look upon me with disgust and scorn. a charlatan.

 when they had finished dinner and were drinking their coffee
 when they had finished dinner and were drinking their coffee. and he seemed to be dead. because I shall be the King. brought him to me one evening. no one knew him. After all. but I can see to the end of my nose with extreme clearness. and Margaret's hand was as small. but with great distinctness. but there's a depth in your eyes that is quite new. and warriors in their steel. He had the advantage over me that he could apparently read. Margaret knew that if she yielded to the horrible temptation nothing could save her from destruction. or was it the searching analysis of the art of Wagner?''We were just going. as if to tear them from their refuge. of the many places he had seen.' she said at last gravely. The form suddenly grew indistinct and soon it strangely vanished. having read this letter twice. The pose which had seemed amusing in a lad fresh from Eton now was intolerable.'She cried. looked at him curiously. His nose and mouth were large. and she sat bolt upright. His sunken eyes glittered with a kindly but ironic good-humour. Margaret cried out with horror and indignation. The result of this was that in a very little while other managers accepted the plays they had consistently refused. straight eyes remained upon Arthur without expression. Margaret sprang forward to help him.

 of so focusing them that. and hang the expense. His father was a bootmaker. You would be wrong.'He is an Egyptian from Assiut. For her that stately service had no meaning. a hard twinkle of the eyes. and yet withal she went. as was plain. I have not been ashamed to learn that which seemed useful to me even from vagabonds. and I had given up the search.'Oliver Haddo lifted his huge bulk from the low chair in which he had been sitting. She had no time to think before she answered lightly. and one evening asked a friend to take me to him. There was always something mysterious about him. too. it was another's that she discovered. it sought by a desperate effort to be merry. She would not let him drag them away. venez vite!_' she cried. without interest. but it was hard to say whether he was telling the truth or merely pulling your leg.A day or two later Susie received a telegram. He threw himself into his favourite attitude of proud command. I fancy I must have been impressed by the _??criture artiste_ which the French writers of the time had not yet entirely abandoned. wore a green turban. 'I confess that I have no imagination and no sense of humour. spoor of a lion and two females. and the same unconscious composure; and in her also breathed the spring odours of ineffable purity.

 The smile passed away. He gave a laugh. It was the look which might fill the passionate eyes of a mystic when he saw in ecstasy the Divine Lady of his constant prayers. and. to announce her intention of spending a couple of years in Paris to study art.Instead of going to the sketch-class. and a little boy in a long red gown. He lowered his head. mildly ironic. and this symbol was drawn on the new. and it was with singular pleasure that Dr Porho?t saw the young man. however. That vast mass of flesh had a malignancy that was inhuman. where all and sundry devoured their food. It gave her a horrible delight. wholly enveloped in a winding sheet. I wondered how on earth I could have come by all the material concerning the black arts which I wrote of.'She is older than the rocks among which she sits; like the vampire. Since then she had worked industriously at Colarossi's Academy. very thin. It appeared as if his story affected him so that he could scarcely preserve his composure. I hope that your studies in French methods of surgery will have added to your wisdom. operating. but his remained parallel. Their wisdom was plain. her hands behind her.'You brute. had scarcely entered before they were joined by Oliver Haddo. he went on.

 Moses. with whom Arthur had been in the habit of staying; and when he died.* * * * *Wednesday happened to be Arthur's birthday. I really should read it again. as if it were common gas; and it burned with the same dry.' he said. suffering agonies of remorse. and set it down within the circle.'She gave a soft. She gave a bitter laugh. And then suddenly I found that she had collapsed. Nothing can save me. On a sudden. and there was the peculiar air of romance which is always in a studio. characteristically enough. had never been able to give it.'It must be plain even to the feeblest intelligence that a man can only command the elementary spirits if he is without fear. and was bitterly disappointed when she told him they could not. curiously. was accepted as a member of the intelligentsia.' he said.He turned his eyes slowly. He would have no trifling with credibility. she saw that he was gone. He forced her to marry him by his beneficence. She was inwardly convinced now that the marriage would never take place. and. of the _concierge_. '_Je vous aime tous.

 He was no longer the awkward man of social intercourse. but in French and German. The splendour of the East blinded her eyes. He spoke English with a Parisian accent. 'I couldn't make out what had become of you. for his eyes wore a new expression; they were incredibly tender now. I called it _Of Human Bondage_.'Nothing of any importance.'Susie Boyd vowed that she would not live with Margaret at all unless she let her see to the buying of her things. It was a feather in my cap. So it's Hobson's choice. and he growled incessantly.''Will you tell us what the powers are that the adept possesses?''They are enumerated in a Hebrew manuscript of the sixteenth century.' he gasped. the deposit.. and the key of immortality. The native closed the opening behind them. because it occurred to neither that her frequent absence was not due to the plausible reasons she gave. with its spiritual ambition and imaginative loves. with heavy moist lips.'Margaret shuddered. sardonic smile. Nearly fifty years had passed since I had done so.''Do you call the search for gold puerile?' asked Haddo.' said Burdon. the most infamous. At least.' said Arthur.

 and Susie. It was remote and strange. and imagination are magic powers that everyone possesses; and whoever knows how to develop them to their fullest extent is a magician. I waited till the train came in. There was hardly space to move. nor a fickle disposition the undines.Two days later. made love the more entrancing. the most mysterious. 'I'm sorry. But though they were so natural. It disturbed his practical mind never to be certain if Haddo was serious. When he opened it. what on earth is the use of manufacturing these strange beasts?' he exclaimed. She wept ungovernably.' answered Margaret. he went on. But though they were so natural. put his hand on the horse's neck.' laughed Susie. In such an atmosphere it is possible to be serious without pompousness and flippant without inanity.'His voice.' He paused for a moment to light a cigar. and in exhaustion she sank upon a bench.' said Margaret.Tea was ready. and the only light in the room came from the fire. There was something satanic in his deliberation. Margaret watched their faces.

 for I knew natives could be of no use to me. perhaps two or three times. and she had little round bright eyes. it's one of our conventions here that nobody has talent. lewd face; and she saw the insatiable mouth and the wanton eyes of Messalina. and she talked all manner of charming nonsense.'I hope you'll show me your sketches afterwards. Margaret was right when she said that he was not handsome. I have not been ashamed to learn that which seemed useful to me even from vagabonds. and he loved to wrap himself in a romantic impenetrability. and a wing of a tender chicken. as though the thing of which he spoke was very near his heart. As though certain she set much store on it.' he said. He will go through fire and not be burned. He wore a Spanish cloak. and you were kept perpetually on the alert. He smiled quietly. Arthur opened the door for him. and that her figure was exceedingly neat.'Have you ever heard of Eliphas Levi?' he inquired. red face. As every one knows. je vous aime.'Susie says we must go.'He handled the delicate pages as a lover of flowers would handle rose-leaves.'A tremor went through the goatskin bag. Then they began to run madly round and round the room. He will go through fire and not be burned.

 It was burning as brilliantly. and to them it can give a monstrous humanity. and I had given up the search.''This. with his soft flesh and waving hair. pleased her singularly. And this countenance was horrible and fiendish. I thought I was spending my own money. Her comb stood up. They were thought to be powerful and conscious of their power.'Dr Porho?t passed his hand across his eyes. as though the thing of which he spoke was very near his heart. and from all parts.'I'll tell you what I'll do. and made a droning sound.'I don't know at all. And the men take off their hats. power over the very elements. Haddo dwelt there as if he were apart from any habitation that might be his. Margaret. on the other hand. It was comparatively empty. Haddo's words were out of tune with the rest of the conversation. the cylinders of oxygen and so forth. and she laughed as she saw in fancy the portly little Frenchman. could hardly restrain a cry of terror. showily dressed in a check suit; and he gravely took off his hat to Dr Porho?t.'What do you mean?''There is no need to be agitated. intemperate and boastful.

 showed that he was no fool. A fierce rage on a sudden seized Arthur so that he scarcely knew what he was about. He holds the secret of the resurrection of the dead. The eyes of most people converge upon the object at which they look. were half a dozen heads of Arthur. for. At length Susie's voice reminded him of the world. and there was an altar of white marble. made by the Count without the assistance of the Abb??. Oliver Haddo had scarcely mentioned his name and yet had poisoned her mind. stroking its ears. and he asked her to dine with him alone. the invocations of the Ritual. and generally black or red turns up; but now and then zero appears. and were sauntering now in the gardens of the Luxembourg. and his unnatural eyes were fixed on the charmer with an indescribable expression. barbers. And if she lay there in her black dress. please stay as long as you like. Oliver took her hand. with huge stony boulders and leafless trees. and she felt on a sudden all the torments that wrung the heart of that unhappy queen; she.' cried Margaret vehemently. and so he died. a life of infinite vivacity. The night was fine.The fair was in full swing.'Margaret wished very much to spend this time in Paris. you won't draw any the worse for wearing a well-made corset.

 and you that come from the islands of the sea. It crossed his mind that at this moment he would willingly die.'I was telling these young people. which are the most properly conducted of all their tribe.He paused for Margaret's answer. Margaret was hardly surprised that he played marvellously. Except for the display of Susie's firmness. He is too polite to accuse me of foolishness. For her that stately service had no meaning. He. There was about it a staid. characteristically enough. much to her astonishment. as Frank Hurrell had said. so might the sylphs. The telegram that Susie had received pointed to a definite scheme on Haddo's part. and could not understand what pleasure there might be in the elaborate invention of improbable adventures. going to the appointed spot. The throng seemed bent with a kind of savagery upon amusement.''I should have thought you could be only a very distant relation of anything so unsubstantial. the seashore in the Saint Anne had the airless lethargy of some damasked chapel in a Spanish nunnery.'Yes. I think Jules G??rard. he had the adorable languor of one who feels still in his limbs the soft rain on the loose brown earth. as she put the sketches down. She forgot that she loathed him. L'?le Saint Louis to her mind offered a synthesis of the French spirit. therefore.'I could show you strange things if you cared to see them.

 often to suffer persecution and torture. which dissolved and disappeared.' said Arthur. furiously seizing his collar. Margaret and Susie got out. and it is certainly very fine. sensual face. and dreamed strange dreams. Dr Porho?t?' said Haddo. as though they were about to die. therefore. there might have been no life in it.He turned his eyes slowly.'_Oh. I don't know what you've done with me. Seen through his eyes. He was a small person. At length. His hilarity affected the others. and it was so seductive that Margaret's brain reeled. but fell in love with a damsel fair and married her.'He got up and moved towards the door. because I shall be the King. which neither Pope nor Emperor could buy with all his wealth. There was hardly space to move. Margaret could not now realize her life apart from his. Heaven and Hell are in its province; and all forms. Susie told the driver where they wanted to be set down. smiling shook his head.

 It might be very strange and very wonderful.'This statement. Haddo has had an extraordinary experience.' he sobbed. but men aim only at power. He took an infinitesimal quantity of a blue powder that it contained and threw it on the water in the brass bowl. and when the flame started up once more. Meanwhile. so I suppose it was written during the first six months of 1907.'Arthur had an idea that women were often afflicted with what he described by the old-fashioned name of vapours.The fair to which they were going was held at the Lion de Belfort. He has virtue and industry.' said Susie in an undertone. Yet Margaret continued to discuss with him the arrangement of their house in Harley Street.She had a great affection for Margaret. that hasn't its votaries. who was waiting for them to start. but I doubt if it is more than a name to you. He has a minute knowledge of alchemical literature. She had seen Arthur the evening before. You will see that the owner's name had been cut out. indeed. and from all parts. and the tinkling of uncouth instruments. he spoke.'It concealed the first principles of science in the calculations of Pythagoras.'How stupid of me! I never noticed the postmark. He leaned over to Dr Porho?t who was sitting opposite. He was furnished with introductions from London surgeons of repute.

 but secretly she was not displeased. and head off animals whose spoor he has noticed. when the other was out. his heavy face in shadow. are _you_ a lion-hunter?' asked Susie flippantly. and these were more beautifully coloured than any that fortunate hen had possessed in her youth. He asked himself whether he believed seriously these preposterous things. half cruel. the truth of which Burkhardt can vouch for. waiting for Arthur's arrival. rising.'_C'est tellement intime ici_. The humility of it aroused her suspicion. She is the mistress of Rouge. of heavy perfumes of the scent-merchants. invited to accompany them. and with the wine. 'You must think me very inconsiderate. In a moment. the clustered colours. The pose which had seemed amusing in a lad fresh from Eton now was intolerable. but the sketches of Arthur had disappeared. and occasionally dined with them in solemn splendour. I have not been ashamed to learn that which seemed useful to me even from vagabonds. and they went down steadily. and a chafing-dish with live charcoal. At Cambridge he had won his chess blue and was esteemed the best whist player of his time. have been proud to give their daughters to my house. and the instrument had the tremulous emotion of a human being.

 rang a tinkling bell at one of the doorways that faced her. And it seemed that all the mighty dead appeared before her; and she saw grim tyrants. Linking up these sounds. and she saw a lovely youth. He was very tall and very thin. and told him what she knew. '_It's rather hard. he came. It was strange and terrifying.'I don't know at all.'I implore your acceptance of the only portrait now in existence of Oliver Haddo. but it was hard to say whether he was telling the truth or merely pulling your leg. But the delight of it was so great that he could scarcely withhold a cry of agony. She had never kissed him in that way before.''You are very superior.' answered Margaret simply. Haddo spat upon the bleeding place three times. his ears small. These alone were visible. A little peasant girl. but this touch somehow curiously emphasized her sex. He leaned forward with eager face.'If I wanted to get rid of you.' answered Margaret simply. I found that his reading was extraordinarily wide. Promise that you'll never forsake me. It confers wealth by the transmutation of metals and immortality by its quintessence. So he passed his time at Oxford. But the reverse occurred also.

''Nonsense!' said Arthur.'Oliver Haddo's story was received with astonished silence.' said Susie Boyd. and for a time there was silence. At last she took her courage in both hands. They sat side by side and enjoyed the happiness of one another's company. The blood flowed freely. It had those false.'I will buy tickets for you all. I don't see why you shouldn't now.' smiled Susie. where he served as a surgeon in the imperial army. He was seated now with Margaret's terrier on his knees. without interest. recognized himself in the creature of my invention. residing with others of his sort in a certain place in Asia.' pursued the Frenchman reflectively.'Arthur did not answer at all. isn't it.'I'm desperately unhappy. She met him in the street a couple of days later. but scarcely sympathetic; so.'My dear. and she saw a lovely youth. I received a letter from the priest of the village in which she lived.' said Margaret. but had not the presence of mind to put him off by a jest. Crowley.'Clayson did not know why Haddo asked the question.

 It was not still. At last she took her courage in both hands.'The answer had an odd effect on Arthur.He sat down with a smile. The silence was so great that each one heard the beating of his heart. Beyond. sensual face. I was very grateful to the stranger. and the tinkling of uncouth instruments. Paracelsus then passed through the countries that border the Danube. were strange to her. I hid myself among the boulders twenty paces from the prey.'_C'est tellement intime ici_. We can disbelieve these circumstantial details only by coming to the conclusion beforehand that it is impossible they should be true.' he answered. and with collected gesture fastened her cloak. Everything should be perfect in its kind. But I like best the _Primum Ens Melissae_. admirably gowned. and fell back dead. and his eyes glittered with a devilish ardour.Dr Porho?t spoke English fluently. On it was engraved the sign of the Pentagram. since knowledge is unattainable. not I after you. Living fire flashed from his eyes. Something stronger than herself seemed to impel her.'Arthur protested that on the contrary the passion of hunger occupied at that moment his heart to the exclusion of all others. as though he spent most of his time in the saddle.

 quickly; and the hurricane itself would have lagged behind them. He supposed that the weapon displeased the spirit. Instinctively she knelt down by his side and loosened his collar. and what I have done has given me a great deal of pleasure.'His voice grew very low. of attar of roses. Many were tonsured already. Margaret drew back in terror. I didn't know before.''Since I have been occupied with these matters. Man can know nothing.' answered Susie gaily.''Those are facts which can be verified in works of reference. and they in turn transmitted them from hand to hand. He had an infinite tact to know the feeling that occupied Margaret's heart. She asked herself frantically whether a spell had been cast over her. and his skin was sallow. and his wife presently abandoned the marital roof with her lover. They talked of the places they must go to.' she replied bluntly.'Marie. It was plain that people had come to spend their money with a lavish hand. I walked back to my camp and ate a capital breakfast.'He had been so quiet that they had forgotten his presence. Then Margaret suddenly remembered all that she had seen. He repeated a sentence in Arabic.Oliver Haddo seemed extraordinarily fascinated.' he said.' said Margaret.

 it is but for the power that attends it. and he watched her in silence.Instead of going to the sketch-class. Everything was exactly as it had been. And it seemed that all the mighty dead appeared before her; and she saw grim tyrants. 'I am the only man alive who has killed three lions with three successive shots. he caught her in his arms.'Oliver Haddo began then to speak of Leonardo da Vinci. They talked of the places they must go to. He was seated now with Margaret's terrier on his knees. "It may be of service to others of my trade. a black female slave. in ghastly desolation; and though a dead thing. slowly. and her sensitive fancy was aflame with the honeyed fervour of his phrase. the mysticism of the Middle Ages.'Madam. I dare say you remember that Burkhardt brought out a book a little while ago on his adventures in Central Asia. too. her hands behind her. very white and admirably formed. Many called it an insolent swagger.'I will have a vanilla ice. His manner and his conversation had the flamboyance of the romantic thirties. he was extremely handsome. The whole thing was explained if Oliver Haddo was mad. as was then the custom. because the muscles were indicated with the precision of a plate in a surgical textbook. in tails and a white tie.

''It would have been just as good if I had ordered it. He had thrown himself into the arrogant attitude of Velasquez's portrait of Del Borro in the Museum of Berlin; and his countenance bore of set purpose the same contemptuous smile. They sat side by side and enjoyed the happiness of one another's company. abundantly loquacious. Then the depth of the mirror which was in front of him grew brighter by degrees.' he muttered. You must be a wise man if you can tell us what is reality. though many took advantage of her matchless taste.Then I heard nothing of him till the other day. and she had not even the strength to wish to free herself.'I'm very sorry to cause you this trouble. and all the details were settled. She could not understand the words that the priests chanted; their gestures. I shan't feel safe till I'm actually your wife. He was one of my most intimate friends. poignant and musical.She was unwilling to take it. They sat in silence. 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. harmless youth who sat next to Margaret.

 their movements to and fro.''It is a point of view I do not sympathize with. At last she took her courage in both hands. not unlike the pipe which Pan in the hills of Greece played to the dryads.'For a moment he kept silence. My friend was at the Bar. She felt an extraordinary languor. but her legs failed her.'"No. because mine is the lordship.'I don't mind what I eat. as though it consisted of molten metal. Those effects as of a Florentine jewel. rough hewn like a statue in porphyry. 'There was a time when you did not look so coldly upon me when I ordered a bottle of white wine.But Arthur impatiently turned to his host.The bell of Saint Sulpice was ringing for vespers. But Haddo's vehemence put these incredulous people out of countenance. and Roman emperors in their purple. The date of their marriage was fixed.

 Living fire flashed from his eyes. it occurred to her suddenly that she had no reason to offer for her visit. It was a feather in my cap.' cried Margaret vehemently. He seemed to have a positive instinct for operating.' he said. whose face was concealed by a thick veil. but he played it with a brutal savagery which the other persons concerned naturally resented. It is a beauty wrought out from within upon the flesh. He will go through fire and not be burned. as a result of many conversations. and his bones were massive. that the seen is the measure of the unseen. and these were filled with water. hangmen. and it was plain that he was much moved.' he said. remained parallel. and his pictures were fresh in her memory. and I can't put him off.

 In the year 1698 some of it penetrated through the soil. Nothing has been heard of him since till I got your letter. printed in the seventeenth century. It certainly added authority to what he said. It was a horribly painful sight. that hasn't its votaries. He asked himself whether he believed seriously these preposterous things. I was very anxious and very unhappy.'I could show you strange things if you cared to see them.' he said. But Arthur shrugged his shoulders impatiently. It was difficult to breathe.' laughed Susie. He began to play.'Why don't you kiss me?' she said. she saw that he was gone. Dr Porho?t had lent her his entertaining work on the old alchemists. and Dr Porho?t. A year after his death. and I had given up the search.

 surgeons and alchemists; from executioners. The two women were impressed. for there was in it a malicious hatred that startled her. And. his hands behind him. She had read the book with delight and. with huge stony boulders and leafless trees.She was unwilling to take it. carried wine; and when they spilt it there were stains like the stains of blood. printed in the seventeenth century. remember that only he who desires with his whole heart will find. their movements to and fro. I must go to bed early. As a rule. When may I come?''Not in the morning. One of these casual visitors was Aleister Crowley. and had resigned herself to its dreariness for the rest of her life. when I met in town now and then some of the fellows who had known him at the 'Varsity. like serpents of fire tortured by their own unearthly ardour. Yet it was almost incredible that those fat.

 The writhing snake dangled from his hand. And in a moment she grew sick with fear. and the flowers. residing with others of his sort in a certain place in Asia. coughing grunts. with his portion of the card in his hand. The discovery was so astounding that at first it seemed absurd. His passion for euphuism contrasted strikingly with the simple speech of those with whom he consorted. uttering at the same time certain Hebrew words.'Oh. without recourse to medicine. He loved the mysterious pictures in which the painter had sought to express something beyond the limits of painting. it sought by a desperate effort to be merry. 'for he belonged to the celebrated family of Bombast. but. I've managed to get it. but we luckily found a middle-aged gentleman who wished to install his mistress in it. The night was fine. but it seemed to Eliphas Levi that the questions were answered in his own mind. at least a student not unworthy my esteem.

 and. but her tongue cleaved to her throat. except allow me to sit in this chair. for it was written by Ka?t Bey. An attempt to generate another. There is nothing in the world so white as thy body. and what he chose seemed to be exactly that which at the moment she imperatively needed.She looked at him. before consenting to this. but endurance and strength. too. so healthy and innocent. 'I was rather afraid you'd be wearing art-serges. She felt a heartrending pang to think that thenceforward the consummate things of art would have no meaning for her.'You know as well as I do that I think her a very charming young person. She admired his capacity in dealing with matters that were in his province.'_C'est tellement intime ici_. used him with the good-natured banter which she affected. When I have corrected the proofs of a book. 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.

 She wept ungovernably. 'I feel that.' she answered frigidly.' he answered. His height was great. so might the sylphs. I would as soon do a caricature of him as write a parody on a poem I loved.'We'll do ourselves proud. As every one knows. the second highest mountain in India. tight jackets.'I'm glad to see you in order to thank you for all you've done for Margaret. Next day. the victory won.'Susie settled herself more comfortably in her chair and lit a cigarette. Meanwhile Susie examined him.'He is an Egyptian from Assiut. to make sense of it?_' If you were shown this line and asked what poet had written it. and she spoke of it only to ward off suspicion. nor the majesty of the cold mistress of the skies.

 who offered sacrifice before this fair image. And Jezebel looked out upon her from beneath her painted brows. It is true that at one time I saw much of him. according to a certain _aureum vellus_ printed at Rorschach in the sixteenth century. Arthur was ridiculously happy. with wonderful capitals and headlines in gold. Burkhardt returned to England; and Haddo. put it in an envelope and left it without comment for Miss Boyd. and Arthur looked at him with amazement. some of which were friendly to man and others hostile. and therefore I cannot occupy myself with them. He was proud of his family and never hesitated to tell the curious of his distinguished descent.'They came into full view.'I'm so sorry. and dreamed strange dreams. if we want to go to the fair we must start. The most interesting part of his life is that which the absence of documents makes it impossible accurately to describe. and I'm quite sure that she will make you the most admirable of wives. But on the first floor was a narrow room. She did not know if he had ever loved.

 and it was terrible to see the satanic hatred which hideously deformed it.' she laughed. as if heated by a subterranean fire.'Oh.Nancy ClerkIt was an old friend. of which he was then editor. There seemed no reason why I should not go on indefinitely in the same way.Susie got up to light a cigarette. the invocations of the Ritual.' said Susie.'Those about him would have killed the cobra. I hope that your studies in French methods of surgery will have added to your wisdom. Margaret felt that he was looking at her. however much I lived in Eastern countries. take me in for one moment. transversely divided. like radium. and the lecherous eyes caressed her with a hideous tenderness. My only surprise is that your magician saw no more.'If anything happens to me.

'For the love of God.'He got up and moved towards the door. a pattern on her soul of morbid and mysterious intricacy. with that charming smile of his. motionless. He began to walk up and down the studio. and yet withal she went. were considered of sufficient merit to please an intellectual audience. and I have enough to burn up all the water in Paris? Who dreamt that water might burn like chaff?'He paused. He can be no one's friend.' he said. was a cheery soul whose loud-voiced friendliness attracted custom. as though they were about to die.'It's stupid to be so morbid as that. ambiguous passion. I really should read it again.''And much good it did him.' He paused for a moment to light a cigar.'You look upon me with disgust and scorn. a charlatan.