St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-04-04
ROUGH ON WILDE.
Esthetic Oscars Suit Against
Marquis Of Queensberry
the Most
DELICIOUS BIT OF SCANDAL
That Has Been Aired in Lon
don Courts for Many q
Day.
WILDE UNDER CROSS FIRE.
Compromising Testimony Re-
garding His Relations
With Other Men.
WILDE UNDER CROSS FIRE.

LONDON, April 3.-Every avail
| able inch of the Old Bailey was oc-
| cupied this morning when the Mar
| quis of Queensberry surrendered to
bail, and the. libel suit brought
against him by Oscar Wilde was
| opened before Justice Collins. Oscar
| Wilde charges the Marquis of
Queensberry with libel by leaving,
| on Feb. % last, an uncovered card
/ at the Albemarle club, on which
were written certain foul epithets.
AS result, Oscar Wilde, on March
| 2, caused the arrest of the Marquis of
| Queensberry, and the latter, at the
Marlborough street police court, was
| placed under fl 500 bail The aisles
of the old court room were crowded
with lawyers. Admission was OBJ
tanned by ticketi3 only, and the
sheriff in charge showed the repre-
sentative of the Associated Press a
pile of applications a foot high,
many being from well-known people.
RumorS were current in London
yesterday that Oscar Wilde had sud-
denly left the city in order to avoid
being present in court today, and
reports were also current that a
STARTLING DEVELOPMENT
would arise today, but both these
rumors were set at rest by the ar
rival in court of the principals to the
| suit. The marquis seemed uncon-
eerned, and replying to the ques-
tions put to him, he spoke quietly
and clearly. Sir Edward Clarke,
formerly solicitor general, in open
ing the case, said the card left at
the Albemarle club for Mr.. Wilde
was one of the visiting cards of the
Marquis of Queensberry, and it was
upon this that the libel was written
Continuing, counsel said that the
|, ,gravest issues had been raised, as
the defendant in his pleadings al
legged that the plaintiff had for some
time solicited persons named to
commit indecent offenses. Certain
letters addressed by the plaintiff to
Lord Alfred Douglas. second son of
the Marquis of Queensberry, were
brought to plaintiff by man who
said he was in distress, and Mr.
Wilde gave him EGO with which to
pay his passage to America. An
other letter was handed to Mr.. Beer
bohm Tree, the actor, who gave it
to the plaintiff.
Counsel then recounted the facts
already known in the case, showing
that Mr.. Wilde, who had recently
returned from Algiers, drove up to
the Albemarle club about 5 o. m.
on Feb. 28, and on entering the club
he was handed an envelope by the
hall porter, Sidney Wright, who said
that the Marquis of Queensberry had
desired him to hand it to Mr.. Wilde
The exactwords were: Lord Queens
berry desired me, sir, to hand this
to you when you came to the club"
Inside the envelope plaintiff found a
card, on the back of which was the
date 4:30, 1872, '95, and on this card
were written certain foul epithets
which formed the basis of the suit.
WILDE ON THE STAND.
Oscar Wilde was then called, and
he languidly arose from the solicit
or's table, where he was seated, and
entered the witness box. The plain
tiff was faultlessly dressed in
long black frock coat, and carried
his gloves in his hand, showing his
fingers to be covered with rings.
He was very pale, but was seeming
ly composed. Wilde spoke with his
customary drawl, leaning his arms
upon the rail of the witness box
and replying distinctly to the ques-
tionS addressed to him. The jury,
which was composed of very intelli-
gent men of elderly appearance,
mainly prosperous tradesmen, eyed
him with curiosity, The witness said
that upon arriving at his house few
months ago he found two gentle
men awaiting in the library. One
of them was the Marquis Of Queens
berry and the other one was un-
known to the plaintiff. The former
said:
''Sit down." replied. Lord
one to talk that way in my house.
I suppose you have come to apollo
gize Is it possible that you accuse
your son and me of sodomy?" He
replied: 81 don't say it, but you
look like it, and
appear LIKE IT."
Counsel for the plaintiff then
asked the witness about the man to
whom he had given f2G with which
to pay his passage to America. Wit
ness said: 1.-THE man told me he
had been offered ESQ for the letter,
and / advised him to Immediately
accept it, But finally 1 gave him
the money in order to relieve his
distress, and he gave me the letter."
The document referred to was here
Justice Collins. The letter referred
to the rose red lips" of Lord Alfred
Douglass, and the writer addressed
him as my own boy" and asked,
why are you alone in London?"
The letter was signed with undy-
ing love, Oscar" Counsel in ex-
planning this letter. said that it
might. seem extravagant to those
who were in the habit of writing
commercial letters; but, he added,
it was mere poetry" Gaughter.)
Interest in the case was heightened
when Sir Edward Clarke, upon fin
ishing the direct examination of his