Haddo enmeshed her was woven with skilful intricacy.

'You'd far better go out to dinner instead of behaving like a pair of complete idiots
'You'd far better go out to dinner instead of behaving like a pair of complete idiots.'Arthur stared at him with amazement. She noticed that Haddo. It certainly added authority to what he said. who does all the illustrations for _La Semaine_. A footman approached. he came. but his clean-shaven face was full of interest to so passionate an observer of her kind. blushed feebly without answering.'What a bore it is!' she said. He narrowed her mind. and a large writing-table heaped up with books.'The painter grotesquely flung himself back in his chair as though he had been struck a blow. 'I'll go back to my hotel and have a wash. It contained half a card.A day or two later Susie received a telegram. Margaret sprang to her feet. That vast empty space was suddenly filled by shadowy forms. and was hurriedly introduced to a lanky youth.'_C'est tellement intime ici_. Beauty really means as much to her as bread and butter to the more soberly-minded.' she laughed. and her candid spirit was like snow. and you that come from the islands of the sea. 'And what is he by profession?'Dr Porho?t gave a deprecating smile.

 He was a fine man. and in the dim light.' cried Margaret vehemently. But one cannot say the same of incredulity. and it troubled her extraordinarily that she had lied to her greatest friend. He alone used scented pomade upon his neat smooth hair. without. and it was plain that soon his reputation with the public would equal that which he had already won with the profession. and was used to say that cricket was all very well for boys but not fit for the pastime of men. lightly. There was a peculiar odour in the place. and then without hesitation I will devour the wing of a chicken in order to sustain myself against your smile.'But a minute later. He began to play. to appreciate the works which excited her to such charming ecstasy. it will be beautiful to wear a bonnet like a sitz-bath at the back of your head. It was characteristic that. I found life pleasant and I enjoyed myself. the great hairy legs with their hoofs._' she cried. He had never ventured to express the passion that consumed him. which she took out of a case attached to his watch-chain. Margaret and Burdon watched him with scornful eyes. the lady of the crinoline. With Haddo's subtle words the character of that man rose before her.

 and had learnt esoteric secrets which overthrew the foundations of modern science. for he offers the fascinating problem of an immensely complex character. and to him only who knocks vehemently shall the door be opened_.Oliver Haddo slowly turned his glance to the painter. Day after day she felt that complete ecstasy when he took her in his huge arms.' she said.Margaret had never been in better spirits.'I think I love you.'I wonder if it is for the same reason that Mr Haddo puzzles us so much. muttering words they could not hear. I've done very little for you. You would be wrong. 'You were standing round the window. But on the first floor was a narrow room. but the spring had carried her forwards. She did not know whither she was borne. but the odd thing was that he had actually done some of the things he boasted of. He was a great talker and he talked uncommonly well. and he asked her to dine with him alone. and to the best of my belief was never seen in Oxford again. becoming frightened. Impelled by a great curiosity. and his eyes glittered with a devilish ardour. She refused to surrender the pleasing notion that her environment was slightly wicked. a sardonic smile upon the mouth.

' he said. She trembled with the intensity of her desire. I settled down and set to work on still another novel. and he achieved an unpopularity which was remarkable. on which he at once recognized the character of Solomon's Seal. his arm was immediately benumbed as far as the shoulder. and Roman emperors in their purple. Italy. his ears small. His lifted tail was twitching. She surrendered herself to him voluptuously. his secretary. and from all parts. Her nature was singularly truthful. like a man racked by torments who has not the strength even to realize that his agony has ceased. The date of their marriage was fixed. the pentagrams. They were therefore buried under two cartloads of manure. and he flung the red and green velvet of its lining gaudily over his shoulder. almost surly in the repose of the painted canvas. She reproached Arthur in her heart because he had never understood what was in her. Oliver Haddo was left alone with the snake-charmer.'The night had fallen; but it was not the comfortable night that soothes the troubled minds of mortal men; it was a night that agitated the soul mysteriously so that each nerve in the body tingled. she sought to come nearer. I opened the door.

'I must bid my farewells to your little dog. The tortured branches.' answered Arthur. but withheld them from Deuteronomy. She tried to cry out. She wished him to continue. with heavy moist lips.''You see. I took a room in a cheap hotel on the Left Bank.The dog slowly slunk up to them. He tapped it. for you have the power to make him more unhappy than any human being should be. Unless he has much altered. many of the pages were torn. Either Haddo believed things that none but a lunatic could. Then I returned to London and. vehement intensity the curious talent of the modern Frenchman. It was clear that he was not the man to settle down to the tame life of a country gentleman which his position and fortune indicated. and finally the officiating clergy. of attar of roses. and the bushes by trim beds of flowers. It diverted her enormously to hear occult matters discussed with apparent gravity in this prosaic tavern. with its spiritual ambition and imaginative loves.' she whispered. His eyes were hard and cruel.

'I cannot imagine that.'Miss Boyd's reward had come the night before.'He looked about his writing-table till he found a packet of cigarettes. at the top of his voice. the face rather broad. a big stout fellow. He took one more particle of that atrocious powder and put it in the bowl. You won't try to understand.'I do. The sun shone more kindly now. 'I confess that I have no imagination and no sense of humour. The horse seemed not to suffer from actual pain. bowed again. When the boy arrived. 'I assert merely that. there are some of us who choose to deal only with these exceptions to the common run. and there was the peculiar air of romance which is always in a studio. They are willing to lose their all if only they have chance of a great prize. and there was an altar of white marble. An unattached and fairly presentable young man is always in demand. and I'm making a good deal already by operating. There was the portrait of a statuary by Bronzino in the Long Gallery of the Louvre. 'Let us go in and see what the fellow has to show. He did not reach the top. O most excellent Warren.

 The trembling passed through the body and down its limbs till it shook from head to foot as though it had the staggers.'Dr Porho?t ventured upon an explanation of these cryptic utterances. and she needed time to get her clothes. and the mobile mouth had a nervous intensity which suggested that he might easily suffer the very agonies of woe. All those fierce evil women of olden time passed by her side. and some excellent pea-soup. The grass was scattered with the fallen leaves. and the binding scarcely held the leaves together. and forthwith showed us marvels which this man has never heard of. A singular light came into his eyes. At last. as hotly. He could not take his eyes away from her. and her clothes. lightly. He could not understand why Dr Porho?t occupied his leisure with studies so profitless. and he owns a place in Staffordshire which is almost historic. When he opened them. She wore only one ring. The child had so little to confess. you would accept without question as the work of the master. Haddo was left with Margaret.''By Jove.' said Haddo icily. He died as the result of a tavern brawl and was buried at Salzburg.

 intent upon his greetings. I took a room in a cheap hotel on the Left Bank. which seemed to belie it. on the more famous of the alchemists; and. if any. naturally or by a habit he had acquired for effect. and his pictures were fresh in her memory.'The old alchemists believed in the possibility of spontaneous generation. It would not have been so intolerable if he had suspected her of deceit. breaking into French in the impossibility of expressing in English the exact feeling which that scene gave him.'Margaret shuddered. I have studied their experiments. and she needed time to get her clothes. He had been greatly influenced by Swinburne and Robert Browning. came. A gallant Frenchman had to her face called her a _belle laide_. She looked so fresh in her plain black dress. He reared up on his hind legs. and Cleopatra turned away a wan. a hard twinkle of the eyes. and his manner had an offensiveness which was intensely irritating. The trees were neatly surrounded by bushes. Some were quite young. it cites an author who is known to have lived during the eleventh century. There was only the meagre light of the moon.

 and sat down in the seats reserved in the transept for the needy. I will give the order for you to be driven home. and were sauntering now in the gardens of the Luxembourg. have you been mixing as usual the waters of bitterness with the thin claret of Bordeaux?''Why don't you sit down and eat your dinner?' returned the other.'Go away. I might so modify it that. I simply could not get through.'I have no equal with big game. to announce her intention of spending a couple of years in Paris to study art. and these were filled with water. ambiguous passion. almond-shaped like those of an Oriental; the red lips were exquisitely modelled.''I'm glad that I was able to help you. but he prevented them. for she was by nature a woman of great self-possession. In one corner they could see the squat.'Can it matter to you if I forgive or not?''You have not pity. Though the hint of charlatanry in the Frenchman's methods had not escaped Arthur Burdon's shrewd eyes. but Susie had not the courage to prevent her from looking. They talked of all the things they would do when they were married. Susie. When it seemed that some accident would do so. Though his gaze preserved its fixity. 'And Marie is dying to be rid of us. and turned round.

 At Cambridge he had won his chess blue and was esteemed the best whist player of his time. Electric trams passed through it with harsh ringing of bells. two by two. a little while ago. he thought it very clever because she said it; but in a man it would have aroused his impatience. 'Do you believe that I should lie to you when I promised to speak the truth?''Certainly not. But he sent for his snakes. And the men take off their hats. took and furnished a small flat near Victoria Station. and it struggled with its four quaint legs. In one corner they could see the squat. but in French and German. the insane light of their eyes. you won't draw any the worse for wearing a well-made corset. and the man's rapacious hands.' said Arthur.'Dr Porho?t stepped forward and addressed the charmer. took and furnished a small flat near Victoria Station. The fragrance of the East filled her nostrils. It was not still. he spoke.' said Arthur. but unaccountably elated. with its spiritual ambition and imaginative loves. Margaret looked through the portfolio once more.

 Those pictures were filled with a strange sense of sin. like him freshly created. by sight. in a Breton _coiffe_. I will give the order for you to be driven home. was common to all my informants. It was an index of his character. Haddo uttered a cry. though less noticeable on account of his obesity. on the more famous of the alchemists; and. and Susie. which gave two performances. oriental odour rose again to his nostrils.'I've never seen anyone with such a capacity for wretchedness as that man has. The trembling passed through the body and down its limbs till it shook from head to foot as though it had the staggers. The boy began to speak. lovely and hideous; and love and hate. He held out his hand to the grim Irish painter. but at the last moment her friend drew back; and as the triad or unity is rigorously prescribed in magical rites. for she had never used it before. and I saw his great white fangs. turning to his friend. and at intervals the deep voice of the priest. I have shot more lions than any man alive. he was extremely handsome.

 and miseries of that most unruly nation. I opened the door. Suddenly he began to speak. It seemed that Margaret and Arthur realized at last the power of those inhuman eyes. motionless. She was determined that if people called her ugly they should be forced in the same breath to confess that she was perfectly gowned. Suddenly he jerked up his tail.A few months before this. Presently they came to a man who was cutting silhouettes in black paper. She had read the book with delight and. left her listless; and between her and all the actions of life stood the flamboyant. He sought to comfort her. She hid her face in her hands and burst into tears. and in due course published a vast number of mystical works dealing with magic in all its branches.'Don't be afraid.'Can you get a pastille out of my pocket?'He swallowed a white tabloid. and since he took off his hat in the French fashion without waiting for her to acknowledge him. and fashionable courtesans. which represents a priest at the altar; and the altar is sumptuous with gilt and florid carving. Neither the roses in the garden of the Queen of Arabia. and gave it to an aged hen. she went in without a word. and Susie. It was no less amusing than a play. It seemed to her that she had no power in her limbs.

 There was no pose in him. if I could only make a clean breast of it all. and his eye fell on a stout volume bound in vellum. and gave it to an aged hen. The surroundings were so commonplace that they seemed to emphasise his singularity. but the priest's faith and hers were not the same. at least.'She sank helplessly into her chair. and the Rabbi Abba. Dr Porho?t broke the silence. brilliant eyes.''You are very superior. and the eyelids are a little weary. with much woodwork and heavy scarlet hangings. Margaret would have given anything to kneel down and whisper in those passionless ears all that she suffered. The French members got up and left.'She gave a soft. Margaret tried to join calmly in the conversation.''You could not please me more. In the shut cab that faint. on one of my journeys from Alexandria. An elaborate prescription is given for its manufacture. however long I live. by weakening the old belief in authority. often incurring danger of life.

 The French members got up and left. genially holding out his hand. the unaccountable emotion. But a few days before she had seen the _Ph??dre_ of Racine. He appeared to stand apart from human kind.' he said. The leaves were slender and fragile. but his predecessors Galen.The room was full when Arthur Burdon entered. I want to look at all your books. and they mingled their tears. I knew that it could mean but one thing. that the seen is the measure of the unseen. and trying to comfort it in its pain.I was glad to get back to London.Then Margaret felt every day that uncontrollable desire to go to him; and. and the Merestons. The scales fell from her eyes. He leaned forward with eager face. his eyes followed her movements with a doglike. that your deplorable lack of education precludes you from the brilliancy to which you aspire?'For an instant Oliver Haddo resumed his effective pose; and Susie.''Silly ass!' answered Arthur with emphasis. 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. She watched him with bewildered astonishment. and with desperate courage I fired my remaining barrel.

'I wish to tell you that I bear no malice for what you did. I went and came back by bus.' said Dr Porho?t quietly. I found that his reading was extraordinarily wide.''You have spoken to me of your mother.'"When he has done sweeping. sensual priest. Susie's talent for dress was remarkable. a fried sole.'I saw the most noted charmer of Madras die two hours after he had been bitten by a cobra. he began to tremble and seemed very much frightened.'The shadow of a smile crossed his lips. and she. She hid her face in her hands and burst into tears. and her candid spirit was like snow. and in front a second brazier was placed upon a tripod. It was plain now that his words intoxicated him.' he laughed. 'but he's very paintable. It seemed hardly by chance that the colours arranged themselves in such agreeable tones.

 for the little place had a reputation for good cooking combined with cheapness; and the _patron_. but it would be of extraordinary interest to test it for oneself. transversely divided. and had learnt esoteric secrets which overthrew the foundations of modern science.'Susie could not help laughing.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. engaged for ever in a mystic rite. It should be remembered that Lactantius proclaimed belief in the existence of antipodes inane. to whom he would pay a handsome dowry. They arrived at Margaret's house. and the approach of night made it useless to follow. The magus. He tapped it. Arthur sat down. she dropped. I felt I must get out of it.I do not remember what success. with a hateful smile on his face.'Meanwhile her life proceeded with all outward regularity. It contained the most extraordinary account I have ever read of certain spirits generated by Johann-Ferdinand.

'And when you're married. Many called it an insolent swagger. Margaret. Something stronger than herself seemed to impel her.''I shall never try to make it. His love cast a glamour upon his work.'Dr Porho?t stepped forward and addressed the charmer.'They decorate the floors of Skene. It gave Margaret a new and troubling charm. who have backed zero all the time. You will see that the owner's name had been cut out. She understood how men had bartered their souls for infinite knowledge. Margaret smiled with happy pride. Monsieur Warren. he sought. The door was shut. but the journey to the station was so long that it would not be worth Susie's while to come back in the interval; and they arranged therefore to meet at the house to which they were invited. by Delancre; he drew his finger down the leather back of Delrio's _Disquisitiones Magicae_ and set upright the _Pseudomonarchia Daemonorum_ of Wierus; his eyes rested for an instant on Hauber's _Acta et Scripta Magica_. There was a pleasant darkness in the place. of the sunsets with their splendour.

 with a flourish of his fat hands. He began to walk up and down the studio. Her answer came within a couple of hours: 'I've asked him to tea on Wednesday. Arthur started a little and gave him a searching glance. She felt herself redden. where he served as a surgeon in the imperial army. I shan't feel safe till I'm actually your wife. To my shame. actresses of renown. He took an infinitesimal quantity of a blue powder that it contained and threw it on the water in the brass bowl. and this gave her a chance to bring their conversation to matters on which Haddo was expert. so that you were reminded of those sweet domestic saints who lighten here and there the passionate records of the Golden Book.'I'll tell you what I'll do. the Arab thrust his hand into the sack and rummaged as a man would rummage in a sack of corn. and a pale form arose.'In whatever way you came. but by making it to force the very gates of the unknown?'Suddenly the bantering gravity with which he spoke fell away from him.She had learnt long ago that common sense. full existence. To Susie it seemed that they flickered with the shadow of a smile.

 and set it down within the circle. but this touch somehow curiously emphasized her sex.'Arthur saw a tall. He recited the honeyed words with which Walter Pater expressed his admiration for that consummate picture. curling hair. 'but he's always in that condition.' said Margaret. An expression of terrible anguish came into his face. As she walked along the interminable street that led to her own house. where Susie Boyd and Margaret generally dined. I told you then how sorry I was that a sudden uncontrollable pain drove me to do a thing which immediately I bitterly regretted. and Bacchus. Arthur started a little and gave him a searching glance. and spiritual kingdoms of darkness.'The little maid who looked busily after the varied wants of the customers stood in front of them to receive Arthur's order.' she said at last.'I confess I like that story much better than the others.'Who is your fat friend?' asked Arthur.' replied the doctor.'He always reminds me of an Aubrey Beardsley that's been dreadfully smudged.

He opened the door.'He had been so quiet that they had forgotten his presence. the organic from the inorganic. but the wind of centuries had sought in vain to drag up its roots.'Dr Porho?t passed his hand across his eyes. and she had a sensation of freedom which was as delightful as it was indescribable. and Burkhardt could only express entire admiration for his pluck. in the wall.' cried Margaret vehemently.'Oh. The young women who had thrown in their lives with these painters were modest in demeanour and quiet in dress. strangely parallel. in baggy corduroys.''If I died tomorrow. to get a first. and she. my son. backed by his confidence and talent. recognized himself in the creature of my invention. but she knew that something horrible was about to happen.

 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. With Haddo's subtle words the character of that man rose before her. determined him to attempt at her house the experience of a complete evocation. his fellows.'No.The web in which Oliver Haddo enmeshed her was woven with skilful intricacy. when he first came up.A rug lay at one side of the tent. as was then the custom. 'I'm sorry. There's no place like Paris for meeting queer folk. 'I've never seen a man whose honesty of purpose was so transparent. evil-smelling and airless. The expression was sombre. little cell by cell.''I'm dying to know what you did with all the lions you slaughtered.Margaret laughed. and I don't think we made them particularly welcome. and the reptile teeth went deep into his flesh. 'I'm enchanted with the mysterious meeting at Westminster Abbey in the Mid-Victorian era.

 and the eyes were brown. the snake fell to the ground. On his head was the national tarboosh. I shall then proceed to a fresh sole. The bed is in a sort of hole. The preparations for the journey were scarcely made when Margaret discovered by chance that her father had died penniless and she had lived ever since at Arthur's entire expense. She saw that they were veiled with tears. and generally black or red turns up; but now and then zero appears. at least a student not unworthy my esteem. and they went down steadily. He set more twigs and perfumes on the brazier. poignant and musical. and winged serpents.' answered Dr Porho?t gravely. to like football.They touched glasses. They were something of a trial on account of the tips you had to give to the butler and to the footman who brought you your morning tea.'I think. Dr Porho?t. Jews.

 Haddo's eyes were fixed upon hers. She has beauty and grace and sympathy. and the causes that made him say it.'"I desire to see the widow Jeanne-Marie Porho?t.' said Margaret.' answered Arthur. It had two rooms and a kitchen. It choked the two women.But her heart went out to Margaret. Miss Boyd. what might it not be possible to do now if we had the courage? There are chemists toiling away in their laboratories to create the primitive protoplasm from matter which is dead. Her fancy suggested various dark means whereby Oliver Haddo might take vengeance on his enemy. He drew out a long. The kindly scholar looked round for Margaret's terrier. without colouring or troubling it.'I want to ask you to forgive me for what I did. somewhat against their will. esoteric import. is its history. He asked himself whether he believed seriously these preposterous things.

Dr Porho?t smiled. 'for he belonged to the celebrated family of Bombast. I never know myself how much I believe. but Susie was not convinced that callous masters would have been so enthusiastic if Margaret had been as plain and old as herself. Her whole body burned with the ecstasy of his embrace. Presently. in baggy corduroys. His passion for euphuism contrasted strikingly with the simple speech of those with whom he consorted.'You know as well as I do that I think her a very charming young person. but I must require of you first the most inviolable silence. It seemed that he had never seen anything so ravishing as the way in which she bent over the kettle. to her outbursts. As an acquaintance he is treacherous and insincere; as an enemy. showily dressed in a check suit; and he gravely took off his hat to Dr Porho?t. Burkhardt returned to England; and Haddo.'She turned her chair a little and looked at him. and Haddo went on to the Frenchman.Oliver Haddo seemed extraordinarily fascinated. In his drunkenness he had forgotten a portion of the spell which protected him. some of them neat enough.

 He did not seem astonished that she was there. Thereupon. plain face lit up as she realized the delight of the scene upon which her eyes rested; and it was with a little pang. by all the introspection of this later day. and when a lion does this he charges. They should know that during the Middle Ages imagination peopled the four elements with intelligences. it will be beautiful to wear a bonnet like a sitz-bath at the back of your head. I shall never be surprised to hear anything in connexion with him. The night was lurid with acetylene torches. and how would they be troubled by this beauty. the Parnabys. He threw himself into an attitude of command and remained for a moment perfectly still.'Let us wait here for a moment.'If you wish it.'Now please look at the man who is sitting next to Mr Warren. as it were.' said Arthur ironically.Asking her to sit down. dared to write it down till Schimeon ben Jochai.The web in which Oliver Haddo enmeshed her was woven with skilful intricacy.