DEATH OF OSCAR WILDE. He Expires at an Obscure Hotel in the Latin Quarter of Paris. Is Said to Have Died from Meningitis, but There is a Rumor that He Committed Suicide.

Special Cable to THE NEW YORK TIMES.

PARIS, Nov. 30.—Oscar Wilde died at 2 o'clock this afternoon in the Maison du Périer, Rue des Beaux Arts, in the Latin Quarter. It is a small, obscure hotel, at which Wilde had been living for several months under the name of Manmoth [sic].

According to the accounts obtainable Wilde was operated upon six weeks ago for meningitis, caused by an abscess in the ear, which the doctors were unable to locate. He is said to have been unconscious for two days, and before that time to have been received into the Roman Catholic Church. Lord Alfred Douglas was with him when he died.

Le Journal says, however, it is rumored that Wilde committed suicide.

Wilde will be buried in this city on Monday.

Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin in 1856. He was the son of Sir William R. Willis Wilde, M.D., surgeon-oculist to Queen Victoria, antiquarian, statistician, and man of letters, and of Jane Francesca Wilde, who achieved considerable reputation as a poetess. Oscar's first schooling was at the Portora Royal School, Enniskillen, and later he studied at Trinity College, Dublin, and Magdalen College, Oxford University. The brilliancy of his parents was transmitted to him. At Trinity College he won the Berkley gold medal for Greek, and there he won many class honors at Oxford, chief among them being the Newdigate prize, with a poem entitled "Ravenna."

In 1879 he went to London, and soon became a celebrity through the aesthetic fad which he started. His craze for aestheticism, which was accompanied by eccentricities of dress, which soon made him one of the most talked about persons in London. He clad himself in black velvet, with knickerbockers, and black silk stockings, and he wore a sunflower. He was caricatured by Du Maurier in Punch, and satirized by Gilbert in "Patience." In Punch he was labeled "Postlethwaite"; in "Patience," "Bunthorne." The advertising he received was just what he wanted. He took advantage of it to effect a contract for a lecture tour in America. The tour was not the success he had anticipated, but he made some money out of it.

On his return to England Wilde dropped all his eccentricities of dress, but his other affectations became greater than ever. In the high social circles of London, to which he had entrée, he was regarded as a brilliant conversationist and poseur.

Wilde's first published book was his Newdigate prize poem, printed in 1879, and this was well received by the reviewers. After his return from the United States he applied himself industriously to literary work.

The most popular of Wilde's books was "The Picture of Dorian Gray," which had an immense sale, both in the United Kingdom and this country. It appeared first in Lippincott's Magazine, in 1895 [sic], and was afterward taken in book form, with considerable additions, by Ward, Lock & Co. After the famous trial the London publishers withdrew it from circulation, although it was inundated with orders for copies.

Among literary people "Intentions," published in 1894 [sic], is regarded as Wilde's finest prose work. It is a collection of essays, and, though full of the author's favorite paradoxes, contains much art criticism which shows evidences of careful thought. Some of the essays, notably "The Decay of Lying" and "The Critic as Artist," had previously appeared in English reviews and had attracted a good deal of attention.

Wilde's poems were first published in 1881, and a new edition was issued at the Bodley Head about ten years later. Both editions were exhausted a very short time after publication. Many isolated stanzas and lines have been quoted to show that, had he possessed the necessary perseverance and steadfastness of character, Wilde could have been one of the great poets of the nineteenth century. Many persons have also noticed the remarkable forecast of his own life which the author wrote in the dedication to this volume of verse, and the passionate regret there expressed that he had not used his gifts to better purpose.

Among Wilde's other published works, exclusive of his plays, are "The [sic] House of Pomegranates—Colored Poems in Prose," with illustrations by Arthur Ricketts [sic] and C. H. Shannon; "Salome," written in French, illustrated by Aubrey Beardsley; "The Happy Prince," a volume of fairy tales, and "Lord Arthur Savile's Crime," a collection of short stories.

After Wilde's release from prison a poem was published anonymously, entitled "A [sic] Ballad of Reading Jail [sic]." It created a great deal of interest and favorable criticism, and is now known to have been written by Wilde.

Wilde was spoken of as an aspiring dramatist long before any piece signed by his name was acted. His "Salomé" was cast in the dramatic form, with "Guido Ferranti," a tragic piece briefly acted here by Lawrence Barrett, was reputed to be his work. There was a certain lyrical quality in some of its passages which credited this report.

His first acknowledged play, however, was "Lady Windermere's Fan," produced by George Alexander at the St. James's Theatre, in London, in 1892, and acted here soon afterward at Wallack's (then Palmer's) without setting the town ablaze. There was much verbal smartness in this piece, and it was no strong accusation against its merit to say its plot was antique and its stagecraft insufficient. But its insincerity and diffusiveness were not to be denied. After the first performance in London Wilde appeared on the stage of the theatre with a cigarette, and responded to a "call" that was not altogether friendly with imperturbable good humor and assurance. This served its purpose in giving this piece a unique advertisement.

His next play, "A Woman of No Importance," was acted first at the London Haymarket, with Beerbohm Tree's direction, and in New York, at the Fifth Avenue Theatre, with Rose Coghlan in the title role. It was, indeed, a play of no importance, but it was well received. Miss Coghlan wisely employed her famous brother, Charles, to patch it up and lend it some sort of theatrical value. "The Importance of Being Earnest," frankly a farce and full of nimble wit, on the other hand, missed a long run at the Empire Theatre because it was too dainty and fragile to suit the taste and understanding of the ordinary theatregoer, and "An Ideal Husband," admirably staged by Daniel Frohman's company at the Lyceum, while it made no fortune and lacked vigorous dramatic spirit, was a clever piece of work which aroused the critical admiration of W. D. Howells.

Lately, various plays, signed by others, have been credited by presumably malicious gossips to the pen of Wilde. Among these have been "The Case of Rebellious Susan," by Henry Arthur Jones, the same author's "The Liars," and "Mr. and Mrs. Daventry," by Frank Harris, lately produced in London by Mrs. Patrick Campbell. But no sensible person has ever permitted himself to believe such yarns. Men of the literary standing and ability of Mr. Jones and Mr. Harris do not sign their names to the work of others for any reason.

As a dramatist, Wilde was hampered by his utter lack of sincerity and his inability to master the technical side of playwriting. But his wit, his pleasing literary facility, and his droll views of life made some of his plays effective with a limited audience.

It was in 1895 that the great scandal broke which ruined Wilde. It came about through an action brought by the Marquis of Queensberry, whose motive was the protection of his son, Lord Alfred Douglas, over whom Wilde had exercised an evil influence. The evidence at Wilde's trial shocked the civilized world and covered him with disgrace which it was not possible for him to outlive. He was sentenced to prison for a term of years. At the expiration of his sentence he quitted England. It was later learned that he had settled in Paris. From a pet of society he had become the most despised of social outcasts. Recent reports from Paris were to the effect that he was living in abject poverty.

In 1884 Wilde was married to Constance, daughter of Horace Lloyd, barrister. They had two children, Cyril and Vivian, both of whom survive.