The Standard Union - Wednesday, May 22, 1895

The Marquis of Queensberry seems to have struck a sympathetic chord when he blacked the eye of his son, Lord Douglas. The Marquis is a humorist as well as a pugilist. He had seen in one of the weekly illustrated papers a drawing, representing a huge iguanodon, as it is supposed to have appeared in its prehistoric times, and he was struck with "a certain resemblance lurking in this picture." Therefore, he sent it to its son’s wife, endorsing it as a possible ancestor of Oscar Wilde, "and intending it more as a sort of good-natured joke than anything else." The "Herald" reporter, calling on the Marquis for testimony, says of the drawing:

"There was a touch of the humorous about the pleiocene beast’s attitude, and the Marquis could not refrain from chuckling as he drew my attention to it."

Lord Douglas met his venerable pason Piccadilly, and, calling him pet names, wanted to know what he meant by sending insulting letters to his daughter-in-law, and there was a little scrap, in which the young man got the worst of it, his "Awful Dad" having given him one in the eye as an admonition and in atonement, as it were, for any omission of parental severity in the bringing up of his distinguished offspring. The Marquis, whose rules are so famous, is a philosopher as well as a parent and a pugilist, and says, of course, there is a point of view from which such a thing is painful, but, he adds:

"From another I am rather glad of it. There has been bad blood between my son and myself for some time, and I think this encounter may have probably let some of it out. At all events, I feel more kindly disposed toward him than I have been for some years past, and I think very possibly he may think all the better of me."

The populace seem to have been charmed with the entertainment afforded in Piccadilly, and popular esteem and enthusiasm were with the Marquis.

The New York Herald (European Edition) - Wednesday, May 22, 1895

London, May 22. — This morning the Marquis of Queensberry will for the second time in the last three months appear in a police-court. This time, however, he will be attended by his eldest son, Lord Douglas of Hawick, both father and son being charged with disorderly conduct.

As to the events which led to this unpleasant conclusion rumors of the most erratic character were floating around the London clubs last night, no two of the stories agreeing in detail. I am able, however, from the testimony of a disinterested eye-witness to give the exact facts as they will be revealed before the magistrate this morning.

INSULTING LETTERS AGAIN.

At about a quarter-past five last evening Lord Queensberry crossed over Piccadilly in the direction of Albemarle-street, where his hotel is situated. As he reached the corner of the latter street and Piccadilly he was met by his son, Lord Douglas of Hawick, who appeared to be in an excited condition and who apparently, without any preliminary beyond asking his father how be dared to send insulting letters to Lady Douglas, pushed rather than struck the elder man.

The latter staggered somewhat and his hat fell off, but recovering himself almost instantly he struck out at his son. At this juncture a policeman appeared upon the scene and putting his arm between the two requested them both to refrain from making a scene.

LORD DOUGLAS STRIKES THE POLICEMAN.

Lord Douglas, however, in returning his father's blow struck the policeman violently on the mouth, though of course only accidentally. After a short discussion the gentleman in blue somewhat wisely retired from the scene, but the combatants, a few yards further along Piccadilly, resumed their verbal altercation and eventually came again to actual blows.

In the short but sharp encounter which followed the author of the Queensberry rules put his pugilistic theories into practice, and when the police, who by this time had reappeared, separated them, Lord Douglas of Hawick was the possessor of a scientifically discolored eye.

TAKEN TO THE POLICE STATION.

Both representatives of the house of Douglas were then incontinentally marched off to the Vine Street Police Station, where a charge of disorderly conduct was preferred against them by the constable and entered on the charge sheet by the sergeant in charge of the station.

As they were perfectly well known they were allowed to depart when they had entered into their own recognizances in the sum of £2 to appear in court this morning.

These are the facts of the actual encounter. As to the preliminary matters which led thereto, I cannot do better than quote Lord Queensberry himself, whom I saw in the evening, and whose account of the occurrence, by the way, tallies perfectly well with the above.

LORD QUEENSBERRY'S SPEAKS OUT.

"I should like, first of all," said he, "to impress upon you that, as I shall have an opportunity of putting upon record tomorrow morning, I was not the aggressor. I had just returned from the Old Bailey, where I heard the jury find Taylor guilty, and had sent away my cab opposite St. James's Palace.

"I then walked up St. James's-street and was crossing over to Albemarle-Street, when, by a coincidence which seems almost fateful, I saw my son some hundred yards away. He caught sight of me at the same time and at once charged down upon me and after a few angry words attempted to assault me.

"Even after we were first separated by the police my son was for the second time the aggressor. However, this is a matter which I suppose I shall have to explain to the satisfaction of the magistrate to-morrow morning.

WHAT LED TO THE CONFLICT.

"As to the reason for this attack by my son, I can only imagine that he was annoyed by the events of the day and felt foolishly exasperated against me. As to the letter which he accused me of sending to his wife, that was on my part in the nature of a joke.

"I was struck with a certain resemblance lurking in this picture," and the marquis held up my view a drawing from one of the weekly illustrated papers depicting a huge iguanodon as it is supposed to have appeared to its prehistoric contemporaries. There was a distinct touch of the humorous about the dinosaurian's attitude, and the marquis could not refrain from chuckling as he drew my attention to it. "I sent a copy of the picture," he continued, "to my son's wife, endorsing it as well as I remember 'a possible ancestor of Oscar Wilde' and intending it more as a good-natured joke than anything else.

BAD BLOOD FOR SOME TIME.

"Of course I regard this evening's affair as very painful from one point of view, but from another I am rather glad of it. There has been bad blood between my son and myself for some time, and I think this encounter has probably let some of it out. At all events I feel more kindly disposed towards him than I have been for some years past, and I think very possibly he may think all the better of me."

And I left the marquis chuckling anew over this comic picture of the iguanodon.

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