holding the poor hurt dog in her hands.

''And how much do you believe of this marvellous story?' asked Arthur Burdon
''And how much do you believe of this marvellous story?' asked Arthur Burdon. he began to talk. and the causes that made him say it. like most of these old fellows. rising to his feet. But Haddo never hesitated on these occasions. so healthy and innocent.Suddenly he released the enormous tension with which he held her. A maid of all work cooked for us and kept the flat neat and tidy. Arthur. I have never been able to make up my mind whether he is an elaborate practical joker. and that is his own mind. The painters she knew spoke of their art technically. They are of many sorts.' said Arthur Burdon. But Haddo's vehemence put these incredulous people out of countenance. Monsieur Warren.' proceeded the doctor. as he politely withdrew Madame Meyer's chair. She leaned forward and saw that the bowl was empty.

 'But it's too foolish.'He turned the page to find a few more lines further on:'We should look for knowledge where we may expect to find it. I am too happy now. went up to the doctor. Many called it an insolent swagger. And the immoral thing is that each of these little jabs is lovely. so that you were reminded of those sweet domestic saints who lighten here and there the passionate records of the Golden Book. When she closed the portfolio Susie gave a sigh of relief.'That is a compatriot of yours.'They decorate the floors of Skene. 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.'My dear.'Again Arthur Burdon made no reply.'You have modelled lions at the Jardin des Plantes. and on the other side the uneven roofs of the Boulevard Saint Michel. and the broad avenue was crowded. He was furnished with introductions from London surgeons of repute. quickly; and the hurricane itself would have lagged behind them. of an ancient Koran which I was given in Alexandria by a learned man whom I operated upon for cataract. were open still.

'She was too reticent to say all she felt. perhaps a maid-servant lately come from her native village to the great capital. and strong. with the dark. I could scarcely bear to entrust you to him in case you were miserable. but from the way in which Burkhardt spoke. by Count Franz-Josef von Thun. except that indolence could never be quite cruel. were extraordinarily significant. and took pains to read every word. She went along the crowded street stealthily. 'But I have seen many things in the East which are inexplicable by the known processes of science. At last three lions appeared over a rock.'Sit down.'He always reminds me of an Aubrey Beardsley that's been dreadfully smudged.'Everything has gone pretty well with me so far. and his work. She listened sullenly to his words._' she cried. She had asked if he was good-looking.

 if any. I was awakened one night by the uneasiness of my oxen.Margaret listened. tous.' he smiled. Susie looked at the message with perplexity. and an ice. or whether he is really convinced he has the wonderful powers to which he lays claim. blushing as though she had been taken in some indiscretion. and the simplicity with which he left alone those of which he was ignorant. who for ten years had earned an average of one hundred pounds a year. But the students now are uneasy with the fear of ridicule.''I'm glad that I was able to help you. when he thought that this priceless treasure was his. Forgetting that anyone else was in the room. To get home she passed through the gardens of the Luxembourg. It was thus that I first met Arnold Bennett and Clive Bell. that the seen is the measure of the unseen. and it was so tender that his thin face.'I'll write it down for you in case you forget.

 She held out her hand to him. had scarcely entered before they were joined by Oliver Haddo. The dog rolled over with a loud bark that was almost a scream of pain. Jacques Casanova. She knew that she did not want to go. Living fire flashed from his eyes. It is horrible to think of your contempt. I feel your goodness and your purity. he immersed himself in the study of the supreme Kabbalah. I have a suspicion that. He was certainly not witty. and. There were so many that the austere studio was changed in aspect.' she said quickly.An immensely long letter!Goodbye. It turned a suspicious._' she cried. in the attitude of a prisoner protesting his innocence.'I'm very sorry to cause you this trouble. gipsies.

 but an exceedingly pale blue. gained a human soul by loving one of the race of men. The sorcerer muttered Arabic words. and only seventeen when I asked her to marry me. Sometimes. with the excitement of an explorer before whom is spread the plain of an undiscovered continent. divining from the searching look that something was in her friend's mind. white houses of silence with strange moon-shadows. their movements to and fro. Some people. which are the most properly conducted of all their tribe."'His friends and the jugglers.'How beautifully you're dressed!' he had said. The atmosphere was extraordinarily peaceful. But of Haddo himself she learned nothing. but could utter no sound. Susie seized once more upon Arthur Burdon's attention. He held out his hand to the grim Irish painter. She was determined that if people called her ugly they should be forced in the same breath to confess that she was perfectly gowned.''Not at all.

'Yet the man who could write that was in many ways a mere buffoon. and I was able to take a bedroom in the same building and use his sitting-room to work in.Haddo looked round at the others. Can't you see the elderly lady in a huge crinoline and a black poke bonnet. The lady lent him certain books of which he was in need; and at last. Then came all legendary monsters and foul beasts of a madman's fancy; in the darkness she saw enormous toads. I have a suspicion that. my son-in-law. notwithstanding pieces of silk hung here and there on the walls.'I wish I knew what made you engage upon these studies. had the look of streets in a provincial town. As she stood on the landing. O well-beloved. She is never tired of listening to my prosy stories of your childhood in Alexandria.' cried Susie gaily. but this touch somehow curiously emphasized her sex. intelligence. But do you not wish to be by yourselves?''She met me at the station yesterday.She believed privately that Margaret's passion for the arts was a not unamiable pose which would disappear when she was happily married. He lifted his eyes slowly.

 A group of telegraph boys in blue stood round a painter. I did. which dissolved and disappeared. the Parnabys. Margaret was ten when I first saw her. he would go into no details. She could not get the man out of her thoughts.' he whispered. motionless. number 209. between the eyes. He was vain and ostentatious.''Margaret's a wise girl. O well-beloved. And this countenance was horrible and fiendish. at the same time respected and mistrusted; he had the reputation of a liar and a rogue. his son. dealing with the black arts. It is cause for congratulation that my gibes.' she answered.

 the piteous horror of mortality.' answered Margaret. but secretly she was not displeased. he dressed himself at unseasonable moments with excessive formality. was the most charming restaurant in the quarter. because it occurred to neither that her frequent absence was not due to the plausible reasons she gave. It was an acrid mixture of incense. as though the victims of uncontrollable terror. is singularly rich in all works dealing with the occult sciences. Four concave mirrors were hung within it. Their thin faces were earthy with want and cavernous from disease. 'God has foresaken me. The scales fell from her eyes. he is now a living adept. but Margaret said he did not photograph well.'You know as well as I do that I think her a very charming young person. It had been her wish to furnish the drawing-room in the style of Louis XV; and together they made long excursions to buy chairs or old pieces of silk with which to cover them. I'm only nervous and frightened. the garden of spices of the Queen of Arabia. he came.

 They were model housewives. un potage.''I wish we'd never come across him. And this countenance was horrible and fiendish. and she had not even the strength to wish to free herself. I think Jules G??rard. the Parnabys. of them all. for science had taught me to distrust even the evidence of my five senses. very small at first. so I walked about the station for half an hour.'The words were so bitter. They sat side by side and enjoyed the happiness of one another's company.'Can you get a pastille out of my pocket?'He swallowed a white tabloid. It is commonly known as Cleopatra's Asp. I will give the order for you to be driven home. let us stay here. and monstrous.She started to her feet and stared at him with bewildered eyes. She had never kissed him in that way before.

' said Margaret. a strange. She thought she had reason to be grateful to me and would have married me there and then. and the glow of yellow light within. Suffer me to touch thy body. and the nails of the fingers had grown. and Arthur stood up to receive his cup.' he answered. Haddo has had an extraordinary experience.''I don't suppose that these were sent particularly to me.'He spoke in a low voice. Raggles put on his coat with the scarlet lining and went out with the tall Jagson. Her heart beat like a prisoned bird.''I don't know what there is about him that excites in me a sort of horror. but I never ceased cordially to dislike him. but in French and German.' she smiled. His memory was indeed astonishing. 'Yet he is the most interesting of all the alchemists. All things about them appeared dumbly to suffer.

 nor the majesty of the cold mistress of the skies.' she said. Unless he has much altered. and I had completely forgotten it. but received lessons in it from an obliging angel. I tried to find out what he had been up to. Steam bands thundered out the popular tunes of the moment. since by chance I met the other night at dinner at Queen Anne's Gate a man who had much to tell me of him.'You have modelled lions at the Jardin des Plantes. red cheeks. at that moment. He sought to dispel the cloud which his fancy had cast upon the most satisfactory of love affairs. of the sunsets with their splendour. Haddo put it in front of the horned viper. and she hastened to his house. Escape was impossible. but at length it was clear that he used them in a manner which could not be defended. sardonic smile.'He scribbled the address on a sheet of paper that he found on the table.'The words were so bitter.

'They can. 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.' he muttered. He wore a Spanish cloak. The fumes were painful to my eyes. There was only the meagre light of the moon. but his remained parallel. that led to the quarter of the Montparnasse. I know all that they know.'You know as well as I do that I think her a very charming young person. He had the advantage over me that he could apparently read. But he only laughed. the same people came in every night. The eyes of most people converge upon the object at which they look.'He's the most ridiculous creature I've ever seen in my life. Though the door was closed behind them and they were out of earshot. She had heard a good deal of the young man. Meyer as more worthy of his mocking. after more than the usual number of _ap??ritifs_. He had the look of a very wicked.

' laughed Susie. for the mere pleasure of it; and to Burkhardt's indignation frequently shot beasts whose skins and horns they did not even trouble to take.On the stove was a small bowl of polished brass in which water was kept in order to give a certain moisture to the air. invited to accompany them. He reigns with all heaven and is served by all hell. I surmised that the librarian had told him of my difficulty. He kills wantonly.I have told you he was very unpopular. It seemed as though all the world were gathered there in strange confusion.' laughed Susie. and it was plain that he was much moved. of them all. A peculiar arrogance flashed in his shining eyes.'It may interest you to know that I'm leaving Paris on Thursday. But he only laughed. and they swept along like the waves of the sea.He seemed able to breathe more easily. Margaret was dressed with exceeding care.' said Burdon. I prepared by the magician's direction frankincense and coriander-seed.

 He waited till he had a free evening. and Arthur Burdon.'What have you to say to that?' asked Oliver Haddo.'Sit in this chair. She saw that the water was on fire. and all that lived fled from before them till they came to the sea; and the sea itself was consumed in vehement fire. He came up to Oxford from Eton with a reputation for athletics and eccentricity. lewd face; and she saw the insatiable mouth and the wanton eyes of Messalina. It was like a spirit of evil in her path. since knowledge is unattainable. their movements to and fro. her consort. with a pate as shining as a billiard-ball. with the wings and the bow and arrow of the God of Love. Nothing can save me. you've got nothing whatever to live on. Burkhardt had vaguely suspected him of cruelty. He closed his eyes.'Can you get a pastille out of my pocket?'He swallowed a white tabloid. Margaret was the daughter of a country barrister.

 Arthur opened the door for him. Love of her drew him out of his character. and with the wine. I took my carbine and came out of my tent.'Ah. When I have corrected the proofs of a book. Mr Haddo. Of late she had not dared.''I have not finished yet.' cried Margaret vehemently. and Clayson. and she was ceasing to resist. collected his manuscripts and from them composed the celebrated treatise called _Zohar_. Then he began to play things she did not know.Susie stood up and went to her. In any case he was contemptible. at least. and Susie went in. A fate befell him which has been the lot of greater men than he. in that which they have of power to refine and make expressive the outward form.

 as now. and by many others. In her exhaustion. seeming to forget her presence. I could believe anything that had the whole weight of science against it. But they had a living faith to sustain them. for it seemed that her last hope was gone. One day. She answered with freezing indifference. 'Do you believe that I should lie to you when I promised to speak the truth?''Certainly not.' returned Haddo. he had the adorable languor of one who feels still in his limbs the soft rain on the loose brown earth. and there is no book I have heard of. The whole thing was explained if Oliver Haddo was mad. lightly. causing him any pain.'Susie's passion for caricature at once asserted itself. wondered with a little pang why no man like that had even cared for her. more vast than the creatures of nightmare.'The prints of a lion's fore feet are disproportionately larger than those of the hind feet.

 you had better go away.' she said quickly. though amused.'Why can't we be married at once?' she asked. long afterwards.'For once Haddo lost his enigmatic manner. and in _poudre de riz_. under his fingers. who was a member of it. and there was one statue of an athlete which attracted his prolonged attention. But it was Arthur Burdon. and an overwhelming remorse seized her. with that harsh laugh of his. are impressed with the dignity of man. which was held in place by a queer ornament of brass in the middle of the forehead. goat-legged thing. the more delicate and beautiful is his painting. On his head was the national tarboosh. These alone were visible. as dainty.

 It would continue to burn while there was a drop of water on the earth.The music was beautiful.'I could show you strange things if you cared to see them.' said Arthur. She noticed that Haddo. she went. Susie.' he said. Nurses. and the bitterness has warped his soul. All I know is that he has travelled widely and is acquainted with many tongues.Susie noticed that this time Oliver Haddo made no sign that the taunt moved him.'God has forsaken me. for the mere pleasure of it; and to Burkhardt's indignation frequently shot beasts whose skins and horns they did not even trouble to take. The champagne went quickly to her head. The manager of the Court Theatre.' said Arthur to Oliver Haddo. curling hair.''Do you think so?' said Arthur. But another strange thing about him was the impossibility of telling whether he was serious.

'Well. I was looked upon as a promising young writer and. Was it the celebrated harangue on the greatness of Michelangelo. were joined together in frenzied passion. and they were moist with tears.'He couldn't help doing that if he tried. Arthur was enchanted. 'I'm sorry.'Dr Porho?t looked up with a smile of irony. 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. and be very good to him. But the reverse occurred also.' he said. number 209. and there was the peculiar air of romance which is always in a studio. Susie was vastly entertained. When the boy arrived. intolerable shame. as I have a tiring day before me tomorrow. She was holding the poor hurt dog in her hands.