Oscar Wilde, Volume 1 | Page 5

on the sole of her foot which gave her some pain. Dr.
Wilde did her the honour of paring the corn with his own hands and
painting it with iodine. The cunning Serjeant could not help saying with
some confusion, natural or assumed, "that it would have been just as

well--at least there are men of such temperament that it would be
dangerous to have such a manipulation going on." The spectators in the
court smiled, feeling that in "manipulation" the Serjeant had found the
most neatly suggestive word.
Naturally at this point Serjeant Sullivan interfered in order to stem the
rising tide of interest and to blunt the point of the accusation. Sir
William Wilde, he said, was not the man to shrink from any
investigation: but he was only in the case formally and he could not
meet the allegations, which therefore were "one-sided and unfair" and
so forth and so on.
After the necessary pause, Serjeant Armstrong plucked his wig straight
and proceeded to read letters of Dr. Wilde to Miss Travers at this time,
in which he tells her not to put too much iodine on her foot, but to rest
it for a few days in a slipper and keep it in a horizontal position while
reading a pleasant book. If she would send in, he would try and send
her one.
"I have now," concluded the Serjeant, like an actor carefully preparing
his effect, "traced this friendly intimacy down to a point where it begins
to be dangerous: I do not wish to aggravate the gravity of the charge in
the slightest by any rhetoric or by an unconscious over-statement; you
shall therefore, gentlemen of the jury, hear from Miss Travers herself
what took place between her and Dr. Wilde and what she complains
of."
Miss Travers then went into the witness-box. Though thin and past her
first youth, she was still pretty in a conventional way, with regular
features and dark eyes. She was examined by Mr. Butt, Q.C. After
confirming point by point what Serjeant Armstrong had said, she went
on to tell the jury that in the summer of '62 she had thought of going to
Australia, where her two brothers lived, who wanted her to come out to
them. Dr. Wilde lent her £40 to go, but told her she must say it was £20
or her father might think the sum too large. She missed the ship in
London and came back. She was anxious to impress on the jury the fact
that she had repaid Dr. Wilde, that she had always repaid whatever he
had lent her.

She went on to relate how one day Dr. Wilde had got her in a kneeling
position at his feet, when he took her in his arms, declaring that he
would not let her go until she called him William. Miss Travers refused
to do this, and took umbrage at the embracing and ceased to visit at his
house: but Dr. Wilde protested extravagantly that he had meant nothing
wrong, and begged her to forgive him and gradually brought about a
reconciliation which was consummated by pressing invitations to
parties and by a loan of two or three pounds for a dress, which loan,
like the others, had been carefully repaid.
The excitement in the court was becoming breathless. It was felt that
the details were cumulative; the doctor was besieging the fortress in
proper form. The story of embracings, reconciliations and loans all
prepared the public for the great scene.
The girl went on, now answering questions, now telling bits of the story
in her own way, Mr. Butt, the great advocate, taking care that it should
all be consecutive and clear with a due crescendo of interest. In October,
1862, it appeared Lady Wilde was not in the house at Merrion Square,
but was away at Bray, as one of the children had not been well, and she
thought the sea air would benefit him. Dr. Wilde was alone in the house.
Miss Travers called and was admitted into Dr. Wilde's study. He put
her on her knees before him and bared her neck, pretending to examine
the burn; he fondled her too much and pressed her to him: she took
offence and tried to draw away. Somehow or other his hand got
entangled in a chain at her neck. She called out to him, "You are
suffocating me," and tried to rise: but he cried out like a madman: "I
will, I want to," and pressed what seemed to be a handkerchief over her
face. She declared that she lost consciousness.
When she came to herself she found Dr. Wilde frantically imploring
her to come to her senses, while dabbing water on her face, and
offering her wine to drink.