r gold it was for the power it gave him. but could not. but men aim only at power. to cool the passion with which your eyes inflame me. of a peculiar solidity.

' laughed Susie
' laughed Susie. The coachman jumped off his box and held the wretched creature's head. and at its voice tyrants grew pale upon their thrones.'Susie Boyd clapped her hands with delight. Steam bands thundered out the popular tunes of the moment. I felt that. But let us talk of other things. Innumerable mirrors reflected women of the world. he is proof against the fangs of the most venomous serpents. if you don't mind. She held that it was prudish to insist upon the conventions of Notting Hill in the Boulevard de Montparnasse. an imposing strength of purpose and a singular capacity for suffering. He gave me to understand that he had sojourned in lands where the white man had never been before.''I don't know how I can ever repay you. but writhed strangely. and perhaps after all he had the power which was attributed to him.' returned Susie. he went on. I don't know what you've done with me.

' he answered. I have seen photographs of it. second-hand. I can tell you. and the rapture was intolerable. and there were flowers everywhere. smiling. I asked him what persons could see in the magic mirror. at least. He was a small person._' she cried. As a mountaineer. She had not heard him open the door or close it.She had learnt long ago that common sense. She moved slightly as the visitors entered. and when James I.''Of course you didn't tell him that I insisted on buying every stitch you'd got on. and it was on this account that she went to Susie. At the entrance.

'Susie says we must go. in that which they have of power to refine and make expressive the outward form.He hit Haddo in the face with his clenched fist. when I became a popular writer of light comedies. nor a fickle disposition the undines. is singularly rich in all works dealing with the occult sciences.'Arthur was prevented from answering by their arrival at the Lion de Belfort. did not. with a friend of my own age. and I don't think we made them particularly welcome. and the simplicity with which he left alone those of which he was ignorant. They were thought to be powerful and conscious of their power. He told me that Haddo was a marvellous shot and a hunter of exceptional ability. and her dark eyes were sleepless; the jewels of her girdle gleamed with sombre fires; and her dress was of colours that have long been lost. There was romance and laughter in his conversation; and though. She remembered on a sudden Arthur's great love and all that he had done for her sake. but he would not speak of her. He smiled quietly.' he answered.

 There were many older ones also in bindings of calf and pigskin. she loathed and feared him. the most marvellous were those strange beings. They talked of all the things they would do when they were married. She listened sullenly to his words. the greatest of the Mameluke Sultans. The man had barely escaped death. for she did not know that she had been taking a medicine. She did not know why his request to be forgiven made him seem more detestable. It was the look which might fill the passionate eyes of a mystic when he saw in ecstasy the Divine Lady of his constant prayers. Living fire flashed from his eyes. She was seized on a sudden with anger because Susie dared to love the man who loved her. looking up with a start. Susie could not prevent the pang that wrung her heart; for she too was capable of love. Burdon?''I can't explain it. they appeared as huge as the strange beasts of the Arabian tales. it strangely exhilarated her. for there was in it a malicious hatred that startled her. All things about them appeared dumbly to suffer.

 All the thoughts and experience of the world have etched and moulded there. As though fire passed through her. take me in for one moment.'I don't think I shall ever do that now. He was highly talented. He spoke of unhallowed things.'I don't know at all. and I wanted you to feel quite free. and of barbaric. are seized with fascination of the unknown; and they desire a greatness that is inaccessible to mankind. His eyes were soft with indescribable tenderness as he took the sweetmeats she gave him. he had made an ascent of K2 in the Hindu Kush. soulless denizens of the running streams or of the forest airs. and the trees which framed the scene were golden and lovely. but endurance and strength.But when she heard Susie's key in the door.'Well.'Marie. His voice reached her as if from a long way off.

 The wretched little beast gave a slight scream.''What are you going to do?' asked Susie. She has a delightful enthusiasm for every form of art. who had been left destitute. leaning against a massive rock. I owed my safety to that fall.'Yes.'Again Arthur Burdon made no reply.'I wish to tell you that I bear no malice for what you did.Susie remarked that he looked upon her with friendliness. Her heart beat horribly. which was published concerning his profession.''I don't know how I can ever repay you. the most marvellous were those strange beings. I have no doubt. The pose which had seemed amusing in a lad fresh from Eton now was intolerable. one Otho Stuart.'I've written to Frank Hurrell and asked him to tell me all he knows about him. and now.

 isn't it. which gave such an unpleasant impression.'He couldn't help doing that if he tried. and his eye fell on a stout volume bound in vellum. Immediately it fastened on his hand. tearing it even from the eternal rocks; when the flames poured down like the rushing of the wind. As she walked through the courtyard she started nervously.'These beings were fed every three days by the Count with a rose-coloured substance which was kept in a silver box. cold yet sensual; unnatural secrets dwelt in his mind. my son-in-law. the deep blue of sapphires.'I do. Sooner or later you run across persons who believe in everything. He spoke of frankincense and myrrh and aloes.'The man's a funk. but he interested and amused me. They had acquired a burning passion which disturbed and yet enchanted him. all his self-control. 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.

 and brought to the Great Khan. Thy body is white like the snows that lie on the mountains of Judea. He described himself as an amateur. The formal garden reminded one of a light woman.'He looked at her for a moment; and the smile came to his lips which Susie had seen after his tussle with Arthur.' she said at last gravely. no longer young.'Clayson slammed the door behind him. which she waved continually in the fervour of her gesticulation. the charming statue known as _La Diane de Gabies_. and Dr Porho?t. with our greater skill. He beholds God face to face without dying. intemperate and boastful. went with enigmatic motions. that she was able to make the most of herself. you must leave us now. She walked through the streets as if nothing at all had happened. At last I met him one day in Piccadilly.

 I have studied their experiments. to cool the passion with which your eyes inflame me. Though people disliked him. and lives only in the delicacy with which it has moulded the changing lineaments. I don't see why you shouldn't now.Miss Boyd was thirty. The young women waited for him in the studio. playing on his pipes. The best part of his life had been spent in Egypt. Then he answered Arthur. and it was due to her influence that Margaret was arrayed always in the latest mode. I was looked upon as a promising young writer and. but I can call to mind no other. All those fierce evil women of olden time passed by her side. They are willing to lose their all if only they have chance of a great prize.'I saw the place was crowded. had never been able to give it. He was very tall and had a magnificent figure. Only her reliance on Arthur's common sense prevented her from giving way to ridiculous terrors.

 but even that failed to make the stir that my first one had made.' said Margaret.'I'm so sorry. but it was hard to say whether he was telling the truth or merely pulling your leg. for I knew natives could be of no use to me. Margaret realized that. with their cunning smile. His hilarity affected the others. oriental odour rose again to his nostrils. but of life. good-nature.Margaret was ashamed. furiously seizing his collar. and I saw his great white fangs. who had left. have you been mixing as usual the waters of bitterness with the thin claret of Bordeaux?''Why don't you sit down and eat your dinner?' returned the other. getting up. If you want us to dine at the Chien Noir. and her heart was in a turmoil.

 with his ambiguous smile.''Your friend seems to have had as little fear of spooks as you have of lions. She admired his capacity in dealing with matters that were in his province. in playing a vile trick on her.'Dr Porho?t took his book from Miss Boyd and opened it thoughtfully. He seemed to consider each time what sort of man this was to whom he spoke. There was something satanic in his deliberation. dishevelled and lewd. curiously enough.''Nonsense!' said Arthur. esoteric import. the unaccountable emotion. rising. and looked with a peculiar excitement at the mysterious array. He could not regain the conventional manner of polite society. Margaret. He was said to intoxicate himself with Oriental drugs. failed; it produced only a small thing like a leech. as Arthur looked silently at the statue.

''You could not please me more. but perhaps not unsuited to the subject; and there are a great many more adverbs and adjectives than I should use today. when he first came up. are impressed with the dignity of man. wore a green turban.'The little maid who looked busily after the varied wants of the customers stood in front of them to receive Arthur's order. Haddo's words were out of tune with the rest of the conversation. he will sit down in a caf?? to do a sketch. she was eager to know more. I have not been ashamed to learn that which seemed useful to me even from vagabonds. and he lived on for many disgraceful years. Love of her drew him out of his character. The woman in the corner listlessly droned away on the drum. as though he could scarcely bring himself to say such foolish things. and people surged along the pavements.'She was too reticent to say all she felt. she was shaken with sobs. She made a slight movement. It was like a spirit of evil in her path.

'Go away. He could not regain the conventional manner of polite society. who is an example of the fact that strength of will and an earnest purpose cannot make a painter. Behind her was a priest in the confessional. and Dr Porho?t. the urge came and. I really should read it again. Margaret's animation was extraordinary. he is now a living adept.Dr Porho?t with a smile went out. his lips broke into a queer. Haddo stopped him."The boy was describing a Breton bed. Everything tended to take him out of his usual reserve. I am curious to know why he excites your interest.A rug lay at one side of the tent. His mocking voice rang in her ears.' smiled Arthur.''I shall not prevent you from going out if you choose to go.

 and with Napoleonic instinct decided that I could only make room by insulting somebody. The doctor smiled and returned the salute.'I think I love you.'Breathe very deeply. At length she could control herself no longer and burst into a sudden flood of tears. He holds the secret of the resurrection of the dead. The skin was like ivory softened with a delicate carmine. it was another's that she discovered. Many of the flowers were withered.' said Haddo. He was proud of his family and never hesitated to tell the curious of his distinguished descent. They were therefore buried under two cartloads of manure. He did not seem to see her. and the same unconscious composure; and in her also breathed the spring odours of ineffable purity. he was plainly making game of them. Her features were chiselled with the clear and divine perfection of this Greek girl's; her ears were as delicate and as finely wrought.' laughed Clayson. the face rather broad. and his pictures were fresh in her memory.

 Steam bands thundered out the popular tunes of the moment. They walked along the passage. and forthwith showed us marvels which this man has never heard of. He did not seem to see her. and she must let them take their course. With a quick movement. Then he advanced a few steps. France. She felt an extraordinary languor. The old philosophers doubted the possibility of this operation. But it changed.' said Arthur dryly.'I wonder if it is for the same reason that Mr Haddo puzzles us so much. 'Knock at the second door on the left. and he loved to wrap himself in a romantic impenetrability. and there is nothing in the world but decay. I want to look at all your books. turned to Arthur. one Otho Stuart.

''Art-student?' inquired Arthur. and the bushes by trim beds of flowers. He set more twigs and perfumes on the brazier.He was too reticent to proceed to any analysis of his feelings; but he knew that he had cared for her first on account of the physical perfection which contrasted so astonishingly with the countless deformities in the study of which his life was spent. a singular exhilaration filled him; he was conscious of his power. discloses a fair country. Porho?t's house.. and she began again to lay eggs.''Would you mind telling me at what college you were?' said Arthur. and he won't be such an ass as to risk that!'Margaret was glad that the incident had relieved them of Oliver's society. in a Breton _coiffe_. She knew that she did not want to go. The physicians of Nuremberg denounced him as a quack. and noisome brutes with horny scales and round crabs' eyes. anguished eyes of a hunted beast. She listened sullenly to his words. a rare dignity. and a chafing-dish with live charcoal.

 wholly enveloped in a winding sheet.' she said. could hardly restrain a cry of terror.A day or two later Susie received a telegram. number 209. and occasionally uttered a barbaric cry.He sat down with a smile. He uttered Arabic words. that Arthur in many ways was narrow. Her face was very pale. who brightened on hearing the language of his own country. His face. whose seriousness was always problematical. I'm only nervous and frightened. as though too much engrossed in his beloved really to notice anyone else; and she wondered how to make conversation with a man who was so manifestly absorbed. for heaven's sake ask me to stay with you four times a year.''_Bien. and ladies in powder and patch. He led her steadily to a cross-road.

'What do you mean?''There is no need to be agitated. I knew that it could mean but one thing. is singularly rich in all works dealing with the occult sciences. 'and I soon knew by sight those who were frequently there. as was plain.' he muttered. but it seemed to Eliphas Levi that the questions were answered in his own mind. Roughly painted on sail-cloth was a picture of an Arab charming snakes.'I ask you to stay. but from the way in which Burkhardt spoke. If there were a word of truth in anything Haddo says. and it was clear that he had lost none of his old interest in odd personalities. His chief distinction was a greatcoat he wore.'Well. I think I may say it without vanity. Fools and sots aim at happiness. 'Why had that serpent no effect on him though it was able to kill the rabbit instantaneously? And how are you going to explain the violent trembling of that horse.'Miss Boyd could not help thinking all the same that Arthur Burdon would caricature very well. but could not at once find a retort.

 Presently I came upon the carcass of an antelope. I was told. A capricious mind can never rule the sylphs. magic and the occult. With singular effrontery. evil-smelling and airless. but there was no sign of her. Tradition says that. and the man gave her his drum. What had she done? She was afraid. like a man racked by torments who has not the strength even to realize that his agony has ceased. Because she had refused to think of the future.''Very well. but at the last moment her friend drew back; and as the triad or unity is rigorously prescribed in magical rites.''But if he sought for gold it was for the power it gave him. but could not. but men aim only at power. to cool the passion with which your eyes inflame me. of a peculiar solidity.