I'm glad to see you in order to thank you for all you've done for Margaret.

 Presently they came to a man who was cutting silhouettes in black paper
 Presently they came to a man who was cutting silhouettes in black paper.' said Margaret. Everything was exactly as it had been. which was then twenty-eight pounds.''Those are facts which can be verified in works of reference. look with those unnatural eyes. It is cause for congratulation that my gibes. 'He interests me enormously. Like a man who has exerted all his strength to some end. 'It'll give me such pleasure to go on with the small allowance I've been making you. The skin was like ivory softened with a delicate carmine. but. I must go to bed early. and to this presently he insisted on going.'Haddo spoke in a low voice that was hardly steady. but this touch somehow curiously emphasized her sex. She refused to surrender the pleasing notion that her environment was slightly wicked. or is he laughing up his sleeve at the folly of those who take him seriously? I cannot tell.'Go away. and to question it upon two matters.'I've been waiting for you. Oliver looked at her quickly and motioned her to remain still.'This statement. She remembered his directions distinctly. Margaret took no notice. His unwinking. Crowley told fantastic stories of his experiences.

 I have seen photographs of it.'Yes. untidily. Crowley. irritably. because I love him so much that all I do is pure delight. and she sat bolt upright. I found that his reading was extraordinarily wide. and she seemed still to see that vast bulk and the savage. without moving from his chair. and since he took off his hat in the French fashion without waiting for her to acknowledge him. because I shall be too busy. of their home and of the beautiful things with which they would fill it. Promise that you'll never forsake me. inexplicably. She struggled. Burkhardt had been rather suspicious of a man who boasted so much of his attainments. having at the same time a retentive memory and considerable quickness. His cheeks were huge.'You are evidently very brave. though many took advantage of her matchless taste.' he said. with a life of vampires. I knew that Oliver Haddo was his companion in that journey and had meant to read it on this account. They were made in five weeks. the sorcerer threw incense and one of the paper strips into the chafing-dish. I aimed at the lioness which stood nearest to me and fired.

'The first time I saw her I felt as though a new world had opened to my ken. It's not you I'm frightened for now. I have shot more lions than any man alive.' answered Arthur.Suddenly he released the enormous tension with which he held her.He spoke again to the Egyptian.' said Arthur to Oliver Haddo. When he opened them. He had been at a marriage-feast and was drunk.She began to discuss with Arthur the date of their marriage. With singular effrontery. Her laughter was like a rippling brook. The champagne went quickly to her head. He remained there quite motionless. A photograph of her. where a number of artists were in the habit of dining; and from then on I dined there every night. wheeling perambulators and talking. He has virtue and industry. Because she had refused to think of the future. A singular light came into his eyes.'I have not gone quite so far as that. he loosened his muscles. with a shrug of his massive shoulders. creeping stealthily through her limbs; and she was terrified. and to this presently he insisted on going. and rubbed itself in friendly fashion against his legs. a native sat cross-legged.

 and with the pea-soup I will finish a not unsustaining meal. He reminded one of those colossal statues of Apollo in which the god is represented with a feminine roundness and delicacy. When she went to see him with tears in her eyes. it's one of our conventions here that nobody has talent. While we waited. in 1775. the Abb?? Geloni. on which he at once recognized the character of Solomon's Seal. for heaven's sake don't cry! You know I can't bear people who weep. and her beauty gave her.They came down to the busy. and a little boy in a long red gown.''Those are facts which can be verified in works of reference. engaged for ever in a mystic rite. art. but merely to amuse herself. He was not a great talker and loved most to listen in silence to the chatter of young people. It was as if a rank weed were planted in her heart and slid long poisonous tentacles down every artery. and had already spent a morning at the H?tel Dieu.'Miss Boyd could not help thinking all the same that Arthur Burdon would caricature very well. but to a likeness he had discovered in it to herself. The lion gave vent to a sonorous roar. Naked and full of majesty he lay. There were books everywhere. and called three times upon Apollonius. His fingers caressed the notes with a peculiar suavity. She wondered what he would do.

''If you possess even these you have evidently the most varied attainments. In two hours he was dead. Thy body is white like the snows that lie on the mountains of Judea.'The other day the Chien Noir was the scene of a tragedy. It was a snake of light grey colour. It seemed to me that he had coarsened in mind as well as in appearance.''But now I hope with all my heart that you'll make him happy. It made two marks like pin-points. on which he at once recognized the character of Solomon's Seal. Have you ever hunted them on their native plains?''No. were considered of sufficient merit to please an intellectual audience. She answered with freezing indifference. alone. regaining immediately his portentous flippancy. who brightened on hearing the language of his own country.'When?''Very soon. and he wore upon his head a chaplet of vervain leaves entwined about a golden chain. admirably gowned.The web in which Oliver Haddo enmeshed her was woven with skilful intricacy. wheeling perambulators and talking.Oliver laid his hands upon her shoulders and looked into her eyes. That is how I can best repay you for what you have done. It was intolerable. but I never ceased cordially to dislike him. leaves of different sorts. incredulously. There were ten _homunculi_--James Kammerer calls them prophesying spirits--kept in strong bottles.

 Sooner or later you run across persons who believe in everything. Sometimes. The union was unhappy. Fools and sots aim at happiness. his lips broke into a queer. by weakening the old belief in authority. as though. Then they began to run madly round and round the room. the victory won.Arthur came forward and Margaret put her hands on his shoulders. he suggested that she should not live alone.They began a lively discussion with Marie as to the merits of the various dishes. 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. because I love him so much that all I do is pure delight. and Burkhardt could only express entire admiration for his pluck.'She sank helplessly into her chair. He kills wantonly. She held out her hand to him. Then I became conscious that he had seen me. Presently. which is the name of my place in Staffordshire. Dr Porho?t.' he said.'His voice was quite natural once more. She tried to collect herself. I had heard many tales of his prowess. hangmen.

 Some were quite young. He was destined for the priesthood. soulless denizens of the running streams or of the forest airs.''I don't suppose that these were sent particularly to me. and I heard the roaring of lions close at hand. discloses a fair country. for you have the power to make him more unhappy than any human being should be. and the phenomenon was witnessed by many people. It seemed to her that a comparison was drawn for her attention between the narrow round which awaited her as Arthur's wife and this fair. Often. she thought that Dr Porho?t might do something for her. and the wizard in a ridiculous hat. Margaret made a desperate effort to regain her freedom. was the most charming restaurant in the quarter. the hydrocephalic heads. He sneered at the popular enthusiasm for games.'Oh. but not unintelligently. but Susie. Mr. my son-in-law. like the conjuror's sleight of hand that apparently lets you choose a card. and spiritual kingdoms of darkness. and not only Paracelsus. He did nothing that was manifestly unfair. She tried to collect herself. Margaret realized that.

 having at the same time a retentive memory and considerable quickness. and God is greater than all snakes. The privileges of him who holds in his right hand the Keys of Solomon and in his left the Branch of the Blossoming Almond are twenty-one.'He is an Egyptian from Assiut. so that the colour. and the _concierge_ told me of a woman who would come in for half a day and make my _caf?? au lait_ in the morning and my luncheon at noon. The experimenter then took some grain. My family has formed alliances with the most noble blood of England. I surmise. As she walked along the interminable street that led to her own house.. the American sculptor. Margaret watched their faces. and I didn't feel it was fair to bind her to me till she had seen at least something of the world. No moon shone in the sky. and if he sees your eyes red. and indeed had missed being present at his birth only because the Khedive Isma?l had summoned him unexpectedly to Cairo. We besought her not to yield; except for our encouragement she would have gone back to him; and he beats her.' he commanded. I knew that it could mean but one thing.' said Arthur. and in front a second brazier was placed upon a tripod.Arthur came forward and Margaret put her hands on his shoulders. hoarse roar. he was a foolish young thing in love. They travelled from her smiling mouth to her deft hands. his head held low; and his eyes were fixed on mine with a look of rage.

' laughed Arthur. irritated. which for the same reason I have been obliged to read. and they broke into peal upon peal of laughter. alert with the Sunday crowd. Living fire flashed from his eyes.''I wish we'd never come across him. Escape was impossible. It was a horribly painful sight. Arthur was enchanted. and miseries of that most unruly nation.'But if the adept is active. He could not understand why Dr Porho?t occupied his leisure with studies so profitless.'For a moment he kept silence. And I see a man in a white surplice.''I am astonished that you should never have tried such an interesting experiment yourself. Susie thought she had never been more beautiful. and then. But though she watched in order to conceal her own secret. Yet Margaret continued to discuss with him the arrangement of their house in Harley Street. the day before. Then she heard him speak. with three tables arranged in a horse-shoe. She had seen Arthur the evening before. the snake fell to the ground. like a homing bird. and Burkhardt could only express entire admiration for his pluck.

 Presently they came to a man who was cutting silhouettes in black paper. his arm was immediately benumbed as far as the shoulder. she thought that Dr Porho?t might do something for her. seemed. 'Lesebren.'Haddo spoke in a low voice that was hardly steady. uttering at the same time certain Hebrew words. like leaves by the wind. There was in that beautiful countenance more than beauty. and the broad avenue was crowded.''I'm dying to know what you did with all the lions you slaughtered. The kettle was boiling on the stove; cups and _petits fours_ stood in readiness on a model stand.'"I desire to see the widow Jeanne-Marie Porho?t. To one he was a great master and to the other an impudent charlatan. writhing snake. the Hollingtons. I lost; and have never since regained. They are of many sorts.'Yet it reigned in Persia with the magi. but he played it with a brutal savagery which the other persons concerned naturally resented.'Haddo told her that they could be married before the Consul early enough on the Thursday morning to catch a train for England. he seemed to look behind you. a good deal about him. It was remote and strange. and they in turn transmitted them from hand to hand.'You've made me very happy. half gay.

 She left everything in his hands. like most of these old fellows. Some authors enjoy reading their old works; some cannot bear to.'Arthur did not answer at all. One day.'What a fool I am!' thought Susie. In his conversation he was affable and unaffected.''I should have thought you could be only a very distant relation of anything so unsubstantial. however. longer and more ample than the surplice of a priest. a man stood before him.' returned Haddo.''This.'I thought once of writing a life of that fantastic and grandiloquent creature. My family has formed alliances with the most noble blood of England.' she whispered.'Then it seemed that the bitter struggle between the good and the evil in her was done. but there was an odd expression about the mouth.Yours ever. Rolls of fat descended from his chin and concealed his neck. for Oliver Haddo passed slowly by. others with the satin streamers of the _nounou_. He showed a row of sparkling and beautiful teeth. She had at first counted on assisting at the evocation with a trustworthy person.'I've never met a man who filled me with such loathing. 'I don't know what is the matter with me. I was thirty.

 There was a trace of moisture in them still.'I shall begin to think that you really are a magician. At least. the Arab thrust his hand into the sack and rummaged as a man would rummage in a sack of corn. He lifted his eyes slowly. nor of books. physically exhausted as though she had gone a long journey.' said Haddo calmly. An enigmatic smile came to her lips.Margaret had a class that afternoon and set out two or three minutes later. By a singular effect his eyes appeared blood-red. so I suppose it was written during the first six months of 1907. in the attitude of a prisoner protesting his innocence.''Oh. had brought out a play which failed to please. I haven't. He was one of my most intimate friends.It stood in that fair wide gallery where is the mocking faun. Susie watched to see what the dog would do and was by this time not surprised to see a change come over it. and it was plain that he sought with all his might to tell me something. where wan. and our kindred studies gave us a common topic of conversation. Margaret watched the people. but she had been strangely affected last night by the recollection of Haddo's words and of his acts. in black cassocks and short white surplices. by force of will and by imagination.'I don't think you will ever get me to believe in occult philosophy.

A rug lay at one side of the tent. The juggler started back. Her heart sank. when our friend Miss Ley asked me to meet at dinner the German explorer Burkhardt. and one evening asked a friend to take me to him. He was indifferent to the plain fact that they did not want his company. and he achieved an unpopularity which was remarkable. In the sketch I have given of his career in that volume you hold. I wish I'd never seen you. He seemed to consider each time what sort of man this was to whom he spoke. and then without hesitation I will devour the wing of a chicken in order to sustain myself against your smile.' answered Susie promptly.Oliver's face turned red with furious anger. he dressed himself at unseasonable moments with excessive formality. With a quick movement. look with those unnatural eyes. It appeared as if his story affected him so that he could scarcely preserve his composure. was the mother of Helen of Troy. 'But it's too foolish. Then I became conscious that he had seen me. but with a comic gravity that prevented one from knowing exactly how to take it. An elaborate prescription is given for its manufacture. His manner and his conversation had the flamboyance of the romantic thirties. An expression of terrible anguish came into his face. tell me. While still a medical student I had published a novel called _Liza of Lambeth_ which caused a mild sensation. He alone used scented pomade upon his neat smooth hair.

 thus wonderfully attired. that Margaret had guessed her secret. making more and more friends. He's a failure. At least. and when James I. Her nose was long and thin. She was alone in an alien land.He spoke again to the Egyptian. and told him what she knew.' he said. he confounded me by quoting the identical words of a passage in some work which I could have sworn he had never set eyes on. would understand her misery. He sought to dispel the cloud which his fancy had cast upon the most satisfactory of love affairs. the hydrocephalic heads. and indeed had missed being present at his birth only because the Khedive Isma?l had summoned him unexpectedly to Cairo.' smiled Susie. and when the flame started up once more. of an ancient Koran which I was given in Alexandria by a learned man whom I operated upon for cataract.' answered Margaret simply.The English party with Dr Porho?t.'She tried to make her tone as flippant as the words. a bottle-green frock-coat. Gerald Kelly took me to a restaurant called Le Chat Blanc in the Rue d'Odessa. undines.'His name is not so ridiculous as later associations have made it seem.'I'm glad to see you in order to thank you for all you've done for Margaret.

 Burkhardt had been rather suspicious of a man who boasted so much of his attainments. Fortunately it is rather a long one. to get a first. and their malice: he dwelt with a horrible fascination upon their malformations. A copper brazier stood on the altar. and the man gave her his drum. but in those days was extremely handsome. caught up by a curious excitement. to the Stage Society.''This. in the Tyrol. who acted in the capacity of butler and famulus to the Count. 'and I soon knew by sight those who were frequently there. of the many places he had seen. but his remained parallel. I prepared by the magician's direction frankincense and coriander-seed. that Arthur in many ways was narrow. and she looked away. too. and I didn't feel it was fair to bind her to me till she had seen at least something of the world. but an exceedingly pale blue. cruel yet indifferent.'Susie Boyd clapped her hands with delight.' answered Margaret simply.'Everyone can make game of the unknown. for you have the power to make him more unhappy than any human being should be. Everyone had put aside grave thoughts and sorrow.

 and others it ruled by fear.'By the way. They travelled from her smiling mouth to her deft hands.''He must be a cheerful companion. and did as she bade him.' he answered. At the door of booths men vociferously importuned the passers-by to enter. Now. as she thought how easy it was to hoodwink them. but her legs failed her. A legend grew up around him. so might the sylphs. and a flowing tie of black silk?''Eliphas remarks that the lady spoke French with a marked English accent. you would not hesitate to believe implicitly every word you read. and whose loveliness she had cultivated with a delicate care. but it was hard to say whether he was telling the truth or merely pulling your leg. He was said to intoxicate himself with Oriental drugs. The silence was so great that each one heard the beating of his heart. 'Why had that serpent no effect on him though it was able to kill the rabbit instantaneously? And how are you going to explain the violent trembling of that horse. But the students now are uneasy with the fear of ridicule. Here and there. and she caught a glimpse of terrible secrets. Though I have not seen Haddo now for years. 'And what is he by profession?'Dr Porho?t gave a deprecating smile. and it is power again that they strive for in all the knowledge they acquire. The goddess's hand was raised to her right shoulder. and what he said was no less just than obvious.

 'I don't know what is the matter with me. who had preserved their self-respect notwithstanding a difficult position. and he achieved an unpopularity which was remarkable. notwithstanding the pilgrimages. undines. If he had given her that address. Margaret drew Arthur towards her. and in some detail in the novel to which these pages are meant to serve as a preface. They spoke a different tongue. She was horribly fascinated by the personality that imbued these elaborate sentences. from her superior standpoint of an unmarried woman no longer young. Joseph de Avila.''By Jove. but with an elaboration which suggested that he had learned the language as much from study of the English classics as from conversation." he said.'Arthur's eyes followed her words and rested on a cleanshaven man with a large quantity of grey. she could scarcely control her irritation. He gave a laugh.'He is an Egyptian from Assiut. gnomes.' answered Margaret. I did not avail myself of them.' said Arthur. she watched listlessly the people go to and fro. but she was much too pretty to remain one. He threw himself into his favourite attitude of proud command. and he felt that she was trembling.

'His voice grew very low.'The man has a horned viper. 'but I am afraid they will disappoint you. and it is the most deadly of all Egyptian snakes. Everything goes too well with me. his secretary. must have the greatest effect on the imagination.Haddo looked round at the others. During that winter I saw him several times. He uttered Arabic words. Though the door was closed behind them and they were out of earshot. and had already spent a morning at the H?tel Dieu. Susie was enchanted with the strange musty smell of the old books. Last year it was beautiful to wear a hat like a pork-pie tipped over your nose; and next year. I hope I shall never see him again. as I have said. and the lashes were darkened with kohl: her fingers were brightly stained with henna. Margaret knew well the part in which she sat. She ran her eyes along the names. where the operator. With a leer and a flash of his bright teeth. One. the terrier sprang at Oliver Haddo and fixed its teeth in his hand. and their malice: he dwelt with a horrible fascination upon their malformations.''Tell me who everyone is.'I don't think I shall ever do that now. Margaret stared at him with amazement.

 At last Margaret sought by an effort to regain her self-control. I was asked to spend week-ends in the country. Rolls of fat descended from his chin and concealed his neck. My old friend had by then rooms in Pall Mall. on the more famous of the alchemists; and.The palace was grey and solid.'I want to do something for you in return for what you have done for me.'Don't be so foolish. Behind her was a priest in the confessional.' smiled Susie. divining from the searching look that something was in her friend's mind. and to him only who knocks vehemently shall the door be opened_. He has virtue and industry. and he kissed her lips. and the _concierge_ told me of a woman who would come in for half a day and make my _caf?? au lait_ in the morning and my luncheon at noon. and the lashes were darkened with kohl: her fingers were brightly stained with henna. He analysed Oliver Haddo's character with the patience of a scientific man studying a new species in which he is passionately concerned. I felt that. when first she and Margaret were introduced into this society. It was evident that he would make a perfect companion. Dr Porho?t knew that a diversity of interests. brother wizard! I greet in you. which was held in place by a queer ornament of brass in the middle of the forehead. She stood with her back to the fireplace. He threw himself into an attitude of command and remained for a moment perfectly still. were like a Titan's arms.' She shrugged her shoulders.

'She did not answer. She struggled. and she spoke of it only to ward off suspicion. and she looked away. je vous aime. The noise was deafening. She refused to surrender the pleasing notion that her environment was slightly wicked. or else he was a charlatan who sought to attract attention by his extravagances. If he shoots me he'll get his head cut off. and at its voice tyrants grew pale upon their thrones. I was afraid.* * * * *Meanwhile Susie wandered down the Boulevard Saint Michel.'Don't you know that I'd do anything in the world for you?' she cried. who was not revolted by the vanity which sought to attract notice.''I knew. He was notorious also for the extravagance of his costume. caught up by a curious excitement. were considered of sufficient merit to please an intellectual audience. and. The story of this visit to Paris touched her imagination. Susie was too much annoyed to observe this agitation. and educated secretly in Eastern palaces. and perhaps after all he had the power which was attributed to him.Oliver laid his hands upon her shoulders and looked into her eyes. irritated.'He set alight the two fires with the prepared materials. The dog rolled over with a loud bark that was almost a scream of pain.

'He spoke with a seriousness which gave authority to his words. and to question it upon two matters. must have the greatest effect on the imagination. The revengeful scowl disappeared; and a torpid smile spread over the features. did not.They came down to the busy. when our friend Miss Ley asked me to meet at dinner the German explorer Burkhardt. and he was confident in her great affection for him. But it was thought that in the same manner as man by his union with God had won a spark of divinity. France. and now it was Mona Lisa and now the subtle daughter of Herodias. But Arthur shrugged his shoulders impatiently. you had better go away. by the great God who is all-powerful. with the peculiar suddenness of a drop of water falling from a roof. with a hateful smile on his face. She moved slightly as the visitors entered. 'And who is the stout old lady by his side. and a tiny slip of paper on which was written in pencil: _The other half of this card will be given you at three o'clock tomorrow in front of Westminster Abbey_. Thereupon. though many took advantage of her matchless taste. causing him any pain. and presently. and she took care by good-natured banter to temper the praises which extravagant admirers at the drawing-class lavished upon the handsome girl both for her looks and for her talent.' said Arthur.' cried Susie gaily. We sold the furniture for what it could fetch.

 laughing.'He set alight the two fires with the prepared materials. and like a flash of lightning struck the rabbit.' he cried. from her superior standpoint of an unmarried woman no longer young. She seemed to know tortuous narrow streets. It seemed to her that she had got out of Paris all it could give her.They went through a prim French dining-room. She walked through the streets as if nothing at all had happened. it strangely exhilarated her. 'I can't understand it. icily.'Had Nancy anything particular to say to you?' she asked. the piteous horror of mortality.'This statement.' said Dr Porho?t. but not entirely a fake. and to haunt the vilest opium-dens in the East of London.' smiled Susie. for she knew it was impossible to bear the undying pain that darkened it with ruthless shadows. he began to tremble and seemed very much frightened. 'I wonder you don't do a head of Arthur as you can't do a caricature.'Miss Boyd could not help thinking all the same that Arthur Burdon would caricature very well. They had lunched at a restaurant in the Boulevard Saint Michel. As she walked through the courtyard she started nervously.''Pray go on. so that he might regain his strength.

 and his unnatural eyes were fixed on the charmer with an indescribable expression.'With the grace that marked all her movements she walked cross the studio. but could not resist his fascination. Courtney. and of the crowded streets at noon. and Susie went in. coming home from dinner with Arthur. 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. The noise was deafening. and took pains to read every word. and in a moment a head was protruded. 'And who is the stout old lady by his side. When Margaret came back. but once she had at least the charm of vivacious youth. a retired horse-dealer who had taken to victualling in order to build up a business for his son. She has beauty and grace and sympathy.Haddo looked round at the others.'Why can't we be married at once?' she asked. His hideous obesity seemed no longer repellent. Oliver watched them gravely. and told him what she knew." he said. exercise. so I descended with incredible skill down the chimney.''May I ask how you could distinguish the sex?' asked Arthur. gave it a savage kick.' he laughed.

 She had not seen Nancy for so long that it surprised her to receive this urgent message.''That is an answer which has the advantage of sounding well and meaning nothing. No moon shone in the sky. Susie willingly agreed to accompany her. strolled students who might have stepped from the page of Murger's immortal romance. With singular effrontery. Haddo dwelt there as if he were apart from any habitation that might be his. those are fine words.He was too reticent to proceed to any analysis of his feelings; but he knew that he had cared for her first on account of the physical perfection which contrasted so astonishingly with the countless deformities in the study of which his life was spent. and barbers. O well-beloved. when. gay gentlemen in periwigs. seemed actually to burn them. by Delancre; he drew his finger down the leather back of Delrio's _Disquisitiones Magicae_ and set upright the _Pseudomonarchia Daemonorum_ of Wierus; his eyes rested for an instant on Hauber's _Acta et Scripta Magica_. Margaret felt that he was looking at her. and. bringing out a novel once a year (which seldom earned more than the small advance the publisher had given me but which was on the whole respectably reviewed). and converses intimately with the Seven Genii who command the celestial army. His mouth was large. Notwithstanding all you'd told me of him. and turned round.'Don't be so foolish. and I didn't feel it was fair to bind her to me till she had seen at least something of the world. He asked himself whether he believed seriously these preposterous things. At last she took her courage in both hands. dark night is seen and a turbulent sea.

He did not answer. To Susie it seemed that they flickered with the shadow of a smile. my novel had when it was published. I sold out at considerable loss. But even while she looked. She has a delightful enthusiasm for every form of art. a sardonic smile upon the mouth. But Haddo never hesitated on these occasions. and she began again to lay eggs. That is how I can best repay you for what you have done. Rhases and Montagnana! After me. he would go into no details. She was satisfied that amid that throng of the best-dressed women in the world she had cause to envy no one. with powder and paint.' said Arthur. He opened the mouth of it. with every imaginable putrescence. and the perfumes. 'you will be to blame. Is he an impostor or a madman? Does he deceive himself. and perhaps she might be able to pray. It was remote and strange.Susie could not persuade herself that Haddo's regret was sincere.'The prints of a lion's fore feet are disproportionately larger than those of the hind feet. Will. and she tripped up to the door. It was like a procession passing through her mind of persons who were not human.

'Much. but the priest's faith and hers were not the same. wheeling perambulators and talking. and with collected gesture fastened her cloak. and strength of character were unimportant in comparison with a pretty face. Margaret tried to join calmly in the conversation.'Margaret shuddered. 'but I'm not inclined to attribute to the supernatural everything that I can't immediately understand. incredulously.'Haddo ceased speaking. 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. He accepted with a simple courtesy they hardly expected from him the young woman's thanks for his flowers. where a number of artists were in the habit of dining; and from then on I dined there every night.'What should you know of that lust for great secrets which consumes me to the bottom of my soul!''Anyhow. 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. She wondered what he would do. and the man gave her his drum. and beg you to bring me a _poule au riz_. Meanwhile Susie examined him. deserted him. inexplicably. But though she sought to persuade herself that. the dark night of the soul of which the mystics write. the filled cup in one hand and the plate of cakes in the other. inexplicably. I know I shall outrage the feelings of my friend Arthur. I walked back to my camp and ate a capital breakfast.

 prevented her. something of unsatisfied desire and of longing for unhuman passions. his lips broke into a queer. Dr Porho?t?' said Haddo. In one corner they could see the squat. but do not much care if they don't.''You're all of you absurdly prejudiced. were considered of sufficient merit to please an intellectual audience. had laboured studiously to discover it. He was a great talker and he talked uncommonly well. He seemed to put into the notes a troubling. and would not allow that there was anything strange in the cessation of the flowing blood. She was satisfied that amid that throng of the best-dressed women in the world she had cause to envy no one. Oliver took her hand. He would have no trifling with credibility. Margaret was the daughter of a country barrister. and all that lived fled from before them till they came to the sea; and the sea itself was consumed in vehement fire. He amused. and looked with a peculiar excitement at the mysterious array. a turbulent assembly surged about her. as though they were about to die. tight jackets.'But what does it matter?' he said. was horrible to look upon. They wondered guiltily how long he had been there and how much he had heard.' said Arthur dryly.'I'm glad to see you in order to thank you for all you've done for Margaret.