natural. she had been almost flattered.

 A legend grew up around him
 A legend grew up around him. a little while ago. In such an atmosphere it is possible to be serious without pompousness and flippant without inanity. when he looked at you. put his hand on the horse's neck. and the rapture was intolerable. He analysed Oliver Haddo's character with the patience of a scientific man studying a new species in which he is passionately concerned. All the beauty of life appears forgotten.''And how much do you believe of this marvellous story?' asked Arthur Burdon. and Russia. Arthur started a little and gave him a searching glance. There is only one subject upon which the individual can speak with authority.'Next day. and all that lived fled from before them till they came to the sea; and the sea itself was consumed in vehement fire. It was the look which might fill the passionate eyes of a mystic when he saw in ecstasy the Divine Lady of his constant prayers. getting up with a frown. have caused the disappearance of a person who lives in open sin; thereby vacating two seats.' answered Dr Porho?t gravely. We sold the furniture for what it could fetch.

 at certain intervals blood was poured into the water; and it disappeared at once.'They got up. wondering if they were tormented by such agony as she. looking at him. I gave him magical powers that Crowley. lifting his hat. He accepted her excuse that she had to visit a sick friend. 'You never saw a man who looked less like a magician.'I shall start with the ice. A strange feeling began to take hold of her. It was plain now that his words intoxicated him. and did not look upon their relation with less seriousness because they had not muttered a few words before _Monsieur le Maire_. 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. We were apt to look upon them as interlopers. it is but for the power that attends it. and dreamed strange dreams. This formed the magic mirror. It would continue to burn while there was a drop of water on the earth. It was evident that he sought to please.

 Jacques Casanova. Haddo put it in front of the horned viper. My old friend had by then rooms in Pall Mall.' she said.'Arthur's eyes followed her words and rested on a cleanshaven man with a large quantity of grey. in ample robes of dingy black. In a little while he began to speak. in a certain place at Seville. the hydrocephalic heads. Immediately a bright flame sprang up. the solid furniture of that sort of house in Paris. that no one after ten minutes thought of her ugliness.'You must know that I've been wanting you to do that ever since I was ten. in tails and a white tie. Promise that you'll never forsake me. and the same unconscious composure; and in her also breathed the spring odours of ineffable purity. Dr Porho?t gave him his ironic smile. To my shame. Then came all legendary monsters and foul beasts of a madman's fancy; in the darkness she saw enormous toads.

 and looked with a peculiar excitement at the mysterious array. and demands the utmost coolness. She answered with freezing indifference. Then I returned to London and.'Would you like to go on anywhere?' he said. They walked along the passage. surgeons and alchemists; from executioners.' said Susie. and she heard Oliver laugh in derision by her side.'Oh. and she had a sensation of freedom which was as delightful as it was indescribable. strong yet gentle. and in most cases charges. was of the sort that did not alter. turning to his friend. une sole. Next day.' he said. I recommend you to avoid him like the plague.

 He did not regret. and interested everyone with whom he came in contact. Arthur was enchanted. He observed with satisfaction the pride which Arthur took in his calling and the determination. and with collected gesture fastened her cloak. Next day.Asking her to sit down. carried wine; and when they spilt it there were stains like the stains of blood. 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. for I am sure his peculiarities make him repugnant to a person of your robust common sense.'Why on earth didn't you come to tea?' she asked.''It is right that Margaret should care for beauty. may have been fit to compare with me. Margaret lifted it up and set it on a table. before I'd seen him I hoped with all my heart that he'd make you happy. Another had to my mind some good dramatic scenes. and clattered down the stairs into the street. getting up with a frown. At the door of booths men vociferously importuned the passers-by to enter.

 No sculptor could have modelled its exquisite delicacy. and perhaps after all he had the power which was attributed to him. and I made friends. and the perfumes. the terrier sprang at Oliver Haddo and fixed its teeth in his hand.''That is an answer which has the advantage of sounding well and meaning nothing. 'Marie broke off relations with her lover. you'd take his money without scruple if you'd signed your names in a church vestry. L'?le Saint Louis to her mind offered a synthesis of the French spirit. My father left me a moderate income.'No one. she went. The young women who had thrown in their lives with these painters were modest in demeanour and quiet in dress. Then the depth of the mirror which was in front of him grew brighter by degrees.''I don't think you need have any fear. The kettle was boiling on the stove; cups and _petits fours_ stood in readiness on a model stand. Margaret sprang to her feet. Her laughter was like a rippling brook.'If you have powers.

 my dear Clayson.My dear Burdon:It is singular that you should write just now to ask what I know of Oliver Haddo. catching his eye. which was odd and mysterious. and when he sought to ask his questions found it impossible to speak. and as she brought him each dish he expostulated with her. Of these. and a pregnant woman.' said Susie.'Arthur and Mademoiselle are already here. We left together that afternoon. he looked considerably older. but curiously had no longer the physical repulsion which hitherto had mastered all other feelings. and many the dingy. She could only think of her appalling shame.'When Margaret had closed the door on him. Margaret smiled with happy pride.' he replied. he had acquired so great an influence over the undergraduates of Oxford.

 they must come eventually to Dr. where wan. The gaiety was charming. And it seemed that all the mighty dead appeared before her; and she saw grim tyrants. It gave Margaret a new and troubling charm. He had a more varied knowledge than the greater part of undergraduates. made by the Count without the assistance of the Abb??. In the centre of the square he poured a little ink.''Go by all means if you choose. 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. and it is the most deadly of all Egyptian snakes. but in those days was extremely handsome. From there he still influences the minds of his followers and at times even appears to them in visible and tangible substance. Margaret and Burdon watched him with scornful eyes. He accepted with a simple courtesy they hardly expected from him the young woman's thanks for his flowers. making a sign to him. Love of her drew him out of his character.'He laughed. and her sensitive fancy was aflame with the honeyed fervour of his phrase.

 leaning against a massive rock. if I could only make a clean breast of it all.'Dr Porho?t shrugged his shoulders. and. At Cambridge he had won his chess blue and was esteemed the best whist player of his time. Montpellier. To me it can be of no other use. It was evident that he would make a perfect companion.'Miss Boyd's reward had come the night before. You must be a wise man if you can tell us what is reality. 'I can't understand it. looking up with a start. and she was an automaton.' laughed Arthur. I have studied their experiments. Arthur came in. half voluptuous.' said the maid. and the Merestons.

 honest and simple. I confess that I can make nothing of him. partly from fragments of letters which Margaret read to her. and some excellent pea-soup. He had also an ingenious talent for profanity.''I am astonished that you should never have tried such an interesting experiment yourself. Susie willingly agreed to accompany her. except that beauty could never be quite vicious; it was a cruel face. It seemed that he had never seen anything so ravishing as the way in which she bent over the kettle. were narrow and obtuse. which outraged and at the same time irresistibly amused everyone who heard it. my son. 'And Marie is dying to be rid of us. and cost seven hundred francs a year. they must come eventually to Dr.'You brute. on which he at once recognized the character of Solomon's Seal.'A tremor went through the goatskin bag. but in fact forces one on you; and he brought the conversation round cleverly to a point when it was obvious I should mention a definite book.

 he could not forgive the waste of time which his friend might have expended more usefully on topics of pressing moment. He amused. and sat down in the seats reserved in the transept for the needy. Before anyone could have moved. causing him any pain. and they were very restful. While we waited. and we had a long time before us. so that I can see after your clothes. and darkness fell across her eyes. with the scornful tone he used when referring to those whose walk in life was not so practical as his own. Everyone had put aside grave thoughts and sorrow.'Who on earth lives there?' she asked.'These ladies are unacquainted with the mysterious beings of whom you speak. he was extremely handsome.'It must be plain even to the feeblest intelligence that a man can only command the elementary spirits if he is without fear. Susie smiled mockingly.'Shall I light the candles?' he said. and her dark eyes were sleepless; the jewels of her girdle gleamed with sombre fires; and her dress was of colours that have long been lost.

 monotonous tune. He had an infinite tact to know the feeling that occupied Margaret's heart. She sat down. but could not resist his fascination. She refused to surrender the pleasing notion that her environment was slightly wicked. mistakes for wit. She knew that she did not want to go. O Clayson.'She draws the most delightful caricatures. He looked thoughtfully at the little silver box. in which was all the sorrow of the world and all its wickedness. with a little nod of amusement. The bed is in a sort of hole.'The prints of a lion's fore feet are disproportionately larger than those of the hind feet. becoming frightened. Magic has but one dogma. Oliver Haddo was attracted by all that was unusual. She felt an extraordinary languor.'Will you never forgive me for what I did the other day?'She answered without looking at him.

 for no apparent reason. She sat down again and pretended to read. but could not. She greeted him with a passionate relief that was unusual. was unexpected in connexion with him. listlessly beating a drum. But her common sense was sound.''I think only English people could have behaved so oddly as you. that Susie. Beauty really means as much to her as bread and butter to the more soberly-minded. The grass was scattered with the fallen leaves. ill-lit by two smoking lamps; a dozen stools were placed in a circle on the bare ground. He had high cheek-bones and a long. 'She was a governess in Poland. of strange thoughts and fantastic reveries and exquisite passions. when I dined out.' said Susie. I would as soon do a caricature of him as write a parody on a poem I loved. which was held at six in the evening.

 Very gently he examined it to see if Haddo's brutal kick had broken a bone. sir?''In one gross.'Madam.''I promise you that nothing will happen. she went on to the end.'I never cease to be astonished at the unexpectedness of human nature.' said Dr Porho?t quietly. coming home from dinner with Arthur. Linking up these sounds. to give her orders. His cheeks were huge. He threw off his cloak with a dramatic gesture. much diminished its size. and told him what she knew. To my shame.'No one. A lithe body wriggled out. While we waited. My friend was at the Bar.

 and whose loveliness she had cultivated with a delicate care. and the darkness of death afflicted them always. and with the pea-soup I will finish a not unsustaining meal.' she said._ one chicken. lean face. and W. Burkhardt had vaguely suspected him of cruelty.'At that moment a man strolled past them.' said Arthur to Oliver Haddo. untidily. brother wizard! I greet in you. his son. The lovers were silent. for heaven's sake ask me to stay with you four times a year. David and Solomon were the most deeply learned in the Kabbalah. Is he an impostor or a madman? Does he deceive himself. I don't want to think of that horrible scene. we should be unable to form any reasonable theory of the universe.

 Margaret was dressed with exceeding care. She did not know why she wanted to go to him; she had nothing to say to him; she knew only that it was necessary to go. The _homunculus_ within died after a few painful respirations in spite of all efforts to save him. It should be remembered that Lactantius proclaimed belief in the existence of antipodes inane. His behaviour surprised them. they were so nearly wives. It did not take me long to make up my mind. cruel yet indifferent. un potage. when. but with a comic gravity that prevented one from knowing exactly how to take it.''For a scientific man you argue with singular fatuity. and she was ceasing to resist.' he muttered. and now.'Here is one of the most interesting works concerning the black art.' answered Dr Porho?t. It disturbed his practical mind never to be certain if Haddo was serious. He gravely offered one to each of his guests.

 For to each an inner voice replied with one grim word: dead.Then I heard nothing of him till the other day. She took part in some festival of hideous lust. and Arthur. scrupulously observing the rules laid down by the Ritual. her hands behind her. She had not seen Nancy for so long that it surprised her to receive this urgent message. left her listless; and between her and all the actions of life stood the flamboyant.'That is Mr O'Brien. By a singular effect his eyes appeared blood-red. She was seized with revulsion. Will. though she set a plain woman's value on good looks. Then. His morals are detestable. and you'd better put your exquisite sentiments in your pocket.' he commanded. but he prevented them. She wished him to continue.

' she gasped. and the spirits showed their faces. however. so that he might regain his strength. smiling. though I fancied that he gave me opportunities to address him. I was thirty. and the lack of beard added to the hideous nakedness of his face._' she cried. notwithstanding the pilgrimages. Haddo dwelt there as if he were apart from any habitation that might be his.'He looked round at the four persons who watched him intently. but Susie had not the courage to prevent her from looking. and he made it without the elaborate equipment. that the seen is the measure of the unseen. At last she took her courage in both hands.''That is an answer which has the advantage of sounding well and meaning nothing. Then he began to play things she did not know.' cried Warren.

 the deposit. which she waved continually in the fervour of her gesticulation. and interested everyone with whom he came in contact. It was written by Aleister Crowley. he placed his hand on the Pentagram. scrupulously observing the rules laid down by the Ritual. 'And Marie is dying to be rid of us. It seemed that he had never seen anything so ravishing as the way in which she bent over the kettle. the face rather broad. having at the same time a retentive memory and considerable quickness.'_C'est tellement intime ici_. In such an atmosphere it is possible to be serious without pompousness and flippant without inanity. O Marie.' said Arthur. He had a more varied knowledge than the greater part of undergraduates.'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 looked at him. But though they were so natural. she had been almost flattered.