Cer 6

    I suppose you ; said Lord  evening as o a little private room at tol whree.

    quot;No, ; ansist, giving  and coat to ter. quot; is it? Not politics, I  interest me. ting, tter for a little wewas;

    quot;Dorian Gray is engaged to be married,quot; said Lord ching him as he spoke.

    arted and t;Dorian engaged to be married!quot; ;Impossible!quot;

    quot;It is perfectly true.quot;

    quot;to w;

    quot;to some little actress or ot;

    quot;I cant believe it. Dorian is far too sensible.quot;

    quot;Dorian is far too  to do foolis;

    quot;Marriage is  one can do no;

    quot;Except in America,quot; rejoined Lord ;But I didnt say o be married. t difference. I inct remembrance of being married, but I ion at all of being engaged. I am inclined to t I never ;

    quot;But tion, and  would be absurd for o marry so muc;

    quot;If you  to make ell , Basil. o do it, tupid t is al motives.quot;

    quot;I   to see Dorian tied to some vile creature, .quot;

    quot;Oter tiful,quot; murmured Lord ters. quot;Dorian says siful, and  often  t kind. Your portrait of ion of t  excellent effect, amongst oto see o-nig boy doesnt forget ment.quot;

    quot;Are you serious?quot;

    quot;Quite serious, Basil. I s I s t moment.quot;

    quot;But do you approve of it, ; asked ter, ing ;You cant approve of it, possibly. It is some silly infatuation.quot;

    quot;I never approve, or disapprove, of anyt is an absurd attitude to take to sent into to air our moral prejudices. I never take any notice of erfere  cy fascinates me,  personality selects is absolutely deligo me. Dorian Gray falls in love iful girl , and proposes to marry ? If eresting. You kno a co marriage is t it makes one unselfisy. Still, tain temperaments t marriage makes more complex. tain tism, and add to it many oto o be  of mans existence. Besides, every experience is of value, and  marriage, it is certainly an experience. I  Dorian Gray ely adore ed by some one else. udy.quot;

    quot;You dont mean a single , . If Dorian Grays life ter tend to be.quot;

    Lord ;to t imism is serror. e t  our neigues t are likely to be a benefit to us. e praise t , and find good qualities in t s. I mean everyt I est contempt for optimism. As for a spoiled life, no life is spoiled but one  to mar a nature, you o reform it. As for marriage, of course t  teresting bonds betainly encourage t ell you more t;

    quot;My dear  botulate me!quot; said ts satin-lined ;I  is sudden-- all really delig it seems to me to be t; ement and pleasure, and looked extraordinarily handsome.

    quot;I ; said ;but I dont quite forgive you for not  me kno. You let ;

    quot;And I dont forgive you for being late for dinner,quot; broke in Lord ting ;Come, let us sit dory ell us  all came about.quot;

    quot;t muco tell,quot; cried Dorian as took ts at table. quot; er I left you yesterday evening,  t little Italian restaurant in Rupert Street you introduced me to, and  do eigo tre. Sibyl  Sibyl! You sly ered y little green cap  in a jee. Se grace of t tanagra figurine t you udio, Basil. ered round ing--. I sat in tely ent t I eentury. I  t no man er t beo ting togeto  I oo you  at t moment. It seemed to me t all my life o one perfect point of rose-coloured joy. Srembled all over and se narcissus. t I s tell you all t I cant . Of course, our engagement is a dead secret. S even told  knoo be furious. I dont care. I s I like. I , Basil,  I, to take my love out of poetry and to find my ;

    quot;Yes, Dorian, I suppose you were rig; said hallward slowly.

    quot;o-day?quot; asked Lord henry.

    Dorian Gray s;I left  of Arden; I s;

    Lord ative manner. quot;At icular point did you mention t did s all about it.quot;

    quot;My dear  treat it as a business transaction, and I did not make any formal proposal. I told  I loved  o be my  o me compared ;

    quot;omen are ical,quot; murmured Lord ;mucical tuations of t kind en forget to say anyt marriage, and t;

    ;Dont,  like oture is too fine for t.quot;

    Lord able. quot;Dorian is never annoyed ; be ans;I asked tion for t reason possible, for t excuses one for asking any question-- simple curiosity. I  it is alo us, and not , of course, in middle-class life. But t modern.quot;

    Dorian Gray laugossed ;You are quite incorrigible,  I dont mind. It is impossible to be angry  t, a beast  a . I cannot understand o s to place al of gold and to see t is marriage? An irrevocable vo it for t. A mock. It is an irrevocable vo I  to take. rust makes me fait all t you aug from ing, poisonous, delig;

    quot;And t; asked Lord o some salad.

    quot;O life, your t love, your t pleasure. All your t, ;

    quot;Pleasure is t,quot; ;But I am afraid I cannot claim my t belongs to Nature, not to me. Pleasure is Natures test,  w always ;

    quot;A ; cried Basil hallward.

    quot;Yes,quot; ec Lord ers of purple-lipped irises t stood in tre of table, quot;w do you mean by good, ;

    quot;to be good is to be in ; oucem of ed fingers. quot;Discord is to be forced to be in  is tant to be a prig or a Puritan, one can flaunt ones moral vie t t ones concern. Besides, individualism y consists in accepting tandard of ones age. I consider t for any man of culture to accept tandard of  immorality.quot;

    quot;But, surely, if one lives merely for ones self, errible price for doing so?quot; suggested ter.

    quot;Yes, ragedy of t t self-denial. Beautiful sins, like beautiful t;

    quot;One o pay in ot money.quot;

    quot; sort of ;

    quot;Oion.quot;

    Lord ;My dear fello is c mediaeval emotions are out of date. One can use tion, of course. But t one can use in fiction are t one o use in fact. Believe me, no civilized man ever regrets a pleasure, and no uncivilized man ever kno;

    quot;I kno; cried Dorian Gray. quot;It is to adore some one.quot;

    quot;t is certainly better t; oying s. quot;Being adored is a nuisance. omen treat us just as y treats its gods. to do somet;

    quot;I s  given to us,quot; murmured t;te love in our natures. t to demand it back.quot;

    quot;t is quite true, Dorian,quot; cried hallward.

    quot;Note true,quot; said Lord henry.

    quot;t; interrupted Dorian. quot;You must admit,  o men t;

    quot;Possibly,quot; ;but t it back in suc is tty Frenc it, inspire us o do masterpieces and al us from carrying t.quot;

    quot; know w;

    quot;You ; ;ill you er, bring coffee, and fine-ctes. No, dont mind ttes--I  alloo smoke cigars. You must te. A cigarette is t type of a perfect pleasure. It is exquisite, and it leaves one unsatisfied.  more can one ? Yes, Dorian, you  to you all to commit.quot;

    quot; nonsense you talk, ; cried taking a lig ter able. quot;Let us go doo tre. age you o you t you ;

    quot;I ; said Lord ired look in ;but I am alion. I am afraid, , for me at any rate, till, your ing. It is so muc us go. Dorian, you  t follow us in a ;

    t up and put on ts, sipping tanding. ter  and preoccupied. t bear t it seemed to o be better t miger a fees, tairs. cs of ttle broug of range sense of loss came over  t Dorian Gray o  . Life reets became blurred to  tre, it seemed to  he had grown years older.