The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-11-01

f150 a year for life. Dismiss the whole
matter lin fairness to the book let It
| be noted that II is handled there with
| frank report and n minimum Of COM
men) in the spirit OF Ouidas own re-
! mark: II think memoirs are base be-
| trayals Of others and show great vanity
in the writer's. To possess any interest
| they must be treacheries in general to
! the dead, who cannot defend them
selves"
! vanity in the writer's? Ouda had
/ a generous share of II: attractive ex-
ccpt when, occasionally, It fairly crosses
I the line into conceit and bombast. II
was vanity that caused her. as X con-
scious of lack OF beauty OF countenance
and determined to make the most OF
what physical charms she had. TO affect
short sleeves and skirts displaying her
| shapely hands and little feet: and that
made her continually draw and paint
for her friends, though her talent in this
art was most meagre, so that Henry
James. recipient OF a small painted panel,
a view OF a street in Lucca said: "It
is Of chi.dishly primitive art: really
| a child OF seven or eight might have
done IT," Most OF her comment on Eng
lish and international politics in her
I
OF the mere innocent vanity of those
who write letters to the newspapers: II
do the little I can 10 make the nation
recover its sanity but II seems a hope
less task" this in the days OF the Boer
! war. OF one OF her own books she said:
'Ariadne' has a great success every
where, and commands the homage Of
great artists. who after all. are the only
people that can really understand IT,"
| She is declared to have entertained q
| belief that her place in history would
be with Semiramis, Aspasia, Cleopatra,
! Nine. de Stael and others OF sim
liar fame" In 1882 she wrote in a letter
to the Times. MY own name Is fully as
wei. known from Tobolsk to Tangier as
that Of Cherbuliez or Alphonse Dau-
det' And that was more modest land
probably more true) than her remark
in 1897, 81 think you will find The
Massarenes' worth ten thousand 'Trll-
bys.'" To this she added discrim,nat-
ingly: But II will be certainly ex-
tremelv unpopular" Reviews she
classed az the cnvious yapping OF
those who have failed in literature and
art not worth postage.
ou!da had opinions on everything, a
passion for giving them utterance, a
! vehement utterance. Great lack Of con-
sistency Is the frst apparent quality OF
her criticism. but the author disposes
OF II neatly. and fairly enough. by re-
solving the writings into two elements.
personal and objective. Ouda was de-
lightfu.ly, in retrospect. n non-practt-
TONER Of her own preachments: but that
does not impair the soundness OF her
dicta. Her essays are in the volumes
Views and Opinions" 1895 and "Criti-
cal Studies" 1900. The Studies have
the greater heft because for once
rpened Judgment was permitted to over
balance the personal preJudices she could
air with So much ac!dlty. II Is only
superfcially strange to And her com
planning OF the absolute absence in al,
DAnnunzio's works OF wit, mirth or
humor. qualities conspicuously lacking
in her own works" for Is II not pre-
cisely the qualities In which he himself
consciously or otherwise. IL deficient
. that a writing person most insistently
looks for in the pages OF another?
But Ouida rs critic has mighty little
objective value for this day and gener
alton. Her personality, however. IA a
; thing so completely human" that II.
interest Is not limited by time or place
and the quirks OF character are Illus.
trated In various ob!ter dicta IN the let.
' tiers generously reproduced:
As rule the English cannot vr4ts shor
stories: their construction IL too loose an,
their style too careless
knew Oscar wilde very well: n. sen
me Dorian Grey" and do understand 4,
do not think ne T. a clever man; n. wa
n succes'ful poseur and plagiarist: he wa
= essentially the cabotin. ~ have write,
I, three comedies In ons year" he said to
friend Of mine, and my friend replied: ~
% great exercise ~ memory"
3 think "Triby' was made by tn. pres
u partly. and partly by It's brio and fresh
" ness. The first vn,um- Il charming Tn
second think e rubbish. liked his Pet.
Ibhetson." which most found tiresome
;, find "Endymion" very poor stun. an
: were It by an unknown author one woul
= buy -
a English literature I. very sorry stun the,
. days tissil. You must make much Of m,
z FOR now George Elliott tsicl Is gon, ther
n Is no one else who can write English
, cannot agree tiaool that Rostand Is
~ genius or even poet. He Il obnoxious +
: n" with his jewellers similes
8 enjoyed the article or Mark rwai
$ tNorh American Rerie,c February. 1901 I'm
e men1ely, hut usually he bores m. with nj
[ ceaseless strain after Jokes; and h. is yer
n ohtuse about many matters, hclnG unedu
- | Gated
n He has little Judgment Of literature. an
= not much, surely, OF men. DO M
n mistake me, think Tolstoy a great move
- LIST. great character for courage and sci,
e sacrifice; hut cannot think man who h-
. lieves in Christianity II a man OF great In
telleot. and his logic is SADLY defective !
i many other ways. what annoy
a me IL his "cocksurenes."
= It Is easy to criticise Ouida for tawdr
!" sentiment. inaccurate information an
Inadequate observation: too easy TO b
= quite satisfactory. With regard to he
pictures OF high life" II must be note
that thirty or forty years ago there wa
% a great gulf fixed between the plat
70 folks and the aristocracy. and IN
n plain folks loved to read abou
II the aristocrats as distinct, mys
u terious order of beings. The trapping
n in which tho novelist invested her lord
VI and ladies were the legitimate -props
u OF melodrama. More significant tina
n pages OF literary analysis Is tho author
u note IT was present last year at a per
10 Torrance OF dramatized version {
IA Under Two Flags at the Lyceum The
u itre London, and in spite OF the stag
n ness and general melodramatic effect
"a the character OF Cigarette stood OF
: full OF poetry, imagination and trae