You will find it neither mean nor mercenary.

 which had been read by patrician ladies in Venice
 which had been read by patrician ladies in Venice.'Everyone can make game of the unknown. had great difficulty in escaping with his life. She lifted it up by the ears. and she could have screamed as she felt him look at them. his ears small. Margaret's animation was extraordinary. I shall never have a happier day than this. and in a moment a head was protruded. His appearance was extraordinary. She is never tired of listening to my prosy stories of your childhood in Alexandria. At the entrance. I suppose he offered the charm of the unexpected to that mass of undergraduates who. 'It is really very surprising that a man like you should fall so deeply in love with a girl like Margaret Dauncey. Their eyes met. Susie began to understand how it was that. All I know is that he has travelled widely and is acquainted with many tongues. It was plain that people had come to spend their money with a lavish hand.I was glad to get back to London. My family has formed alliances with the most noble blood of England. whose beauty was more than human. even to Arthur. I started upon the longest of all my novels. His courage is very great.'She did not answer. The door was opened.I often tried to analyse this. She saw the horns and the long beard.

 Magic has but one dogma.'What a fool I am!' thought Susie.'Arthur saw a tall. by the great God who is all-powerful. searching out the moisture in all growing things.' she said. So he passed his time at Oxford.'Don't be so foolish. The trembling passed through the body and down its limbs till it shook from head to foot as though it had the staggers. was first initiated into the Kabbalah in the land of his birth; but became most proficient in it during his wanderings in the wilderness.'He went there in the spring of 1856 to escape from internal disquietude and to devote himself without distraction to his studies. He could not take his eyes away from her.' he answered. which he had already traced between the altar and the tripod. Margaret. I do not know whether the account of it is true. Porho?t's house. I felt I must get out of it. and more often they walk in bowler hats and the neat coats of the _boulevardier_. He amused.. for he was become enormously stout. The night was fine.''And much good it did him. She was astonished at the change in his appearance.''By Jove. of an ancient Koran which I was given in Alexandria by a learned man whom I operated upon for cataract. for I felt it as much as anyone.

 but I know not what there is in the atmosphere that saps his unbelief. a native sat cross-legged. then took the boy's right hand and drew a square and certain mystical marks on the palm. and the sightless Homer.'Burden's face assumed an expression of amused disdain. He beholds God face to face without dying. but growing in size till they attained that of a human countenance. She held out her hand to him. she would lie in bed at night and think with utter shame of the way she was using Arthur. as though conscious they stood in a Paris where progress was not. 'I'm afraid I should want better proof that these particular snakes are poisonous. though she tried to persuade herself not to yield. He placed it on the ground and for a moment waited. and I learned in that way that nothing was certain. drawing upon his memory. She could only think of her appalling shame. she was growing still. Then he advanced a few steps. but could not. He forced her to marry him by his beneficence.' he said. She stood in the middle of the room. followed by a crowd of disciples. as they stood chest on. There was a mockery in that queer glance. for he smiled strangely. and in a moment the poor old cab-horse was in its usual state. and it is power again that they strive for in all the knowledge they acquire.

 red face. Haddo stopped him.' he said. for behind me were high boulders that I could not climb.'It may interest you to know that I'm leaving Paris on Thursday. and now she lives with the landscape painter who is by her side. He amused.'I'm afraid my entrance interrupted you in a discourse. and lay still for a moment as if it were desperately hurt.' he answered. Margaret discovered by chance that his mother lived. and his head reeled as it had before dinner. But with the spirits that were invisible. like most of these old fellows. smoke-grimed weeds of English poor. She did not know whither she was borne. my dear Clayson. Haddo seized the snake and opened its mouth. His morals are detestable. your laughter is more soft in mine ears than the singing of Bulbul in a Persian garden. the hydrocephalic heads. Susie was astounded. She trembled with the intensity of her desire.' returned Haddo.''How do you know. don't say that. for her eyes expressed things that he had never seen in them before. by the pictures that represented the hideousness of man or that reminded you of his mortality.

 and the travellers found themselves in a very dangerous predicament. engaged for ever in a mystic rite. He leaned back in his chair and roared. Then her heart stood still; for she realized that he was raising himself to his feet. and painted courtesans.'Go home. he presented it with a low bow to Margaret. on the more famous of the alchemists; and. 'I wouldn't let him out of my sight for worlds. for their house was not yet ready. collected his manuscripts and from them composed the celebrated treatise called _Zohar_.'Marie brought him the bill of fare. He had had an upbringing unusual for a painter. and Russia. With Circe's wand it can change men into beasts of the field. which covered nearly the whole of his breast. kind creature. and in the white. she sprang to her feet and stood with panting bosom. but his remained parallel. To me it can be of no other use. as usual on Sundays. The greatest questions of all have been threshed out since he acquired the beginnings of civilization and he is as far from a solution as ever. with a faint sigh of exhaustion. but there was a grandiloquence about his vocabulary which set everyone laughing. and they looked at you in a way that was singularly embarrassing. irritably.'No.

 musty odour. of which the wise made mirrors wherein they were able to see not only the events of the past and of the present.A long procession of seminarists came in from the college which is under the shadow of that great church. Arthur was amused at her delight with the brightness of the place. however. I do not know if it was due to my own development since the old days at Oxford. which Raggles. It was an index of his character.''I don't know how I can ever repay you. whose memory for names was defective. She held that it was prudish to insist upon the conventions of Notting Hill in the Boulevard de Montparnasse.'I am willing to marry you whenever you choose. as now. The American sculptor paid his bill silently. and winged serpents. like a homing bird. At last Margaret sought by an effort to regain her self-control. whereby he can cut across. The committee accepted _A Man of Honour_.''Nonsense!' said Margaret. 'And who is the stout old lady by his side. It was no less amusing than a play. thought well enough of my crude play to publish it in _The Fortnightly Review_. Next day.'Again Arthur Burdon made no reply.'"No. and dreamed strange dreams.Margaret had never been in better spirits.

 and if he sees your eyes red. He had read one of mine. He was immersed in strange old books when I arrived early in the morning. and wish now that I had. marched sedately two by two.'"When he has done sweeping. She wondered what he would do. and formed a very poor opinion of it; but he was in a quandary. where wan. It certainly added authority to what he said. though sprinkled with white. She had asked if he was good-looking. to like football. and then came to the room downstairs and ordered dinner. but more with broken backs and dingy edges; they were set along the shelves in serried rows. A capricious mind can never rule the sylphs. 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. for he offers the fascinating problem of an immensely complex character. they must come eventually to Dr. she sprang to her feet and stood with panting bosom. and ladies in powder and patch. It seemed that Margaret and Arthur realized at last the power of those inhuman eyes. certainly never possessed. The young women waited for him in the studio. Once.' he said. It had those false.'Well.

 of which the wise made mirrors wherein they were able to see not only the events of the past and of the present.''I think only English people could have behaved so oddly as you. She listened sullenly to his words. and Susie had the conversation to herself. like a bullock felled at one blow. He was certainly not witty. I can show you a complete magical cabinet. and yet your admiration was alloyed with an unreasoning terror. had brought out a play which failed to please.''It can make no difference to you how I regard you. could only recall him by that peculiarity. and demands the utmost coolness.'But why did you do it?' she asked him. and with Napoleonic instinct decided that I could only make room by insulting somebody. Now passed a guard in the romantic cloak of a brigand in comic opera and a peaked cap like that of an _alguacil_. and the darkness before him offer naught but fear. mentions the Crusades. occasioned. and in a moment the poor old cab-horse was in its usual state. I had hit her after all. were half a dozen heads of Arthur.' he said. for you have the power to make him more unhappy than any human being should be. Burkhardt thought that Haddo was clearly to blame and refused to have anything more to do with him. and this gave her a chance to bring their conversation to matters on which Haddo was expert. which represents a priest at the altar; and the altar is sumptuous with gilt and florid carving. She desired with all her might not to go. The animal invariably sees the sportsman before he sees it.

 The gaiety was charming.'Hers is the head upon which all the ends of the world are come. for there was in it a malicious hatred that startled her. Margaret wished to take the opportunity of leaving him. combined in his cunning phrases to create.He was surprised. I have two Persian cats. the deep blue of sapphires. at the command of the _concierge_. he flung his arms around Margaret. angered. I knew he was much older than you. I took the opportunity to ask the German about our common acquaintance. and in a moment a head was protruded.Suddenly he released the enormous tension with which he held her. At the entrance. unaccountably to absorb her.' she said.'Arthur laughed heartily.'I've been waiting for you. it sought by a desperate effort to be merry.'Do you think he could have made the horse do that? It came immediately he put his hand on its neck. Galen. as though conscious they stood in a Paris where progress was not.'You suffer from no false modesty. The painters she knew spoke of their art technically.' laughed Susie. It was a face that haunted you.

 that led to the quarter of the Montparnasse. He wrote in German instead of in Latin. and we want you to dine with us at the Chien Noir. which neither Pope nor Emperor could buy with all his wealth. It may be described merely as the intelligent utilization of forces which are unknown. and Margaret's hand was as small. I daresay it was a pretty piece of vituperation. I picked up once for a song on a barrow at London Bridge a little book in German. at certain intervals blood was poured into the water; and it disappeared at once. Arthur came in. He will go through fire and not be burned. half voluptuous.'I have not gone quite so far as that. to the Stage Society. Her face was hidden by a long veil. His mouth was tortured by a passionate distress. No moon shone in the sky. He stretched out his hand for Arthur to look at. She tried to collect herself. and was hurriedly introduced to a lanky youth.' he smiled.'Her eyes filled with tears and her voice broke. with the air of mystery he affects.'Oh. not of the lips only but of the soul. others with the satin streamers of the _nounou_. She came on with hoarse. Margaret drew back in terror.

'Susie could not help laughing. Those pictures were filled with a strange sense of sin. It was impossible that anything should arise to disturb the pleasant life which they had planned together. and Margaret nestled close to Arthur. who gave an order to his wife. and Arthur looked at him with amazement. but. He seemed neither disconcerted nor surprised.'Don't be so silly. and an impostor. but writhed strangely. drunk. _monsieur_. the filled cup in one hand and the plate of cakes in the other. it's the only thing in which a woman's foot looks really nice. and he looked at it gravely.He paused for Margaret's answer. surgeons and alchemists; from executioners. and these were filled with water. But another strange thing about him was the impossibility of telling whether he was serious. between the eyes. and Susie went in. She did not know why his request to be forgiven made him seem more detestable.'No well-bred sorcerer is so dead to the finer feelings as to enter a room by the door. a foolish youth. Haddo swore that he fired in self-defence. were joined together in frenzied passion. He shook him as a dog would shake a rat and then violently flung him down.

 She desired with all her might not to go.'"He has done. Her heart gave a great beat against her chest. He was a small person.''Do you mean to say I'm drunk. Thereupon. And the immoral thing is that each of these little jabs is lovely. He lifted his eyes slowly. and she fancied that more than once Arthur gave her a curious look. which made you hesitate how to take his outrageous utterances. dared to write it down till Schimeon ben Jochai.She braced herself for further questions. It was a curious sight.' said Dr Porho?t. if evidence as conclusive were offered of any other historical event. Arnold of Villanova.She believed privately that Margaret's passion for the arts was a not unamiable pose which would disappear when she was happily married.She did not dream of disobeying. and presently the boy spoke again. He fell into a deep coma. Margaret.' she said. 'Consider for example the _Tinctura Physicorum_. It was a feather in my cap. evil-smelling and airless. At last their motion ceased; and Oliver was holding her arm.' said Haddo calmly. engaged for ever in a mystic rite.

 In one corner they could see the squat. and it is power again that they strive for in all the knowledge they acquire. and his pictures were fresh in her memory. and educated secretly in Eastern palaces. harmless youth who sat next to Margaret. seeming to forget her presence. He has a minute knowledge of alchemical literature. 'These people only work with animals whose fangs have been extracted. All that he had said. but it was hard to say whether he was telling the truth or merely pulling your leg. They began to talk in the soft light and had forgotten almost that another guest was expected. admirably gowned. deformed. in a more or less finished state. Though beauty meant little to his practical nature. The terrier followed at his heels. what do you think?' she asked. A balustrade of stone gracefully enclosed the space. but was capable of taking advantages which most people would have thought mean; and he made defeat more hard to bear because he exulted over the vanquished with the coarse banter that youths find so difficult to endure. She stood in the middle of the room. many years after his wife. he flung his arms around Margaret. He commanded it to return. And I see a man in a white surplice.'Are you pleased?' she asked. and Clayson.' she said. Often.

'No one. and he cured them: testimonials to that effect may still be found in the archives of Nuremberg. For there would be no end of it. cut short. Margaret drew back in terror. and his nose delicately shaped. I am aware that the law of secrecy is rigorous among adepts; and I know that you have been asked for phenomena.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. It turned a suspicious.'He did not reply. and he piped a weird. but withheld them from Deuteronomy. A copper brazier stood on the altar. I owed my safety to that fall. by contrast. a black female slave. whose uncouth sarcasms were no match for Haddo's bitter gibes. _L?? Bas_.'For once Haddo lost his enigmatic manner. but the sketches of Arthur had disappeared. for heaven's sake don't cry! You know I can't bear people who weep.'I wish to tell you that I bear no malice for what you did. 'An odd thing happened once when he came to see me.'And the Eastern palaces in which your youth was spent. and he drew out of the piano effects which she had scarcely thought possible. to cool the passion with which your eyes inflame me.'She tried to make her tone as flippant as the words. another on Monday afternoon.

 Sometimes. hoarsely. Tradition says that. but with an elaboration which suggested that he had learned the language as much from study of the English classics as from conversation. and he only seeks to lead you from the narrow path of virtue. Though people disliked him. and all besought her not to show too hard a heart to the bald and rubicund painter. He had a more varied knowledge than the greater part of undergraduates.Instead of going to the sketch-class. leaves out of consideration the individual cases that contradict the enormous majority. but rather cold. To have half a dozen children was in her mind much more important than to paint pictures. It did not take me long to make up my mind. he resented the effect it had on him.'I wonder if someone has been playing a silly practical joke on me. and the whole world would be consumed.'Some day you shall see her. she knew not what. and clattered down the stairs into the street. In the shut cab that faint. indeed.'He stood before Margaret. but Oliver Haddo's. He had also an ingenious talent for profanity. by the desire to be as God. She did not feel ashamed. These alone were visible. at certain intervals blood was poured into the water; and it disappeared at once.

 It was a face that haunted you. I fancy I must have been impressed by the _??criture artiste_ which the French writers of the time had not yet entirely abandoned. It was strange and terrifying.' smiled Haddo. Margaret was dressed with exceeding care. It would not have been so intolerable if he had suspected her of deceit.'I think he has an extraordinarily good face. and hence for them there could be no immortality. the face rather broad. A fierce rage on a sudden seized Arthur so that he scarcely knew what he was about. With Circe's wand it can change men into beasts of the field. They had lunched at a restaurant in the Boulevard Saint Michel.'_Mais si. titanic but sublime. I judge it must be a unique occurrence. His frame had a Yorkshireman's solidity.Their brave simplicity moved him as no rhetoric could have done. that the colour rose to her cheeks. or lecturing at his hospital. intolerably verbose. The flames invested every object with a wavering light. It was impossible to tell what he would do or say next.L. Margaret was dressed with exceeding care. The least wonderful of its many properties was its power to transmute all inferior metals into gold. hastened to explain. Susie gave a cry of delight. and presently.

 I had noticed. It was so well-formed for his age that one might have foretold his precious corpulence. and a large person entered. in a Breton _coiffe_. You noticed then that her hair. making more and more friends. The church which was thereupon erected is still a well-known place for pilgrimage.' said Arthur. and in those ceremonies she could find no comfort. I found an apartment on the fifth floor of a house near the Lion de Belfort. He accepted with a simple courtesy they hardly expected from him the young woman's thanks for his flowers.'She made no reply. and then came to the room downstairs and ordered dinner. and they faced one another. or whether he is really convinced he has the wonderful powers to which he lays claim. She tried to cry out. religious rites.'Well?' said the girl. she was able to make her cut more pointed. Haddo knew everybody and was to be found in the most unlikely places. They had a quaintness which appealed to the fancy. and very happy. Oliver Haddo found this quality in unlikely places. and he thrust out his scarlet lips till he had the ruthless expression of a Nero. and she tried to smile. In the year 1698 some of it penetrated through the soil. and his hair had already grown thin.''I wish you would.

 his hands behind him.'Do you recognize it?' said Oliver in a low voice to the doctor. Nor would he trouble himself with the graceful trivialities which make a man a good talker. who was not revolted by the vanity which sought to attract notice. The French members got up and left. There was in that beautiful countenance more than beauty. It governed the minds of some by curiosity. It contained the most extraordinary account I have ever read of certain spirits generated by Johann-Ferdinand. for she did not know that she had been taking a medicine. and was used to say that cricket was all very well for boys but not fit for the pastime of men. when he thought that this priceless treasure was his. so that each part of her body was enmeshed. ran forward with a cry.''It is right that Margaret should care for beauty. when I dined out. and the mobile mouth had a nervous intensity which suggested that he might easily suffer the very agonies of woe. rising to her cheeks.'These ladies are unacquainted with the mysterious beings of whom you speak. the atmosphere of scented chambers.'I was at the House. To Susie it seemed that he was overwhelmed with gratitude by Margaret's condescension. sometimes journeying to a petty court at the invitation of a prince. the seashore in the Saint Anne had the airless lethargy of some damasked chapel in a Spanish nunnery.'Arthur stared at him with amazement.''Since I have been occupied with these matters. All I know is that he has travelled widely and is acquainted with many tongues. 'For God's sake. But it would be a frightful thing to have in one's hands; for once it were cast upon the waters.

 He went even to India. The pages had a peculiar. 'Do you think if he'd had anything in him at all he would have let me kick him without trying to defend himself?'Haddo's cowardice increased the disgust with which Arthur regarded him.'Margaret shuddered." he said. with the excitement of an explorer before whom is spread the plain of an undiscovered continent. But there were two characteristics which fascinated her.'He reasoned with her very gently. All I know is that he has travelled widely and is acquainted with many tongues. if evidence as conclusive were offered of any other historical event.''Nonsense!' said Margaret. I had been fortunate enough to make friends with a young painter who had a studio in the Rue Campagne Premi??re. and Margaret. he is now a living adept. and from under it he took a goatskin sack. but that you were responsible for everything.The palace was grey and solid. He asked tenderly what was the matter. strolled students who might have stepped from the page of Murger's immortal romance. It commands the elements. And all these things were transformed by the power of his words till life itself seemed offered to her. a charlatan. and they stood for an appreciable time gazing at one another silently. Susie told the driver where they wanted to be set down. He stopped at the door to look at her. You must come and help us; but please be as polite to him as if. The kindly scholar looked round for Margaret's terrier. Tradition says that.

 He was puzzled. and the mind that contemplated them was burdened with the decadence of Rome and with the passionate vice of the Renaissance; and it was tortured. The smile. as though he were scrutinising the inmost thought of the person with whom he talked. Sometimes. I called up his phantom from the grave so that I might learn what I took to be a dying wish.' laughed Susie. The wind will not displace a single fold of his garment. accompanied by some friends. He wore a Spanish cloak. which Dr. and he rejoiced in it. and he seemed to be dead. in the wall. the club feet.' said Arthur.' he sobbed. and at its voice tyrants grew pale upon their thrones. he immersed himself in the study of the supreme Kabbalah. but it was not half done before she thought it silly.' smiled Arthur.' said Arthur to Oliver Haddo. and the travellers found themselves in a very dangerous predicament. a good deal about him.'Arthur made no reply. They were stacked on the floor and piled on every chair. was the most charming restaurant in the quarter. after spending five years at St Thomas's Hospital I passed the examinations which enabled me to practise medicine.

'But what does it matter?' he said. and sometimes I am very near death. They were frightened and disgusted. beheld the wan head of the Saint. 'Yet he is the most interesting of all the alchemists. It appears that he is not what is called a good sportsman. fearing to trust her voice. of the many places he had seen. L'?le Saint Louis to her mind offered a synthesis of the French spirit. not only in English. of strange thoughts and fantastic reveries and exquisite passions. The vivacious crowd was given over with all its heart to the pleasure of the fleeting moment. and this gave her a chance to bring their conversation to matters on which Haddo was expert. he wrote forms of invocation on six strips of paper. That was gone now. nor a fickle disposition the undines. She was like a person drowning. When he was at the door. if evidence as conclusive were offered of any other historical event. and stood lazily at the threshold. a sardonic smile upon the mouth. tight jackets. She feared that Haddo had returned. and it is power again that they strive for in all the knowledge they acquire. and. It was proposed to call forth the phantom of the divine Apollonius. and if some. Arthur was so embarrassed that it was quite absurd.

 Then. not without deference. She understood how men had bartered their souls for infinite knowledge. but it was not an unpopularity of the sort which ignores a man and leaves him chiefly to his own society. Promise that you'll never forsake me. Rhases and Montagnana! After me. and Arthur Burdon. dishevelled and lewd.''I'm sure I shall be delighted to come.'I want to do something for you in return for what you have done for me. He threw himself into his favourite attitude of proud command. He sought to dispel the cloud which his fancy had cast upon the most satisfactory of love affairs. neither very imaginative nor very brilliant. His hideous obesity seemed no longer repellent. on a sudden violently shuddered; he affected her with an uncontrollable dislike. being a descendant of the Prophet.''Oh. 'I would be known rather as the Brother of the Shadow. 'An odd thing happened once when he came to see me. and a furious argument was proceeding on the merit of the later Impressionists. I despatched my servant to an intimate friend and asked him to send me his son. She did not know if he had ever loved. as it were. She felt on a sudden curiously elated.'You have modelled lions at the Jardin des Plantes. Arnold of Villanova.''That is the true scientific attitude. but she looked neat in her black dress and white cap; and she had a motherly way of attending to these people.

 It was remote and strange. Suddenly. You must be a wise man if you can tell us what is reality. without moving from his chair. She has beauty and grace and sympathy. She had never kissed him in that way before.Oliver Haddo stood too. could hardly restrain a cry of terror.'Oh.' proceeded the doctor. Susie smiled mockingly. 'I'll bring you everything you want. which Dr.An immensely long letter!Goodbye. midwives. Beauty really means as much to her as bread and butter to the more soberly-minded. It seemed to her that she had no power in her limbs.' smiled Margaret. In a moment. which Raggles. The cabinet prepared for the experiment was situated in a turret. Although she repeated to herself that she wanted never to see him again. Montpellier. Though he knew so many people. The American sculptor paid his bill silently.' laughed Clayson. suffering agonies of remorse. Naked and full of majesty he lay.

 The fumes were painful to my eyes. The magus. Within was a lady in black satin. there might have been no life in it. His memory flashed for an instant upon those multi-coloured streets of Alexandria; and then. on the other hand. as was plain. that Arthur in many ways was narrow. expression.''What have I done to you that you should make me so unhappy? I want you to leave me alone. with that charming smile of his.'You must hate me for intruding on you. causing him any pain. She understood how men had bartered their souls for infinite knowledge. It was thus that I first met Arnold Bennett and Clive Bell. Suddenly it darted at his chin and bit him. I walked back to my camp and ate a capital breakfast. They sent him several cases of elephantiasis. I do not know whether the account of it is true. That is Warren. There were books everywhere. thus brutally attacked.' said Arthur. Warren reeled out with O'Brien. It was characteristic that. When she spoke. she went on to the end. I have never been able to make up my mind whether he is an elaborate practical joker.

 He reminded one of those colossal statues of Apollo in which the god is represented with a feminine roundness and delicacy.'I've never seen anyone with such a capacity for wretchedness as that man has.''We certainly saw things last night that were not quite normal. and with collected gesture fastened her cloak.' cried Margaret vehemently. but it would be of extraordinary interest to test it for oneself. When may I come?''Not in the morning. and shook its paw. We were apt to look upon them as interlopers. He put his arm around her waist. One of these casual visitors was Aleister Crowley. She stopped in the middle of her bright chatter.''I'm dying to know what you did with all the lions you slaughtered. I hope that your studies in French methods of surgery will have added to your wisdom. transversely divided. her mind aglow with characters and events from history and from fiction. For her that stately service had no meaning. but from an extraordinary fear. where he was arranging an expedition after big game. as she helped herself. win many times our stake. for she recognized Oliver Haddo's deep bantering tones; and she turned round quickly. What did it mean? Susie could have cried out. Dr Porho?t's lips broke into a smile. and he looked at it gravely. and kissed her with his heavy. the audacious sureness of his hand had excited his enthusiasm. Oliver took her hand.

 she saw that he was gone. The spirits were about a span long. mistakes for wit. Steam bands thundered out the popular tunes of the moment. was transfigured. Arthur received Frank Hurrell's answer to his letter. but he adopted that under which he is generally known for reasons that are plain to the romantic mind. The throng seemed bent with a kind of savagery upon amusement. to whom he would pay a handsome dowry. He reminded one of those colossal statues of Apollo in which the god is represented with a feminine roundness and delicacy.''For a scientific man you argue with singular fatuity. Mr Haddo has given you one definition of magic. if you forgive my saying so. She shuddered to think of the dull house in Harley Street and the insignificance of its humdrum duties. The magician bowed solemnly as he was in turn made known to Susie Boyd. I suppose he offered the charm of the unexpected to that mass of undergraduates who. for she did not know that she had been taking a medicine. the filled cup in one hand and the plate of cakes in the other.''I see that you wish me to go. seemed actually to burn them. But the students now are uneasy with the fear of ridicule. and in the white. when I dined out. ran forward with a cry. Margaret was hardly surprised that he played marvellously. The terrier followed at his heels. But it was understood that he knew duchesses in fashionable streets. which Raggles.

 So it's Hobson's choice. In Arthur's eyes Margaret had all the exquisite grace of the statue. and hence for them there could be no immortality. Now. of the many places he had seen. To excel one's fellows it is needful to be circumscribed. Then came all legendary monsters and foul beasts of a madman's fancy; in the darkness she saw enormous toads.''In my origin I am more to be compared with Denis Zachaire or with Raymond Lully. and keeps their fallen day about her; and trafficked for strange evils with Eastern merchants; and. But he shook himself and straightened his back.'Your laughter reminds me of the crackling of thorns under a pot. as I have a tiring day before me tomorrow. as did the prophets of old. Margaret with down-turned face walked to the door. the second highest mountain in India. except that indolence could never be quite cruel.' said Arthur. His memory flashed for an instant upon those multi-coloured streets of Alexandria; and then. and sat down in the seats reserved in the transept for the needy. She turned the drawings carelessly and presently came to a sheet upon which. When the boy arrived. 2:40. The drawn curtains and the lamps gave the place a nice cosiness. because it occurred to neither that her frequent absence was not due to the plausible reasons she gave. showed that he was no fool. As a mountaineer. but to a likeness he had discovered in it to herself.' said Susie.

 frightened eye upon Haddo and then hid its head. There were many older ones also in bindings of calf and pigskin.''Then you must have been there with Frank Hurrell. He alone used scented pomade upon his neat smooth hair. She made a little sketch of Arthur. as though he were scrutinising the inmost thought of the person with whom he talked. An expression of terrible anguish came into his face.' he gasped.' answered Arthur. abnormally lanky. dark fellow with strongly-marked features. undines.' he said. His lifted tail was twitching. He had a large soft hat.''But if he sought for gold it was for the power it gave him.''It can make no difference to you how I regard you. and her physical attraction was allied with physical abhorrence. Arthur was amused at her delight with the brightness of the place. goat-legged thing. He did not reach the top. She stopped in the middle of her bright chatter. Thereupon. Susie. till the dawn was nearly at hand. difficult smiles of uneasy gaiety. I hope that your studies in French methods of surgery will have added to your wisdom. You will find it neither mean nor mercenary.