comedies, more joyous and pagan than ever?"

I might as well have talked to the dead: he seemed numbed, hypnotised
with despair. The punishment had already been greater than he could
bear. I began to fear that prison, if he were condemned to it, would
rob him of his reason; I sometimes feared that his mind was already
giving way, so profound was his depression, so hopeless his despair.

* * * * *

The trial opened before Mr. Justice Wills on the 21st of May, 1895.
The Treasury had sent Sir Frank Lockwood, Q.C., M.P., to lead Mr. C.F.
Gill, Mr. Horace Avory, and Mr. Sutton. Oscar was represented by the
same counsel as on the previous occasion.

The whole trial to me was a nightmare, and it was characterised from
the very beginning by atrocious prejudice and injustice. The High
Priests of Law were weary of being balked; eager to make an end. As
soon as the Judge took his seat, Sir Edward Clarke applied that the
defendants should be tried separately. As they had already been
acquitted on the charge of conspiracy, there was no reason why they
should be tried together.

The Judge called on the Solicitor-General to answer the application.

The Solicitor-General had nothing to say, but thought it was in the
interests of the defendants to be tried together; for, in case they
were tried separately, it would be necessary to take the defendant
Taylor first.

Sir Edward Clarke tore this pretext to pieces, and Mr. Justice Wills
brought the matter to a conclusion by saying that he was in possession
of all the evidence that had been taken at the previous trials, and
his opinion was that the two defendants should be tried separately.

Sir Edward Clarke then applied that the case of Mr. Wilde should be
taken first as his name stood first on the indictment, and as the
first count was directed against him and had nothing to do with
Taylor.... "There are reasons present, I am sure, too, in your
Lordship's mind, why Wilde should not be tried immediately after the
other defendant."

Mr. Justice Wills remarked, with seeming indifference, "It ought not
to make the least difference, Sir Edward. I am sure I and the jury
will do our best to take care that the last trial has no influence at
all on the present."

Sir Edward Clarke stuck to his point. He urged respectfully that as
Mr. Wilde's name stood first on the indictment his case should be
taken first.

Mr. Justice Wills said he could not interfere