The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-03-29
OSCAR WILDE AFTER JAIL.
Misstatements About HiI Last Dau In
paris Corrected.
FrorA "a sL JamesIl 0alrIla

From ne ST. Jamess 0aFehe.
The complacent unAnimlty with which the
chronlolers OF Oscar Wllde's last years In
Paris have accepted and spread the legend"
Of bis life In that city Is remarkable. and would
be eXasperatinE considering its utter falsitv
20 any one who was not aware OF their In
competence 10 deal with the subject. Scarcely
one OF his self-cOnsttuted blogrAphers had
more than the very slightest acquaintance
with him. and their records and impressions
OF him are chiefly made up OF stale gossip
and second hand anecdotes. The stories OF
his supposed privatlons, his frequent inability
TO obtain n square meal. his lonely and tragic
death in a sordid lodging, and his cheap
funeral are all Rrotesquely false.
True Oscar Wilde, who for several years
before his conviction had been making at
least $4,000 a year. found II very hard TO live
on his rather precarious income after he
came out OF prison. he was often very hard
up. and often did not know where to turn for
- coin. but | will undertake to prove 10 any one
whom It may concern that from the day he
left prison TN the day OF his death his income
averaged at least Goo a year. He had.
moreover, far too many devoted friends In
Paris ever to be In need OF a meal provided
he would take the trouble 70 walk few hum
dred yards or take a cab to one OF half dozen
houses, His death certainly was tragic
deaths are apt TO be traglc-but he was sur
funeral was not cheap happen 70 have paid
for IL In conjunction with another friend OF
his 30 I ought 20 know.
He did not become a Roman Catholic be-
fore he died lie was, at the instance OF
great friend OF his. himself devout Catholic,
received into the Church a few hours before
he died but he had then been unconscious
for many hours and he died without ever
having any idea OF the liberty that had been
taken with his unconscious bDdy. Whether
he would have approved or not OF the step
taken by his friend is a matter on which /
should not like to express a too positive
opinion, but It is certain that. Il would not
10 MIN any harm, and, apart from all Ques.
tons OF religion and sentiment, II facilitated
the arrangements which had to be made for
Of the fact that no member Of his family took
any steps TO claim his body or arrange FOR his
funeral.
Having disposed OF certain false impress
sions in regard TO various facts Of his life and
death In Paris, ] may turn 20 what are less
TO that life. Without wishing to be paradox
cal, or harshly destructive OF the carefully
to the British mind land the French mind, too.
ior mat matter give II as my firm opinion
tha, Oscar scar Wilde was. on the whole fairly
had an extraordinarily buOyant and happy
temperament. a splendid sense OF humort
the present or course. no had his bad mo-
ments. moments Of depression and sense Of
duration II was part OF his pose To luxuriate
a little in the details OF his tragic circum-
stances He narrowed the feelings OF many
poured from his lips he painted an image Of
himself. destitute. abandoned, starving even
good dinner at Paillard'sl: as he proceeded
be was caught by the pathos Of his own words
his beautiful voice trembled with emotion,
by swift, indescribabT Brilliant, whimsicSi
touch, swallow-wing fash on the waters Of
elo2quence, the, tone changed and Tippled
with laughter, bringing with 40 his audience
relieved, delighted and bubbling into un-
contrOllable merriment.
lie never lost his marvellous gift OF talking:
after ne came out OF prison he talked better
than before. Every one who really knew him
about that. His conversation was richer.
more human, and generally on higher intel
Iectpal level In French he talked as well as in
used to seem rather labored. and his accent
700 marked but J Am assured by Frenchmen
VINO ,F heard him talk that such was not the
He explained TO me his inability 20 write.
by saving that when he sat down TO write he
life. and that this made him miserable and
upset his spirits As long as he talked and
was. he was happy. and he had the luck TO be
10 slSSP5 20 t6aa sniy az silence and
brought him visions Of his terrible suffer-
ings IN The past and made hls old wounds bleed
sertv at this perod that he MS vas . esseD
TALLY an interpreter Of life. and that his ex-
istence In Paris was too narrow and too limited
70 stir him TO creation. At his best he re-
Elected life in a magic mirror, but the little
corner Of life he saw in Paris was not worth
with Brilliant THI mS Of 9es sRmPp 5Sbs
listeners as OF old and taken through a CAV
season In LONDON, he would have begun TO
the breath Of life TO him and what he felt
more than anything else in his ST. Helena
in Paris. as he often told me. was the absence
Of the smart aud pretty women who in the
old days sat at his feet! A.