Los Angeles herald., 1907-07-28
Mystery Of Ouida, the Novelist
From the Chicaeo Record-HeraId

without number being given in her honor.
: Everywhere she left the same impress
, sion of being an enfant terrible.
| IT had not seen her for years-indeed,
| l had never seen her except by the sea
or on the Tuscan hills, and 1 was not
prepared for this society Ouida. She is
short and stout, her thick yellow hair
being cropped in a straight line across
the ugliest part of the neck, as YOU
sometimes see the hair of German school
! girls. She sat sideways in her chair,
with her head turned away and in such
position that an enormous hustle rose
and formed a barrcade between her and
the person brought to be introduced to
her She still further intrenched her
self behind an enormous ostrich feather
fan held before her face, and she scarce
ly replied to the remarks addressed to
her. Treated with brutal curiosity, she
returned 1t with unadorned rudeness. A
lady told me that being brought up to
be presented she ventured to say: An
introduction is scarcely necessary. Ev-
erybody knows Ouida.' Whereupon the
novelist replied in her hard peacock like
voice: I pity Ouida If she had to know
everybody
"She was we'll dressed, but nobody
thought so, and when she left the room
the female tongues filled the air with
angry cackling. There was a feeling
that she was naughty child In society,"
the kind that lies on the hearth rug and
screams and kicks-she has a grudge
against society, and society against her;
she likes to offend it in her books; she
likes to outrage it in person. Anything,
in short, can be expected of Ouida In
society
"She is witty conversationalist," con-
tinued the Countess Natalie, but is
easily bored If the person present does
net rterest her, and she takes no pains
to conceal it, She is sarcastic and ag-
gressive, but takes great interest when
anyone tries to beat her with her own
weapons. Conversation becomes very diff
| f1cult when she is not in a mood for small
talk. A timid one ventures to commence
with: oh, Nine. Ouida, don't you think
so-and so?' No, / don't. Why should L?
Why should anybody? she replies, loudly
and brusquely.
"She melts when she is beaten, how
| ever, and admires a witty retort even at
hel own expense.
"An instance of this was when Ouida
mce Mrs. John Bigelow. AS is we'll
known, Ouida hates all Americans-why,
nu one knows. L don't care about meet
| ing you nasty Americans said Ouda to
Ms. Bigelow. Indeed?' said Mrs. Bige-
low. L really cannot understand why, as
| they are the only people who read your
nasty books Ouida thereupon drew Mrs.
Digelow toward her, crying, Why, you
must be an interesting woman There
after the novelist could not extend too
mar courtesies to Mrs. Bigelow.
but this is not all of Ouida. She is a
sircere woman of wonderful genius. Hers
Is q nature wonderfully sensitive. Dis
liked by women in general, she is ad
mired and loved by women in particular.
1 know of no woman of my acquaintance
more understandable and more full of
II easure If you have the key. Really, to
know her one must know her as she Is
when rambling on the Tuscan hills, where
woman to woman she speaks her heart,
or to a man she converses with that bon
camaraderie that recalls poor Cigarette
at her best.
"she is at her best with restraint
thro off. The peasants know the real
Ouida-how sweetly she talks to- them,
how generous her nature. The dogs love
her, and everything that is beautiful she
loves. When we were girls together she
used to say: oh, Natalie, 1 do not hate
humanity"I only hate society,""
The love of dogs, of which the Countess
Natalie speaks, has always been one of
the distinguishing characteristics of the
novelist Thirty dogs-never less, often
more-used to live at her Florentne villa.
So fond was she of her canine friends
that the italian peasants of the neighbor-
hood named her Our Lady of the Dogs"
Whenever she went out several dogs frol-
licked around her carriage or accompanied
her on her walks. Her intense fondness
for her foirr-footed companions caused her
some years ago to give a meal of meat,
bread and milk to every dog in Lucca.
She had burying place for her dogs
on her Florentine estate and there her
I.9I rr,tNh .IAw@ ert
which many human beings lack in the
final scene. Her favorite st. Bernard
dog, Isla, had a marble tomb erected
over his remains, with a pathetic in
scription to his memory
: Ouida's weekly receptions were ore of
the features of Florentine life prior to
her unfortunate love affair at the age of
40 Before that time the affair drew to-
gether brilliant throng. The hostess
wore black velvet. Wine. coffee and
cigarettes were served Ouida, however,
never smoked nor drank wine.
Her unhappy experience of the tender
passion in 1880 has had a deep effect on
all the rest of her life. Ouida had al
ways declared that she was above the
weakness of love. But in that year she
met the Marquis de Stufa, member of
one of the Oldest Florentl..e families. In
artistic refiniment and passionate energy,
who interested her at once. Acquaintance
became friendship and friendship, on
OuiQa's part soon became love. 1t was
the first and last love of her life. The
marquis, however, while he admired the
writer, merely trihed with the woman.
He not only failed to fall In love with
Ouida, but he proceeded to become en-
gagged and married to a young and beau
tiful Italian. For weeks thereafter Ouida
shut herself up in her villa with her
dogs, seeing no one and living the life
of an utter recluse. The affair made
Ouida for time the laughing stock of
Florence.
Ouida was never beauty. although in
her prime she possessed her striking
points. These were her "amber hair" of
precisely the shade which she used, to |
describe in her earlier novels, worn flow
ing over her shoulders, and pair of ex-
quisite little feet, Of whose size and sym |
metry she was very vain.