Witness.—“No. They were exceptional letters born of the two exceptional letters he sent to me. It is possible, I assure you, to express poetry in prose.”
Sir Frank.—“I will read one of these prose-poem letters. Do you think this line is decent, addressed to a young man? “Your rose-red lips which are made for the music of song and the madness of kissing.”
Witness.—“It was like a sonnet of Shakespeare. It was a fantastic, extravagant way of writing to a young man. It does not seem to be a question of whether it is proper or not.”
Sir Frank.—“I used the word decent.”
Witness.—“Decent, oh yes.”
Sir Frank.—“Do you think you understand the word, Sir?”
Witness.—“I do not see anything indecent in it, it was an attempt to address in beautiful phraseology a young man who had much culture and charm.”
Sir Frank.—“How many times have you been in the College Street ‘snuggery’ of the man Taylor?”
Witness.—“I do not think more than five or six times.”
Sir Frank.—“Who did you meet there?”