第14章

"Late as usual, Harry," cried his aunt, shaking her head at him.

He invented a facile excuse, and having taken the vacant seat next to her, looked round to see who was there.Dorian bowed to him shyly from the end of the table, a flush of pleasure stealing into his cheek.

Opposite was the Duchess of Harley, a lady of admirable good-nature and good temper, much liked by every one who knew her, and of those ample architectural proportions that in women who are not duchesses are described by contemporary historians as stoutness.Next to her sat, on her right, Sir Thomas Burdon, a Radical member of Parliament, who followed his leader in public life and in private life followed the best cooks, dining with the Tories and thinking with the Liberals, in accordance with a wise and well-known rule.

The post on her left was occupied by Mr.Erskine of Treadley, an old gentleman of considerable charm and culture, who had fallen, however, into bad habits of silence, having, as he explained once to Lady Agatha, said everything that he had to say before he was thirty.His own neighbour was Mrs.Vandeleur, one of his aunt's oldest friends, a perfect saint amongst women, but so dreadfully dowdy that she reminded one of a badly bound hymn-book.Fortunately for him she had on the other side Lord Faudel, a most intelligent middle-aged mediocrity, as bald as a ministerial statement in the House of Commons, with whom she was conversing in that intensely earnest manner which is the one unpardonable error, as he remarked once himself, that all really good people fall into, and from which none of them ever quite escape.

"We are talking about poor Dartmoor, Lord Henry," cried the duchess, nodding pleasantly to him across the table."Do you think he will really marry this fascinating young person?""I believe she has made up her mind to propose to him, Duchess.""How dreadful!" exclaimed Lady Agatha."Really, some one should interfere.""I am told, on excellent authority, that her father keeps an American dry-goods store," said Sir Thomas Burdon, looking supercilious.

"My uncle has already suggested pork-packing Sir Thomas.""Dry-goods! What are American dry-goods?" asked the duchess, raising her large hands in wonder and accentuating the verb.

"American novels," answered Lord Henry, helping himself to some quail.

The duchess looked puzzled.

"Don't mind him, my dear," whispered Lady Agatha."He never means anything that he says.""When America was discovered," said the Radical member-- and he began to give some wearisome facts.Like all people who try to exhaust a subject, he exhausted his listeners.The duchess sighed and exercised her privilege of interruption."I wish to goodness it never had been discovered at all!" she exclaimed."Really, our girls have no chance nowadays.It is most unfair.""Perhaps, after all, America never has been discovered," said Mr.Erskine; "I myself would say that it had merely been detected.""Oh! but I have seen specimens of the inhabitants," answered the duchess vaguely."I must confess that most of them are extremely pretty.

And they dress well, too.They get all their dresses in Paris.I wish Icould afford to do the same."

"They say that when good Americans die they go to Paris," chuckled Sir Thomas, who had a large wardrobe of Humour's cast-off clothes.

"Really! And where do bad Americans go to when they die?" inquired the duchess.

"They go to America," murmured Lord Henry.

Sir Thomas frowned."I am afraid that your nephew is prejudiced against that great country," he said to Lady Agatha."I have travelled all over it in cars provided by the directors, who, in such matters, are extremely civil.I assure you that it is an education to visit it.""But must we really see Chicago in order to be educated?" asked Mr.Erskine plaintively."I don't feel up to the journey."Sir Thomas waved his hand."Mr.Erskine of Treadley has the world on his shelves.We practical men like to see things, not to read about them.The Americans are an extremely interesting people.They are absolutely reasonable.I think that is their distinguishing characteristic.Yes, Mr.

Erskine, an absolutely reasonable people.I assure you there is no nonsense about the Americans.""How dreadful!" cried Lord Henry."I can stand brute force, but brute reason is quite unbearable.There is something unfair about its use.

It is hitting below the intellect."

"I do not understand you," said Sir Thomas, growing rather red.

"I do, Lord Henry," murmured Mr.Erskine, with a smile.

"Paradoxes are all very well in their way...." rejoined the baronet.

"Was that a paradox?" asked Mr.Erskine."I did not think so.

Perhaps it was.Well, the way of paradoxes is the way of truth.To test reality we must see it on the tight rope.When the verities become acrobats, we can judge them.""Dear me!" said Lady Agatha, "how you men argue! I am sure I never can make out what you are talking about.Oh! Harry, I am quite vexed with you.Why do you try to persuade our nice Mr.Dorian Gray to give up the East End? I assure you he would be quite invaluable.They would love his playing.""I want him to play to me," cried Lord Henry, smiling, and he looked down the table and caught a bright answering glance.

"But they are so unhappy in Whitechapel," continued Lady Agatha.

"I can sympathize with everything except suffering," said Lord Henry, shrugging his shoulders."I cannot sympathize with that.It is too ugly, too horrible, too distressing.There is something terribly morbid in the modern sympathy with pain.One should sympathize with the colour, the beauty, the joy of life.The less said about life's sores, the better.""Still, the East End is a very important problem," remarked Sir Thomas with a grave shake of the head.

"Quite so," answered the young lord."It is the problem of slavery, and we try to solve it by amusing the slaves."The politician looked at him keenly."What change do you propose, then?" he asked.