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EVENING PUBLIC LEDGER PHILADELl'ill A, TllUUSDAY, OOTOBEll 30, 1019
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Ella Wheeler Wilcox,
'Passion Poetess Dead L
Continued From re Ones
I do not remember when I did not ex-
Ecct to be n writer, nnd I was a iicIrIi
orhood celebrity' at the ago of eight."
This Is n typical admission of n
woman whoso egotism was inoffensive,
even though marked by obvious coinpln
ccnc.v. She told of the pessimism which
shrouded lier family In their little
country him In Wisconsin, every mem
ber of which was unsatisfied with the
- lot In which the lines of ench had ap
parently fnllen : of the lack of books nnd
periodicals, which made life an intel
lectual famine, nnd of conditions which
presented what looked like an insuper
able barrier to literary or other aspira
tions. ,
"There was nothing in my nlti
uation," added this unusually fecund
producer of poetry nnd prose, "to cul
tivate poetic talent, and I no doubt owe
my enrly development ns a poet to that
fact, paradoxical as the statement may
seem."
Her Literary Debut
Despite the discouraging environment
thus set forth, this somber-faced little
, maid launched her first shin on the lit-
erary sea when she was barely thirteen.
years old. Unknown to her family, she I
wrote two essays and sent them to I
the editor of the New York Mercury, n
r wccKiy publication, from which she had
derived at occasional intervals pabulum
for what she regarded ns her budding
genius, posting them surreptitiously in
the midst of mnny juvenile difficulties.
The essays were printed, nnd as n re
imbursement for jier contributions she
received the Mercury regularly, being
placed on the "free list," likewise a big
bundle of back numbers of the paper.
Success followed fast on early en"
dcavor in the field of literature, First
financial reward came from Frank Les
lie, who sent a check for $10 for three
It little poems from the pen of the Wis
consin maid, nnd for a period following
the publication of these the young au
thor wns a local "literary lioness" in
social circles.
Pressing need of a lnrgcr Income
prompted her acceptance of a Milwau
kee editor's offer of ?1," u month to
edit the literary department of his
paper, but this employment was short
lived, the venture failing at the end of
six months'. Not long after this the
young womnn's first collection of poems,
""Drops of Water." dealing entirely
with total abstinence, brought her $."30.
"Shells." followed, then "Mnurine,"
declined by the firm to which it first
wns offered : brought out by a Wiscon
sin firm and barely paying expenses.
Two years later, however, the publish
ers who bad rejected the verses came
back with the request for the privilege1
of republishing the book, with addi
tional poems.
'Toems of Passion"
nt tim ntihlirntion of "Poems of Pas
sion." which made a stir throughout
the country at the time. Mrs Y ilcox
wrote in her "Autobiography. :
"When publishing 'Mnurine I had
purposely omitted more than two scoje
poems of n very romantic nature, in
order to mivc the volume from too much
sentiment. Letters began to come to
me requesting copies of these verses
ardent love songs which had appeared
in various periodicals.. This suggested
to mc the idea of issuing a book of love
poems to be colled 'Poems of I as
sion.' To think was to do, for I pos
sessed more activity than caution in
those days. , ..
"As just related, every poem in .the
book had been published in various
periodicals and had brought forth no
criticism. My amazement can hardly
be imagined, therefore, when Jnnscn &
McClung returned the manuscript of my
volume, intimating that it was im
moral. I told the contents of the letter
to friends in Milwaukee and it reached
the cars of a sensational morning news
paper. The next day a column article
appeared with large headlines : "Too
Loud for Chicago. The Scarlet City by
the lake shocked by a Badger girl, whoe
verses out-Swinburne Swinburne and
out-Whitman Whitman."
"POETESS OF PASSION" DIES
I. F "" "Hfth. , ,, :-jA
eBwWBlMkMBBPiM(lii
tLj international
her mind and nil her feeling." "The
Iove Sonnets of Abelan; and licioisc
furnished an Illustration of this when
that book made Its appearance In IDOi.
In the Intervening years she has been
an indefatigable producer alike in
poetry and prose, magazines, news
papers and every variety of current
literature being filled with her writings.
The list of "fads" of various sorts
which she took up from time to time is
almost illimitable.
She took n conspicuous place In the
limelight shortly after America's en
trance into the world war by going to
France, where for months she enter
tained the soldiers by reciting poems
written on the spur of the moment nnd
Inspired by patriotic Instinct. Kiln
beenme the "beloved of the doughbojs. '
according to one enthusiast, who wrote
to a newspaper that the lines she pen
ned for wounded heroes made them her
abject slnve. In one of these poems
she wrote of nn nvlator:
lla has come Into touch with thlnis auncrnl
At each mnn'n Bute death nttunln await.
And dylnsr nylnit wrro better than lylne
In nick heda criinK for III eternal,
Metter to fly half wny to Ood
Tlinn burrow too Ions like a worm In
the sod.
Horn In a Wisconsin Ton
Mrs. Wilcox was born at Johnstown
Center, Wis., in lW.ri, the daughter of
n farmer named Wheeler and one of
four children. Her mother appears to
have been n woman of literary temper
ament, suppressed by surroundings not
calculated to develop the nrtistic fac
ulty. Ulln Wheeler had mnde her
tart In liternry circles before she mot
Hobert M. Wilcox in Chicago in 18S:i,
when she was twenty-nine years old.
and when the "Poems of Passion" were
still a reigning sensation. Wilcox was
n man of wide rending, extensive trawl
and nrtistic tastes, and his marriage
with Ella, in ISS4, proved a most con
conial partnership. He died in May.
191(1. His widow, writing or tueir
meeting ami marriage, stoutly main
tnlned that their union wns preor
dained nnd quoted "spirit messages"
received before she ever met Mr. Wll
cov to Iwar out her declaiation. While
still n young woman she had given
study to the spiritualistic cult, of which
she was an ardent follower.
Throughout her life Mrs. Wilcox wns
an extensive traveler, her visit to l'u
ipc as a friend of the soldiers being
only one of many tours to different parts
of the world. She enjojed social pres
tige along with the literary distinction,
which was as wine to her lips, and In
the last three decades of her life she en
jojed more than n competence as the
ft nit of her labors.
A list of tier more pretentious wilt
lugs, excluding the innumerable verses
cnuti United to the newspaper press and
mnga7liu's, would make n formidable
niraj. Thirty years ago she made
clntm td Hip mitlirirslilti nf the lilies
! beginning
I l.auirh, and the world InURhs with you
Weep, and ou nccd alone
'and offered .$."1(100 to a worthy cliarlt
, If any authentic published copy of the
wrsos. which she called "Solitude."
could he found prior to 1SS.1. the year
when she said she wrote It. Authorshl)
: of the poem had been appropriated by
1 one Colonel John A. Joyce, In ISSti.
and others had put in similar claims.
While Mrs. Wilcox's reputation tests
upon her prodigious output of poetr,
she wrote also a vast amount of prose.
She always said It was a joy to ver
sify, but nn affliction to set down her
ideas in ordinary piose.
Refrigeration Without Ice
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Hi-.. ,.! ... ..in, n i.iitii St
"")". ritrllui
hin.? (llndljr!
J. F. Buchanan & Co.
1719 Che.tnut St.
J ' m I ' t V 'n' y I
KI.I,A WIIKKI.KIt wii.rov
Author and poetess, whose death orctired this morning at her home in
Itrnnford, Conn. She was sixty-four years old
"Every newspaper in the land caught
up the story and I found myself nu
object of unpleasant notoriety in a firief
space of time.'"
Writing -less than a year ago a re
vised story of her life for a magazine,
under the title, "The World and I,"
Mrs. Wilcox devotes a considerable part
of her narrative to this incident, the
contumely the verses brought upon her,
Including n savage attack by Charles A.
Dana, and the advice of friends who
urged her to destroy the lines- which
they said would ruin her reputation if
she permitted them to olitaln extended
vogue. She adds thnt these prediction
were disproved bv the event, nnd she
vigorously defended both the text and
the purpose ot the Poems ot I'assion.
A writer, commenting on Mrs. Wil
cox's success with a large class of
readers, said one reason for it wns thnt
she never bothered much nbont btnnd
nrih and formulas of literature, but
having something to say she proceeded
to say it. "with all her heart nnd nil
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Brief News of To-morrow's Attractions at
Strawbridge & Clothier's
feUSf
"thin i i .(.- l.Jt ... " -At..- - rr ,r, safc.iiu.l' -,,AfakJT. .'' :
SUITS and
DRESSES
Sure to Have Your
Approval
If you follow fashion, and if
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Dresses and the variety is ex
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For all practical purposes, the
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others finished with bone buttons.
The model skclched, $87.50.
Outing Suits,
$30.00 and $32.50
Of jersey cloth in plain black
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some in pinch-hack style.
SlrtiMjirlilKP A OlothUr -Snunil
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An excellent assortment of
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Extra-Size Jersey
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In beaver, French blue, navy
blue, brown, plum color and taupe.
Made in redingote style, with
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Very becoming to large, full
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Silk Dresses, S18.75 to S225.00
Wool Dresses, 518.75 to 8400.00
Straw lirlilB'i S rinthler
Second Honr. M-iikit Street
Smart Umbrellas of
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A handsome Silk Umbrella '
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StrnwbrlrtBo & Clothlor
Alelo 7, Mnrkrt Street
TRAVEL
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s. Mr Foster
This office is a part of
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The experienced manager
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Htrawbrldge 4 Clothier
Klrit Kloof. Filbert Street
It is Our Duty
toTellYouof
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Every kind and grade
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buying Rugs NOW.
Straw lirtilpn Xt Clothier
Fourth Floor, West
For MEN!
Soft Hats
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Six smart new styles to
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Leather
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Boys' Clothing from this famous
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Second Floor liaat
2900 S. & C.
MUSLIN
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For Double Beds
At $1.68
Thrifty housekeepers will
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pRpcnc
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-31