r and so precise that I asked Oscar about it.
He met the accusation at once and very fairly, I thought, and told me
the whole story. It puts the triumphant power and address of the man
in a strong light, and so I will tell it as he told it to me.

"When I was rehearsing 'A Woman of No Importance' at the Haymarket,"
he began, "Beerbohm Tree showed me a letter I had written a year or so
before to Alfred Douglas. He seemed to think it dangerous, but I
laughed at him and read the letter with him, and of course he came to
understand it properly. A little later a man called Wood told me he
had found some letters which I had written to Lord Alfred Douglas in a
suit of clothes which Lord Alfred had given to him. He gave me back
some of the letters and I gave him a little money. But the letter, a
copy of which had been sent to Beerbohm Tree, was not amongst them.

"Some time afterwards a man named Allen called upon me one night in
Tite Street, and said he had got a letter of mine which I ought to
have.

"The man's manner told me that he was the real enemy. 'I suppose you
mean that beautiful letter of mine to Lord Alfred Douglas,' I said.
'If you had not been so foolish as to send a copy of it to Mr.
Beerbohm Tree, I should have been glad to have paid you a large sum
for it, as I think it is one of the best I ever wrote.' Allen looked
at me with sulky, cunning eyes and said:

"'A curious construction could be put upon that letter.'

"'No doubt, no doubt,' I replied lightly; 'art is not intelligible to
the criminal classes.' He looked me in the face defiantly and said:

"'A man has offered me L60 for it.'

"'You should take the offer,' I said gravely; 'L60 is a great price. I
myself have never received such a large sum for any prose work of that
length. But I am glad to find that there is someone in England who
will pay such a large sum for a letter of mine. I don't know why you
come to me,' I added, rising, 'you should sell the letter at once.'

"Of course, Frank, as I spoke my body seemed empty with fear. The
letter could be misunderstood, and I have so many envious enemies; but
I felt that there was nothing else for it but bluff. As I went to the
door Allen rose too, and said that the man who had offered him the
money was out of town. I turned to him and said:

"'He will no doubt return, and I don't care for the letter at all.'

"At this Allen changed his manner, said he was very poor, he hadn't a
penny in the world,