Oliver Haddo ceased to play. prevented her.

 Margaret sprang to her feet
 Margaret sprang to her feet. Margaret wished to take the opportunity of leaving him. and she took care by good-natured banter to temper the praises which extravagant admirers at the drawing-class lavished upon the handsome girl both for her looks and for her talent. He did not seem to see her. did not. with scarcely a trace of foreign accent. The visitor. at last. You won't try to understand. She admired him for his talent and strength of character as much as for his loving tenderness to Margaret. When he saw them stop. If he had given her that address. and her physical attraction was allied with physical abhorrence. with a shrug of the shoulders. He amused her. The leaves were slender and fragile. and he felt that she was trembling.Margaret sprang up with a cry. In mixed company he was content to listen silently to others. I opened the door. and he made life almost insufferable for his fellow-traveller in consequence. I knew he was much older than you. and he made it without the elaborate equipment. I have never been able to understand exactly what took place. and the pitiful graces which attempt a fascination that the hurrying years have rendered vain. whose reputation in England was already considerable. Burdon?''I can't explain it. He amused.

 He had a large soft hat. and his inventiveness in this particular was a power among youths whose imaginations stopped at the commoner sorts of bad language. No one could assert that it was untrue. 'I was rather afraid you'd be wearing art-serges. 'My father lost his power of speech shortly before he died. Those pictures were filled with a strange sense of sin.' cried Margaret vehemently.''My dear friend. but he prevented them. They had buried her on the very day upon which the boy had seen this sight in the mirror of ink. I'm perfectly delighted to meet a magician. the great hairy legs with their hoofs. He was indifferent to the plain fact that they did not want his company. He observed with satisfaction the pride which Arthur took in his calling and the determination.' said Arthur dryly.'Oliver Haddo's story was received with astonished silence.'Miss Boyd could not help thinking all the same that Arthur Burdon would caricature very well. If you listen to him. and if he sees your eyes red. I feel that I deserved no less. he confounded me by quoting the identical words of a passage in some work which I could have sworn he had never set eyes on.'Then the Arab took a reed instrument.'This was less than ten minutes' walk from the studio.'Margaret cried out. Their thin faces were earthy with want and cavernous from disease. A photograph of her.'You must know that I've been wanting you to do that ever since I was ten.'If anything happens to me.

 as they stood chest on. But though he never sought to assume authority over her. He did not seem to see her.''By Jove. 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. and I had completely forgotten it. And Jezebel looked out upon her from beneath her painted brows. and people surged along the pavements.'I'm afraid my entrance interrupted you in a discourse. though he claimed them. and had learnt esoteric secrets which overthrew the foundations of modern science. were like a Titan's arms.'Don't be a pair of perfect idiots. except Hermes Trismegistus and Albertus Magnus. His chief distinction was a greatcoat he wore. The revengeful scowl disappeared; and a torpid smile spread over the features. for her eyes expressed things that he had never seen in them before. Without a word she rose to her feet and from a box took a white rabbit. felt that this was not the purpose for which she had asked him to come. and Fustine was haggard with the eternal fires of lust. and this was that he did something out of the common. His eyes were soft with indescribable tenderness as he took the sweetmeats she gave him.''What is there to be afraid of?' she cried. Haddo swore that he fired in self-defence. and Arthur stood up to receive his cup. that the seen is the measure of the unseen. Once. She watched Susie and Arthur cunningly.

'He couldn't help doing that if he tried.''You are very superior. and converses intimately with the Seven Genii who command the celestial army. when I met in town now and then some of the fellows who had known him at the 'Varsity.'Oliver Haddo began then to speak of Leonardo da Vinci. and you will forget your tears. It was strange and terrifying. neither very imaginative nor very brilliant. Susie smiled mockingly. her mind aglow with characters and events from history and from fiction. and heavy hangings. They are willing to lose their all if only they have chance of a great prize. He could not understand why Dr Porho?t occupied his leisure with studies so profitless. She gave a bitter laugh. One told me that he was tramping across America. He was very smartly dressed in a horsey way. hoarse roar.'The pain of the dog's bite was so keen that I lost my temper. clinging to him for protection. Margaret neither moved nor spoke.'That is Mr O'Brien.'He took a long breath.'You are a bold man to assert that now and then the old alchemists actually did make gold. He was very tall and had a magnificent figure. it civilised Greece to the sounds of Orpheus's lyre. and she laughed as she saw in fancy the portly little Frenchman. with its spiritual ambition and imaginative loves. almost surly in the repose of the painted canvas.

Miss Boyd was beginning to tear him gaily limb from limb. taking the proffered hand. Susie began to understand how it was that. She wondered what he would do.'Hail. It certainly added authority to what he said. he found a baronial equipage waiting for him. except Hermes Trismegistus and Albertus Magnus. and to them it can give a monstrous humanity. and I learned in that way that nothing was certain.' she cried. A strange feeling began to take hold of her. and then it turns out that you've been laughing at us. looked at him curiously.' said Dr Porho?t. nearly connected with persons of importance. getting up.'When the silhouette was done. for a low flame sprang up immediately at the bottom of the dish.'The Chien Noir. There were books everywhere.The palace was grey and solid. all these were driven before the silent throngs of the oppressed; and they were innumerable as the sands of the sea.She bent her head and fled from before him. He came forward slowly.'Ah. take care of me. They all wear little white caps and black dresses.

 but.' answered Susie. It should be remembered that Lactantius proclaimed belief in the existence of antipodes inane. and were sauntering now in the gardens of the Luxembourg. He sank painfully into a chair. came. between the eyes.''For a scientific man you argue with singular fatuity.'Meanwhile her life proceeded with all outward regularity.'She cried. They walked along the passage. in the dark hollowness of the eyes.' he smiled. I started upon the longest of all my novels. for that is the serpent which was brought in a basket of figs to the paramour of Caesar in order that she might not endure the triumph of Augustus. but once she had at least the charm of vivacious youth. since there is beauty in every inch of her. and she fancied that more than once Arthur gave her a curious look. and they broke into peal upon peal of laughter. They began to speak of trivial things. when the other was out.' said Arthur Burdon. He is superior to every affliction and to every fear. and if he sees your eyes red.'Don't you know that I'd do anything in the world for you?' she cried. There was a mockery in that queer glance. He leaned over to Dr Porho?t who was sitting opposite. but how it was acquired I do not know.

 When I was getting together the material for my little book on the old alchemists I read a great deal at the library of the Arsenal. Her fancy suggested various dark means whereby Oliver Haddo might take vengeance on his enemy. and he that uses the word impossible outside of pure mathematics is lacking in prudence. He had letters of introduction to various persons of distinction who concerned themselves with the supernatural.Burdon was astonished. and others it ruled by fear.' cried Susie gaily. with wonderful capitals and headlines in gold. The story of this visit to Paris touched her imagination. The wretched brute's suffering. and the Rabbi Abba. are curiously alive to the romantic.' he remarked.She braced herself for further questions. The mind must be dull indeed that is not thrilled by the thought of this wandering genius traversing the lands of the earth at the most eventful date of the world's history.'Don't be so silly. bowed again. I'm perfectly delighted to meet a magician. notwithstanding pieces of silk hung here and there on the walls. Dr Porho?t broke the silence. But he only laughed. 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. nor the breast of the moon when she lies on the breast of the sea.The bell of Saint Sulpice was ringing for vespers. He gave a laugh.'I must bid my farewells to your little dog. The vivacious crowd was given over with all its heart to the pleasure of the fleeting moment. But let us talk of other things.

 and all the details were settled. with a hateful smile on his face. and to the Frenchman's mind gave his passion a romantic note that foreboded future tragedy. The lightning had torn it asunder.''Do you mean to say I'm drunk. frightened eye upon Haddo and then hid its head. they took a cab and drove through the streets. The young women waited for him in the studio. And she seemed hardly ready for marriage. Though he could not have been more than twenty-five. and Arthur. Now at last they saw that he was serious. it was because she completely approved of him. Sometimes.'It may interest you to know that I'm leaving Paris on Thursday. I don't see why you shouldn't now.' she said. but probably. my son-in-law. without recourse to medicine. at certain intervals blood was poured into the water; and it disappeared at once. But Haddo's vehemence put these incredulous people out of countenance. When she spoke. and a lust for the knowledge that was arcane. It should be remembered that Lactantius proclaimed belief in the existence of antipodes inane.''Art-student?' inquired Arthur. becoming frightened. But the ecstasy was extraordinarily mingled with loathing.

 I am making you an eminently desirable offer of marriage. contemned. but there was no sign of her. He worked very hard. She saw things so vile that she screamed in terror. By crossing the bridge and following the river.'Arthur gave a little laugh and pressed her hand. he'll never forgive me. He amused her. Tradition says that. it strangely exhilarated her. The horse seemed not to suffer from actual pain. and beardless. To Susie it seemed that he was overwhelmed with gratitude by Margaret's condescension. like a bird in the fowler's net with useless beating of the wings; but at the bottom of her heart she was dimly conscious that she did not want to resist. At last their motion ceased; and Oliver was holding her arm. one of which concerned Eliphas Levi and the other. weird rumours reached me. They separated. as though conscious of the decorative scheme they helped to form. She shuddered to think of the dull house in Harley Street and the insignificance of its humdrum duties. He found exotic fancies in the likeness between Saint John the Baptist. you'd take his money without scruple if you'd signed your names in a church vestry. She scarcely knew why her feelings towards him had so completely changed. Eliphas Levi saw that she was of mature age; and beneath her grey eyebrows were bright black eyes of preternatural fixity. Thy body is white like the snows that lie on the mountains of Judea. I have never been able to make up my mind whether he is an elaborate practical joker. But you know that there is nothing that arouses the ill-will of boys more than the latter.

'Are you pleased?' she asked. at the top of his voice.'It may interest you to know that I'm leaving Paris on Thursday. with his puzzling smile. to become a master of his art. Life was very pleasing. a physician to Louis XIV. Susie was vastly entertained.'He did not reply. but with a certain vacancy. cold yet sensual; unnatural secrets dwelt in his mind. But a few days before she had seen the _Ph??dre_ of Racine. and his hair had already grown thin. by Count Franz-Josef von Thun. She tried to cry out.'What have you to say to that?' asked Oliver Haddo. becoming frightened. There was in her a wealth of passionate affection that none had sought to find. some times attracted to a wealthy city by hope of gain. The boy began to speak.A few months before this. Arthur was so embarrassed that it was quite absurd. and in a moment the poor old cab-horse was in its usual state. who sat on the other side of Margaret. and in most cases charges. like him freshly created. It is commonly known as Cleopatra's Asp. Everyone was speaking at once.

 He spoke of unhallowed things. a little while ago.'Margaret shuddered. for the little place had a reputation for good cooking combined with cheapness; and the _patron_. But the ecstasy was extraordinarily mingled with loathing. 'These people only work with animals whose fangs have been extracted.'He looked about his writing-table till he found a packet of cigarettes. Margaret.'I think I love you. She stopped in the middle of her bright chatter. Can't you see the elderly lady in a huge crinoline and a black poke bonnet. red cheeks. I'm so afraid that some dreadful thing will happen to me. He is now grown fat. It was a horribly painful sight. at all events. He could have knelt down and worshipped as though a goddess of old Greece stood before him. the solid furniture of that sort of house in Paris. and she. Promise that you'll never forsake me. An attempt to generate another. For to each an inner voice replied with one grim word: dead. Mona Lisa and Saint John the Baptist. She tried to reason herself into a natural explanation of the events that had happened. Margaret stared at him with amazement.' he said. I walked back to my camp and ate a capital breakfast. at enormous expense and with exceeding labour; it is so volatile that you cannot keep it for three days.

 on which he at once recognized the character of Solomon's Seal. uttering at the same time certain Hebrew words. When the lady raised her veil. She found it easy to deceive her friends. I've managed to get it. I found an apartment on the fifth floor of a house near the Lion de Belfort.I have heard vaguely that he was travelling over the world. There were many older ones also in bindings of calf and pigskin. She saw things so vile that she screamed in terror. No moon shone in the sky. Her radiant loveliness made people stare at Margaret as she passed.A day or two later Susie received a telegram. two by two. be good. and she must let them take their course. was the most charming restaurant in the quarter. He led her steadily to a cross-road. which render the endeavours of the mountaineers of the present day more likely to succeed. the most infamous. as though he spent most of his time in the saddle. Then.' said the maid. and made a droning sound.' she repeated. The cabinet prepared for the experiment was situated in a turret. in that which they have of power to refine and make expressive the outward form. came to Scotland in the suite of Anne of Denmark.The room was full when Arthur Burdon entered.

'Margaret did not answer; she could not understand what Susie meant. If he shoots me he'll get his head cut off.'Miss Boyd could not help thinking all the same that Arthur Burdon would caricature very well. partly from fragments of letters which Margaret read to her. dealing only with the general. He had fine eyes and a way. She saw the horns and the long beard. strangely parallel. While still a medical student I had published a novel called _Liza of Lambeth_ which caused a mild sensation. and the acrid scents of Eastern perfumes. but unaccountably elated. O most excellent Warren. There seemed not a moment to lose. but at the last moment her friend drew back; and as the triad or unity is rigorously prescribed in magical rites. genially holding out his hand. She had never kissed him in that way before. in the practice of medicine. a big stout fellow. It is possible that you do not possess the necessary materials. 'Whenever I've really wanted anything. Like a bird at its last gasp beating frantically against the bars of a cage. Her comb stood up.' smiled Arthur. and Bacchus. Then he began to play things she did not know.'With that long nose and the gaunt figure I should have thought you could make something screamingly funny. and occasionally uttered a barbaric cry. and all that lived fled from before them till they came to the sea; and the sea itself was consumed in vehement fire.

' she said. They were made in five weeks. The eyes of most people converge upon the object at which they look. no one knew him. and it was only interrupted by Warren's hilarious expostulations. with his round.''Do you mean to say I'm drunk. was horrible to look upon. playing on his pipes. She gasped for breath. half gay. and learned the secrets of the grave; and has been a diver in deep seas. but the odd thing was that he had actually done some of the things he boasted of. At the door of booths men vociferously importuned the passers-by to enter. I took an immediate dislike to him. which neither Pope nor Emperor could buy with all his wealth.'The idea flashed through Margaret that Oliver Haddo was the author of it. and there was one statue of an athlete which attracted his prolonged attention. and he owns a place in Staffordshire which is almost historic. It sounds incredible in this year of grace.'Burden's face assumed an expression of amused disdain.''It can make no difference to you how I regard you. His brown eyes were veiled with sudden melancholy. by sight. who abused him behind his back. Everyone was speaking at once. Arthur was enchanted. somewhat against their will.

 She wept ungovernably. large and sombre. the mystic persons who seem ever about secret. to cool the passion with which your eyes inflame me. Margaret sprang forward to help him. but with a dark brown beard. and there is nothing in the world but decay.''If I died tomorrow. She refused to surrender the pleasing notion that her environment was slightly wicked. There was the acrid perfume which Margaret remembered a few days before in her vision of an Eastern city. What had she done? She was afraid. very pleased. He worked very hard. His selfishness was extreme. indeed. Susie watched to see what the dog would do and was by this time not surprised to see a change come over it. when the other was out. She saw that they were veiled with tears. She had seen Arthur the evening before. George Haddo. and Arthur had made up his mind that in fairness to her they could not marry till she was nineteen. 'She was a governess in Poland. angered. she turned to her friend. He forgot everything. Within was a lady in black satin. and three times he rubbed the wound with his fingers. more suited to the sunny banks of the Nile than to a fair in Paris.

 and to the end he remained a stranger in our midst. and miseries of that most unruly nation. but he would not speak of her. but his words saved her from any need for explanation. and were sauntering now in the gardens of the Luxembourg. He leaned back in his chair and roared. and she needed time to get her clothes. His voice was different now and curiously seductive. looking round with terror.''Not at all. and soon after seven he fetched her. and her mind was highly wrought. It was dirty and thumbed.'To follow a wounded lion into thick cover is probably the most dangerous proceeding in the world. her mind aglow with characters and events from history and from fiction. because it occurred to neither that her frequent absence was not due to the plausible reasons she gave. I will give the order for you to be driven home. a turbulent assembly surged about her. and I don't think we made them particularly welcome. But a few days before she had seen the _Ph??dre_ of Racine. expression.' Dr Porho?t shook his head slowly. There was something that drew her strangely to him. as if in pursuance of a definite plan. not unlike the pipe which Pan in the hills of Greece played to the dryads. He died as the result of a tavern brawl and was buried at Salzburg. it's the only thing in which a woman's foot looks really nice. He waited till he had a free evening.

 without moving from his chair. 'What do you think would be man's sensations when he had solved the great mystery of existence. and the nails of the fingers had grown.'In 1897. Thereupon. My friend. The drawn curtains and the lamps gave the place a nice cosiness. It was as though fiends of hell were taking revenge upon her loveliness by inspiring in her a passion for this monstrous creature. all these were driven before the silent throngs of the oppressed; and they were innumerable as the sands of the sea. when he recovered. was transfigured. I owed my safety to that fall. Arthur received Frank Hurrell's answer to his letter. gravely brushing his coat. he took her in his arms.'Miss Boyd could not help thinking all the same that Arthur Burdon would caricature very well.''I don't think you need have any fear. I would have brought a dog into my room if it seemed hurt.'"I am a dead man. There was something terrible in his excessive bulk. as they stood chest on. for he had been to Eton and to Cambridge. I am no more interested in it than in a worn-out suit of clothes that I have given away. could only recall him by that peculiarity. you've got nothing whatever to live on. without another word. Then. She recognised that she had no beauty to help her.

 It was a horribly painful sight. and the carriage rolled away. Rhases and Montagnana! After me. She ran up the stairs and knocked at the door. blended with the suave music of the words so that Margaret felt she had never before known their divine significance.'She went to the chimneypiece. Her soul yearned for a beauty that the commonalty of men did not know. The room was large. and yet it was divine. You won't try to understand. 'Yet he is the most interesting of all the alchemists. Margaret was the daughter of a country barrister. conscience-stricken. Susie started a little before two. Margaret sprang to her feet.'Nothing of any importance. and he watched her in silence. and the spirits showed their faces. une sole. listlessly beating a drum.'Susie went to the shelves to which he vaguely waved. I think that our lives are quite irrevocably united. Margaret discovered by chance that his mother lived. He was very tall and had a magnificent figure. Presently they came to a man who was cutting silhouettes in black paper.'But why did you do it?' she asked him. 'And what is he by profession?'Dr Porho?t gave a deprecating smile.''Nonsense!' said Arthur.

'My name Mohammed. 'I don't know what it is that has come over you of late. but I fear there are few that will interest an English young lady. We sold the furniture for what it could fetch. She felt like an adventurous princess who rode on her palfrey into a forest of great bare trees and mystic silences. the dark night of the soul of which the mystics write. for all I know. kissed her. Rouge had more the appearance of a prosperous tradesman than of an artist; but he carried on with O'Brien.' he muttered. uttering at the same time certain Hebrew words.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. of strange thoughts and fantastic reveries and exquisite passions. It was proposed to call forth the phantom of the divine Apollonius. of the _concierge_. Margaret sprang forward to help him. his eyes more than ever strangely staring.'I'm glad to see you in order to thank you for all you've done for Margaret. With a little laugh. what might it not be possible to do now if we had the courage? There are chemists toiling away in their laboratories to create the primitive protoplasm from matter which is dead. but got nearer to it than anyone had done before. Paris is full of queer people. Now at last they saw that he was serious. I took one step backwards in the hope of getting a cartridge into my rifle. Arthur turned to Margaret. a life of freedom. During that winter I saw him several times.'When Margaret had closed the door on him.

 put his hand to his heart. Hebrew as well as Arabic. sensual lips. His nose and mouth were large. the great hairy legs with their hoofs. followed by a crowd of disciples.Though Aleister Crowley served. A capricious mind can never rule the sylphs. which is in my possession. and his hand and his brain worked in a manner that appeared almost automatic. Very gently he examined it to see if Haddo's brutal kick had broken a bone.'I'll write it down for you in case you forget. a black female slave. Susie was vastly entertained. and they were called Hohenheim after their ancient residence. The kettle was boiling on the stove; cups and _petits fours_ stood in readiness on a model stand. and I will give you another. He was notorious also for the extravagance of his costume. perhaps a maid-servant lately come from her native village to the great capital. Her love for Arthur appeared on a sudden more urgent. His voice was different now and curiously seductive. he'll never forgive me.'A man is only a snake-charmer because. and she had a sensation of freedom which was as delightful as it was indescribable. and she caught a glimpse of terrible secrets.'You need not be afraid. I feel your goodness and your purity. Moses.

 and the body was buried in the garden. and to surround your body with bands of grey flannel will certainly not increase your talent.''I don't know what there is about him that excites in me a sort of horror. I called up his phantom from the grave so that I might learn what I took to be a dying wish. which Raggles.'To follow a wounded lion into thick cover is probably the most dangerous proceeding in the world.'He took down a slim volume in duodecimo.'You need not be frightened.' she said. He seemed to put into the notes a troubling.Dr Porho?t with a smile went out. She looked down at Oliver. Suddenly.Margaret had a class that afternoon and set out two or three minutes later. His courage failed him at this point. but in a moment she found out: the eyes of most persons converge when they look at you. He was of a short and very corpulent figure.It seemed that Haddo knew what she thought. I called it _Of Human Bondage_. that I picked it up.'But if the adept is active. and there was an altar of white marble. so that I can see after your clothes. in a certain place at Seville. The dog ceased its sobbing. with the flaunting hat?''That is the mother of Madame Rouge.'Do you know that nothing more destructive can be invented than this blue powder. even if I had to sacrifice myself.

 without another word. She was holding the poor hurt dog in her hands.'Miss Boyd. a German with whom I was shooting. But he sent for his snakes.''But if he sought for gold it was for the power it gave him. acutely conscious of that man who lay in a mass on the floor behind them.'Arthur protested that on the contrary the passion of hunger occupied at that moment his heart to the exclusion of all others. but. after whom has been named a neighbouring boulevard. and the carriage rolled away. might forget easily that it was a goddess to whom he knelt. I haven't seen any of his work. A maid of all work cooked for us and kept the flat neat and tidy. Then. cut short. We know that a lover will go far to meet the woman he adores; how much more will the lover of Wisdom be tempted to go in search of his divine mistress. It ran as follows:Please meet me at the Gare du Nord. 'I suffer from a disease of the heart. There is only one subject upon which the individual can speak with authority. She understood how men had bartered their souls for infinite knowledge. and he growled incessantly. '_It's rather hard. 'But I have seen many things in the East which are inexplicable by the known processes of science. and would not allow that there was anything strange in the cessation of the flowing blood. I owed my safety to that fall. I felt I must get out of it.She looked at him.

 and called three times upon Apollonius. His voice was hoarse with overwhelming emotion. 'You know that it is almost impossible for an infidel to acquire the holy book. but with no eager yearning of the soul to burst its prison. But I like best the _Primum Ens Melissae_.' he said. She met him in the street a couple of days later. pleased her singularly. as though it consisted of molten metal. His chief distinction was a greatcoat he wore. She picked it up and read it aloud.'At that moment a man strolled past them. driven almost to distraction. It was plain. as if in pursuance of a definite plan.'Next day. he began to tremble and seemed very much frightened. little cell by cell. gipsies. His hands began to tremble. So he passed his time at Oxford.'This was less than ten minutes' walk from the studio.'I have made all the necessary arrangements. He leaned against the wall and stared at them. turning to his friend. It was thus that I first met Arnold Bennett and Clive Bell. I received a letter from the priest of the village in which she lived. The atmosphere was extraordinarily peaceful.

 Hang my sombrero upon a convenient peg.''That sounds as if you were not quite sceptical. He will pass through the storm and no rain shall fall upon his head. it's nothing. and like a flash of lightning struck the rabbit.' she said at last gravely.'"When he has done sweeping. She had seen Arthur the evening before.' smiled Arthur. He gave a laugh. The time will come when none of you shall remain in his dark corner who will not be an object of contempt to the world. He could not understand why Dr Porho?t occupied his leisure with studies so profitless. and the man's rapacious hands. 'I've never seen a man whose honesty of purpose was so transparent. genially holding out his hand. Then he advanced a few steps. Arthur was ridiculously happy. as Leda. With a leer and a flash of his bright teeth. at seventeen. because the muscles were indicated with the precision of a plate in a surgical textbook.' answered the other calmly. and see only an earthly maid fresh with youth and chastity and loveliness. but the vast figure seemed strangely to dissolve into a cloud; and immediately she felt herself again surrounded by a hurrying throng. His passion for euphuism contrasted strikingly with the simple speech of those with whom he consorted. looking round with terror. It became a monstrous. He opened the mouth of it.

* * * * *Wednesday happened to be Arthur's birthday. I knew he was much older than you. Something stronger than herself seemed to impel her. at that moment. _cerastes_ is the name under which you gentlemen of science know it.''Now assistant physician at St Luke's Hospital. to the Stage Society. The old philosophers doubted the possibility of this operation. he would go into no details. under the actual circumstances.''I know nothing about it at all. it was because she completely approved of him.'Ah. brought him to me one evening.'Let me go from here. Susie started a little before two. they were so nearly wives. She saw that the water was on fire. but I must require of you first the most inviolable silence. when I became a popular writer of light comedies. he presented it with a low bow to Margaret. whose uncouth sarcasms were no match for Haddo's bitter gibes. and the nails of the fingers had grown. and the further he gets from sobriety the more charming he is. He fell into a deep coma. 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. 'Do you think if he'd had anything in him at all he would have let me kick him without trying to defend himself?'Haddo's cowardice increased the disgust with which Arthur regarded him.'A man is only a snake-charmer because.

 and only something very definite to say could tempt him to join in the general conversation. of them all.'In whatever way you came. She was horribly fascinated by the personality that imbued these elaborate sentences.A day or two later Susie received a telegram. They walked along the passage. Jews. and the evil had conquered.'O'Brien reddened with anger. And she was ashamed of his humiliation. She admired his capacity in dealing with matters that were in his province.She started to her feet and stared at him with bewildered eyes. muttering words they could not hear. An unattached and fairly presentable young man is always in demand. but with a dark brown beard. The door was opened.Susie got up to light a cigarette.'Margaret shuddered. Then. would understand her misery. If he had given her that address.He had known Arthur Burdon ever since he was born.'She was quite willing to give up her idea of Paris and be married without delay. His father is dead. he presented it with a low bow to Margaret. and the pitiful graces which attempt a fascination that the hurrying years have rendered vain.'Arthur Burdon made a gesture of impatience. the terrier sprang at Oliver Haddo and fixed its teeth in his hand.

 Susie. and. It had those false. That was gone now. and Dr Porho?t. It was characteristic that. notwithstanding the pilgrimages. because I shall be the King. which is the name of my place in Staffordshire. They sat side by side and enjoyed the happiness of one another's company. I prepared by the magician's direction frankincense and coriander-seed.'For a moment he kept silence. It seemed that he spoke only to conceal from her that he was putting forth now all the power that was in him.'If you have powers.'I've been waiting for you. He came up to Oxford from Eton with a reputation for athletics and eccentricity. 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. 'you will be to blame. She was a plain woman; but there was no envy in her. as the mist of early day. conversation. he began to tremble and seemed very much frightened.'Now please look at the man who is sitting next to Mr Warren.'What a fool I am!' thought Susie. and formed a very poor opinion of it; but he was in a quandary. but when I knew him he had put on weight.'Arthur got up to stretch his legs. Arthur would have wagered a considerable sum that there was no word of truth in it.

 It is the _Grimoire of Honorius_. showily dressed in a check suit; and he gravely took off his hat to Dr Porho?t. Yet Margaret continued to discuss with him the arrangement of their house in Harley Street.It seemed that Haddo knew what she thought. Margaret stared at him with amazement.'But what does it matter?' he said.'I don't know at all.Then I heard nothing of him till the other day. she thought that Dr Porho?t might do something for her. then he passed his hand over it: it became immediately as rigid as a bar of iron. I felt that.' she said at last gravely.''Very well.'I wonder if it is for the same reason that Mr Haddo puzzles us so much. who was apparently arriving in Paris that afternoon. 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.' said Susie in an undertone. 'but I'm not inclined to attribute to the supernatural everything that I can't immediately understand. the exhibitions of eccentricity. She had found in them little save a decorative arrangement marred by faulty drawing; but Oliver Haddo gave them at once a new."'I knew that my mother was dead. His voice was hoarse with overwhelming emotion.Susie got up to light a cigarette. as was then the custom. and Susie gave it an inquisitive glance. may have been fit to compare with me.'Oliver Haddo ceased to play. prevented her.