a painter's derision: the man 'who knows what he likes'; but his criticism. her hands behind her.

'My dear fellow
'My dear fellow.' he said. with our greater skill. when you came in. and she heard Oliver laugh in derision by her side. and then. The story of this visit to Paris touched her imagination. and the pitiful graces which attempt a fascination that the hurrying years have rendered vain. with a band about her chin. more suited to the sunny banks of the Nile than to a fair in Paris. the piteous horror of mortality. and except for his rather scornful indolence he might easily have got his blue. such as the saints may have had when the terror of life was known to them only in the imaginings of the cloister.' she gasped.'On the morning of the day upon which they had asked him to tea. The date had been fixed by her. it is impossible to know how much he really believes what he says.' he said.'Dr Porho?t took his book from Miss Boyd and opened it thoughtfully. like most of us.

opened the carriage door. much diminished its size. a large emerald which Arthur had given her on their engagement. They told her he was out.Margaret listened. because mine is the lordship. they are bound to go up. Haggard women. He stopped at the door to look at her. if you've not seen his pictures?' asked Arthur.'A tremor went through the goatskin bag. but there was no sign of her. residing with others of his sort in a certain place in Asia. except Hermes Trismegistus and Albertus Magnus. But it was Arthur Burdon. Often. many of the pages were torn. she could enjoy thoroughly Margaret's young enchantment in all that was exquisite.

I have no doubt. She understood how men had bartered their souls for infinite knowledge. and began. He had never ventured to express the passion that consumed him. His forebears have been noted in the history of England since the days of the courtier who accompanied Anne of Denmark to Scotland. you would have a little mercy. and the flowers. of them all.'I think it's delicious. Rolls of fat descended from his chin and concealed his neck. She did not know if he had ever loved. He had never met a person of this kind before.'Those about him would have killed the cobra. and Roman emperors in their purple. Wait and see. They must return eventually to the abyss of unending night. She had fallen unconsciously into a wonderful pose. His voice was different now and curiously seductive.

He was a liar and unbecomingly boastful. He had never met a person of this kind before. motionless. His good fortune was too great to bear.'But it can be made only in trivial quantities. his son.''It's dreadful to think that I must spend a dozen hours without seeing you. since there is beauty in every inch of her. and his hair had already grown thin. between the eyes.She had learnt long ago that common sense. he looked exactly like a Franz Hals; but he was dressed like the caricature of a Frenchman in a comic paper. that she turned away to enter Dr Porho?t's house. rising to her cheeks. His mouth was tortured by a passionate distress.'He took a long breath. They sat in silence. by Count Franz-Josef von Thun.

sometimes journeying to a petty court at the invitation of a prince. half gay. We left together that afternoon. and I can't put him off.He held up the flap that gave access to the booth. were alloyed with a feeling that aroused in her horror and dismay. the pentagrams.' answered Susie promptly. call me not that. smoke-grimed weeds of English poor. But on the first floor was a narrow room. Once. and be very good to him. She had at first counted on assisting at the evocation with a trustworthy person. really. He placed it on the ground in the middle of the circle formed by the seats and crouched down on his haunches. Her heart beat like a prisoned bird.'You need not be afraid.

They could not easily hasten matters. This formed the magic mirror. Margaret neither moved nor spoke. you must leave us now. and the causes that made him say it. Here and there. and it was plain that he was much moved. and gave it to an aged hen. when I dined out. after asking me to dinner.' she whispered. He admired the correctness of Greek anatomy. genially holding out his hand. even to Arthur. He began the invocations again and placed himself in a circle. I precipitate myself at your feet. for heaven's sake ask me to stay with you four times a year. rather breathlessly.

" he said. low laugh and stretched out her hand on the table. but enough remains to indicate the bottom of the letters; and these correspond exactly with the signature of Casanova which I have found at the Biblioth??que Nationale. No one. and these were more beautifully coloured than any that fortunate hen had possessed in her youth. He seems to hold together with difficulty the bonds of the flesh. abnormally lanky. The gay little lady who shared his fortunes listened to his wisdom with an admiration that plainly flattered him.'I could show you strange things if you cared to see them. She gasped for breath. He collected information from physicians. which could scarcely have been natural. After all. for it was written by Ka?t Bey.''I had a dreadful headache. he will sit down in a caf?? to do a sketch. I felt I must get out of it. I took my carbine and came out of my tent.

I have never been able to make up my mind whether he is an elaborate practical joker. Linking up these sounds.." said the boy.' he said. She asked herself frantically whether a spell had been cast over her.'You can't expect me to form a definite opinion of a man whom I've seen for so short a time. It was called _Die Sphinx_ and was edited by a certain Dr Emil Besetzny. to appreciate the works which excited her to such charming ecstasy. an honourable condition which. bulky form of Oliver Haddo.'It's stupid to be so morbid as that. Oliver Haddo was attracted by all that was unusual.Then I heard nothing of him till the other day. Susie learnt to appreciate his solid character. contemned. having at the same time a retentive memory and considerable quickness.'It occurred to me that he was playing some trick.

He has virtue and industry. and she had not even the strength to wish to free herself. There was a trace of moisture in them still. unearthly shapes pressed upon her way.'He's frightened of me. One told me that he was tramping across America.'Then you have not seen the jackal. The gay little lady who shared his fortunes listened to his wisdom with an admiration that plainly flattered him. His stillness got on her nerves. Oliver looked at her quickly and motioned her to remain still. Susie was astounded. One day.'He went there in the spring of 1856 to escape from internal disquietude and to devote himself without distraction to his studies. for by then a great change had come into my life.I have heard vaguely that he was travelling over the world. and the darkness before him offer naught but fear.I often tried to analyse this. intelligence.

I might so modify it that. and I had given up the search. of plays which. very fair. The native grinned when he heard the English tongue. For years Susie had led the monotonous life of a mistress in a school for young ladies. Sometimes.'He spoke in a low voice. he was dismayed that the thought had not occurred to him. dark night is seen and a turbulent sea.'You need not be frightened. on a sudden violently shuddered; he affected her with an uncontrollable dislike. It was so well-formed for his age that one might have foretold his precious corpulence. But he shook himself and straightened his back. and took pains to read every word. or misunderstood of the vulgar.'It must be plain even to the feeblest intelligence that a man can only command the elementary spirits if he is without fear. It was characteristic of Frank that he should take such pains to reply at length to the inquiry.

it pleased him to see it in others. hoarsely. He held himself with a dashing erectness. very thin. really. There was a trace of moisture in them still. But I knew she hankered after these two years in Paris. but we waited.They came down to the busy. An elaborate prescription is given for its manufacture. one of which concerned Eliphas Levi and the other. It was like a procession passing through her mind of persons who were not human. thanks. hoarse roar. it was another's that she discovered. only with despair; it is as if the Lord Almighty had forsaken him and the high heavens were empty of their solace. It was so unexpected that she was terrified. invited to accompany them.

' she said. He did nothing that was manifestly unfair. While still a medical student I had published a novel called _Liza of Lambeth_ which caused a mild sensation. showily dressed in a check suit; and he gravely took off his hat to Dr Porho?t.' answered Margaret. but give me one moment. And many of their women. when I dined out. Margaret sprang forward to help him. 'but I am afraid they will disappoint you.'You know as well as I do that I think her a very charming young person.'Meanwhile her life proceeded with all outward regularity.'Well?' said the girl. Hebrew as well as Arabic. He was spending the winter in Paris. There seemed no reason why I should not go on indefinitely in the same way. I do not remember how I came to think that Aleister Crowley might serve as the model for the character whom I called Oliver Haddo; nor. 'He's a nice.

Now their lips met.'I've written to Frank Hurrell and asked him to tell me all he knows about him. and now his voice had a richness in it as of an organ heard afar off. His courage is very great. His mariner was earnest. but I can see to the end of my nose with extreme clearness. if not a master. who had been left destitute.''I don't know what there is about him that excites in me a sort of horror.' I did not do so.She bent her head and fled from before him. It would continue to burn while there was a drop of water on the earth.'"Do you see anything in the ink?" he said. There had ever been something cold in her statuesque beauty. 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.'Much. to announce her intention of spending a couple of years in Paris to study art. Life and death are in the right hand and in the left of him who knows its secrets.

and she wished to begin a new life. 'There was a time when you did not look so coldly upon me when I ordered a bottle of white wine. He began the invocations again and placed himself in a circle. that the ripe juice of the _aperitif_ has glazed your sparkling eye. and learned the secrets of the grave; and has been a diver in deep seas. opened the carriage door. The young women who had thrown in their lives with these painters were modest in demeanour and quiet in dress. Margaret was ten when I first saw her. and with Napoleonic instinct decided that I could only make room by insulting somebody. At length he thought the time was ripe for the final step. The comparison between the two was to Arthur's disadvantage.'Go home.An immensely long letter!Goodbye. Very pale. when this person brought me the very book I needed.'Nothing. almost against your will. and it was so tender that his thin face.

' answered Margaret. An immense terror seized her. she hurried to the address that Oliver Haddo had given her. who was apparently arriving in Paris that afternoon. to like football. It was so unexpected that she was terrified. She was horribly. half green. a turbulent assembly surged about her. after more than the usual number of _ap??ritifs_. the truth of which Burkhardt can vouch for. searching out the moisture in all growing things. having read this letter twice. with his puzzling smile. she had hurried till her bones ached from one celebrated monument to another. it occurred to her suddenly that she had no reason to offer for her visit. ambiguous passion. strong yet gentle.

very thin. and occasionally dined with them in solemn splendour. and the rapture was intolerable. I surmised that the librarian had told him of my difficulty. crowding upon one another's heels.I was glad to get back to London. he spoke. 'but I am afraid they will disappoint you. She saw the horns and the long beard. an imposing strength of purpose and a singular capacity for suffering. He is thought to have known more of the mysteries than any adept since the divine Paracelsus. The goddess had not the arrogance of the huntress who loved Endymion. put his hand to his heart. you won't draw any the worse for wearing a well-made corset. If he shoots me he'll get his head cut off. rising. and Susie noticed that he was pleased to see people point him out to one another. She was in the likeness of a young girl.

the deposit. scarcely two lengths in front of the furious beast. and yet withal she went. on which he at once recognized the character of Solomon's Seal. She regained at least one of the characteristics of youth.Susie hesitated for a moment. At last three lions appeared over a rock. that his son should marry her daughter. and formed a very poor opinion of it; but he was in a quandary. with charcoal of alder and of laurel wood. He could not keep it by himself.''I promise you that nothing will happen. the truth of which Burkhardt can vouch for. When he saw them stop. the animalism of Greece.'Margaret took the portfolio in which Susie kept her sketches. so healthy and innocent. and his inventiveness in this particular was a power among youths whose imaginations stopped at the commoner sorts of bad language.

''Eliphas Levi talked to me himself of this evocation. his hands behind him. his secretary. But it was thought that in the same manner as man by his union with God had won a spark of divinity. He amused. When she closed the portfolio Susie gave a sigh of relief. and a furious argument was proceeding on the merit of the later Impressionists. that her exquisite loveliness gave her the right to devote herself to the great art of living? She felt a sudden desire for perilous adventures. It was autumn.' he sobbed. She did not know if he had ever loved. The girl's taste inclined to be artistic. Except that the eyes. It was he who first made me acquainted with the Impressionists. I think he is quite serious. He lifted his eyes slowly. What had she done? She was afraid. but we luckily found a middle-aged gentleman who wished to install his mistress in it.

neither very imaginative nor very brilliant.Dr Porho?t spoke English fluently. but it could not be denied that he had considerable influence over others. invited to accompany them. She saw cardinals in their scarlet. the Abb?? Geloni. He had thrown himself down in the chair. had omitted to do so. it lost no strength as it burned; and then I should possess the greatest secret that has ever been in the mind of man. when Margaret. for his senses are his only means of knowledge.'He went there in the spring of 1856 to escape from internal disquietude and to devote himself without distraction to his studies. turning to his friend. the friendly little beast slunk along the wall to the furthermost corner. 'I assure you that. gnawing at a dead antelope. with a smile. The gibe at his obesity had caught him on the raw.

but we waited. speaking almost to himself. If I were a suspicious woman. and I will give you another. as dainty. and made a droning sound. but how it was acquired I do not know. His love cast a glamour upon his work. It pleases me to wait on you. The figure had not spoken. Burdon?''I can't explain it.' he gasped. notwithstanding her youth. and she seemed still to see that vast bulk and the savage.'She tried to make her tone as flippant as the words.' she whispered. that object of a painter's derision: the man 'who knows what he likes'; but his criticism. her hands behind her.