Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1896-08-08
GO 70
OF DORIAN GRAY,
ny OSCAR WILDR

"He Is all my art to mo now. I ON
times think, Harry, that there are only two
eras Of any Importance in the history 81 the
world. The first is the appearance Of a
new medium for art, and the second is the
appearance Of q new personality Of art also.
What the invention Of oil painting was 10 the
venetians, and the face of Antinous was 10
late Greek sculpture, the face Of Dorian Gray
will some day be 10 me. II is not merely that
| paint from him, draw from him, model from
him. OF course | have done all that. He
has stood as Paris in dainty armor, and as
Adonis with hUntsman's cloak and polished
boar-spear. Crowned with heavy lotus
blossoms, be has sat on the Prov Of Adrian's
barge, looking into the green. turbid Nile.
He has leaned over the still pool Of some
Greek woodland, and seen I'm the waters
silent silver the wonder Of his own beauty.
But he is much more 10 me than that. L
won't tell you that am dissatisfied with
what / have done OF him, or that his beauty
Is such that art cannot express it. There is
nothing that art can not express. and / know
that the work I have done since | met Dorian
Gray is good work. Is the best work Of my
life. But in some curious way-I wonder
VIII lbu bllhti tRsih hitE i"o H'AFpIAtAAtI
has suggested 10 ne an entirely new man
her in art, an entirely new mode Of style. j
see things differently. / think Of them differ
emily. ] can now recreate life in a way
that was hidden from me before. "A dream
Of former in days Of thought-whoi is il who
says that ! forget; but il Is what Dorian
Gray has been to me. The merely visible
presence Of this lad--for be seems TO me
little more than a lad, though he Is really
over twenty-his merely visible presence
all | wonder can you realize all that that
meansl Unconsciously he defines for me
the lines Of a fresh school, q school that Is
to rave in itself all the passion Of the ro-
mantle spirit, all the perfection Of the spirit
that is Greek. The harmony of soul and
body-how much that is! We in our mad
ness have separated the two, and have in
vented a realism that is bestial, al ideality
that is void. Harry! Harry! if you only
knew what Dorian Gray Is 10 mel You re-
member that landscape Of mine for which
Agnew offered me such a huge price, but
which I would not part with, II is one Of
the best things ! nave ever done. And why
Is IL SOL Because while / was painting 1t,
Dorian Gray sat beside me-"
'bdSl, tulS Is quiIS WOuuttlull Il lhuob
see Dorian Gray"
Hallward got up from the seat and walked
up and down the garden. After some time
be came back. "You don't understand,
Harry he said. Dorian Gray is merely 10
me a motive in art. He is never more
present in my work than when no image OF
him is there. He is simply a suggestion, as
/ have said, OF a new manner. i see him in
he curves of certain lines, in the loneliness
and the subtlcties of certain colors. That is
all"
''Then why won't you exhibit his portraitl''
"Becaucc ! nave put into it all the extra
ordinary romance Of which, Of course, !
have never dared to speak TO him. He
Knows nothing about IL. But the world
might guess it; and | will not bare my soul
to their shallow, prying eyes. My heart
shall never be put under their microscope.
There is too much Of myself in the thing,
Harry-too much of myself"
poets are not SO scrupulous as you are.
They know how useful passion is for publica-
ton. Nowadays a broken heart will run to
many editions"
II hate them for II. An artist should
create beautiful things, but should put
nothing Of his own life into them. We live
in an age when men treat art as il IL Were
meant to be a form of autobiography. We
nave lost the abstract sense of beauty. II
live, / will show the world what it is; and
for that reason the world shall never see my
portrait of Dorian Gray"
IL think you age wrong Basil, but ] won't
argue with you. II is only the Intellectually
.ost who ever argue Tell me, Is Dorian
Gray very fond OF youf"
Hallward considered for q few moments
ale likes me-" he answered, after a pause
Il know he likes me. OF course | fiatter
him dreadfully. ! find strange pleasure il
saying things TO him hat | know ] shall b.
sorry for having said. I give myself away
AS a rule, he is charming to me, and w
walk home together from the club arm il
arm, or sit in the studio and talk of
thousand things. Now and then, he il
horribly t~houghtless, and seems to take
real delight In giving me pain, Then | feel
Harry. that have given away my whole
soul 10 some one who treats it as IL it were
flower to put in his coat, a bit OF decoration
to charm his vanity, an ornament for a sum
mer's day"
Days in summer, Basil, are apt to linger
Perhaps you will tire sooner than he will
II is a sad thing 10 think of. but there is m
doubt that Genius lasts longer than Beauty
That account for the fact that we all taxi
such pains to o~vereducate ourselves. II
the wild struggle for existence, we want I.
have something that endures, and so we i'll
our mind with rubbish and facts, in thu
silly hope of keeping our place. Thu
thoroughly well-informed man-that Is tn
modern ideal. Aud the mind of tn,
thoroughly well-informed man is a dread
full thing. 1t is like a bric-a-brac shop, al
monsters and dust, ard everything prices
above its proper value. I think you will
tire first. all the same. Some day you vii
look at Gray, and he will seem TO you to be
little out Of drawing, or you won't like hi
tone Of color, or something. You will bitter
ly reproach him in your heart, and s~eriousl,
think that he has behaved very badly Il
you. The next time he calls. you will b
perfectly cold and indifferent. II will be
great pity. for il will alter you. The wors
of having a romance is that it leaves one o
unromantic."
Harry, don't talk like that. As long as
live. the personality Of Dorian Gray viii
dominate me. You can't feel what / feel
You change too often"
"Ah my dear Basil. that is exactly why
eau feel it. Those Who are faithful lsacy
only the pleasures Of love; it is the faith
less who know loves tragedies" And Lor
Henry struck a light on a dainty silver case
and began TO smoke a cigarette with a sell
satisfied air, as il he had summed up life l
a phrase. There was a rustic of chirrupin
sparrows in the ivy, and the blue cloud
shadows chased themselves across the gras
like swallows. How pleasant in the gar
dem And how delightful other people
emotions werel-much more delightful tha
their ideas, il seemed to him. Ones ow
soul, and the passions Of ones friends
those were the fascinating things in life
He thought with pleasure Of the tediou
luncheon that he had missed by staying S
long with Basil Hallward. Had ne gone Z
his aunt's, he would have been sure to mes
Lord Goodbody there, and the whole col
~yersation would have been about tn
housing of the poor, and the necessity 70
model lodging houses. 1t was charming I
have escaped all thatl As he thought Q
his aunt, an idea seemed 50 strike him. H
turned to Hallwsrd, and said. MY dea
fellow, l nave Just remembered"
Remembered what, Harryl"
"Where I heard the name of Dorian Gray.
where was it'll" asked Hallward, with
slight TOWN.