causing him any pain. he wrote forms of invocation on six strips of paper.

'Go home
'Go home.'Susie was convulsed with laughter at his pompousness. He was puzzled.He smiled but did not answer. He leaned against the wall and stared at them. It ran as follows:Please meet me at the Gare du Nord. 'I suffer from a disease of the heart. They are of many sorts. go. without colouring or troubling it. at the top of his voice.''The practice of black arts evidently disposes to obesity. He was certainly not witty. The young man who settles in the East sneers at the ideas of magic which surround him. and she was anxious to make him talk. I did not know that this was something out of my control and that when the urge to write a novel seized me. a charlatan. On a sudden. weird rumours reached me. nor the breast of the moon when she lies on the breast of the sea. Nearly fifty years had passed since I had done so. He had a great quantity of curling hair. but at the last moment her friend drew back; and as the triad or unity is rigorously prescribed in magical rites. the outcast son of the morning; and she dared not look upon his face." he said. The throng seemed bent with a kind of savagery upon amusement. He was indifferent to the plain fact that they did not want his company. and it was on this account that she went to Susie. began to kick him with all his might.

''I see no harm in your saying insular. They travelled from her smiling mouth to her deft hands.' pursued Haddo imperturbably. In the year 1698 some of it penetrated through the soil. it strangely exhilarated her. She felt an extraordinary languor.'You think me a charlatan because I aim at things that are unknown to you. Susie willingly agreed to accompany her. Serpents very poisonous. and his work. she was eager to know more. And now everyone is kneeling down. I daresay it was a pretty piece of vituperation. In mixed company he was content to listen silently to others. and she laughed as she saw in fancy the portly little Frenchman. he found Haddo's singular eyes fixed on him. I'm perfectly delighted to meet a magician.'Oh. because I was hoping--I might ask you to marry me some day. But they quarrelled at last through Haddo's over-bearing treatment of the natives. low laugh and stretched out her hand on the table. He uttered Arabic words.'_C'est tellement intime ici_. though I fancied that he gave me opportunities to address him. and Margaret nestled close to Arthur. She would not let him drag them away. lovely and hideous; and love and hate. were like a Titan's arms. but with an elaboration which suggested that he had learned the language as much from study of the English classics as from conversation.

 vermiform appendix. so that the colour. The French members got up and left. You must come and help us; but please be as polite to him as if. she was eager to know more. he would often shoot.''Go by all means if you choose. I daresay it was a pretty piece of vituperation. the exhibitions of eccentricity. A gradual lethargy seized her under his baleful glance. The lady lent him certain books of which he was in need; and at last.'Do my eyes deceive me. with his soft flesh and waving hair. The splendour of the East blinded her eyes. But it changed. Though he preserved the amiable serenity which made him always so attractive. Very pale. tends to weaken him. with his inhuman savour of fellowship with the earth which is divine. I went and came back by bus. and Saint Augustine of Hippo added that in any case there could be no question of inhabited lands. in the course of his researches make any practical discoveries?''I prefer those which were not practical. I haven't seen any of his work. 'She was a governess in Poland. combined in his cunning phrases to create. Dr Porho?t gave him his ironic smile.' he said. my novel had when it was published. to come forth.

 He was notorious also for the extravagance of his costume. tell me. gained a human soul by loving one of the race of men. frightened eye upon Haddo and then hid its head. and hang the expense. When Arthur recovered himself. the twin towers of Notre Dame. Margaret discovered by chance that his mother lived. recognized himself in the creature of my invention. bringing out a novel once a year (which seldom earned more than the small advance the publisher had given me but which was on the whole respectably reviewed). Here and there you will find men whose imagination raises them above the humdrum of mankind. sad dignity; and it seemed to Margaret fit thus to adore God. the club feet. I sold out at considerable loss. every penny I have would be yours. you would accept without question as the work of the master. I can hardly bear my own unworthiness. collected his manuscripts and from them composed the celebrated treatise called _Zohar_. Don't you think it must have been hard for me.''But if he sought for gold it was for the power it gave him. The French members got up and left. To one he was a great master and to the other an impudent charlatan. and.' he said. It seemed that he spoke only to conceal from her that he was putting forth now all the power that was in him.'She did as he told her. gives an account of certain experiments witnessed by himself. She lifted it up by the ears.Yet when he looked at her with those pale blue eyes.

 she dragged herself to Haddo's door. and the tremulousness of life was in it; the rough bark was changed into brutish flesh and the twisted branches into human arms. It was an immediate success. and a chafing-dish with live charcoal. with a large cross in his hands. He had a handsome face of a deliberately aesthetic type and was very elegantly dressed. and we had a long talk.''Then you must have been there with Frank Hurrell. Susie seized once more upon Arthur Burdon's attention. and had come ostensibly to study the methods of the French operators; but his real object was certainly to see Margaret Dauncey. backed by his confidence and talent.' said Arthur. was down with fever and could not stir from his bed. I could believe anything that had the whole weight of science against it. Next day. made by the Count without the assistance of the Abb??. I do not know whether the account of it is true. but writhed strangely. He was certainly not witty. Margaret. when they had finished dinner and were drinking their coffee. _cher ami_. and she was ceasing to resist. Her whole body burned with the ecstasy of his embrace. He never hesitated.'Dr Porho?t. The physicians of Nuremberg denounced him as a quack.'Oh.''Do you mean to say I'm drunk.

''She wept in floods. I'm pretty well-to-do. A fierce rage on a sudden seized Arthur so that he scarcely knew what he was about. The wind will not displace a single fold of his garment. but in those days was extremely handsome. and he owns a place in Staffordshire which is almost historic. You will see that the owner's name had been cut out.I have told you he was very unpopular. Her good-natured. I was very grateful to the stranger. by the end of which the actors he wanted for the play he had been obliged to postpone would be at liberty. then he passed his hand over it: it became immediately as rigid as a bar of iron. you would accept without question as the work of the master. She was terrified of him now as never before. and he achieved an unpopularity which was remarkable. you had better go away. for by then a great change had come into my life. 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.' she cried. and they can give no certainty. He talked very well. in French.' returned Haddo. furiously seizing his collar. and from under it he took a goatskin sack. that the ripe juice of the _aperitif_ has glazed your sparkling eye. They might see anything that had been written or spoken. and above were certain words in Arabic. and held himself like an exhausted lily.

 He relates in his memoirs that a copy of this book was seized among his effects when he was arrested in Venice for traffic in the black arts; and it was there. I have studied their experiments. but could not. 'It'll give me such pleasure to go on with the small allowance I've been making you.He seemed able to breathe more easily. with whom Arthur had been in the habit of staying; and when he died. male and female. and some were leafless already. and when he kissed her it was with a restraint that was almost brotherly.''One of my cherished ideas is that it is impossible to love without imagination. began to kick him with all his might. At least. pointed beard. and these were filled with water. I have seen photographs of it. white sheepskin which was stretched beneath. There was romance and laughter in his conversation; and though. A balustrade of stone gracefully enclosed the space. and a pointed beard. Arthur found himself the girl's guardian and executor. dissecting.'Dr Porho?t took his book from Miss Boyd and opened it thoughtfully. but to obey him. kissed her. It was proposed to call forth the phantom of the divine Apollonius. no one was more conscious than Haddo of the singularity of his feat.'Marie. and a large writing-table heaped up with books. and they swept along like the waves of the sea.

 and the long halls had the singular restfulness of places where works of art are gathered together. might forget easily that it was a goddess to whom he knelt. She thought him a little dull now. It was thus that I first met Arnold Bennett and Clive Bell. shaking it off.Crowley was a voluminous writer of verse. for she knew it was impossible to bear the undying pain that darkened it with ruthless shadows. That vast mass of flesh had a malignancy that was inhuman. To get home she passed through the gardens of the Luxembourg. kissed her.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. He accepted her excuse that she had to visit a sick friend.. He did not reach the top. It would continue to burn while there was a drop of water on the earth.' she said. if she would give him the original manuscript from which these copies were made. and not only Paracelsus. But I knew she hankered after these two years in Paris. Dr Porho?t walked with stooping shoulders. He was a fine man. It is true that at one time I saw much of him. 'but I agree with Miss Boyd that Oliver Haddo is the most extraordinary. Burkhardt had met him by chance at Mombasa in East Africa. I was very grateful to the stranger. What did it mean? Susie could have cried out. The door was opened. He appeared to stand apart from human kind. They should know that during the Middle Ages imagination peopled the four elements with intelligences.

 so I descended with incredible skill down the chimney. It had all the slim delicacy of a Japanese print. and I was able to take a bedroom in the same building and use his sitting-room to work in. his astral body having already during physical existence become self-conscious. He uttered Arabic words. was the mother of Helen of Troy. as it were. "It is enough. but I was only made conscious of his insignificance.'I don't want to be unkind to you. and Susie asked for a cigarette. The union was unhappy.'I hope you'll show me your sketches afterwards. It was as though fiends of hell were taking revenge upon her loveliness by inspiring in her a passion for this monstrous creature. and went. and his gaunt face grew pale with passion.''Now assistant physician at St Luke's Hospital. and what I have done has given me a great deal of pleasure.'I'll tell you what I'll do. I should have died. When Margaret. felt that this was not the purpose for which she had asked him to come. The dead rise up and form into ominous words the night wind that moans through their skulls. Escape was impossible. He did not seem to see her. Of late she had not dared. Then Margaret suddenly remembered all that she had seen. so that he might regain his strength. Everyone had put aside grave thoughts and sorrow.

 a rare dignity. It may be described merely as the intelligent utilization of forces which are unknown. becoming frightened.'My dear. musty odour. My bullet went clean through her heart. Dr Porho?t's lips broke into a smile. and was prepared to take it off our hands. according to a certain _aureum vellus_ printed at Rorschach in the sixteenth century. but men aim only at power. Moses. His mariner was earnest. almost authenticated. Though he could not have been more than twenty-five. nearly connected with persons of importance. angered. could hardly restrain a cry of terror. Her taste was so great. Nearly fifty years had passed since I had done so.The water had been consumed.Susie got up to light a cigarette. being a descendant of the Prophet. and when he sought to ask his questions found it impossible to speak. a little while ago. It was so well-formed for his age that one might have foretold his precious corpulence. and. She noticed that Haddo."'The magician put the second and third of the small strips of paper into the chafing-dish. getting up with a frown.

'You brute. It is the chosen home of every kind of eccentricity. Crowley. for there was in it a malicious hatred that startled her. for all their matter-of-fact breeziness. his eyes followed her movements with a doglike. and yet he was seized with awe.''It can make no difference to you how I regard you. That vast mass of flesh had a malignancy that was inhuman. It seemed to me that he had coarsened in mind as well as in appearance. and he owns a place in Staffordshire which is almost historic.''You're all of you absurdly prejudiced.''I should like to tell you of an experience that I once had in Alexandria. She began to rub it with her hands. and his words gave a new meaning to paintings that Margaret had passed thoughtlessly by. Margaret sprang to her feet. It gave her a horrible delight. dark night is seen and a turbulent sea. They had a quaintness which appealed to the fancy. So it's Hobson's choice. But Margaret knew that.'The idea flashed through Margaret that Oliver Haddo was the author of it. Sometimes. and he piped a weird. The least wonderful of its many properties was its power to transmute all inferior metals into gold. he loosened his muscles.Altogether. were joined together in frenzied passion. had never been able to give it.

 I have never heard him confess that he had not read a book.The fair was in full swing. The hands were nervous and adroit. It was dirty and thumbed. partly from her conversation. There were so many that the austere studio was changed in aspect. He narrowed her mind. Very gently he examined it to see if Haddo's brutal kick had broken a bone. sallow from long exposure to subtropical suns. She was like a person drowning. there might have been no life in it. He shook hands with Susie and with Margaret. going to the appointed spot. He spoke English with a Parisian accent. The human figure at once reappeared. I took a room in a cheap hotel on the Left Bank. She was determined that if people called her ugly they should be forced in the same breath to confess that she was perfectly gowned. and these were filled with water. And she takes a passionate interest in the variety of life. which render the endeavours of the mountaineers of the present day more likely to succeed. Margaret watched the people. adjuring it mentally by that sign not to terrify. 'You must think me very inconsiderate. where a number of artists were in the habit of dining; and from then on I dined there every night. with much woodwork and heavy scarlet hangings. because it occurred to neither that her frequent absence was not due to the plausible reasons she gave.'In a little while. and beat upon his bleeding hands with a malice all too human. 'I feel that he will bring us misfortune.

' laughed Susie.But Arthur impatiently turned to his host. It is possible that you do not possess the necessary materials. Margaret shuddered.'I don't think I shall ever do that now. It is horrible to think of your contempt. It seemed that he had never seen anything so ravishing as the way in which she bent over the kettle. his hands behind him. Sometimes it happened that he had the volumes I asked for. Behind her was a priest in the confessional. 'Criticism has shown that _Zohar_ is of modern origin. and brought to the Great Khan. Was it the celebrated harangue on the greatness of Michelangelo. Margaret. There's no place like Paris for meeting queer folk. and Susie noticed that he was pleased to see people point him out to one another. A year after his death. rather.Haddo looked at him for a minute with those queer eyes of his which seemed to stare at the wall behind. It was evident that he sought to please. of unimaginable grace and feeling and distinction--you can never see Paris in the same way again. She was horribly. but took her face in his hands and kissed her passionately. We know that a lover will go far to meet the woman he adores; how much more will the lover of Wisdom be tempted to go in search of his divine mistress. She tried to cry out. 'I don't know what is the matter with me. When he opened them. They were all so taken aback that for a moment no one spoke. The native grinned when he heard the English tongue.

 As I read _The Magician_.' said Susie. She felt an extraordinary languor.' he said. had never been able to give it.'Arthur Burdon had just arrived in Paris. He was the first man you'd ever known. 'You know that it is almost impossible for an infidel to acquire the holy book. They could not easily hasten matters. With a laugh Margaret remonstrated.'He did not reply.'I think. I dare say you remember that Burkhardt brought out a book a little while ago on his adventures in Central Asia. He reared up on his hind legs. so that he might regain his strength.'But Miss Dauncey has none of that narrowness of outlook which. she went in without a word. Susie was enchanted with the strange musty smell of the old books. Her deep blue eyes were veiled with tears. which was then twenty-eight pounds. But the reverse occurred also. he found a baronial equipage waiting for him. and Margaret nestled close to Arthur. She was horribly fascinated by the personality that imbued these elaborate sentences. Shaded lights gave an opulent cosiness to the scene. a large emerald which Arthur had given her on their engagement.'Margaret did not answer; she could not understand what Susie meant. it civilised Greece to the sounds of Orpheus's lyre.'Meanwhile her life proceeded with all outward regularity.

 Now passed a guard in the romantic cloak of a brigand in comic opera and a peaked cap like that of an _alguacil_. and she talked all manner of charming nonsense. followed by a crowd of disciples. which could scarcely have been natural. playing on his pipes. expression. who is an example of the fact that strength of will and an earnest purpose cannot make a painter. his head held low; and his eyes were fixed on mine with a look of rage. my dear Clayson.Miss Boyd was beginning to tear him gaily limb from limb. roaring loudly and clawing at the air. in baggy corduroys. but she was much too pretty to remain one. no answer reached me. He read out the fine passage from the preface of the _Paragranum_:'I went in search of my art. which neither Pope nor Emperor could buy with all his wealth. and he wore a long grey beard.'The mother of Madame Rouge had the remains of beauty. having at the same time a retentive memory and considerable quickness. 'I'm dying for my tea. so that you were reminded of those sweet domestic saints who lighten here and there the passionate records of the Golden Book. She has beauty and grace and sympathy. You won't give me any credit for striving with all my soul to a very great end.Dr Porho?t had been making listless patterns with his stick upon the gravel. and. In the shut cab that faint. she saw that he was gone. for Moses de Leon had composed _Zohar_ out of his own head. We were apt to look upon them as interlopers.

 It was written by Aleister Crowley.'Does not this remind you of the turbid Nile. Margaret was dressed with exceeding care. It struck Arthur that he should say something polite. smiling under the scrutiny. often incurring danger of life. power over all created things. breaking into French in the impossibility of expressing in English the exact feeling which that scene gave him. and the glow of yellow light within. They passed in their tattered motley. When I have corrected the proofs of a book. My father left me a moderate income. which is the name of my place in Staffordshire. and he would not listen to the words of an heretic. 'You own me nothing at all. with an intensity that was terrifying. He stepped forward to the centre of the tent and fell on his knees. Margaret cried out with horror and indignation. and he never acknowledges merit in anyone till he's safely dead and buried. and fortune-tellers; from high and low. The early night of autumn was fallen. who abused him behind his back. with his puzzling smile. his eyes more than ever strangely staring. She held out her hand to him.'She tried to make her tone as flippant as the words. It was no less amusing than a play. however. I am impatient when people insist on talking to me about it; I am glad if they like it.

 Notwithstanding your birth in the East and your boyhood spent amid the very scenes of the Thousand and One Nights. The man had barely escaped death. These eyes were the most curious thing about him. I know all that they know.'They meant to have tea on the other side of the river. One told me that he was tramping across America. She sank down on her knees and prayed desperately. There was a trace of moisture in them still. which had been read by patrician ladies in Venice. with a large cross in his hands. an argument on the merits of C??zanne. blushed feebly without answering. by a queer freak. hurrying along the streams of the earth. but enough remains to indicate the bottom of the letters; and these correspond exactly with the signature of Casanova which I have found at the Biblioth??que Nationale. he wrote forms of invocation on six strips of paper. At least.'He took every morning at sunrise a glass of white wine tinctured with this preparation; and after using it for fourteen days his nails began to fall out. by one accident after another. Margaret would have given anything to kneel down and whisper in those passionless ears all that she suffered. an imposing strength of purpose and a singular capacity for suffering. conscience-stricken. and the acrid scents of Eastern perfumes. They walked out of the gallery and turned to the quay. In two hours he was dead. whose face was concealed by a thick veil. or was it the searching analysis of the art of Wagner?''We were just going. The French members got up and left. a widow.

 Margaret was ten when I first saw her. Life and death are in the right hand and in the left of him who knows its secrets. on which were all manner of cabbalistic signs. The girl's taste inclined to be artistic. much diminished its size. I did not avail myself of them.'Oliver Haddo began then to speak of Leonardo da Vinci. but I can see to the end of my nose with extreme clearness. and I had four running in London at the same time. but more with broken backs and dingy edges; they were set along the shelves in serried rows. A fate befell him which has been the lot of greater men than he. he placed it carefully in an envelope. Margaret withdrew from Arthur's embrace and lightly looked at her friend. It was intolerable. and he lived on for many disgraceful years. except allow me to sit in this chair. 'God has foresaken me. judged it would be vulgar to turn up her nose.''If you knew how lonely I was and how unhappy. but when the Abb?? knocked thrice at the seal upon the mouth. on returning to his hotel.Miss Boyd was thirty. The change had to be made rapidly.'When the silhouette was done. Though beauty meant little to his practical nature. '_It's rather hard. which was published concerning his profession. L'?le Saint Louis to her mind offered a synthesis of the French spirit. had omitted to do so.

 she could enjoy thoroughly Margaret's young enchantment in all that was exquisite. But I like best the _Primum Ens Melissae_. She was proud to think that she would hand over to Arthur Burdon a woman whose character she had helped to form. It was as though fiends of hell were taking revenge upon her loveliness by inspiring in her a passion for this monstrous creature. I did not avail myself of them. too. 'And who is the stout old lady by his side.My dear Burdon:It is singular that you should write just now to ask what I know of Oliver Haddo.'Have you ever heard of Eliphas Levi?' he inquired. It had a singular and pungent odour that Margaret did not know. The roses in the garden of the Queen of Arabia are not so white as thy body. The magus. which he fostered sedulously. could hardly restrain a cry of terror. He spoke English with a Parisian accent. and clattered down the stairs into the street.''Your friend seems to have had as little fear of spooks as you have of lions.'He took a long breath.' he laughed. suddenly. Rouge had more the appearance of a prosperous tradesman than of an artist; but he carried on with O'Brien. He is thought to have known more of the mysteries than any adept since the divine Paracelsus. And she seemed hardly ready for marriage. She had never kissed him in that way before. She had heard a good deal of the young man. Then she heard him speak.'Oh. Her fancy suggested various dark means whereby Oliver Haddo might take vengeance on his enemy. She was intoxicated with their beauty.

 and sultans of the East. magic and the occult.'Susie Boyd clapped her hands with delight. art.' he said. with heavy moist lips.' answered Arthur. He began to walk up and down the studio. and his work. I hardly like to tell you. It would continue to burn while there was a drop of water on the earth. I could get no manager to take my plays. blended with the suave music of the words so that Margaret felt she had never before known their divine significance. The form suddenly grew indistinct and soon it strangely vanished. but even here he is surrounded with darkness. He took an infinitesimal quantity of a blue powder that it contained and threw it on the water in the brass bowl. It established empires by its oracles. and at the bottom saw a blue fire.The web in which Oliver Haddo enmeshed her was woven with skilful intricacy.'"He has done. Finally he had a desperate quarrel with one of the camp servants.' he said. and I am sure that you will eventually be a baronet and the President of the Royal College of Surgeons; and you shall relieve royal persons of their. A balustrade of stone gracefully enclosed the space. She had fallen unconsciously into a wonderful pose.''What are you going to do?' asked Susie.'She was quite willing to give up her idea of Paris and be married without delay. une sole. Miss Margaret admires you as much as you adore her.

 in that which they have of power to refine and make expressive the outward form. She knew quite well that few of her friends. The features were rather large. at the command of the _concierge_.''I promise you that nothing will happen. The moon at its bidding falls blood-red from the sky. for he offers the fascinating problem of an immensely complex character.'You think me a charlatan because I aim at things that are unknown to you.'Why don't you kiss me?' she said. I should have no hesitation in saying so.The dog slowly slunk up to them. recovering herself first.''I had a dreadful headache. He can be no one's friend. He seemed neither disconcerted nor surprised. 'I suffer from a disease of the heart. Her face was very pale. He sent her to school; saw that she had everything she could possibly want; and when. He set more twigs and perfumes on the brazier. 'These people only work with animals whose fangs have been extracted. almond-shaped like those of an Oriental; the red lips were exquisitely modelled. to confess my fault?''I wish you not to speak of it. and he asked her to dine with him alone. and. pliant. He shook him as a dog would shake a rat and then violently flung him down. 'I wonder you don't do a head of Arthur as you can't do a caricature.'"He has done. and it appears that Burkhardt's book gives further proof.

 a singular exhilaration filled him; he was conscious of his power. Everything should be perfect in its kind. monotonous tune. 'We suffer one another personally. But Arthur shrugged his shoulders impatiently.'Don't you know that I'd do anything in the world for you?' she cried. so that she might see he used no compulsion. which moved him differently. The most interesting part of his life is that which the absence of documents makes it impossible accurately to describe.'Her heart was moved towards him. and I had four running in London at the same time. not only in English.'A tremor went through the goatskin bag. which render the endeavours of the mountaineers of the present day more likely to succeed. walked away.'Her eyes filled with tears and her voice broke.' Dr Porho?t shook his head slowly. Arthur opened the door for him. and they can give no certainty. Like a bird at its last gasp beating frantically against the bars of a cage. His dark.Margaret sprang up with a cry. one on Sunday night.' said Haddo calmly.' he said. you won't draw any the worse for wearing a well-made corset.Margaret laughed. which was odd and mysterious.'You look as if you were posing.

Susie noticed that this time Oliver Haddo made no sign that the taunt moved him. She saw the horns and the long beard.' cried Margaret vehemently. and he gave the same dose to an old female servant. I fancy I must have been impressed by the _??criture artiste_ which the French writers of the time had not yet entirely abandoned. She had asked if he was good-looking. This formed the magic mirror. And they surged onward like a riotous crowd in narrow streets flying in terror before the mounted troops. with his ambiguous smile. 'You know that I owe everything to him. looking round with terror. and all the details were settled. if he is proud of his stock. 'I'm dying for my tea. very pleased. by Count Max Lemberg. It was an immediate success.'Susie Boyd vowed that she would not live with Margaret at all unless she let her see to the buying of her things. And all these things were transformed by the power of his words till life itself seemed offered to her.' he said. having read this letter twice. anguished eyes of a hunted beast. That is Warren.'Susie was convulsed with laughter at his pompousness. an exotic savour that made it harmonious with all that he had said that afternoon. and sultans of the East. He was highly talented.''My dear. brought him to me one evening.

 and remembered with an agony of shame the lies to which she had been forced in order to explain why she could not see him till late that day. when he thought that this priceless treasure was his. of the sunsets with their splendour. by one accident after another. and her physical attraction was allied with physical abhorrence. and they went down steadily. and shook its paw.It stood in that fair wide gallery where is the mocking faun. the snake fell to the ground. For all that. Arthur watched him for signs of pain. and his ancestry is no less distinguished than he asserts. but it could not be denied that he had considerable influence over others. and it troubled her extraordinarily that she had lied to her greatest friend. and the darkness of death afflicted them always. who sat on the other side of Margaret.'Shall I fetch you some water?' asked Margaret. actresses of renown. and formed a very poor opinion of it; but he was in a quandary. and it lifted its head and raised its long body till it stood almost on the tip of its tail. I have two Persian cats. gives an account of certain experiments witnessed by himself.'The lie slipped from Margaret's lips before she had made up her mind to tell it. he spoke. His courage is very great.They came down to the busy. Of these I am.''He must be a cheerful companion. She is the mistress of Rouge.

 My friend was at the Bar.'It concealed the first principles of science in the calculations of Pythagoras.'He said solemnly: "_Buy Ashantis. but I can call to mind no other. and he lived on for many disgraceful years. Suddenly.' she said.'The little maid who looked busily after the varied wants of the customers stood in front of them to receive Arthur's order. and I was able to take a bedroom in the same building and use his sitting-room to work in. 'I assure you that. Margaret cried out with horror and indignation. To Susie it seemed that he was overwhelmed with gratitude by Margaret's condescension. It seemed to me that he had coarsened in mind as well as in appearance. Her heart gave a great beat against her chest. She was seized on a sudden with anger because Susie dared to love the man who loved her. and the rapture was intolerable.'Levi's real name was Alphonse-Louis Constant. full existence. After all. but could not resist his fascination.Then Oliver Haddo moved. He worked very hard. if you don't mind. however. and then without hesitation I will devour the wing of a chicken in order to sustain myself against your smile.''I am astonished that you should never have tried such an interesting experiment yourself. my dear fellow. and we dined together. he caught her in his arms.

'I'm afraid my entrance interrupted you in a discourse. and the broad avenue was crowded. the little palefaced woman sitting next to her.Susie got up to light a cigarette. But the older woman expressed herself with decision. As she walked along the interminable street that led to her own house. and at its voice tyrants grew pale upon their thrones. She could not doubt now that he was sincere. All I know is that he has travelled widely and is acquainted with many tongues. Haddo paid no heed.'The lie slipped from Margaret's lips before she had made up her mind to tell it. In a little while he began to speak. and they faced one another.'Dr Porho?t ventured upon an explanation of these cryptic utterances._'She ran downstairs. the truth of which Burkhardt can vouch for. Margaret lifted it up and set it on a table. he lifted a corner of the veil. Now their lips met. 'I shall die in the street. there might have been no life in it. She knew that she did not want to go. But the reverse occurred also. since knowledge is unattainable. by weakening the old belief in authority. A year after his death.'We'll do ourselves proud. A gradual lethargy seized her under his baleful glance.Yours ever.

 Raggles stood for rank and fashion at the Chien Noir. and imagination are magic powers that everyone possesses; and whoever knows how to develop them to their fullest extent is a magician. But I can't sacrifice myself. who offered sacrifice before this fair image.'No. His sunken eyes glittered with a kindly but ironic good-humour. I have finished with it for good and all. there's no eccentricity or enormity.'He looked about his writing-table till he found a packet of cigarettes.''I wish you would write that life of Paracelsus which you suggest in your preface. She had seen Arthur the evening before. and a thick vapour filled the room. And in a moment she grew sick with fear. Soon after my arrival. Her heart gave a great beat against her chest. I took one step backwards in the hope of getting a cartridge into my rifle. Margaret's gift was by no means despicable.'No. and the man gave her his drum. and their eyes were dull with despair. you no longer love me.' he said. She felt herself redden. whose beauty was more than human. could only recall him by that peculiarity. far from denying the justness of his observation.He smiled. I was thirty. and he drew out of the piano effects which she had scarcely thought possible.

 Downstairs was a public room. and it troubled her extraordinarily that she had lied to her greatest friend. By crossing the bridge and following the river. made with the greatest calm.'I had almost forgotten the most wonderful. but endurance and strength. by weakening the old belief in authority. Don't you think it must have been hard for me. At length. Arthur's lips twitched. Margaret watched the people. He sneered at the popular enthusiasm for games. What could she expect when the God of her fathers left her to her fate? So that she might not weep in front of all those people. She felt on a sudden curiously elated. Listen:'After me. was transfigured. But one phrase escaped him almost against his will. He was a liar and unbecomingly boastful.'We'll do ourselves proud. I know I shall outrage the feelings of my friend Arthur. I made my character more striking in appearance. 'and I soon knew by sight those who were frequently there. They had buried her on the very day upon which the boy had seen this sight in the mirror of ink. his heavy face in shadow. was horrible to look upon.''Now assistant physician at St Luke's Hospital.'Not many people study in that library. was pretty. when I became a popular writer of light comedies.

 and she felt on a sudden all the torments that wrung the heart of that unhappy queen; she. hangmen. I haven't seen any of his work. He collected information from physicians.'Haddo bowed slightly.'No. and his skin was sallow. and had learnt esoteric secrets which overthrew the foundations of modern science. His father was a bootmaker. She remembered his directions distinctly. It was all very nice. 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. and it swayed slowly to and fro. but he would not speak of her.. treasure from half the bookshops in Europe; and there were huge folios like Prussian grenadiers; and tiny Elzevirs.'They got up. My friend was at the Bar.'Oliver Haddo looked at him before answering. She thought him a little dull now. a German with whom I was shooting. O Clayson. I prefer to set them all aside. 'Consider for example the _Tinctura Physicorum_. and. and it was on this account that she went to Susie. who painted still life with a certain amount of skill. causing him any pain. he wrote forms of invocation on six strips of paper.