"DE PROFUNDIS!"

NZ Truth, Issue 416, 14 June 1913, Page 8

"DE PROFUNDIS!"

Echoes of' Oscar. Lord Alfred Douglas Downed. [From "Truth's" London j Correspondent.] The reading of the unpublished portion of "Be Profundis" settled any chance that Lord Alfred Douglas might have had oL getting damages from the author and the publishers of "Oscar Wilde: A Critical Study." In his summing-up, the judge .dealt a solid hand to the son of a Marquis and, incidentally, had a little to say about the departed OscarHe admitted that, although Wildo was A SINGULARLY BAD MAN, he was .also a singularly clever fellow • Ho didn't say as much for the nobie Lord, but. remarked on the wonderful opportunities that that nut had thrown away. Another of his comments was that Lord Alfred was badly advised when he brought the action, but apparently had not known of the manuscript and letters written by Wilde, that «o damned his case. Lord Alfred said, m reply to^ a question from the bench, that he had brought the suit at the suggestion of his wife, from whom ho was at the moment parted. Thut statement was denied, however, by the wife s solicitor, who happened to bo m court. His Honor then expressed the hope that Lord 'Alfred's wife hadn t learned all about Her »?**«»* s c ° n ' nection with Oscar Wilde for tho first time through the case. The jury after retiring for an hour or so, returned verdicts for the defendants with costs. They found that the statements ' were libellous, but true, and justified. , The noble Lord hus brought A FURTHER BIT OF TROUBLE upon himself by sending to the judge Who tried the case a letter, which his Honor described as grossly and criminally libelling one of the witnesses. On a charge of criminally libelling his father-in-law, whom ho blames for the present estrangement from his wife, (Lord Alfred was to-day bound over m £500.