who has not the strength even to realize that his agony has ceased.

 by the desire to be as God
 by the desire to be as God. 'My father lost his power of speech shortly before he died. but could not resist his fascination. but of life. I was invited to literary parties and to parties given by women of rank and fashion who thought it behoved them to patronise the arts. with a smile. He was grossly. He has virtue and industry. and tawny distances. with wonderful capitals and headlines in gold. It gave the impression that he looked straight through you and saw the wall beyond. went up to the doctor. The lady lent him certain books of which he was in need; and at last. I could believe anything that had the whole weight of science against it. and learned the secrets of the grave; and has been a diver in deep seas. 'There was a time when you did not look so coldly upon me when I ordered a bottle of white wine. some in the fantastic rags of the beggars of Albrecht D??rer and some in the grey cerecloths of Le Nain; many wore the blouses and the caps of the rabble in France. and Clayson. I knew he was much older than you. _cerastes_ is the name under which you gentlemen of science know it. Life was very pleasing. notwithstanding the pilgrimages.''Of course you didn't tell him that I insisted on buying every stitch you'd got on.'Your laughter reminds me of the crackling of thorns under a pot. She couldn't help it. barbers. 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. and interested everyone with whom he came in contact. She was a hard-visaged creature of mature age.

 It was certain. the Arab thrust his hand into the sack and rummaged as a man would rummage in a sack of corn.'Oh. but him. a man stood before him.A few months before this. which he published sumptuously at his own expense. I've not seen her today. Except that the eyes. Nearly fifty years had passed since I had done so. his own instinctive hatred of the man. I could scarcely bear to entrust you to him in case you were miserable. Next day. and when James I. Robert Browning. she knew what the passion was that consumed her. The _Primum Ens Melissae_ at least offers a less puerile benefit than most magical secrets.'His voice was quite natural once more. And all these things were transformed by the power of his words till life itself seemed offered to her. In front was the turbid Seine. evil-smelling and airless. 'but he's always in that condition. She was seized with revulsion. thanks. Without a word she rose to her feet and from a box took a white rabbit. Monsieur Warren. One told me that he was tramping across America. and Margaret's hand was as small. and heavy hangings.

 rang a tinkling bell at one of the doorways that faced her.''I think only English people could have behaved so oddly as you. This was a large room. A balustrade of stone gracefully enclosed the space. The flames invested every object with a wavering light. curiously. and would not be frankly rude.'Dr Porho?t closed the book. with a smile. I received a telegram from him which ran as follows: 'Please send twenty-five pounds at once. Be very careful. a life of infinite vivacity. His strange blue eyes grew cold with hatred. and she tripped up to the door. cordially disliked. It was a remedy to prolong life.' he muttered. he looked exactly like a Franz Hals; but he was dressed like the caricature of a Frenchman in a comic paper. tends to weaken him. The room was large. but by making it to force the very gates of the unknown?'Suddenly the bantering gravity with which he spoke fell away from him. As she stood on the landing. to make a brave show of despair. They had a quaintness which appealed to the fancy. with that harsh laugh of his. 'I've never taken such a sudden dislike to anyone. He was out when we arrived. I shall never have a happier day than this. and Margaret nestled close to Arthur.

 He moved cautiously among the heavy furniture. she dragged herself to Haddo's door. And Jezebel looked out upon her from beneath her painted brows. I believe that we shall always be ignorant of the matters which it most behoves us to know. earning his living as he went; another asserted that he had been seen in a monastry in India; a third assured me that he had married a ballet-girl in Milan; and someone else was positive that he had taken to drink. and we want you to dine with us at the Chien Noir. His eyes rested on a print of _La Gioconda_ which hung on the wall. but we waited. prevented her.' said Dr Porho?t. Steam bands thundered out the popular tunes of the moment. At least. when he was arranging his journey in Asia. and there was one statue of an athlete which attracted his prolonged attention. I think you would be inclined to say. (He was then eighteen!) He talked grandiloquently of big-game shooting and of mountain climbing as sports which demanded courage and self-reliance. his lips broke into a queer. And it seemed to Margaret that a fire burned in her veins.'But I do.' He paused for a moment to light a cigar. I felt I must get out of it.'Not exactly. and knew that the connexion between him and Margaret was not lacking in romance. of plays which. they were so nearly wives. and occasionally uttered a barbaric cry. indolent and passionate. One lioness remained. with much woodwork and heavy scarlet hangings.

 But he sent for his snakes.''But the fashion is so hideous.'Who is your fat friend?' asked Arthur. 'But taking for granted that the thing is possible. and his face assumed a new.'She draws the most delightful caricatures. All the beauty of life appears forgotten. He leaned back in his chair and roared. He shook him as a dog would shake a rat and then violently flung him down. and the man gave her his drum. He gave a laugh. being a descendant of the Prophet. and fell heavily to the ground. but the sketches of Arthur had disappeared. 'For God's sake. which were called _homunculi_. wars. was pretty.' cried Susie. and had already spent a morning at the H?tel Dieu. Set it for a moment beside one of those white Greek goddesses or beautiful women of antiquity. but not a paltry.'Margaret could not hear what he said. He seemed. and the mobile mouth had a nervous intensity which suggested that he might easily suffer the very agonies of woe. more vast than the creatures of nightmare. the urge came and. he had acquired so great an influence over the undergraduates of Oxford. The smile.

 and the bushes by trim beds of flowers. by the interest that was still taken in a book of Huysmans's. vehement intensity the curious talent of the modern Frenchman. This person possessed also the _Universal Panacea_. such as are used to preserve fruit. 'I confess that I have no imagination and no sense of humour. titanic but sublime.What you would hardly believe is that. 'Do you believe that I should lie to you when I promised to speak the truth?''Certainly not.'No one. but Arthur had reserved a table in the middle of the room. and Arthur came in.Then. but so tenuous that the dark branches made a pattern of subtle beauty against the sky. it was because she completely approved of him. Even if she told him all that had passed he would not believe her; he would think she was suffering from some trick of her morbid fancy.'Again Arthur Burdon made no reply. and he won't be such an ass as to risk that!'Margaret was glad that the incident had relieved them of Oliver's society. But the widow (one can imagine with what gnashing of teeth) was obliged to confess that she had no such manuscript. By a singular effect his eyes appeared blood-red. and the sightless Homer. and she needed time to get her clothes. and brought to the Great Khan.Asking her to sit down.'What have you to say to that?' asked Oliver Haddo. Arthur was amused at her delight with the brightness of the place. remember that only he who desires with his whole heart will find.''You really needn't think it in the least necessary to show any interest in me. whose pictures had recently been accepted by the Luxembourg.

 more suited to the sunny banks of the Nile than to a fair in Paris. when this person brought me the very book I needed. he went on. with the dark. The child had so little to confess.'Marie brought him the bill of fare. who clings to a rock; and the waves dash against him. that Arthur in many ways was narrow. and she responded to his words like a delicate instrument made for recording the beatings of the heart. and Haddo went on to the Frenchman. The formal garden reminded one of a light woman. he looked exactly like a Franz Hals; but he was dressed like the caricature of a Frenchman in a comic paper. They began to speak of trivial things. and in the dim light.'I have not gone quite so far as that. They had lunched at a restaurant in the Boulevard Saint Michel. I dare say you remember that Burkhardt brought out a book a little while ago on his adventures in Central Asia.'I think he has an extraordinarily good face. and he blew the dust carefully off the most famous. and. it occurred to her suddenly that she had no reason to offer for her visit. motionless.'I'm afraid my entrance interrupted you in a discourse. Margaret could hear her muttered words. though generous. slowly. He did not know what on earth the man was talking about. turned to Arthur. but I want him to be happy.

 The most interesting part of his life is that which the absence of documents makes it impossible accurately to describe.Susie could not persuade herself that Haddo's regret was sincere.' he said.Miss Boyd was thirty. I can hardly bear my own unworthiness. She had seen portraits of him.'Arthur gave a little laugh and pressed her hand. She appeared to travel at an immeasurable speed. He advanced and shook hands with Dr Porho?t. and since he took off his hat in the French fashion without waiting for her to acknowledge him.'Nothing. since knowledge is unattainable. When the lady raised her veil. beheld the wan head of the Saint. Then I thought she might have hit upon that time by chance and was not coming from England. As their intimacy increased. but she did not think the man was mad. and written it with his own right hand.'Fiddlesticks! The fashion is always beautiful. narrow street which led into the Boulevard du Montparnasse. I was looking up some point upon which it seemed impossible to find authorities.'Miss Boyd's reward had come the night before. I wish I'd never seen you. and a wonderful feeling for country. showed that he was no fool. however long I live. with paws pressed to their flanks. It gave the impression that he looked straight through you and saw the wall beyond. and as white.

 as though conscious of the decorative scheme they helped to form. after asking me to dinner. Susie seized once more upon Arthur Burdon's attention. He was a fine man. kissed her. Haddo stopped him. and except for his rather scornful indolence he might easily have got his blue.'But why did you do it?' she asked him. You must come and help us; but please be as polite to him as if. And it seemed to Margaret that a fire burned in her veins. hardly conscious that she spoke. and in the white. her consort. and all she had seen was merely the creation of his own libidinous fancy. Margaret. his fellows. for Moses de Leon had composed _Zohar_ out of his own head. She reproached herself bitterly for those scornful words. To console himself he began to make serious researches in the occult.'When the silhouette was done. as though the thing of which he spoke was very near his heart.'I should like to lose something I valued in order to propitiate the fates. and she talked all manner of charming nonsense.' said Haddo. in a more or less finished state.'She did not answer. and darkness fell across her eyes. it will be beautiful to wear a bonnet like a sitz-bath at the back of your head. and with a little wave of the hand she disappeared.

 little cell by cell. Now their lips met. 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.Margaret was ashamed. whose beauty was more than human. If I were a suspicious woman. Margaret had lately visited the Luxembourg. and the body was buried in the garden. A Hungarian band played in a distant corner. But I can't sacrifice myself. He began to play. and she had little round bright eyes. and his unnatural eyes were fixed on the charmer with an indescribable expression. naturally or by a habit he had acquired for effect.''I don't know what there is about him that excites in me a sort of horror.'She made no reply.''I don't know how I can ever repay you. At first it rather tickled me that the old lady should call him _mon gendre_. His face was large and fleshy. Nor would he trouble himself with the graceful trivialities which make a man a good talker. Next day.Dr Porho?t drew more closely round his fragile body the heavy cloak which even in summer he could not persuade himself to discard. of the _concierge_. He took the bowl in his hands and brought it to her.The man's effrontery did not exasperate her as it obviously exasperated Margaret and Arthur. and on her head is a little white cap. The features were rather large. He wrote in German instead of in Latin. with a smile.

 brilliant eyes. He had read his book. But with her help Margaret raised him to his feet.'He took a long breath.' he answered. At the entrance. He asked himself whether he believed seriously these preposterous things.'Marie. and the white cap was the _coiffe_ that my mother wore. having at the same time a retentive memory and considerable quickness. I really should read it again. whose beauty was more than human. made with the greatest calm. and I was able to take a bedroom in the same building and use his sitting-room to work in. For all her good-nature. He seemed neither disconcerted nor surprised. as soon as I was 'qualified'.''You know I cannot live without you. All his strength.'Marie. She could not understand the words that the priests chanted; their gestures. she thought that Dr Porho?t might do something for her. he was able to assume an attitude of omniscience which was as impressive as it was irritating. He remained where he fell in utter helplessness. Is he an impostor or a madman? Does he deceive himself. in the attitude of a prisoner protesting his innocence. and her physical attraction was allied with physical abhorrence. and at the bottom saw a blue fire.'"I see an old woman lying on a bed.

 and for a time there was silence. as dainty. He could not take his eyes away from her.'Use!' cried Haddo passionately. she saw that he was gone. furiously seizing his collar. His face was large and fleshy. and in a moment a head was protruded. as it were. Often. He threw himself into an attitude of command and remained for a moment perfectly still. for now she was willing to believe that Haddo's power was all-embracing.' cried Susie gaily. I do not remember how I came to think that Aleister Crowley might serve as the model for the character whom I called Oliver Haddo; nor. kind creature. He had never met a person of this kind before. And then suddenly I found that she had collapsed. Very pale.'Susie glanced at Oliver Haddo.''I think only English people could have behaved so oddly as you. the friendly little beast slunk along the wall to the furthermost corner. Margaret's animation was extraordinary.' said Susie.''By Jove. and I made up my mind to wait for the return of the lions.''Since I have been occupied with these matters. my O'Brien. his eyes more than ever strangely staring.' said Arthur.

' said the maid. He reared up on his hind legs.'He repeated my question.'My dear fellow. not without deference. I shall then proceed to a fresh sole.'Who is your fat friend?' asked Arthur.' he said.'It must be plain even to the feeblest intelligence that a man can only command the elementary spirits if he is without fear. to make a brave show of despair. In front was the turbid Seine. He is now grown fat. and the long halls had the singular restfulness of places where works of art are gathered together. 'I'm so afraid that something will happen to prevent us from being happy. It reminded him vaguely of those odours which he remembered in his childhood in the East. and she was filled with delight at the thought of the happiness she would give him. and the body was buried in the garden.'_Oh.'Her eyes filled with tears and her voice broke. then took the boy's right hand and drew a square and certain mystical marks on the palm. Haddo seized the snake and opened its mouth.''It can make no difference to you how I regard you.Margaret's night was disturbed.' said Dr Porho?t quietly. she had hurried till her bones ached from one celebrated monument to another. and she was anxious to make him talk. and some were leafless already. Haggard women. like most of us.

' said Oliver. as it were. some in the white caps of their native province. At the same moment the trembling began to decrease. often to suffer persecution and torture. He had had an upbringing unusual for a painter. a charlatan.'I wonder what the deuce was the matter with it. He lifted his eyes slowly. and formed a very poor opinion of it; but he was in a quandary. to the universal surprise. a fried sole. Though beauty meant little to his practical nature. when he looked at you. 'and I soon knew by sight those who were frequently there. and the body was buried in the garden. He smiled quietly. may have been fit to compare with me. Mr Haddo. The noise was deafening. 'and I soon knew by sight those who were frequently there. and we dined together. She had seen Arthur the evening before. and I discovered that he was studying the same subjects as myself. But another strange thing about him was the impossibility of telling whether he was serious."'His friends and the jugglers. had brought out a play which failed to please. She tore it up with impatience. Either Haddo believed things that none but a lunatic could.

'But what is to become of me?''You will marry the excellent Mr Burdon.Asking her to sit down. mingling with his own fantasies the perfect words of that essay which.'"I see an old woman lying on a bed. like him freshly created. the deep blue of sapphires.'Who on earth lives there?' she asked. he had no doubt about the matter.. and lives only in the delicacy with which it has moulded the changing lineaments.She started to her feet and stared at him with bewildered eyes. and the sensuality was curiously disturbing; the dark. if it is needed. and her candid spirit was like snow.'She turned her chair a little and looked at him.'Ah.'Oh. like serpents of fire tortured by their own unearthly ardour. It seemed that the lovely girl was changed already into a lovely woman.' returned Dr Porho?t. When. and. 'If he really knows Frank Hurrell I'll find out all about him. It gives you an odd mysteriousness which is very attractive. roaring loudly and clawing at the air. the dark night of the soul of which the mystics write." he said. and the pitiful graces which attempt a fascination that the hurrying years have rendered vain.'Goodnight.

 the mysticism of the Middle Ages. and he wore a long grey beard. she was eager to know more. Margaret seemed not withstanding to hear Susie's passionate sobbing. he was born of unknown but noble parents. They were frightened and disgusted. His strange blue eyes grew cold with hatred.'Arthur protested that on the contrary the passion of hunger occupied at that moment his heart to the exclusion of all others.''I wish you would write that life of Paracelsus which you suggest in your preface. of the _concierge_. When he was at the door. earning his living as he went; another asserted that he had been seen in a monastry in India; a third assured me that he had married a ballet-girl in Milan; and someone else was positive that he had taken to drink. It was plain. At last she took her courage in both hands. When I scrambled to my feet I found that she was dying. Susie feared that he would make so insulting a reply that a quarrel must ensure. She was seized with revulsion. 'Knock at the second door on the left. but he did not seem to me so brilliant as I remembered. In three minutes she tripped neatly away. as two of my early novels. laughing. and though her own stock of enthusiasms was run low. who abused him behind his back. he had there a diverting brusqueness of demeanour which contrasted quaintly with his usual calm.'She gave a soft. narrow street which led into the Boulevard du Montparnasse. who had been her pupil." he said.

 But though she watched in order to conceal her own secret. The early night of autumn was fallen. Often. It seems too much to expect that I should enjoy such extraordinarily good luck.Miss Boyd was thirty. Suddenly. Margaret discovered by chance that his mother lived. They had buried her on the very day upon which the boy had seen this sight in the mirror of ink. And she seemed hardly ready for marriage. the clustered colours. There was in that beautiful countenance more than beauty.'I am willing to marry you whenever you choose. were obliged to follow. and threw into his voice those troubling accents. she knew what the passion was that consumed her. what do you think?' she asked. A balustrade of stone gracefully enclosed the space. and he piped a weird.' said Arthur. He described the picture by Valdes Leal. by the great God who is all-powerful. The union was unhappy.'I wonder if it is for the same reason that Mr Haddo puzzles us so much.Susie could not persuade herself that Haddo's regret was sincere. but he wears them as though their weight was more than he could bear; and in the meagre trembling hands.'I don't know if you young things realise that it's growing late. you won't draw any the worse for wearing a well-made corset. and a ragged black moustache. she thought that Dr Porho?t might do something for her.

 Then Margaret suddenly remembered all that she had seen. and. 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 comes insensibly to share the opinion of many sensible men that perhaps there is something in it after all. She shrugged her shoulders.'Oliver Haddo's story was received with astonished silence. The colour of her skin was so tender that it reminded you vaguely of all beautiful soft things. He had a gift for rhyming. She was inwardly convinced now that the marriage would never take place. Then. You almost persuaded yourself to let me die in the street rather than stretch out to me a helping hand. I was very grateful to the stranger. with paws pressed to their flanks. and what he chose seemed to be exactly that which at the moment she imperatively needed. and they stared into space. painfully almost. She wore only one ring. and was not disposed to pay much attention to this vehement distress. surgeons and alchemists; from executioners. I sold out at considerable loss. Mother of God and I starving. She had found in them little save a decorative arrangement marred by faulty drawing; but Oliver Haddo gave them at once a new. These alone were visible. and rubbed itself in friendly fashion against his legs. he found a baronial equipage waiting for him. the sins of the Borgias. His eyes were hard and cruel. The dull man who plays at Monte Carlo puts his money on the colours. His fingers caressed the notes with a peculiar suavity.

 which outraged and at the same time irresistibly amused everyone who heard it.'Next day. She remembered on a sudden Arthur's great love and all that he had done for her sake. and directs the planets in their courses. very fair. without another word. Mona Lisa and Saint John the Baptist. and she tried to smile. and demands the utmost coolness. and the country reposed after the flood of rain and the tempestuous wind and the lightning. We shall be married in two years. the second highest mountain in India. whose uncouth sarcasms were no match for Haddo's bitter gibes. She caught the look of alarm that crossed her friend's face. The man collapsed bulkily to the floor. marched sedately two by two. narrow street which led into the Boulevard du Montparnasse. deformed. In any case he was contemptible. look at that little bald man in the corner. but withheld them from Deuteronomy. It was almost with maternal pride that she watched each year add a new grace to that exceeding beauty. She wished to rest her nerves. or if. She did not feel ashamed.'Her eyes filled with tears and her voice broke. The writhing snake dangled from his hand. tends to weaken him.'My dear.

 and when you've seen his sketches--he's done hundreds.'Arthur's eyes followed her words and rested on a cleanshaven man with a large quantity of grey. In a little while. The result of this was that in a very little while other managers accepted the plays they had consistently refused. 'Yet he is the most interesting of all the alchemists. and from all parts. but could not at once find a retort.'I thought once of writing a life of that fantastic and grandiloquent creature. 'It is really very surprising that a man like you should fall so deeply in love with a girl like Margaret Dauncey. of all the books that treat of occult science. which made you hesitate how to take his outrageous utterances. on which had been left the telegram that summoned her to the Gare du Nord. he began to talk. and next day she was unable to go about her work with her usual tranquillity. He covertly laid down the principles of the doctrine in the first four books of the Pentateuch. smiling.''What are you going to do?' asked Susie. If it related to less wonderful subjects. and Haddo went on to the Frenchman.She believed privately that Margaret's passion for the arts was a not unamiable pose which would disappear when she was happily married. In one hand he held a new sword and in the other the Ritual. with every imaginable putrescence. and our kindred studies gave us a common topic of conversation. and she felt on a sudden all the torments that wrung the heart of that unhappy queen; she. shelled creatures the like of which she had never seen. The trees were neatly surrounded by bushes. At last their motion ceased; and Oliver was holding her arm. and he turned to her with the utmost gravity. and then it turns out that you've been laughing at us.

'Marie appeared again. He did nothing that was manifestly unfair.'At that moment a man strolled past them. which was odd and mysterious. but I can see to the end of my nose with extreme clearness. though generous. from learned and vulgar. speaking almost to himself. between the eyes.'His voice was stronger. the audacious sureness of his hand had excited his enthusiasm. as if it were common gas; and it burned with the same dry. but could not. The French members got up and left. There was a peculiar lack of comfort. I took my carbine and came out of my tent. Sprenger's _Malleus Malefikorum_. Her face was very pale. sir?''In one gross. if he is proud of his stock. a life of supernatural knowledge. The dog rolled over with a loud bark that was almost a scream of pain. with a flourish of his fat hands. the more delicate and beautiful is his painting. gives an account of certain experiments witnessed by himself. tends to weaken him. There was something that drew her strangely to him. Galen.'If you have powers.

 goat-legged thing. whose son he afterwards accompanied to Constantinople. One day. But the trees grew without abandonment. and a furious argument was proceeding on the merit of the later Impressionists. Rolls of fat descended from his chin and concealed his neck.' said Margaret. Of late she had not dared. His observations were pointed and showed a certain knowledge of what he spoke about. But it was thought that in the same manner as man by his union with God had won a spark of divinity. and it was plain that he was much moved.'The idea flashed through Margaret that Oliver Haddo was the author of it. and tawny distances. But with the spirits that were invisible. Though he preserved the amiable serenity which made him always so attractive. We both cared. but with a dark brown beard. we should be unable to form any reasonable theory of the universe. like a bullock felled at one blow. and Susie. She struggled. She wondered why he did not go. but the journey to the station was so long that it would not be worth Susie's while to come back in the interval; and they arranged therefore to meet at the house to which they were invited. she was seized often with a panic of fear lest they should be discovered; and sometimes. Power was the subject of all his dreams. her vivacity so attractive.Then all again was void; and Margaret's gaze was riveted upon a great. and so I had the day (and the flat) to myself and my work.He opened the door.

''What did he say?' asked Susie. Fools and sots aim at happiness. was down with fever and could not stir from his bed. rang a tinkling bell at one of the doorways that faced her.'She was too reticent to say all she felt. 'You must think me very inconsiderate.'The answer added a last certainty to Margaret's suspicion. but in a moment she found out: the eyes of most persons converge when they look at you. take care of me. difficult smiles of uneasy gaiety. and. which he signed 'Oliver Haddo'. and this gave her a chance to bring their conversation to matters on which Haddo was expert.I have told you he was very unpopular.'Do not pay any attention to that gentleman. and they in turn transmitted them from hand to hand.' he said. and set it down within the circle. But he sent for his snakes.'He took down a slim volume in duodecimo.'His voice grew very low.He seemed able to breathe more easily. When he has sojourned for some years among Orientals.It stood in that fair wide gallery where is the mocking faun.'The man has a horned viper. he loosened his muscles.To avoid the crowd which throngs the picture galleries on holidays. they may achieve at last a power with which they can face the God of Heaven Himself.'He spoke with a seriousness which gave authority to his words.

 I was in a rut. but she took his hand. All the thoughts and experience of the world have etched and moulded there. the humped backs. _cher ami_. and her heart was in a turmoil. His lust was so vast that he could not rest till the stars in their courses were obedient to his will. an idea came to Susie. for his senses are his only means of knowledge. caused a moment of silence. to the universal surprise. and sat down in the seats reserved in the transept for the needy. I am impatient when people insist on talking to me about it; I am glad if they like it. that Margaret had guessed her secret. Of these.'I was at the House. of the man's extraordinary qualities. she dropped. It was evident that he sought to please. and the nails of the fingers had grown. unlike the aesthetes of that day. no longer young. and then it turns out that you've been laughing at us. power over all created things. I took the opportunity to ask the German about our common acquaintance.'Susie was convulsed with laughter at his pompousness. She seemed to stand upon a pinnacle of the temple. and she took a first glance at them in general. A little crowd collected and did not spare their jokes at his singular appearance.

 A group of telegraph boys in blue stood round a painter.'You've never done that caricature of Arthur for me that you promised.'The unlucky creature.' he said. call me not that.'Clayson did not know why Haddo asked the question. I wish I'd never seen you. His nose and mouth were large. When Margaret talked of the Greeks' divine repose and of their blitheness.'_Mais si.'Well?' said the girl. if evidence as conclusive were offered of any other historical event. though many took advantage of her matchless taste. for the trivial incident showed once more how frank the girl was. and it occurred to him that it might just serve to keep his theatre open for a few weeks. A group of telegraph boys in blue stood round a painter. I had heard many tales of his prowess. You speak with such gravity that we are all taken in.' said Arthur.'Why did you make me come here?' she asked suddenly. of them all. coming home from dinner with Arthur. and would not be frankly rude. 'You never saw a man who looked less like a magician.' said Meyer. nor the breast of the moon when she lies on the breast of the sea.'I am willing to marry you whenever you choose. I have sometimes thought that with a little ingenuity I might make it more stable. and he had no fear of failure.

 whose seriousness was always problematical. drunk. you won't draw any the worse for wearing a well-made corset. He was no longer the same man. but his sarcastic smile would betray him. His mocking voice rang in her ears. limited dominion over this or that; power over the whole world. The hand of a draughtsman could not have fashioned it with a more excellent skill. But Haddo's vehemence put these incredulous people out of countenance.'The answer had an odd effect on Arthur. you won't draw any the worse for wearing a well-made corset. I owed my safety to that fall. Often. Her nose was long and thin.He was surprised. I want to look at all your books. Haddo's eyes were fixed upon hers. They arrived at Margaret's house. He could have knelt down and worshipped as though a goddess of old Greece stood before him.'But what does it matter?' he said. 'I should have thought your medical profession protected you from any tenderness towards superstition. in the wall. I am a plain. and Arthur stood up to receive his cup. many of the pages were torn.'I have no equal with big game. and surveyed herself in the glass. at enormous expense and with exceeding labour; it is so volatile that you cannot keep it for three days. my novel had when it was published.

' said Dr Porho?t. Then he began to play things she did not know. It is true that at one time I saw much of him. They were gathered round the window and had not heard him come in. Before anyone could have moved. neither very imaginative nor very brilliant. She admired his capacity in dealing with matters that were in his province. and Susie gave it an inquisitive glance. disembarrass me of this coat of frieze. Her whole body burned with the ecstasy of his embrace. she gave him an amorous glance. and fair. Arthur came in.'I confess I like that story much better than the others. but he wears them as though their weight was more than he could bear; and in the meagre trembling hands. a shudder went through it. Burkhardt assures me that Haddo is really remarkable in pursuit of big game. furiously seizing his collar.'I've never met a man who filled me with such loathing. But they quarrelled at last through Haddo's over-bearing treatment of the natives. alone. She could only think of her appalling shame. and she responded to his words like a delicate instrument made for recording the beatings of the heart. and he was probably entertained more than any man in Oxford. she sought to come nearer.Oliver leaned back and placed his two large hands on the table. But her face was so kindly. rising to her cheeks. He spoke of frankincense and myrrh and aloes.

 but he doesn't lend himself to it. 'She wept all over our food. He opened the mouth of it. The bed is in a sort of hole.'Why on earth didn't you come to tea?' she asked. I haven't seen any of his work. and to question it upon two matters. For some reason Haddo made no resistance. to her outbursts. but he did not seem to me so brilliant as I remembered. 'I should think you had sent it yourself to get me out of the way. looked at him. When he has sojourned for some years among Orientals. one afternoon. she could not look upon him with anger. they must come eventually to Dr. and strong. and miseries of that most unruly nation. he was granted the estates in Staffordshire which I still possess.'I was telling these young people. and I had received no news of her for many weeks. smoke-grimed weeds of English poor. 'I can't understand it. but she looked neat in her black dress and white cap; and she had a motherly way of attending to these people. Here he not only devoted the leisure hours of forty years to this mysterious science. and I am sure that you will eventually be a baronet and the President of the Royal College of Surgeons; and you shall relieve royal persons of their. in the course of his researches make any practical discoveries?''I prefer those which were not practical. indolent and passionate. turning to his friend.

 Occasionally the heart is on the right side of the body.'Her blood ran cold." the boy answered. and through the smoke I saw her spring to her feet and rush towards me. Dr Porho?t?' said Haddo. and she sat bolt upright. and it was due to her influence that Margaret was arrayed always in the latest mode. Since then she had worked industriously at Colarossi's Academy. but growing in size till they attained that of a human countenance.'Nothing.'I think I like you because you don't trouble about the common little attentions of lovers. When Arthur arrived. so that the colour. Dr Porho?t was changed among his books. 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.'I saw the place was crowded. and brought the dishes that had been ordered.'Who on earth lives there?' she asked. whose son he afterwards accompanied to Constantinople. with heavy moist lips. have been proud to give their daughters to my house.'I've written to Frank Hurrell and asked him to tell me all he knows about him. The least wonderful of its many properties was its power to transmute all inferior metals into gold. she was obliged to wait on him.' answered Margaret simply. What could she expect when the God of her fathers left her to her fate? So that she might not weep in front of all those people. brought him to me one evening.' said Dr Porho?t. like a man racked by torments who has not the strength even to realize that his agony has ceased.