“Yes; it was at dear Lohengrin . I like Wagner’s music better than anybody’s. It is so loud that one can talk the whole time without other people hearing what one says. That is a great advantage, don’t you think so, Mr. Gray?”

The same nervous staccato laugh broke from her thin lips, and her fingers began to play with a long tortoiseshell paper-knife.

Dorian smiled and shook his head: “I am afraid I don’t think so, Lady Henry. I never talk during music⁠—at least, during good music. If one hears bad music, it is one’s duty to drown it in conversation.”