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Original paragraph in
The Australian Star - Monday, April 8, 1895
The Australian Star - Monday, April 8, 1895
Most similar paragraph from
The Argus - Saturday, April 6, 1895
The Argus - Saturday, April 6, 1895
Difference
The sensational libel case in which Oscar Wilde, the poet and dramatist, proceeded criminally against the Marquis of Queensberry for
alleged libel came to an abrupt conclusion to-day.
The words complained of were written by the Marquis on a card, and charged Wilde with posing as an abominable character. The card was
left without a cover at the club of which Wilde was a member.
Mr. Carson, Q.O., counsel for the accused, continued his address to the jury in opening the case for the defence. He said that evidence
would be called to show that on the first occasion upon which Wilde met the man Parker, referred to in the evidence, Wilde was guilty of an act of
indecency towards him.
A servant employed at the Savoy Hotel gave evidence to the effect that on one occasion he found Wilde and a boy together under, shocking
circumstances.
At this stage Sir Edward Clarke, Q.C., counsel for Wilde, interposed and begged his Honor to grant permission for the finding of a
verdict hostile to his client, and to permit him (Sir Edward Clarke) to withdraw from the case.
The judge assented to this course on the understanding that the jury should not be qualified in respect to the verdict they should
return.
No further evidence was therefore called, and the jury without leaving the box instantly found a verdict of acquittal, adding that, in
their opinion, the words complained of as libellous were true in fact, and were written in the interests of the public and for the public good.
The Marquis of Queensberry was at once liberated, and as he left the court he was loudly cheered by the large crowd who had been
spectators in court.
The documents in the case were handed to the Treasury officials at noon to enable a decision to be arrived at as to whether any further
proceedings should be taken in the extraordinary case.
At 6 o'clock this evening Oscar Wilde was arrested. The feeling against him in London is intense, and in the hotels the managers have
cut his name from the playbills.
Oscar Wilde is 39 years old, having been born in Dublin in 1856, his parents being Sir. William Wilde, a distinguished surgeon and
antiquarian, and Lady Wilde, a well-known poetess and writer. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and at Oxford, where he gained the Newdigate
prize for poetry in 1878. In 1880 he came before the public with a volume of poems which attracted some attention. In 1881 he visited America, where he
lectured on art. Mr. Wilde's name has always been prominently associated with the "æsthetic" movement, and he has been supposed to be the prototype of
Bunthorne in Gilbert and Sullivan's opera "Patience." He has contributed extensively to the magazines, and his novelette, "The Picture of Dorian Gray,"
appeared in LIPINCOTT'S MAGAZINE in July, 1890, and was afterwards published in book form. Latterly Mr. Wilde has turned his attention to the drama "The
Duchess of Padua," a five-act tragedy, was produced at New York in January, 1891. The comedy "Lady Windermere's Fan" was performed at the St. James's
Theatre, London, in February, 1892, and was produced here last year. In 1893 he wrote "Salome" for Madame Sarah Bernhardt, the performance of which in
London was prohibited by the Lord Chamberlain, as it dealt with scenes and characters from the New Testament. He therefore published it in French in
Paris. "A Woman of No Importance," a comedy, was given at the Haymarket Theatre in April, 1893, and his latest drama, "The Importance of Being Earnest,"
is now being played at the St. James's Theatre, London, by Mr. George Alexander's company. In 1884 Wilde married Constance, daughter of Mr. Horace Lloyd,
Q.C., and has two sons, Cyril, born in I885, and Vivian, in 1886.
[Mr. Oscar Wilde is 39 years old, having been born in Dublin in 1856, his parents being Sir William Wilde, a distinguished surgeon and
antiquarian, and Lady Wilde, a well-known poetess and writer. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and at Oxford, where he gained the Newdigate
prize for poetry in 1878. In 1880 he came before the public with a volume of poems which attracted some attention. In 1881 he visited America, where he
lectured on art. Mr. Wilde's name has always been prominently associated with the "æsthetic" movement, and he has been supposed to be the prototype of
Bunthorne in Gilbert and Sullivan's opera "Patience." He has contributed extensively to the magazines, and his novelette, The Picture of Dorian Gray,
appeared in Lippincott's Magazine in July, 1890, and was afterwards republished in book form. Latterly Mr. Wilde has turned his attention to the drama.
"The Duchess of Padua," a five-act tragedy, was produced at New York in January, 1891. The comedy "Lady Windermere's Fan" was performed at the St. James's
Theatre, London, in February, 1892, and, it will be remembered, was produced here last year at the Princess's Theatre by the Brough and Boucicault
Company. In 1893 he wrote "Salome" for Madame Sarah Bernhardt, the performance of which in London was prohibited by the Lord Chamberlain, as it dealt with
scenes and characters from the New Testament. He therefore published it in French in Paris. "A Woman of No Importance," a comedy, was given at the
Haymarket Theatre in April, 1893, and his latest drama, "The Importance of Being Earnest," is now being played at the St. James's Theatre, London, by Mr.
George Alexander's company. In 1884 Mr. Wilde married Constance, daughter of Mr. Horace Lloyd, Q.C., and has two sons, Cyril, born in l885, and Vivian, in
1886.]