A cold rain fell and the street lights looked strange in the mist. The public-houses were closing. Groups of men and women stood near the doors. Some people laughed loudly and others screamed.
Dorian Gray sat in a hansom. He wore his hat low over his face. Dorian looked at the dirty city with sad eyes. He thought about the words of Lord Henry Wotton.
Lord Henry once said that the body can heal the soul. Dorian believed this idea. He often tried to forget his life in this way. He was going to an opium den.
The moon was low and yellow in the sky. Large clouds covered the moon sometimes. The streets became narrow and dark. The carriage drove through many puddles of water.
Dorian thought about his soul. His soul felt very sick. He had killed Basil Hallward, and the blood was on his hands. Dorian could not undo this crime, but he could forget it.
The carriage moved slowly. Dorian told the driver to go faster. Dorian felt a strong hunger for the drug. His throat felt hot and his delicate hands shook.
The carriage stopped on a dark street. Dorian saw the tall masts of ships nearby. The air was full of thick, white fog. Dorian paid the driver and walked toward the water.
Dorian walked for eight minutes. He found a small, old house between two large factories. He knocked on the door in a special way. A person opened the door and Dorian went inside.
The room was long and the ceiling was low. It was very dirty. There was sawdust on the floor. Some men from other countries sat near a small stove.
Dorian saw a young man with yellow hair. The young man was Adrian Singleton. Adrian Singleton was smoking a long pipe. Adrian Singleton looked at Dorian and nodded.
"You are here too, Adrian?" Dorian asked. Adrian Singleton said he had no other place to go. His friends did not speak to him now. Adrian Singleton only wanted the drug.
Dorian looked at the people in the room. They looked strange and sad on their old beds. Dorian felt fear because of his memories. He saw the eyes of Basil in his mind.
Dorian went to the bar with Adrian Singleton. A man gave them a bottle of brandy. Two women came near them. Dorian did not want to talk to the women.
One woman laughed at Dorian. Dorian became angry and stamped his foot. He gave the woman some money. He told the woman to never talk to him again.
Dorian walked to the door. The woman laughed a loud, ugly laugh. She called Dorian "Prince Charming." A sailor heard this name and jumped up.
Dorian walked quickly through the rain. Suddenly, someone grabbed Dorian from behind. A man pushed Dorian against a wall. The man held Dorian’s throat with a strong hand.
Dorian saw a revolver. The man pointed the gun at Dorian’s head. "What do you want?" Dorian asked. The man told Dorian to stay quiet.
The man was James Vane. He said Dorian destroyed the life of Sibyl Vane. Sibyl was the sister of James. James had wanted to kill Dorian for many years.
Dorian was very afraid. Then he had a clever idea. Dorian asked when Sibyl died. James said she died eighteen years ago.
Dorian laughed. He told James to look at his face under the light. James pulled Dorian to a lamp. Dorian looked like a young man of twenty.
James was shocked. He thought he made a mistake. This man looked too young to have hurt Sibyl eighteen years ago. James let Dorian go.
Dorian looked at James sternly. He told James that he almost committed a crime. Dorian told James to go home. Then Dorian walked away slowly.
James stood alone and shook with fear. Then a woman from the bar walked to him. She asked why James did not kill Dorian. She said Dorian was a very bad man.
James said the man was too young. But the woman laughed a bitter laugh. She said it was eighteen years since Dorian ruined her life. She said Dorian never changed.
The woman swore she was telling the truth. She said people believed Dorian had sold himself to the devil. James ran to the corner of the street. But Dorian was gone.