Cer 11

    For years, Dorian Gray could not free  e to say t  to free .  edition, and  colours, so t t suit ure over imes, to  entirely lost control. tic and tific temperaments rangely blended, became to ype of o o contain tory of ten before .

    In one point unate tastic o kno someesque dread of mirrors, and polisal surfaces, and still er   cruel joy-- and perainly in every pleasure, cruelty s place--t o read tter part of ts really tragic, if some  dearly valued.

    For ty t ed Basil o leave  evil t ime to time strange rumours about  tter of t believe anyto  ted from talked grossly became silent y of  rebuked to recall to t tarnisain of an age t  once sordid and sensual.

    Often, on returning erious and prolonged absences t gave rise to sucrange conjecture among t t tairs to t never left and,  of trait t Basil ed of  t t laug rast used to quicken y, more and more interested in tion of e care, and sometimes rous and terrible delig seared times we ed ure, and smile. he failing limbs.

    ts, indeed, at nigely scented ctle ill-famed tavern near t o frequent,  upon y t  because it s suc curiosity about life irred in  togeto increase ification. to know.  grew more ravenous as hem.

    Yet  really reckless, at any rate in ions to society. Once or ter, and on eaced, o tiful  celebrated musicians of to cs . tle dinners, in ttling of ed, as for te taste sion of table, s subtle symps of exotic floique plate of gold and silver. Indeed, t true realization of a type of on or Oxford days, a type t o combine someture of tinction and perfect manner of a citizen of to to be of te describes as  to quot;make t by ty.quot; Like Gautier, ;ted.quot;

    And, certainly, to self , test, of ts, and for it all ts seemed to be but a preparation. Fas is really fantastic becomes for a moment universal, and dandyism, tempt to assert te modernity of beauty, ion for icular styles t from time to time ed, es of t ried to reproduce tal co him only half-serious fopperies.

    For, oo ready to accept tion t  immediately offered to le pleasure in t t  really become to t to imperial Neronian Rome tyricon once  in   o be someter elegantiarum, to be consulted on tting of a necktie, or t of a cane.  to elaborate some neualizing of ts  realization.

    ten, and ice, been decried, men feeling a natural instinct of terror about passions and sensations t seem stronger t tence. But it appeared to Dorian Gray t true nature of tood, and t t to starve to submission or to kill tead of aiming at making ts of a neuality, of  for beauty o be t ceristic. As ory, ed by a feeling of loss. So muco suctle purpose! tions, monstrous forms of self-torture and self-denial, ion infinitely more terrible t fancied degradation from o escape; Nature, in  te to feed  and giving to t ts of the field as his companions.

    Yes: to be, as Lord  o recreate life and to save it from t anism t is s curious revival. It o s service of tellect, certainly, yet it o accept any tem t e experience. Its aim, indeed, o be experience itself, and not ts of experience, s or bitter as t be. Of ticism t deadens t dulls t o kno it o teaco concentrate s of a life t is itself but a moment.

    t sometimes er one of ts t make us almost enamoured of deats of oms more terrible ty itself, and instinct  vivid life t lurks in all grotesques, and t lends to Got its enduring vitality, t being, one mig of troubled e fingers creep tains, and to tremble. In black fantastic so tside, tirring of birds among to t  feared to  must needs call forter veil of ted, and by degrees tored to tcs antique pattern. t back tapers stand  book t  ter t  en. Noto us c of t comes back t  eals over us a terrible sense of ty for tinuance of energy in tereotyped s, or a  may be, t our eyelids mig s, a le or no place, or survive, at any rate, in no conscious form of obligation or regret, ts bitterness and their pain.

    It ion of suc seemed to Dorian Gray to be true object, or amongst true objects, of life; and in ions t  once ne of strangeness t is so essential to romance, en adopt certain modes of t t o be really alien to ure, abandon o tle influences, and t ual curiosity, leave t curious indifference t is not incompatible emperament, and t, indeed, according to certain modern psycs, is often a condition of it.

    It o join tainly tual  attraction for ique irred s superb rejection of tive simplicity of its elements and ternal patragedy t it sougo symbolize. o kneel do and c, in iff floic, sloe abernacle, or raising aloft tern-srance  pallid  at times, one ;panis caelestis,quot; ts of t, breaking t into ting  for  t, tossed into t gilt floion for , o look  to sit in ten to men and rue story of their lives.

    But o ting ellectual development by any formal acceptance of creed or system, or of mistaking, for a o live, an inn t is but suitable for t, or for a feravail. Mysticism, s marvellous porange to us, and tle antinomianism t alo accompany it, moved o terialistic doctrines of t in Germany, and found a curious pleasure in tracing ts and passions of men to some pearly cell in te nerve in ting in tion of te dependence of t on certain pions, morbid or , as o o be of any importance compared self.  keenly conscious of ellectual speculation is ion and experiment.  tual mysteries to reveal.

    And so udy perfumes and ts of ture, distilling ed oils and burning odorous gums from t.  t  its counterpart in t o discover true relations,  made one mystical, and in ambergris t stirred ones passions, and in violets t  troubled t stained tion; and seeking often to elaborate a real psyco estimate t-smelling roots and scented, pollen-laden floic balms and of dark and fragrant  sickens; of  makes men mad; and of aloes, t are said to be able to expel melanche soul.

    At anotime ed irely to music, and in a long latticed room, o give curious concerts in tle zitunisians plucked at trained strings of monstrous lutes, onously upon copper drums and, crouc mats, slim turbaned Indians bleo c ervals and sirred  times y ed togets of trangest instruments t could be found, eitombs of dead nations or among tribes t act ern civilizations, and loved to toucry terious juruparis of t  alloo look at and t even yout see till ted to fasting and scourging, and t es of  are found near Cuzco and give forte of singular sness. ed gourds filled  rattled  ture of tribes, t is sounded by tinels  a distance of teponaztli, t ing tongues of en icks t are smeared ic gum obtained from ts; tl-bells of tecs, t are ers like grapes; and a  serpents, like t Bernal Diaz saes into temple, and of ion. tastic cer of truments fascinated  a curious delig t art, like Nature, ers, tial s, after some time,  in  tening in rapt pleasure to quot;tann; and seeing in to t great  a presentation of tragedy of his own soul.

    On one occasion ook up tudy of je a costume ball as Anne de Joyeuse, Admiral of France, in a dress covered y pearls. taste ento  en spend a tling in tones t be ed, suc turns red by lampligs ac, rose-pink and opazes, carbuncles of fiery scarlet remulous, four-rayed stars, flame-red cinnamon-stones, orange and violet spinels, and amets ernate layers of ruby and sappone, and tones pearly erdam traordinary size and ricurquoise de la vieille roc he connoisseurs.

    ories, also, about jeioned ic ory of Alexander, to ;; tratus told us, and quot;by tion of golden letters and a scarlet robequot; ter could be to a magical sleep and slain. According to t alc, Pierre de Boniface, te of India made . t drove a cast out demons, and te  discovers ted only by te stone taken from toad, t ain antidote against poison. t  of t could cure ts of Arabian birds es, t, according to Democritus, kept the wearer from any danger by fire.

    ty ion. tes of t ;made of sardius, , so t no man mig; Over t;t; so t t s. In Lodges strange romance A Margarite of America, it ated t in t;all te ladies of t of silver, looking tes, carbuncles, sapps.quot; Marco Polo ants of Zipangu place rose-coloured pearls in ter  t to King Perozes, and s loss. o t pit,  aells tory--nor  ever found again, tasius offered five  of gold pieces for it. to a certain Venetian a rosary of t he worshipped.

    inois, son of Alexander VI, visited Louis XII of France, o Brantome, and  t a great ligirrups y-one diamonds. Ric, valued at ty to too ion, as ;a jacket of raised gold, tones, and a great bauderike about ; tes of James I  in gold filigrane. Edo Piers Gaveston a suit of red-gold armour studded  urquoise-stones, and a skull-cap parsemé o ty-t orients. t of C Duke of Burgundy of udded h sapphires.

    e life s pomp and decoration! Even to read of the dead was wonderful.

    turned tention to embroideries and to tapestries t performed tions of Europe. As igated t-- and raordinary faculty of becoming absolutely absorbed for t in ion of t time brougiful and  any rate, . Summer folloimes, and niged tory of t er marred ained  it erial to?  crocus-coloured robe, on  ts, t  Nero retc Rome, t titan sail of purple on arry sky, and Apollo driving a c dra-reined steeds? o see table-napkins ies and viands t could be ed for a feast; tuary clots tastic robes t excited tion of tus and ;lions, pants, rocks, ers--all, in fact, t a painter can copy from naturequot;; and t t C;Madame, je suis tout joyeux,quot; t of t in gold te, of square s  t Red ;teen y-one parrots, made in broidery, and blazoned y-one butterflies, ; Cat pos and suns. Its curtains  stood in a room  black velvet upon clotides fifteen feet ment. tate bed of Sobieski, King of Poland, urquoises s supports , beautifully c  aken from turkisandard of Moood beneatremulous gilt of its canopy.

    And so, for a o accumulate t exquisite specimens t extile and embroidered ting ty Del es and stitc beetles  from transparency are kno as quot;; and quot;running er,quot; and quot;evening de;; strange figured clote yelloins or fair blue silks and iff Spaniss; Georgian s gilt coins, and Japanese Foukousas, oned golds and their marvellously plumaged birds.

    ical vestments, as indeed ed s t lined t gallery of ored aiful specimens of  of t,  sed body t is  sed pain. ing pattern of golden pomegranates set in six-petalled formal blossoms, beyond o panels representing scenes from tion of talian eentury. Anot, embroidered -semmed ails of als. tarred s and martyrs, among ian. ations of t, and embroidered ics of in and pink silk damask, decorated ulips and dolpar frontals of crimson velvet and blue linen; and many corporals, cic offices to  quickened ion.

    For treasures, and everyt ed in o be to fulness, modes by o  times to be almost too great to be borne. Upon t so mucerrible portrait  ain. For  ted t back  , e absorption in mere existence. t  of to dreadful places near Blue Gate Fields, and stay ter day, until urn  in front of times,  pride of individualism t is ion of sin, and smiling  pleasure at t o bear t should have been his own.

    After a feo be long out of England, and gave up t  trouville tle er. ed to be separated from ture t o te of te bars t o be placed upon the door.

    e conscious t tell t rue t trait still preserved, under all ts marked likeness to  ?  any one o taunt  painted it.   to  looked? Even if old t?

    Yet imes ingertaining tounding ty by ton luxury and gorgeous splendour of s and ruso too see t t been tampered  ture ill t if it solen? t made  ted it.

    For,  a feed  a est End club of itled o become a member, and it  on one occasion, o tleman got up in a marked manner and  out. Curious stories became current about er y-fift  ant parts of ec ed eries of trade. raordinary absences became notorious, and, y, men o discover .

    Of suctempted sligook no notice, and in t people e grace of t  seemed never to leave  anso termed t ed about   intimate er a time, to s convention at defiance, o groered the room.

    Yet trange and dangerous c ain element of security. Society--civilized society, at least-- is never very ready to believe anyto triment of ting. It feels instinctively t manners are of more importance ts opinion, t respectability is of mucer all, it is a very poor consolation to be told t te life. Even tues cannot atone for rées, as Lord , and to be said for y are, or s. Form is absolutely essential to it. It sy of a ceremony, as s unreality, and ser of a romantic play  and beauty t make sucful to us. Is insincerity sucerrible t. It is merely a metiply our personalities.

    Suc any rate,  t, reliable, and of one essence. to ions, a complex multiform creature t bore self strange legacies of t and passion, and ed rous maladies of to stroll t cold picture-gallery of ry  traits of t, described by Francis Osborne, in ;caressed by t for   long company.quot; as it young s life t imes led? range poisonous germ crept from body to body till it  some dim sense of t ruined grace t   cause, give utterance, in Basil udio, to t , je, and gilt-edged ruff and bands, stood Sir Ant .  ance of sin and sions merely t t dared to realize? omac  clasped an enamelled collar of able by tes upon tle pointed srange stories t old about emperament in o look curiously at  of George illougastic patcurnine and so be ted e lace ruffles fell over t eentury, and t of t in  days, and one of tnesses at t marriage z? nut curls and insolent pose!  passions  Carlton ar of ter glittered upon . Beside rait of irred  all seemed! And on face and ,  e dress. tions of ting  till o follow .

    Yet one ors in literature as emperament, many of tainly ely conscious. times o Dorian Gray t tory  as  in act and circumstance, but as ion ed it for   t range terrible figures t age of tlety. It seemed to  in some mysterious heir lives had been his own.

    t er ells  lig strike , as tiberius, in a garden at Capri, reading tis, ted round e-player mocked ted jockeys in tables and supped in an ivory manger leted ian, ion of t o end  ennui, t terrible taedium vitae, t comes on to ter of pearl and purple dra of Pomegranates to a ed aff among t tic marriage to the Sun.

    Over and over again Dorian used to read tastic cer, and tely follories or cunningly iful forms of trous or mad: Filippo, Duke of Milan,   suck deatro Barbi, tian, kno in y to assume title of Formosus, and  t terrible sin; Gian Maria Visconti, ained to; Pietro Riario, tus IV, aurs, and gilded a boy t  serve at t as Ganymede or acle of deated, and one ista Cibo,  and into or; Sigismondo Malatesta, tta and t Rome as trangled Polyssena o Ginevra dEste in a cup of emerald, and in  a pagan cian  ed rimmed jerkin and jeto Baglioni, to , as ed  c alanta, who had cursed him, blessed him.

    tion in t nigroubled ion in trange manners of poisoning-- poisoning by a  and a ligorcs iful.