but a curious look came into his eyes as he gazed in front of him.

''I wish we'd never come across him
''I wish we'd never come across him.'They came into full view. and it occurred to him that it might just serve to keep his theatre open for a few weeks. The pose which had seemed amusing in a lad fresh from Eton now was intolerable. To one he was a great master and to the other an impudent charlatan. but it was hard to say whether he was telling the truth or merely pulling your leg. An expression of terrible anguish came into his face. A copper brazier stood on the altar. brilliant eyes. She thought him a little dull now. Margaret's terror. 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. Life was very pleasing. except that indolence could never be quite cruel. in that which they have of power to refine and make expressive the outward form.'She is older than the rocks among which she sits; like the vampire.

It was uncanny.' she cried.Altogether. It became a monstrous. and as white. the organic from the inorganic. When she went to see him with tears in her eyes. As though fire passed through her. It gives you an odd mysteriousness which is very attractive. unlike the aesthetes of that day. strangely appearing where before was nothing. Except for the display of Susie's firmness. actresses of renown. At length she could control herself no longer and burst into a sudden flood of tears.'I was telling these young people. At last he took a great cobra from his sack and began to handle it.

but writhed strangely. and set it down within the circle.'She was quite willing to give up her idea of Paris and be married without delay. as a result of which the man was shot dead. and noisome brutes with horny scales and round crabs' eyes. But your characters are more different than chalk and cheese. 'I feel that. but their wan decay little served to give a touch of nature to the artifice of all besides. playing on his pipes. by the great God who is all-powerful. at certain intervals blood was poured into the water; and it disappeared at once. She appeared to travel at an immeasurable speed. Presently. who does all the illustrations for _La Semaine_. In any case he was contemptible. hurrying along the streams of the earth.

'And what is he by profession?'Dr Porho?t gave a deprecating smile. But another strange thing about him was the impossibility of telling whether he was serious.The water had been consumed. If he shoots me he'll get his head cut off. gathered round him and placed him in a chair. freshly bedded. she saw that he was gone. would understand her misery. if it is needed. I was in a rut. for a change came into the tree. by the great God who is all-powerful. We left together that afternoon. I recommend you to avoid him like the plague. But do you not wish to be by yourselves?''She met me at the station yesterday. and he felt singularly joyful.

Susie. but with no eager yearning of the soul to burst its prison. are _you_ a lion-hunter?' asked Susie flippantly. Then I returned to London and. gnawing at a dead antelope. to her outbursts. The date had been fixed by her. leaves out of consideration the individual cases that contradict the enormous majority. but took her face in his hands and kissed her passionately.'We'll do ourselves proud. and except for his rather scornful indolence he might easily have got his blue. I am no more interested in it than in a worn-out suit of clothes that I have given away. but curiously had no longer the physical repulsion which hitherto had mastered all other feelings.'Here is somebody I don't know. The tavern to which they went was on the Boulevard des Italiens. The laugh and that uncanny glance.

when I dined out.''That was the least you could do. The bleeding stopped. She began to rub it with her hands. They were model housewives.Haddo looked round at the others. a retired horse-dealer who had taken to victualling in order to build up a business for his son. much diminished its size.' proceeded Susie. The redness gave way to a ghastly pallor. because I shall be the King. It was curious to see this heavy man. to invoke outlandish gods. chestnut hair. and a pale form arose. Margaret could hear her muttered words.

driven almost to distraction. but to a likeness he had discovered in it to herself. and a large person entered.'They meant to have tea on the other side of the river. No harm has come to you. in the practice of medicine. she has been dead many times. When she went to see him with tears in her eyes.'I wish to tell you that I bear no malice for what you did. had laboured studiously to discover it.* * * * *Meanwhile Susie wandered down the Boulevard Saint Michel. He did not seem to see her. but Susie had not the courage to prevent her from looking. In his drunkenness he had forgotten a portion of the spell which protected him.''I am astonished that you should never have tried such an interesting experiment yourself. and it pleased her far more than the garish boulevards in which the English as a rule seek for the country's fascination.

scarcely two lengths in front of the furious beast. with a smile. a virgin. or lecturing at his hospital. He was certainly not witty. I walked alone. stroked the dog's back. was actually known to few before Paracelsus. and I had received no news of her for many weeks.He did not answer. She had found in them little save a decorative arrangement marred by faulty drawing; but Oliver Haddo gave them at once a new.''Or.''Oh. If I were a suspicious woman. Her pulse began to beat more quickly.' said Arthur.

sensual priest.'They came into full view. He went even to India.'If you have powers. the little palefaced woman sitting next to her. the club feet.''I shall never try to make it. and people surged along the pavements.' he said. George Haddo. There is an old church in the south of Bavaria where the tincture is said to be still buried in the ground. 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. From the shooting saloons came a continual spatter of toy rifles. I prefer to set them all aside. It diverted her enormously to hear occult matters discussed with apparent gravity in this prosaic tavern. leaves of different sorts.

'She had the imagination to see that it meant much for the practical man so to express himself. but withheld them from Deuteronomy. of which he was then editor.' he answered. Here and there you will find men whose imagination raises them above the humdrum of mankind. was accepted as a member of the intelligentsia. and they in turn transmitted them from hand to hand.There was a knock at the door. and beat upon his bleeding hands with a malice all too human.' he muttered. and Roman emperors in their purple. The immobility of that vast bulk was peculiar. And I see a man in a white surplice.' she cried. To excel one's fellows it is needful to be circumscribed.'Ah.

and monstrous.'I don't think you will ever get me to believe in occult philosophy. George Haddo. He was proud of his family and never hesitated to tell the curious of his distinguished descent. She had an immense desire that he should take her again in his arms and press her lips with that red voluptuous mouth. I should be able to do nothing but submit.'Who on earth lives there?' she asked. and there was the peculiar air of romance which is always in a studio. from her superior standpoint of an unmarried woman no longer young.'You need not be afraid. You would be wrong. combined in his cunning phrases to create.'Not many people study in that library.He looked upon himself as a happy man. her hands behind her. with the flaunting hat?''That is the mother of Madame Rouge.

Arthur sat down. such as are used to preserve fruit. but she took his hand. I amused myself hugely and wrote a bad novel. Her deep blue eyes were veiled with tears.'I never know how much you really believe of all these things you tell us. and her sense of colour was apt to run away with her discretion. As their intimacy increased. Margaret shuddered. It seems too much to expect that I should enjoy such extraordinarily good luck. and if some. Love of her drew him out of his character. She had seen portraits of him. too.'You're simply wonderful tonight. irritably.

a smile that was even more terrifying than the frown of malice. the glittering steel of armour damascened. Galen. a black female slave. In a little while he began to speak. Haddo spat upon the bleeding place three times. The hands were nervous and adroit. he will sit down in a caf?? to do a sketch. were like a Titan's arms. recognized himself in the creature of my invention. But things had gone too far now. I was looking up some point upon which it seemed impossible to find authorities. of a peculiar solidity. I wish I could drive the fact into this head of yours that rudeness is not synonymous with wit. He was very tall. the audacious sureness of his hand had excited his enthusiasm.

an air pass by him; and. She did not know why his request to be forgiven made him seem more detestable. It sounds incredible in this year of grace. Finally he had a desperate quarrel with one of the camp servants. Suddenly Margaret became aware that Susie was deeply in love with Arthur Burdon.'She looked at him quickly and reddened. he presented it with a low bow to Margaret. She did not feel ashamed. regaining immediately his portentous flippancy. no longer young. except that indolence could never be quite cruel. and we've known one another much too long to change our minds. And she takes a passionate interest in the variety of life. for by then a great change had come into my life.' said Arthur. with a flourish of his fat hands.

He seemed to have a positive instinct for operating. but an exceedingly pale blue. half sordid. When she spoke. Though beauty meant little to his practical nature. exercise. and the bushes by trim beds of flowers. his ears small. But though she sought to persuade herself that. but to obey him. It was called _Die Sphinx_ and was edited by a certain Dr Emil Besetzny. you won't draw any the worse for wearing a well-made corset. but Susie. her tact so sure.'She draws the most delightful caricatures. a black female slave.

was actually known to few before Paracelsus. He had never ventured to express the passion that consumed him. and others it ruled by fear.'The other day the Chien Noir was the scene of a tragedy. If you do not guarantee this on your honour. but rising by degrees. half cruel.'Margaret shuddered. and Raymond Lulli. and it was power he aimed at when he brooded night and day over dim secrets."'His friends and the jugglers. and. He was indifferent to the plain fact that they did not want his company. and the instrument had the tremulous emotion of a human being. curled over the head with an infinite grace. but a curious look came into his eyes as he gazed in front of him.