Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1896-08-01

Now; that Is childish"
Harry" said Dasil Hallward, looking
iim straight in the face, .'every portrait
hat is painted with feeling is q portrait Of
he artist, not OF the sitter. The sitter is
norely the accident, the occasion. 1t is not
be who is revealed by the painter; It is
rather the painter who, on the colored can.
vas, reveals himself. The reason / will not
exhibit this picture is that l am afraid that
have shown with it the secret Of my own
soul"
Lord Harry laughed. "And what is that"
he asked.
II will tell you" said Hallward; and an
expression of perplexity came over his face.
II am all expectation, Basil,' murmured
bis companion looking at him.
there is really very little to tell,
Harry" answered the young'painter; and
am afraid you will hardly understand 1t.
Perhaps you will hardly believe it,"
Lord Henry smiled, and. leaning down,
plucked a ~pink-petaled daisy from the grass,
and examined it. ~ am quite sure 1 shall
understand it." he replied, gazing intently
At the golden white feathered disk, land I
san believe anything, provided that II IL In
credible"
The wind shook some blossoms from the
trees, and the heavy lilac-blooms, with
their clustering stars, moved TO and fro in
the languid air. A grasshopper began TO
chirrup in the grass, and a long thin dragon
fly hoated by on its brown gauze wings.
Lord Henry felt as il he could hear Basil
Hallward's heart beating, and he wondered
what was coming.
tWnll this 10 ;paradiblo " ,nanaataJ Hall
way, rather bitterly--'incredible to me at
times. / don't know what il means. The
story ia simply this. Two months ago I
went TO a crush at Lady Brandon's. You
know we poor painters have 10 show our
selves In society from time to time. just to
remind the public that we are not savages.
With an evening coat and q white tie, as
you told me once, anybody, even a stock
broker, can gain a reputation for being
civilized. Well, after l had boon In the
room about ten minutes, talking To huge
overdressed dowagers and tedious Acade-
micians, j suddenly became conscious that
some one was looking at me. / turned half.
way round, and saw Dorian Gray for the
FIRST time. When our eyes mot, I felt that l
was growing pale. A curious instinct of
terror came over me. i knew that l had
come face TO face with some one whose mere
personality was so fascinating that, IL al
lowed to do so, il would absorb my whole
nature, my whole soul, my very art itself.
| did not want any external influence In my
life. You know yourself, Harry, how indie
pendent | am by nature. My father des-
tined me for the army. ] insisted on going
to Oxford. Then he made me enter my
lame at the Middle Temple. Before / had
eaten half a dozen dinners l gave up the
Bar, and announced my intention Of be-
coming a painter. i have always teen my
own master; had at least always been so,
till l met Dorian Gray. Thon- But / don't
know how to explain it TO you. Something
seemed TO tell me that l was on tho verge
Of n terrible crisis in my life. I had q
strange feeling hat Fat, had in store for
me exquisite Joys and exquisite SORROWS. ]
knew that II / spoke to Dorian / would be-
come absolutely devoted TO him. and that l
ought not to speak to him. l grew afraid,
and turned to quit the room. II was not
conscience that made me do 30: it was
cowardice. / took no credit to myself for
trying to escape"
Conscience and cowardice are really the
same things, Basil. Conscience is the trade
name OF tne HTln. InaJlS all.
II don't believe that, Harry. However,
whatever was my motive-and it may have
been pride, for ] used to be very proud
certainly strug led to the door. There, Of
course, / stumbled against Lady Brandon.
'You are not going to run away so soon, Mr..
Hatlwardi' she screamed out. You know
her shrill, horrid voicel"
"Yes, h Is a peacock In everything but
BOOTY" said Lord Henry. pulling the daisy
TO fts with his long, nervous fingers.
~ could not get rid Of her. She brough
me up to royal lies, and people with STAR
and Carriers, and elderly ladies with gigan
tic tiaras and hooked noses. She spoke O
me as her dearest friend. 1 had only me
her once before, but she had took it into heI
head to lionize me. / believe some pictur,
of mine had made a great success at tn,
time, at least had been chartered about II
the penny newspapers, which Is the nine
teenth-century standard of immortality
Suddenly l found myself face TO face will
the young man whose personality had 81
strangely stirred me. We were quite close
almost touching. Dur eyes met again. i
was mad of me, but l asked Lady Brandon
to introduce me TO him. Perhaps it was no
80 mad, after all. 1t was simply inevitable
We would have spoken to each other with
out any introduction. / am sure of that
Dorian told me so afterward. He, too, fel
that we were destined to know each other.
And how did Lady Brandon describ,
this wonderful young mani l know sh'
goes in for giving a rapid precis Of all hel
guests. / remember her bringing me up Il
a most truculent and red-faced old gentle
mar covered all over with orders and rib
bons, and Kissing into my ear, in a tragic
whisper which must have been perfectly
audible to everybody in the room, something
like Sir Humpty Dumpty-you know
Afghan frontier-Russian %intrigues: very
successful man-wife killed by an elephant
quite inconsolable- wants TO marry {
beautiful American widow-everybody doe.
nowadays-hates Mr.. Gladstone-but very
much interested in beetles: ask him wha
he thinks of Schouvaloff.' / simply fed.
like to find out people for myself. But poo
Lady Brandon treats her guests exactly a.
an auctioneer treats his goods. She eithel
explains them entirely away, or tells on,
everything about them excepting what on,
wants TO know. But what did she say abou
MIR. Dorian Grayf'
"Oh, she murmured, Charming boy-poo
dear mother and ! quite inseparablc-en
gagged to be married to the same man
mean ON the same day-how very silly o
mel But I forgot what he ~does-afraid b
doesn't do anything-oh yes, plays tn
piano-or is 1t the violin, dear Mr.. Gray
We could neither of US help laughing, an
we became friends at once"
Laughter is not a bad beginning for
friendship, and 1T Is the best ending for one,
said Lord Henry pluckng another daisy.
Hallward buried his face In his hands
"You don't understand what friendship 1,
Harry" he murmured-'tor what enmity is
for that matter. You like every one: tina
is to say, you are Indifferent to every one. "
How horribly unjust of you'll" cried Lor
Henry, fitting his hat back, and looking u
at the little clouds that were drifting acros
the hollow ~turquois of the summer SIX,
like raveled skeins Of glossy white sill
Yes; horribly unjust Of you. l make
great difference between people. / choos
my friends for their good looks, my a.
quaintances for their characters, and m
, enemies for their brains. A man can't b
too careful in the choice Of his enemies.
have not got one who is a fool. They are a
: men Of some intellectual power, and col
sequently they all appreciate me. Is ths
; vain of mel think 1t is rather vain.'
II should think it was, Harry. But a