it would be vulgar to turn up her nose. I waited. The noise was very great.

 and its large simplicity was soothing
 and its large simplicity was soothing. 'I should have thought your medical profession protected you from any tenderness towards superstition. She answered with freezing indifference. Susie gave a cry of delight. He was very smartly dressed in a horsey way. Margaret drew Arthur towards her. Occasionally the heart is on the right side of the body. But on the first floor was a narrow room. all his self-control. The story of this visit to Paris touched her imagination. Gustave Moreau. and Susie went in. and I was glad to leave him. Arthur sat down. which I called _A Man of Honour_. and be very good to him.'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. She made a slight movement. and his verse is not entirely without merit. and a chafing-dish with live charcoal. with a friend of my own age. 'An odd thing happened once when he came to see me. and presently the boy spoke again.'She never turned up. They were frightened and disgusted.

 The juggler started back. I have studied their experiments. and lives only in the delicacy with which it has moulded the changing lineaments. Arthur would have wagered a considerable sum that there was no word of truth in it.Oliver Haddo seemed extraordinarily fascinated. it will be beautiful to wear a bonnet like a sitz-bath at the back of your head.They came down to the busy. He is superior to every affliction and to every fear. One lioness remained. the club feet. at seventeen. The dignity which encompassed the perfection of her beauty was delightfully softened. and his unnatural eyes were fixed on the charmer with an indescribable expression. I judge it must be a unique occurrence. for she did not know that she had been taking a medicine. which has rarely interfered with the progress of science.' he sobbed. She saw things so vile that she screamed in terror. But of these. she would scarcely have resisted her desire to wear nondescript garments of violent hue. often to suffer persecution and torture.' said Dr Porho?t. None had ever whispered in her ears the charming nonsense that she read in books. and if he sees your eyes red. and you that come from the islands of the sea.

 except allow me to sit in this chair. caught sight of Margaret. and huge limping scarabs.Yet there was one piece. with his round.'Yes. but he motioned it away as though he would not be beholden to her even for that. He leaned back in his chair and roared. the little palefaced woman sitting next to her. almost authenticated.'Thank you. he could not forgive the waste of time which his friend might have expended more usefully on topics of pressing moment. but with no eager yearning of the soul to burst its prison. and come down into the valleys.' he said. low laugh and stretched out her hand on the table. he made up for it with a diverting pleasantry that might very well have passed for humour. from learned and vulgar. 'and I have collected many of his books. Haddo's eyes were fixed upon hers.'Susie says we must go. He gravely offered one to each of his guests. uncouth primeval things. or misunderstood of the vulgar. Burkhardt thought that Haddo was clearly to blame and refused to have anything more to do with him.

 He had a gift for rhyming. There was a peculiar lack of comfort. causing him any pain.' answered Margaret. looked at him curiously. She missed me.Though these efforts of mine brought me very little money. very pleased. He recited the honeyed words with which Walter Pater expressed his admiration for that consummate picture. Margaret walked slowly to the church.' she repeated. like most of these old fellows. She felt herself redden. The wretched brute's suffering. She could not understand the words that the priests chanted; their gestures. he loosened his muscles. something having touched the hand which held the sword. She had at first counted on assisting at the evocation with a trustworthy person. he placed it carefully in an envelope.'I will have a vanilla ice. before consenting to this.She heard the sound of a trumpet. so that the colour. namely. She wondered what he would do.

 but the vast figure seemed strangely to dissolve into a cloud; and immediately she felt herself again surrounded by a hurrying throng. like the conjuror's sleight of hand that apparently lets you choose a card.' pursued the Frenchman reflectively.'Now please look at the man who is sitting next to Mr Warren. and the Count was anxious that they should grow. With a leer and a flash of his bright teeth. and this gave her a chance to bring their conversation to matters on which Haddo was expert. It disturbed his practical mind never to be certain if Haddo was serious. you will already have heard of his relationship with various noble houses. and to the Frenchman's mind gave his passion a romantic note that foreboded future tragedy. He reigns with all heaven and is served by all hell. indeed. which loudly clamoured for their custom. the second highest mountain in India. 'I feel that he will bring us misfortune. He had the look of a very wicked. and Margaret's hand was as small. but even here he is surrounded with darkness. looking up with a start. she watched listlessly the people go to and fro. and the causes that made him say it. and she remained silent.''That is an answer which has the advantage of sounding well and meaning nothing. but small stars appeared to dance on the heather. The girl's taste inclined to be artistic.

 and like a flash of lightning struck the rabbit. under his fingers. She was inwardly convinced now that the marriage would never take place. really. Instinctively she knelt down by his side and loosened his collar.' said Arthur. I do not know if it was due to my own development since the old days at Oxford. and the causes that made him say it.'Knowing Susie's love for Arthur. Nurses.'Next day. but his remained parallel. The eyes of most people converge upon the object at which they look. where he served as a surgeon in the imperial army.'Go. He remained where he fell in utter helplessness. The dog rolled over with a loud bark that was almost a scream of pain. imitative. he sought. but the doings of men in daytime and at night."'"I will hear no more.' she muttered to herself.' said Arthur. I called up his phantom from the grave so that I might learn what I took to be a dying wish. and she tripped up to the door.

 and the only light in the room came from the fire. the urge came and. and I had received no news of her for many weeks.'With the grace that marked all her movements she walked cross the studio. bringing him to her friend. 'Me show serpents to Sirdar Lord Kitchener. and see only an earthly maid fresh with youth and chastity and loveliness. Presently. for she did not know that she had been taking a medicine. I surmised that the librarian had told him of my difficulty. a black female slave.Susie flung herself down wearily in a chair. She shuddered to think of the dull house in Harley Street and the insignificance of its humdrum duties. He beholds God face to face without dying. The sorcerer muttered Arabic words. but what was to prevent it she did not know.Margaret sprang up with a cry. It was impossible that anything should arise to disturb the pleasant life which they had planned together. She tried to cry out. and the trees which framed the scene were golden and lovely. Oliver took her hand. You speak with such gravity that we are all taken in.'Oh. and above were certain words in Arabic.''I don't suppose that these were sent particularly to me.

''I wish you would write that life of Paracelsus which you suggest in your preface. He could not regain the conventional manner of polite society. It was a remedy to prolong life. Arthur. Margaret was hardly surprised that he played marvellously. intolerable shame. of those who had succeeded in their extraordinary quest. Suddenly he began to speak. I am aware that the law of secrecy is rigorous among adepts; and I know that you have been asked for phenomena. there you have a case that is really interesting. and the pile daily sprinkled with a certain liquor prepared with great trouble by the adepts. One told me that he was tramping across America. The form suddenly grew indistinct and soon it strangely vanished. he had there a diverting brusqueness of demeanour which contrasted quaintly with his usual calm. judged it would be vulgar to turn up her nose. win many times our stake. It seems too much to expect that I should enjoy such extraordinarily good luck. She was vaguely familiar with the music to which she listened; but there was in it. and his manner had an offensiveness which was intensely irritating. and we had a long talk.Susie got up to light a cigarette. which she'll do the moment you leave us. 'She knows that when a man sends flowers it is a sign that he has admired more women than one. He had never ventured to express the passion that consumed him.'Did you ever hear such gibberish in your life? Yet he did a bold thing.

'Margaret could not hear what he said. O most excellent Warren. with a life of vampires. She thought she had reason to be grateful to me and would have married me there and then.'Yes. He sought to dispel the cloud which his fancy had cast upon the most satisfactory of love affairs.'Let us drink to the happiness of our life. 'but I agree with Miss Boyd that Oliver Haddo is the most extraordinary. though he claimed them. who believed it to be a miracle. My friend was at the Bar.' she replied bluntly. My old friend had by then rooms in Pall Mall. and I learned in that way that nothing was certain. of a fair complexion.'Will you never forgive me for what I did the other day?'She answered without looking at him. all these were driven before the silent throngs of the oppressed; and they were innumerable as the sands of the sea. They were made in five weeks. that she was able to make the most of herself. The box was on the table and. Her answer came within a couple of hours: 'I've asked him to tea on Wednesday.' cried Warren.' he muttered.'Sit in this chair. almost against your will.

 He did not regret. but once she had at least the charm of vivacious youth. and below. His voice was different now and curiously seductive. and yet your admiration was alloyed with an unreasoning terror. made love the more entrancing. To one he was a great master and to the other an impudent charlatan.'I think he has an extraordinarily good face. I have studied their experiments. Presently they went out. He was of a short and very corpulent figure. she was growing still.'I am willing to marry you whenever you choose. 'I've never taken such a sudden dislike to anyone. One of these casual visitors was Aleister Crowley. whether natural or acquired I do not know. and there were flowers everywhere. as though conscious they stood in a Paris where progress was not. sensual face. She came on with hoarse. and at this date the most frequented in Paris.Though Aleister Crowley served. The narrow streets.Margaret listened. and I made friends.

'He said solemnly: "_Buy Ashantis. When Margaret came back. dreadfully afraid. He forgot everything. She had never looked more lovely than on this afternoon.'Can you get a pastille out of my pocket?'He swallowed a white tabloid.'Madam. to like football.'Yet I cannot be sure that it is all folly. Margaret was filled with a genuine emotion; and though she could not analyse it. Sometimes. as though conscious of the decorative scheme they helped to form. The door was shut. When he was at the door. But as soon as he came in they started up.'She sank helplessly into her chair. It lay slightly curled. All I know is that he has travelled widely and is acquainted with many tongues.' he smiled.' said Warren huskily. with his round.L.'He handled the delicate pages as a lover of flowers would handle rose-leaves. Her whole body burned with the ecstasy of his embrace. and she tried to smile.

 You would be wrong.. a virgin. such furniture and household utensils as were essential. to that part of Paris which was dearest to her heart. His brown eyes were veiled with sudden melancholy. He waited till he had a free evening. The door is open. At first it rather tickled me that the old lady should call him _mon gendre_. Again he thrust his hand in his pocket and brought out a handful of some crumbling substance that might have been dried leaves. and she wished to begin a new life.'I think. when they had finished dinner and were drinking their coffee.What you would hardly believe is that. and what I have done has given me a great deal of pleasure.'Marie.'My name Mohammed.'Don't be so silly. which she'll do the moment you leave us. She could not get the man out of her thoughts. and God is greater than all snakes. It was some time before 1291 that copies of _Zohar_ began to be circulated by a Spanish Jew named Moses de Leon. slowly. and the bitterness has warped his soul. An expression of terrible anguish came into his face.

 she could not look upon him with anger. and Margaret suggested that they should saunter towards the Madeleine. tends to weaken him. and educated secretly in Eastern palaces. She was aware that his passion for this figure was due. and he wore a long grey beard.'Burden's face assumed an expression of amused disdain. dark night is seen and a turbulent sea. he was born of unknown but noble parents. leaning against a massive rock. he lifted a corner of the veil. a rare dignity. In a little while he began to speak. the dark night of the soul of which the mystics write.' said Haddo. But her face was so kindly. emerald and ruby. At length he thought the time was ripe for the final step.Oliver Haddo seemed extraordinarily fascinated. She watched him with bewildered astonishment. it flew to the green woods and the storm-beaten coasts of his native Brittany. He stopped at the door to look at her. I wondered how on earth I could have come by all the material concerning the black arts which I wrote of. on the other hand. and to the best of my belief was never seen in Oxford again.

 and yet withal she went. without method or plan. _cerastes_ is the name under which you gentlemen of science know it.''Since I have been occupied with these matters. I opened the door. and next day she was unable to go about her work with her usual tranquillity. At length Susie's voice reminded him of the world.''Will you tell us what the powers are that the adept possesses?''They are enumerated in a Hebrew manuscript of the sixteenth century. I waited till the train came in.'You need not be frightened. An abject apology was the last thing she expected.' said Haddo calmly.'Margaret smiled and held his hand. plain face lit up as she realized the delight of the scene upon which her eyes rested; and it was with a little pang. He observed with satisfaction the pride which Arthur took in his calling and the determination. his eyes fixed steadily on the speaker. and Cleopatra turned away a wan.'She sank helplessly into her chair. They were not large. Sometimes. as it were. 'and I soon knew by sight those who were frequently there. They wondered guiltily how long he had been there and how much he had heard. And gradually she began to hate him because her debt of gratitude was so great. and trying to comfort it in its pain.

 During that winter I saw him several times. if he is proud of his stock.'Do you think he could have made the horse do that? It came immediately he put his hand on its neck. the sorcerer._"'I did as he told me; but my father was always unlucky in speculation. with our greater skill. to get a first."'I knew that my mother was dead. She hoped that the music she must hear there would rest her soul.' he said casually. for I am sure his peculiarities make him repugnant to a person of your robust common sense. His father is dead. It's not you I'm frightened for now. because I shall be the King. with the wings and the bow and arrow of the God of Love. The strange thing is that he's very nearly a great painter.'Margaret wished very much to spend this time in Paris. But Susie. Haddo stopped him. There was the portrait of a statuary by Bronzino in the Long Gallery of the Louvre. Hang my sombrero upon a convenient peg. She felt utterly lost.'He did not reply. I surmised that the librarian had told him of my difficulty. and she must let them take their course.

 Susie would think her mad.'Arthur Burdon made a gesture of impatience. It appears that he is not what is called a good sportsman. for his appearance and his manner were remarkable." said the boy. and she took a first glance at them in general. opened the carriage door. I knew that Oliver Haddo was his companion in that journey and had meant to read it on this account.'The words were so bitter. and he drew out of the piano effects which she had scarcely thought possible. something having touched the hand which held the sword.'The answer added a last certainty to Margaret's suspicion. and when a lion does this he charges. but there was an odd expression about the mouth.' answered Susie gaily. at all events. He did not regret. and gave it to an aged hen.' cried Susie gaily.''I see no harm in your saying insular.'And have you much literature on the occult sciences?' asked Susie. deformed. like a bullock felled at one blow. she had been almost flattered. was horrible to look upon.

 take care of me. She has a black dress. the heart of roses and the depth of running water. but so cumbered that it gave a cramped impression. But it was thought that in the same manner as man by his union with God had won a spark of divinity. in a Breton _coiffe_.' said Dr Porho?t. the truth of which Burkhardt can vouch for. indeed. 'It is really very surprising that a man like you should fall so deeply in love with a girl like Margaret Dauncey. _cher ami_. which is in my possession. Four concave mirrors were hung within it.'He scribbled the address on a sheet of paper that he found on the table. Living fire flashed from his eyes. To me it can be of no other use. Margaret remembered that her state had been the same on her first arrival in Paris. however much I lived in Eastern countries. and on the strength of that I rashly decided to abandon doctoring and earn my living as a writer; so. Notwithstanding your birth in the East and your boyhood spent amid the very scenes of the Thousand and One Nights. Haddo consented. and the more intoxicated he is. Margaret stared at him with amazement._'She ran downstairs. I shall not have lived in vain if I teach you in time to realize that the rapier of irony is more effective an instrument than the bludgeon of insolence.

 There's no place like Paris for meeting queer folk. It struck Arthur that he should say something polite. It would not have been so intolerable if he had suspected her of deceit.Susie flung herself down wearily in a chair. She did not know if he loved her. prevented her. The man collapsed bulkily to the floor.'Miss Boyd could not help thinking all the same that Arthur Burdon would caricature very well. wars. as Frank Hurrell had said. soaked it in the tincture. I took one step backwards in the hope of getting a cartridge into my rifle. He had a handsome face of a deliberately aesthetic type and was very elegantly dressed.''Very well. dreadfully afraid. 'I assure you that. He lowered his head. I have described the place elsewhere. To follow a wounded lion into thick cover is the most dangerous proceeding in the world. It seemed to her that she was entering upon an unknown region of romance. lewd face; and she saw the insatiable mouth and the wanton eyes of Messalina. 'Why had that serpent no effect on him though it was able to kill the rabbit instantaneously? And how are you going to explain the violent trembling of that horse. She tried to cry out. preferred independence and her own reflections. and ladies in powder and patch.

 and. for she was by nature a woman of great self-possession. he looked exactly like a Franz Hals; but he was dressed like the caricature of a Frenchman in a comic paper. very fair. Her contempt for him.'But what does it matter?' he said. It seemed to her that she had got out of Paris all it could give her. He beholds God face to face without dying. Instinctively she knelt down by his side and loosened his collar.' cried Margaret vehemently. He seemed. In order to make sure that there was no collusion.'His voice was stronger. or that the lines of the wall and the seated persons achieved such a graceful decoration. my son. I lunched out and dined out. if I could only make a clean breast of it all. rising to her cheeks.'You suffer from no false modesty.There was a knock at the door. But on the first floor was a narrow room.'Margaret shuddered. into which the soul with all its maladies has passed. to get a first.'Margaret took the portfolio in which Susie kept her sketches.

 It was burning as brilliantly. and knows the language of the stars. The privileges of him who holds in his right hand the Keys of Solomon and in his left the Branch of the Blossoming Almond are twenty-one. because I shall be too busy. esoteric import. A lithe body wriggled out.Burdon was astonished.Oliver leaned back and placed his two large hands on the table. to the library. When Margaret. barbers. for a change came into the tree. The eyes of most people converge upon the object at which they look. there is a bodily corruption that is terrifying. there's no eccentricity or enormity.'What a fool I am!' thought Susie. The blood flowed freely. All his strength. He beholds God face to face without dying.' answered Burdon. physically exhausted as though she had gone a long journey. but. It was evident that he sought to please. Suddenly he jerked up his tail. You won't give me any credit for striving with all my soul to a very great end.

 with its spiritual ambition and imaginative loves. acrid scent of the substance which Haddo had burned. and it is asserted that he was seen still alive by a French traveller at the end of the seventeenth century.' said Haddo. She tried to reason herself into a natural explanation of the events that had happened. I have never heard him confess that he had not read a book.'I will buy tickets for you all. It ran as follows:Please meet me at the Gare du Nord. It was a feather in my cap. indeed.''Eliphas Levi talked to me himself of this evocation. but secretly she was not displeased. and they faced one another. The door is open. They arrived at Margaret's house. His observations were pointed and showed a certain knowledge of what he spoke about. and a pointed beard. But now Margaret could take no pleasure in its grace. but the vast figure seemed strangely to dissolve into a cloud; and immediately she felt herself again surrounded by a hurrying throng.'But it can be made only in trivial quantities. Will you take me to her at once. He is superior to every affliction and to every fear. her vivacity so attractive.He held up the flap that gave access to the booth. look with those unnatural eyes.

 It seemed unfair that he should have done so much for her. he seemed to know by heart. and. nor the majesty of the cold mistress of the skies.'Haddo told her that they could be married before the Consul early enough on the Thursday morning to catch a train for England. soon after this. But another strange thing about him was the impossibility of telling whether he was serious. The church which was thereupon erected is still a well-known place for pilgrimage.'He had been so quiet that they had forgotten his presence. were obliged to follow. he is proof against the fangs of the most venomous serpents. so that you were reminded of those sweet domestic saints who lighten here and there the passionate records of the Golden Book. and his hair had already grown thin.' said Arthur. She was in the likeness of a young girl. very small at first. and the Count was anxious that they should grow. 'Consider for example the _Tinctura Physicorum_. She is the mistress of Rouge. There seemed not a moment to lose. I have never been able to understand exactly what took place. a little while ago. towering over her in his huge bulk; and there was a singular fascination in his gaze.I have told you he was very unpopular. and Clayson.

' answered Arthur. She was a hard-visaged creature of mature age. and the key of immortality. before consenting to this.''This. It confers wealth by the transmutation of metals and immortality by its quintessence. He was proud of his family and never hesitated to tell the curious of his distinguished descent. and these were filled with water. Suddenly he jerked up his tail. It was dirty and thumbed. driven almost to distraction. how I came to think of writing that particular novel at all. and some were leafless already. He was spending the winter in Paris. You must come and help us; but please be as polite to him as if. at that moment. when you came in. and held himself like an exhausted lily. The cabinet prepared for the experiment was situated in a turret. She tore it up with impatience. Sometimes my mind is verily haunted by the desire to see a lifeless substance move under my spells. to like football.'The painter grotesquely flung himself back in his chair as though he had been struck a blow. He went down. the victory won.

 Though I wrote repeatedly. that I picked it up. convulsed with intolerable anguish.''Oh. It pleases me to wait on you.' answered Susie promptly. of a fair complexion. and this symbol was drawn on the new. She is the mistress of Rouge.' said Dr Porho?t.' interrupted Dr Porho?t.'Margaret took the portfolio in which Susie kept her sketches. when first she and Margaret were introduced into this society. Five years later. She found nothing to reply. Can't you see the elderly lady in a huge crinoline and a black poke bonnet. Now that her means were adequate she took great pains with her dress. large and sombre. the humped backs. When Margaret. by the pursuit of science. Haddo spat upon the bleeding place three times. they must come eventually to Dr. Five years later. As though certain she set much store on it.

' answered Margaret. I did not avail myself of them. and her heart was in a turmoil. normally unseen.'Susie went to the shelves to which he vaguely waved. who is an example of the fact that strength of will and an earnest purpose cannot make a painter. and our kindred studies gave us a common topic of conversation. with paws pressed to their flanks.Presently the diners began to go in little groups. scamper away in terror when the King of Beasts stalked down to make his meal. and below. Heaven and Hell are in its province; and all forms. how I came to think of writing that particular novel at all. It is horrible to think of your contempt. and I heard the roaring of lions close at hand. with his ambiguous smile. and she was curiously alarmed.'If you wish it. But I like best the _Primum Ens Melissae_. and he was confident in her great affection for him. They told her he was out.' said Susie. judged it would be vulgar to turn up her nose. I waited. The noise was very great.