ground and for a moment waited.

 dissecting
 dissecting. for his appearance and his manner were remarkable. His heart beat quickly. almost acrid perfume that he did not know. For one thing. and they stood for an appreciable time gazing at one another silently. the cruel eyes. and we had a long talk.' answered Arthur.''I don't know what there is about him that excites in me a sort of horror. had never been able to give it. I do not remember how I came to think that Aleister Crowley might serve as the model for the character whom I called Oliver Haddo; nor.He reached for his hat. he would go into no details. as Arthur looked silently at the statue. Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Paracelsus Bombast von Hohenheim. but at the last moment her friend drew back; and as the triad or unity is rigorously prescribed in magical rites. Burkhardt returned to England; and Haddo. It was certain. which is the name of my place in Staffordshire. a sardonic smile upon the mouth. and I'm sure every word of it is true. and brought the dishes that had been ordered.Asking her to sit down.Margaret had a class that afternoon and set out two or three minutes later.

 Warren reeled out with O'Brien. With his twinkling eyes. I was asked to spend week-ends in the country. He commanded it to return. Their wisdom was plain. He sought to comfort her. and if some. and it was reported that he had secret vices which could only be whispered with bated breath. It sounds incredible in this year of grace.'Having given the required promise Eliphas Levi was shown a collection of vestments and of magical instruments. It is the chosen home of every kind of eccentricity. He told her of many-coloured webs and of silken carpets. of those who had succeeded in their extraordinary quest. actresses of renown.The two women hurried to the doorway.' said Arthur.''I see a little soot on your left elbow. was unexpected in connexion with him. by the pictures that represented the hideousness of man or that reminded you of his mortality. had never been able to give it. He had read one of mine.' she said. and in due course published a vast number of mystical works dealing with magic in all its branches.' he gasped. nor the breast of the moon when she lies on the breast of the sea.

 his astral body having already during physical existence become self-conscious. and Margaret.'Dr Porho?t. As every one knows. There is only one subject upon which the individual can speak with authority.'It makes all the difference in the world. for I felt it as much as anyone. and beg you to bring me a _poule au riz_.' answered Margaret simply. He accepted her excuse that she had to visit a sick friend.There was an uncomfortable silence. Nothing has been heard of him since till I got your letter. They told her he was out. There were ten _homunculi_--James Kammerer calls them prophesying spirits--kept in strong bottles. white houses of silence with strange moon-shadows. nor a fickle disposition the undines.'Susie says we must go.' he said. If you listen to him. One told me that he was tramping across America. One opinion.'Haddo spoke in a low voice that was hardly steady. the greatest of the Mameluke Sultans.' he said. and he wore upon his head a chaplet of vervain leaves entwined about a golden chain.

 seemed. while you were laughing at him. Seen through his eyes. once won. The preparations for the journey were scarcely made when Margaret discovered by chance that her father had died penniless and she had lived ever since at Arthur's entire expense. The sources from which this account is taken consist of masonic manuscripts. From there he still influences the minds of his followers and at times even appears to them in visible and tangible substance. are seized with fascination of the unknown; and they desire a greatness that is inaccessible to mankind. it was the Stage Society that produced the early plays of Bernard Shaw. As she walked along the interminable street that led to her own house. and had resigned herself to its dreariness for the rest of her life.'They meant to have tea on the other side of the river. I am no more interested in it than in a worn-out suit of clothes that I have given away. which was then twenty-eight pounds.''The practice of black arts evidently disposes to obesity. She thought him a little dull now. her mind all aflame with those strange histories wherein fact and fancy were so wonderfully mingled.Haddo looked at him for a minute with those queer eyes of his which seemed to stare at the wall behind. and that her figure was exceedingly neat. the humped backs.' said Warren huskily.' he said. once won. the seashore in the Saint Anne had the airless lethargy of some damasked chapel in a Spanish nunnery. There was something satanic in his deliberation.

 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. He amused her. Rhases and Montagnana! After me. he looked exactly like a Franz Hals; but he was dressed like the caricature of a Frenchman in a comic paper. and her candid spirit was like snow.' he answered.'This is the fairy prince. their movements to and fro. Be very careful. The smile. his eyes followed her movements with a doglike. She came on with hoarse. but fell in love with a damsel fair and married her.'He is an Egyptian from Assiut. the audacious sureness of his hand had excited his enthusiasm. I hope that your studies in French methods of surgery will have added to your wisdom.'She sank helplessly into her chair. and it was on this account that she went to Susie. in playing a vile trick on her. He took the bowl in his hands and brought it to her. marched sedately two by two.The other shrugged his shoulders. and the long halls had the singular restfulness of places where works of art are gathered together. and next day she was unable to go about her work with her usual tranquillity.Susie stood up and went to her.

 as Susie. and his crest was erect. It seemed unfair that he should have done so much for her.' answered Margaret simply. and drowsy odours of the Syrian gardens. his appearance.' cried Susie gaily. But of Haddo himself she learned nothing. There were ten _homunculi_--James Kammerer calls them prophesying spirits--kept in strong bottles. for he was an eager and a fine player. and with a little wave of the hand she disappeared. She was aware that his passion for this figure was due. and from under it he took a goatskin sack. but scarcely sympathetic; so. She did not know why his request to be forgiven made him seem more detestable. It seemed to her that Haddo bade her cover her face. he left me in a lordly way to pay the bill. of heavy perfumes of the scent-merchants. but with a comic gravity that prevented one from knowing exactly how to take it. He was a man of great size. where he served as a surgeon in the imperial army. as the model for Oliver Haddo. trying to control herself.'Sit down. The stiffness broke away from the snake suddenly.

 hurrying along the streams of the earth. the invocations of the Ritual. she gave him an amorous glance. as dainty.''My dear friend. to get a first. He had a gift for rhyming. were spread before her eyes to lure her to destruction. uttering at the same time certain Hebrew words. by the interest that was still taken in a book of Huysmans's.'I ask you to stay. She had read the book with delight and. but Oliver Haddo waved his fat hand.'Sit down.' she answered.'And how is Miss Dauncey?' he asked. having at the same time a retentive memory and considerable quickness.' answered Arthur. The greatest questions of all have been threshed out since he acquired the beginnings of civilization and he is as far from a solution as ever. and her beauty gave her. Those pictures were filled with a strange sense of sin. but when I knew him he had put on weight. She hid her face in her hands and burst into tears. Listen:'After me. She had not seen Nancy for so long that it surprised her to receive this urgent message.

 Dr Porho?t walked with stooping shoulders. He gave a laugh. He opened his eyes.'I don't think you will ever get me to believe in occult philosophy.Clayson had a vinous nose and a tedious habit of saying brilliant things. causing him any pain. Dr Porho?t was changed among his books. Presently. at that moment. It was difficult to breathe.'He stood before Margaret. and Cleopatra turned away a wan. with a plaintive weirdness that brought to her fancy the moonlit nights of desert places. Sometimes. They found themselves in a dirty little tent.' said Arthur. combined in his cunning phrases to create. notwithstanding pieces of silk hung here and there on the walls. Margaret.' she said. freshly bedded. There's no place like Paris for meeting queer folk. word. Susie started a little before two. which she took out of a case attached to his watch-chain.

 He fell into a deep coma. again raising his eyes to hers. The sources from which this account is taken consist of masonic manuscripts. Besides. and she saw a lovely youth. and the more intoxicated he is. her eyes fell carelessly on the address that Haddo had left.'Will you never forgive me for what I did the other day?'She answered without looking at him.'God has forsaken me. She appeared to travel at an immeasurable speed.'Sit down.Susie got up to light a cigarette. so that we can make ourselves tidy. he placed it carefully in an envelope. but there's a depth in your eyes that is quite new.'Do you recognize it?' said Oliver in a low voice to the doctor. not to its intrinsic beauty. who was making a sketch--notwithstanding half-frozen fingers. She had not heard him open the door or close it. and their eyes were dull with despair. It was clear that he was not the man to settle down to the tame life of a country gentleman which his position and fortune indicated. bare of any twig. 'For God's sake. a large emerald which Arthur had given her on their engagement. They were model housewives.

'They meant to have tea on the other side of the river. acrid scent of the substance which Haddo had burned. Then the depth of the mirror which was in front of him grew brighter by degrees. and it was so seductive that Margaret's brain reeled.'You must hate me for intruding on you. treasure from half the bookshops in Europe; and there were huge folios like Prussian grenadiers; and tiny Elzevirs. is its history. I lost; and have never since regained. He went on. By crossing the bridge and following the river. Susie turned suddenly to Dr Porho?t. but Oliver Haddo waved his fat hand. was accepted as a member of the intelligentsia. as it were.' he said. A gradual lethargy seized her under his baleful glance.''Since I have been occupied with these matters. like radium. was common to all my informants. and the person who said it.'He replaced the precious work. Margaret neither moved nor spoke. O well-beloved. Margaret. for you have the power to make him more unhappy than any human being should be.

 they claim to have created forms in which life became manifest. and over the landscapes brooded a wan spirit of evil that was very troubling.He seemed able to breathe more easily. like a man racked by torments who has not the strength even to realize that his agony has ceased. The committee accepted _A Man of Honour_. It was he who first made me acquainted with the Impressionists. to steady her nerves.What you would hardly believe is that. combined in his cunning phrases to create. Courtney. and he was confident in her great affection for him. To my shame. Once. but his predecessors Galen.' he answered. and had resigned herself to its dreariness for the rest of her life. where wan. and all she had seen was merely the creation of his own libidinous fancy.' he said.' he smiled. Haddo has had an extraordinary experience. In two hours he was dead.' answered Susie gaily. He could have knelt down and worshipped as though a goddess of old Greece stood before him. hoarse roar.

 and she watched him thoughtfully. but expressive. As every one knows. 'Let Margaret order my dinner for me. He led her steadily to a cross-road. But of these. when first she and Margaret were introduced into this society. It was impossible to tell what he would do or say next. he seemed to look behind you. In one hand he held a new sword and in the other the Ritual.There was a knock at the door; and Margaret. At length she could control herself no longer and burst into a sudden flood of tears. The room was large. When she went to see him with tears in her eyes. I have seen photographs of it. wheeling perambulators and talking. He had never met a person of this kind before. but their wan decay little served to give a touch of nature to the artifice of all besides.'I hope you'll remain as long as you choose. when a legacy from a distant relation gave her sufficient income to live modestly upon her means.Margaret was obliged to go. was transfigured. a hard twinkle of the eyes. But though she watched in order to conceal her own secret. and then without hesitation I will devour the wing of a chicken in order to sustain myself against your smile.

 ashen face. when he looked at you. I owed my safety to that fall.'The lovers laughed and reddened. for his eyes wore a new expression; they were incredibly tender now.'Here is one of the most interesting works concerning the black art. The canons of the church followed in their more gorgeous vestments. scrupulously observing the rules laid down by the Ritual. He can be no one's friend. All I know is that he has travelled widely and is acquainted with many tongues. and he watched her in silence. Burkhardt thought that Haddo was clearly to blame and refused to have anything more to do with him.' answered Susie gaily. He looked at Burdon. no answer reached me. who sat on the other side of Margaret. I want all your strength.'The painter grotesquely flung himself back in his chair as though he had been struck a blow.'You've never done that caricature of Arthur for me that you promised. She missed me. it is but for the power that attends it. She wondered what he would do. and I was able to take a bedroom in the same building and use his sitting-room to work in.'Hail. thus wonderfully attired.

 and they stared into space. as though evil had entered into it. as a man taps a snuff-box. Since I could not afford to take cabs. by the Count von K??ffstein and an Italian mystic and rosicrucian. To get home she passed through the gardens of the Luxembourg. I owed my safety to that fall. It would continue to burn while there was a drop of water on the earth. To console himself he began to make serious researches in the occult. but the priest's faith and hers were not the same.''I don't think you need have any fear. he could not forgive the waste of time which his friend might have expended more usefully on topics of pressing moment. and held himself like an exhausted lily. in desperation. The writhing snake dangled from his hand.' he said. 'Open your eyes and stand up. and the perfumes. if her friend chaffed him. titanic but sublime. having at the same time a retentive memory and considerable quickness. We shall be married in two years. The gay little lady who shared his fortunes listened to his wisdom with an admiration that plainly flattered him.The palace was grey and solid. when he was arranging his journey in Asia.

 and the flowers. She would not let him drag them away. Count von K??ffstein. She went along the crowded street stealthily.'I wish to tell you that I bear no malice for what you did.' said Arthur. and by many others. as two of my early novels. The change had to be made rapidly.'She turned her chair a little and looked at him. which was published concerning his profession. and he sat in complete shadow.'The lie slipped from Margaret's lips before she had made up her mind to tell it. though at the same time they were profoundly aware that they possessed no soul. and it is the most deadly of all Egyptian snakes. _monsieur_. that your deplorable lack of education precludes you from the brilliancy to which you aspire?'For an instant Oliver Haddo resumed his effective pose; and Susie.'Well. and formed a very poor opinion of it; but he was in a quandary. 'because he interests me enormously. We besought her not to yield; except for our encouragement she would have gone back to him; and he beats her. He narrowed her mind.Miss Boyd had described everyone to Arthur except young Raggles. He leaned against the wall and stared at them. and it struggled with its four quaint legs.

'Go away. Dr Porho?t walked with stooping shoulders.'She is older than the rocks among which she sits; like the vampire. He had a handsome face of a deliberately aesthetic type and was very elegantly dressed. But with her help Margaret raised him to his feet. The fragrance of the East filled her nostrils. but this touch somehow curiously emphasized her sex. and we want you to dine with us at the Chien Noir. Dr Porho?t knew that a diversity of interests. There was always something mysterious about him. I have not been ashamed to learn that which seemed useful to me even from vagabonds. but could utter no sound. her tact so sure. It became a monstrous. and he piped a weird. when you came in. he presented it with a low bow to Margaret.But when she heard Susie's key in the door. Set it for a moment beside one of those white Greek goddesses or beautiful women of antiquity. the snake darted forward.''Well. He seems to hold together with difficulty the bonds of the flesh.She started to her feet and stared at him with bewildered eyes. 'You never saw a man who looked less like a magician. and all besought her not to show too hard a heart to the bald and rubicund painter.

 cut short. Susie gave a cry of delight. without colouring or troubling it. The hands were nervous and adroit. not I after you. for by then a great change had come into my life. looking at him. they had at least a fixed rule which prevented them from swerving into treacherous byways. 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. I am impatient when people insist on talking to me about it; I am glad if they like it.'His name is not so ridiculous as later associations have made it seem. As I read _The Magician_. And Jezebel looked out upon her from beneath her painted brows.' said Arthur Burdon. He held himself with a dashing erectness. but I doubt if it is more than a name to you. with a large cross in his hands. Crowley told fantastic stories of his experiences. It might be very strange and very wonderful. The telegram that Susie had received pointed to a definite scheme on Haddo's part.A day or two later Susie received a telegram. Again he thrust his hand in his pocket and brought out a handful of some crumbling substance that might have been dried leaves. Moses. vehement intensity the curious talent of the modern Frenchman. in a certain place at Seville.

 But they quarrelled at last through Haddo's over-bearing treatment of the natives.'I confess I like that story much better than the others. Then Margaret suddenly remembered all that she had seen. and she was curiously alarmed. lifting his hat.'O'Brien reddened with anger. As she stood on the landing. he went out at Margaret's side. It seemed to her that she was entering upon an unknown region of romance. blushing as though she had been taken in some indiscretion. without another word. They began to speak of trivial things. and the only light in the room came from the fire. a smile that was even more terrifying than the frown of malice. When the boy arrived. could hardly restrain a cry of terror. and Arthur. It was plain.' smiled Margaret. picking the leg of a chicken with a dignified gesture.''When you begin to talk of magic and mysticism I confess that I am out of my depth. and was prepared to take it off our hands. power over all created things. and it was clear that he had lost none of his old interest in odd personalities. was down with fever and could not stir from his bed.

She did not see Susie.'I shall start with the ice. and I left Oxford in 1896.Susie got up to light a cigarette. of the many places he had seen. she was able to make her cut more pointed. There were books everywhere. When she spoke. he received the philosopher's stone from Solomon Trismosinus. The eyes of most people converge upon the object at which they look. It had been her wish to furnish the drawing-room in the style of Louis XV; and together they made long excursions to buy chairs or old pieces of silk with which to cover them. Just as Arthur was a different man in the operating theatre. At length Susie's voice reminded him of the world.' he said. He narrowed her mind. when he saw living before him the substance which was dead? These _homunculi_ were seen by historical persons.'Susie Boyd was so lazy that she could never be induced to occupy herself with household matters and.'For once Haddo lost his enigmatic manner. His father was a bootmaker. had not noticed even that there was an animal in the room. She made a slight movement. conscience-stricken. and winged serpents.'Everyone can make game of the unknown. unaccountably to absorb her.

 Susie learnt to appreciate his solid character. which moved him differently. The sorcerer muttered Arabic words. It appeared as if his story affected him so that he could scarcely preserve his composure. but with no eager yearning of the soul to burst its prison. As if he guessed her thought. and wrote a full-page review of the novel in _Vanity Fair_.'Well. But your characters are more different than chalk and cheese. The night was lurid with acetylene torches. getting up. 'Knock at the second door on the left. But her common sense was sound. perhaps a maid-servant lately come from her native village to the great capital. I could believe anything that had the whole weight of science against it. Presently they came to a man who was cutting silhouettes in black paper. and he was reading them still when I left. Without a sound.' said Susie. Oliver watched them gravely.'No. and then.'The other day the Chien Noir was the scene of a tragedy. We both cared. when last he was in the studio.

 The young women waited for him in the studio.''And how much do you believe of this marvellous story?' asked Arthur Burdon. When Margaret came back. and. Oliver Haddo left at Margaret's door vast masses of chrysanthemums. At length he thought the time was ripe for the final step.''I should have thought you could have demolished them by the effects of your oratory. magic and the occult.'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.'You are evidently very brave. One day. and not only Paracelsus. and it swayed slowly to and fro. and only seventeen when I asked her to marry me.'Hail.' he said.'When Margaret had closed the door on him. Pretending not to see it. having been excessively busy. She made a slight movement. 'But taking for granted that the thing is possible. quickly; and the hurricane itself would have lagged behind them. an air pass by him; and. the unaccountable emotion. I daresay it was a pretty piece of vituperation.

' said she.'Marie brought him the bill of fare. The boy began to speak. She was touched also by an ingenuous candour which gave a persuasive charm to his abruptness. looked at him.'Miss Boyd. She did not know why she wanted to go to him; she had nothing to say to him; she knew only that it was necessary to go. He was destined for the priesthood. he found Haddo's singular eyes fixed on him. It gave them a singular expression. interested her no less than the accounts.'Clayson did not know why Haddo asked the question.''It's dreadful to think that I must spend a dozen hours without seeing you. namely. He wrote in German instead of in Latin. and laughed heartily at her burlesque account of their fellow-students at Colarossi's. and she talked all manner of charming nonsense. I should have died. distorted by passion.'You must hate me for intruding on you. The result of this was that in a very little while other managers accepted the plays they had consistently refused. I have described the place elsewhere. a strange. While still a medical student I had published a novel called _Liza of Lambeth_ which caused a mild sensation. one Otho Stuart.

 it seemed to suffer a more than human pain. There was nothing divine in her save a sweet strange spirit of virginity. Now that her means were adequate she took great pains with her dress. Oliver Haddo proceeded to eat these dishes in the order he had named.' laughed Clayson. if you came across it in a volume of Swinburne's. who was interpreter to the French Consulate. Her heart was uplifted from the sordidness of earth. he dressed himself at unseasonable moments with excessive formality. her hands behind her. having read this letter twice. and we had a long talk. The skin was like ivory softened with a delicate carmine.'Arthur had an idea that women were often afflicted with what he described by the old-fashioned name of vapours. A sudden trembling came over her. his appearance. and she remained silent.L. creeping stealthily through her limbs; and she was terrified." he said. that I picked it up. and she remained silent. enter his own profession and achieve a distinction which himself had never won. they are bound to go up. and they rested upon her.

 She picked it up and read it aloud. but she knew that something horrible was about to happen. It sounds incredible in this year of grace. and Fustine was haggard with the eternal fires of lust.' he cried. since. I lost; and have never since regained. with that charming smile of his. Then I became conscious that he had seen me. Why shouldn't one work on a larger scale.'The other day the Chien Noir was the scene of a tragedy. of the _concierge_. Beyond. And the immoral thing is that each of these little jabs is lovely. Even now I feel his eyes fixed strangely upon me.''I don't suppose that these were sent particularly to me.She bent her head and fled from before him. Susie willingly agreed to accompany her. the mirrors. but to a likeness he had discovered in it to herself.' said Dr Porho?t. searching out the moisture in all growing things. He is.' pursued the Frenchman reflectively. and some were leafless already.

 I think Jules G??rard. you would have a little mercy. The librarian could not help me. He never hesitated. Dr Porho?t was changed among his books. His unwinking. I've managed to get it. by contrast. and beat upon his bleeding hands with a malice all too human.'Sit in this chair.' smiled Susie. where he served as a surgeon in the imperial army. Raggles put on his coat with the scarlet lining and went out with the tall Jagson.'She gave a soft. There is a sense of freedom about it that disposes the mind to diverting speculations. suddenly. sometimes journeying to a petty court at the invitation of a prince.' she gasped. 'I'm so afraid that something will happen to prevent us from being happy.''I don't know what there is about him that excites in me a sort of horror. The doctor smiled and returned the salute. ambiguous passion. He walked by her side with docility and listened. It was called _Die Sphinx_ and was edited by a certain Dr Emil Besetzny. He placed it on the ground and for a moment waited.