December came and went and _Vera_ was not staged.

It seemed probable to Oscar that it might be accepted in America; at any rate, there could be no harm in trying: he sailed for New York.
It was on the cards that he might succeed in his new adventure.

The taste of America in letters and art is still strongly influenced, if not formed, by English taste, and, if Oscar Wilde had been properly accredited, it is probable that his extraordinary gift of speech would have won him success in America as a lecturer.
[Illustration: Oscar Wilde as He Appeared at Twenty-seven: on His First Visit to America] His phrase to the Revenue officers on landing: "I have nothing to declare except my genius," turned the limelight full upon him and excited comment and discussion all over the country.

But the fuglemen of his caste whose praise had brought him to the front in England were almost unrepresented in the States, and never bold enough to be partisans.

Oscar faced the American Philistine public without his accustomed _claque_, and under these circumstances a half-success was evidence of considerable power.