. The
Solicitor-General opened the case, and then called his witnesses. One
of the first was Edward Shelley, who in cross-examination admitted
that he had been mentally ill when he wrote Mr. Wilde those letters
which had been put in evidence. He was "made nervous from over-study,"
he said.

Alfred Wood admitted that he had had money given him quite recently,
practically blackmailing money. He was as venomous as possible. "When
he went to America," he said, "he told Wilde that he wanted to get
away from mixing with him (Wilde) and Douglas."

Charlie Parker next repeated his disgusting testimony with ineffable
impudence and a certain exultation. Bestial ignominy could go no
lower; he admitted that since the former trial he had been kept at the
expense of the prosecution. After this confession the case was
adjourned and we came out of court.

When I reached Fleet Street I was astonished to hear that there had
been a row that same afternoon in Piccadilly between Lord Douglas of
Hawick and his father, the Marquis of Queensberry. Lord Queensberry,
it appears, had been writing disgusting letters about the Wilde case
to Lord Douglas's wife. Meeting him in Piccadilly Percy Douglas
stopped him and asked him to cease writing obscene letters to his
wife. The Marquis said he would not and the father and son came to
blows. Queensberry it seems was exasperated by the fact that Douglas
of Hawick was one of those who had gone bail for Oscar Wilde. One of
the telegrams which the Marquis of Queensberry had sent to Lady
Douglas I must put in just to show the insane nature of the man who
could exult in a trial which was damning the reputation of his own
son. The letter was manifestly written after the result of the Taylor
trial:

Must congratulate on verdict, cannot on Percy's appearance.
Looks like a dug up corpse. Fear too much madness of
kissing. Taylor guilty. Wilde's turn to-morrow.

QUEENSBERRY.

In examination before the magistrate, Mr. Hannay, it was stated that
Lord Queensberry had been sending similar letters to Lady Douglas
"full of the most disgusting charges against Lord Douglas, his wife,
and Lord Queensberry's divorced wife and her family." But Mr. Hannay
thought all this provocation was of no importance and bound over both
father and son to keep the peace--an indefensible decision, a
decision only to be explained by the sympathy everywhere shown to
Queensberry because of his victory over Wilde, o