Cer 14

    At nine oclock t morning  came in e on a tray and opened tters. Dorian e peacefully, lying on  side, ired out udy.

    to touc smile passed across  in some delig  dreamed at all.  roubled by any images of pleasure or of pain. But yout any reason. It is one of its c charms.

    urned round, and leaning upon o sip e. treaming into t, and t  like a morning in May.

    Gradually ts of t crept , blood-stained feet into ructed terrible distinctness.  t  t  in to ill sitting too, and in t nohe day.

    t if  ion range triump gratified to tellect a quickened sense of joy, greater t, or could ever bring, to t t one of t o be driven out of to be drugged o be strangled lest it migrangle one itself.

    ruck,  up ily and dressed tention to tie and scarf-pin and c a long time also over breakfast, tasting talking to  about some ne ting made for ts at Selby, and going t some of tters, imes over and tore up  look of annoyance in ;t a; as Lord henry had once said.

    After ioned to  to , and going over to table, sat doe tters. One  in , to t.

    quot;take to 152, ford Street, Francis, and if Mr. Campbell is out of to ;

    As soon as  a cigarette and began sketc flos of arcecture, and t every face t o astic likeness to Basil ting up,  over to took out a volume at ermined t  t  became absolutely necessary t he should do so.

    retc title-page of t iers Emaux et Camees, Ciers Japanese-paper edition,  etcron-green leat trellis-ted pomegranates. It o on. As urned over t t;du supplice encore mal lavé:e,quot; s do;doigts de faune.quot;  e taper fingers, sly in spite of ill o tanzas upon Venice:

    Sur une gamme cique,

    Le sein de peries ruisselant,

    La Vénus de lAdriatique

    Sort de leau son corps rose et blanc.

    Les d?mes, sur lazur des ondes

    Suivant la pour,

    Senflent comme des gorges rondes

    Que soulève un soupir damour.

    Lesquif aborde et me dépose,

    Jetant son amarre au pilier,

    Devant une fa?ade rose,

    Sur le marbre dun escalier.

    e to be floating doer-y, seated in a black gondola railing curtains. to raigurquoise-blue t folloo ted birds t flutter round tall alk, ately grace, t-stained arcades. Leaning back  saying over and over to himself:

    Devant une fa?ade rose,

    Sur le marbre dun escalier.

    t  irred o mad delig Venice, like Oxford,  to true romantic, background  everyt of time, and intoret. Poor Basil!  a o die!

    ook up tried to forget.  fly in and out of ttle cafe at Smyrna ing turbaned mercs smoke tasselled pipes and talk gravely to eac ears of granite in its lonely sunless exile and longs to be back by t, lotus-covered Nile, ures  craeaming mud; o brood over tained marble, tell of t curious statue t Gautier compares to a contralto voice, t;monstre cquot; t couc after a time t of terror came over  if Alan Campbell s of England? Days o come.  could  al importance.

    t friends once, five years before-- almost inseparable, indeed. timacy o an end.  in society no was only Dorian Gray who smiled: Alan Campbell never did.

    remely clever young man, tion of ts, and tle sense of ty of poetry irely from Dorian.  intellectual passion  Cambridge  a great deal of ime ory, and aken a good class in tural Science tripos of ill devoted to tudy of cry, and ory of o s ly to t  on anding for Parliament and  a c er t amateurs. In fact, it   brougoget indefinable attraction t Dorian seemed to be able to exercise  being conscious of it. t at Lady Berks t Rubinstein played ter t used to be aloget teen montimacy lasted. Campbell  Selby Royal or in Grosvenor Square. to o many otype of everyt is ing in life.  a quarrel aken place bet suddenly people remarked t t and t Campbell seemed alo go ay at rangely melanc times, appeared almost to dislike   ime left in ise. And tainly true. Every day o become more interested in biology, and ific revieion ain curious experiments.

    ting for. Every second  glancing at tes  by ated. At last  up and began to pace up and doiful caged took long stealtrides. his hands were curiously cold.

    time seemed to o be cra of lead,  to of precipice.  ing for , indeed, and, s and driven to t s otened, and tion, made grotesque by terror, ted and distorted as a living t on a stand and grinned time stopped for  blind, slos, time being dead, raced nimbly on in front, and dragged a ure from its grave, and s to ared at it. Its very one.

    At last t entered. urned glazed eyes upon him.

    quot;Mr. Campbell, sir,quot; said the man.

    A sigo his cheeks.

    quot;Ask o come in at once, Francis.quot;  t he was himself again. his mood of cowardice had passed away.

    tired. In a fes, Alan Campbell ern and ratensified by his coal-black hair and dark eyebrows.

    quot;Alan! t;

    quot;I ended never to enter your  you said it ter of life and deat; ion. tempt in teady searc urned on Dorian.  s of rak, and seemed not to iced ture ed.

    quot;Yes: it is a matter of life and deato more t do;

    Campbell took a cable, and Dorian sat opposite to . In Dorians te pity.  w o do was dreadful.

    After a strained moment of silence, ly, but c of eac for, quot;Alan, in a locked room at top of to  a table. en  stir, and dont look at me like t. ters t do not concern you.  you o do is t;

    quot;Stop, Gray. I dont  to kno you old me is true or not true doesnt concern me. I entirely decline to be mixed up in your life. Keep your s to yourself. t interest me any more.quot;

    quot;Alan, to interest you. to interest you. I am a I cant o save me. I am forced to bring you into tter. I ion. Alan, you are scientific. You kno cry and t kind. You s.  you  to do is to destroy t is upstairs-- to destroy it so t not a vestige of it . Nobody sao t t moment o be in Paris.  be missed for mont be no trace of  c belongs to o a  I may scatter in t;

    quot;You are mad, Dorian.quot;

    quot;Aing for you to call me Dorian.quot;

    quot;You are mad, I tell you--mad to imagine t I o o make trous confession. I ter,  is. Do you to peril my reputation for you?  is it to me o?quot;

    quot;It ;

    quot;I am glad of t. But ? You, I s;

    quot;Do you still refuse to do t;

    quot;Of course I refuse. I o do . I dont care o see you disgraced, publicly disgraced. o mix myself up in t you kne peoples cers. Your friend Lord ton cant aug psycever else augo stir a step to o to some of your friends. Dont come to me.quot;

    quot;Alan, it  t ended it, t ;

    quot;Murder! Good God, Dorian, is t  is not my business. Besides,  my stirring in tter, you are certain to be arrested. Nobody ever commits a crime  doing sometupid. But I .quot;

    quot;You must o do . ait,  a moment; listen to me. Only listen, Alan. All I ask of you is to perform a certain scientific experiment. You go to als and dead- you do t affect you. If in some ing-room or fetid laboratory you found table ters scooped out in it for to flo. You  turn a  believe t you rary, you  you ing tifying intellectual curiosity, or somet kind.  I  you to do is merely o destroy a body must be far less  you are accustomed to . And, remember, it is t me. If it is discovered, I am lost; and it is sure to be discovered unless you ;

    quot;I o  t. I am simply indifferent to t o do ;

    quot;Alan, I entreat you. tion I am in. Just before you came I almost fainted error. You may knoerror yourself some day. No! dont t. Look at tter purely from tific point of vie inquire  inquire nooo muc is. But I beg of you to do t;

    quot;Dont speak about t;

    quot;times. tairs  go aing at table stretc come to my assistance, I am ruined.  you understand? t I ;

    quot;tely refuse to do anytter. It is insane of you to ask me.quot;

    quot;You refuse?quot;

    quot;Yes.quot;

    quot;I entreat you, Alan.quot;

    quot;It is useless.quot;

    ty came into Dorian Grays eyes. tretc ook a piece of paper, and e somet.  over t carefully, and pus across table.  up and  over to the window.

    Campbell looked at ook up t. As , ly pale and  as if  ing itself to deaty hollow.

    After tes of terrible silence, Dorian turned round and came and stood beting his hand upon his shoulder.

    quot;I am so sorry for you, Alan,quot; ;but you leave me no alternative. I ter ten already.  is. You see t  send it. If you dont . You kno  you are going to  is impossible for you to refuse noried to spare you. You ice to admit t. You ern, reated me as no man o treat me--no living man, at any rate. I bore it all. No is for me to dictate terms.quot;

    Campbell buried hrough him.

    quot;Yes, it is my turn to dictate terms, Alan. You knoe simple. Come, dont o to be done. Face it, and do it.quot;

    A groan broke from Campbells lips and icking of telpiece seemed to o be dividing time into separate atoms of agony, eacoo terrible to be borne.  as if an iron ring igened  olerable. It seemed to crush him.

    quot;Come, Alan, you must decide at once.quot;

    quot;I cannot do it,quot; er things.

    quot;You must. You  delay.quot;

    ated a moment. quot;Is tairs?quot;

    quot;Yes, tos.quot;

    quot;I so go  some tory.quot;

    quot;No, Alan, you must not leave te out on a s of notepaper  and my servant ake a cab and bring to you.quot;

    Campbell scrated to ant. Dorian took te up and read it carefully. t to , o return as soon as possible and to bring th him.

    As t, Campbell started nervously, and  up from t over to ty minutes, neit ticking of t of a hammer.

    As truck one, Campbell turned round, and looking at Dorian Gray, sa ears. ty and refinement of t sad face t seemed to enrage ;You are infamous, absolutely infamous!quot; tered.

    quot;; said Dorian.

    quot;Your life? Good  a life t is! You ion to corruption, and noo do--o do-- it is not of your life t I am t;

    quot;A; murmured Dorian ;I y for me t I ; urned a at the garden. Campbell made no answer.

    After about ten minutes a knock came to t entered, carrying a large ma of ceel and platinum her curiously shaped iron clamps.

    quot;S; he asked Campbell.

    quot;Yes,quot; said Dorian. quot;And I am afraid, Francis, t I  is t Ric;

    quot;;

    quot;Yes-- go doo Ric once, see ell o send t, I dont  any  is a lovely day, Francis, and Ricty place-- ot bot it.quot;

    quot;No trouble, sir. At ime s;

    Dorian looked at Campbell. quot; take, Alan?quot;  voice. to give raordinary courage.

    Campbell fro ;It ake about five ; he answered.

    quot;It ime enoug  seven, Francis. Or stay: just leave my t for dressing. You can o yourself. I am not dining at   you.quot;

    quot;t; said the room.

    quot;No a moment to be lost.  is! Ill take it for you. You bring t; ative manner. Campbell felt dominated by  together.

    op landing, Dorian took out turned it in topped, and a troubled look came into ;I dont t; he murmured.

    quot;It is noto me. I dont require you,quot; said Campbell coldly.

    Dorian rait leering in t. On t of it torn curtain  before ten, for t time in o al canvas, and  to rush a shudder.

    loat gleamed,  and glistening, on one of ted blood?  o , t t retcable, tesque missted carpet s it  stirred, but ill t it.

    tle ed ermined t  look even once upon tooping doaking up t rigure.

    topped, feeling afraid to turn round, and ricacies of ttern before , and t o  of eacher.

    quot;Leave me no; said a stern voice behind him.

    urned and , just conscious t t back into t Campbell o a glistening yellohe lock.

    It er seven  absolutely calm. quot;I  you asked me to do,quot; tered quot;And no us never see eac;

    quot;You  forget t,quot; said Dorian simply.

    As soon as Campbell ,  upstairs. tric acid in t t ting at table was gone.