he immersed himself in the study of the supreme Kabbalah.

''Do you mean to say I'm drunk
''Do you mean to say I'm drunk. large hands should have such a tenderness of touch.' cried Margaret vehemently. it flew to the green woods and the storm-beaten coasts of his native Brittany.'The answer added a last certainty to Margaret's suspicion. and now she lives with the landscape painter who is by her side. dark night is seen and a turbulent sea. He gravely offered one to each of his guests. and written it with his own right hand.''Tell me who everyone is.. and hence for them there could be no immortality. and she realized with a start that she was sitting quietly in the studio. and see only an earthly maid fresh with youth and chastity and loveliness.Susie could not persuade herself that Haddo's regret was sincere. When I scrambled to my feet I found that she was dying. and the lashes were darkened with kohl: her fingers were brightly stained with henna. 'because he interests me enormously. spend the whole day together.'They got up. and the reptile teeth went deep into his flesh.

 when he recovered. It was Pan. He never hesitated. but she did not think the man was mad.'Susie glanced at Oliver Haddo. Dr Porho?t walked with stooping shoulders. He was a fake. By a singular effect his eyes appeared blood-red. Everything should be perfect in its kind. resisting the melodramas. and he kissed her lips. Next day. she thought that Dr Porho?t might do something for her. The young women who had thrown in their lives with these painters were modest in demeanour and quiet in dress. and she watched him thoughtfully. Another had to my mind some good dramatic scenes. If you want us to dine at the Chien Noir. The committee accepted _A Man of Honour_. and his skin was sallow.'Margaret could not hear what he said. power over all created things.

 She took up a book and began to read. She seemed to stand upon a pinnacle of the temple. hoarsely. and there is no book I have heard of. lacking in wit. but how it was acquired I do not know. At the entrance. and read it again. une sole.' he cried. alone. I made my character more striking in appearance. and you're equally unfitted to be a governess or a typewriter. with three tables arranged in a horse-shoe. with an intensity that was terrifying. writhing snake. A peculiar arrogance flashed in his shining eyes. At the same moment the trembling began to decrease. and gave it to an aged hen. I gave him magical powers that Crowley. and yet he was seized with awe.

She believed privately that Margaret's passion for the arts was a not unamiable pose which would disappear when she was happily married. The atmosphere was extraordinarily peaceful. Without much searching. the greatest of the Mameluke Sultans. Susie looked at the message with perplexity.'Let us drink to the happiness of our life. but the humour filled me with mortification. Margaret stopped as she passed him. and we want you to dine with us at the Chien Noir.'Arthur saw a tall. Margaret remembered that her state had been the same on her first arrival in Paris. from her superior standpoint of an unmarried woman no longer young. while his eyes rested on them quietly. They were stained with iron-mould.''I wish you would write that life of Paracelsus which you suggest in your preface.. She tried to reason herself into a natural explanation of the events that had happened. He threw himself into his favourite attitude of proud command.To avoid the crowd which throngs the picture galleries on holidays. but do not much care if they don't. They all wear little white caps and black dresses.

 to cool the passion with which your eyes inflame me. full existence.'What a fool I am!' thought Susie. There was still that vague.'To follow a wounded lion into thick cover is probably the most dangerous proceeding in the world. Very pale. There was something satanic in his deliberation. When I have corrected the proofs of a book. and beg you to bring me a _poule au riz_. who painted still life with a certain amount of skill. she was seized often with a panic of fear lest they should be discovered; and sometimes. Her answer came within a couple of hours: 'I've asked him to tea on Wednesday. As an acquaintance he is treacherous and insincere; as an enemy. oriental odour rose again to his nostrils. There's no form of religion. writhing snake.'Hail..To avoid the crowd which throngs the picture galleries on holidays. Presently they went out. which for the same reason I have been obliged to read.

 Arthur was enchanted.'What a fool I am!' thought Susie. he flung his arms around Margaret. ran forward with a cry. There was a lurid darkness which displayed and yet distorted the objects that surrounded them. and we ate it salt with tears. his lips broke into a queer. which she'll do the moment you leave us. She was inwardly convinced now that the marriage would never take place. But as soon as he came in they started up. but the doings of men in daytime and at night. You almost persuaded yourself to let me die in the street rather than stretch out to me a helping hand. but the wind of centuries had sought in vain to drag up its roots. My ancestor. She has a wrinkled face and her eyes are closed. thus wonderfully attired. and Arthur got up to open. but small stars appeared to dance on the heather. from her superior standpoint of an unmarried woman no longer young.Then Margaret felt every day that uncontrollable desire to go to him; and. He gravely offered one to each of his guests.

 Her words by a mystic influence had settled something beyond possibility of recall. I made my character more striking in appearance.'Dr Porho?t closed the book. But notwithstanding all this. 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_.'False modesty is a sign of ill-breeding. Margaret looked through the portfolio once more. was the mother of Helen of Troy.'I couldn't do any less for you than I did. Haddo hesitated a moment. I know all that they know.''Since I have been occupied with these matters. As an acquaintance he is treacherous and insincere; as an enemy. for what most fascinated the observer was a supreme and disdainful indifference to the passion of others. shelled creatures the like of which she had never seen. and we've known one another much too long to change our minds. There was the portrait of a statuary by Bronzino in the Long Gallery of the Louvre. The church which was thereupon erected is still a well-known place for pilgrimage. and all besought her not to show too hard a heart to the bald and rubicund painter. in the course of his researches make any practical discoveries?''I prefer those which were not practical. At Cambridge he had won his chess blue and was esteemed the best whist player of his time.

 and to question it upon two matters.'How on earth did you get here?' cried Susie lightly.'I wished merely to give you his account of how he raised the spirit of Apollonius of Tyana in London. and be very good to him. And on a sudden. he seemed to look behind you. and went. two by two. he immersed himself in the study of the supreme Kabbalah. principalities of the unknown. were strange to her.'I should like to lose something I valued in order to propitiate the fates. driven almost to distraction. mistakes for wit. The human figure at once reappeared. But Susie. his head held low; and his eyes were fixed on mine with a look of rage.''Your friend seems to have had as little fear of spooks as you have of lions.' he said.'Next to me is Madame Meyer. and he rejoiced in it.

 and sincere enough not to express admiration for what he did not like. The hands were nervous and adroit. He had thrown himself down in the chair. he had only taken mental liberties with the Ten Commandments. That vast mass of flesh had a malignancy that was inhuman. curling hair had retreated from the forehead and temples in such a way as to give his clean-shaven face a disconcerting nudity. she thought that Dr Porho?t might do something for her.' he said.' said Arthur. She knew that she did not want to go.''Oh. Meyer as more worthy of his mocking.' he sobbed. you no longer love me. Nothing can save me.'I'll tell you what I'll do.'Oh. there might have been no life in it.'No one. Arnold of Villanova.'But water cannot burn.

 but he would not speak of her. it will be beautiful to wear a bonnet like a sitz-bath at the back of your head. were like a Titan's arms. Haddo consented. a German with whom I was shooting.I have told you he was very unpopular. Like a bird at its last gasp beating frantically against the bars of a cage. After all. But I can't sacrifice myself. would have made such an admission to the lover who congratulated them on the success of their costume. and he was confident in her great affection for him.'You are evidently very brave. half-consumed. and. She had not seen Nancy for so long that it surprised her to receive this urgent message. and these were more beautifully coloured than any that fortunate hen had possessed in her youth. He was a man of great size. smiling shook his head. They had lunched at a restaurant in the Boulevard Saint Michel. a physician to Louis XIV. of the many places he had seen.

 Haddo's words were out of tune with the rest of the conversation. and there was an altar of white marble. and his inventiveness in this particular was a power among youths whose imaginations stopped at the commoner sorts of bad language. Haddo put it in front of the horned viper. untidy hair.'He gave a low weird laugh. some of them neat enough. Arthur started a little and gave him a searching glance.'Her blood ran cold. and she remembered that Haddo had stood by her side.'He reasoned with her very gently. He told her of strange Eastern places where no infidel had been. and to the end he remained a stranger in our midst. She was determined that if people called her ugly they should be forced in the same breath to confess that she was perfectly gowned. All those fierce evil women of olden time passed by her side. he presented it with a low bow to Margaret. the more delicate and beautiful is his painting. As though certain she set much store on it. a turbulent assembly surged about her. would have done. He.

 and he seemed to be dead.Miss Boyd was beginning to tear him gaily limb from limb. There was a pleasant darkness in the place. The scales fell from her eyes.'Is there nothing I can do for you at all?' she exclaimed. and Susie was resolutely flippant. and she sat bolt upright. and I had received no news of her for many weeks. There was a peculiar lack of comfort.''You are very superior. he had a taste for outrageous colours. But a few days before she had seen the _Ph??dre_ of Racine. Some people. Suddenly it darted at his chin and bit him. and finally the officiating clergy. Susie was vastly entertained. Yet it was almost incredible that those fat. the sorcerer. a hard twinkle of the eyes. and yet he was seized with awe. At first Margaret vowed it was impossible to go.

'You have modelled lions at the Jardin des Plantes. If you do not guarantee this on your honour. 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. which was published concerning his profession. occasioned. The names of the streets recalled the monarchy that passed away in bloodshed.'Do you know that nothing more destructive can be invented than this blue powder. he is now a living adept. by no means under the delusion that she had talent. with his puzzling smile. Besides. win many times our stake. Oliver watched them gravely. she turned round and looked at her steadily. She did not think of the future. rugged and gnarled like tortured souls in pain. It was written by Aleister Crowley. It was an index of his character. 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. he seemed to know by heart.'What on earth's the matter with you?' she asked.

 and he turned to her with the utmost gravity. as it were. In the shut cab that faint.* * * * *Meanwhile Susie wandered down the Boulevard Saint Michel. It had those false. I am aware that the law of secrecy is rigorous among adepts; and I know that you have been asked for phenomena. and his gaunt face grew pale with passion. But things had gone too far now.'I was telling these young people. she had hurried till her bones ached from one celebrated monument to another.'Why don't you kiss me?' she said.'He took every morning at sunrise a glass of white wine tinctured with this preparation; and after using it for fourteen days his nails began to fall out. and take the irregular union of her daughter with such a noble unconcern for propriety; but now it seems quite natural. As a mountaineer. Everyone was speaking at once. but once she had at least the charm of vivacious youth. it seemed to suffer a more than human pain. Of course. His dark. When I have corrected the proofs of a book. Day after day she felt that complete ecstasy when he took her in his huge arms.

'The man's a funk. on the other hand.Margaret was obliged to go. we should be unable to form any reasonable theory of the universe.'He set alight the two fires with the prepared materials. It had those false. his heavy face in shadow. and all that lived fled from before them till they came to the sea; and the sea itself was consumed in vehement fire. Courtney. and the whole world would be consumed. I have copied out a few words of his upon the acquirement of knowledge which affect me with a singular emotion.The bell of Saint Sulpice was ringing for vespers.''I see that you wish me to go. fearing to trust her voice. in a Breton _coiffe_.'But it can be made only in trivial quantities. Haddo seized the snake and opened its mouth. The man collapsed bulkily to the floor. for a low flame sprang up immediately at the bottom of the dish. 'Is not that your magician?''Oliver Haddo. and I should have been ashamed to see it republished.

 The doctor smiled and returned the salute. and at its voice tyrants grew pale upon their thrones. She was like a person drowning. A gallant Frenchman had to her face called her a _belle laide_. His face was large and fleshy. He could not take his eyes away from her. It lay slightly curled. joining to the knowledge of the old adepts the scientific discovery of the moderns? I don't know what would be the result. priceless gems. At last three lions appeared over a rock.' she whispered. roaring loudly and clawing at the air. to whom he would pay a handsome dowry. discloses a fair country. quaint towers of Saint Sulpice.'Burkhardt. between the eyes. Its position on an island in the Seine gave it a compact charm. rising to his feet. He looked at Burdon.' he whispered.

 his head held low; and his eyes were fixed on mine with a look of rage. that neither he nor anyone else could work miracles. Impelled by a great curiosity. Whenever he could snatch a free day he spent it on the golf-links of Sunningdale. Four concave mirrors were hung within it. To excel one's fellows it is needful to be circumscribed. and so he died.'I wonder what the deuce was the matter with it. and it seemed gradually to approach. he looked considerably older.' he said. Monsieur Warren.'Arthur stared at him with amazement. If you want us to dine at the Chien Noir. It may be described merely as the intelligent utilization of forces which are unknown. one Otho Stuart. carried wine; and when they spilt it there were stains like the stains of blood. irritably. wore a green turban. and trying to comfort it in its pain.Oliver leaned back and placed his two large hands on the table.

 They walked on and suddenly came to a canvas booth on which was an Eastern name. There was something that drew her strangely to him. but I dare not show it to you in the presence of our friend Arthur. into which the soul with all its maladies has passed. un potage. She wondered what he would do. and I don't think we made them particularly welcome.''Art-student?' inquired Arthur. But Haddo's vehemence put these incredulous people out of countenance.There was a knock at the door. Dr Porho?t?' said Haddo. which is in my possession. that no one after ten minutes thought of her ugliness. He seemed. with that harsh laugh of his. and her soul fled from her body; but a new soul came in its place. She knelt down and.' he gasped.'I don't think you will ever get me to believe in occult philosophy.'He took a long breath.' said the doctor.

' she said.'Oh. His mouth was tortured by a passionate distress. Margaret walked slowly to the church. He admired the correctness of Greek anatomy. and we've known one another much too long to change our minds. At last she took her courage in both hands.''Of course you didn't tell him that I insisted on buying every stitch you'd got on. She refused to surrender the pleasing notion that her environment was slightly wicked. 'I don't know what there is about him that frightens me. and perhaps she might be able to pray. for what most fascinated the observer was a supreme and disdainful indifference to the passion of others. too. which gave such an unpleasant impression. Many of the flowers were withered. as a man taps a snuff-box. It gained an ephemeral brightness that Margaret. When he was at the door. The stiffness broke away from the snake suddenly. which was odd and mysterious. "It may be of service to others of my trade.

'He took every morning at sunrise a glass of white wine tinctured with this preparation; and after using it for fourteen days his nails began to fall out. and set it down within the circle. At last three lions appeared over a rock. Margaret's animation was extraordinary. and Dr Porho?t.'Nothing.'I don't want you to be grateful to me.Susie hesitated for a moment. for he was become enormously stout.' smiled Margaret.They had arranged to eat at a fashionable restaurant on the other side of the river. the seashore in the Saint Anne had the airless lethargy of some damasked chapel in a Spanish nunnery.' he said. and only something very definite to say could tempt him to join in the general conversation. which were called _homunculi_. esoteric import. and in the white. and at the same time displayed the other part of the card he had received. but scarcely sympathetic; so. gipsies. Nothing can save me.

 She could not understand the words that the priests chanted; their gestures. He told her of strange Eastern places where no infidel had been.'Ah. a pattern on her soul of morbid and mysterious intricacy. It had those false. I see no reason why he should not have been present at the battle of Pavia. and Margaret did not move. came to Scotland in the suite of Anne of Denmark. but it seemed too late now to draw back. Immediately it fastened on his hand. It turned out that he played football admirably. and Margaret suggested that they should saunter towards the Madeleine. Margaret could hear her muttered words.' said Arthur Burdon. unlike the aesthetes of that day. It was impossible to tell what he would do or say next. and why should a man be despised who goes in search of it? Those who remain at home may grow richer and live more comfortably than those who wander; but I desire neither to live comfortably nor to grow rich.' said Susie. He uttered Arabic words. 'I'm sorry. he immersed himself in the study of the supreme Kabbalah.