Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1896-08-15
THE
PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY,
BY OSCAR WILDE.

phN W. " WIN t1s
fectly still. And / have caught the effect
wantod-the half parted lips, and the brigh
look In your eyes. I don't know what Harr.
has been saying to you, but he has c~ertainl,
made you nave the most wonderful ex
preston. I suppose he has been paying yo,
compliments. You mustn't believe a wor,
that he says"
HE has certainly not been paying mi
compliments. Perhaps hat is the reason
don't think believe anything he has told
me-"
"You know you believe It ALL" said LORI
Henry, looking at him with his dreamy
heavy-liddcd eyes. 81 will go out in thu
garden with you. II is horribly hot in thu
studio. Basil, let us have something ice'
10 drink. something with Strawberries in 1t.
Certainly, Harry. Just touch the bell
and when Parker comes | will tell him wha
you want. l have got TO work up this back
ground, so | will Join YOU later on. Don
keep Dorian too long. ! have never been IL
better form for painting than l am to-day
This is going TO be my masterpiece. IL ii
my masterpiece as il stands"
Lord Harry went into the garden anC
found Dorian Gray burying his face in tn,
IOOl lllhN blbSSOilS, ltNtllSulN uTluhillk III
their perfume as If il had been wine. II,
came close To him, and put his hand upor
his shoulder. "You are quite right TO DC
that" he murmurcd. "Nothing can cure tn,
soul but the senses, just as nothing can cur,
the senses but the soul"
The lad started and drew back. He was
bareheaded and the leaves had tossed his
rebellious curls AMI tangled all their gilded
threads. There was a look Of fear in his
eyes such as people have when they are
suddenly awakened. His finely chiseled
~nostrils quivered and some hidden nerve
shook the scarlet of his lips and left them
trembling,
yes" continued Lord Henry, "that is
one of the great secrets Of life--to cure the
soul by means Of the senses, and the senses
by means Of the soul. You are u wonderful
creature. You know more than you think
you know, just as you know less thar you
want to know"
Dorian Gray frowned and turned his head
away. He could not help liking the tall,
graceful young man who was standing by
him. His romantic olivocolored face and
worn expression Interested him. There was
something in his low, languid voice that was
absolutely fascinating. His cool, white,
flower-like hands, even, had a curious
charm. They moved, as he spoke, like
music, and seemed to have u language OF
their own. But he felt afraid OF him, and
ashamed of being afraid. Why had it been
left for a stranger to reveal him himself
He had known Basil Hallward I months,
but the friendship between them had never
altered him, Suddenly there had come
some one across his life who seemed to
have disclosed to him life's mystery.
And, yet, what was there to DO afraid Of
He was not a school-boy or a girl. 1t was
absurd TO be frightened.
Let US go and sit In tho shade,'' said
Lord Henry. Parker has brought out the
drinks, and IL you stay any longer in this
glare you will he quite spoiled, and Basil
will never paint you again. You really
must not let yourself become sunburned. II
would be very unbecoming TO you"
What does it matterf' cried Dorian,
laughing as he sat down on the seat & the
end Of the garden.
at should matter everything to you, Mr.
Gray"
"Whyi"
Because you have now the most marvel.
Gus youth, and youth is the one thing worth
having"
II don't feel that Lord Henry"
"No, you don't feel it now. Some day
when you are old and wrinklcd and ugly
when thought has scared your forehead
with its lines, and passion branded your lips
with its hideous fires, you will feel it terri
bly,. Now, wherever you go, you charm To.
world. viii it always be so}"
you have a wonderful face, MI. Gray
Don't frown. You have. And Beauty is q
form Of Genius is higher, indeed, thar
Genius, us it needs no explanation. 1t is
one of the great facts of the world, like sun
light, or spring time, or the reflection il
dark waters of that silver shell we call tn,
moon. 1t can not be questioned. 1t has it.
divine right OF sovereignty. 1t makes
princes of those who have it. You smile
All! when you have lost IL you won't smile
people say sometimes that Beauty i,
only superficial. That may be so. But a.
least it is not so superficial as Thought. TT
me, Beauty is the wonder of wonders. II il
only shallow people who do not Judge b,
appearances. The true mystery of tn,
world is the visible, not the invisible.
"9es, Mr.. Gray, the gods have been goot
TO you. But what the gods give they quickly
take away. You nave only o few years il
which really to live. When your youtl
goes, your beauty will go with IT, and thel
you will suddenly discover that there are M
triumphs left for you, or have to conten
Yourself with those mean triumphs that tn,
memory Of your past will make more bite
than defeats. Every month as it wane.
brings you nearer to something dreadful
Time is jealous of you, and wars agains
your lilies and your roses. You will becom,
sallow, and hollow-cheeked, md dull Legged
You will suffer horribly.
Realize youth while you have il. Dom
squander the gold Of your day, listening Il
the tedious, trying TO improve tho hopeless,
failure, or giving away your life to tn,
ignorant, the common, and the vulgar
which are the aims, tho false ideals, OF ouI
age. Live! Live the wonderful life that /.
in you! Let nothing be lost upon you. b,
afraid Of nothing.
"a new hedonism-that is what YOU
century wants. You might be its visibl,
symbol. With your personality there Il
nothing you could not do. The world be
longs TO you for "a season.
ii mOlneHb i IlcJ you j saw Jnat Vol
were quite unconscious Of what you reall,
are, what you really might be. There wa
so much about you that charmed me that
felt / must tell you something about your
self. l thought how tragic it would be 1
you were wasted. FOL there is suuu a NO.
time that your youth will last-such a it'll
time.
1.-THE common hill flowers wither, bu
they blossom again. The laburnum will b
as gold next June as it is now. In a mont
there will be purple stars on the clematis
and year after veal the green night of il
leaves will have its purple stars. But W
never get back our youth. The pulse of 10
that beats in us at twenty, becomes slus
gish. Our limbs fail, our senses rot. w
degenerate into hideous puppets, haunte
by the memory Of the passions of which v
were too much afraid, and the exqL sit
temptations that we did not dare to yield Il
Youth! Youth There is absolutely moth
ing in the world but youth"
Dorian Gray listened, open-eyed and wor
dering. The spray of lilac fell from his han
upon tho gravel. A furry bee came an
buzzed around 1t for q moment. Then IL bt
gan to scramble all over the fretted purpl
Of the tiny blossoms. He watched IL wit
that strange interest in trivial things tina
we try to develop when things Of high In
port make us afraid, or when we are stirre
by some new emotion, for which we can nc
/ Rn1 accommodation a- x.hnn cN-.a ta,.~l& a..