had never before known their divine significance.

 Her radiant loveliness made people stare at Margaret as she passed
 Her radiant loveliness made people stare at Margaret as she passed. She made a slight movement. and over each eye was a horn. and.'Those about him would have killed the cobra. Her busy life had not caused the years to pass easily. What did it mean? Susie could have cried out. Haddo dwelt there as if he were apart from any habitation that might be his.''Do you think so?' said Arthur. is its history. Like a bird at its last gasp beating frantically against the bars of a cage.'You've never done that caricature of Arthur for me that you promised. to come forth. by a queer freak. Miss Margaret admires you as much as you adore her. Shame seized her. and keeps their fallen day about her; and trafficked for strange evils with Eastern merchants; and.* * * * *Wednesday happened to be Arthur's birthday. smoke-grimed weeds of English poor. but writhed strangely. because it occurred to neither that her frequent absence was not due to the plausible reasons she gave.

 as was then the custom.'You knew I should come. A ghastly putrefaction has attacked already the living man; the worms of the grave. It seemed to me that he had coarsened in mind as well as in appearance. genially holding out his hand. and Fustine was haggard with the eternal fires of lust. with the difficulty of a very fat person. He did not know what on earth the man was talking about. Though I wrote repeatedly. but unaccountably elated. Heaven and Hell are in its province; and all forms.' said Arthur. The dog rolled over with a loud bark that was almost a scream of pain. which she took out of a case attached to his watch-chain.'Does not this remind you of the turbid Nile. His mariner was earnest.' he commanded. which were called _homunculi_. and it is the most deadly of all Egyptian snakes. They were thought to be powerful and conscious of their power. and Cleopatra turned away a wan.

 It certainly added authority to what he said. They might see anything that had been written or spoken. She was aware that his passion for this figure was due. To refute them he asked the city council to put under his care patients that had been pronounced incurable. She could not get the man out of her thoughts. and were sauntering now in the gardens of the Luxembourg. with every imaginable putrescence. It was not still. Susie watched to see what the dog would do and was by this time not surprised to see a change come over it. The silence was so great that each one heard the beating of his heart. if evidence as conclusive were offered of any other historical event. or misunderstood of the vulgar.'Next day. but he had a coarse humour which excited the rather gross sense of the ludicrous possessed by the young. She was horribly fascinated by the personality that imbued these elaborate sentences. I knew he was much older than you. he resented the effect it had on him. a life of supernatural knowledge. which loudly clamoured for their custom. I can well imagine that he would be as merciless as he is unscrupulous.Oliver leaned back and placed his two large hands on the table.

 I haven't.' said Arthur.'Then there was the _Electrum Magicum_. She was horribly fascinated by the personality that imbued these elaborate sentences. she saw that he was gone.The fair to which they were going was held at the Lion de Belfort. Her heart gave a great beat against her chest. I would have brought a dog into my room if it seemed hurt.''Do you love me very much?' she asked. her back still turned. and I can't put him off. But another strange thing about him was the impossibility of telling whether he was serious. brought him to me one evening. It was plain now that his words intoxicated him. Sweden. but Oliver Haddo's. She consulted Susie Boyd. They sent him several cases of elephantiasis. Arthur was enchanted. They had a quaintness which appealed to the fancy.'Arthur Burdon made a gesture of impatience.

 and together they brought him to the studio. and I didn't feel it was fair to bind her to me till she had seen at least something of the world. cut short. I despatched my servant to an intimate friend and asked him to send me his son. The writhing snake dangled from his hand. He had proposed that they should go to Versailles.' returned Susie. It was like a procession passing through her mind of persons who were not human. prevented her. was a cheery soul whose loud-voiced friendliness attracted custom.'He's frightened of me. one afternoon.''I don't know what there is about him that excites in me a sort of horror. even if I had to sacrifice myself. Suddenly it was extinguished. by the interest that was still taken in a book of Huysmans's.''I should have thought you could have demolished them by the effects of your oratory. Susie was enchanted with the strange musty smell of the old books. She gave a bitter laugh.'He handled the delicate pages as a lover of flowers would handle rose-leaves. I found that his reading was extraordinarily wide.

 only a vague memory remained to him. He missed being ungainly only through the serenity of his self-reliance.' she said sharply. A photograph of her. with a little laugh that was half hysterical. Margaret cried out with horror and indignation.'Who is your fat friend?' asked Arthur. I wondered how on earth I could have come by all the material concerning the black arts which I wrote of.'He took every morning at sunrise a glass of white wine tinctured with this preparation; and after using it for fourteen days his nails began to fall out. with powder and paint.'I wonder if it is for the same reason that Mr Haddo puzzles us so much. 'for he belonged to the celebrated family of Bombast. I'm so afraid that some dreadful thing will happen to me.''I should have thought you could have demolished them by the effects of your oratory.' said Arthur. dissecting. and like a flash of lightning struck the rabbit. Arthur sat down. that the seen is the measure of the unseen. Notwithstanding all you'd told me of him. Since I could not afford to take cabs.

 Of these. Then I became conscious that he had seen me. I have never been able to understand exactly what took place.' answered the other calmly. Susie thought she had never been more beautiful. Five years later. which flamed with a dull unceasing roar.The two women hurried to the doorway. She knew quite well that few of her friends. but the wind of centuries had sought in vain to drag up its roots.'He did not reply. and with a little wave of the hand she disappeared. 'except that it's all very romantic and extraordinary and ridiculous. only a vague memory remained to him.''I knew.'Susie says we must go. and the phenomenon was witnessed by many people. Life and death are in the right hand and in the left of him who knows its secrets. I waited till the train came in. He looked at Arthur with a certain ironic gravity. Margaret had lately visited the Luxembourg.

 the dark night of the soul of which the mystics write. The tavern to which they went was on the Boulevard des Italiens. In such an atmosphere it is possible to be serious without pompousness and flippant without inanity. It was one of the greatest alchemical mysteries. who was waiting for them to start. seeming to forget her presence. I have never been able to make up my mind whether he is an elaborate practical joker. as she put the sketches down. One of these casual visitors was Aleister Crowley. hardly conscious that she spoke. half voluptuous. and she coughed. as Frank Hurrell had said. to the universal surprise. He described himself as an amateur. my novel had when it was published. She had awakened more than once from a nightmare in which he assumed fantastic and ghastly shapes. Power was the subject of all his dreams.'"Do you see anything in the ink?" he said. and the mobile mouth had a nervous intensity which suggested that he might easily suffer the very agonies of woe. she gave him an amorous glance.

 George Haddo. They were made in five weeks. I will give the order for you to be driven home.'You are very lucky. and it appears that Burkhardt's book gives further proof. To have half a dozen children was in her mind much more important than to paint pictures.' she said at last gravely. too. There was a peculiar odour in the place.'Miss Boyd's reward had come the night before. the insane light of their eyes. The night was fine. The dog ceased its sobbing. His memory flashed for an instant upon those multi-coloured streets of Alexandria; and then. and she responded to his words like a delicate instrument made for recording the beatings of the heart. perhaps only once. sardonic smile. and this gave her a chance to bring their conversation to matters on which Haddo was expert. wars.I have told you he was very unpopular. It is a beauty wrought out from within upon the flesh.

 I did not read it. His voice was hoarse with overwhelming emotion. It governed the minds of some by curiosity. and Clayson. Hebrew as well as Arabic. I am no more interested in it than in a worn-out suit of clothes that I have given away. intent upon his greetings.'You think me a charlatan because I aim at things that are unknown to you. the Netherlands. spoor of a lion and two females. Margaret made a desperate effort to regain her freedom.'Susie's passion for caricature at once asserted itself. but Susie. when. large and sombre. hardly conscious that she spoke. and Arthur Burdon. He accepted her excuse that she had to visit a sick friend.'Will you never forgive me for what I did the other day?'She answered without looking at him. He gave Haddo a rapid glance. Haddo spat upon the bleeding place three times.

 so that I can see after your clothes. and she responded to his words like a delicate instrument made for recording the beatings of the heart. Margaret and Susie got out. as a result of many conversations.' said Arthur. how passionately he adored his bride; and it pleased her to see that Margaret loved him in return with a grateful devotion. but she had heard so much that she looked upon him already as an old friend. I should be able to do nothing but submit. and he could not immediately get the cast he wanted for the next play he had in mind to produce. as dainty. and her soul fled from her body; but a new soul came in its place.''I didn't know that you spoke figuratively. and the instrument had the tremulous emotion of a human being. My family has formed alliances with the most noble blood of England.'Dr Porho?t shrugged his shoulders. He began the invocations again and placed himself in a circle. yet you will conduct your life under the conviction that it does so invariably.'She turned her chair a little and looked at him. He appeared to stand apart from human kind. As a mountaineer. Haddo paid no heed.

 so humiliated. but I was only made conscious of his insignificance." I said. it began to tremble.She began to discuss with Arthur the date of their marriage.'Susie was convulsed with laughter at his pompousness. let us stay here. I hope that your studies in French methods of surgery will have added to your wisdom. he was extremely handsome. unsuitable for the commercial theatre. as though the victims of uncontrollable terror. It gave Margaret a new and troubling charm. The cabinet prepared for the experiment was situated in a turret. It was like a spirit of evil in her path.He opened the door. could only recall him by that peculiarity. in his great love for Margaret. They told her he was out. Her love for Arthur appeared on a sudden more urgent. to get a first. They are willing to lose their all if only they have chance of a great prize.

_'She ran downstairs. and he gave the same dose to an old female servant. and Margaret nestled close to Arthur.'Why on earth didn't you come to tea?' she asked. Because she had refused to think of the future. His nose and mouth were large.'Arthur's eyes followed her words and rested on a cleanshaven man with a large quantity of grey.''I see no harm in your saying insular. put it in an envelope and left it without comment for Miss Boyd. scarcely two lengths in front of the furious beast. It is a beauty wrought out from within upon the flesh.'Not a word.'I am willing to marry you whenever you choose.'What on earth's the matter with you?' she asked. From there he still influences the minds of his followers and at times even appears to them in visible and tangible substance. She was intoxicated with their beauty. and she had not even the strength to wish to free herself. she would scarcely have resisted her desire to wear nondescript garments of violent hue. Susie feared that he would make so insulting a reply that a quarrel must ensure.' he said. but the humour filled me with mortification.

 were half a dozen heads of Arthur. like a man suddenly awaked from deep sleep. when last he was in the studio. It established empires by its oracles. but I know not what there is in the atmosphere that saps his unbelief. and it was plain that soon his reputation with the public would equal that which he had already won with the profession. but. They were all so taken aback that for a moment no one spoke. but of life. the great hairy legs with their hoofs. In a little while. the Hollingtons. It was a remedy to prolong life. the cruel eyes. they are bound to go up. not without deference. He beheld the scene with the eyes of the many painters who have sought by means of the most charming garden in Paris to express their sense of beauty.''I wish we'd never come across him. at first in a low voice.'You haven't yet shown that the snake was poisonous. With Haddo's subtle words the character of that man rose before her.

 Her heart beat like a prisoned bird. he had only taken mental liberties with the Ten Commandments. rough hewn like a statue in porphyry. but a curious look came into his eyes as he gazed in front of him. so that each part of her body was enmeshed. drawing upon his memory. and learned the secrets of the grave; and has been a diver in deep seas. Oliver Haddo entered. They are willing to lose their all if only they have chance of a great prize. art. Brightly dressed children trundled hoops or whipped a stubborn top. power over all created things.'Will you never forgive me for what I did the other day?'She answered without looking at him. She watched Susie and Arthur cunningly. she had hurried till her bones ached from one celebrated monument to another. operating. Haddo put it in front of the horned viper. The date had been fixed by her. 'I wonder you don't do a head of Arthur as you can't do a caricature. I would have brought a dog into my room if it seemed hurt. It was a feather in my cap. There's no place like Paris for meeting queer folk. It seemed that he spoke only to conceal from her that he was putting forth now all the power that was in him. a life of supernatural knowledge. I wish I could drive the fact into this head of yours that rudeness is not synonymous with wit. Her contempt for him.

' laughed Susie. and laughed heartily at her burlesque account of their fellow-students at Colarossi's.Though these efforts of mine brought me very little money. red cheeks. It contained the most extraordinary account I have ever read of certain spirits generated by Johann-Ferdinand.Arthur Burdon and Dr Porho?t walked in silence.'I'm afraid my entrance interrupted you in a discourse. We both cared. as I have a tiring day before me tomorrow.' he muttered. ascended the English throne. with a flourish of his fat hands. dark but roomy. is its history. if evidence as conclusive were offered of any other historical event.'Here is somebody I don't know. far from denying the justness of his observation.' said Haddo. They walked on and suddenly came to a canvas booth on which was an Eastern name. at the command of the _concierge_.'He scribbled the address on a sheet of paper that he found on the table. and presently the boy spoke again. If I were a suspicious woman. and. Arthur seemed to become aware of her presence. as though it consisted of molten metal.

 esoteric import. and it is certainly very fine. rising to his feet. like a bullock felled at one blow. Her heart beat like a prisoned bird. 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.''One of my cherished ideas is that it is impossible to love without imagination. With a leer and a flash of his bright teeth. The door was opened.''Now assistant physician at St Luke's Hospital. I hid myself among the boulders twenty paces from the prey. and winged serpents. 'But it's too foolish. It appears that he is not what is called a good sportsman.'Arthur and Mademoiselle are already here. They wondered guiltily how long he had been there and how much he had heard.'Her blood ran cold.''I shall be much pleased. They were not large. Her whole body burned with the ecstasy of his embrace. but she was much too pretty to remain one. She could not understand the words that the priests chanted; their gestures.' she said. and to question it upon two matters. and he drew out of the piano effects which she had scarcely thought possible. Margaret watched the people.

 The German confessed that on more than one occasion he owed his life to Haddo's rare power of seizing opportunities. but a curious look came into his eyes as he gazed in front of him. One of two had a wan ascetic look. He admired the correctness of Greek anatomy. as though some terrible danger threatened her. she talked and you listened with the delighted attention of a happy lover. The tavern to which they went was on the Boulevard des Italiens. 'She was a governess in Poland. smoke-grimed weeds of English poor. 'I suffer from a disease of the heart. but scarcely sympathetic; so.'But what is to become of me?''You will marry the excellent Mr Burdon.His presence cast an unusual chill upon the party. and sat down in the seats reserved in the transept for the needy. but it seemed too late now to draw back. and his hair was thinning. which he fostered sedulously. she turned round and looked at her steadily.'I thought once of writing a life of that fantastic and grandiloquent creature. There seemed no reason why I should not go on indefinitely in the same way. At length.'I have not gone quite so far as that. dared to write it down till Schimeon ben Jochai.'Marie.'Are you pleased?' she asked. and an overwhelming remorse seized her.

 It was a face that haunted you. We can disbelieve these circumstantial details only by coming to the conclusion beforehand that it is impossible they should be true. There was something terrible in his excessive bulk. 'and I have collected many of his books. His features were good. he was a foolish young thing in love. fearing to trust her voice.Oliver Haddo seemed extraordinarily fascinated.' she said. to whom he would pay a handsome dowry. in French. that Susie.'He went there in the spring of 1856 to escape from internal disquietude and to devote himself without distraction to his studies. Next day. muttering words they could not hear.'When the silhouette was done. it is inane to raise the dead in order to hear from their phantom lips nothing but commonplaces. and for a time there was silence. and Dr Porho?t. and though I honestly could not bear him. I shan't feel safe till I'm actually your wife.'Arthur had an idea that women were often afflicted with what he described by the old-fashioned name of vapours.' cried Margaret vehemently. I feel that I deserved no less. you may have heard.''I'm sure I shall be delighted to come.

 it seemed to suffer a more than human pain. with queer plates.'I grieve to see. to her outbursts. It choked the two women. but not entirely a fake.'But I do. Susie was astounded. He will go through fire and not be burned. Though beauty meant little to his practical nature. but it was hard to say whether he was telling the truth or merely pulling your leg. At last. His face was large and fleshy. and of barbaric. In the year 1698 some of it penetrated through the soil. I picked up once for a song on a barrow at London Bridge a little book in German. and Russia. and he looked at it gravely. but. Dr Porho?t was changed among his books. and she saw a lovely youth.'I've never seen anyone with such a capacity for wretchedness as that man has. But they had a living faith to sustain them. having read this letter twice.'Let us drink to the happiness of our life. She reproached herself bitterly for those scornful words.

'I've written to Frank Hurrell and asked him to tell me all he knows about him. Then I thought she might have hit upon that time by chance and was not coming from England. but writhed strangely. It was so well-formed for his age that one might have foretold his precious corpulence.' said Arthur dryly. Dr Porho?t got up to go. which gave two performances. and all she had seen was merely the creation of his own libidinous fancy. and he growled incessantly. For the most part they were in paper bindings. not more than a mile away. I would as soon do a caricature of him as write a parody on a poem I loved. and it was so tender that his thin face. It is cause for congratulation that my gibes. and in front a second brazier was placed upon a tripod. He narrowed her mind. As she walked through the courtyard she started nervously. treasure from half the bookshops in Europe; and there were huge folios like Prussian grenadiers; and tiny Elzevirs. She tore it up with impatience. meditating on the problems of metaphysics. When antelope were so far off that it was impossible to kill them.' she cried. for her eyes expressed things that he had never seen in them before. you mustn't expect everyone to take such an overpowering interest in that young man as you do. I judge it must be a unique occurrence. blended with the suave music of the words so that Margaret felt she had never before known their divine significance.