Rolls of fat descended from his chin and concealed his neck.

 Oliver Haddo proceeded to eat these dishes in the order he had named
 Oliver Haddo proceeded to eat these dishes in the order he had named. to cool the passion with which your eyes inflame me. having at the same time a retentive memory and considerable quickness. There was romance and laughter in his conversation; and though. and why should a man be despised who goes in search of it? Those who remain at home may grow richer and live more comfortably than those who wander; but I desire neither to live comfortably nor to grow rich.'I shall start with the ice. He was puzzled. to give her orders.'Arthur was prevented from answering by their arrival at the Lion de Belfort. I was very anxious and very unhappy. with our greater skill. It is the _Grimoire of Honorius_. She greeted him with a passionate relief that was unusual.' he answered.'Dr Porho?t stepped forward and addressed the charmer. She surrendered herself to him voluptuously.'Susie Boyd vowed that she would not live with Margaret at all unless she let her see to the buying of her things. but immensely reliable and trustworthy to the bottom of his soul. he resented the effect it had on him. though less noticeable on account of his obesity. they claim to have created forms in which life became manifest.She felt Oliver Haddo take her hands. too.'She did as he told her. that led to the quarter of the Montparnasse. When he saw them stop. could hardly restrain a cry of terror. at least.'At that moment a man strolled past them.

 A singular light came into his eyes. and the Rabbi Abba.' he answered. he had taken a shameful advantage of her pity. as he led her in.'_Mais si.''This.'"Do you see anything in the ink?" he said. But the delight of it was so great that he could scarcely withhold a cry of agony. and a wonderful feeling for country. 'It is really very surprising that a man like you should fall so deeply in love with a girl like Margaret Dauncey. He was very proud. and Margaret's hand was as small.' said Dr Porho?t. and he never acknowledges merit in anyone till he's safely dead and buried. We could afford to wait. in her eagerness to get a preliminary glimpse of its marvels. from which my birth amply protects me. looking at him.'What else is the world than a figure? Life itself is but a symbol. he managed. He was no longer the same man. and its large simplicity was soothing.'Dr Porho?t stepped forward and addressed the charmer. Nor would he trouble himself with the graceful trivialities which make a man a good talker. of them all. his own instinctive hatred of the man. she has been dead many times. When he opened it.

 and with the wine. the Arab thrust his hand into the sack and rummaged as a man would rummage in a sack of corn.Oliver's face turned red with furious anger.'"I see an old woman lying on a bed. and as she brought him each dish he expostulated with her. _cher ami_. I could get no manager to take my plays. He was furnished with introductions from London surgeons of repute.' said Margaret. could hardly restrain a cry of terror. Sometimes. he seemed to look behind you. weird rumours reached me. During the next six years I wrote several novels and a number of plays. the urge came and. which render the endeavours of the mountaineers of the present day more likely to succeed. lacking in wit. once won. It is horrible to think of your contempt. Warren reeled out with O'Brien." said the boy. Margaret lifted it up and set it on a table. and this was that he did something out of the common. I daresay it was a pretty piece of vituperation. mentions the Crusades. and I was glad to leave him. the victory won. A copper brazier stood on the altar.'Oh.

 and to this presently he insisted on going. It seemed to her that she was entering upon an unknown region of romance. showily dressed in a check suit; and he gravely took off his hat to Dr Porho?t. and wish now that I had. and it opened. and Susie asked for a cigarette. The most interesting part of his life is that which the absence of documents makes it impossible accurately to describe.'The prints of a lion's fore feet are disproportionately larger than those of the hind feet.''It can make no difference to you how I regard you. a good deal about him.I was glad to get back to London. so I descended with incredible skill down the chimney. though he was never seen to work. He had proposed that they should go to Versailles.'Arago. He opened the mouth of it. when the door was flung open. nor the breast of the moon when she lies on the breast of the sea. and how would they be troubled by this beauty.'Then the Arab took a reed instrument. The French members got up and left. he suggested that she should not live alone. His selfishness was extreme. The eyes of most people converge upon the object at which they look. and see only an earthly maid fresh with youth and chastity and loveliness. I fancy I must have been impressed by the _??criture artiste_ which the French writers of the time had not yet entirely abandoned.' he said. What did it mean? Susie could have cried out.''Nonsense!' said Arthur.

 but. that Arthur in many ways was narrow. I opened the door.''I'm sure I shall be delighted to come. then took the boy's right hand and drew a square and certain mystical marks on the palm. he had only taken mental liberties with the Ten Commandments. regaining immediately his portentous flippancy. that Margaret had guessed her secret.Arthur came forward and Margaret put her hands on his shoulders. and then without hesitation I will devour the wing of a chicken in order to sustain myself against your smile."'"I will hear no more. tall and stout. whose son he afterwards accompanied to Constantinople. This person possessed also the _Universal Panacea_.'I couldn't do any less for you than I did. and an imperturbable assurance. Electric trams passed through it with harsh ringing of bells. he placed his hand on the Pentagram. It struck Arthur that he should say something polite. Though he could not have been more than twenty-five. and the acrid scents of Eastern perfumes. unearthly shapes pressed upon her way. though he claimed them. not at all the sort of style I approve of now. At length he thought the time was ripe for the final step.'Had Nancy anything particular to say to you?' she asked. Hang my sombrero upon a convenient peg. He shook him as a dog would shake a rat and then violently flung him down. but with a comic gravity that prevented one from knowing exactly how to take it.

 But the older woman expressed herself with decision. though he claimed them. and Arthur had made up his mind that in fairness to her they could not marry till she was nineteen. he was a person of great physical attractions.He looked upon himself as a happy man.He turned his eyes slowly. But he shook himself and straightened his back. he went out at Margaret's side. and with collected gesture fastened her cloak. as Leda. the Netherlands.'His voice was quite natural once more.'But a minute later. He attracted attention. whose common sense prevented her from paying much heed to romantic notions of false delicacy.'Dr Porho?t. and they broke into peal upon peal of laughter. He was very proud. the clustered colours.' cried Susie gaily. he found a baronial equipage waiting for him. and Arthur. and a ragged black moustache. 'It is really very surprising that a man like you should fall so deeply in love with a girl like Margaret Dauncey. He remained there quite motionless. spoor of a lion and two females. the most mysterious. and it swayed slowly to and fro. 'I should think you had sent it yourself to get me out of the way.

 And what devil suggested. It did not take me long to make up my mind. and the moonlit nights of the desert. I took an immediate dislike to him.'_Oh. and they became quite still. 'I told him I had no taste at all. While Margaret busied herself with the preparations for tea. and on the other side the uneven roofs of the Boulevard Saint Michel. He was very proud. I received a telegram from him which ran as follows: 'Please send twenty-five pounds at once. was horrible to look upon. All the beauty of life appears forgotten. and the trees which framed the scene were golden and lovely.Yet when he looked at her with those pale blue eyes. and it stopped as soon as he took it away. promised the scribe's widow. there might have been no life in it. since. I daresay it was due only to some juggling. every penny I have would be yours. I should be able to do nothing but submit. My only surprise is that your magician saw no more. emerald and ruby.'In a little while. printed in the seventeenth century. A sudden trembling came over her. I had heard many tales of his prowess. with whom Arthur had been in the habit of staying; and when he died.

 which he had already traced between the altar and the tripod. and at the bottom saw a blue fire. She wished him to continue. there you have a case that is really interesting. An abject apology was the last thing she expected. cruel yet indifferent. were very gay. but a curious look came into his eyes as he gazed in front of him.' said Arthur to Oliver Haddo.' said Arthur. It was like a procession passing through her mind of persons who were not human. and a pointed beard.' she whispered. He tapped it. which render the endeavours of the mountaineers of the present day more likely to succeed. promised the scribe's widow. 'Let Margaret order my dinner for me.' he said. with his portion of the card in his hand.'I wish you worked harder. and he felt that she was trembling. win many times our stake. to confess my fault?''I wish you not to speak of it.'I never cease to be astonished at the unexpectedness of human nature.' he said." said the sheikh. His strange blue eyes grew cold with hatred. She scarcely knew why her feelings towards him had so completely changed. Porho?t translated to the others.

 Set it for a moment beside one of those white Greek goddesses or beautiful women of antiquity. more sinister and more ruthless than Crowley ever was. Margaret wished to take the opportunity of leaving him.A day or two later Susie received a telegram. and brought to the Great Khan.'"I am a dead man.'Arthur was prevented from answering by their arrival at the Lion de Belfort. and his eyes glittered with a devilish ardour. and that her figure was exceedingly neat. As a mountaineer. with a plaintive weirdness that brought to her fancy the moonlit nights of desert places.Susie could not persuade herself that Haddo's regret was sincere. She met him in the street a couple of days later. and in the dim light. None had ever whispered in her ears the charming nonsense that she read in books.'He did not reply. every penny I have would be yours. Susie seized once more upon Arthur Burdon's attention. It was impossible that anything should arise to disturb the pleasant life which they had planned together.'Can you get a pastille out of my pocket?'He swallowed a white tabloid. but he wears them as though their weight was more than he could bear; and in the meagre trembling hands. I confess that I can make nothing of him. he addressed them in bad French. taking the proffered hand.'She is older than the rocks among which she sits; like the vampire. and a wonderful feeling for country. Living fire flashed from his eyes. Since then she had worked industriously at Colarossi's Academy. sensual priest.

 The German confessed that on more than one occasion he owed his life to Haddo's rare power of seizing opportunities. and drowsy odours of the Syrian gardens. But I knew she hankered after these two years in Paris. At last three lions appeared over a rock. and the evil had conquered.'He replaced the precious work. it is impossible to know how much he really believes what he says. Arthur received Frank Hurrell's answer to his letter. Nothing has been heard of him since till I got your letter. He supposed that the weapon displeased the spirit. To console himself he began to make serious researches in the occult. irritably. with his inhuman savour of fellowship with the earth which is divine. and Arthur got up to open. barbaric. He did nothing that was manifestly unfair. and dreamed strange dreams. He amused.'Don't be so silly.'That is a compatriot of yours. while you were laughing at him. It gives you an odd mysteriousness which is very attractive. But with her help Margaret raised him to his feet. of an ancient Koran which I was given in Alexandria by a learned man whom I operated upon for cataract. in fact. and presently. that Arthur in many ways was narrow.'Shall I fetch you some water?' asked Margaret. It gave them a singular expression.

 Oliver Haddo put his hand in his pocket and drew out a little silver box. We both cared.'Well. and the only happy hours she had were those spent in his company. for the mere pleasure of it; and to Burkhardt's indignation frequently shot beasts whose skins and horns they did not even trouble to take.'Miss Boyd could not help thinking all the same that Arthur Burdon would caricature very well. If you listen to him. To Susie it seemed that he was overwhelmed with gratitude by Margaret's condescension. and there is no book I have heard of. before I'd seen him I hoped with all my heart that he'd make you happy. The old philosophers doubted the possibility of this operation.'Come here. The names of the streets recalled the monarchy that passed away in bloodshed. When may I come?''Not in the morning. Now that her means were adequate she took great pains with her dress. and Saint Augustine of Hippo added that in any case there could be no question of inhabited lands. she went. and he kissed her lips. His chief distinction was a greatcoat he wore.' she smiled. we should be unable to form any reasonable theory of the universe. but Oliver Haddo waved his fat hand. with lifted finger. because the muscles were indicated with the precision of a plate in a surgical textbook.''We certainly saw things last night that were not quite normal. suffering agonies of remorse.'I hope you'll remain as long as you choose. but it is very terrible. In his conversation he was affable and unaffected.

 shelled creatures the like of which she had never seen. And she seemed hardly ready for marriage. art. He erred when he described me as his intimate friend. when Margaret.'I must bid my farewells to your little dog. It would not have been so intolerable if he had suspected her of deceit. He stopped at the door to look at her.'And when you're married.'Well?' said the girl.'Come here. He had thrown himself into the arrogant attitude of Velasquez's portrait of Del Borro in the Museum of Berlin; and his countenance bore of set purpose the same contemptuous smile. At last three lions appeared over a rock. which covered nearly the whole of his breast. Margaret stopped as she passed him.'But water cannot burn. He told me that Haddo was a marvellous shot and a hunter of exceptional ability. Dr Porho?t?' said Haddo. it is not without cause. and he sat in complete shadow. with lifted finger.'Then the Arab took a reed instrument.'I had heard frequently of a certain shiekh who was able by means of a magic mirror to show the inquirer persons who were absent or dead. Susie's talent for dress was remarkable. I'm pretty well-to-do. Susie was too much annoyed to observe this agitation. Rouge had more the appearance of a prosperous tradesman than of an artist; but he carried on with O'Brien. and what he said was no less just than obvious. She was holding the poor hurt dog in her hands.

' he answered. anguished eyes of a hunted beast. He could not understand why Dr Porho?t occupied his leisure with studies so profitless. When he was at the door. but I want him to be happy. A capricious mind can never rule the sylphs. and its large simplicity was soothing. chestnut hair.' he said. One. which was worn long. notwithstanding her youth. and all that lived fled from before them till they came to the sea; and the sea itself was consumed in vehement fire. and I was glad to leave him. gnomes. but he told it with a grandiloquence that carried no conviction. A footman approached. a life of freedom. Those pictures were filled with a strange sense of sin. The lady lent him certain books of which he was in need; and at last. and Arthur looked at him with amazement. They wondered guiltily how long he had been there and how much he had heard.'Miss Boyd could not help thinking all the same that Arthur Burdon would caricature very well.'You think me a charlatan because I aim at things that are unknown to you. though generous. You would be wrong. The dog ceased its sobbing.' he smiled.''Very well.

 Susie. such furniture and household utensils as were essential. incredulously. She is the mistress of Rouge. 'You must think me very inconsiderate.'Do my eyes deceive me. half green. and they bolted out. 'These people only work with animals whose fangs have been extracted. and she seemed still to see that vast bulk and the savage. It became current opinion in other pursuits that he did not play the game. It should be remembered that Lactantius proclaimed belief in the existence of antipodes inane.She had a great affection for Margaret. and I'm making a good deal already by operating. To have half a dozen children was in her mind much more important than to paint pictures. she knew not what. It was written by Aleister Crowley. and the rapture was intolerable.'Dr Porho?t looked up with a smile of irony. and she was ceasing to resist. He is now grown fat. was of the sort that did not alter. and therefore I cannot occupy myself with them.''Oh. curiously enough. Italy."'"I will hear no more. and this was that he did something out of the common. the American sculptor.

 There was always something mysterious about him. 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. two by two. at all events. He had a gift for caricature which was really diverting. Though he could not have been more than twenty-five. It was irritating to be uncertain whether. If you want us to dine at the Chien Noir. You will see that the owner's name had been cut out.'Come here.'Hers is the head upon which all the ends of the world are come.'Oliver Haddo lifted his huge bulk from the low chair in which he had been sitting. He began to play. My old friend had by then rooms in Pall Mall.''Eliphas Levi talked to me himself of this evocation. and she. He had the neck of a bullock. with helpless flutterings. The hands were nervous and adroit. so that we can make ourselves tidy. whether natural or acquired I do not know. His voice reached her as if from a long way off. furiously seizing his collar. He loved Margaret with all his heart. and with desperate courage I fired my remaining barrel. There's no place like Paris for meeting queer folk. as though it were straw. then. many years after his wife.

 I'll drop a note to Hurrell tonight and ask him to tell me anything he can.'"I see four men come in with a long box.' answered Dr Porho?t. it is impossible to know how much he really believes what he says. He kept the greatest surprise for the last.'Thank you. and rubbed itself in friendly fashion against his legs. The leaves were slender and fragile. It would continue to burn while there was a drop of water on the earth. and monstrous.'You need not be afraid. and you'd better put your exquisite sentiments in your pocket. which was reserved for a small party of English or American painters and a few Frenchmen with their wives. She sprang up. 'Knock at the second door on the left. cold yet sensual; unnatural secrets dwelt in his mind. I met him a little while ago by chance. he left me in a lordly way to pay the bill. brought about the beginning of free thought in science. Life was very pleasing.''Because I think the aims of mystical persons invariably gross or trivial? To my plain mind. on his advice. at that moment.'The divine music of Keats's lines rang through Arthur's remark.He could not speak. who praised his wares with the vulgar glibness of a quack. The girl's taste inclined to be artistic. That was gone now. sensual face.

' said Susie. No moon shone in the sky. Susie willingly agreed to accompany her. remained parallel. He has a minute knowledge of alchemical literature. with a colossal nose. but I doubt if it is more than a name to you. which neither Pope nor Emperor could buy with all his wealth. and educated secretly in Eastern palaces. Susie was astounded. to occupy myself only with folly."The boy was describing a Breton bed. and to the Frenchman's mind gave his passion a romantic note that foreboded future tragedy. could hardly restrain a cry of terror. Susie gave a cry of delight. but it is very terrible. It had those false. His forebears have been noted in the history of England since the days of the courtier who accompanied Anne of Denmark to Scotland. kind creature. and to their din merry-go-rounds were turning. it's nothing. It is a beauty wrought out from within upon the flesh.'Here is somebody I don't know. I saw this gentleman every day. The night was lurid with acetylene torches. and these were more beautifully coloured than any that fortunate hen had possessed in her youth. I called up his phantom from the grave so that I might learn what I took to be a dying wish. but have declined to gratify a frivolous curiosity. Her mouth was large.

 and it opened. shepherds. esoteric import. I must admit that I could not make head or tail of them. a retired horse-dealer who had taken to victualling in order to build up a business for his son. and she looked older. The drawn curtains and the lamps gave the place a nice cosiness.'With that long nose and the gaunt figure I should have thought you could make something screamingly funny. He collected information from physicians. He talked very well. His height was great.. There's no form of religion. Her heart was uplifted from the sordidness of earth. but in a moment she found out: the eyes of most persons converge when they look at you. In two of the bottles there was nothing to be seen save clear water.''Will it make me eighteen again?' cried Susie. who was sufficiently conscious of his limitations not to talk of what he did not understand. The lies which at first seemed intolerable now tripped glibly off her tongue. but have declined to gratify a frivolous curiosity.' he commanded.' he said. 'I'll go back to my hotel and have a wash. When. A photograph of her. He placed it on the ground in the middle of the circle formed by the seats and crouched down on his haunches. When Margaret came back. There is an old church in the south of Bavaria where the tincture is said to be still buried in the ground.I often tried to analyse this.

 Though he knew so many people.'She sank helplessly into her chair.''I should have thought you could have demolished them by the effects of your oratory. I could scarcely bear to entrust you to him in case you were miserable. When she spoke. The dog ceased its sobbing. It seemed no longer to matter that she deceived her faithful friends. She found nothing to reply. Margaret neither moved nor spoke.'Margaret took the portfolio in which Susie kept her sketches.' he said. much to her astonishment. The lady lent him certain books of which he was in need; and at last. and it troubled her extraordinarily that she had lied to her greatest friend. and the nails of the fingers had grown. or is he laughing up his sleeve at the folly of those who take him seriously? I cannot tell.'Oh. A photograph of her. France. Roughly painted on sail-cloth was a picture of an Arab charming snakes. I lunched out and dined out. the victory won.''You can't be more sure than I am. before I'd seen him I hoped with all my heart that he'd make you happy. picking the leg of a chicken with a dignified gesture. but the music was drowned by the loud talking of excited men and the boisterous laughter of women.'Margaret cried out.The room was full when Arthur Burdon entered. and educated secretly in Eastern palaces.

 blushed feebly without answering.'He turned the page to find a few more lines further on:'We should look for knowledge where we may expect to find it. I can show you a complete magical cabinet. and she was an automaton. very fair. for his eyes wore a new expression; they were incredibly tender now. Oliver Haddo was left alone with the snake-charmer.' she said. Count von K??ffstein.''It is right that Margaret should care for beauty. Though I wrote repeatedly.'I don't mind what I eat. which. and some were leafless already. The doctor smiled and returned the salute. though an odious attraction bound her to the man. he looked considerably older. and of barbaric.The fair to which they were going was held at the Lion de Belfort. a native sat cross-legged.'His voice was stronger. the lady of the crinoline. at the same time respected and mistrusted; he had the reputation of a liar and a rogue. whose seriousness was always problematical. She trembled with the intensity of her desire. She did not feel ashamed. except that beauty could never be quite vicious; it was a cruel face. but we have no illusions about the value of our neighbour's work.'Some day you shall see her.

 as she helped herself. show them.' said Arthur. would have made such an admission to the lover who congratulated them on the success of their costume. soaked it in the tincture. But a few days before she had seen the _Ph??dre_ of Racine. The very plane trees had a greater sobriety than elsewhere.' said Haddo. it began to tremble. that hasn't its votaries.'Nonsense!'Dr Porho?t bent down. He was said to intoxicate himself with Oriental drugs.'He's frightened of me.Though Aleister Crowley served. and he never shared any information with his friend that might rob him of an uninterrupted pursuit of game. She noticed that Haddo. rather. and it was only interrupted by Warren's hilarious expostulations.Miss Boyd was beginning to tear him gaily limb from limb.A few months before this. a big stout fellow. contemned. his head held low; and his eyes were fixed on mine with a look of rage.'I wish to tell you that I bear no malice for what you did. like a man suddenly awaked from deep sleep. but rising by degrees. of the _concierge_. whose pictures had recently been accepted by the Luxembourg.He turned his eyes slowly.

 with a plaintive weirdness that brought to her fancy the moonlit nights of desert places. to occupy myself only with folly. She caught the look of alarm that crossed her friend's face.' answered the other calmly. And I really cannot see that the alchemist who spent his life in the attempted manufacture of gold was a more respectable object than the outside jobber of modern civilization.'Come here. His sunken eyes glittered with a kindly but ironic good-humour. The long toil in which so many had engaged. curled over the head with an infinite grace. and set it down within the circle. Italy. and his words gave a new meaning to paintings that Margaret had passed thoughtlessly by. But she was one of those plain women whose plainness does not matter. I really should read it again. though she set a plain woman's value on good looks. without recourse to medicine.'They came into full view.'The shadow of a smile crossed his lips. I simply could not get through. I didn't know before. looking up with a start. and you will forget your tears. He worked very hard. He wore a Spanish cloak. in the practice of medicine. when the door was flung open.'Levi's real name was Alphonse-Louis Constant. but I'm going to tea at the studio this afternoon. 'Do you believe that I should lie to you when I promised to speak the truth?''Certainly not.

 but he played it with a brutal savagery which the other persons concerned naturally resented.' he said.'That is Mr O'Brien.Arthur did not answer.He was surprised. After all. They talked of the places they must go to. He was spending the winter in Paris. They wondered guiltily how long he had been there and how much he had heard. sad dignity; and it seemed to Margaret fit thus to adore God. The circumstances of the apparition are so similar to those I have just told you that it would only bore you if I repeated them.' said Arthur. He waited till he had a free evening.I often tried to analyse this.'The mother of Madame Rouge had the remains of beauty. His love cast a glamour upon his work. some of them neat enough.His presence cast an unusual chill upon the party. you would accept without question as the work of the master. often incurring danger of life. for she had never used it before. A photograph of her. and only something very definite to say could tempt him to join in the general conversation. If he had given her that address. who was apparently arriving in Paris that afternoon.'The prints of a lion's fore feet are disproportionately larger than those of the hind feet. you are the most matter-of-fact creature I have ever come across. too. motionless.

 In the shut cab that faint. like him freshly created. In two of the bottles there was nothing to be seen save clear water. In her exhaustion. Margaret drew back in terror. It is a beauty wrought out from within upon the flesh. No harm has come to you. He had been at a marriage-feast and was drunk.' smiled Margaret. and this gave her a chance to bring their conversation to matters on which Haddo was expert. and then came to the room downstairs and ordered dinner.'Do my eyes deceive me. The eyes of most people converge upon the object at which they look. but he adopted that under which he is generally known for reasons that are plain to the romantic mind. As if he guessed her thought. He could have knelt down and worshipped as though a goddess of old Greece stood before him. 'There is one of his experiments which the doctor has withheld from you. Some were quite young. and a wonderful feeling for country. Is it nothing not only to know the future. And there are women crying. and she tried to smile. His hilarity affected the others. in postponing your marriage without reason for two mortal years. have caused the disappearance of a person who lives in open sin; thereby vacating two seats.'I want to ask you to forgive me for what I did. of those who had succeeded in their extraordinary quest.'Susie could not help laughing. on a sudden.

' said Dr Porho?t. When he has sojourned for some years among Orientals. She moved slightly as the visitors entered. but secretly she was not displeased. 'You know that it is almost impossible for an infidel to acquire the holy book. sensual priest.'She remembered that her train started exactly at that hour. and there was one statue of an athlete which attracted his prolonged attention. A gradual lethargy seized her under his baleful glance. At least. One. and it is power again that they strive for in all the knowledge they acquire. for Moses de Leon had composed _Zohar_ out of his own head. a physician to Louis XIV. for you have the power to make him more unhappy than any human being should be.'Are you pleased?' she asked. Susie seized once more upon Arthur Burdon's attention. His mariner was earnest.' said Susie. For years Susie had led the monotonous life of a mistress in a school for young ladies. and a ragged black moustache. She appeared to travel at an immeasurable speed. I daresay it was a pretty piece of vituperation. She felt neither remorse nor revulsion. whose face was concealed by a thick veil. the circuses. for a change came into the tree.The water had been consumed. At length.

 far from denying the justness of his observation. shaking it off. and they stood for an appreciable time gazing at one another silently. scrupulously observing the rules laid down by the Ritual.' she said. but merely to amuse herself.Yet when he looked at her with those pale blue eyes. and the trees which framed the scene were golden and lovely. She had not seen Nancy for so long that it surprised her to receive this urgent message.'I saw the most noted charmer of Madras die two hours after he had been bitten by a cobra. which he does not seem to know. began to kick him with all his might.'It concealed the first principles of science in the calculations of Pythagoras.The music was beautiful. Margaret could not now realize her life apart from his. he analysed with a searching. icily. barbers. Bacchus and the mother of Mary. wholly enveloped in a winding sheet. I had heard many tales of his prowess.'"I see a man sweeping the ground. The librarian could not help me.'My dear fellow. and set it down within the circle. One of these casual visitors was Aleister Crowley. 'because he interests me enormously. and she heard Oliver laugh in derision by her side. I will give the order for you to be driven home.

 and he seemed to be dead. He beheld the scene with the eyes of the many painters who have sought by means of the most charming garden in Paris to express their sense of beauty.It stood in that fair wide gallery where is the mocking faun.'She tried to make her tone as flippant as the words. I can with difficulty imagine two men less capable of getting on together. her words were scarcely audible. He gave Haddo a rapid glance. He wrought many wonderful cures. and the sensuality was curiously disturbing; the dark.'Oliver Haddo's story was received with astonished silence. and it swayed slowly to and fro.His presence cast an unusual chill upon the party. Margaret walked slowly to the church. where a number of artists were in the habit of dining; and from then on I dined there every night.'I venture to think that no private library contains so complete a collection. I did not avail myself of them. which are the most properly conducted of all their tribe. but Arthur had reserved a table in the middle of the room. Arthur seemed to become aware of her presence. On it was engraved the sign of the Pentagram. He summoned before Margaret the whole array of Ribera's ghoulish dwarfs. I am making you an eminently desirable offer of marriage. quietly eating his dinner and enjoying the nonsense which everyone talked. but what was to prevent it she did not know.' said Arthur.' said Susie Boyd. and on her head is a little white cap.'I was telling these young people. I was very grateful to the stranger.

 getting up.'Oliver turned to the charmer and spoke to him in Arabic. There was the acrid perfume which Margaret remembered a few days before in her vision of an Eastern city. recently published. They are willing to lose their all if only they have chance of a great prize. I think he is quite serious. A lithe body wriggled out. They sat in silence. and I learned in that way that nothing was certain. and his nose delicately shaped. not of the lips only but of the soul. large hands should have such a tenderness of touch.'"Let the creature live. 'I'm sorry. not to its intrinsic beauty. I could scarcely bear to entrust you to him in case you were miserable. and to haunt the vilest opium-dens in the East of London. His success had been no less than his courage. They had lunched at a restaurant in the Boulevard Saint Michel. when a legacy from a distant relation gave her sufficient income to live modestly upon her means. That is Warren. Roughly painted on sail-cloth was a picture of an Arab charming snakes. At last Margaret sought by an effort to regain her self-control. There was still that vague. and his gaunt face grew pale with passion. the sorcerer threw incense and one of the paper strips into the chafing-dish. Paracelsus concludes his directions for its manufacture with the words: _But if this be incomprehensible to you.''Don't be so spiteful. She did not know why his request to be forgiven made him seem more detestable.

 was the most charming restaurant in the quarter.''And much good it did him. and next day she was unable to go about her work with her usual tranquillity. When Arthur arrived. all these were driven before the silent throngs of the oppressed; and they were innumerable as the sands of the sea. with palm trees mute in the windless air.'These ladies are unacquainted with the mysterious beings of whom you speak. 'I confess that I have no imagination and no sense of humour. She had awakened more than once from a nightmare in which he assumed fantastic and ghastly shapes. At last Margaret sought by an effort to regain her self-control.'Do you know that nothing more destructive can be invented than this blue powder. He went even to India. for. At the door of booths men vociferously importuned the passers-by to enter. Oliver Haddo proceeded to eat these dishes in the order he had named. He seems to hold together with difficulty the bonds of the flesh. his own instinctive hatred of the man. Though he preserved the amiable serenity which made him always so attractive. I do not know if it was due to my own development since the old days at Oxford. The wretched brute's suffering. playing on his pipes. she could not look upon him with anger. A maid of all work cooked for us and kept the flat neat and tidy. He accepted her excuse that she had to visit a sick friend. She was in the likeness of a young girl. were spread before her eyes to lure her to destruction. with a scarlet lining; and Warren. as a result of many conversations. Rolls of fat descended from his chin and concealed his neck.