THE+PICTURE+OF+DORIAN+GRAY

never see you again. I will never think of you. I will never speakto you again.'The girl went white. 'You are not serious, Dorian?You are acting?' she whispered, puting her hand on hisarm.He pushed her back.'Don't touch me!'he cried. Then he turnedand left the room.After walking the streets of London all night, he arrived homejust after sunrise. As he passed through the library, he saw theportrait that Basil Hallward had painted of him. He srared at it insurprise and walked on into his bedroom. He took his coat offandstood next to his bed. A few moments later he returned to thepicture and looked at it closely. In the poor light the face seemed tohave changed a little. Now the mouth looked cruel.It was certainlystrange.He walked to the window and opened the currains. The lightchanged the room, but the face stayed the same. ln fact,the sunlightmade the mouth look even crueller.Going back to his bedroom, he found a small mirror that hadbeen a present from Lord Henry. He looked at his real face and sawno sign of cruelry.'What did it mean?He threw himself into a chair, and began ro rhink. Suddenlyhe remembered what he had said in Basil Hallwardt house thedty the picture had been finished. Yes, he remembered itperfectly. He had asked that the painting grow old so that hehimself could remain young. But such things were impossible.It was terrible even to think about them. And, yet, there wasthe picture in front of him. There was the cruelty in themouth.Cruelry! Had he been cruel? No, why think about SibylVane?She was nothing to him now.But the picture?'what was he to say of that? It held the secret ofhis life, and told his story. It had taught him to love his own beaury.26