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THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY

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As they waited for Dorian Gray the next night，Lord Henry and Basil Hallward discussed Sybil Vane．Basil had not been happy at the news of Dorian's marriage plans．

'An actress！'he had cried．'But Dorian is a gentleman，the grandson of Lord Kelso．He can't marry an actress．'

'Why not？'Lord Henry had said coolly．'He'll love her wildly for six months，and then suddenly he'll be in love with another woman．It will be very amusing to watch．'

But when Dorian arrived and told the story of his love，Basil became a little happier．'You're right，'he told Dorian．'The woman that you love must be wonderful．I can see already that she's changed you．'

'Yes，'said Dorian happily，'yes，Sybil has changed me．From this moment I shall be good．I'll never listen again，Harry，to your dangerous ideas about life and pleasure．'

Lord Henry smiled．'Ah，'he said，'when we are happy，we are always good，but when we are good，we are not always happy．'

Basil Hallward shook his head at this，but Dorian laughed．'You cut life to pieces with your clever words，Harry．'

The theatre was crowded and noisy，but when Sybil Vane appeared，everyone became silent．She was one of the most beautiful girds that Lord Henry had ever seen．'Lovely！Lovely！'he said softly．

But although Sybil looked beautiful，her voice sounded unnatural．She spoke Juliet's words，but there was no feeling in them．Her voice was lovely，but it took away all the life from the words People in the theatre began talking loudly，and after half an hour Lord Henry stood up and put on his coat．

'She's very beautiful，Dorian，but she's not an actress，'he said．'Let's go．'

'I think that Miss Vane must be ill，'added Basil．'We'll come another night．'

Dorian did not look at them．'Go away．I want to be alone，'he said miserably，and as his friends left， he covered his face with his hands．

When the play came to its painful end，Dorian went to see Sybil．

'I wasn't a very good Juliet tonight，'she said，and looked at him with love in her eyes．

'You were terrible，'said Dorian coldly．'My friends were bored．I was bored．I suppose you were ill．'

She did not seem to hear him．'Dorian，'she cried，'before I knew you，the theatre was my only life．I thought that it was all true．I knew nothing but shadows，and I thought that they were real．But you've taught me the difference between art and life．How can I pretend to be Juliet—to feel Juliet's love，when I know now what true love is？'

Dorian turned his face away from her．'But I loved you for your art—because you were a wonderful actress，'he said．His voice was hard You have killed my love．Without your art，you are nothing．I never want to see you again．'

Sybil's face was white with fear．'You're not serious，are you，Dorian？'she asked．She touched his arm with her small，gentle hand．

'Don't touch me！'he shouted angrily．He pushed her away，and she fell to the floor and lay there like a broken bird．

'Dorian，please don't leave me，'she cried．'I love you better than anything in the world．Don't leave me！'

Dorian Gray looked down at her with his beautiful eyes．There was no love or gentleness in his face．'I'm going，'he said at last．'I don't wish to be unkind，but I don't want to see you again．'Without another word he left her．

All night he walked through the streets of London．When morning came，he went home．When he entered his house，he saw the portrait of himself that Basil Hallward had painted．There was something different about it，he thought．The face had changed—there was something unkind，and cruel about the mouth．It was very strange．

He picked up a mirror and looked at his own face，and then looked again at the face in the portrait．Yes，it was different．What did this change mean？

Suddenly he remembered his wish in Basil Hallward's house…his wish that he could stay young，but the picture could grow old．The idea was impossible，of course．But why did the face in the picture have that cruel，unkind mouth？

Cruel！Had he been cruel to Sybil Vane？He remembered her white，unhappy face as she lay at his feet．But she had hurt him，too．No，Sybil Vane was nothing to him now．

But the picture watched him，with its beautiful face and its cruel smile．It had taught him to love his own beauty．Would it also teach him to hate his own heart，his own soul？No，he would go back to Sybil Vane．He would marry her，try to love her again．Poor child！How cruel he had been to her！They would be happy together．

He covered the picture and quickly left the room．