her fate? So that she might not weep in front of all those people. with heavy moist lips.

 and the body was buried in the garden
 and the body was buried in the garden. He had a more varied knowledge than the greater part of undergraduates.She had a great affection for Margaret.' said Susie Boyd.'She made no reply.'He gave a low weird laugh.''For a scientific man you argue with singular fatuity. He told her of strange Eastern places where no infidel had been. and looked with a peculiar excitement at the mysterious array. she could enjoy thoroughly Margaret's young enchantment in all that was exquisite. leaves of different sorts. I could believe anything that had the whole weight of science against it. were very gay. scrupulously observing the rules laid down by the Ritual. He was not a great talker and loved most to listen in silence to the chatter of young people. The writhing snake dangled from his hand. and it is power again that they strive for in all the knowledge they acquire.'Dr Porho?t looked up with a smile of irony.The fair was in full swing.''What did he say?' asked Susie.'I want to do something for you in return for what you have done for me. I was very anxious and very unhappy. A sudden trembling came over her. They began to speak of trivial things. by no means under the delusion that she had talent. and he towered over the puny multitude. he began to talk as if they were old acquaintances between whom nothing of moment had occurred.

 and sincere enough not to express admiration for what he did not like. It had been her wish to furnish the drawing-room in the style of Louis XV; and together they made long excursions to buy chairs or old pieces of silk with which to cover them. the same people came in every night. trying to control herself.' smiled Dr Porho?t. and the trees which framed the scene were golden and lovely. I daresay it was due only to some juggling. She made a little sketch of Arthur. Though the hint of charlatanry in the Frenchman's methods had not escaped Arthur Burdon's shrewd eyes." he said. muttering words they could not hear. The whole thing was explained if Oliver Haddo was mad.''It is a point of view I do not sympathize with.''I shall not prevent you from going out if you choose to go. She is never tired of listening to my prosy stories of your childhood in Alexandria. For some reason Haddo made no resistance. with long fashioning fingers; and you felt that at their touch the clay almost moulded itself into gracious forms. It seemed that the lovely girl was changed already into a lovely woman. He had a handsome face of a deliberately aesthetic type and was very elegantly dressed. of the many places he had seen. It is possible that under certain conditions the law of gravity does not apply. on which were all manner of cabbalistic signs. At length she could control herself no longer and burst into a sudden flood of tears. It was a scene of indescribable horror. They sat down beside the fire. as though they were about to die. leaves of different sorts.

 had sought to dazzle him by feats that savoured almost of legerdemain.''That was the least you could do. and God is greater than all snakes. the _capa_. He asked himself whether he believed seriously these preposterous things. and yet your admiration was alloyed with an unreasoning terror. I settled down and set to work on still another novel. He waited till he had a free evening. Dr Porho?t?' said Haddo. good-nature. Susie learnt to appreciate his solid character. He wrought many wonderful cures. trying to control herself. which had been read by patrician ladies in Venice. Like a man who has exerted all his strength to some end. Susie smiled mockingly. In his drunkenness he had forgotten a portion of the spell which protected him.'Levi's real name was Alphonse-Louis Constant.' answered Susie. and yet withal she went. with a faint sigh of exhaustion. But they had a living faith to sustain them. I don't think you can conceive how desperately he might suffer. he could not forgive the waste of time which his friend might have expended more usefully on topics of pressing moment. He was out when we arrived. Last year it was beautiful to wear a hat like a pork-pie tipped over your nose; and next year. and I can't put him off.

 and the Merestons. and demands the utmost coolness. touching devotion. 'I'll bring you everything you want. at certain intervals blood was poured into the water; and it disappeared at once. had the look of streets in a provincial town.'I never cease to be astonished at the unexpectedness of human nature. His stillness got on her nerves. and her mind was highly wrought. with whom Arthur had been in the habit of staying; and when he died. Oliver Haddo proceeded to eat these dishes in the order he had named. Nurses. 'I've never taken such a sudden dislike to anyone. the clustered colours. but I'm going to tea at the studio this afternoon. the radiance of sunset and the darkness of the night. A little crowd collected and did not spare their jokes at his singular appearance. I knew that Oliver Haddo was his companion in that journey and had meant to read it on this account. made by the Count without the assistance of the Abb??. but growing in size till they attained that of a human countenance. gay gentlemen in periwigs. and it lifted its head and raised its long body till it stood almost on the tip of its tail.' he said. and the black slaves who waited on you. and her sense of colour was apt to run away with her discretion. He moved cautiously among the heavy furniture. or is this the Jagson whose name in its inanity is so appropriate to the bearer? I am eager to know if you still devote upon the ungrateful arts talents which were more profitably employed upon haberdashery.

 for it was written by Ka?t Bey. and I will give you another. as though the thing of which he spoke was very near his heart. and therefore I cannot occupy myself with them. Because she had refused to think of the future. if you don't mind. Everything goes too well with me. 2:40. 'Consider for example the _Tinctura Physicorum_. tearing it even from the eternal rocks; when the flames poured down like the rushing of the wind. with the excitement of an explorer before whom is spread the plain of an undiscovered continent. as though conscious they stood in a Paris where progress was not. It would continue to burn while there was a drop of water on the earth. mildly ironic. Haddo consented. and he cured them: testimonials to that effect may still be found in the archives of Nuremberg. He was no longer the awkward man of social intercourse. But she could not bear to look at him.' he answered. None had ever whispered in her ears the charming nonsense that she read in books. again raising his eyes to hers. and the reptile teeth went deep into his flesh. not at all the sort of style I approve of now. in playing a vile trick on her. There had ever been something cold in her statuesque beauty.'I should like to lose something I valued in order to propitiate the fates. and it was plain that soon his reputation with the public would equal that which he had already won with the profession.

 He beheld the scene with the eyes of the many painters who have sought by means of the most charming garden in Paris to express their sense of beauty. but it was not half done before she thought it silly. but in a moment she found out: the eyes of most persons converge when they look at you. though an odious attraction bound her to the man. making a sign to him. contemned. cold yet sensual; unnatural secrets dwelt in his mind.' answered Susie promptly. the terrier sprang at Oliver Haddo and fixed its teeth in his hand. which was worn long. leaves out of consideration the individual cases that contradict the enormous majority. In mixed company he was content to listen silently to others.' answered the other calmly. he comes insensibly to share the opinion of many sensible men that perhaps there is something in it after all. and the reptile teeth went deep into his flesh. and hence for them there could be no immortality. in the Tyrol. At last their motion ceased; and Oliver was holding her arm. because I shall be too busy. and he never acknowledges merit in anyone till he's safely dead and buried.'I don't want you to be grateful to me. The painters she knew spoke of their art technically. and she put her hands to her eyes so that she might not see. and their malice: he dwelt with a horrible fascination upon their malformations.'Ah.' she cried.' said Arthur.

 But of these. was the mother of Helen of Troy. He had fine eyes and a way. He remained there quite motionless. to her outbursts. 'I couldn't make out what had become of you.''Tell me who everyone is.'You are a bold man to assert that now and then the old alchemists actually did make gold. He was a liar and unbecomingly boastful. I took a room in a cheap hotel on the Left Bank. looked at him. in the practice of medicine. at least a student not unworthy my esteem. of a peculiar solidity. 'Yet he is the most interesting of all the alchemists. but at last a time came when I was greatly troubled in my mind. half-consumed. he received the philosopher's stone from Solomon Trismosinus. He stretched out his hand for Arthur to look at. It appeared as if his story affected him so that he could scarcely preserve his composure. like the conjuror's sleight of hand that apparently lets you choose a card.She braced herself for further questions. She reproached herself bitterly for those scornful words. the exhibitions of eccentricity. 'Do you believe that I should lie to you when I promised to speak the truth?''Certainly not. Haddo has had an extraordinary experience. He had never ventured to express the passion that consumed him.

 and it was so seductive that Margaret's brain reeled. and was not disposed to pay much attention to this vehement distress.There was a knock at the door. her utter loathing. by the pursuit of science.'Will you never forgive me for what I did the other day?'She answered without looking at him.'The unlucky creature. but her voice was cut by a pang of agony. for she recognized Oliver Haddo's deep bantering tones; and she turned round quickly.'My dear. During luncheon he talked of nothing else. and below. By a singular effect his eyes appeared blood-red. My family has formed alliances with the most noble blood of England. where Susie Boyd and Margaret generally dined. The fore feet and hind feet of the lioness are nearly the same size. the cylinders of oxygen and so forth. except Hermes Trismegistus and Albertus Magnus. failed; it produced only a small thing like a leech. but he prevented them.'You suffer from no false modesty.'Dr Porho?t interposed with introductions. Sometimes. don't say that. harmless youth who sat next to Margaret. an honourable condition which. but this touch somehow curiously emphasized her sex.

 rather breathlessly.The fair to which they were going was held at the Lion de Belfort. The date had been fixed by her.'The little maid who looked busily after the varied wants of the customers stood in front of them to receive Arthur's order. and more often they walk in bowler hats and the neat coats of the _boulevardier_. which moved him differently. and the simplicity with which he left alone those of which he was ignorant. It seemed that Margaret and Arthur realized at last the power of those inhuman eyes. the victory won. and the lecherous eyes caressed her with a hideous tenderness. The fore feet and hind feet of the lioness are nearly the same size. Arthur was amused at her delight with the brightness of the place.'If you have powers. Arthur had never troubled himself with art till Margaret's enthusiasm taught him that there was a side of life he did not realize. by the end of which the actors he wanted for the play he had been obliged to postpone would be at liberty. She watched Susie and Arthur cunningly. making a sign to him.'Arthur laughed heartily. and brought the dishes that had been ordered.'Are you pleased?' she asked.She felt Oliver Haddo take her hands. We can disbelieve these circumstantial details only by coming to the conclusion beforehand that it is impossible they should be true.'Well.' he said. There is an old church in the south of Bavaria where the tincture is said to be still buried in the ground. but something.' answered Margaret simply.

 It would continue to burn while there was a drop of water on the earth. and I made friends. Sometimes. By aid of it he was able to solve the difficulties which arose during his management of the Israelites.'I don't know at all. her nerves shattered by all that she had endured. she dropped.'You've never done that caricature of Arthur for me that you promised. His face. of attar of roses. and his nose delicately shaped.'Hers is the head upon which all the ends of the world are come. Her love for Arthur appeared on a sudden more urgent. she went. you'd take his money without scruple if you'd signed your names in a church vestry.' answered Dr Porho?t gravely. untidy hair. his own instinctive hatred of the man. 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 she laughed as she saw in fancy the portly little Frenchman. She did not think of the future.' smiled Arthur. alert with the Sunday crowd. if you've not seen his pictures?' asked Arthur. I had never thought it worth while.'With the grace that marked all her movements she walked cross the studio.'Oliver Haddo began then to speak of Leonardo da Vinci.

 and Susie asked for a cigarette. at the top of his voice. an exotic savour that made it harmonious with all that he had said that afternoon. 'I'm afraid I should want better proof that these particular snakes are poisonous. ashen face. Immediately it fastened on his hand. for he had been to Eton and to Cambridge. and could not understand what pleasure there might be in the elaborate invention of improbable adventures. and his pictures were fresh in her memory. and she tried to smile. She shrugged her shoulders. of attar of roses. sensual priest. though they cost much more than she could afford. her mind aglow with characters and events from history and from fiction. and.''Since I have been occupied with these matters. though at the same time they were profoundly aware that they possessed no soul. unearthly shapes pressed upon her way. Though his gaze preserved its fixity. his arm was immediately benumbed as far as the shoulder. brought him to me one evening. He was very tall and had a magnificent figure. A year after his death. The young man who settles in the East sneers at the ideas of magic which surround him. 'I'm dying for my tea." I said.

 and he said they were a boy not arrived at puberty. Sooner or later you run across persons who believe in everything. 'There is one of his experiments which the doctor has withheld from you. It diverted her enormously to hear occult matters discussed with apparent gravity in this prosaic tavern. and she watched him thoughtfully. She caught the look of alarm that crossed her friend's face. show them.''Since I have been occupied with these matters. On a sudden. and indeed had missed being present at his birth only because the Khedive Isma?l had summoned him unexpectedly to Cairo. and a pregnant woman. 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. it had never struck her that the time must come when it would be necessary to leave Haddo or to throw in her lot with his definitely. but took her face in his hands and kissed her passionately. but there was no sign of her. As if he guessed her thought.'He replaced the precious work. I simply could not get through. 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. An enigmatic smile came to her lips. He reminded one of those colossal statues of Apollo in which the god is represented with a feminine roundness and delicacy. At length she could control herself no longer and burst into a sudden flood of tears. She looked down at Oliver. When she went to see him with tears in her eyes. like most of these old fellows. But Arthur shrugged his shoulders impatiently. He had fine eyes and a way.

 But now Margaret could take no pleasure in its grace. Mr. like a bullock felled at one blow. fearing that his words might offend. how cruel! How hatefully cruel!''Are you convinced now?' asked Haddo coolly. Now their lips met. inexplicably. I might so modify it that.He paused for Margaret's answer.' laughed Arthur. surrounded by a chain of magnetic iron.' he said.The man's effrontery did not exasperate her as it obviously exasperated Margaret and Arthur. she was able to make her cut more pointed. The native grinned when he heard the English tongue.' answered Susie irritably. perhaps only once. I never saw him but he was surrounded by a little crowd.'I grieve to see. titanic but sublime. though mentioned under the name of _The Red Lion_ in many occult works. She hoped that the music she must hear there would rest her soul. We know that a lover will go far to meet the woman he adores; how much more will the lover of Wisdom be tempted to go in search of his divine mistress. exhausted. exhausted. as the mist of early day. and in front a second brazier was placed upon a tripod.

 Half-finished canvases leaned with their faces against the wall; pieces of stuff were hung here and there. 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. and then.'She tried to make her tone as flippant as the words. 'And Marie is dying to be rid of us. Yet it was almost incredible that those fat. and Susie. I have described the place elsewhere. it is inane to raise the dead in order to hear from their phantom lips nothing but commonplaces. It seemed a little frightened still. and they can give no certainty. that led to the quarter of the Montparnasse. When it seemed that some accident would do so. I have never been able to make up my mind whether he is an elaborate practical joker. She did not know why she wanted to go to him; she had nothing to say to him; she knew only that it was necessary to go.''Your friend seems to have had as little fear of spooks as you have of lions. It was music the like of which she had never heard. He sneered at the popular enthusiasm for games. by one accident after another. Beauty really means as much to her as bread and butter to the more soberly-minded. As a mountaineer. Margaret was hardly surprised that he played marvellously."'His friends and the jugglers. sir?''In one gross.I tell you that for this art nothing is impossible.''I met him once. I hope that your studies in French methods of surgery will have added to your wisdom.

 She desired with all her might not to go. It was music the like of which she had never heard.' he said. The scales fell from her eyes.' smiled Dr Porho?t. She is never tired of listening to my prosy stories of your childhood in Alexandria.''Those are facts which can be verified in works of reference. Is it nothing not only to know the future. though an odious attraction bound her to the man.'Do you think he could have made the horse do that? It came immediately he put his hand on its neck. "It may be of service to others of my trade. The gibe at his obesity had caught him on the raw. her back still turned. put his hand to his heart. When he opened it.The bell of Saint Sulpice was ringing for vespers. second-hand. when you came in.''I wish you would. recognized himself in the creature of my invention. the deep blue of sapphires. She understood how men had bartered their souls for infinite knowledge. She greeted him with a passionate relief that was unusual. Arthur turned to Margaret.'Then it seemed that the bitter struggle between the good and the evil in her was done. and had resigned herself to its dreariness for the rest of her life. I hardly like to tell you.

 one Otho Stuart. dark but roomy. The leaves were slender and fragile. But the Levantine merchant who was Arthur's father had been his most intimate friend. and he asked her to dine with him alone. I had heard many tales of his prowess. though he claimed them. In one corner sat a fellah woman. dared to write it down till Schimeon ben Jochai. He no longer struck you merely as an insignificant little man with hollow cheeks and a thin grey beard; for the weariness of expression which was habitual to him vanished before the charming sympathy of his smile.'Fiddlesticks! The fashion is always beautiful.Susie flung herself down wearily in a chair. you won't draw any the worse for wearing a well-made corset. I have copied out a few words of his upon the acquirement of knowledge which affect me with a singular emotion.' she said. Her heart was uplifted from the sordidness of earth. Life and death are in the right hand and in the left of him who knows its secrets. Everything goes too well with me.'The prints of a lion's fore feet are disproportionately larger than those of the hind feet. It became current opinion in other pursuits that he did not play the game. indeed. Arthur was enchanted. if we want to go to the fair we must start. as I have a tiring day before me tomorrow. Her will had been taken from her. and this gave her a chance to bring their conversation to matters on which Haddo was expert. She was like a person drowning.

 One of two had a wan ascetic look. The names of the streets recalled the monarchy that passed away in bloodshed.'I was at the House.''You are very superior. and she was merciless. and the same unconscious composure; and in her also breathed the spring odours of ineffable purity. for she was by nature a woman of great self-possession. Rolls of fat descended from his chin and concealed his neck. How can you be so cruel?''Then the only alternative is that you should accompany me. An abject apology was the last thing she expected.' I did not do so. I prefer to set them all aside. The scales fell from her eyes.She started to her feet and stared at him with bewildered eyes. She leaned forward and saw that the bowl was empty. His passion for euphuism contrasted strikingly with the simple speech of those with whom he consorted. but it would be of extraordinary interest to test it for oneself. and Margaret's hand was as small. and his love. His mouth was large. Her words by a mystic influence had settled something beyond possibility of recall. I despatched my servant to an intimate friend and asked him to send me his son. he looked exactly like a Franz Hals; but he was dressed like the caricature of a Frenchman in a comic paper. She regained at least one of the characteristics of youth. and it was as if the earth spun under her feet. O Avicenna. I don't see why you shouldn't now.

''Art-student?' inquired Arthur.He smiled but did not answer. and I had completely forgotten it. He asked himself whether he believed seriously these preposterous things. The spirits were about a span long. had repeated an observation of his. shepherds.She had learnt long ago that common sense. She took up a book and began to read. but not unintelligently. 'Yet he is the most interesting of all the alchemists.' said Arthur. to become a master of his art. so that Dr Porho?t was for a moment transported to the evil-smelling streets of Cairo.''Tell me who everyone is. In three minutes she tripped neatly away. He erred when he described me as his intimate friend. Margaret's gift was by no means despicable. The only difference was that my father actually spoke. are seized with fascination of the unknown; and they desire a greatness that is inaccessible to mankind.' said Susie Boyd. My ancestor.' I did not do so.' he said. She had never kissed him in that way before. and a lust for the knowledge that was arcane. Shaded lights gave an opulent cosiness to the scene.

 'didn't Paracelsus. and perhaps she might be able to pray. and Saint Augustine of Hippo added that in any case there could be no question of inhabited lands. Once a week the bottles were emptied and filled again with pure rain-water. He was not a great talker and loved most to listen in silence to the chatter of young people. and it was as if the earth spun under her feet. and in exhaustion she sank upon a bench. for I am sure his peculiarities make him repugnant to a person of your robust common sense. To Susie it seemed that he was overwhelmed with gratitude by Margaret's condescension.''Margaret's a wise girl. Notwithstanding your birth in the East and your boyhood spent amid the very scenes of the Thousand and One Nights. of strange thoughts and fantastic reveries and exquisite passions. waiting for Arthur's arrival. He alone used scented pomade upon his neat smooth hair. and to haunt the vilest opium-dens in the East of London. I do not know if it was due to my own development since the old days at Oxford. but not a paltry. and to the best of my belief was never seen in Oxford again. But one phrase escaped him almost against his will. But those quick dark eyes were able to express an anguish that was hardly tolerable. with a bold signature. but it would be of extraordinary interest to test it for oneself. and I saw his great white fangs. and the woman in the dim background ceased her weird rubbing of the drum. He had proposed that they should go to Versailles. He did not seem to see her. disembarrass me of this coat of frieze.

'What on earth's the matter with you?' she asked. but could utter no sound. And there are women crying. therefore. had brought out a play which failed to please. and his eye fell on a stout volume bound in vellum. a native sat cross-legged. fearing to trust her voice. His folly and the malice of his rivals prevented him from remaining anywhere for long. as soon as I was 'qualified'. his appearance. and the bushes by trim beds of flowers. But it changed. To get home she passed through the gardens of the Luxembourg. Dr Porho?t knew that a diversity of interests. Set it for a moment beside one of those white Greek goddesses or beautiful women of antiquity. The figure had not spoken.' smiled Margaret. priceless gems. I took an immediate dislike to him. though mentioned under the name of _The Red Lion_ in many occult works.''Margaret's a wise girl. Pretending not to see it.' said she.'She did as he told her.' answered Arthur. I want all your strength.

 She understood how men had bartered their souls for infinite knowledge. emerald and ruby. His name was Gerald Kelly. As she walked along the interminable street that led to her own house. and it swayed slowly to and fro. walked away.Arthur Burdon smiled. while Margaret put the tea things away.'Arthur was prevented from answering by their arrival at the Lion de Belfort.'Oh. A fierce rage on a sudden seized Arthur so that he scarcely knew what he was about.'He replaced the precious work. and come down into the valleys.'Ah.'Meanwhile her life proceeded with all outward regularity. the piteous horror of mortality. but he adopted that under which he is generally known for reasons that are plain to the romantic mind. began to kick him with all his might. and did as she bade him.'Arthur got up to stretch his legs. such as are used to preserve fruit. Margaret heard the flight of monstrous birds. It gave the impression that he looked straight through you and saw the wall beyond. and the black slaves who waited on you. Sometimes. She would not let him drag them away. the _capa_.

 He worked very hard. fearing that his words might offend. The bottles were closed with a magic seal. I am too happy now. 'I'm sorry. and to my greater knowledge of the world. but her voice was cut by a pang of agony. and Margaret gave a cry of alarm. Haddo consented. and I had received no news of her for many weeks." he said. and I saw his great white fangs. His folly and the malice of his rivals prevented him from remaining anywhere for long. bare of any twig. He threw himself into an attitude of command and remained for a moment perfectly still. Paracelsus then passed through the countries that border the Danube. in the practice of medicine. When Margaret came back. I took an immediate dislike to him. undines. They walked along the passage. which I called _A Man of Honour_. It crossed his mind that at this moment he would willingly die. She remembered on a sudden Arthur's great love and all that he had done for her sake. and above were certain words in Arabic. He wore a Spanish cloak. I don't see why things should go against me now.

* * * * *Meanwhile Susie wandered down the Boulevard Saint Michel. and she tried to smile. used him with the good-natured banter which she affected. He appeared to stand apart from human kind.'He looked round at the four persons who watched him intently.'I could show you strange things if you cared to see them. She came on with hoarse. with a bold signature. at least a student not unworthy my esteem. He gave Haddo a rapid glance. his heavy face in shadow.'Let us drink to the happiness of our life. and he seemed to be dead. the snake fell to the ground. The pages had a peculiar. Margaret forced herself to speak.'Levi's real name was Alphonse-Louis Constant. but at last a time came when I was greatly troubled in my mind. as he led her in. but she looked neat in her black dress and white cap; and she had a motherly way of attending to these people. But they had a living faith to sustain them. All his strength. very thin. She held that it was prudish to insist upon the conventions of Notting Hill in the Boulevard de Montparnasse.''It is a point of view I do not sympathize with. His stillness got on her nerves. he began to tremble and seemed very much frightened.

''_Bien. The circumstances of the apparition are so similar to those I have just told you that it would only bore you if I repeated them. with their cunning smile. the Hollingtons. She consulted Susie Boyd. And then suddenly I found that she had collapsed.'Well. that the seen is the measure of the unseen.'Arthur Burdon had just arrived in Paris.'_Mais si. Gustave Moreau. He was of a short and very corpulent figure. at the top of his voice. and his love. and we had a long talk. recovering herself first. and a flowing tie of black silk?''Eliphas remarks that the lady spoke French with a marked English accent. 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. go. and it was reported that he had secret vices which could only be whispered with bated breath. had the look of streets in a provincial town. towering over her in his huge bulk; and there was a singular fascination in his gaze. and in those ceremonies she could find no comfort.He opened the door. Once there. for in the enthusiastic days that seemed so long gone by she was accustomed to come there for the sake of a certain tree upon which her eyes now rested. 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.

 and the bearded sheikhs who imparted to you secret knowledge?' cried Dr Porho?t.'Yet I cannot be sure that it is all folly. Margaret was ten when I first saw her. and above were certain words in Arabic. at the command of the _concierge_. and a large person entered. and a pale form arose. they showed a curious pleasure in his company. Haddo's eyes were fixed upon Margaret so intently that he did not see he was himself observed.' said Susie. Her heart beat like a prisoned bird.'Are you pleased?' she asked. seemed actually to burn them. He had the look of a very wicked. nor of books. Iokanaan! Thy body is white like the lilies of a field that the mower hath never mowed. and Arthur got up to open.' he said. finding them trivial and indifferent. not to its intrinsic beauty. The redness gave way to a ghastly pallor. As she walked through the courtyard she started nervously. the charming statue known as _La Diane de Gabies_. for he was become enormously stout. struggled aimlessly to escape from the poison that the immortal gods poured in her veins. wheeling perambulators and talking. It commands the elements.

'These ladies are unacquainted with the mysterious beings of whom you speak. and it was plain that soon his reputation with the public would equal that which he had already won with the profession. let us stay here. Susie smiled mockingly. One opinion. She noticed that Haddo. exercise. They had lunched at a restaurant in the Boulevard Saint Michel. and to question it upon two matters. David and Solomon were the most deeply learned in the Kabbalah. I want to look at all your books. and he blew the dust carefully off the most famous. and they swept along like the waves of the sea. my friend. and she watched him thoughtfully.'Here is one of my greatest treasures. she talked and you listened with the delighted attention of a happy lover. She might have been under a spell. be good. She saw that they were veiled with tears. looked at him curiously. and they stared into space. many years after his wife. which he signed 'Oliver Haddo'. The stiffness broke away from the snake suddenly. speaking almost to himself.But when she heard Susie's key in the door.

 I did not avail myself of them. and she was anxious to make him talk.''Or. The immobility of that vast bulk was peculiar. may have been fit to compare with me. and when a lion does this he charges. he was born of unknown but noble parents. Often. He is thought to have known more of the mysteries than any adept since the divine Paracelsus.' said Arthur.''By Jove. Because she had refused to think of the future. rang a tinkling bell at one of the doorways that faced her.'What a bore it is!' she said. and though her own stock of enthusiasms was run low. I bought. low laugh and stretched out her hand on the table. expression.'The night had fallen; but it was not the comfortable night that soothes the troubled minds of mortal men; it was a night that agitated the soul mysteriously so that each nerve in the body tingled. It is the _Clavicula Salomonis_; and I have much reason to believe that it is the identical copy which belonged to the greatest adventurer of the eighteenth century.The fair to which they were going was held at the Lion de Belfort. He could not keep it by himself.' said Haddo. he had the adorable languor of one who feels still in his limbs the soft rain on the loose brown earth.'The unlucky creature. 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. with heavy moist lips.