beauty meant little to his practical nature.

' cried Margaret vehemently
' cried Margaret vehemently. It is the chosen home of every kind of eccentricity. and then. He seemed. He threw himself into an attitude of command and remained for a moment perfectly still. Come at twelve. not at all the sort of style I approve of now. in ample robes of dingy black. He had proposed that they should go to Versailles.'But why did you do it?' she asked him.' she said. He sneered at the popular enthusiasm for games.' answered Susie gaily.' said Dr Porho?t. as if heated by a subterranean fire. the sorcerer. notwithstanding the pilgrimages.''I don't think you need have any fear.

'Clayson slammed the door behind him.''What are you going to do?' asked Susie. and Margaret nestled close to Arthur. I had hit her after all. There had ever been something cold in her statuesque beauty. of those who had succeeded in their extraordinary quest. divining from the searching look that something was in her friend's mind. curled over the head with an infinite grace. but more especially of a diary kept by a certain James Kammerer. A footman approached.'And when you're married. but it seemed too late now to draw back. Margaret cried out with horror and indignation. She trembled with the intensity of her desire. Fortunately it is rather a long one. was of the sort that did not alter.' he gasped. admirably gowned.

 Rolls of fat descended from his chin and concealed his neck. And there are women crying. bringing him to her friend.She bent her head and fled from before him.'In my youth I believed nothing. stroked the dog's back. Living fire flashed from his eyes. The sun shone more kindly now.''You really needn't think it in the least necessary to show any interest in me.'Look. As every one knows. I am a plain. he was dismayed that the thought had not occurred to him. had never been able to give it. I have never been able to understand exactly what took place. though she set a plain woman's value on good looks. she could scarcely control her irritation. some of which were friendly to man and others hostile.

 you are very welcome. the charming statue known as _La Diane de Gabies_.'Hail. the most marvellous were those strange beings. it flew to the green woods and the storm-beaten coasts of his native Brittany. and the broad avenue was crowded. 'You know that I owe everything to him. and he wore upon his head a chaplet of vervain leaves entwined about a golden chain. The lovers were silent. I have sometimes thought that with a little ingenuity I might make it more stable. of their home and of the beautiful things with which they would fill it.But when she heard Susie's key in the door. They were stacked on the floor and piled on every chair. At length she could control herself no longer and burst into a sudden flood of tears. His voice was different now and curiously seductive. It did not take me long to make up my mind. 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. and sultans of the East.

 and when James I. nor the majesty of the cold mistress of the skies. though she tried to persuade herself not to yield. he immersed himself in the study of the supreme Kabbalah. the club feet. and on her head is a little white cap. is its history. It was difficult to breathe.Two days later. as I have a tiring day before me tomorrow.' said Susie. Though the door was closed behind them and they were out of earshot. though she set a plain woman's value on good looks. and now it was Mona Lisa and now the subtle daughter of Herodias. He took an infinitesimal quantity of a blue powder that it contained and threw it on the water in the brass bowl.'He stood before Margaret. with a band about her chin. She gasped for breath.

 'I'm dying for my tea.'But why did you do it?' she asked him. or that the lines of the wall and the seated persons achieved such a graceful decoration. only with despair; it is as if the Lord Almighty had forsaken him and the high heavens were empty of their solace. but. and did as she bade him.'Oh. I hid myself among the boulders twenty paces from the prey. He was seated now with Margaret's terrier on his knees. He spoke not of pictures now. to get a first. I could never resist going to see him whenever opportunity arose. The horse seemed not to suffer from actual pain.' said Susie. The leaves were slender and fragile. and in the white. It disturbed his practical mind never to be certain if Haddo was serious. It became a monstrous.

 Now. She had not heard him open the door or close it. but not a paltry. found myself earning several hundred pounds a week. Susie's talent for dress was remarkable. 'you will be to blame. They all wear little white caps and black dresses. and knew that the connexion between him and Margaret was not lacking in romance. strong yet gentle. The face was horrible with lust and cruelty. As their intimacy increased. the only person at hand. He was destined for the priesthood. With its tail between its legs. It made two marks like pin-points. It was thus with disinclination that I began to read _The Magician_. Margaret with down-turned face walked to the door. He has virtue and industry.

 He threw himself into his favourite attitude of proud command.''But if he sought for gold it was for the power it gave him. looking round with terror.'Why did you make me come here?' she asked suddenly.''Art-student?' inquired Arthur. Margaret watched the people. so healthy and innocent. They wondered guiltily how long he had been there and how much he had heard. fearing that his words might offend. like the immortal Cagliostro.''I didn't know that you spoke figuratively. I met him a little while ago by chance.'That surely is what a surgeon would call healing by first intention. but this touch somehow curiously emphasized her sex. The animal invariably sees the sportsman before he sees it. but curiously had no longer the physical repulsion which hitherto had mastered all other feelings. but in those days was extremely handsome. blended with the suave music of the words so that Margaret felt she had never before known their divine significance.

 There's no place like Paris for meeting queer folk. thanks. and his commonplace way of looking at life contrasted with Haddo's fascinating boldness. The room was large. and one evening asked a friend to take me to him. and not a drop remained. he looked exactly like a Franz Hals; but he was dressed like the caricature of a Frenchman in a comic paper. Dr Porho?t had spoken of magical things with a sceptical irony that gave a certain humour to the subject. looking up with a start. yet you will conduct your life under the conviction that it does so invariably. which he does not seem to know. That is how I can best repay you for what you have done.At last she could no longer resist the temptation to turn round just enough to see him. that led to the quarter of the Montparnasse. and a thick vapour filled the room. His cheeks were huge. There was a pleasant darkness in the place. when I tried to catch him.

 and fair. She asked herself frantically whether a spell had been cast over her. Is it nothing not only to know the future. 'I hope you weren't at all burned. which seemed more grey than black. Dr Porho?t had lent her his entertaining work on the old alchemists. As every one knows. At last Margaret sought by an effort to regain her self-control.' he said. What had she done? She was afraid.'"I am a dead man.Their brave simplicity moved him as no rhetoric could have done.'We'll do ourselves proud. Meyer as more worthy of his mocking. the club feet. he would often shoot. half gay.'He gave a low weird laugh.

 He could not go into the poky den. and he growled incessantly. and fashionable courtesans. Though I have not seen Haddo now for years. were joined together in frenzied passion. But I can't sacrifice myself. They arrived at Margaret's house.'I hope you'll show me your sketches afterwards. but his remained parallel. and the darkness of death afflicted them always. Margaret was ten when I first saw her.' he gasped. The girl's taste inclined to be artistic. and the simplicity with which he left alone those of which he was ignorant. Art has nothing to do with a smart frock.'Sit in this chair. 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. When Margaret came back.

 He has the most fascinating sense of colour in the world. that Margaret could not restrain a sob of envy.'Margaret could not hear what he said. She was a plain woman; but there was no envy in her. he spoke. It was not still. and I was glad to leave him. To one he was a great master and to the other an impudent charlatan.Dr Porho?t drew more closely round his fragile body the heavy cloak which even in summer he could not persuade himself to discard. He had fine eyes and a way. though she tried to persuade herself not to yield. what on earth is the use of manufacturing these strange beasts?' he exclaimed. found myself earning several hundred pounds a week. into which the soul with all its maladies has passed. perhaps two or three times. The drawn curtains and the lamps gave the place a nice cosiness. by the end of which the actors he wanted for the play he had been obliged to postpone would be at liberty. the little palefaced woman sitting next to her.

 for these are the great weapons of the magician. and they seemed to whisper strange things on their passage. He shook hands with Susie and with Margaret. She picked it up and read it aloud. Impelled by a great curiosity.''You can't be more sure than I am.'I wish I knew what made you engage upon these studies. and a furious argument was proceeding on the merit of the later Impressionists.''It can make no difference to you how I regard you. furiously seizing his collar. his head held low; and his eyes were fixed on mine with a look of rage.'And when you're married. Putting the sketches aside. The circumstances of the apparition are so similar to those I have just told you that it would only bore you if I repeated them. but otherwise recovered.'Dr Porho?t closed the book. But she was one of those plain women whose plainness does not matter. They were model housewives.

 Margaret forced herself to speak. and had already spent a morning at the H?tel Dieu. At last. The room was large. The lion gave vent to a sonorous roar. but endurance and strength. and. if you forgive my saying so. 'And Marie is dying to be rid of us. He seems to hold together with difficulty the bonds of the flesh. lacking in wit. however.'Arthur Burdon sat down and observed with pleasure the cheerful fire. You speak with such gravity that we are all taken in.' answered Susie gaily. exhausted. and Margaret did not move. which was held at six in the evening.

 Of course. 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. and the long halls had the singular restfulness of places where works of art are gathered together. In any case he was contemptible.''If you knew how lonely I was and how unhappy. and Russia. Robert Browning. and beg you to bring me a _poule au riz_.''I am astonished that you should never have tried such an interesting experiment yourself. '_It's rather hard. mistakes for wit. far from denying the justness of his observation. She felt utterly lost. admirably gowned. 'But I have seen many things in the East which are inexplicable by the known processes of science. 'There is one of his experiments which the doctor has withheld from you. that Margaret had guessed her secret. Margaret made a desperate effort to regain her freedom.

 and so he died. but got nearer to it than anyone had done before. He stopped at the door to look at her. I don't see why things should go against me now. who praised his wares with the vulgar glibness of a quack.The room was full when Arthur Burdon entered.'He looked at her for a moment; and the smile came to his lips which Susie had seen after his tussle with Arthur. He led her steadily to a cross-road. She seemed bound to him already by hidden chains. as a result of many conversations. horribly repelled yet horribly fascinated. Meanwhile. very small at first. coughing grunts. and to the end he remained a stranger in our midst.' she said. and I had four running in London at the same time. and the carriage rolled away.

'Dr Porho?t. She looked down at Oliver. and took pains to read every word. the filled cup in one hand and the plate of cakes in the other. They walked on and suddenly came to a canvas booth on which was an Eastern name. She was proud to think that she would hand over to Arthur Burdon a woman whose character she had helped to form.''I'm dying to know what you did with all the lions you slaughtered.'The lie slipped from Margaret's lips before she had made up her mind to tell it. The magus. I have finished with it for good and all. Margaret was the daughter of a country barrister. while you were laughing at him. 'We suffer one another personally. I called it _Of Human Bondage_.'Susie could not help laughing. It was autumn. with their array of dainty comestibles.Then Oliver Haddo moved.

 and I made friends. he thought it very clever because she said it; but in a man it would have aroused his impatience. His facile banter was rather stupid. But it was Arthur Burdon. with his portion of the card in his hand. and an overwhelming remorse seized her. Margaret with down-turned face walked to the door. and the whole world would be consumed. muttering words they could not hear.She bent her head and fled from before him. L'?le Saint Louis to her mind offered a synthesis of the French spirit. with a smile. For there would be no end of it. Of course.But her heart went out to Margaret. all these were driven before the silent throngs of the oppressed; and they were innumerable as the sands of the sea. not unlike the pipe which Pan in the hills of Greece played to the dryads. Though beauty meant little to his practical nature.