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May 1882 155 “I admired his playing so very much,” said Mr. Wilde. “He appeared so thoroughly at home in the game. Lacrosse is so far ahead of cricket for physical development, and then everyone seems to get an equal share of the play, or hard work as I should term it. But don’t you think,” Mr. Wilde asked, “that the Indians, or at least the Indian umpire, should have been dressed in a manner to impress one with the position he occupied? I think he should have been dressed, say, in war costume, with his face painted, armed with a tomahawk, and wearing a headdress of feathers. I was greatly amused at the gesticulations of the Indians, and I wondered what language they were speaking.” After asking some questions about the Indians and the original of the game, Mr. Wilde said he was much pleased with the appearance and dress of many persons he had seen on the ground; “and,” he continued, “I could not help admiring the dress of a little girl who sat in front of me. It was charming— such a beautiful blending of colour that corresponded so nicely with her rosy cheeks.” “What is your opinion of Toronto and Toronto ladies, Mr. Wilde?” “I have seen so little of the former that I have scarcely formed an opinion, but I judge from the appearance of your principal business street that it is a bright little town, and I have no doubt it is a commercial centre. But I cannot help wondering why your citizens build their houses with that horrid white brick when red brick is the same price. I think white brick such a shallow colour—in fact, it spoils the effect of the architecture. I see the same fault here that I noticed in all Canadian cities. The colour of the stone and other building material completely spoils the effect of the good architecture, which I could not help admiring in Canadian cities. As to the ladies, I think some of them are very nice and dress exceedingly well, but I will have a better opportunity of judging hereafter. I am gratified sometimes to see the monotony of an audience relieved by the presence of at least one well-dressed lady.” 1. Rors Mackenzie (d. 1897) once threw a lacrosse ball 422 feet, a world record that remains unbroken. 42. “The Aesthete at the Art Exhibition,” Toronto Globe, 26 May 1882, 6 Mr. Oscar Wilde visited the exhibition of the Ontario Society of Artists yesterday afternoon, where he was shown around by Mr. T. M. Martin.1 The aesthete spent about an hour there, criticizing the different works freely and i-xii_1-196_Wild.indd 155 8/4/09 9:11:59 AM 156 June 1882 with a quickness of perception which showed him to possess clear and welldefined ideas of true art. Portraits and object painting, containing nothing idealistic, he passed over as unworthy of notice. He especially admired Mr. Watson’s works,2 finding in them considerable “soul” and “feeling,” expressing the opinion that the artist was “an exceedingly clever fellow.” Dull grey sky and rocks always attracted his attention. Upon glancing at a miniature painting of Mrs. Cornwallis West,3 he remarked that miniature painting was dead. After enquiring as to the working of the society, Mr. Wilde took his departure. He visited the university in the afternoon. 1. Thomas Mower Martin (1838–1934), English-born Canadian artist and a founder of both the Ontario Society of Artists in 1872 and the Royal Canadian Academy in 1880. 2. Wilde dubbed the Canadian landscape artist Homer Ransford Watson (1855–1936) the “Canadian [John] Constable” based on similarities between the painters’ subject matter and style. 3. Mary (“Patsy”) Cornwallis West (née Fitzpatrick) (1835–1917) was a beautiful Irish-born English socialite and the second wife of William Cornwallis West. 43. “Oscar Wilde Talks of Texas,” New Orleans Picayune, 25 June 1882, 11 “There are in Texas two spots which gave me infinite pleasure. These are Galveston and San Antonio. Galveston, set like a jewel in a crystal sea, was beautiful. Its fine beach, its shady avenues of oleander, and its delightful sea breezes were something to be enjoyed. It was in San Antonio, however, that I found more to please me in the beautiful ruins of the old Spanish mission churches and convents and in the relics of Spanish manners and customs impressed upon the people and the architecture of the...

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