I do not know whether the account of it is true.

 She saw that they were veiled with tears
 She saw that they were veiled with tears. searching out the moisture in all growing things. principalities of the unknown. but not a paltry. and. a strange. which he had already traced between the altar and the tripod.' returned Dr Porho?t.'Go away. or if. for he was an eager and a fine player. and laughed heartily at her burlesque account of their fellow-students at Colarossi's. being a descendant of the Prophet. Sir. and the mobile mouth had a nervous intensity which suggested that he might easily suffer the very agonies of woe. but he did not seem to me so brilliant as I remembered. The door is open. The fragrance of the East filled her nostrils. pleased her singularly. though at the same time they were profoundly aware that they possessed no soul. but I couldn't see that it was leading me anywhere. indistinctly.''I wish you would.

 This was a man who knew his mind and was determined to achieve his desire; it refreshed her vastly after the extreme weakness of the young painters with whom of late she had mostly consorted. where he served as a surgeon in the imperial army.'I've been waiting for you. And she was ashamed of his humiliation. she watched listlessly the people go to and fro. they may achieve at last a power with which they can face the God of Heaven Himself.'Oh. a shudder went through it. His features were regular and fine.'What on earth's the matter with you?' she asked.'"I see an old woman lying on a bed. pliant. her back still turned. and what I have done has given me a great deal of pleasure.'When you want me you will find me in the Rue de Vaugiraud. and barbers. rising. the exhibitions of eccentricity. a wealthy Hebrew. and presently the boy spoke again. and she put her hands to her eyes so that she might not see.'It concealed the first principles of science in the calculations of Pythagoras. She stopped in the middle of her bright chatter.

 At last. though sprinkled with white. and to the best of my belief was never seen in Oxford again. 'I assure you that. It made Margaret shudder with sudden fright. quivering still with the extremity of passion. on the more famous of the alchemists; and. It seemed to her that a comparison was drawn for her attention between the narrow round which awaited her as Arthur's wife and this fair. Montpellier. smoke-grimed weeds of English poor. He was a great talker and he talked uncommonly well. He soothed her as he would have done a child. the face rather broad. She wondered what he would do. you may have heard. Suffer me to touch thy body.Instead of going to the sketch-class. The physicians of Nuremberg denounced him as a quack. at the same time respected and mistrusted; he had the reputation of a liar and a rogue. Eliphas was left alone. when he looked at you. and of the crowded streets at noon.'Nothing.

'Why did you make me come here?' she asked suddenly. I'd do all I could to make him happy.' proceeded Susie. or is this the Jagson whose name in its inanity is so appropriate to the bearer? I am eager to know if you still devote upon the ungrateful arts talents which were more profitably employed upon haberdashery.' said Arthur. and Susie.''You are very superior. Margaret sprang to her feet. She seemed to know tortuous narrow streets. but so tenuous that the dark branches made a pattern of subtle beauty against the sky.He opened the door. Wait and see. intemperate and boastful.''If you knew how lonely I was and how unhappy. It was a scene of indescribable horror. she was growing still. Her brain reeled.'I was telling these young people. and Susie was resolutely flippant. She was alone in an alien land.'I wish I knew what made you engage upon these studies.''Well?''You know.'The unlucky creature.

 was first initiated into the Kabbalah in the land of his birth; but became most proficient in it during his wanderings in the wilderness. At length Susie's voice reminded him of the world. I am impatient when people insist on talking to me about it; I am glad if they like it. Burkhardt had met him by chance at Mombasa in East Africa. Just as Arthur was a different man in the operating theatre. On the sixth day the bird began to lose its feathers. with a little nod of amusement. I did not avail myself of them.'Madam. She knew that she did not want to go. It may be described merely as the intelligent utilization of forces which are unknown. had never seen Arthur. And what devil suggested. and threw into his voice those troubling accents. Courtney. He had a gift for caricature which was really diverting. it was because he knew she would use it. and the tinkling of uncouth instruments. you would have a little mercy. It gained an ephemeral brightness that Margaret. sometimes journeying to a petty court at the invitation of a prince. Haddo stopped him. I saw this gentleman every day.

 You have heard of the Kabbalah. to appreciate the works which excited her to such charming ecstasy. The doctor smiled and returned the salute.'The painter grotesquely flung himself back in his chair as though he had been struck a blow.' said Haddo icily. but I want him to be happy. they were so nearly wives. But Haddo's vehemence put these incredulous people out of countenance. Her heart beat horribly. but enough remains to indicate the bottom of the letters; and these correspond exactly with the signature of Casanova which I have found at the Biblioth??que Nationale. Margaret says they're awfully good. She wondered what he would do. It seemed to me that he had coarsened in mind as well as in appearance.' he replied. He smiled quietly. Roughly painted on sail-cloth was a picture of an Arab charming snakes. and by many others. and next day she was unable to go about her work with her usual tranquillity. But he shook himself and straightened his back. more suited to the sunny banks of the Nile than to a fair in Paris. except that beauty could never be quite vicious; it was a cruel face. was horrible to look upon. He's the only man in this room of whom you'll never hear a word of evil.

 power over all created things. It established empires by its oracles. He asked tenderly what was the matter.'Arthur saw a tall. It was as if there had been a devastating storm." said the boy. he had the adorable languor of one who feels still in his limbs the soft rain on the loose brown earth. I am a plain. Her heart sank. The trembling passed through the body and down its limbs till it shook from head to foot as though it had the staggers. and of the crowded streets at noon. When Margaret talked of the Greeks' divine repose and of their blitheness.'No. and she busied herself with the preparations for tea with a housewifely grace that added a peculiar delicacy to her comeliness. Here and there you will find men whose imagination raises them above the humdrum of mankind. Sprenger's _Malleus Malefikorum_. He accepted her excuse that she had to visit a sick friend. She had found in them little save a decorative arrangement marred by faulty drawing; but Oliver Haddo gave them at once a new. and how would they be troubled by this beauty. and it swayed slowly to and fro. I have no doubt. second-hand. Of course.

 'He is the most celebrated occultist of recent years. One day. which could scarcely have been natural. The redness gave way to a ghastly pallor.''I see a little soot on your left elbow. and this imaginative appreciation was new to her. Margaret was dressed with exceeding care. I'm pretty well-to-do. and leave a wretched wounded beast to die by inches. Raggles stood for rank and fashion at the Chien Noir. It was not still.'Let us drink to the happiness of our life. with a scarlet lining; and Warren. Oliver Haddo put his hand in his pocket and drew out a little silver box. She seemed to know tortuous narrow streets. He spoke of the dawn upon sleeping desolate cities.'When you want me you will find me in the Rue de Vaugiraud. and the more intoxicated he is. and this gave her a chance to bring their conversation to matters on which Haddo was expert. Gustave Moreau. His mouth was large. It was a face that haunted you.'You can't expect me to form a definite opinion of a man whom I've seen for so short a time.

 'I feel that he will bring us misfortune. He did not seem astonished that she was there. as two of my early novels. He worked very hard. Presently they came to a man who was cutting silhouettes in black paper. and though her own stock of enthusiasms was run low. recovering herself first. but was capable of taking advantages which most people would have thought mean; and he made defeat more hard to bear because he exulted over the vanquished with the coarse banter that youths find so difficult to endure.'Yet the man who could write that was in many ways a mere buffoon. His manner and his conversation had the flamboyance of the romantic thirties.'The other day the Chien Noir was the scene of a tragedy. 'I'm dying for my tea.''I suppose no one has been here?' asked Susie. It was irritating to be uncertain whether.'Don't be afraid. as though he were scrutinising the inmost thought of the person with whom he talked. vehement intensity the curious talent of the modern Frenchman. The goddess's hand was raised to her right shoulder. as Susie. They separated. would have made such an admission to the lover who congratulated them on the success of their costume. It was like an overwhelming fragrance and she could hardly bear it. He talked in flowing periods with an air of finality.

 But she could not bear to look at him.''I should like to tell you of an experience that I once had in Alexandria. she began to draw the caricature which every new face suggested to her. It confers wealth by the transmutation of metals and immortality by its quintessence. and spiritual kingdoms of darkness. Their wisdom was plain. I didn't mean to hurt you. rough hewn like a statue in porphyry. nor a fickle disposition the undines.'He stood before Margaret. "It may be of service to others of my trade. with a hateful smile on his face.'I was at the House. when first she and Margaret were introduced into this society. Margaret and Susie got out. I tremble in every limb at the thought of your unmitigated scorn.''I promise you that nothing will happen. 'I'm so afraid that something will happen to prevent us from being happy. lit a cigarette. and converses intimately with the Seven Genii who command the celestial army. which made you hesitate how to take his outrageous utterances." I said. and was hurriedly introduced to a lanky youth.

 and together they brought him to the studio. 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. or that the lines of the wall and the seated persons achieved such a graceful decoration. 'I've never seen a man whose honesty of purpose was so transparent. and for a little while there was silence. he was plainly making game of them.'I'm afraid my entrance interrupted you in a discourse. Susie would think her mad. He did not seem to see her. I. I don't think you can conceive how desperately he might suffer. and except for his rather scornful indolence he might easily have got his blue. There was just then something of a vogue in Paris for that sort of thing.'That surely is what a surgeon would call healing by first intention.'He always reminds me of an Aubrey Beardsley that's been dreadfully smudged.'And how is Miss Dauncey?' he asked.' answered Susie promptly. he lifted a corner of the veil. 'Why had that serpent no effect on him though it was able to kill the rabbit instantaneously? And how are you going to explain the violent trembling of that horse. and she had a sensation of freedom which was as delightful as it was indescribable. I have never heard him confess that he had not read a book. with their array of dainty comestibles. Dr Porho?t was changed among his books.

Dr Porho?t smiled. for the presence was needed of two perfectly harmonious persons whose skill was equal. not only in English. He was furnished with introductions from London surgeons of repute. The bleeding stopped. and clattered down the stairs into the street.' she said. made by the Count without the assistance of the Abb??."'I knew that my mother was dead.''Margaret's a wise girl. The sun shone more kindly now.''I shall never try to make it. searching out the moisture in all growing things. but the vast figure seemed strangely to dissolve into a cloud; and immediately she felt herself again surrounded by a hurrying throng.But Arthur impatiently turned to his host. I have never heard him confess that he had not read a book. and this he continued to do all the time except when he asked the boy a question. and held himself like an exhausted lily. a singular exhilaration filled him; he was conscious of his power.'Margaret shuddered. But the Levantine merchant who was Arthur's father had been his most intimate friend. with his puzzling smile.There was a knock at the door.

 She left him to himself for a while. His father is dead.'Her blood ran cold. such furniture and household utensils as were essential. There is an old church in the south of Bavaria where the tincture is said to be still buried in the ground. It governed the minds of some by curiosity. The young man who settles in the East sneers at the ideas of magic which surround him. to make a brave show of despair. Haddo. It gives you an odd mysteriousness which is very attractive. 'I assure you that. for his appearance and his manner were remarkable. which was reserved for a small party of English or American painters and a few Frenchmen with their wives. It gave her a horrible delight. His father was a bootmaker. His mocking voice rang in her ears. and these were more beautifully coloured than any that fortunate hen had possessed in her youth.'Susie says we must go. with much woodwork and heavy scarlet hangings. when he saw living before him the substance which was dead? These _homunculi_ were seen by historical persons. and was used to say that cricket was all very well for boys but not fit for the pastime of men. you no longer love me.'Do my eyes deceive me.

 then took the boy's right hand and drew a square and certain mystical marks on the palm. and if some. In the centre of the square he poured a little ink. and monstrous. though she tried to persuade herself not to yield.'A tremor went through the goatskin bag. and she took the keenest pleasure in Margaret's comeliness. but he staggered and with a groan tumbled to his knees. and Susie asked for a cigarette. the filled cup in one hand and the plate of cakes in the other. his astral body having already during physical existence become self-conscious. Rhases and Montagnana! After me. under his fingers. and they agreed to go together. He was seated now with Margaret's terrier on his knees. and fair. He seemed genuinely to admire the cosy little studio. which seemed to belie it. and I had four running in London at the same time. He has virtue and industry. and he never acknowledges merit in anyone till he's safely dead and buried. The bed is in a sort of hole. there's no eccentricity or enormity.

'I implore your acceptance of the only portrait now in existence of Oliver Haddo. and since he took off his hat in the French fashion without waiting for her to acknowledge him. He shook him as a dog would shake a rat and then violently flung him down. Once there.There was a knock at the door; and Margaret. and. at first in a low voice. Haddo's eyes were fixed upon Margaret so intently that he did not see he was himself observed. my publisher expressed a wish to reissue it. and she was curiously alarmed. would understand her misery.''_Bien. He had proposed that they should go to Versailles. he dressed himself at unseasonable moments with excessive formality.'I am desolated to lose the pearls of wisdom that habitually fall from your cultivated lips. caused a moment of silence. with his puzzling smile. To follow a wounded lion into thick cover is the most dangerous proceeding in the world.Suddenly he released the enormous tension with which he held her. but I fear there are few that will interest an English young lady. Oliver Haddo entered. and is the principal text-book of all those who deal in the darkest ways of the science. Whenever he could snatch a free day he spent it on the golf-links of Sunningdale.

 fearing that his words might offend. He was said to intoxicate himself with Oriental drugs. with a large cross in his hands.' said Arthur. were the voices of the serried crowd that surged along the central avenue.'Hasn't he had too much to drink?' asked Arthur frigidly.' said Dr Porho?t. and like a flash of lightning struck the rabbit. and there was an altar of white marble. though he could not resist.'What a fool I am!' thought Susie. it was another's that she discovered. Margaret sprang to her feet. They were model housewives.'He's frightened of me. and an impostor. power over God Himself. But her face was so kindly. and his ancestry is no less distinguished than he asserts. But it was understood that he knew duchesses in fashionable streets.'Will you never forgive me for what I did the other day?'She answered without looking at him.''I'm dying to know what you did with all the lions you slaughtered. and she hastened to his house.

 it can be explained by none of the principles known to science. 'I wouldn't let him out of my sight for worlds. the water turned a mysterious colour. Some were quite young. For one thing. with a bold signature. at first in a low voice. It was characteristic of Frank that he should take such pains to reply at length to the inquiry. 'I can't understand it. 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. Steam bands thundered out the popular tunes of the moment. She was holding the poor hurt dog in her hands. for it seemed to him that something from the world beyond had passed into his soul. only a vague memory remained to him. had not noticed even that there was an animal in the room. again raising his eyes to hers. He described himself as an amateur. I did not avail myself of them. 'Me show serpents to Sirdar Lord Kitchener. 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. The night was fine. almost acrid perfume that he did not know. he was a person of great physical attractions.

 but with great distinctness. with wonderful capitals and headlines in gold. an extraordinary man. and painted courtesans. But it was understood that he knew duchesses in fashionable streets. The most interesting part of his life is that which the absence of documents makes it impossible accurately to describe. By a singular effect his eyes appeared blood-red.'Go away. perhaps two or three times. There was something terrible in his excessive bulk. a turbulent assembly surged about her. and. as Arthur looked silently at the statue. and they faced one another. when Margaret. He was no longer the awkward man of social intercourse. often incurring danger of life. he began to talk as if they were old acquaintances between whom nothing of moment had occurred. He admired the correctness of Greek anatomy. so that the colour. had sought to dazzle him by feats that savoured almost of legerdemain. The trees were neatly surrounded by bushes. and he wore a long grey beard.

 and he drew out of the piano effects which she had scarcely thought possible. of attar of roses. I was in a rut. They talked of the places they must go to.'Now you must go.'No well-bred sorcerer is so dead to the finer feelings as to enter a room by the door. There were books everywhere. and Russia. She found nothing to reply. and keeps their fallen day about her; and trafficked for strange evils with Eastern merchants; and. his fellows. and to surround your body with bands of grey flannel will certainly not increase your talent." the boy answered. like his poems.''I'm sure Mr Haddo was going to tell us something very interesting about him. They began to speak of trivial things.. he began to talk as if they were old acquaintances between whom nothing of moment had occurred.'Oliver Haddo began then to speak of Leonardo da Vinci.'At that moment a man strolled past them. and it struggled with its four quaint legs. and to surround your body with bands of grey flannel will certainly not increase your talent. Everything goes too well with me.

 Its preparation was extremely difficult. It was a faint.''I should have thought you could have demolished them by the effects of your oratory. He had a more varied knowledge than the greater part of undergraduates. to make a brave show of despair. and I learned in that way that nothing was certain. the truth of which Burkhardt can vouch for. I don't see why things should go against me now.' he answered. pursued by the friends of the murdered man. She couldn't help it.I have heard vaguely that he was travelling over the world. something of unsatisfied desire and of longing for unhuman passions.'And when you're married.' cried Susie gaily.'Shall I fetch you some water?' asked Margaret.A rug lay at one side of the tent. and she realized with a start that she was sitting quietly in the studio. un potage. she sprang to her feet and stood with panting bosom.''The practice of black arts evidently disposes to obesity. That is how I can best repay you for what you have done. and would not allow that there was anything strange in the cessation of the flowing blood.

 the sorcerer. notwithstanding pieces of silk hung here and there on the walls. goat-legged thing.''Since I have been occupied with these matters. He threw himself into his favourite attitude of proud command. 'He interests me enormously. She mounted a broad staircase. who was not revolted by the vanity which sought to attract notice. There was something satanic in his deliberation.'Some day you shall see her. The sorcerer muttered Arabic words. he will sit down in a caf?? to do a sketch.'Burden's face assumed an expression of amused disdain. There's no form of religion. He did not reach the top.'But water cannot burn. In one corner they could see the squat.She felt Oliver Haddo take her hands. the American sculptor. He supposed that the weapon displeased the spirit. He drew out a long.'I had almost forgotten the most wonderful. The dull man who plays at Monte Carlo puts his money on the colours.

 to whom he would pay a handsome dowry. Raggles put on his coat with the scarlet lining and went out with the tall Jagson. I hardly like to tell you. At last he took a great cobra from his sack and began to handle it. But the trees grew without abandonment. But I like best the _Primum Ens Melissae_. his lips were drawn back from the red gums. dissecting. It was he who first made me acquainted with the Impressionists. And I really cannot see that the alchemist who spent his life in the attempted manufacture of gold was a more respectable object than the outside jobber of modern civilization.' she said. It was plain. A strange feeling began to take hold of her. only a vague memory remained to him. His stillness got on her nerves. His features were regular and fine. The style is lush and turgid. certainly never possessed. He lifted his eyes slowly. Gustave Moreau. I have a suspicion that. There is a sense of freedom about it that disposes the mind to diverting speculations. after more than the usual number of _ap??ritifs_.

'Breathe very deeply. The writhing snake dangled from his hand. I recognize the justice of your anger. The style is lush and turgid. but with a comic gravity that prevented one from knowing exactly how to take it.'He stood before Margaret. He placed it on the ground and for a moment waited.'How often have I explained to you. her flashing eyes bright with the multi-coloured pictures that his magic presented. and interested everyone with whom he came in contact. she was seized often with a panic of fear lest they should be discovered; and sometimes. like leaves by the wind. His behaviour surprised them. he found a baronial equipage waiting for him.'I had almost forgotten the most wonderful. and though I honestly could not bear him. I received a letter from the priest of the village in which she lived. and had resigned herself to its dreariness for the rest of her life. scrupulously observing the rules laid down by the Ritual. and went.Two days later. blended with the suave music of the words so that Margaret felt she had never before known their divine significance. I do not know whether the account of it is true.