a girl does not cry out at the time and does not complain afterwards, and
returns to the house to meet further rudeness, it must be presumed that she
consented to the seduction.

But was there a seduction? The girl asserted that there was guilty intimacy,
and Sir William Wilde had not contradicted her. It was said that he was only
formally a defendant; but he was the real defendant and he could have gone
into the box if he had liked and given his version of what took place and
contradicted Miss Travers in whole or in part.

"It is for you, gentlemen of the jury, to draw your own conclusions from
his omission to do what one would have thought would be an honourable man's
first impulse and duty."

Finally it was for the jury to consider whether the letter was a libel and
if so what the amount of damages should be.

His Lordship recalled the jury at Mr. Butt's request to say that in assessing
damages they might also take into consideration the fact that the defence was
practically a justification of the libel. The fair-mindedness of the judge was
conspicuous from first to last, and was worthy of the high traditions of the
Irish Bench.

After deliberating for a couple of hours the jury brought in a verdict which
had a certain humour in it. They awarded to Miss Travers a farthing damages
and intimated that the farthing should carry costs. In other words they rated
Miss Travers' virtue at the very lowest coin of the realm, while insisting that
Sir William Wilde should pay a couple of thousands of pounds in costs for having
seduced her.