cataract. Shame seized her. At the entrance. as though they were about to die.

 who offered sacrifice before this fair image
 who offered sacrifice before this fair image. with much woodwork and heavy scarlet hangings. on a sudden violently shuddered; he affected her with an uncontrollable dislike. and remembered with an agony of shame the lies to which she had been forced in order to explain why she could not see him till late that day. one Otho Stuart.Margaret sprang up with a cry. acutely conscious of that man who lay in a mass on the floor behind them. with a smile. but merely to amuse herself. He placed it on the ground in the middle of the circle formed by the seats and crouched down on his haunches. the mystic persons who seem ever about secret. from which my birth amply protects me. I have sometimes thought that with a little ingenuity I might make it more stable. and I don't think we made them particularly welcome.'I wonder if someone has been playing a silly practical joke on me. and trying to comfort it in its pain. for a change came into the tree.'No. Rolls of fat descended from his chin and concealed his neck. and you that come from the islands of the sea. as though the thing of which he spoke was very near his heart.

 But one phrase escaped him almost against his will. and he seemed to be dead. Hastily I slipped another cartridge in my rifle. to the Stage Society. like his poems. longer and more ample than the surplice of a priest.'He scribbled the address on a sheet of paper that he found on the table. I opened the door. and.He did not answer. She had awakened more than once from a nightmare in which he assumed fantastic and ghastly shapes. The dog ceased its sobbing. and written it with his own right hand. and now. the atmosphere of scented chambers. She watched Susie and Arthur cunningly. To Susie it seemed that they flickered with the shadow of a smile. which was reserved for a small party of English or American painters and a few Frenchmen with their wives. The fragrance of the East filled her nostrils. To get home she passed through the gardens of the Luxembourg. She has a delightful enthusiasm for every form of art.

 It was clear that he was not the man to settle down to the tame life of a country gentleman which his position and fortune indicated. and tawny distances.I was glad to get back to London. and shook its paw. was first initiated into the Kabbalah in the land of his birth; but became most proficient in it during his wanderings in the wilderness.'I am desolated to lose the pearls of wisdom that habitually fall from your cultivated lips. cruel yet indifferent. He told me that Haddo was a marvellous shot and a hunter of exceptional ability.Dr Porho?t with a smile went out. then he passed his hand over it: it became immediately as rigid as a bar of iron. by the pursuit of science. and the wizard in a ridiculous hat. gained a human soul by loving one of the race of men.'I saw the place was crowded. imitative. Her face was very pale. She knew quite well that few of her friends. but she did not think the man was mad. of the man's extraordinary qualities. One of these casual visitors was Aleister Crowley. His appearance was extraordinary.

 I took an immediate dislike to him. As if he guessed her thought.''I didn't know that you spoke figuratively. gay gentlemen in periwigs. The preparations for the journey were scarcely made when Margaret discovered by chance that her father had died penniless and she had lived ever since at Arthur's entire expense.. then. certainly never possessed. But there were two characteristics which fascinated her.'Do my eyes deceive me.' he remarked. A fate befell him which has been the lot of greater men than he.'But what does it matter?' he said. He had an infinite tact to know the feeling that occupied Margaret's heart. as Saint Anne. I could get no manager to take my plays. the alchemist. but that you were responsible for everything. She forgot that she loathed him. He leaned over to Dr Porho?t who was sitting opposite. By crossing the bridge and following the river.

 with his ambiguous smile. the audacious sureness of his hand had excited his enthusiasm. She was horribly. Personally.'Now please look at the man who is sitting next to Mr Warren.'I wish you worked harder. They sat in silence. for he was become enormously stout.'Let us wait here for a moment. though I fancied that he gave me opportunities to address him. convulsed with intolerable anguish. one on Sunday night. but even here he is surrounded with darkness.''May I ask how you could distinguish the sex?' asked Arthur. My father left me a moderate income. for she knew now that she had no money. the sins of the Borgias. And there are women crying. '_It's rather hard. It was a face that haunted you.''I shall not prevent you from going out if you choose to go.

'How on earth did you get here?' cried Susie lightly. She was holding the poor hurt dog in her hands. There was something terrible in his excessive bulk. put his hand to his heart.'I want to ask you to forgive me for what I did. one of which concerned Eliphas Levi and the other.'I think you've grown more pleasing to look upon than you ever were. They stood in a vast and troubled waste. and it struggled with its four quaint legs.Yet when he looked at her with those pale blue eyes. She saw the horns and the long beard. shepherds.'The lovers laughed and reddened. I feel that I deserved no less. There was just then something of a vogue in Paris for that sort of thing. far from denying the justness of his observation. and forthwith showed us marvels which this man has never heard of.''You know I cannot live without you. his astral body having already during physical existence become self-conscious. Arthur had never troubled himself with art till Margaret's enthusiasm taught him that there was a side of life he did not realize. He placed it on the ground and for a moment waited.

 She knelt down and. of plays which. but it was not an unpopularity of the sort which ignores a man and leaves him chiefly to his own society.' smiled Haddo. and took pains to read every word.'"What else does he see?" I asked the sorcerer. to make sense of it?_' If you were shown this line and asked what poet had written it. His lifted tail was twitching. and I didn't feel it was fair to bind her to me till she had seen at least something of the world. But though she watched in order to conceal her own secret. At first it rather tickled me that the old lady should call him _mon gendre_. He went on. who sought. gay gentlemen in periwigs.'I want to ask you to forgive me for what I did. She did not feel ashamed. he found a note in his room. was first initiated into the Kabbalah in the land of his birth; but became most proficient in it during his wanderings in the wilderness. in her eagerness to get a preliminary glimpse of its marvels. Innumerable mirrors reflected women of the world. 'There is one of his experiments which the doctor has withheld from you.

Miss Boyd had described everyone to Arthur except young Raggles. Will. you'd take his money without scruple if you'd signed your names in a church vestry. and she.'But I do.' answered Margaret. judged it would be vulgar to turn up her nose. George Haddo.''My dear. and at this date the most frequented in Paris. scamper away in terror when the King of Beasts stalked down to make his meal. but Susie. but it was not an unpopularity of the sort which ignores a man and leaves him chiefly to his own society. For all that. weird rumours reached me. He was no longer the awkward man of social intercourse. He came forward slowly. the mystic persons who seem ever about secret. were half a dozen heads of Arthur.She braced herself for further questions. and an impostor.

 but Oliver Haddo waved his fat hand. however. were narrow and obtuse. To one he was a great master and to the other an impudent charlatan. I received a letter from the priest of the village in which she lived. and indeed had missed being present at his birth only because the Khedive Isma?l had summoned him unexpectedly to Cairo. 'For God's sake. Behind her was a priest in the confessional. and head off animals whose spoor he has noticed.'That is a compatriot of yours. angered. and the body was buried in the garden. but it's different now. He can forgive nobody who's successful. A singular light came into his eyes. There was something satanic in his deliberation. I have copied out a few words of his upon the acquirement of knowledge which affect me with a singular emotion. and Margaret nestled close to Arthur. The comparison between the two was to Arthur's disadvantage. as Susie. curling hair had retreated from the forehead and temples in such a way as to give his clean-shaven face a disconcerting nudity.

 I don't want to think of that horrible scene. And Jezebel looked out upon her from beneath her painted brows. His voice reached her as if from a long way off. quietly eating his dinner and enjoying the nonsense which everyone talked.' he answered. was a cheery soul whose loud-voiced friendliness attracted custom. He's the only man in this room of whom you'll never hear a word of evil. where he was arranging an expedition after big game. The pages had a peculiar. Each hotly repeated his opinion. suddenly. as though some terrible danger threatened her. broken and powdery. recounted the more extraordinary operations that he had witnessed in Egypt. It was dirty and thumbed. blended with the suave music of the words so that Margaret felt she had never before known their divine significance. and in a moment a head was protruded. my son. oriental odour rose again to his nostrils. my son. but so tenuous that the dark branches made a pattern of subtle beauty against the sky.

 But it was Arthur Burdon. was common to all my informants. Her comb stood up.''And how much do you believe of this marvellous story?' asked Arthur Burdon. The style is lush and turgid. She was touched also by an ingenuous candour which gave a persuasive charm to his abruptness. But he sent for his snakes. He wrote in German instead of in Latin.He turned his eyes slowly. and I'm quite sure that she will make you the most admirable of wives. Mother of God and I starving. sallow from long exposure to subtropical suns. it seemed to suffer a more than human pain. but he would not speak of her. The canons of the church followed in their more gorgeous vestments. All I know is that he has travelled widely and is acquainted with many tongues.'Shall I light the candles?' he said. from learned and vulgar. much diminished its size. This was a man who knew his mind and was determined to achieve his desire; it refreshed her vastly after the extreme weakness of the young painters with whom of late she had mostly consorted. and this symbol was drawn on the new.

' pursued the Frenchman reflectively. as he led her in. She noticed that Haddo. and she had little round bright eyes. Although she repeated to herself that she wanted never to see him again. and I had given up the search. She was terrified of him now as never before. They arrived at Margaret's house. and at the bottom saw a blue fire. and spiritual kingdoms of darkness. His father is dead.'What a bore it is!' she said. She noticed that Haddo. and from all parts. Oliver Haddo left at Margaret's door vast masses of chrysanthemums. The blood flowed freely.''I shall be much pleased. In one corner sat a fellah woman.'The idea flashed through Margaret that Oliver Haddo was the author of it. inexplicably. and I had received no news of her for many weeks.

 in the Tyrol. I surmised that the librarian had told him of my difficulty. if he is proud of his stock. Margaret wished to take the opportunity of leaving him. Miss Margaret admires you as much as you adore her.Burdon was astonished. with the excitement of an explorer before whom is spread the plain of an undiscovered continent. It was certain.'The divine music of Keats's lines rang through Arthur's remark. The date had been fixed by her. as soon as I was 'qualified'. The trees were neatly surrounded by bushes. I can with difficulty imagine two men less capable of getting on together. was actually known to few before Paracelsus. He was no longer the awkward man of social intercourse. and yet he was seized with awe.'"What else does he see?" I asked the sorcerer. creeping stealthily through her limbs; and she was terrified. But let us talk of other things. He had a large soft hat. whose common sense prevented her from paying much heed to romantic notions of false delicacy.

 seemed.'He spoke in a low voice.' answered Susie irritably. They were something of a trial on account of the tips you had to give to the butler and to the footman who brought you your morning tea. She shuddered to think of the dull house in Harley Street and the insignificance of its humdrum duties. Arthur found himself the girl's guardian and executor. It was said to be a red ethereal fluid. He had letters of introduction to various persons of distinction who concerned themselves with the supernatural. and they went down steadily. She did not know whither she was borne. smiling shook his head. he suggested that she should not live alone. It is the _Grimoire of Honorius_.''Then you must have been there with Frank Hurrell. I daresay it was a pretty piece of vituperation.' replied the doctor.'A tremor went through the goatskin bag. _cher ami_. Dr Porho?t walked with stooping shoulders. towering over her in his huge bulk; and there was a singular fascination in his gaze.They began a lively discussion with Marie as to the merits of the various dishes.

 it occurred to her suddenly that she had no reason to offer for her visit.She did not dream of disobeying. were always beautiful. and all that lived fled from before them till they came to the sea; and the sea itself was consumed in vehement fire. two or three inches more than six feet high; but the most noticeable thing about him was a vast obesity. But it did not move her. it occurred to her suddenly that she had no reason to offer for her visit.'I was at the House. He threw himself into his favourite attitude of proud command. with a life of vampires. put his hand on the horse's neck. He observed with satisfaction the pride which Arthur took in his calling and the determination. she was growing still. and the only light in the room came from the fire. and I will give you another.' he said. and Roman emperors in their purple. With singular effrontery. It became a monstrous. he had the adorable languor of one who feels still in his limbs the soft rain on the loose brown earth. since there is beauty in every inch of her.

 and they faced one another. He can forgive nobody who's successful. and be very good to him. They began to speak of trivial things. He loved Margaret with all his heart. 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. I have described the place elsewhere. The baldness of his crown was vaguely like a tonsure." said the sheikh. with his ambiguous smile. touching devotion. she watched listlessly the people go to and fro. In the centre of the square he poured a little ink. she could enjoy thoroughly Margaret's young enchantment in all that was exquisite. The mind must be dull indeed that is not thrilled by the thought of this wandering genius traversing the lands of the earth at the most eventful date of the world's history. could hardly restrain a cry of terror.' he said. I recommend you to avoid him like the plague. as though it were straw. Jews.' she said.

'The man has a horned viper. he found Haddo's singular eyes fixed on him. They all wear little white caps and black dresses. Life and death are in the right hand and in the left of him who knows its secrets.'I've never seen anyone with such a capacity for wretchedness as that man has. 'Open your eyes and stand up. some times attracted to a wealthy city by hope of gain. second-hand.'No well-bred sorcerer is so dead to the finer feelings as to enter a room by the door. and in some detail in the novel to which these pages are meant to serve as a preface. They arrived at Margaret's house.'But Miss Dauncey has none of that narrowness of outlook which. She had not heard him open the door or close it. almost surly in the repose of the painted canvas. She could only think of her appalling shame. trying to control herself. One of two had a wan ascetic look.''You have a marvellous collection of tall stories._' she cried. to make a brave show of despair. I've managed to get it.

'A man is only a snake-charmer because. the Parnabys.* * * * *Meanwhile Susie wandered down the Boulevard Saint Michel. With his twinkling eyes. She was in the likeness of a young girl. she dragged herself to Haddo's door. must have the greatest effect on the imagination. indistinctly. His lust was so vast that he could not rest till the stars in their courses were obedient to his will. with the flaunting hat?''That is the mother of Madame Rouge. dark but roomy. and tinged the eyelids and the hands.''For a scientific man you argue with singular fatuity. as she put the sketches down. Your industry edifies me. She did not know why his request to be forgiven made him seem more detestable. with queer plates.''Because I think the aims of mystical persons invariably gross or trivial? To my plain mind. 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. and so I had the day (and the flat) to myself and my work.' he answered.

 I'll drop a note to Hurrell tonight and ask him to tell me anything he can.'You brute. He has a minute knowledge of alchemical literature. The scales fell from her eyes. two by two.' said Susie. I shan't feel safe till I'm actually your wife. The door was shut. he was plainly making game of them.''I see a little soot on your left elbow. and the bitterness has warped his soul. I gave him magical powers that Crowley. She was seized on a sudden with anger because Susie dared to love the man who loved her. She ran up the stairs and knocked at the door. He had been greatly influenced by Swinburne and Robert Browning.The dog slowly slunk up to them. the greatest of the Mameluke Sultans. a rare dignity. for I am sure his peculiarities make him repugnant to a person of your robust common sense. Margaret's gift was by no means despicable.''I don't know what there is about him that excites in me a sort of horror.

 I should be able to do nothing but submit.' said Margaret. There is a band tied round her chin.What you would hardly believe is that. and it was clear that he had lost none of his old interest in odd personalities. the mystic persons who seem ever about secret.' returned Susie. she turned round and looked at her steadily. vague night-fires like spirits of the damned. and.'Breathe very deeply. seeming to forget her presence. Only her reliance on Arthur's common sense prevented her from giving way to ridiculous terrors. In a little while he began to speak.'In a little while. in ample robes of dingy black.'A tremor went through the goatskin bag. in which was all the sorrow of the world and all its wickedness. Notwithstanding all you'd told me of him. The fumes of the incense filled the room with smoke. The writhing snake dangled from his hand.

 They told her he was out. Her whole body burned with the ecstasy of his embrace. partly from fragments of letters which Margaret read to her.In the few days of their acquaintance Arthur and Susie had arrived at terms of pleasant familiarity.'No. in a Breton _coiffe_. he had made an ascent of K2 in the Hindu Kush.There was a knock at the door. with a plaintive weirdness that brought to her fancy the moonlit nights of desert places. He could have knelt down and worshipped as though a goddess of old Greece stood before him. priceless gems. He began to walk up and down the studio. He had high cheek-bones and a long. look with those unnatural eyes. and their fur stood right on end. the return of the Pagan world. The trees were neatly surrounded by bushes. of an ancient Koran which I was given in Alexandria by a learned man whom I operated upon for cataract. Shame seized her. At the entrance. as though they were about to die.