San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-09-11

Have you.ever read 1.-THE Picture of
Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde? -'
While L was engaged upon the first
twenty pages, L felt disposed to echo
Punch's advice to those about to mar
ry-"dop't"-but changed my mind
as the tale went on.
A most doleful story, with a gigan-
tic immoral "motivh which outdoes
itself.
1t becomes moral in spite of hero,
in spite of author, in spite of the en-
ervating ard luxurious descriptions.
1t keeps saying, like the refrain of
the "old clock on the stairs,n if you
deliberately seek evil, you will
get punished surely. If you are
hazy about your opinions of the next
world, and think it will be made all
right after death; why, the balance
will be adjusted before you go, and
you can put in plenty of retribution
right here.
For the benefit of those who have
not read Dorian Gray" and who
very possibly do not in tend to, short
resume of the story may be accepta BILE.
In the first place there is an artist,
Mr.. Basil Hallward, who is q very
good fellow with moral ideas, and q
glowing imagination. This artist has
two friends, primarily Dorian Gray, a
youth OF wonderful beauty and un-
limited pecuniary expectations, and
secondarily, and English Lord. This
individual, Lord Henry Wotton, be-
longs to no class under the
sun, at least no class which
the nineteenth century sun illumines,
although he might have lived in the
"Epigramatic" days OF France.
Basil paints a portrait of Dorian
Gray, and Lord henry meets the
artists model at the last sitting.
Like q pleasant fiend he begins to
open the eyes of Dorian Gray to the
very bad philosophy of the Epicu-
reans.
Poor Basil is cast aside, while the
boy listens to Lord Henry, who de-
signs the entire corruption of what be
calls his "rose-red youth and rose
white boyhood."
Both Lord Henry and his victim
seem to consider their villiany as new,
forgetting the bold old declaration of
the, ancients, Eat drink and be
merry for tomorrow we die" which
certainly certainly covered the case
quite as completely.
Lord Henry observes "The only way
to get rid of q temptation is to yield
to it," Youth is the only thing
worth having, and that is bound to
CO." All your beauty will leave you,
Dorian, some time, make as bad use
of it as you can, while you have it TO
use.n
1t must have been fertile soil for
evil, into which these seeds of spuri-
GUS preaching fell, tor Dorian rushes
madly up to the picture, with a wild
apostrOphe.
He calls upon the portrait to change
with the advancing years, to bear the
burden of his life. and his sins, while
he himself goes free.
The portrait is sent home to Dorian,
and that beautiful youth proceeds to
fall in love with a poor little actress,
at third rate theatre.
She is really talented, really lovely.
really virtuous.
He proposes 10 marry her, and is
prosacically happy. He invites Basil
and Lordy Henry to the theatre, sure
that her acting will astonish them.
On the contrary she acts very bad
ly, thinking to please her lover by
showing at once that the mimic world
of the stage has lost all joy for her.
When the play is over Dorian goes
behind the scenes, tells her he loves
her no more, that he will never see
her more, that he hates her, for she
has committed the objectionable sin
in his eyes, she has bored him.
ha
poison ON the spot, and dies before
she leaves her dressing room.
Dorian goes home and, 10! around
the smiling lips of the picture, there
are lines of cruelty. His own mouth,
rose red and innocent, bears no inn
press of the wrong, and so it goes on,
through ninety-seven pages OF dreary
progress.
The picture is hidden away as year
by year the wickedness of the orig
inals dims and mars It's beatty.
The eyes are bleared and the SEN
sual lips lose all their pleasant
curves, the face is the face OF hope
less debauche.
But Dorian himself reveals no trace
and divides his time between mys-
terious sins and London drawing
rooms.
Lord Henry says that the reason
men find so little pleasure in life now
a-days, is because they are afraid to
follow out their impulses, especially
their evil ones. "COwardlce and con-
science are one, but conscience is the
trade name of the firm" is the sum-
ming up of this amiable doctrine.
Mr.. Wilde is afraid to give us the
real history of Mr.. Dorian Gray's