,,wilde v ,,whistler ,four hundred copies on small quarto paper1 and one hundred large paper copies on demy octavo paper1 have been printed of this brochure4 ,,wilde v ,,whistler ,,being ,,an ,,acrimonious ,,correspondence ,,on ,,art ,,between ,,oscar ,,wilde ,,and ,,james ,a ,mc,n,e,i,l,l ,,whistler ,,london ,,privately ,,printed ,,mcmvi ,mr ,,whistler',s ,,ten ,o',,clock1 ,,by ,,mr ,,oscar ,,wilde4 8,,rengaines60 ,pall ,mall ,gazette1 ,feb4 #bast1 #ahhe4 ,last night at ,prince's ,hall1 ,mr4 ,whistler made his first public appearance as a lecturer on ,art1 and spoke for more than an hour with really marvellous eloquence on the absolute uselessness of all lectures of the kind4 ,mr4 ,whistler began his lecture with a very pretty aria on pre-historic history1 describing how in earlier times hunter and warrior would go forth to chase and foray1 while the artist sat at home making cup and bowl for their service4 ,rude imitations of nature they were first1 like the gourd bottle1 till the sense of beauty and form developed1 and1 in all its exquisite proportions1 the first vase was fashioned4 ,then came a higher civilisation of ,architecture and ,arm-chairs1 and with exquisite design1 and dainty diaper1 the useful things of ,life were made lovely3 and the hunter and the warrior lay on the couch when they were tired1 and1 when they were thirsty1 drank from the bowl1 and never cared to lose the exquisite proportions of the one1 or the delightful ornament of the other3 and this attitude of the primitive anthropophagous ,philistine formed the text of the lecture1 and was the attitude which ,mr ,whistler entreated his audience to adopt towards ,art4 ,remembering1 no doubt1 many charming invitations to wonderful private views1 this fashionable assemblage seemed somewhat aghast1 and not a little amused1 at being told that the slightest appearance among a civilized people of any joy in beautiful things is a grave impertinence to all painters2 but ,mr4 ,whistler was relentless1 and with charming ease1 and much grace of manner1 explained to the public that the only thing they should cultivate was ugliness1 and that on their permanent stupidity rested all the hopes of art in the future4 ,the scene was in every way delightful2 he stood there1 a miniature ,mephistopheles mocking the majority6 he was like a brilliant surgeon lecturing to a class composed of subjects destined ultimately for dissection1 and solemnly assuring them how valuable to science their maladies were and how absolutely uninteresting the slightest symptoms of health on their part would be4 ,in fairness to the audience1 however1 ,i must say that they seemed extremely gratified at being rid of the dreadful responsibility of admiring anything1 and nothing could have exceeded their enthusiasm when they were told by ,mr ,whistler that no matter how vulgar their dresses were1 or how hideous their surroundings at home1 still it was possible that a great painter1 if there was such a thing1 could1 by contemplating them in the twilight1 and half closing his eyes1 see them under really picturesque conditions1 and produce a picture which they were not to attempt to understand1 much less dare to enjoy4 ,then there were some arrows1 barbed and brilliant1 shot off1 with all the speed and splendour of fireworks at the archaeologists1 who spend their lives in verifying the birth-places of nobodies1 and estimate the value of a work of art by its date or decay2 at the art critics who always treat a picture as if it were a novel1 and try and find out the plot2 at dilettanti in general1 and amateurs in particular1 and 7,o mea culpa67 at dress reformers most of all4 8,did not ,velasquez paint crinolines8 ,what more do you want80 ,having thus made a holocaust of humanity1 ,mr ,whistler turned to ,nature1 and in a few minutes convicted her of the ,crystal ,palace1 ,bank ,holidays1 and a general overcrowding of detail1 both in omnibuses and in landscapes2 and then1 in a passage of singular beauty1 not unlike one that occurs in ,corot's letters1 spoke of the artistic value of dim dawns and dusks1 when the mean facts of life are lost in evanescent and exquisite effects1 when common things are touched with mystery and transfigured with beauty3 when the warehouses become as palaces1 and the tall chimneys of the factory seem like campaniles in the silver air4 ,finally1 after making a strong protest against anybody but a painter judging of painting1 and a pathetic appeal to the audience not to be lured by the aesthetic movement into having beautiful things about them1 ,mr ,whistler concluded his lecture with a pretty passage about ,fusiyama on a fan1 and made his bow to an audience which he had succeeded in completely fascinating by his wit1 his brilliant paradoxes1 and at times1 his real eloquence4 ,of course1 with regard to the value of beautiful surroundings ,i entirely differ from ,mr ,whistler4 ,an artist is not an isolated fact1 he is the resultant of a certain milieu and a certain entourage1 and can no more be born of a nation that is devoid of any sense of beauty than a fig can grow from a thorn or a rose blossom from a thistle4 ,that an artist will find beauty in ugliness1 le beau dans l'horrible1 is now a commonplace of the schools1 the argot of the atelier1 but ,i strongly deny that charming people should be condemned to live with magenta ottomans and ,albert blue curtains in their rooms in order that some painter may observe the side lights on the one and the values of the other4 ,nor do ,i accept the dictum that only a painter is a judge of painting4 ,i say that only an artist is a judge of art2 there is a wide difference4 ,as long as a painter is a painter merely1 he should not be allowed to talk of anything but mediums and megilp1 and on those subjects should be compelled to hold his tongue2 it is only when he becomes an artist that the secret laws of artistic creation are revealed to him4 ,for there are not many arts but one art merely3 poem1 picture1 and ,parthenon1 sonnet and statueall are in their essence the same1 and he who knows one1 knows all4 ,but the poet is the supreme artist1 for he is the master of colour and form1 and the real musician besides1 and is lord over all life and all arts2 and so to the poet beyond all others are these mysteries known2 to ,edgar ,allan ,poe and to ,baudelaire1 not to ,benjamin ,west and ,paul ,delaroche4 ,however1 ,i would not enjoy anybody else's lectures unless in a few points ,i disagreed with them1 and ,mr ,whistler's lecture last night was1 like everything that he does1 a masterpiece4 ,not merely for its clever satire and amusing jests will it be remembered1 but for the pure and perfect beauty of many of its passagespassages delivered with an earnestness which seemed to amaze those who had looked on ,mr ,whistler as a master of persiflage merely1 and had not known him1 as we do1 as a master of painting also4 ,for that he is indeed one of the very greatest masters of painting1 is my opinion4 ,and ,i may add that in this opinion ,mr ,whistler himself entirely concurs4 ,,oscar ,,wilde4 ,,reflection3 ,it is not enough that our simple ,sunflower flourish on his 8figs0he has now grafted ,edgar ,poe on the 8rose0 tree of the early ,american ,market in 8a certain milieu0 of dry goods and sympathy2 and 8a certain entourage0 of worship and wooden nutmegs4 ,born of a ,nation1 not absolutely 8devoid of any sense of beauty0,their idolcherished1 listened to1 and understood6 ,foolish ,baudelaire6,mistaken ,mallarm6 ,j4 ,a4 ,mc,n4 ,w4 ,,tenderness ,,in ,,tite ,,street ,,to ,,the ,,poet3 ,the ,world4 ,,oscar,i have read your exquisite article in the ,pall ,mall4 ,nothing is more delicate1 in the flattery of 8the ,poet0 to 8the ,painter10 than the navet of 8the ,poet0 in the choice of his ,painters,benjamin ,west and ,paul ,delaroche6 ,you have pointed out that 8the ,painter's0 mission is to find 8le beau dans l'horrible10 and have left to 8the ,poet0 the discovery of 8l'horrible0 dans 8le beau60 ,j4 ,a4 ,mc,n4 ,,whistler4 ,,chelsea4 ,,to ,,the ,,painter3 ,the ,world4 ,,dear ,,butterfly,by the aid of a biographical dictionary1 ,i made the discovery that there were once two painters1 called ,benjamin ,west and ,paul ,delaroche1 who rashly lectured upon ,art4 ,as of their works nothing at all remains1 ,i conclude that they explained themselves away4 ,be warned in time1 ,james2 and remain1 as ,i do1 incomprehensible4 ,to be great is to be misunderstood4,tout vous1 ,,oscar ,,wilde4 ,,reflection3 ,i do know a bird1 who like ,oscar1 with his head in the sand1 still believes in the undiscovered6 ,if to be misunderstood is to be great1 it was rash in ,oscar to reveal the source of his inspirations3 the 8,biographical ,dictionary40 ,j4 ,a4 ,mc,n4 ,w4 ,,to ,,the ,,committee ,,of ,,the 8,,national ,,art ,,exhibition0 ,the ,world1 ,nov4 #ag1 #ahhf4 ,,gentlemen,i am naturally interested in any effort made among painters to prove that they are alivebut when ,i find1 thrust in the van of your leaders1 the body of my dead ',arry1 ,i know that putrefaction alone can result4 ,when following ',arry1 there comes on ,oscar1 you finish in farce1 and bring upon yourselves the scorn and ridicule of your confrres in ,europe4 ,what has ,oscar in common with ,art8 except that he dines at our tables1 and picks from our platters the plums for the pudding he peddles in the provinces4 ,oscarthe amiable1 irresponsible1 esurient ,oscarwith no more sense of a picture than of the fit of a coat1 has the courage of the opinions 444 of others6 ,with ',arry and ,oscar you have avenged the ,academy4 ,i am1 gentlemen1 yours obediently1 ,j4 ,a4 ,mc,n4 ,,whistler4 ,letter read at a meeting of this ,society1 associated for purposes of ,art reform4 ,enclosed to the ,poet1 with a line3 8,oscar1 you must really keep outside the radius40 ,j4 ,a4 ,mc,n4 ,w4 ,,quand ,m,,me6 ,the ,world1 ,nov4 #bd1 #ahhf4 ,,atlas1 this is very sad6 ,with our ,james vulgarity begins at home1 and should be allowed to stay there4 ,a vous1 ,,oscar ,,wilde4 ,,to ,,whom3 8,a poor thing10 ,oscar8but0 for once1 ,i suppose 8your own40 ,j4 ,a4 ,mc,n4 ,w4 ,,the ,,habit ,,of ,,second ,,natures ,truth1 ,jan4 #b1 #ahij4 ,,most ,,valiant ,,truth,among your ruthless exposures of the shams of to-day1 nothing1 ,i confess1 have ,i enjoyed with keener relish than your late tilt at that arch-imposter and pest of the periodthe all-pervading plagiarist6 ,i learn1 by the way1 that in ,america he may1 under the 8,law of '#hd10 as it is called1 be criminally prosecuted1 incarcerated1 and made to pick oakum1 as he has hitherto picked brainsand pockets6 ,how was it that1 in your list of culprits1 you omitted that fattest of offendersour own ,oscar8 ,his methods are brought again freshly to my mind1 by the indefatigable and tardy ,romeike1 who sends me newspaper cuttings of 8,herbert ,vivian's ,reminiscences10 in which1 among other entertaining anecdotes1 is told at length1 the ,story of ,oscar simulating the becoming pride of author1 upon a certain evening1 in the club of the ,academy students1 and arrogating to himself the responsibility of the lecture1 with which1 at his earnest prayer1 ,i had1 in good fellowship1 crammed him1 that he might not add deplorable failure to foolish appearance1 in his anomalous position1 as art expounder1 before his clear-headed audience4 ,he went forth1 on that occasion1 as my ,st4 ,johnbut1 forgetting that humility should be his chief characteristic1 and unable to withstand the unaccustomed respect with which his utterances were received1 he not only trifled with my shoe1 but bolted with the latchet6 ,mr4 ,vivian1 in his book1 tells us1 further on1 that lately1 in an article in the ,nineteenth ,century on the 8,decay of ,lying10 ,mr4 ,wilde has deliberately and incautiously incorporated1 8without a word of comment10 a portion of the well-remembered letter in which1 after admitting his rare appreciation and amazing memory1 ,i acknowledge that 8,oscar has the courage of the opinions 444 of others60 ,my recognition of this1 his latest proof of open admiration1 ,i send him in the following little note1 which ,i fancy you may think propos to publish1 as an example to your readers1 in similar circumstances1 of noble generosity in sweet reproof1 tempered1 as it should be1 to the lamb in his condition3 8,oscar1 you have been down the area again1 ,i see6 8,i had forgotten you1 and so allowed your hair to grow over the sore place4 ,and now1 while ,i looked the other way1 you have stolen your own scalp6 ,and potted it in more of your pudding4 8,labby has pointed out that1 for the detected plagiarist1 there is still one way to self-respect 7besides hanging himself of course71 and that is for him boldly to declare1 #8,je prends mon bien l ou je le trouve4' 8,you1 ,oscar1 can go further1 and with fresh effrontery1 that will bring you the envy of all criminal confrres1 unblushingly boast1 #8,moi1 je prends son bien l ou je le trouve6'0 ,j4 ,a4 ,mc,n4 ,,whistler4 ,,chelsea4 ,,in ,,the ,,market ,,place ,truth1 ,jan4 #i1 #ahij4 ,,sir,i can hardly imagine that the public are in the very smallest degree interested in the shrill shrieks of 8,plagiarism0 that proceed from time to time out of the lips of silly vanity or incompetent mediocrity4 ,however1 as ,mr4 ,james ,whistler has had the impertinence to attack me with both venom and vulgarity in your columns1 ,i hope you will allow me to state that the assertions contained in his letters are as deliberately untrue as they are deliberately offensive4 ,the definition of a disciple as one who has the courage of the opinions of his master is really too old even for ,mr4 ,whistler to be allowed to claim it1 and as for borrowing ,mr4 ,whistler's ideas about ,art1 the only thoroughly original ideas ,i have ever heard him express have had reference to his own superiority as a painter over painters greater than himself4 ,it is a trouble for any gentleman to have to notice the lucubrations of so ill-bred and ignorant a person as ,mr4 ,whistler1 but your publication of his insolent letter left me no option in the matter4 ,i remain1 ,sir1 faithfully yours1 ,,oscar ,,wilde4 ,,panic ,truth1 ,jan4 #af1 #ahij4 ,o ,,truth6,cowed and humiliated1 ,i acknowledge that our ,oscar is at last original4 ,at bay1 and sublime in his agony1 he certainly has1 for once1 borrowed from no living author1 and comes out in his own true coloursas his own 8gentleman40 ,how shall ,i stand against his just anger1 and his damning allegations6 for it must be clear to your readers1 that1 besides his clean polish1 as prettily set forth in his epistle1 ,i1 alas6 am but the 8ill-bred and ignorant person10 whose 8lucubrations0 8it is a trouble0 for him 8to notice40 ,still will ,i1 desperate as is my condition1 point out that though 8impertinent10 8venomous10 and 8vulgar10 he claims me as his 8master0and1 in the dock1 bases his innocence upon such relation between us4 ,in all humility1 therefore1 ,i admit that the outcome of my 8silly vanity and incompetent mediocrity10 must be the incarnation3 8,,oscar ,,wilde40 ,j4 ,a4 ,mc,n4 ,,whistler4 ,mea culpa6 the ,gods may perhaps forgive and forget4 ,to you1 ,truthchampion of the truth,i leave the brave task of proclaiming again that the story of the lecture to the students of the ,royal ,academy was1 as ,i told it to you1 no fiction4 ,in the presence of ,mr ,waldo ,story did ,oscar make his prayer for preparation2 and at his table was he entrusted with the materials for his crime4 ,you also shall again unearth1 in the ,nineteenth ,century ,review of ,jan4 #ahhi1 page #cg1 the other appropriated property1 slily stowed away1 in an article on 8,the ,decay of ,lying0though why ,decay6 ,to shirk this matter thus is craven1 doubtless2 but ,i am awe-stricken and tremble1 for truly1 8the rage of the sheep is terrible60 ,j4 ,a4 ,mc,n4 ,,whistler4 ,,just ,,indignation ,,oscar,how dare you6 ,what means the disguise8 ,restore those things to ,nathan's1 and never again let me find you masquerading the streets of my ,chelsea in the combined costumes of ,kossuth and ,mr ,mantalini6 ,j4 ,a4 ,mc,n4 ,,whistler4 ,upon seeing the ,poet1 in ,polish cap and green overcoat1 befrogged1 and wonderfully befurred4 99 99 99 99 99 ,transcriber's ,notes3 ,text in italics is enclosed by underscores 7italics74 ,printer's1 punctuation1 and spelling inaccuracies were silently corrected4 ,variable punctuation has been preserved 7e4g4 ,mr_/,mr471 where there is no predominant instance4