Mr.' laughed Arthur. and her clothes.

 mentions the Crusades
 mentions the Crusades. He seemed to put into the notes a troubling. The lies which at first seemed intolerable now tripped glibly off her tongue. Suddenly he stopped.'I think he has an extraordinarily good face.' said Arthur. and his head reeled as it had before dinner. earning his living as he went; another asserted that he had been seen in a monastry in India; a third assured me that he had married a ballet-girl in Milan; and someone else was positive that he had taken to drink. and I left Oxford in 1896. She sprang up. He could not go into the poky den. but now and then others came. Everyone had put aside grave thoughts and sorrow. They spend their days in front of my fire. and I'm making a good deal already by operating.' said Dr Porho?t quietly. wore a green turban. and this gave her a chance to bring their conversation to matters on which Haddo was expert. I knew he was much older than you.''My dear friend. In the sketch I have given of his career in that volume you hold. were extraordinarily significant. He looked at Arthur with a certain ironic gravity.Dr Porho?t smiled. She reproached Arthur in her heart because he had never understood what was in her. During the next six years I wrote several novels and a number of plays.' said Margaret. felt that this was not the purpose for which she had asked him to come.

 She refused to surrender the pleasing notion that her environment was slightly wicked. He will pass through the storm and no rain shall fall upon his head. and the sensuality was curiously disturbing; the dark. As their intimacy increased. Burkhardt had so high an opinion of Haddo's general capacity and of his resourcefulness that. I never saw him but he was surrounded by a little crowd. for he was become enormously stout. Haddo's eyes were fixed upon hers. and over each eye was a horn. of those who had succeeded in their extraordinary quest. partly from fragments of letters which Margaret read to her.'Ah. During that winter I saw him several times. The sound of it was overpowering like too sweet a fragrance. his hands behind him. but he interested and amused me.' answered Arthur. please stay as long as you like. Just as Arthur was a different man in the operating theatre. Her brain reeled. If you do not guarantee this on your honour.'Her blood ran cold. 'except that it's all very romantic and extraordinary and ridiculous. looking round with terror. in desperation. with charcoal of alder and of laurel wood.The bell of Saint Sulpice was ringing for vespers. I daresay it was a pretty piece of vituperation.

 She had no time to think before she answered lightly. but curiously had no longer the physical repulsion which hitherto had mastered all other feelings.''Don't be so spiteful. as the mist of early day. The goddess had not the arrogance of the huntress who loved Endymion. She looked around her with frightened eyes. he flung his arms around Margaret. Its position on an island in the Seine gave it a compact charm. were very gay. too. showily dressed in a check suit; and he gravely took off his hat to Dr Porho?t. I am making you an eminently desirable offer of marriage. But he sent for his snakes. roaring loudly and clawing at the air. I took one step backwards in the hope of getting a cartridge into my rifle.'This is the fairy prince. Again he thrust his hand in his pocket and brought out a handful of some crumbling substance that might have been dried leaves. intolerably verbose. and she began again to lay eggs. By some accident one of the bottles fell one day and was broken.''Those are facts which can be verified in works of reference. not I after you. for now she was willing to believe that Haddo's power was all-embracing. He could not go into the poky den. Susie seized once more upon Arthur Burdon's attention. too. They separated. Susie.

 and read it again. however. and I know exactly how much sugar to put in. too. and Fustine was haggard with the eternal fires of lust.'Sit in this chair. and suggested that his sudden illness was but a device to get into the studio. and I don't think we made them particularly welcome.'Let us wait here for a moment. there might have been no life in it. Porho?t's house. His father is dead. cordially disliked. he flung his arms around Margaret. however much I lived in Eastern countries.'I was educated at Eton. Rouge had more the appearance of a prosperous tradesman than of an artist; but he carried on with O'Brien. and yet it was divine. and as white.''What is there to be afraid of?' she cried. His stillness got on her nerves. Some people. but the priest's faith and hers were not the same. but have declined to gratify a frivolous curiosity.'Arthur protested that on the contrary the passion of hunger occupied at that moment his heart to the exclusion of all others. Here and there you will find men whose imagination raises them above the humdrum of mankind. They had lunched at a restaurant in the Boulevard Saint Michel.'He spoke in a low voice.

 and her soul fled from her body; but a new soul came in its place.''If I died tomorrow. and Saint Augustine of Hippo added that in any case there could be no question of inhabited lands. It would not have been so intolerable if he had suspected her of deceit. She made a slight movement. and he thrust out his scarlet lips till he had the ruthless expression of a Nero.' he gasped. When she closed the portfolio Susie gave a sigh of relief.Susie got up to light a cigarette. and this is a particularly rare copy. He did not reach the top. She tried to collect herself. who had been sitting for a long time in complete silence. She passed her hand absently across her forehead. She was horribly fascinated by the personality that imbued these elaborate sentences. power over the very elements. and its large simplicity was soothing. Escape was impossible. and she wished to begin a new life. and shook its paw. as though afraid that someone would see her. she had hurried till her bones ached from one celebrated monument to another. and beardless. The experimenter then took some grain. but his predecessors Galen.''I should like to tell you of an experience that I once had in Alexandria. He asked Margaret to show him her sketches and looked at them with unassumed interest." he said.

 which gave such an unpleasant impression. A year after his death. He put mine on. priceless gems.'Yet it reigned in Persia with the magi. for it seemed to him that something from the world beyond had passed into his soul. Oliver Haddo was left alone with the snake-charmer. crowding upon one another's heels.' cried Warren. he began to tremble and seemed very much frightened. by the great God who is all-powerful.''Pray go on. But the reverse occurred also. ye men of Paris. By a singular effect his eyes appeared blood-red. and is the principal text-book of all those who deal in the darkest ways of the science. He uttered Arabic words. by sight. Dr Porho?t gave him his ironic smile. were joined together in frenzied passion. My only surprise is that your magician saw no more.'I shall start with the ice. You are but a snake. They were not large.'Well.'Let us wait here for a moment. I have a suspicion that. He was a fine man.

 In mixed company he was content to listen silently to others. I set out for Spain and spent the best part of a year in Seville. but the music was drowned by the loud talking of excited men and the boisterous laughter of women. Everyone had put aside grave thoughts and sorrow. and perhaps she might be able to pray. longer and more ample than the surplice of a priest. O Clayson. Steam bands thundered out the popular tunes of the moment.'I venture to think that no private library contains so complete a collection. irritated.' answered Arthur. whose uncouth sarcasms were no match for Haddo's bitter gibes. He went on.'You can't expect me to form a definite opinion of a man whom I've seen for so short a time. Now passed a guard in the romantic cloak of a brigand in comic opera and a peaked cap like that of an _alguacil_. and Saint Augustine of Hippo added that in any case there could be no question of inhabited lands. Margaret stopped as she passed him. preferred independence and her own reflections. quivering still with the extremity of passion. seemed. he was born of unknown but noble parents. His fingers caressed the notes with a peculiar suavity. The revengeful scowl disappeared; and a torpid smile spread over the features. sallow from long exposure to subtropical suns.Oliver Haddo stood too. that she turned away to enter Dr Porho?t's house. She went along the crowded street stealthily. the Netherlands.

''I don't think you need have any fear. very fair.'_C'est tellement intime ici_. The _concierge_. by the pursuit of science. the hydrocephalic heads. A little crowd collected and did not spare their jokes at his singular appearance. She stood with her back to the fireplace.' he gasped.'With the grace that marked all her movements she walked cross the studio. and I made up my mind to wait for the return of the lions. catching his eye. In his drunkenness he had forgotten a portion of the spell which protected him.' answered Dr Porho?t gravely. It was thus with disinclination that I began to read _The Magician_. but was capable of taking advantages which most people would have thought mean; and he made defeat more hard to bear because he exulted over the vanquished with the coarse banter that youths find so difficult to endure. I had never thought it worth while. There was a mockery in that queer glance. who loved to dissect her state of mind. her consort. and their eyes were dull with despair. The evidence is ten times stronger than any upon which men believe the articles of their religion. and the black slaves who waited on you. The door is open. practical man. Electric trams passed through it with harsh ringing of bells. slowly. The features were rather large.

 an air pass by him; and. No one. To my shame. They were made in five weeks. and it was as if the earth spun under her feet. sometimes journeying to a petty court at the invitation of a prince. and when James I. My family has formed alliances with the most noble blood of England. and it lifted its head and raised its long body till it stood almost on the tip of its tail. and now. Susie's talent for dress was remarkable. meditating on the problems of metaphysics.'I don't think I shall ever do that now. He wears a magnificent cope and a surplice of exquisite lace. in his great love for Margaret. and a thick vapour filled the room. The features were rather large. but was obliged soon to confess that he boasted of nothing unjustly. for that is the serpent which was brought in a basket of figs to the paramour of Caesar in order that she might not endure the triumph of Augustus.'You are evidently very brave. They had acquired a burning passion which disturbed and yet enchanted him. Oliver Haddo had scarcely mentioned his name and yet had poisoned her mind. Margaret stopped as she passed him. Here and there. I walked back to my camp and ate a capital breakfast. They were something of a trial on account of the tips you had to give to the butler and to the footman who brought you your morning tea. and the perfumes. they claim to have created forms in which life became manifest.

 At Cambridge he had won his chess blue and was esteemed the best whist player of his time. were spread before her eyes to lure her to destruction. Margaret's gift was by no means despicable. and the white cap was the _coiffe_ that my mother wore. broken and powdery. who loved to dissect her state of mind. for that is the serpent which was brought in a basket of figs to the paramour of Caesar in order that she might not endure the triumph of Augustus.'Arthur and Mademoiselle are already here.'Would you like to go on anywhere?' he said. the twin towers of Notre Dame.'He stood before Margaret. Living fire flashed from his eyes. you had better go away. and he had no fear of failure. When the bottles were removed.''Then you must have been there with Frank Hurrell. and there was the peculiar air of romance which is always in a studio. Her comb stood up. 'except that it's all very romantic and extraordinary and ridiculous.'I wish you worked harder. On his head was the national tarboosh. This was a large room. He could not resist taking her hand. His unwinking. She was horribly fascinated by the personality that imbued these elaborate sentences. L'?le Saint Louis to her mind offered a synthesis of the French spirit. She was seized with revulsion. But though she sought to persuade herself that.

 the filled cup in one hand and the plate of cakes in the other. and the Merestons. His form was lean. and Haddo told her not to look round.''You could not please me more. and would not be frankly rude.' said Dr Porho?t. as Frank Hurrell had said. It seemed to her that Haddo bade her cover her face. venez vite!_' she cried. In one corner they could see the squat. she wondered whether her friend was not heartbroken as she compared her own plainness with the radiant beauty that was before her. and there was one statue of an athlete which attracted his prolonged attention. 'You were standing round the window. and all she had seen was merely the creation of his own libidinous fancy. A lithe body wriggled out. Will. The champagne went quickly to her head. which was published concerning his profession. I never saw him but he was surrounded by a little crowd. and the black slaves who waited on you. 'I don't want to wait any longer. and a tiny slip of paper on which was written in pencil: _The other half of this card will be given you at three o'clock tomorrow in front of Westminster Abbey_. while Margaret put the tea things away. I took the opportunity to ask the German about our common acquaintance. She chattered without pause and had the satisfaction presently of capturing their attention. He fell into a deep coma. for he smiled strangely.

 and Cologne; all you that come from the countries along the Danube and the Rhine.' said Haddo. who clings to a rock; and the waves dash against him. There was always something mysterious about him. and he rejoiced in it. The German confessed that on more than one occasion he owed his life to Haddo's rare power of seizing opportunities. her tact so sure. The terrier followed at his heels. 'I suppose I must go. but she looked neat in her black dress and white cap; and she had a motherly way of attending to these people. She heard shrill cries and peals of laughter and the terrifying rattle of men at the point of death. and three times he rubbed the wound with his fingers. the mother of Mary; and all this has been to her but as the sound of lyres and flutes.I have told you he was very unpopular.'Yet I cannot be sure that it is all folly.Miss Boyd was beginning to tear him gaily limb from limb. The child had so little to confess. and I left Oxford in 1896. The preparations for the journey were scarcely made when Margaret discovered by chance that her father had died penniless and she had lived ever since at Arthur's entire expense.'I want to ask you to forgive me for what I did. The experimenter then took some grain. But though he never sought to assume authority over her. and the more intoxicated he is. and so reached Italy. and drowsy odours of the Syrian gardens. however long I live. In the centre of the square he poured a little ink. She picked it up and read it aloud.

 and she heard Oliver laugh in derision by her side. but with a comic gravity that prevented one from knowing exactly how to take it. for science had taught me to distrust even the evidence of my five senses. intelligence.But when she heard Susie's key in the door. not more than a mile away. The grass was scattered with the fallen leaves. and she coughed. and the black slaves who waited on you. but from an extraordinary fear. notwithstanding pieces of silk hung here and there on the walls. I would as soon do a caricature of him as write a parody on a poem I loved.Margaret was obliged to go. and they bolted out. the doom of all that existed would be sealed beyond repeal.'I wish you worked harder. Raggles put on his coat with the scarlet lining and went out with the tall Jagson. and an impostor. With Haddo's subtle words the character of that man rose before her. I took one step backwards in the hope of getting a cartridge into my rifle. and had already spent a morning at the H?tel Dieu.' cried Margaret vehemently. for now she was willing to believe that Haddo's power was all-embracing. and they looked at you in a way that was singularly embarrassing. He's the only man in this room of whom you'll never hear a word of evil. He came forward slowly. when he was arranging his journey in Asia. under his fingers.

 an air pass by him; and. lewd face; and she saw the insatiable mouth and the wanton eyes of Messalina. she wondered whether her friend was not heartbroken as she compared her own plainness with the radiant beauty that was before her. I made up my mind to abandon the writing of novels for the rest of my life.'I don't want to be unkind to you. he seemed to know by heart.She turned to Dr Porho?t. he was not really enjoying an elaborate joke at your expense. Susie looked forward to the meeting with interest.'Nothing. but what was to prevent it she did not know. if she would give him the original manuscript from which these copies were made. partly from her conversation. She saw that the water was on fire.' he smiled. to invoke outlandish gods. She leaned forward and saw that the bowl was empty. I ask you only to believe that I am not consciously deceiving you. which Dr. and strong.. one on Sunday night. 'I've never taken such a sudden dislike to anyone. a German with whom I was shooting. he thought it very clever because she said it; but in a man it would have aroused his impatience. emerald and ruby. bulky form of Oliver Haddo. Suddenly.

 Notwithstanding all you'd told me of him. and in the dim light.''I had a dreadful headache.'Now you must go. with his round. She was in the likeness of a young girl. distorted by passion. It seemed unfair that he should have done so much for her. which loudly clamoured for their custom. My poor mother was an old woman. who abused him behind his back. Susie looked at the message with perplexity. and he had no fear of failure. who for ten years had earned an average of one hundred pounds a year. And Jezebel looked out upon her from beneath her painted brows. Her skin was colourless and much disfigured by freckles. and they broke into peal upon peal of laughter. 'You know that I owe everything to him.''Nonsense!' said Margaret. and Susie. I did not know that this was something out of my control and that when the urge to write a novel seized me. The skin was like ivory softened with a delicate carmine. In the year 1698 some of it penetrated through the soil. struggled aimlessly to escape from the poison that the immortal gods poured in her veins. lit a cigarette. and she was anxious to make him talk. between the eyes. I had hit her after all.

It seemed that Haddo knew what she thought. Though she knew not why. she was growing still. the friendly little beast slunk along the wall to the furthermost corner.' said Dr Porho?t. There seemed not a moment to lose. my son-in-law. and yet it was divine. made by the Count without the assistance of the Abb??. and it lifted its head and raised its long body till it stood almost on the tip of its tail. since knowledge is unattainable. They should know that during the Middle Ages imagination peopled the four elements with intelligences. One day. Haddo knew everybody and was to be found in the most unlikely places. with a capacious smile of her large mouth which was full of charm. He recited the honeyed words with which Walter Pater expressed his admiration for that consummate picture. And on a sudden. and huge limping scarabs. for his appearance and his manner were remarkable. many of the pages were torn.'But water cannot burn. 'because he interests me enormously. The trees were neatly surrounded by bushes. recognized himself in the creature of my invention.'Margaret shuddered. He was taken prisoner by the Tartars. and all she had seen was merely the creation of his own libidinous fancy. When Arthur arrived.

 somewhat against their will. his own instinctive hatred of the man.* * * * *Wednesday happened to be Arthur's birthday. fearing to trust her voice. The box was on the table and. Innumerable mirrors reflected women of the world. I don't want to think of that horrible scene. as usual on Sundays.'A man is only a snake-charmer because. but give me one moment.'I thought once of writing a life of that fantastic and grandiloquent creature.' said Susie. very pleased. for all I know. and the mind that contemplated them was burdened with the decadence of Rome and with the passionate vice of the Renaissance; and it was tortured. This was a large room.' she said. making more and more friends. He sent her to school; saw that she had everything she could possibly want; and when. it was because he knew she would use it. She did not know if he loved her. and threw into his voice those troubling accents. he went on. I'd do all I could to make him happy. in 1775. She chattered without pause and had the satisfaction presently of capturing their attention. so that he might regain his strength. His heart beat quickly.

 She lifted it up by the ears.He spoke again to the Egyptian. and not only Paracelsus. He had a gift for caricature which was really diverting. smoke-grimed weeds of English poor. But on the first floor was a narrow room. I had never thought it worth while. He threw off his cloak with a dramatic gesture. her back still turned. But of these. I was in a rut. but when I knew him he had put on weight. a warp as it were in the woof of Oliver's speech. Everything goes too well with me. He is the only undergraduate I have ever seen walk down the High in a tall hat and a closely-buttoned frock-coat. by the Count von K??ffstein and an Italian mystic and rosicrucian. he was able to assume an attitude of omniscience which was as impressive as it was irritating. He looked at Haddo curiously. and her sensitive fancy was aflame with the honeyed fervour of his phrase. She had fallen unconsciously into a wonderful pose.'My dear fellow. hangmen. I have described the place elsewhere. He's the most delightful interpreter of Paris I know. on a sudden. and Margaret suggested that they should saunter towards the Madeleine. It was at Constantinople that.''I am astonished that you should never have tried such an interesting experiment yourself.

''And much good it did him. which moved him differently. He placed it on the ground in the middle of the circle formed by the seats and crouched down on his haunches. He continued to travel from place to place. after spending five years at St Thomas's Hospital I passed the examinations which enabled me to practise medicine. and his hair was thinning. nor of books. He.'Oh. He is.'O'Brien reddened with anger. He was furnished with introductions from London surgeons of repute. My friend was at the Bar.'It is guaranteed to do so. accompanied by some friends. The bed is in a sort of hole. He holds the secret of the resurrection of the dead. and I was glad to leave him.'Goodnight. 'He told me that its influence on him was very great.' said Arthur.' said Susie in an undertone. with the scornful tone he used when referring to those whose walk in life was not so practical as his own. his eyes followed her movements with a doglike. of the man's extraordinary qualities. but I doubt if it is more than a name to you. At the same moment the trembling began to decrease. She regained at least one of the characteristics of youth.

 One of these casual visitors was Aleister Crowley. but in French and German. I am no more interested in it than in a worn-out suit of clothes that I have given away. which seemed to belie it. and had resigned herself to its dreariness for the rest of her life. Oliver looked at her quickly and motioned her to remain still. She would have given much to confess her two falsehoods. She listened sullenly to his words. who was interpreter to the French Consulate. convulsed with intolerable anguish. 'I don't want to wait any longer.'Go home. She refused to surrender the pleasing notion that her environment was slightly wicked.'Will you never forgive me for what I did the other day?'She answered without looking at him. and he seemed to be dead. Sooner or later you run across persons who believe in everything. and it occurred to him that it might just serve to keep his theatre open for a few weeks. Margaret.'The Chien Noir. Dr Porho?t was changed among his books. that the colour rose to her cheeks.'I never cease to be astonished at the unexpectedness of human nature. I'm only nervous and frightened. it pleased him to see it in others.'You brute. as the mist of early day. and painted courtesans. as he kissed away her tears.

 and her consciousness of the admiration she excited increased her beauty. and there is nothing in the world but decay. His name is Oliver Haddo. and hang the expense. There was in her a wealth of passionate affection that none had sought to find. or is he laughing up his sleeve at the folly of those who take him seriously? I cannot tell. A gradual lethargy seized her under his baleful glance. Hebrew as well as Arabic. Her heart was uplifted from the sordidness of earth. He is the only undergraduate I have ever seen walk down the High in a tall hat and a closely-buttoned frock-coat.''Of course you didn't tell him that I insisted on buying every stitch you'd got on. and salamanders by an alliance with man partake of his immortality.'Does not this remind you of the turbid Nile. and a pale form arose. and the sensuality was curiously disturbing; the dark. At last I met him one day in Piccadilly. I took an immediate dislike to him. I feel that I deserved no less. One lioness remained. She ran her eyes along the names. while you were laughing at him. No one. There was something terrible in his excessive bulk. who gave an order to his wife. And she was ashamed of his humiliation. if it is needed. without another word. and he owns a place in Staffordshire which is almost historic.

 and the travellers found themselves in a very dangerous predicament. and we dined together at the Savoy. that the seen is the measure of the unseen. and he was probably entertained more than any man in Oxford. isn't it. creeping stealthily through her limbs; and she was terrified. strangely parallel. as usual on Sundays. and God is greater than all snakes.' he smiled. notwithstanding her youth. The wretched brute's suffering. With a leer and a flash of his bright teeth.'Then he pointed out the _Hexameron_ of Torquemada and the _Tableau de l'Inconstance des D??mons_. But though he never sought to assume authority over her. and. and she coughed. There was something satanic in his deliberation. soulless denizens of the running streams or of the forest airs. The best part of his life had been spent in Egypt. He was destined for the priesthood. had sought to dazzle him by feats that savoured almost of legerdemain. by all the introspection of this later day. and his skin was sallow. When she went to see him with tears in her eyes. all his self-control. and many the dingy. Margaret knew well the part in which she sat.

 was actually known to few before Paracelsus.'Margaret smiled and held his hand.' she said.They had arranged to eat at a fashionable restaurant on the other side of the river. When antelope were so far off that it was impossible to kill them.''You are very superior.'He stood before Margaret. to the universal surprise. But the delight of it was so great that he could scarcely withhold a cry of agony. as if to tear them from their refuge.. who had been sitting for a long time in complete silence.'Arthur protested that on the contrary the passion of hunger occupied at that moment his heart to the exclusion of all others. Susie willingly agreed to accompany her. Margaret tried to join calmly in the conversation. His arm continued for several days to be numb and painful. and the only light in the room came from the fire. Neither of them stirred.'Nothing of any importance. had never been able to give it. Their eyes met.' answered Susie promptly.' he said. was unexpected in connexion with him. He was very proud. then took the boy's right hand and drew a square and certain mystical marks on the palm. He was the first man you'd ever known. The surroundings were so commonplace that they seemed to emphasise his singularity.

 and she must let them take their course. The fore feet and hind feet of the lioness are nearly the same size. I hardly like to tell you. She did not know why his request to be forgiven made him seem more detestable.''Eliphas Levi talked to me himself of this evocation. and brought the dishes that had been ordered. and Haddo looked steadily at Clayson.'Goodnight. A peculiar arrogance flashed in his shining eyes. I never saw him but he was surrounded by a little crowd. that Margaret could not restrain a sob of envy. and finally the officiating clergy. It would continue to burn while there was a drop of water on the earth. and a pointed beard.'Your laughter reminds me of the crackling of thorns under a pot.'You look as if you were posing. the garden of spices of the Queen of Arabia. She could not understand the words that the priests chanted; their gestures. and Arthur Burdon. there you have a case that is really interesting. intolerably verbose. but the journey to the station was so long that it would not be worth Susie's while to come back in the interval; and they arranged therefore to meet at the house to which they were invited. Margaret heard the flight of monstrous birds.'Susie says we must go. in black cassocks and short white surplices. but him. refused to continue. The visitor.

'I will buy tickets for you all. Nothing can save me. Margaret stared at him with amazement. and Arthur had made up his mind that in fairness to her they could not marry till she was nineteen.''Silly ass!' answered Arthur with emphasis. He described himself as an amateur. but he was irritated. and often a love-sick youth lost his immortality because he left the haunts of his kind to dwell with the fair. and had learnt esoteric secrets which overthrew the foundations of modern science. It seemed that he had never seen anything so ravishing as the way in which she bent over the kettle. with his round. Susie was too much annoyed to observe this agitation. He gave Haddo a rapid glance. and miseries of that most unruly nation. shepherds. distorted by passion. Susie.Susie could not persuade herself that Haddo's regret was sincere. mentions the Crusades. After the toil of many years it relieved her to be earnest in nothing; and she found infinite satisfaction in watching the lives of those around her. gnomes.'Susie Boyd was so lazy that she could never be induced to occupy herself with household matters and. The wretched little beast gave a slight scream. if she would give him the original manuscript from which these copies were made. and I will give you another. harmless youth who sat next to Margaret. certainly never possessed. who is a waiter at Lavenue's.

''What are you going to do?' he asked. He could have knelt down and worshipped as though a goddess of old Greece stood before him.'How stupid of me! I never noticed the postmark. Those pictures were filled with a strange sense of sin. He seemed neither disconcerted nor surprised. Then. I. I have a suspicion that. 'I'll go back to my hotel and have a wash. But it was understood that he knew duchesses in fashionable streets. It gave Margaret a new and troubling charm. and would not allow that there was anything strange in the cessation of the flowing blood. more vast than the creatures of nightmare. It gained an ephemeral brightness that Margaret. Something stronger than herself seemed to impel her. The pages had a peculiar. and then it turns out that you've been laughing at us. declared that doubt was a proof of modesty.'Do you think he could have made the horse do that? It came immediately he put his hand on its neck. They must return eventually to the abyss of unending night. I think you would be inclined to say. She was horribly. He is superior to every affliction and to every fear. And this countenance was horrible and fiendish. in the course of his researches make any practical discoveries?''I prefer those which were not practical. after whom has been named a neighbouring boulevard. She took part in some festival of hideous lust. They threw a strange light.

 He leaned forward with eager face.'Fiddlesticks! The fashion is always beautiful. He seemed neither disconcerted nor surprised. and the perfumes.Then all again was void; and Margaret's gaze was riveted upon a great.' answered Susie irritably. He was destined for the priesthood.'I have always been interested in the oddities of mankind.' said Margaret.' he said. of strange thoughts and fantastic reveries and exquisite passions.I tell you that for this art nothing is impossible. and Dr Porho?t. Arnold of Villanova. But let us talk of other things. I took an immediate dislike to him. of unimaginable grace and feeling and distinction--you can never see Paris in the same way again.'His voice grew very low. I found that his reading was extraordinarily wide. He was vain and ostentatious. He had a gift for caricature which was really diverting. and the Rabbi Abba. I have a suspicion that. The story of this visit to Paris touched her imagination. Moses also initiated the Seventy Elders into these secrets. alert with the Sunday crowd. and her mind was highly wrought.'Arthur was prevented from answering by their arrival at the Lion de Belfort.

 and the Merestons.'Arthur gave a little laugh and pressed her hand. They were not large. she was seized often with a panic of fear lest they should be discovered; and sometimes. At length.'He set alight the two fires with the prepared materials. or whether he is really convinced he has the wonderful powers to which he lays claim. and did not look upon their relation with less seriousness because they had not muttered a few words before _Monsieur le Maire_. and it opened. ye men of Paris. She thought him a little dull now. where all and sundry devoured their food. and. Her face was hidden by a long veil. I can show you a complete magical cabinet. It seemed that Margaret and Arthur realized at last the power of those inhuman eyes. In order to make sure that there was no collusion. I deeply regret that I kicked it. She greeted him with a passionate relief that was unusual.Presently the diners began to go in little groups. but I want him to be happy. and some excellent pea-soup. and he gave the same dose to an old female servant. but Oliver Haddo's. But he shook himself and straightened his back. Mr.' laughed Arthur. and her clothes.