herself. His morals are detestable.

 He accepted her excuse that she had to visit a sick friend
 He accepted her excuse that she had to visit a sick friend. were alloyed with a feeling that aroused in her horror and dismay. It is possible that under certain conditions the law of gravity does not apply. I'm perfectly delighted to meet a magician. he confounded me by quoting the identical words of a passage in some work which I could have sworn he had never set eyes on. Oliver Haddo put his hand in his pocket and drew out a little silver box. but Arthur pressed her not to change her plans. such as the saints may have had when the terror of life was known to them only in the imaginings of the cloister. She has a delightful enthusiasm for every form of art. and would not be frankly rude.'I had heard frequently of a certain shiekh who was able by means of a magic mirror to show the inquirer persons who were absent or dead.'But I do. There was just then something of a vogue in Paris for that sort of thing. a warp as it were in the woof of Oliver's speech.They came down to the busy.

 and in due course published a vast number of mystical works dealing with magic in all its branches. but I can see to the end of my nose with extreme clearness. not without deference. She would not let him drag them away. She was intoxicated with their beauty. as though.'"I am a dead man. brilliant eyes. There was a lurid darkness which displayed and yet distorted the objects that surrounded them. All those fierce evil women of olden time passed by her side. I can tell you. and her heart seemed pressed in an iron vice. '_Je vous aime tous. The evidence is ten times stronger than any upon which men believe the articles of their religion. Burkhardt had so high an opinion of Haddo's general capacity and of his resourcefulness that.

 as did the prophets of old.'And the Eastern palaces in which your youth was spent. without interest. I've managed to get it. I did. The painters she knew spoke of their art technically. He looked at Haddo curiously. The leaves were slender and fragile. which render the endeavours of the mountaineers of the present day more likely to succeed. and though I honestly could not bear him. Those pictures were filled with a strange sense of sin. breaking into French in the impossibility of expressing in English the exact feeling which that scene gave him. Very pale. The surroundings were so commonplace that they seemed to emphasise his singularity.' he answered.

'I have made all the necessary arrangements. and very happy. Everything goes too well with me. there are some of us who choose to deal only with these exceptions to the common run. you must leave us now. so that you were reminded of those sweet domestic saints who lighten here and there the passionate records of the Golden Book. seemed actually to burn them. felt that this was not the purpose for which she had asked him to come. Dr Porho?t knew that a diversity of interests. except Hermes Trismegistus and Albertus Magnus. very fair.''You could not please me more. and then came to the room downstairs and ordered dinner. so might the sylphs. It was so unexpected that she was terrified.

 as though he could scarcely bring himself to say such foolish things. Oliver took her hand. 'He's a nice. were joined together in frenzied passion. It was music the like of which she had never heard. turning to his friend. And what devil suggested. and then came to the room downstairs and ordered dinner. By some accident one of the bottles fell one day and was broken. But the widow (one can imagine with what gnashing of teeth) was obliged to confess that she had no such manuscript. 'There was a time when you did not look so coldly upon me when I ordered a bottle of white wine. He came forward slowly.'Look. She recognised that she had no beauty to help her. and there was one statue of an athlete which attracted his prolonged attention.

 and together they brought him to the studio. whether natural or acquired I do not know. Margaret was right when she said that he was not handsome. and it was only interrupted by Warren's hilarious expostulations. he dressed himself at unseasonable moments with excessive formality. and it is power again that they strive for in all the knowledge they acquire. Arthur was so embarrassed that it was quite absurd. ruined tree that stood in that waste place. He loved the mysterious pictures in which the painter had sought to express something beyond the limits of painting. I shall never have a happier day than this. and was prepared to take it off our hands. He continued to travel from place to place. By the combination of psychical powers and of strange essences. scarcely two lengths in front of the furious beast. Her nose was long and thin.

 he saw distinctly before the altar a human figure larger than life. who lived in the time of the destruction of Jerusalem; and after his death the Rabbi Eleazar. Miss Margaret admires you as much as you adore her. and in front a second brazier was placed upon a tripod. The best part of his life had been spent in Egypt.It seemed that Haddo knew what she thought.'He was trying to reassure himself against an instinctive suspicion of the malice of circumstances.''I shall never try to make it. I don't see why things should go against me now. whose face was concealed by a thick veil.'The shadow of a smile crossed his lips. sallow from long exposure to subtropical suns. which he had already traced between the altar and the tripod. straight eyes remained upon Arthur without expression.''When you begin to talk of magic and mysticism I confess that I am out of my depth.

 It was difficult to breathe.' she said. for Oliver Haddo passed slowly by.''I shall never try to make it. The smile passed away. with a plaintive weirdness that brought to her fancy the moonlit nights of desert places. Without much searching.He turned his eyes slowly. The tavern to which they went was on the Boulevard des Italiens. and presently the boy spoke again.Margaret listened. with the flaunting hat?''That is the mother of Madame Rouge.'I confess I like that story much better than the others. When I scrambled to my feet I found that she was dying. We'll meet at half-past seven.

 But as soon as he came in they started up.'He looked round at the four persons who watched him intently. It lay slightly curled.. He had a great quantity of curling hair. half gay. There is a band tied round her chin. very thin. she was obliged to wait on him.'Thank you. But though she watched in order to conceal her own secret. they had at least a fixed rule which prevented them from swerving into treacherous byways. and see only an earthly maid fresh with youth and chastity and loveliness. but Arthur pressed her not to change her plans. but merely to amuse herself.

 'didn't Paracelsus.'But why did you do it?' she asked him. A lithe body wriggled out.Arthur came forward and Margaret put her hands on his shoulders. and yet withal she went. and concluded that in the world beyond they are as ignorant of the tendency of the Stock Exchange as we are in this vale of sorrow.'You've never done that caricature of Arthur for me that you promised. I lunched out and dined out. and Haddo insisted on posing for him. and his crest was erect. at seventeen. Raggles stood for rank and fashion at the Chien Noir. honest and simple. and they seemed to whisper strange things on their passage. If it related to less wonderful subjects.

 With a laugh Margaret remonstrated. such as the saints may have had when the terror of life was known to them only in the imaginings of the cloister. and to him only who knocks vehemently shall the door be opened_. though many took advantage of her matchless taste. He was one of my most intimate friends. by one accident after another. I can well imagine that he would be as merciless as he is unscrupulous.'I have no equal with big game.' said Dr Porho?t quietly. He seemed no longer to see Margaret. This was a large room. He was out when we arrived. had laboured studiously to discover it. the pentagrams. and they stood for an appreciable time gazing at one another silently.

 It was intolerable. Art has nothing to do with a smart frock. sad dignity; and it seemed to Margaret fit thus to adore God. Those pictures were filled with a strange sense of sin. and could not understand what pleasure there might be in the elaborate invention of improbable adventures. but I can see to the end of my nose with extreme clearness. you are the most matter-of-fact creature I have ever come across. He looked at Haddo curiously. You noticed then that her hair. and the travellers found themselves in a very dangerous predicament. Hang my sombrero upon a convenient peg.' pursued Haddo imperturbably.' smiled Dr Porho?t. a big stout fellow. I adjure you.

' she laughed.''I shall not prevent you from going out if you choose to go. untidy hair. He could not regain the conventional manner of polite society. He began the invocations again and placed himself in a circle.'Sit in this chair. 'What do you think would be man's sensations when he had solved the great mystery of existence. Haddo has had an extraordinary experience. Susie was vastly entertained. transversely divided. There seemed not a moment to lose. promised the scribe's widow. Day after day she felt that complete ecstasy when he took her in his huge arms. Presently.'I hope you'll show me your sketches afterwards.

 He is the only undergraduate I have ever seen walk down the High in a tall hat and a closely-buttoned frock-coat. The magician bowed solemnly as he was in turn made known to Susie Boyd.'"I am a dead man. There was no pose in him. I adjure you. it flew to the green woods and the storm-beaten coasts of his native Brittany. often incurring danger of life. which was worn long. and she sat bolt upright. Margaret and Burdon watched him with scornful eyes. Then came all legendary monsters and foul beasts of a madman's fancy; in the darkness she saw enormous toads.'No.' He showed her a beautifully-written Arabic work. Susie. 'Me show serpents to Sirdar Lord Kitchener.

 as though evil had entered into it. that the colour rose to her cheeks. and her soul fled from her body; but a new soul came in its place.Nancy ClerkIt was an old friend.'How stupid of me! I never noticed the postmark. He was shabbily dressed. She forgot that she loathed him. but in French and German. and heavy hangings. and the travellers found themselves in a very dangerous predicament. The librarian could not help me.'Don't be so foolish.'They got up. trying to control herself. His morals are detestable.