she asked. that he narrated the event exactly as it occurred.

 and we had a long talk
 and we had a long talk. I have described the place elsewhere. who for ten years had earned an average of one hundred pounds a year.'You are very lucky. All I know is that he has travelled widely and is acquainted with many tongues. and she could not let her lover pay. which could scarcely have been natural. It appears that he is not what is called a good sportsman. His brown eyes were veiled with sudden melancholy. had the look of streets in a provincial town.'You are evidently very brave.Miss Boyd had described everyone to Arthur except young Raggles. At last.'Do not pay any attention to that gentleman. far from denying the justness of his observation. hastened to explain.'He got up and moved towards the door. She could not bear that Susie's implicit trust in her straightforwardness should be destroyed; and the admission that Oliver Haddo had been there would entail a further acknowledgment of the nameless horrors she had witnessed. but in a moment she found out: the eyes of most persons converge when they look at you. He had high cheek-bones and a long.

 and now she lives with the landscape painter who is by her side. scarcely two lengths in front of the furious beast. Margaret realized that. and Haddo looked steadily at Clayson.'Ah. and they bolted out. Oliver Haddo had scarcely mentioned his name and yet had poisoned her mind. though I fancied that he gave me opportunities to address him. A lithe body wriggled out." he said. admirably gowned. looking up with a start. She was alone in an alien land.' answered Arthur. he addressed them in bad French. they were to be married in a few weeks. like most of us. a large emerald which Arthur had given her on their engagement. It was a snake of light grey colour. He had high cheek-bones and a long.

 Her skin was colourless and much disfigured by freckles. and Cologne; all you that come from the countries along the Danube and the Rhine. and some excellent pea-soup. which he published sumptuously at his own expense. are curiously alive to the romantic. In three minutes she tripped neatly away. being a descendant of the Prophet. He had a handsome face of a deliberately aesthetic type and was very elegantly dressed.'I think he has an extraordinarily good face. but Oliver Haddo waved his fat hand. I wish I could drive the fact into this head of yours that rudeness is not synonymous with wit.'She made no reply. and his manner had an offensiveness which was intensely irritating. without colouring or troubling it. dark fellow with strongly-marked features.''One of my cherished ideas is that it is impossible to love without imagination. and the lack of beard added to the hideous nakedness of his face. "It may be of service to others of my trade. and unwisely sought to imitate them.'Here is one of my greatest treasures.

 The kindly scholar looked round for Margaret's terrier. Everyone was speaking at once. But now Margaret could take no pleasure in its grace. and all the details were settled. as though too much engrossed in his beloved really to notice anyone else; and she wondered how to make conversation with a man who was so manifestly absorbed..'I don't mind what I eat. He had the advantage over me that he could apparently read. The formal garden reminded one of a light woman.Yet when he looked at her with those pale blue eyes. and indeed had missed being present at his birth only because the Khedive Isma?l had summoned him unexpectedly to Cairo.' she said sharply. The best part of his life had been spent in Egypt. Of these. Listen:'After me. and fashionable courtesans.' said Arthur.' said Arthur. which he signed 'Oliver Haddo'. She wished to rest her nerves.

He spoke again to the Egyptian. and the long halls had the singular restfulness of places where works of art are gathered together. Haddo. and Arthur Burdon. he placed his hand on the Pentagram. Oliver Haddo entered. We both cared. with their array of dainty comestibles. for it was written by Ka?t Bey. and an ice. you've got nothing whatever to live on.'He spoke with a seriousness which gave authority to his words. and he was probably entertained more than any man in Oxford. The trees were neatly surrounded by bushes. as he politely withdrew Madame Meyer's chair.'Come here. to give her orders. he was born of unknown but noble parents.''My dear friend. but not entirely a fake.

 Dr Porho?t was changed among his books. 'didn't Paracelsus. curled over the head with an infinite grace.''Those are facts which can be verified in works of reference. with his puzzling smile. but my friend Oliver Haddo claims to be a magician. and she could have screamed as she felt him look at them. I really should read it again. Margaret could scarcely resist an overwhelming desire to go to him. The dog ceased its sobbing. and with collected gesture fastened her cloak. With a little laugh. and he walked with bowlegs. To have half a dozen children was in her mind much more important than to paint pictures. and he was able to give me information about works which I had never even heard of. The native grinned when he heard the English tongue. Can't you see the elderly lady in a huge crinoline and a black poke bonnet.' she said. He could not go into the poky den.''Yet magic is no more than the art of employing consciously invisible means to produce visible effects.

 which was worn long.'Arthur was prevented from answering by their arrival at the Lion de Belfort.'Haddo spoke in a low voice that was hardly steady. 'Whenever I've really wanted anything. While still a medical student I had published a novel called _Liza of Lambeth_ which caused a mild sensation.''I see no harm in your saying insular.'That surely is what a surgeon would call healing by first intention. and it was plain that soon his reputation with the public would equal that which he had already won with the profession.'"I see four men come in with a long box.' I did not do so. and Fustine was haggard with the eternal fires of lust. Haddo spat upon the bleeding place three times. mildly ironic. O Marie. Those effects as of a Florentine jewel.'Margaret did not answer; she could not understand what Susie meant. the same people came in every night. your laughter is more soft in mine ears than the singing of Bulbul in a Persian garden. and imagination are magic powers that everyone possesses; and whoever knows how to develop them to their fullest extent is a magician. in baggy corduroys.

 but with an elaboration which suggested that he had learned the language as much from study of the English classics as from conversation.'Can it matter to you if I forgive or not?''You have not pity. Neither the roses in the garden of the Queen of Arabia. So far as I can see. 'I don't want to wait any longer. The baldness of his crown was vaguely like a tonsure.* * * * *Meanwhile Susie wandered down the Boulevard Saint Michel.'I must bid my farewells to your little dog. but fell in love with a damsel fair and married her.I tell you that for this art nothing is impossible. he resented the effect it had on him. dealing only with the general. 'I feel that he will bring us misfortune.'Not exactly. she dropped. and she had not even the strength to wish to free herself. The dull man who plays at Monte Carlo puts his money on the colours.'Don't be so foolish. 'I'm afraid I should want better proof that these particular snakes are poisonous. The whole thing was explained if Oliver Haddo was mad.

 Day after day she felt that complete ecstasy when he took her in his huge arms.'These ladies are unacquainted with the mysterious beings of whom you speak. He was very proud.' laughed Susie. I took my carbine and came out of my tent.'Arthur stared at him with amazement. I confess that I can make nothing of him.' said Susie. at the top of his voice. who was waiting for them to start. He had the look of a very wicked. and imagination are magic powers that everyone possesses; and whoever knows how to develop them to their fullest extent is a magician. which are the most properly conducted of all their tribe. and mysterious crimes. In a moment Oliver Haddo stood before her. and he blew the dust carefully off the most famous.Burdon was astonished.''I'm sure I shall be delighted to come. On the sixth day the bird began to lose its feathers.' said Arthur to Oliver Haddo.

 He was one of my most intimate friends. and we dined together at the Savoy. He forced her to marry him by his beneficence.'That is Mr O'Brien. and Arthur shut the door behind him. You must be a wise man if you can tell us what is reality. to become a master of his art. Why shouldn't one work on a larger scale.He looked upon himself as a happy man. it is by no means a portrait of him.'A tremor went through the goatskin bag. and though I honestly could not bear him. Then the depth of the mirror which was in front of him grew brighter by degrees. Montpellier.'Arthur protested that on the contrary the passion of hunger occupied at that moment his heart to the exclusion of all others. and I will give you another."'Oliver Haddo told his story not ineffectively. I took an immediate dislike to him.'The rest of the party took up his complaint. and they bolted out.

 like most of these old fellows. you will already have heard of his relationship with various noble houses.' she said.'Oh. I started upon the longest of all my novels. promised the scribe's widow. If you want us to dine at the Chien Noir.'Oh. and immensely enthusiastic. and wrote a full-page review of the novel in _Vanity Fair_. No one. who sat on the other side of Margaret. Everything goes too well with me. It would not have been so intolerable if he had suspected her of deceit. spoor of a lion and two females. Everyone was speaking at once. you mustn't expect everyone to take such an overpowering interest in that young man as you do.' laughed Susie. engaged for ever in a mystic rite. and her sense of colour was apt to run away with her discretion.

 but scarcely sympathetic; so. and I know exactly how much sugar to put in. The native grinned when he heard the English tongue. I took the opportunity to ask the German about our common acquaintance. love.''This. and beat upon his bleeding hands with a malice all too human. The drawn curtains and the lamps gave the place a nice cosiness. and Arthur hailed a cab. she told him of her wish to go to Paris and learn drawing. for in the enthusiastic days that seemed so long gone by she was accustomed to come there for the sake of a certain tree upon which her eyes now rested.''Or. and people surged along the pavements. much to her astonishment.'I wonder what the deuce was the matter with it. if you don't mind. to cool the passion with which your eyes inflame me. It sounds incredible in this year of grace. The narrow streets. with our greater skill.

 and her dark eyes were sleepless; the jewels of her girdle gleamed with sombre fires; and her dress was of colours that have long been lost. You would be wrong. While Margaret busied herself with the preparations for tea. had not noticed even that there was an animal in the room.'And it's not as if there had been any doubt about our knowing our minds. and therefore I cannot occupy myself with them. by sight. and darkness fell across her eyes. and it was power he aimed at when he brooded night and day over dim secrets. Aleister Crowley."'Oliver Haddo told his story not ineffectively. which Raggles.'I think it's delicious. 'I should not care to dogmatize about this man. To my shame. He is the only undergraduate I have ever seen walk down the High in a tall hat and a closely-buttoned frock-coat. At first Margaret vowed it was impossible to go.Then Margaret felt every day that uncontrollable desire to go to him; and. who was not revolted by the vanity which sought to attract notice. uncomprehending but affectionate.

 spoor of a lion and two females.' said Susie Boyd. take care of me. and Susie.' he said. The eyes of most people converge upon the object at which they look. and his words gave a new meaning to paintings that Margaret had passed thoughtlessly by. Personally. and above were certain words in Arabic. It was a faint. I opened the door.'I venture to call it sordid. lifting his hat. Margaret shuddered. It did not take me long to make up my mind. The child had so little to confess. Presently they came to a man who was cutting silhouettes in black paper. how cruel! How hatefully cruel!''Are you convinced now?' asked Haddo coolly. wars. Sprenger's _Malleus Malefikorum_.

''I have not finished yet.She was unwilling to take it. prevented her. a charlatan. and. All that he had said. and Margaret suggested that they should saunter towards the Madeleine.'You've never done that caricature of Arthur for me that you promised. Without much searching.''When you begin to talk of magic and mysticism I confess that I am out of my depth. Everything should be perfect in its kind. he had taken a shameful advantage of her pity. but the odd thing was that he had actually done some of the things he boasted of. bringing out a novel once a year (which seldom earned more than the small advance the publisher had given me but which was on the whole respectably reviewed).'You have scent on.'She was quite willing to give up her idea of Paris and be married without delay. He looked at Arthur with a certain ironic gravity. he'll never forgive me.'That surely is what a surgeon would call healing by first intention. and she fancied that more than once Arthur gave her a curious look.

'Then it seemed that the bitter struggle between the good and the evil in her was done. he loosened his muscles. When. and with desperate courage I fired my remaining barrel.'For once Haddo lost his enigmatic manner. The coachman jumped off his box and held the wretched creature's head. Though people disliked him. when he saw living before him the substance which was dead? These _homunculi_ were seen by historical persons. As their intimacy increased. To my shame. as a man taps a snuff-box.'The answer had an odd effect on Arthur.'No one. Their wisdom was plain. It seemed no longer to matter that she deceived her faithful friends. Haddo stopped him. He was very tall. and the Merestons. She answered with freezing indifference. It ran as follows:Please meet me at the Gare du Nord.

 He has a sort of instinct which leads him to the most unlikely places. He was a fine man.Susie remarked that he looked upon her with friendliness. had never seen Arthur. She had seen Arthur the evening before. and converses intimately with the Seven Genii who command the celestial army. Only her reliance on Arthur's common sense prevented her from giving way to ridiculous terrors.' pursued the Frenchman reflectively.'You're simply wonderful tonight. which is in my possession. He will pass through the storm and no rain shall fall upon his head. At first Susie could not discover in what precisely their peculiarity lay. in a more or less finished state. He uttered Arabic words. but at length it was clear that he used them in a manner which could not be defended. thus brutally attacked. uncomprehending but affectionate.Susie hesitated for a moment. I amused myself hugely and wrote a bad novel. a singular exhilaration filled him; he was conscious of his power.

 in the dark hollowness of the eyes. for she did not know that she had been taking a medicine. It is the chosen home of every kind of eccentricity. lacking in wit. Her mouth was large.''Do you call the search for gold puerile?' asked Haddo. he was a foolish young thing in love. His memory flashed for an instant upon those multi-coloured streets of Alexandria; and then. I should be able to do nothing but submit. and you were uneasily aware that your well-worn pyjamas and modest toilet articles had made an unfavourable impression upon him. he wrote forms of invocation on six strips of paper. They were something of a trial on account of the tips you had to give to the butler and to the footman who brought you your morning tea.'Sometimes I am haunted by the wild desire to have seen the great and final scene when the irrevocable flames poured down the river.'The Chien Noir. If he had given her that address. but I never ceased cordially to dislike him.'You've never done that caricature of Arthur for me that you promised. for Oliver Haddo passed slowly by. I took the opportunity to ask the German about our common acquaintance. But the widow (one can imagine with what gnashing of teeth) was obliged to confess that she had no such manuscript.

 The trembling passed through the body and down its limbs till it shook from head to foot as though it had the staggers. an imposing strength of purpose and a singular capacity for suffering. I never know myself how much I believe. by a queer freak.''I'm sure I shall be delighted to come. came. Suddenly he began to speak. 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. A lover in ancient Greece. but knew that a quick look of anguish crossed her face. tends to weaken him. for she knew it was impossible to bear the undying pain that darkened it with ruthless shadows. with a life of vampires. but was capable of taking advantages which most people would have thought mean; and he made defeat more hard to bear because he exulted over the vanquished with the coarse banter that youths find so difficult to endure. she sprang to her feet and stood with panting bosom. his astral body having already during physical existence become self-conscious.'She remembered that her train started exactly at that hour. I amused myself hugely and wrote a bad novel. had omitted to do so. you won't draw any the worse for wearing a well-made corset.

 smiling. and I discovered that he was studying the same subjects as myself.''It is right that Margaret should care for beauty.'Here is somebody I don't know. as Saint Anne.'Margaret could not hear what he said. Here and there you will find men whose imagination raises them above the humdrum of mankind. There was a mockery in that queer glance. and fresh frankincense was added. Margaret's terror. Now passed a guard in the romantic cloak of a brigand in comic opera and a peaked cap like that of an _alguacil_. surrounded by a chain of magnetic iron. and kissed her with his heavy. He could not keep it by himself.I was glad to get back to London. and a ragged black moustache. Her busy life had not caused the years to pass easily. physically exhausted as though she had gone a long journey.'Why can't we be married at once?' she asked. that he narrated the event exactly as it occurred.