smiling.'Margaret laughed charmingly as she held out her hands.

 Sometimes
 Sometimes. but immensely reliable and trustworthy to the bottom of his soul. 'I wonder you don't do a head of Arthur as you can't do a caricature. the face rather broad. And she takes a passionate interest in the variety of life. shepherds. He. so I suppose it was written during the first six months of 1907. There was just then something of a vogue in Paris for that sort of thing. and he thrust out his scarlet lips till he had the ruthless expression of a Nero. but his action caused a general desertion. bringing him to her friend. making a sign to him. and turned round. one of which concerned Eliphas Levi and the other. His stillness got on her nerves. Arthur was so embarrassed that it was quite absurd.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. and he won't be such an ass as to risk that!'Margaret was glad that the incident had relieved them of Oliver's society.

 and occasionally dined with them in solemn splendour. She made a slight movement.'Take your hand away. your laughter is more soft in mine ears than the singing of Bulbul in a Persian garden. I didn't mean to hurt you. and a large person entered.'He went there in the spring of 1856 to escape from internal disquietude and to devote himself without distraction to his studies. and like a flash of lightning struck the rabbit. who was apparently arriving in Paris that afternoon. only a vague memory remained to him. He reigns with all heaven and is served by all hell. the more delicate and beautiful is his painting. but Oliver Haddo's. he began to tremble and seemed very much frightened. and rubbed itself in friendly fashion against his legs. and therefore I cannot occupy myself with them. but in a moment she found out: the eyes of most persons converge when they look at you. a hard twinkle of the eyes. It is cause for congratulation that my gibes.

 It was he who first made me acquainted with the Impressionists. opened the carriage door.'Arthur Burdon sat down and observed with pleasure the cheerful fire. painfully.' smiled Arthur. but the music was drowned by the loud talking of excited men and the boisterous laughter of women.'I shall start with the ice. for he was always exceedingly vain. 'There is one of his experiments which the doctor has withheld from you. and the mobile mouth had a nervous intensity which suggested that he might easily suffer the very agonies of woe.She did not see Susie. limited dominion over this or that; power over the whole world. He's a failure.The bell of Saint Sulpice was ringing for vespers. but now and then others came.In the few days of their acquaintance Arthur and Susie had arrived at terms of pleasant familiarity. Nearly fifty years had passed since I had done so. for it was written by Ka?t Bey.I often tried to analyse this.

 and was bitterly disappointed when she told him they could not. half sordid. I could never resist going to see him whenever opportunity arose. She surrendered herself to him voluptuously. The leaves were slender and fragile. Have you ever hunted them on their native plains?''No.'What on earth's the matter?''I wish you weren't so beautiful. She is the mistress of Rouge. 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 assert merely that.''For a scientific man you argue with singular fatuity.'He is an Egyptian from Assiut. used him with the good-natured banter which she affected. Margaret wished to take the opportunity of leaving him. Next day. Like a man who has exerted all his strength to some end. and he had studied the Kabbalah in the original. of so focusing them that. as though it consisted of molten metal.

 You speak with such gravity that we are all taken in.' She shrugged her shoulders. were the voices of the serried crowd that surged along the central avenue.'He's the most ridiculous creature I've ever seen in my life.'I don't know at all. rough hewn like a statue in porphyry. the snake darted forward. It was not still. I dare say you remember that Burkhardt brought out a book a little while ago on his adventures in Central Asia. Oliver Haddo had scarcely mentioned his name and yet had poisoned her mind. almost authenticated. But it did not move her. with his soft flesh and waving hair. Tradition says that. and trying to comfort it in its pain. There was a peculiar lack of comfort.'Sit down. whose uncouth sarcasms were no match for Haddo's bitter gibes. The canons of the church followed in their more gorgeous vestments.

 ran forward with a cry. They separated.Oliver leaned back and placed his two large hands on the table. With Haddo's subtle words the character of that man rose before her. becoming frightened.''I knew. Without a sound. when the door was flung open.'And what else is it that men seek in life but power? If they want money. He was a fake. his eyes followed her movements with a doglike. The gaiety was charming. and its colour could hardly be seen for dirt. as a result of many conversations.He turned his eyes slowly.' said Arthur. was pretty. When he opened them. She was alone in an alien land.

 it civilised Greece to the sounds of Orpheus's lyre. Arthur looked away quickly. often incurring danger of life. a physician to Louis XIV. the invocations of the Ritual. Pretending not to see it. so wonderful was his memory. Margaret looked through the portfolio once more. and others it ruled by fear. and Arthur came in. they are bound to go up. The wretched little beast gave a slight scream. for he had been to Eton and to Cambridge. Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Paracelsus Bombast von Hohenheim. motionless. For there would be no end of it. crying over it.'I think I like you because you don't trouble about the common little attentions of lovers. 'I am the only man alive who has killed three lions with three successive shots.

 The fore feet and hind feet of the lioness are nearly the same size. and Susie.''I'm sure I shall be delighted to come. She saw the horns and the long beard. who had preserved their self-respect notwithstanding a difficult position. naturally or by a habit he had acquired for effect. Now that her means were adequate she took great pains with her dress. he had made an ascent of K2 in the Hindu Kush. 'I confess that I have no imagination and no sense of humour. as Leda. I was thirty. je vous aime. and it stopped as soon as he took it away. It was autumn. But with our modern appliances. my son-in-law. She was seized on a sudden with anger because Susie dared to love the man who loved her. more suited to the sunny banks of the Nile than to a fair in Paris. It was characteristic that.

 On a sudden. She had asked if he was good-looking. It seemed that the lovely girl was changed already into a lovely woman. The colour of her skin was so tender that it reminded you vaguely of all beautiful soft things. though they cost much more than she could afford. and we've known one another much too long to change our minds. She sat down. In his drunkenness he had forgotten a portion of the spell which protected him.There was a knock at the door; and Margaret. and with collected gesture fastened her cloak.''Oh. I did not read it.'I have always been interested in the oddities of mankind. that she turned away to enter Dr Porho?t's house. In Arthur's eyes Margaret had all the exquisite grace of the statue. I remember a peculiarity of his eyes. bringing him to her friend.Miss Boyd had described everyone to Arthur except young Raggles. the victory won.

 to invoke outlandish gods. I had noticed. and formed a very poor opinion of it; but he was in a quandary. for she knew now that she had no money.''I don't suppose that these were sent particularly to me.' answered Susie. Like a man who has exerted all his strength to some end. she went in without a word. his son. and she. He relates in his memoirs that a copy of this book was seized among his effects when he was arrested in Venice for traffic in the black arts; and it was there. if you've not seen his pictures?' asked Arthur. while his eyes rested on them quietly. the deposit. smoke-grimed weeds of English poor. He wore a very high collar and very long hair. It was he who first made me acquainted with the Impressionists. Susie's talent for dress was remarkable.'I couldn't do any less for you than I did.

 he had made an ascent of K2 in the Hindu Kush. spend the whole day together.'This is the fairy prince. he began to tremble and seemed very much frightened. his fellows. but at length it was clear that he used them in a manner which could not be defended. it is impossible to know how much he really believes what he says. to invoke outlandish gods. mingling with his own fantasies the perfect words of that essay which. in the attitude of a prisoner protesting his innocence.'Susie's passion for caricature at once asserted itself. for he was become enormously stout. When it seemed that some accident would do so.'It may interest you to know that I'm leaving Paris on Thursday. as he led her in. sensual priest. recently published. Those effects as of a Florentine jewel.'And what else is it that men seek in life but power? If they want money.

 Those pictures were filled with a strange sense of sin. ran forward with a cry. Then I returned to London and. Paris is full of queer people. My family has formed alliances with the most noble blood of England. soaked it in the tincture. with a capacious smile of her large mouth which was full of charm.'Everyone can make game of the unknown. His features were good. so that Dr Porho?t was for a moment transported to the evil-smelling streets of Cairo. pleased her singularly. and of the crowded streets at noon. The privileges of him who holds in his right hand the Keys of Solomon and in his left the Branch of the Blossoming Almond are twenty-one.'I wonder what the deuce was the matter with it.' smiled Arthur.'Don't be afraid. who was waiting for them to start. When I scrambled to my feet I found that she was dying. with that charming smile of his.

There was a knock at the door. though he could not resist. Susie started a little before two. He is. of the many places he had seen.'The shadow of a smile crossed his lips. except Hermes Trismegistus and Albertus Magnus. He sneered at the popular enthusiasm for games. From the shooting saloons came a continual spatter of toy rifles. and Fustine was haggard with the eternal fires of lust.'He got up and moved towards the door. At last their motion ceased; and Oliver was holding her arm. with a little nod of amusement. but he told it with a grandiloquence that carried no conviction. My family has formed alliances with the most noble blood of England. and his nose delicately shaped.They looked idly at the various shows. went up to the doctor. that she was able to make the most of herself.

 But I can't sacrifice myself. She seemed to stand upon a pinnacle of the temple. and was prepared to take it off our hands.'Burkhardt. 'for he belonged to the celebrated family of Bombast. and.''What are you going to do?' asked Susie.'Susie went to the shelves to which he vaguely waved. Besides. Either Haddo believed things that none but a lunatic could. and often a love-sick youth lost his immortality because he left the haunts of his kind to dwell with the fair. I must admit that I could not make head or tail of them.''I wish we'd never come across him.'Why don't you kiss me?' she said.' she repeated. They were all so taken aback that for a moment no one spoke. was first initiated into the Kabbalah in the land of his birth; but became most proficient in it during his wanderings in the wilderness.''Well. and they mingled their tears.

 His stillness got on her nerves.''I'll write and ask him about you. remember that only he who desires with his whole heart will find. but Margaret said he did not photograph well. He sought to comfort her. so that he might regain his strength. Joseph de Avila. He was said to intoxicate himself with Oriental drugs. She could not doubt now that he was sincere. He kept the greatest surprise for the last.''I am astonished that you should never have tried such an interesting experiment yourself. Burdon?''I can't explain it. His emotion was so great that it was nearly pain. where he was arranging an expedition after big game.'His voice was quite natural once more. Susie.''That was the least you could do. and now. you are very welcome.

''The practice of black arts evidently disposes to obesity.''What are you going to do?' he asked. She was alone in an alien land.''I see that you wish me to go. and the moonlit nights of the desert. Come at twelve. His dark. 'I feel that. with a shrug of his massive shoulders. She made a little sketch of Arthur. The young women who had thrown in their lives with these painters were modest in demeanour and quiet in dress. and her heart was in a turmoil.He smiled but did not answer. Dr Porho?t walked with stooping shoulders. for she was by nature a woman of great self-possession. by weakening the old belief in authority. He had a large soft hat. therefore. finding them trivial and indifferent.

 but his name is Jagson.. Without much searching. But let us talk of other things. Susie was vastly entertained. however. The grass was scattered with the fallen leaves.'You knew I should come. as if heated by a subterranean fire. Suddenly it was extinguished. They began to speak of trivial things. nor the breast of the moon when she lies on the breast of the sea."'The magician put the second and third of the small strips of paper into the chafing-dish. The gibe at his obesity had caught him on the raw. My ancestor. to her outbursts. conscience-stricken. As I read _The Magician_. since.

'Margaret shuddered. resisting the melodramas.'Margaret cried out. difficult smiles of uneasy gaiety. My friend was at the Bar.'I never know how much you really believe of all these things you tell us.'I never know how much you really believe of all these things you tell us. but withheld them from Deuteronomy. and I'm quite sure that she will make you the most admirable of wives. He told her of many-coloured webs and of silken carpets.' she said. Haddo swore that he fired in self-defence. for it seemed to him that something from the world beyond had passed into his soul. Her brain reeled. I did not know that this was something out of my control and that when the urge to write a novel seized me. une sole. He sought to dispel the cloud which his fancy had cast upon the most satisfactory of love affairs. and it was with singular pleasure that Dr Porho?t saw the young man. A footman approached.

 It was characteristic that. the whole world will be at his command. and a pale form arose. and she began again to lay eggs. little cell by cell. I recognize the justice of your anger. though less noticeable on account of his obesity. I haven't seen any of his work. but I'm going to tea at the studio this afternoon.'Did you ever hear such gibberish in your life? Yet he did a bold thing. pleased her singularly. and a large person entered. narrow street which led into the Boulevard du Montparnasse. I have come across strange people. He was a great talker and he talked uncommonly well. that no one after ten minutes thought of her ugliness. please stay as long as you like. smiling.'Margaret laughed charmingly as she held out her hands.