twenty minutes
to twelve
Inside was a green paste , waxy in lustre , the odour curiously heavy and persistent . He hesitated for some moments , with a strangely immobile smile upon his face . Then shivering , though the atmosphere of the room was terribly hot , he drew himself up , and glanced at the clock . It was twenty minutes to twelve . He put the box back , shutting the cabinet doors as he did so , and went into his bedroom . As midnight was striking bronze blows upon the dusky air , Dorian Gray dressed commonly , and with a muffler wrapped round his throat , crept quietly out of the house . In Bond Street he found a hansom with a good horse .