Pagina 283 de 490

For the wonderful beauty that had so fascinated Basil Hallward,

and many others besides him, seemed never to leave him. Even

those who had heard the most evil things against him-and from

time to time strange rumours about his mode of life crept through

London and became the chatter of the clubs-could not believe

anything to his dishonour when they saw him. He had always the

look of one who had kept himself unspotted from the world. Men

who talked grossly became silent when Dorian Gray entered the

room. There was something in the purity of his face that rebuked

them. His mere presence seemed to recall to them the memory of

the innocence that they had tarnished. They wondered how one so

charming and graceful as he was could have escaped the stain of

an age that was at once sordid and sensual.