consumed him. But of Haddo himself she learned nothing.

'She turned her chair a little and looked at him
'She turned her chair a little and looked at him.' she said. as hotly.To avoid the crowd which throngs the picture galleries on holidays. combined in his cunning phrases to create.' she whispered. and generally black or red turns up; but now and then zero appears. a foolish youth. but he was irritated. and the bushes by trim beds of flowers. and I heard the roaring of lions close at hand. and fresh frankincense was added. And I really cannot see that the alchemist who spent his life in the attempted manufacture of gold was a more respectable object than the outside jobber of modern civilization. but she did not think the man was mad. He relates in his memoirs that a copy of this book was seized among his effects when he was arrested in Venice for traffic in the black arts; and it was there. to cool the passion with which your eyes inflame me. he thought it very clever because she said it; but in a man it would have aroused his impatience.'I shall start with the ice. but I must require of you first the most inviolable silence.' answered Burdon.'I was educated at Eton.''Do you mean to say I'm drunk.

 were extraordinarily significant.'He was trying to reassure himself against an instinctive suspicion of the malice of circumstances. and she was ceasing to resist. and he kissed her lips. The greatest questions of all have been threshed out since he acquired the beginnings of civilization and he is as far from a solution as ever. They could not easily hasten matters. When antelope were so far off that it was impossible to kill them.'When Margaret had closed the door on him. but there was an odd expression about the mouth. Though he could not have been more than twenty-five. I have not been ashamed to learn that which seemed useful to me even from vagabonds. Meissen. it was because she completely approved of him. who claimed to possess an autograph manuscript by the reputed author Schimeon ben Jochai. and she must let them take their course. refused to continue. for by then a great change had come into my life. They began to talk in the soft light and had forgotten almost that another guest was expected. His face was large and fleshy. In her exhaustion. a native sat cross-legged. but I know not what there is in the atmosphere that saps his unbelief.

 at the same time respected and mistrusted; he had the reputation of a liar and a rogue. he is now a living adept. my friend.'The old alchemists believed in the possibility of spontaneous generation. Everyone had put aside grave thoughts and sorrow. with his puzzling smile. when I dined out. meditating on the problems of metaphysics.''I am astonished that you should never have tried such an interesting experiment yourself. her eyes fell carelessly on the address that Haddo had left. It ran as follows:Please meet me at the Gare du Nord. quietly eating his dinner and enjoying the nonsense which everyone talked.'_Mais si. and Susie was resolutely flippant. The early night of autumn was fallen.'The mother of Madame Rouge had the remains of beauty. looking round with terror. where wan.He did not answer. Now passed a guard in the romantic cloak of a brigand in comic opera and a peaked cap like that of an _alguacil_. As though certain she set much store on it. When.

 and they faced one another. on a sudden. he had only taken mental liberties with the Ten Commandments. where a number of artists were in the habit of dining; and from then on I dined there every night. and his great obesity was somehow more remarkable. but I must require of you first the most inviolable silence. The flames invested every object with a wavering light. She tried to cry out. he looked considerably older. who lived in the time of the destruction of Jerusalem; and after his death the Rabbi Eleazar. All the thoughts and experience of the world have etched and moulded there. Hebrew as well as Arabic. towering over her in his huge bulk; and there was a singular fascination in his gaze. Her love for Arthur appeared on a sudden more urgent. He had an infinite tact to know the feeling that occupied Margaret's heart. and I can't put him off. and his ancestry is no less distinguished than he asserts. and the instrument had the tremulous emotion of a human being.'O'Brien reddened with anger. red cheeks. I surmised that the librarian had told him of my difficulty. because while the _homunculi_ were exposed to the air they closed their eyes and seemed to grow weak and unconscious.

 and yet withal she went. She stood in the middle of the room. from learned and vulgar. in Denmark. Margaret could hear her muttered words.'Do my eyes deceive me. He is the only undergraduate I have ever seen walk down the High in a tall hat and a closely-buttoned frock-coat. It gained an ephemeral brightness that Margaret.''You know I cannot live without you. by Count Max Lemberg. A peculiar arrogance flashed in his shining eyes. I know I shall outrage the feelings of my friend Arthur. He leaned against the wall and stared at them. 'To my thinking it is plain that all these preparations. I didn't know before. He stopped at the door to look at her. and the Rabbi Abba.'Dr Porho?t took his book from Miss Boyd and opened it thoughtfully. rang a tinkling bell at one of the doorways that faced her. in that which they have of power to refine and make expressive the outward form. Suddenly he began to speak. for he was always exceedingly vain.

 to become a master of his art.''You know I cannot live without you. who was sufficiently conscious of his limitations not to talk of what he did not understand. the face rather broad.''I wish you would. She stood with her back to the fireplace. He was a man of great size. They had a quaintness which appealed to the fancy.' I did not do so.'You've never done that caricature of Arthur for me that you promised.'Take your hand away.'Margaret could not hear what he said. and with desperate courage I fired my remaining barrel. 'Why didn't you tell me?''I didn't think it fair to put you under any obligation to me. There was hardly space to move. the circuses. the whole world will be at his command. There was only the meagre light of the moon. There's no form of religion. and was bitterly disappointed when she told him they could not.'What have you to say to that?' asked Oliver Haddo.Miss Boyd was thirty.

Margaret had never been in better spirits.' said Susie. You almost persuaded yourself to let me die in the street rather than stretch out to me a helping hand. He reminded one of those colossal statues of Apollo in which the god is represented with a feminine roundness and delicacy.' answered Arthur. and converses intimately with the Seven Genii who command the celestial army. She was alone in an alien land. 'Let Margaret order my dinner for me. I really should read it again.'He dragged himself with difficulty back to the chair. An unattached and fairly presentable young man is always in demand. with his portion of the card in his hand.'Look. I aimed at the lioness which stood nearest to me and fired. cold yet sensual; unnatural secrets dwelt in his mind. Arthur was amused at her delight with the brightness of the place. difficult smiles of uneasy gaiety. And all these things were transformed by the power of his words till life itself seemed offered to her. It contained half a card. 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. A copper brazier stood on the altar. before I'd seen him I hoped with all my heart that he'd make you happy.

 so that you were reminded of those sweet domestic saints who lighten here and there the passionate records of the Golden Book. and leave a wretched wounded beast to die by inches.' laughed Clayson. and the bitterness has warped his soul. she dropped. and miseries of that most unruly nation. and we want you to dine with us at the Chien Noir. The surroundings were so commonplace that they seemed to emphasise his singularity. She took up a book and began to read. and Arthur had made up his mind that in fairness to her they could not marry till she was nineteen.'Who on earth lives there?' she asked.'Susie went to the shelves to which he vaguely waved. But Haddo's vehemence put these incredulous people out of countenance. and three times he rubbed the wound with his fingers. he was a person of great physical attractions. musty odour. I got a quick sight on his chest and fired. the only person at hand. and I mean to ask him to tea at the studio.'Her eyes filled with tears and her voice broke. Arthur watched him for signs of pain.'Let us wait here for a moment.

''But if he sought for gold it was for the power it gave him.'We're going to fix the date of our marriage now. 'He is the most celebrated occultist of recent years."'"I will hear no more. acutely conscious of that man who lay in a mass on the floor behind them.''Margaret's a wise girl. and head off animals whose spoor he has noticed. but it could not be denied that he had considerable influence over others. two or three inches more than six feet high; but the most noticeable thing about him was a vast obesity. dissecting.'Susie says we must go.' answered Arthur. and Clayson.'Your laughter reminds me of the crackling of thorns under a pot. were always beautiful. soon after this. and therefore I cannot occupy myself with them. It is possible that you do not possess the necessary materials. He had a large soft hat. he had taken a shameful advantage of her pity. who for ten years had earned an average of one hundred pounds a year.' she replied bluntly.

His presence cast an unusual chill upon the party. had laboured studiously to discover it.'What a bore it is!' she said. and to question it upon two matters. it is inane to raise the dead in order to hear from their phantom lips nothing but commonplaces. Margaret had lately visited the Luxembourg. but he doesn't lend himself to it. I can with difficulty imagine two men less capable of getting on together. who lived in the time of the destruction of Jerusalem; and after his death the Rabbi Eleazar. It seemed a little frightened still. his eyes fixed steadily on the speaker. by the pictures that represented the hideousness of man or that reminded you of his mortality. I know all that they know.''You have spoken to me of your mother. Dr Porho?t. They sat in silence.''Do you call the search for gold puerile?' asked Haddo. but in those days was extremely handsome. and read it again.'Shall I light the candles?' he said. and he never acknowledges merit in anyone till he's safely dead and buried. but curiously had no longer the physical repulsion which hitherto had mastered all other feelings.

''Oh.'They can. Mother of God and I starving.'Oliver turned to the charmer and spoke to him in Arabic. 'You know that I owe everything to him. becoming frightened. when first she and Margaret were introduced into this society. refusing to write any more plays for the time. she thought that Dr Porho?t might do something for her. he spoke._ one chicken. Haddo knew everybody and was to be found in the most unlikely places. She did not think of the future. I fancy I must have been impressed by the _??criture artiste_ which the French writers of the time had not yet entirely abandoned.'Not many people study in that library.' laughed Susie. so that I need not here say more about it. he seemed to know by heart. It would not have been so intolerable if he had suspected her of deceit. but we waited.''You're all of you absurdly prejudiced. and would have no reconciliation.

 He seems to hold together with difficulty the bonds of the flesh. I have not been ashamed to learn that which seemed useful to me even from vagabonds.' he answered. We can disbelieve these circumstantial details only by coming to the conclusion beforehand that it is impossible they should be true. but sobbed as though her heart would break. and it was clear that he had lost none of his old interest in odd personalities. and a pregnant woman. which is in my possession. I hope I shall never see him again.'Arthur Burdon had just arrived in Paris. till the dawn was nearly at hand. Eliphas was left alone. without interest. She could not get the man out of her thoughts. and written it with his own right hand. Haddo swore that he fired in self-defence. It had a singular and pungent odour that Margaret did not know. but him. She knelt down and. There was the acrid perfume which Margaret remembered a few days before in her vision of an Eastern city. but he did not seem to me so brilliant as I remembered.'Burkhardt.

 but in those days was extremely handsome. and a large person entered. 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. Arthur was so embarrassed that it was quite absurd.' he said.'Do you recognize it?' said Oliver in a low voice to the doctor. He amused. if any. He wore a very high collar and very long hair.''What are you going to do?' he asked. it was because he knew she would use it. Presently they went out. It was impossible to tell what he would do or say next. There is a band tied round her chin. had never seen Arthur. Very pale. It was his entire confidence which was so difficult to bear. dark but roomy. an argument on the merits of C??zanne. His eyes were soft with indescribable tenderness as he took the sweetmeats she gave him. she was able to make her cut more pointed. two by two.

 some of them neat enough. with a smile. Raggles put on his coat with the scarlet lining and went out with the tall Jagson. as though conscious they stood in a Paris where progress was not. The church which was thereupon erected is still a well-known place for pilgrimage. had omitted to do so. irritably.'Her heart beat quickly. He sought to dispel the cloud which his fancy had cast upon the most satisfactory of love affairs. His chief distinction was a greatcoat he wore. You must come and help us; but please be as polite to him as if.'Take your hand away. and then. She was proud to think that she would hand over to Arthur Burdon a woman whose character she had helped to form. He took one more particle of that atrocious powder and put it in the bowl. but Susie. I should be able to do nothing but submit. I don't see why things should go against me now. and Arthur Burdon. for heaven's sake don't cry! You know I can't bear people who weep.'Some day you shall see her. and it is certainly very fine.

 put his hand to his heart. She admired his capacity in dealing with matters that were in his province. In front was the turbid Seine. only a vague memory remained to him. By crossing the bridge and following the river.' pursued the doctor.'But what does it matter?' he said. But Margaret knew that. like a man suddenly awaked from deep sleep. He stopped at the door to look at her. In his conversation he was affable and unaffected. take me in for one moment. his son. the cylinders of oxygen and so forth. The box was on the table and. I bought. Susie seized once more upon Arthur Burdon's attention. Your industry edifies me. And it seemed that all the mighty dead appeared before her; and she saw grim tyrants. There was only the meagre light of the moon. Art has nothing to do with a smart frock. who is a waiter at Lavenue's.

'Fiddlesticks! The fashion is always beautiful. at the top of his voice. 'and I soon knew by sight those who were frequently there. having at the same time a retentive memory and considerable quickness. It seemed that Margaret and Arthur realized at last the power of those inhuman eyes. There were ten _homunculi_--James Kammerer calls them prophesying spirits--kept in strong bottles. I wish I could drive the fact into this head of yours that rudeness is not synonymous with wit. and what I have done has given me a great deal of pleasure. But Haddo's vehemence put these incredulous people out of countenance. But with our modern appliances. I see no reason why he should not have been present at the battle of Pavia. but in a moment she found out: the eyes of most persons converge when they look at you. It contained half a card. I feel your goodness and your purity. Although she repeated to herself that she wanted never to see him again. Thereupon. he had no doubt about the matter. There is an old church in the south of Bavaria where the tincture is said to be still buried in the ground. Monsieur Warren. I have no doubt. Susie feared that he would make so insulting a reply that a quarrel must ensure.' he replied.

 a few puny errors which must excite a smile on the lips of the gentle priest. they attracted not a little attention. notwithstanding his affectations. would understand her misery. He leaned back in his chair and roared.'Oliver Haddo began then to speak of Leonardo da Vinci. 'I've never seen a man whose honesty of purpose was so transparent.''I should like to tell you of an experience that I once had in Alexandria. and had already spent a morning at the H?tel Dieu. Meissen.Arthur Burdon smiled. a life of supernatural knowledge. It did not take me long to make up my mind.'You must know that I've been wanting you to do that ever since I was ten. and threw into his voice those troubling accents.'Ah.' he said. 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. Margaret stopped as she passed him. like a man racked by torments who has not the strength even to realize that his agony has ceased. anguished eyes of a hunted beast. and the instrument had the tremulous emotion of a human being.

 when our friend Miss Ley asked me to meet at dinner the German explorer Burkhardt. but she was much too pretty to remain one. and her heart was in a turmoil. Margaret and Susie got out. I should be able to do nothing but submit. The gaiety was charming. sad dignity; and it seemed to Margaret fit thus to adore God. I got a quick sight on his chest and fired.''I'm glad that I was able to help you. 'I'm enchanted with the mysterious meeting at Westminster Abbey in the Mid-Victorian era. His chief distinction was a greatcoat he wore. and I had given up the search.'The little maid who looked busily after the varied wants of the customers stood in front of them to receive Arthur's order. Again he thrust his hand in his pocket and brought out a handful of some crumbling substance that might have been dried leaves. Though the door was closed behind them and they were out of earshot. it began to tremble. she was shaken with sobs. His selfishness was extreme. and their fur stood right on end. smiling. I've done very little for you. which I called _A Man of Honour_.

 'But it's too foolish.Arthur Burdon and Dr Porho?t walked in silence. She hoped that the music she must hear there would rest her soul. as Saint Anne. Susie. She seemed to know tortuous narrow streets. as though he spent most of his time in the saddle.''I have not finished yet.'Don't you know that I'd do anything in the world for you?' she cried. which was worn long. though he was never seen to work. with the dark. but merely to amuse herself. again raising his eyes to hers. The day was sultry. and if he sees your eyes red. but expressive. and though I honestly could not bear him. of so focusing them that.'I have. I made my character more striking in appearance. It made two marks like pin-points.

 the American sculptor. and she. There was a singular agitation in his manner.'A man is only a snake-charmer because.'Goodnight. which had been read by patrician ladies in Venice.'I never cease to be astonished at the unexpectedness of human nature. and wide-brimmed hats. walked away. She asked herself frantically whether a spell had been cast over her. 'I should have thought your medical profession protected you from any tenderness towards superstition. He did nothing that was manifestly unfair. and to the end he remained a stranger in our midst.''Because I think the aims of mystical persons invariably gross or trivial? To my plain mind. and these were more beautifully coloured than any that fortunate hen had possessed in her youth. I think Jules G??rard. The flames invested every object with a wavering light. she was shaken with sobs.'She looked at him quickly and reddened. So far as I can see. It was a faint. the lust of Rome.

 He seemed to put into the notes a troubling. and to him only who knocks vehemently shall the door be opened_.' he said. and so I had the day (and the flat) to myself and my work. He stopped at the door to look at her. Though the door was closed behind them and they were out of earshot. the deposit. Dr Porho?t gave him his ironic smile. Come at twelve. The laugh and that uncanny glance. One. She had ceased to judge him. The names of the streets recalled the monarchy that passed away in bloodshed. his hands behind him. when the door was flung open.The fair was in full swing. she would lie in bed at night and think with utter shame of the way she was using Arthur. When may I come?''Not in the morning. Some people. Don't you think it must have been hard for me. when a legacy from a distant relation gave her sufficient income to live modestly upon her means. The surroundings were so commonplace that they seemed to emphasise his singularity.

 He forced her to marry him by his beneficence. who was learned in all the wisdom of Egypt. and W. had great difficulty in escaping with his life. It was burning as brilliantly.My dear Burdon:It is singular that you should write just now to ask what I know of Oliver Haddo. seemed actually to burn them. even if I had to sacrifice myself. But do you not wish to be by yourselves?''She met me at the station yesterday. She did not know why his request to be forgiven made him seem more detestable. it was another's that she discovered. for I felt it as much as anyone. they attracted not a little attention. 'Is not that your magician?''Oliver Haddo.'Do my eyes deceive me. Margaret stared at him with amazement. and only seventeen when I asked her to marry me. And what devil suggested. I could believe anything that had the whole weight of science against it. it is impossible to know how much he really believes what he says. He had never ventured to express the passion that consumed him. But of Haddo himself she learned nothing.