the edge of her
plate and fed the little mcwing mouth with
! dainty nlorseis, more than one of the guests
wished for a photograph OF the pretty scene.
Suddenly there came n reaction.
Miss Rives began scolding the kitten for
some unknown cause, and to the utter as
tonishment of host and guests alike, the
poetess raised the offending feline by the
nape of it's neck and gave it vicious fling
against the side Of the room. For several
moments Miss Rives had not a word to
say. The well-bred hostess artfully kept
conversation going without pause .and in a
short time the clouds left the face of the ca
PRECIOUS Virginia girl, and radiant sun
shine took their place.
These Were the moods of ecnIus. for Mrs.
CHAMBER is surely n genius. Her moods and
caprices were well known, not only to her
family, but to all the neighbors near her
fathers house at Castle Hill, Albemarle
County, Va. The writer once visited there
and was plea sed TO hear the verdict of all
the country folk as to Miss Am'ly. as they
always called her.
They knew her odd ways, her pranks,
her mad rides astride unbroken colts and
all that, hut they idolized her just the same.
To them she was an angle In human form
an angle of charity, of mercy, of good
works. She visited the cabins of the poor
colored folk with food and picture books
and swce;mcats. She nursed the sick
She helped those ho were in trouble.
Half the money Miss Rivcs received for her
first literary success, "The Quick or the
Dead" was spent in making one merry
Christmas for the poor eolored people
round about Castle Hill
1t is not John Armstrong Chanler's
fault that h. has lost his beautiful
wife Probably it is no ores fault, but
e;n nfn 70.
suit Of yoking together q manly and prac
tical young man and a romantic, ca PRECIOUS.
genius blessed and genius-cursed yonng
woman. That Chanler has been a marvel
OF patience there can be no doubt Nor
is there any reason to think Mrs. Chanler
has not made great efforts TO control that
wild temperament which is a part of her
being.
The story of Chambers courtship Of
Miss Rives I know very well He met her
at ball at Newport and fell in love with
her. He followe ed her to Virginia and laid
siege to her heart Three times was he re-
Jected, but the fourth time proved the
charm, and he was the proudest and hap
piest man in America when he won her.
The American press thougbtlessly put
cloud over Mrs. Chanler's life. II did this
with its false conception OF the motives
which had inspired ''The Quick or the
Dead and by its cruel criticisms and
jokes concerning the young authoress.
To this day many people do not know the
inspiration for that remarkable book. and
are not aware that it was written while the
hand of Anlelie Rives was being sought by
John Jacob Astor's great-grandson. and
that the motif was found In the authors
contention with herself whether or not she
should give up her girlish ideal Of what a
lover should be and accept the love of her
persistent suitor. That is the fact aud
the rivals in the book were simply elabo-
rations of the living. the "quick'' descend
ant of the Astors, and the dead ideal,
whose memory was sfondiy cherished.
The Rives homestead at Castle Hill is a
picturesque and beautiful old place at the
foot of the Blue Ridge. Tn Albemarle
county the Rives are known as one of the
oldest and most aristocratic families. Mrs.
Chanler's grandfather represented this
country as minister to France. Her father
has long been chief engineer of the Panama
Her mother was in her day a
famous beauty and singer. The Rives fam
lily is related to the CabelIs, the Clajbornes.
the Pages. and other noted families in
Virginia Mrs. Chanler's youngest sis
ter, Daisy, almost as beautiful as the au-
thor of "The Quick OF the Dead" also pos
sesses genius. Her drawings of horses are
most remarkable. She cannot draw any
hing else. and if a cart or saddle is needed
10 complete one of her pictures some one
Else must put it in But every horse this
air girl puts on paper has individuality.
character. expression. This power is a
lift. phase of that genius which runs In
he family blood.