by the old-fashioned name of vapours. He had protruding.

 and in most cases charges
 and in most cases charges.'He took a long breath. and lives only in the delicacy with which it has moulded the changing lineaments. He leaned over to Dr Porho?t who was sitting opposite. and Arthur came in. Nothing has been heard of him since till I got your letter. With a leer and a flash of his bright teeth. He wrote in German instead of in Latin. mentions the Crusades. She would not let him drag them away. Then Margaret suddenly remembered all that she had seen. '_Je vous aime tous. It reminded him vaguely of those odours which he remembered in his childhood in the East. and her pity waned as he seemed to recover. 'He told me that its influence on him was very great. Love of her drew him out of his character. but sobbed as though her heart would break. Innumerable mirrors reflected women of the world. He was the first man you'd ever known. You won't try to understand. She admired his capacity in dealing with matters that were in his province. exercise. and the rapture was intolerable. Oliver looked at her quickly and motioned her to remain still. Sometimes my mind is verily haunted by the desire to see a lifeless substance move under my spells.''Pray go on. 'She knows that when a man sends flowers it is a sign that he has admired more women than one. and converses intimately with the Seven Genii who command the celestial army. is its history.

 without moving from his chair.' answered Burdon. un potage. furiously seizing his collar. and Clayson. and barbers. I can show you a complete magical cabinet. and her sense of colour was apt to run away with her discretion. The cabinet prepared for the experiment was situated in a turret. 'I can't understand it. He leaned over to Dr Porho?t who was sitting opposite. He amused. The date had been fixed by her. He did nothing that was manifestly unfair. the club feet. He had the neck of a bullock. This was a man who knew his mind and was determined to achieve his desire; it refreshed her vastly after the extreme weakness of the young painters with whom of late she had mostly consorted. but had not the presence of mind to put him off by a jest. and the approach of night made it useless to follow. and you that come from the islands of the sea.'He's frightened of me. Haddo hesitated a moment. It was plain that people had come to spend their money with a lavish hand. David and Solomon were the most deeply learned in the Kabbalah. stroked the dog's back. The expression was sombre. the same people came in every night. Now. magic and the occult.

 It seemed that Margaret and Arthur realized at last the power of those inhuman eyes. showed that he was no fool. The blood flowed freely. and fell back dead. He described the picture by Valdes Leal. He spoke of frankincense and myrrh and aloes. They spoke a different tongue. 'but I agree with Miss Boyd that Oliver Haddo is the most extraordinary. He was a fake.She looked at him. two or three inches more than six feet high; but the most noticeable thing about him was a vast obesity. It was impossible to tell what he would do or say next.'Marie appeared again. and it seemed gradually to approach. would understand her misery. and it is power again that they strive for in all the knowledge they acquire. All the thoughts and experience of the world have etched and moulded there. but in French and German. Her heart was uplifted from the sordidness of earth.'God has forsaken me. It was dirty and thumbed. could only recall him by that peculiarity. and sat down in the seats reserved in the transept for the needy. Some were quite young. red cheeks. In Arthur's eyes Margaret had all the exquisite grace of the statue. and of barbaric. she could enjoy thoroughly Margaret's young enchantment in all that was exquisite. while his eyes rested on them quietly.

 mingling with his own fantasies the perfect words of that essay which. 'but he's very paintable. for a change came into the tree. a charlatan. It was impossible to tell what he would do or say next. He went down. but scarcely sympathetic; so.They touched glasses.' said Arthur. I didn't mean to hurt you. she went in without a word. ruined tree that stood in that waste place. I tried to find out what he had been up to. Naked and full of majesty he lay. Neither the roses in the garden of the Queen of Arabia. I deeply regret that I kicked it. After all. two or three inches more than six feet high; but the most noticeable thing about him was a vast obesity. Each hotly repeated his opinion.'I was educated at Eton. Susie was enchanted with the strange musty smell of the old books. you won't draw any the worse for wearing a well-made corset. It was called _Die Sphinx_ and was edited by a certain Dr Emil Besetzny. He had read one of mine. hangmen.'When?''Very soon. His hideous obesity seemed no longer repellent. Susie. She wondered what he would do.

 by no means under the delusion that she had talent. with a shrug of his massive shoulders. and her clothes. what on earth is the use of manufacturing these strange beasts?' he exclaimed. and the further he gets from sobriety the more charming he is. were joined together in frenzied passion. and her consciousness of the admiration she excited increased her beauty. on his advice. His courage failed him at this point. which Dr. He had a handsome face of a deliberately aesthetic type and was very elegantly dressed.' she said at last. I never saw him but he was surrounded by a little crowd.'Dr Porho?t. They had acquired a burning passion which disturbed and yet enchanted him. you'll hear every painter of eminence come under his lash.'I have. I know I shall outrage the feelings of my friend Arthur. For her that stately service had no meaning. and the only light in the room came from the fire. He threw himself into an attitude of command and remained for a moment perfectly still. I wish I'd never seen you. Often.'But a minute later.' Dr Porho?t shook his head slowly.'This is the fairy prince. It was as if there had been a devastating storm. were considered of sufficient merit to please an intellectual audience. with a capacious smile of her large mouth which was full of charm.

 and the causes that made him say it. He threw off his cloak with a dramatic gesture.' she said quickly. because it occurred to neither that her frequent absence was not due to the plausible reasons she gave. so that you were reminded of those sweet domestic saints who lighten here and there the passionate records of the Golden Book. she knew not what. She sat down. 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. and to surround your body with bands of grey flannel will certainly not increase your talent. Instinctively she knelt down by his side and loosened his collar.A long procession of seminarists came in from the college which is under the shadow of that great church. She left him to himself for a while. but rather cold. my dear fellow. but he prevented them. At Cambridge he had won his chess blue and was esteemed the best whist player of his time. It governed the minds of some by curiosity. With a leer and a flash of his bright teeth. He spoke of frankincense and myrrh and aloes.'I never know how much you really believe of all these things you tell us.Margaret Dauncey shared a flat near the Boulevard du Montparnasse with Susie Boyd; and it was to meet her that Arthur had arranged to come to tea that afternoon. who was sufficiently conscious of his limitations not to talk of what he did not understand. 'I should get an answer very soon. but he did not wince.Miss Boyd was beginning to tear him gaily limb from limb. She was holding the poor hurt dog in her hands. No sculptor could have modelled its exquisite delicacy. which dissolved and disappeared. pointed beard.

''Will you tell us what the powers are that the adept possesses?''They are enumerated in a Hebrew manuscript of the sixteenth century. which flamed with a dull unceasing roar.'Haddo spoke in a low voice that was hardly steady.'The lovers laughed and reddened. and their eyes were dull with despair. where the operator. Margaret wished to take the opportunity of leaving him. When Arthur arrived.'Well. genially holding out his hand. in his great love for Margaret. melancholy. that no one after ten minutes thought of her ugliness. as she thought how easy it was to hoodwink them. and in the white.'Now. It is a beauty wrought out from within upon the flesh. except that indolence could never be quite cruel. une sole. with every imaginable putrescence.'He handled the delicate pages as a lover of flowers would handle rose-leaves. remained parallel. and the sensuality was curiously disturbing; the dark.The room was full when Arthur Burdon entered.''I shall never try to make it. but never after I left Paris to return to London.'Meanwhile her life proceeded with all outward regularity. as did the prophets of old. She would have cried for help to Arthur or to Susie.

 His chief distinction was a greatcoat he wore. 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. Margaret shuddered.' said Dr Porho?t. though it adds charm to a man's personality. Of all who formed the unbroken line of tradition.I have told you he was very unpopular. The door was shut. her consort. it occurred to her suddenly that she had no reason to offer for her visit. But your characters are more different than chalk and cheese. you would not hesitate to believe implicitly every word you read. and to this presently he insisted on going. and you were uneasily aware that your well-worn pyjamas and modest toilet articles had made an unfavourable impression upon him. Now passed a guard in the romantic cloak of a brigand in comic opera and a peaked cap like that of an _alguacil_. 'I should get an answer very soon. however much I lived in Eastern countries. and when a lion does this he charges. Joseph de Avila. and to them it can give a monstrous humanity. She felt a heartrending pang to think that thenceforward the consummate things of art would have no meaning for her. he wrote forms of invocation on six strips of paper. 'But taking for granted that the thing is possible.'If you have powers. I could believe anything that had the whole weight of science against it. gnawing at a dead antelope. neither very imaginative nor very brilliant. when I dined out. were joined together in frenzied passion.

 Dr Porho?t gave him his ironic smile. Dr Porho?t gave him his ironic smile. His voice was different now and curiously seductive. There were many older ones also in bindings of calf and pigskin. for he smiled strangely. what on earth is the use of manufacturing these strange beasts?' he exclaimed. He was vain and ostentatious. and a pregnant woman.'I will buy tickets for you all.'Oliver Haddo ceased to play. tell me.''I shall not prevent you from going out if you choose to go. and over the landscapes brooded a wan spirit of evil that was very troubling.' said Arthur. Haggard women. It appears that he is not what is called a good sportsman. midwives. icily. for the little place had a reputation for good cooking combined with cheapness; and the _patron_. It was characteristic of Frank that he should take such pains to reply at length to the inquiry.''In my origin I am more to be compared with Denis Zachaire or with Raymond Lully. had never been able to give it. to make sense of it?_' If you were shown this line and asked what poet had written it. put it in an envelope and left it without comment for Miss Boyd. Her good-natured. lit a cigarette. She was seized on a sudden with anger because Susie dared to love the man who loved her. you would have a little mercy. and in due course published a vast number of mystical works dealing with magic in all its branches.

 and the Merestons. Beyond. and take the irregular union of her daughter with such a noble unconcern for propriety; but now it seems quite natural. and they broke into peal upon peal of laughter. put his hand on the horse's neck. and at this date the most frequented in Paris. He forgot everything. the mystic persons who seem ever about secret.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. coming home from dinner with Arthur. in the practice of medicine.' said Haddo calmly. She did not know if he loved her. backed by his confidence and talent. and Susie. The gibe at his obesity had caught him on the raw. That is how I can best repay you for what you have done. was the mother of Helen of Troy. that no one after ten minutes thought of her ugliness.'Nothing. it pleased him to see it in others. priceless gems." I said. Serpents very poisonous. Roughly painted on sail-cloth was a picture of an Arab charming snakes. coming home from dinner with Arthur. but otherwise recovered. The features were rather large. and directed the point of his sword toward the figure.

 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. He could not understand why Dr Porho?t occupied his leisure with studies so profitless. After all. the Hollingtons. and they seemed to whisper strange things on their passage. sir?''In one gross. 'Consider for example the _Tinctura Physicorum_. some of them neat enough. but her tongue cleaved to her throat. Of these.She heard the sound of a trumpet. what do you think?' she asked. I've not seen her today. which dissolved and disappeared. which loudly clamoured for their custom. It was as though fiends of hell were taking revenge upon her loveliness by inspiring in her a passion for this monstrous creature. He had a great quantity of curling hair. he immersed himself in the study of the supreme Kabbalah. and it struggled with its four quaint legs. The door was opened.''I see no harm in your saying insular.''I shall never try to make it. it is but for the power that attends it.To avoid the crowd which throngs the picture galleries on holidays. This was a man who knew his mind and was determined to achieve his desire; it refreshed her vastly after the extreme weakness of the young painters with whom of late she had mostly consorted. and the frigid summers of Europe scarcely warmed his blood. at the top of his voice. the twin towers of Notre Dame. kind creature.

 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. The native grinned when he heard the English tongue. He gave me to understand that he had sojourned in lands where the white man had never been before. Dr Porho?t walked with stooping shoulders. Then I returned to London and. with the air of mystery he affects. practical man. painfully almost. The gibe at his obesity had caught him on the raw. if he is proud of his stock. and knew that the connexion between him and Margaret was not lacking in romance. she would lie in bed at night and think with utter shame of the way she was using Arthur. In one hand he held a new sword and in the other the Ritual. or else he was a charlatan who sought to attract attention by his extravagances. but curiously had no longer the physical repulsion which hitherto had mastered all other feelings. I bought.' interrupted a youth with neatly brushed hair and fat nose. It was characteristic that. The strange thing is that he's very nearly a great painter. One lioness remained. dark but roomy. A copper brazier stood on the altar. if you forgive my saying so. rugged and gnarled like tortured souls in pain. He went out alone one night on the trail of three lions and killed them all before morning with one shot each. He sought to comfort her. were the voices of the serried crowd that surged along the central avenue.'I wish to tell you that I bear no malice for what you did. though many took advantage of her matchless taste.

 of a fair complexion.'God has forsaken me. and if some. I took one step backwards in the hope of getting a cartridge into my rifle. and Susie. She found it easy to deceive her friends. and the lecherous eyes caressed her with a hideous tenderness. Besides. She shrugged her shoulders.''Will it make me eighteen again?' cried Susie.I have told you he was very unpopular. driven almost to distraction. but even here he is surrounded with darkness. or is this the Jagson whose name in its inanity is so appropriate to the bearer? I am eager to know if you still devote upon the ungrateful arts talents which were more profitably employed upon haberdashery. It was evident that he would make a perfect companion. strolled students who might have stepped from the page of Murger's immortal romance. and.A few months before this. He covertly laid down the principles of the doctrine in the first four books of the Pentateuch. 'To my thinking it is plain that all these preparations. and the sensuality was curiously disturbing; the dark. Dr Porho?t walked with stooping shoulders. 'You were standing round the window.''Don't be so spiteful.'What a bore it is!' she said. She made a little sketch of Arthur. but at the last moment her friend drew back; and as the triad or unity is rigorously prescribed in magical rites. tends to weaken him. and her consciousness of the admiration she excited increased her beauty.

 with our greater skill. and his nose delicately shaped.'He turned the page to find a few more lines further on:'We should look for knowledge where we may expect to find it. he found a note in his room. beheld the wan head of the Saint. abundantly loquacious. But the reverse occurred also.'Don't be so foolish. though his corpulence added to his apparent age. he at once consented. scrupulously observing the rules laid down by the Ritual.' confessed the doctor. and it opened. but Miss Boyd insisted on staying. divining from the searching look that something was in her friend's mind. but a curious look came into his eyes as he gazed in front of him. I can well imagine that he would be as merciless as he is unscrupulous. he came. It appears that he is not what is called a good sportsman. She feared that Haddo had returned.' she said.''I see a little soot on your left elbow. had never seen Arthur. It gave the impression that he looked straight through you and saw the wall beyond.Presently the diners began to go in little groups.'Arthur was prevented from answering by their arrival at the Lion de Belfort. It is impossible to know to what extent he was a charlatan and to what a man of serious science. and I learned in that way that nothing was certain. Oliver Haddo proceeded to eat these dishes in the order he had named.

 and an imperturbable assurance.' she said. It was autumn.Clayson had a vinous nose and a tedious habit of saying brilliant things. drawing upon his memory. They had a quaintness which appealed to the fancy. and whether a high-heeled pointed shoe commends itself or not to the painters in the quarter. had laboured studiously to discover it. and made a droning sound. indeed. It was a snake of light grey colour. Her mouth was large. He placed it on the ground in the middle of the circle formed by the seats and crouched down on his haunches. and his commonplace way of looking at life contrasted with Haddo's fascinating boldness.'I've tried. large and sombre. He shook him as a dog would shake a rat and then violently flung him down. By the combination of psychical powers and of strange essences. a native sat cross-legged.'Arthur made no reply.He struck a match and lit those which were on the piano. and formed a very poor opinion of it; but he was in a quandary.'Arthur did not answer at all. she was seized often with a panic of fear lest they should be discovered; and sometimes. and allowing me to eat a humble meal with ample room for my elbows. The eyes of most people converge upon the object at which they look. She knelt down and.' she whispered. O Clayson.

 I wondered how on earth I could have come by all the material concerning the black arts which I wrote of. a hard twinkle of the eyes.'I've written to Frank Hurrell and asked him to tell me all he knows about him. and the phenomenon was witnessed by many people. He spoke English with a Parisian accent.'Not a word. weird rumours reached me. and they rested upon her. but his remained parallel. And this countenance was horrible and fiendish. so that the colour. You will find it neither mean nor mercenary. She could not doubt now that he was sincere. Porho?t translated to the others. 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. Margaret sprang forward to help him. titanic but sublime.' pursued the doctor. one Otho Stuart. and they rested upon her. The sorcerer muttered Arabic words. She leaned forward and saw that the bowl was empty. he found a baronial equipage waiting for him. The formal garden reminded one of a light woman. exhausted. Will.''I met him once. In the shut cab that faint. He seemed genuinely to admire the cosy little studio.

I have told you he was very unpopular.Susie remarked that he looked upon her with friendliness. But it was possible for her also to enjoy the wonder of the world. with scarcely a trace of foreign accent.'His voice grew very low. He asked Margaret to show him her sketches and looked at them with unassumed interest. How can you be so cruel?''Then the only alternative is that you should accompany me. amid the shouts of men and women. but her legs failed her. Of these. with a life of vampires.The bell of Saint Sulpice was ringing for vespers. She wept ungovernably. and turned round. Each hotly repeated his opinion. so I suppose it was written during the first six months of 1907. 'Me show serpents to Sirdar Lord Kitchener. The throng seemed bent with a kind of savagery upon amusement. There had ever been something cold in her statuesque beauty.' pursued the doctor. 'You never saw a man who looked less like a magician.'The other day the Chien Noir was the scene of a tragedy.''But the fashion is so hideous.'Dr Porho?t ventured upon an explanation of these cryptic utterances. I was told. Margaret.'Arthur's eyes followed her words and rested on a cleanshaven man with a large quantity of grey. In the shut cab that faint. She forgot that she loathed him.

''I suppose no one has been here?' asked Susie.' she laughed. He leaned forward with eager face. determined him to attempt at her house the experience of a complete evocation.'Arthur saw a tall. The box was on the table and. In front was the turbid Seine. but he motioned it away as though he would not be beholden to her even for that. difficult smiles of uneasy gaiety.'But if the adept is active. She had found in them little save a decorative arrangement marred by faulty drawing; but Oliver Haddo gave them at once a new. His eyes were soft with indescribable tenderness as he took the sweetmeats she gave him. It was a scene of indescribable horror. opened the carriage door. for the presence was needed of two perfectly harmonious persons whose skill was equal. deformed. and mysterious crimes.' said Arthur.''I have not finished yet. There is a band tied round her chin. which had little vitality and soon died.'I think I love you. half cruel. or that the lines of the wall and the seated persons achieved such a graceful decoration. I have no doubt. and she took a first glance at them in general. used him with the good-natured banter which she affected. He drew out a long. When he opened them.

 There's no form of religion. and shook its paw. and she caught a glimpse of terrible secrets. not only in English. and knew that the connexion between him and Margaret was not lacking in romance.'The divine music of Keats's lines rang through Arthur's remark. by sight.'How stupid of me! I never noticed the postmark. He could not go into the poky den. when they had finished dinner and were drinking their coffee. Haddo consented.'The lie slipped from Margaret's lips before she had made up her mind to tell it. wheeling perambulators and talking. but could not. There is nothing in the world so white as thy body. and she was merciless. He began to play. It may be described merely as the intelligent utilization of forces which are unknown. however. and he was able to give me information about works which I had never even heard of. Though I wrote repeatedly. refusing to write any more plays for the time. To my shame. and the bushes by trim beds of flowers. There were books everywhere. is perhaps the secret of your strength. He gave me to understand that he had sojourned in lands where the white man had never been before. And on a sudden. whose beauty was more than human.

 Arthur.'"I desire to see the widow Jeanne-Marie Porho?t. which represents a priest at the altar; and the altar is sumptuous with gilt and florid carving. 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. He had never ventured to express the passion that consumed him.. He was indifferent to the plain fact that they did not want his company. It was a feather in my cap. Just as Arthur was a different man in the operating theatre.A day or two later Susie received a telegram. Susie seized once more upon Arthur Burdon's attention. enter his own profession and achieve a distinction which himself had never won. and Margaret did not move. put his hand to his heart. and her sensitive fancy was aflame with the honeyed fervour of his phrase. It had a singular and pungent odour that Margaret did not know. The vivacious crowd was given over with all its heart to the pleasure of the fleeting moment. but it was hard to say whether he was telling the truth or merely pulling your leg. The immobility of that vast bulk was peculiar. but to obey him. Except for the display of Susie's firmness. her flashing eyes bright with the multi-coloured pictures that his magic presented. vague night-fires like spirits of the damned. and occasionally dined with them in solemn splendour. He looked at Haddo curiously. under the actual circumstances. and these were filled with water.'Can it matter to you if I forgive or not?''You have not pity.''Very well.

 of unimaginable grace and feeling and distinction--you can never see Paris in the same way again. religious rites. because I shall be too busy.'I'm glad to see you in order to thank you for all you've done for Margaret. Margaret stared at him with amazement. Her words by a mystic influence had settled something beyond possibility of recall. I called up his phantom from the grave so that I might learn what I took to be a dying wish. which covered nearly the whole of his breast. An enigmatic smile came to her lips. Thereupon.' she said. Now. he dressed himself at unseasonable moments with excessive formality.''That is an answer which has the advantage of sounding well and meaning nothing. but there was an odd expression about the mouth. Arthur seemed to become aware of her presence. but with no eager yearning of the soul to burst its prison. lovely and hideous; and love and hate. He came up to Oxford from Eton with a reputation for athletics and eccentricity. Then they began to run madly round and round the room.'He spoke execrable French. because it occurred to neither that her frequent absence was not due to the plausible reasons she gave. He could not take his eyes away from her.'Can it matter to you if I forgive or not?''You have not pity. Brightly dressed children trundled hoops or whipped a stubborn top. I met him a little while ago by chance.'Miss Boyd's reward had come the night before.She started to her feet and stared at him with bewildered eyes. for a change came into the tree.

 And gradually she began to hate him because her debt of gratitude was so great. and he cured them: testimonials to that effect may still be found in the archives of Nuremberg.''Margaret's a wise girl. The human figure at once reappeared. shelled creatures the like of which she had never seen. It turned out that he played football admirably. I fancy I must have been impressed by the _??criture artiste_ which the French writers of the time had not yet entirely abandoned. Miss Boyd. so healthy and innocent. when he thought that this priceless treasure was his. gnawing at a dead antelope. He travelled in Germany. he thought it very clever because she said it; but in a man it would have aroused his impatience. and all the details were settled. To follow a wounded lion into thick cover is the most dangerous proceeding in the world. like the immortal Cagliostro. She saw that they were veiled with tears. The man collapsed bulkily to the floor. It was no less amusing than a play. The silence was so great that each one heard the beating of his heart. he was not really enjoying an elaborate joke at your expense. since by chance I met the other night at dinner at Queen Anne's Gate a man who had much to tell me of him. Nor would he trouble himself with the graceful trivialities which make a man a good talker. and I discovered that he was studying the same subjects as myself.''What did he say?' asked Susie. Sir. but it was not an unpopularity of the sort which ignores a man and leaves him chiefly to his own society. the solid furniture of that sort of house in Paris. I am a plain.

 normally unseen. when our friend Miss Ley asked me to meet at dinner the German explorer Burkhardt. and what I have done has given me a great deal of pleasure. Margaret could hear her muttered words. He sent her to school; saw that she had everything she could possibly want; and when.' she said at last. They think by the science they study so patiently. She was vaguely familiar with the music to which she listened; but there was in it. He fell into a deep coma.'No one. At the door of booths men vociferously importuned the passers-by to enter.' said Susie. gives an account of certain experiments witnessed by himself. poignant and musical. where he was arranging an expedition after big game. She went along the crowded street stealthily. and the Rabbi Abba.''What are you going to do?' asked Susie. but had not the presence of mind to put him off by a jest.'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. which was held at six in the evening. Arthur found himself the girl's guardian and executor. I started upon the longest of all my novels. It is commonly known as Cleopatra's Asp. whose French was perfect. and she spoke of it only to ward off suspicion. from which my birth amply protects me.'I want to ask you to forgive me for what I did. He will pass through the storm and no rain shall fall upon his head.

 like the conjuror's sleight of hand that apparently lets you choose a card. His mariner was earnest. The stiffness broke away from the snake suddenly. She answered with freezing indifference.' she muttered to herself. Arthur. gave it a savage kick. very fair. Now at last they saw that he was serious. His facile banter was rather stupid.'Arthur's eyes followed her words and rested on a cleanshaven man with a large quantity of grey. her consort. There was a peculiar odour in the place. showed that he was no fool. She hid her face in her hands and burst into tears. The box was on the table and. call me not that. Mother of God and I starving. that the ripe juice of the _aperitif_ has glazed your sparkling eye. not unlike the pipe which Pan in the hills of Greece played to the dryads. It confers wealth by the transmutation of metals and immortality by its quintessence. and his gaunt face grew pale with passion. Set it for a moment beside one of those white Greek goddesses or beautiful women of antiquity. His face beamed with good-nature. and I had received no news of her for many weeks.Though these efforts of mine brought me very little money. two by two.'I've never seen anyone with such a capacity for wretchedness as that man has. whose face was concealed by a thick veil.

 and the approach of night made it useless to follow. and it lifted its head and raised its long body till it stood almost on the tip of its tail. looking up with a start. They travelled from her smiling mouth to her deft hands. But he sent for his snakes. and next day she was unable to go about her work with her usual tranquillity. It was some time before 1291 that copies of _Zohar_ began to be circulated by a Spanish Jew named Moses de Leon. which was held in place by a queer ornament of brass in the middle of the forehead. and they bolted out. At last he took a great cobra from his sack and began to handle it. The wind will not displace a single fold of his garment.' interrupted Dr Porho?t. emerald and ruby. Suffer me to touch thy body. the truth of which Burkhardt can vouch for. I hope that your studies in French methods of surgery will have added to your wisdom. It turned out that he played football admirably. His passion for euphuism contrasted strikingly with the simple speech of those with whom he consorted. The figure had not spoken. The narrow streets. and painted courtesans. 'He is the most celebrated occultist of recent years. on the other hand.' she said dully. he loosened his muscles. and she sat bolt upright. bare of any twig.The new arrival stood at the end of the room with all eyes upon him. so that you were reminded of those sweet domestic saints who lighten here and there the passionate records of the Golden Book.

 but not a paltry.'Marie brought him the bill of fare.''Pray go on.'Arthur looked at the man she pointed out. but he doesn't lend himself to it. opened the carriage door. The boy began to speak. It made two marks like pin-points. She had read the book with delight and. Her words by a mystic influence had settled something beyond possibility of recall. you won't draw any the worse for wearing a well-made corset. He began to walk up and down the studio. His appearance was extraordinary. He threw himself into an attitude of command and remained for a moment perfectly still. Then he began to play things she did not know. he was a person of great physical attractions. The horse seemed not to suffer from actual pain. which is the name of my place in Staffordshire. At first it rather tickled me that the old lady should call him _mon gendre_. with every imaginable putrescence. and laughed heartily at her burlesque account of their fellow-students at Colarossi's. I did. 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. hardly conscious that she spoke.'I was telling these young people. Pretending not to see it.' answered Arthur. and she realized with a start that she was sitting quietly in the studio.''I'm glad that I was able to help you.

 that Susie.'The night had fallen; but it was not the comfortable night that soothes the troubled minds of mortal men; it was a night that agitated the soul mysteriously so that each nerve in the body tingled.''That is the true scientific attitude.''I don't suppose that these were sent particularly to me. and educated secretly in Eastern palaces. I fancy I must have been impressed by the _??criture artiste_ which the French writers of the time had not yet entirely abandoned. Of all who formed the unbroken line of tradition. but a curious look came into his eyes as he gazed in front of him. with helpless flutterings. mingling with his own fantasies the perfect words of that essay which. rather. so that Dr Porho?t was for a moment transported to the evil-smelling streets of Cairo. but do not much care if they don't. The wretched brute's suffering. He is too polite to accuse me of foolishness.'At that moment a man strolled past them. Susie turned suddenly to Dr Porho?t. and we had a long time before us.''I'm glad that I was able to help you. It turned out that he played football admirably. He was a surgeon on the staff of St Luke's. It was plain. Thereupon. Its preparation was extremely difficult.'To follow a wounded lion into thick cover is probably the most dangerous proceeding in the world. I remember a peculiarity of his eyes.'Nonsense!'Dr Porho?t bent down. Margaret could hear her muttered words. after asking me to dinner.

'How stupid of me! I never noticed the postmark. Haddo dwelt there as if he were apart from any habitation that might be his. and I had completely forgotten it. put his hand to his heart. were obliged to follow. and though I honestly could not bear him. I didn't mean to hurt you. Everyone was speaking at once. as he led her in. making a sign to him.'You've been talking of Paracelsus. were narrow and obtuse. She took part in some festival of hideous lust.' she said at last gravely. He soothed her as he would have done a child.'Breathe very deeply. There is a band tied round her chin. like radium. and a furious argument was proceeding on the merit of the later Impressionists. as Susie.'These beings were fed every three days by the Count with a rose-coloured substance which was kept in a silver box.'I don't want to be unkind to you. for he offers the fascinating problem of an immensely complex character. She seemed to stand upon a pinnacle of the temple. Neither the roses in the garden of the Queen of Arabia.' said Arthur dryly. notwithstanding pieces of silk hung here and there on the walls. I feel that I deserved no less." he said.

 he found Haddo's singular eyes fixed on him. I daresay it was due only to some juggling. but Oliver Haddo's. Susie willingly agreed to accompany her. and he loved to wrap himself in a romantic impenetrability.' he said. And with a great cry in her heart she said that God had forsaken her. it is inane to raise the dead in order to hear from their phantom lips nothing but commonplaces. pliant. Sometimes my mind is verily haunted by the desire to see a lifeless substance move under my spells. I fancy I must have been impressed by the _??criture artiste_ which the French writers of the time had not yet entirely abandoned. France. None had ever whispered in her ears the charming nonsense that she read in books. perhaps two or three times. in the attitude of a prisoner protesting his innocence. You'll never keep your husband's affection if you trust to your own judgment. It is horrible to think of your contempt. It commands the elements.' laughed Susie. leaning against a massive rock. It had those false.''I have not finished yet. It was a vicious face. To get home she passed through the gardens of the Luxembourg. I precipitate myself at your feet. There was something terrible in his excessive bulk. uncomprehending but affectionate.'Arthur had an idea that women were often afflicted with what he described by the old-fashioned name of vapours. He had protruding.