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The hearing of the charge of criminal libel brought by Mr Oscar Wilde against the Marquis of Queensberry was begun at the Old Bailey, London, yesterday morning, before Mr Justice Collins. The Court was densely crowded. Mr Oscar Wilde occupied a seat at the solicitor's table.

On taking his place in the dock, Lord Queensberry answered the indictment by pleading first "not guilty," and secondly, that the libel was true and was published for the public benefit.

Sir E. Clarke, in opening for the prosecution, said very grave issues had been raised, because the defendant in the pleadings alleged that plaintiff had for some time solicited persons named to commit indecent offences. Certain letters addressed by the plaintiff to Lord A. Douglas were brought to him by a man who said he was in distress, and Mr Wilde gave him £15 or £20 to pay his passage to America. Another letter came to the plaintiff through Mr Tree, the actor. It was handed to that gentleman, who in turn gave it to the plaintiff. It was couched in extravagant term, but it did not bear the suggestion made in this case. Coming to Lord Queensbery's action the learned counsel said the jury might have doubts whether the defendant was responsible for his actions.

Plaintiff was examined by Sir Edward Clarke at length on the subject of the letters, which he said he did not regard as important. He described a stormy interview in his own house with Lord Queensberry, who accused him of a nameless offence. He told the defendant he did not know what the Queensberry rules were, but the Oscar Wilde rule was to shoot at sight. In ordering the defendant out of the house he described him as "the most infamous brute in London." There was no foundation for the suggestions in the pleadings.

Mr Carson cross-examined as to the teaching in "Dorien Gray and "Phrases and Philosophies." The plaitiff replied that he looked at these matters from the point of view of art. "The Priest and Acolyte" was twaddle, but he had not dissociated himself from the "Chameleon," in which it appeared. The man Wood was an unemployed clerk, the plaintiff said in further cross-examination, and he not only gave him £15 for his passage to America, but £5 more on the occasion of a champagne lunch before his departure. He denied misconduct with Wood. Lord A. Douglas had asked him to befriend the man when introducing him. Wood and plaintiff knew each other by their Christian names, A man named Allen also called on him with reference to the Douglas letters. He knew Allen as a blackmailer, and gave him 10s to show his contempt (laughter). After Allen came another person named Clyburne, and he was kind to Clyburne by giving him the same amount. To a bookseller's assistant he had given money on three occasions, but denied misconduct.

The court adjourned.

Special Dispatches to the CHRONICLE.

LONDON, April 3. -- Every available inch in Old Bailey was occupied this morning when the hearing of the libel suit brought against the Marquis of Queensberry by Oscar Wilde was opened before Justice Collins. Wilde charges the Marquis with leaving, on February 28th, an uncovered card at the Albemarle Club, on which was written certain foul epithets. As a result Wilde, on March 2d, caused the arrest of the Marquis, and the latter at the Marlborough-street Police Court was placed under £1500 bail.

The courtroom was to-day crowded with lawyers. Admission was obtained by tickets only, and the Sheriff in charge exhibited a pile of applications a foot high, many being from well-known people.

Wild rumors were current in London yesterday that Wilde had suddenly left the city to avoid being present in court, and reports were also current that startling developments would arise to-day. But both these rumors were set at rest by the arrival in court of the principals to the suit.

The Marquis, who wore a shabby overcoat, was was placed in the docket, and answered to the indictment by pleading first not guilty, and secondly, that the libel was true and it was published for the public good.

The Marquis seemed unconcerned, and, replying to questions, spoke quietly and clearly.

Sir Edward Clarke, formerly Solicitor-General, in opening the case, said the card left at the Albemarle Club for Mr. Wilde was one of the visiting cards of the Marquis of Queensberry.

Continuing, counsel said the gravest issues had been raised, as the defendant in his pleadings alleged that the plaintiff had for some time solicited the persons to commit indecent offenses.

Certain letters addressed by the plaintiff to Lord Alfred Douglass, the second son of the Marquis of Queensberry, were brought to the plaintiff by a man who said he was in distress, and Wilde gave him £20 with which to pay his passage to America. Another letter was handed Beerbohm Tree, the actor, who gave it to the plaintiff.

Counsel then recounted the facts already known in the case, showing that Wilde, who had recently returned from Algiers, drove up to the Albemarle Club about 5 P. M. on February 28th, and, on entering, was handed an envelope by the hall porter, Sidney Wright, who said: "Lord Queensberry desired me, sir, to hand this to you when you came to the club."

Inside the envelope the plaintiff found a card, on the back of which was the date "4:30 P. M.-18-2-'95," and on this card were written certain foul epithets which formed the basis of the suit.

Oscar Wilde was then called. He languidly arose from the solicitor's table, where he was seated, and entered the witness-box. The plaintiff was faultlessly dressed and carried gloves in his hand, showing fingers covered with rings. He was very pale, but seemingly composed.

Wilde spoke with his customary drawl, leaning his arms upon the rail of the witness-box and replying distinctly to questions. The jury, which was composed of very intelligent men of elderly appearance, mainly prosperous tradesmen, eyed him with curiosity.

The witness said that upon arriving at his house a few months ago he found two gentlemen waiting in the library. One was the Marquis of Queensberry; the other was unknown to plaintiff. The former said, "Sit down."

Wilde replied: "Lord Queensberry, I will not allow any one to talk that way in my house. I suppose you have come to apologize. Is it possible that you accuse me and your son of an unnatural crime?"

The Marquis replied: "I don't say it, but you look like it and appear like it."

Counsel for plaintiff then asked the witness about the man to whom he gave £20 with which to pay his passage to America. The witness said: "The man told me he had been offered £60 for the letter, and I advised him to immediately accept it; but I finally gave him the money in order to relieve his distress, and he gave me the letter."

The document referred to was here produced in court, and was handed to 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 undying love, Oscar Wilde."

Other expressions in the letter were: "Your slim, gilt soul walks between poetry and passion"; "I know that Hyacinthus, who was loved by Apollo, was you in the Greek days."

Counsel, in explaining this letter, said it might seem extravagant to those in the habit of writing letters. But he added, "It was mere poetry." [Laughter.]

Interest in the case was increased when Sir Edward Clarke, upon finishing the direct examination, turned the witness over to E. H. Carson, Q. C., M. P., counsel for the Marquis of Queensberry, for cross-examination.

Carson began the presentation of the case for the Marquis by reading passages from "Dorian Gray," one of Oscar Wilde's novels of modern life, to show that the author upheld the offense alleged, the plaintiff following counsel with a copy of the book and laughing at Carson's insinuations.

Carson, addressing the plaintiff, asked: "Do you think the description of Dorian Gray, given on page 6, is a moral one?" "Yes," replied Wilde. "Just what an artist would notice in a beautiful personality." "Did you ever adore as madly as described in 'Dorian Gray' any person of the male sex younger than yourself?" was the next question. In reply Wilde said: "I took the idea from Shakespeare's sonnets."

During this portion of the proceedings the Marquis of Queensberry followed his counsel with a copy of "Dorian Gray" in his hands with seeming enjoyment.

Wilde testified that the man to whom he gave £20 on receipt of the letter in which he referred to the "rose-red lips" of Lord Douglass, which amount was used to pay his passage to America, was named Wood.

Replying to questions by Mr. Carson, Wilde said the letter to Lord Alfred was merely "poetical," and he added that he had an "undying love" for Lord Alfred, who, he claimed, was his best friend. Witness denied having misconducted himself with Wood. The latter, he added, was introduced to himself by Lord Alfred, who asked him to befriend the man.

Wilde and Wood, it was shown also by cross-examination, addressed each other by their Christian names. It was also developed that in writing he did not concern himself to produce morality or immorality. He had no purpose, and was concerned merely with literature, beauty, wit and emotion. He rarely thought of anything he wrote as true; indeed, he might say never in reference to "Dorian Gray."

Sir Edward Clarke objected to Carson cross-examining his client on that novel as it appeared in Lippincott's Magazine and not as it was published in England.

Wilde thereupon stepped from the witness box and whispered a few words to his counsel, after which Sir Edward Clarke withdrew his objection.

The cross-examination was very sever and brought out the great differences in ages of Oscar Wilde and Lord Alfred Douglas (the former was born in 1856, the latter in 1870), how the two had visited various towns together and had been much in one another's company.

Carson then drew out Wilde's opinion regarding literature in general, to which line of cross-examination the witness made many smart responses in the same line as in his plays.

"The interpretation of my works does not concern me," said Wilde. "I do not care 'tuppence' for what the Philistines think about me."

Carson severely repressed the levity of the witness and began a more serious phase of cross-examination by questioning Wilde about his intimacy with a newsboy 18 years of age, and brought out the fact that Wilde took the boy to the Hotel Brighton.

"Why did you seek the boy's society?" asked Carson, "Was it for an intellectual treat?" "Oh, he was a bright, careless, amusing creature," replied the witness.

Carson here produced a silver cigarette case, a handsome cane and a book which Wilde admitted he had given the newsboy.

Cross-examination then touched upon Wilde's relations with various boys and men, and the questions were so pointed as to be unprintable. Wilde, however, emphatically denied that he did anything improper, but he was troubled and confused under the terrible cross-examination to which he was subjected, and frequently drank water. In fact he seemed ready to faint, and a chair was placed inside the witness-stand for his use. Throughout the questioning of the plaintiff the Marquis of Queensberry stood facing him, and did not take his eyes off the man.

The cross-examination of Wilde was not finished when the court adjourned at 5 P. M. A large crowd had assembled about the Old Bailey to see Wilde leave.

SOME OF WILDE'S IDEAS. Extracts From His Novel of "The Picture of Dorian Gray."

A few extracts from Oscar Wilde's novel, "The Picture of Dorian Gray," which was read from in the London court yesterday, will give an idea of its character. Dorian Gray is thus described on page 6 in the words of Basil Hallward: "I turned half way round and saw Dorian Gray for the first time. When our eyes met I felt that I was growing pale. A curious instinct of terror came over me. I knew that I had come face to face with some one whose mere personality was so fascinating that if I allowed it to do so it would absorb my whole nature, my whole soul, my very art itself. I did not want any external influence in my life. You know yourself, Harry, how independent I am by nature. My father destined me for the army. I insisted on going to Oxford. Then he made me enter my name at the Middle Temple. Before I had eaten half a dozen dinners I gave up the bar and announced my intention of becoming a painter.

"I have always been my own master; had at least always been so, till I met Dorian Gray. Then- But I don't know how to explain it to you. Something seemed to tell me that I was on the verge of a terrible crisis of my life. I had a strange feeling that fate had in store for me exquisite joys and exquisite sorrows. I knew that if I spoke to Dorian I would become absolutely devoted to him, and that I ought not to speak to him. I grew afraid, and turned to quit the room. It was not conscience that made me do so; it was cowardice. I take no credit to myself for trying to escape."

Again the artist says: "Suddenly I found myself face to face with the young man whose personality had so strangely stirred me. We were quite close, almost touching."

"Our eyes met again. It was mad of me, but I asked Lady Brandon to introduce me to him. Perhaps it was not so mad, after all. It was simply inevitable. We would have spoken to each other without any introduction, I am sure of that. Dorian told me so afterward. He too, felt that we were destined to know each other."

And in his rhapsody he exclaims: "What the invention of oil painting was to the Venetians, and the face of Antinous was to late Greek sculpture, the face of Dorian Gray will some day be to me. It is not merely that I paint from him, draw from him, model from him. Of course I have done all that. He has stood as Paris in dainty armor, and as Adonis with huntsman's cloak and polished boar-spear. Crowned with heavy lotus blossoms, he has sat on the prow of Adrian's barge, looking into the green turbid Nile. He has leaned over the still pool of some Greek woodland, and seen in the water's silent silver the wonder of his own beauty. But he is much more to me than that."

Hallward considered for a few moments. "He likes me," he answered after a pause; "I know he likes me. Of course I flatter him dreadfully. I find a strange pleasure in saying things to him that I know I shall be sorry for having said. I give myself away. As a rule he is charming to me, and we walk home together from the club arm in arm, or sit in the studio and talk of a thousand things. Now and then, however, he is horribly thoughtless and seems to take a real delight in giving me pain. Then I feel, Harry, that I have given away my whole soul to some one who treats it as if it were a flower to put in his coat, a bit of decoration to charm his vanity, an ornament for a summer's day."

A few pages further on, Hallward, in talking to his idol, says: "The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself with desire for what its monstrous laws have made monstrous and unlawful. It has been said that the great events of the world take place in the brain. It is in the brain and the brain only that the great sins of the world take place also. You, Mr. Gray, you yourself, with your rose-red youth and your rose-white boyhood, you have had passions that have made you afraid, thoughts that have filled you with terror, day dreams and sleeping dreams whose mere memory might stain your cheek with shame."

PEN PICTURE OF OSCAR WILDE. Ungainly and Untidy but Effeminate in Manner.

In "Live Topics About Town" a writer in the New York Sun recently gave this graphic pen picture of Oscar Wilde, showing that the esthetic playwright is not always fair to look upon:

"Opinions concerning Oscar Wilde are so numerous that it will do no harm to add one more to the number. Mr. Wilde is still spoken of as a thing of beauty and a person of engaging appearance. The writer met him in London last summer and had an extended conversation with the ex-esthete upon a business matter, which was subsequently settled to the satisfaction of all parties concerned."

"Mr. Wilde was at that time addicted to wearing cork-soled boots of a very large and cumbersome make, and he wore flapping trousers that bagged at the knees. His rather shapeless body was incased in a frock coat which might have been made by an obscure tailor in Newark, so awkward and ill-fitting were its outlines, and it would be the widest possible departure from the truth to assert that his general appearance and expression were anything but repellant. The front of his coat was stained with grease. His teeth were discolored and the fat hung in heavy masses over his jaw bones.

Along with his unwieldy bulk and general ungainliness of movement there was a manner of assumed femininity that aroused ridicule if not disgust. Mr. Wilde sat humped up in a chair, with his eyes turned upward and his voice was pitched like a woman's. He twisted his rings nervously, and occasionally pressed a handkerchief with a narrow lace border to his lips as he talked. There were two prominent Americans present at the interview, and they must read with interest the assertion made in some of the dispatches that Mr. Wilde is a man of magnificent physique, with engaging manners and a generally magnetic presence.