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London, May 25 — There was the usual crowd of interested spectators in the court room of the Old Bailey this morning all anxious to witness the trial of Oscar Wilde. When the court adjourned yesterday, Sir F. Lockwood, solicitor-general, had just commenced his address to the jury on behalf of the prosecution, and it was expected he would denounce Wilde in strong language when be resumed his argument today. Wilde took his seat in the prisoners' dock, facing the jury, and looking extremely anxious. As expected, when Sir Frank Lockwood resumed his speech, he dealt very severely with Wilde in his reference to the prisoner's intimacy with Lord Alfred Douglass. Referring to the much commented upon letters which Wilde wrote to Lord Alfred Douglas, counsel said the jury had been told they were too low to appreciate such poetry, and he (Sir Lockwood) thanked God it was so, as be hoped they were above the level of beasts. (Applause.) Sir Edward Clarke, leading counsel for Wilde, here interposed objections to such appeals as has just been made by Sir Frank, which counsel claimed should not be allowed. Sir Frank Lockwood continued his speech. He warned the jury to render a verdict which would prevent such "a detestable and abominable practice to rear its head unblushingly in the country."

Mr Justice Wills began summing up at 1:30 p.m. The general tenor of his address to the jury was favorable to Wilde. The Jury retired at 3:30 p.m., and after a brief absence found him guilty on all the counts of the indictment, including the charge with reference to persons unknown who were also pronounced to be guilty.

Alter a short interval the judge called Wilde and Taylor to the bar and they were each sentenced to two years' imprisonment at hard labor.

While the jury was out, at the request of the representative of the Associated Press, Wilde's counsel procured the following statement from Wilde who was waiting in the prisoners' room below the dock: "The charges alleged against me are entirely untrue. Youth in every form has fascinated me, because youth has naturally that temperament to which the artist has to try to attain. All works of art are works produced in a moment of youth, and I have a sense of all the serial grades. I love society, the rich and well-born, on account of their luxury, culture and the graces of their lives, and the external accidents of comely life. But anyone, plough boy, fisherman, or street arab, has an interest for me. Mere humanity is so wonderful, I do not ask of the young what they do, I do not care who they are, their ignorance has its mode of wisdom, their lack of culture leaves them open to fresh and vivid impressions. (Signed) Oscar Wilde."

The document of the above statement is written in Wilde's own writing.

While the jury was absent from the court room there was such a babel of voices that counsel engaged in the case went into the lobby in order to discuss events. Everybody expected the jury to disagree, as upon the previous trial, and as the jurymen fled back into their box, every person present rose in suppressed excitement and the court room became still as a death chamber. The jurymen answered to their names in firm and decided tones and seemed to be immensely relieved when the ordeal was over. A stifled ejaculation of surprise went round the court when the foreman announced that the jury found the prisoner guilty.

Immediately after the verdict was rendered, Mr. C J Gill, the counsel for the prosecution, said to the Associated Press reporter: I am somewhat surprised at the verdict myself. I thought that surely one member of the jury would stand out.

When Mr. Gill was asked if there was any chance of a new trial, he replied; "No indeed, it is now disposed of for ever, thank Heaven."

Mr. Travers Humphreys, of counsel for Wilde, also told the reporter of the Associated Press, that the verdict was a surprise to him. He added: "The sentence is for two years on all the counts of the indictment, and on each count separately. Now that they have hit their man, I am certain his health will break down and possibly the authorities will favorably entertain the idea of a pardon.

Sir Edward Clarke, leading counsel for Wilde, applied to Mr. Justice Wills to postpone passing sentence upon his client until the next session of the Central Criminal Court, but the judge refused to do so.

Oscar Wilde and Alfred Taylor were, after the conclusion of the trial, taken without delay to the Newgate jail, where they waited until warrants were signed for their detention. Both men were then conveyed in the prison van to Pentonville where they will serve out their sentences unless a petition should be granted or they should be transferred to another prison before the expiration of the term of their imprisonment.

The punishment which Oscar Wilde is sentenced to undergo is the severest known to the law. It practically means a continuous period of solitary confinement for the two years term of his sentence. Regular "jail birds" always prefer five years of penal servitude to two years imprisonment, owing to the easier conditions of the former. Wilde will not be permitted to see any visitor for three months, but by exceptionally good conduct he can secure a slight reduction of his sentence. Lord Alfred Douglass said that if Wilde were convicted he would take a house near the prison until his release, but it is now clear that if Lord Alfred returns to England be will be arrested on the same charge Wilde is.

LONDON, May 25.

The jury in the Oscar Wilde case retired at 3.30 this afternoon. After being out two hours they returned a verdict of guilty. Judge Wills sentenced him to two years' imprisonment at hard labor. At the same time Alfred Taylor, Wilde's associate, was given a similar sentence.

The Old Bailey Court room was filled with interested spectators almost as soon as the doors were opened to-day. Sir Frank Lockwood, the Solicitor-General, resumed his address to the jury, which he had just begun when court adjourned yesterday. The prisoner's intimacy with Lord Alfred Douglas and the exhibition of the younger man by the older one at hotels and public places in and about London were severely commented upon by counsel.

Referring to the much-commented-upon letters which Wilde wrote to Lord Alfred Douglas, counsel said that the jury had been told that they were too low to appreciate such poetry, and he thanked God that it was so, as it showed they were above the level of beasts. (Applause which the Judge promptly suppressed.)

Sir Edward Clarke, leading counsel for Wilde, here interposed objections to such appeals as the one just made by Sir Frank Lockwood, which, counsel claimed, should not be allowed. When Sir Frank Lockwood continued his speech he warned the jury to render a verdict which would prevent "such a detestable and abominable vice to rear its head unblushingly in this country."

JUDGE'S CHARGE FAVORABLE.

Justice Wills began summing up at 1.30 P.M. The general tenor of his address to the jury was favorable to Wilde. During the address of Justice Wills to the jury, the foreman of the jury asked whether, in view of the intimacy between Lord Alfred Douglas and Alfred Wood, one of the men whose names has been brought prominently into the case, a warrant for Lord Alfred's arrest had ever been issued. The Judge replied that he thought not. The foreman then asked if it had ever been contemplated to issue a warrant for the arrest of Lord Alfred Douglas. To this the Judge replied that he could not say, and the court adjourned for lunch.

When the court reassembled for business, the Judge said that the suspicion that Lord Alfred Douglas would be spared, if guilty, simply because he was Lord Alfred Douglas, was a wild idea and a matter which they could not discuss. The present inquiry was as to whether the man in the dock was guilty of immoral practices with certain persons.

The jury returned to court at 5.30 P.M., after having been absent two hours, and returned a verdict of guilty against the defendant. The jury found Wilde guilty on all counts of the indictment, including the charge with reference to persons unknown, who were also pronounced to be guilty. The announcement of the verdict caused a great sensation in court, as it was the general impression that Wilde would escaped conviction. After a short interval the Judge called Wilde and Taylor, who was convicted last week, to the bar and they were each sentenced as already stated, to two years’ imprisonment.

WILDE MAKES A STATEMENT.

While the jury was out, at the request of the representative of the Associated Press, Wilde’s counsel procured the following signed statement from Wilde, who was waiting in the prisoners’ room, below the dock:

The charges alleged against me are untrue. Youth in every form always fascinated me, because youth has naturally that temperament to which the artist has to try to attain. All works of art are works produced in the moment of youth. I have no sense at all of social grades. I love society and the rich and well-born on account of their luxury, culture, the grace of their lives, the external accidents of comely life; but anyone – plough-boy, fisherman or street arab - has an interest for me. Mere humanity is so wonderful. I do not ask of the young what they do. I do not care who they are. Their ignorance has its mode of wisdom; their lack of culture leaves them open to fresh and vivid impressions. OSCAR WILDE.

The document from which the above statement is cabled to the Associate Press is written throughout in Wilde’s own writing, which is extremely graceful and firm, on a sheet of foolscap paper, and is signed with a flourish.

When the foreman of the jury delivered the verdict, Wilde, who had entered the prisoners dock a moment before, rose from the chair upon which he had been seated throughout the trial and stood with his arms on the rail. The silence which prevailed throughout the court room was really painful as Justice Wills ordered that Alfred Taylor should also be summoned before him. Then in a voice trembling with emotion, the Justice said:

A SHOCKING CASE.

"I never before had such a shocking case as this to deal with. Two men such as you are, by the very nature of your crime, lost to all sense of remorse for what you have done. To think that you, Taylor, should be the keeper of a male brothel, and that you, Wilde, a man of reputed culture, should be such a perverter of young men. There is no doubt but that the verdict is a just one, and I shall give you the full penalty allowed by law, and I only regret that it is not more severe. You are both sentenced to hard labor for the term of two years."

Wilde did not look at the Judge while the sentence was being pronounced. His eyes roved around the court room, his face never changed color and he looked like a man who has made up his mind to make the best of a bad situation. Taylor smiled when sentence was pronounced. As Wilde turned in the dock and prepared to go back to the prisoner’s room the crowd present cried: "Shame, shame!" This shouting caused Justice Wills to rise and exclaim in a loud and determined voice: "Silence, silence!"

During the time the jury was debating upon the verdict, Lord Douglas of Hawick strolled out of the court room and into the courtyard, where he walked about nervously smoking a cigarette. His face still shows traces of his recent encounter with his father, his left eye being much discolored. During the final stages of Wilde’s trial today there was an immense crowd in front of the Old Bailey, and the windows of all the neighboring houses were filled with highly-interested spectators.

While the jury was absent from the court room there was such a babel of voices that counsel engaged in the case went into the lobby in order to discuss events, the noise being too great for them to remain at their places. Everybody expected the jury to disagree, as upon the previous trial, and as the jurymen filed back into the box every person present rose in suppressed excitement and the court room became as still as a death chamber. The jurymen answered to their names in firm and decided tones, and seemed to be immensely relieved when the ordeal was over. A stifled ejaculation of surprise went around the court when the foreman announced that the jury found the prisoner guilty.

Immediately after the verdict was rendered, C. F. Gill, of counsel for the prosecution, said to a representative of the Assoicated Press: "I am somewhat surprised at the verdict myself. Not that I doubted Wilde’s guilt; but I thought that surely one member of the jury would stand out." When Mr. Gill was asked if there was any chance of a new trial, he replied "No, indeed; it is now disposed of forever, thank Heaven!" Travers Humphreys, of counsel for Wilde, also told the representative of the Associated Press that the verdict was a surprise to him. He added: "The sentence is for two years on all the counts of indictments and not on each count separately. Now that they have hit their mark, I am certain his health will break down, and possibly that the authorities will favorably entertain the idea of a pardon." Sir Edward Clarkd, leading counsel for Wilde, applied to Justice Wills to postpone passing sentence upon his client until next session of the Central Criminal Court (Old Bailey), but the Judge refused to do so.