In a 1894 Journal piece on ladies' literary clubs, Cather writes: "Of all the ladies' clubs the Sordello clubs are undoubtedly the funniest. Sordello doesn't seem to mix well with tea and muffins, though perhaps he had too many of them when he was hanging around Verona after his debut and that was what was the matter with him... 'Sleep and forget, Sordello.'"
In an 1897 Courier piece, Cather quotes "up-thrust, out-staggering on the world," from Book I, in a description of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture.
In an 1897 Journal article, Cather writes: "Compare Kipling's best verses with the first book of Hyperion, or with the best parts of Sordello, and he becomes mere opera bouffe, vaudeville."