THE
PRIEST
AND
THE
ACOLYTE
WITH AN
INTRODUCTORY
PROTEST BY
STUART MASON
LONDON: AT THE LOTUS PRESS
NINETEEN HUNDRED AND SEVEN
So many copies of “The Priest and the Acolyte” have been sold by
unscrupulous publishers and booksellers under the implication that it
is the work of Oscar Wilde that it has been thought good to issue this
edition with the object of putting an end, once and for all, to the
possibility of purchasers being misled as to the authorship.
The story was originally published in _The Chameleon_, the first and
only number of which appeared in December, 1894. The author of the
story was an undergraduate at Oxford, “an insufficiently birched
schoolboy,” as he has recently been described, and he alone was
responsible for the contents of the magazine which he edited. At the
time of the trial of Lord Queensberry for libel a few months later it
was attempted to show that Oscar Wilde not only approved of the theme
of the story, but that he was actually a party to the publication of
it, on the grounds that he sent to the editor a number of aphorisms
under the title of “Phrases and Philosophies for the Use of the
Young.”
The simplest way of showing what Oscar Wilde really thought of the
story is to quote what he said when examined in Court on the subject.
John Sholto Douglas, Eighth Marquis of Queensberry, was arrested on
a warrant on March 1, 1895, on a charge of uttering a criminal libel
against Oscar Wilde. On the following morning he was brought up before
Mr. Newton at Marlborough Street Police Court, and after some formal
evidence had been taken was remanded on bail for a week, and on the
second hearing was formally committed to take his trial at the Central
Criminal Court a few weeks later.
The trial began at the Old Bailey on Wednesday, April 3, before
Mr. Justice Henn Collins. Sir Edward Clarke, Q.C., M.P., Mr. Charles
Mathews and Mr. Travers Humphreys appeared for the prosecution;
Mr. Carson, Q.C., M.P., Mr. C. F. Gill and Mr. A. Gill being for the
defence.
The court was crowded. The Marquis was the first to arrive. He came in
alone, and stood, hat in hand, in front of the dock. He spoke to no
one, and no one spoke to him. There was little that was aristocratic
in the Marquis’s appearance. He was of short stature, with a round
face, and clean shaven except for a streak of red whisker. His lower
lip drooped considerably. A few minutes before half-past ten,
Mr. Oscar Wilde entered the court and took a seat immediately in
front of his Counsel, with whom he at once joined in an animated
conversation.
The Judge was ten minutes late, but (the Marquis having entered the
dock) the preliminary proceedings were soon got through, and at a
quarter to eleven, Sir Edward Clarke began his speech for the
prosecution. Everybody listened attentively to the story, as set
forth by Counsel, of the prosecutor’s achievements at college, his
subsequent success as a littérateur, and the circumstances under
which he became acquainted with the defendant’s family. “Phrases and
Philosophies for the Use of the Young,” which Oscar Wilde contributed
to _The Chameleon_, was mentioned in the plea of the defence as
“immoral and obscene,” and Sir Edward Clarke occupied some time in
an endeavour to prove the contrary. With regard to _The Chameleon_,
Counsel admitted that it contained a story entitled “The Priest and
the Acolyte,” which could not be justified, but he declared his client
could not be held responsible for the publication as a whole, he being
but a contributor to its pages. As a matter of fact, Mr. Wilde urged
upon the editor that the book should be withdrawn.
Soon after Mr. Carson began his cross-examination, it became apparent
that the line he was adopting would result in a conflict between
Counsel. Mr. Wilde was being questioned as to his opinion on certain
extracts from “The Priest and the Acolyte,” when Sir Edward Clarke
jumped to his feet and appealed to the Judge whether the questions
were relevant, inasmuch as Mr. Wilde was not responsible for the
story. The Judge ruled in favour of Mr. Carson. Sir Edward, a few
minutes later, raised another objection, but he was again overruled.
The interval for luncheon came as a pleasant relief to all, and, on
the application of Mr. Carson, the Judge consented to the defendant
being allowed his freedom till the court resumed its sitting.
Sir Edward Clarke, in the course of his speech for the prosecution,
said that there were two extremely curious counts at the end of the
plea. One was that in December, 1894, was “published a certain immoral
work in the form of _The Chameleon_, relating to practices and
passions of an unnatural kind,” and that his client had “joined in
procuring the publication of _The Chameleon_, with his name upon it as
the principal contributor.” That was a very gross allegation. Directly
Mr. Wilde saw the magazine, he noticed there was a story in it called
“The Priest and the Acolyte,” which was a disgrace to literature,
which it was amazing any body wrote, and still more amazing that any
body allowed to be published under his name.[1] Directly Mr. Wilde
saw that story he communicated with the editor, and upon his
insistence the magazine was withdrawn. He had no knowledge that that
story was about to be published. It was strange indeed, then, to find
that publication put upon the particulars as justifying the charge
against Mr. Wilde.
[Footnote 1: Sir Edward Clarke was in error. The story was
published anonymously, being signed “X” only, though the author’s
real name was more or less an open secret in Oxford at the time.]
In his examination in chief, Sir Edward Clarke said: It is suggested
that you are responsible for the publication of _The Chameleon_ on the
front page of which some aphorisms of yours appear. Beyond sending
that contribution had you any thing to do with the preparation or
ownership, editorship or publication of that magazine?
Witness—No; nothing whatever.
Until you saw this number of _The Chameleon_ did you know any thing
about the story, “The Priest and the Acolyte”?
Nothing at all.
Upon seeing the story in print, did you communicate with the editor?
The editor came to see me at the Café Royal to speak to me about it.
Did you approve of the story of “The Priest and the Acolyte”?