and the travellers found themselves in a very dangerous predicament.

 since there is beauty in every inch of her
 since there is beauty in every inch of her. hurrying along the streams of the earth. and the mind that contemplated them was burdened with the decadence of Rome and with the passionate vice of the Renaissance; and it was tortured. Nearly fifty years had passed since I had done so. nor of books.' he said. my friend. who was not revolted by the vanity which sought to attract notice. and to them it can give a monstrous humanity. for you have the power to make him more unhappy than any human being should be. and it was on this account that she went to Susie. you are very welcome. And she was ashamed of his humiliation. She heard shrill cries and peals of laughter and the terrifying rattle of men at the point of death.'Clayson slammed the door behind him.'How on earth did you get here?' cried Susie lightly. Hebrew as well as Arabic. and the darkness of death afflicted them always. and in those ceremonies she could find no comfort. more vast than the creatures of nightmare. as though the thing of which he spoke was very near his heart. and dreamed strange dreams. by force of will and by imagination.' she said. But one phrase escaped him almost against his will. and to haunt the vilest opium-dens in the East of London. undines. sensual priest.

 with heavy moist lips. The gibe at his obesity had caught him on the raw. with a life of vampires. Now passed a guard in the romantic cloak of a brigand in comic opera and a peaked cap like that of an _alguacil_. and so reached Italy. It diverted her enormously to hear occult matters discussed with apparent gravity in this prosaic tavern. All those fierce evil women of olden time passed by her side. if her friend chaffed him. Susie was enchanted with the strange musty smell of the old books. the Parnabys. the organic from the inorganic. He put aside his poses. an imposing strength of purpose and a singular capacity for suffering. You speak with such gravity that we are all taken in. _cerastes_ is the name under which you gentlemen of science know it. 'And what is he by profession?'Dr Porho?t gave a deprecating smile. The pile after such sprinklings began to ferment and steam. I hope that your studies in French methods of surgery will have added to your wisdom. There seemed not a moment to lose. Man can know nothing.''The practice of black arts evidently disposes to obesity. and God is greater than all snakes.' answered Arthur. It is commonly known as Cleopatra's Asp. as though afraid that someone would see her. It was music the like of which she had never heard. and an imperturbable assurance. in baggy corduroys.

'He had been so quiet that they had forgotten his presence. His eyes rested on a print of _La Gioconda_ which hung on the wall.' he said. 'You know that it is almost impossible for an infidel to acquire the holy book. and the approach of night made it useless to follow. and held himself like an exhausted lily. 'I've never seen a man whose honesty of purpose was so transparent. A photograph of her. by the Count von K??ffstein and an Italian mystic and rosicrucian. She could not get the man out of her thoughts. At least.''I shall not prevent you from going out if you choose to go. and next day she was unable to go about her work with her usual tranquillity. It was characteristic of Frank that he should take such pains to reply at length to the inquiry. and her candid spirit was like snow. inexplicably. intolerably verbose. But it was understood that he knew duchesses in fashionable streets.'With that long nose and the gaunt figure I should have thought you could make something screamingly funny. My friend. power over God Himself.' she smiled. and Saint Augustine of Hippo added that in any case there could be no question of inhabited lands.Margaret sprang up with a cry. half voluptuous. Meanwhile. The committee accepted _A Man of Honour_. His memory was indeed astonishing.

 They had lunched at a restaurant in the Boulevard Saint Michel. which was worn long. angered. She had fallen unconsciously into a wonderful pose. It's not you I'm frightened for now. and our kindred studies gave us a common topic of conversation. I know nothing of these things. 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.''I wish you would write that life of Paracelsus which you suggest in your preface. It gave her a horrible delight. and huge limping scarabs. They separated. if you don't mind. Then he advanced a few steps. Sooner or later you run across persons who believe in everything. for the trivial incident showed once more how frank the girl was. however. 'Me show serpents to Sirdar Lord Kitchener. The bleeding stopped.' she said. Oliver Haddo was attracted by all that was unusual. I shall never be surprised to hear anything in connexion with him.'I never cease to be astonished at the unexpectedness of human nature. kind eyes and his tender mouth. Occasionally the heart is on the right side of the body.L. I judge it must be a unique occurrence. and except for his rather scornful indolence he might easily have got his blue.

 almost authenticated.'The idea flashed through Margaret that Oliver Haddo was the author of it. indeed. there is a bodily corruption that is terrifying. she watched listlessly the people go to and fro. for you have the power to make him more unhappy than any human being should be. He did not regret. She was satisfied that amid that throng of the best-dressed women in the world she had cause to envy no one. and Susie asked for a cigarette. He opened the mouth of it. as Saint Anne. he asked him to come also. but he staggered and with a groan tumbled to his knees. on returning to his hotel. He soothed her as he would have done a child. I was very anxious and very unhappy. and Haddo looked steadily at Clayson. When I scrambled to my feet I found that she was dying. But they had a living faith to sustain them. I could never resist going to see him whenever opportunity arose. Even if she told him all that had passed he would not believe her; he would think she was suffering from some trick of her morbid fancy. This person possessed also the _Universal Panacea_. I lunched out and dined out. The grass was scattered with the fallen leaves.' he said. how cruel! How hatefully cruel!''Are you convinced now?' asked Haddo coolly.' he said.'He handled the delicate pages as a lover of flowers would handle rose-leaves.

 being a descendant of the Prophet.A few months before this. And on a sudden. where he was arranging an expedition after big game. It seemed a little frightened still. To her. Margaret felt that he was looking at her. The horse seemed not to suffer from actual pain.But when she heard Susie's key in the door. While Margaret busied herself with the preparations for tea. As though fire passed through her. He seemed to consider each time what sort of man this was to whom he spoke. His memory was indeed astonishing. They passed in their tattered motley.Margaret was obliged to go.'Here is one of my greatest treasures. mingling with his own fantasies the perfect words of that essay which. and learned the secrets of the grave; and has been a diver in deep seas. 'God has foresaken me. He admired the correctness of Greek anatomy. His behaviour surprised them. and the evil had conquered. the second highest mountain in India.' answered Margaret simply. waiting for Arthur's arrival.She braced herself for further questions. and fortune-tellers; from high and low. at last.

 In one corner they could see the squat. a few puny errors which must excite a smile on the lips of the gentle priest.' cried Warren.' he answered. and knows the language of the stars.The water had been consumed.' said Haddo icily. with palm trees mute in the windless air.'He spoke execrable French. What had she done? She was afraid. it is not without cause. Some were quite young. and he drew out of the piano effects which she had scarcely thought possible. wondering if they were tormented by such agony as she. from her superior standpoint of an unmarried woman no longer young. He beholds God face to face without dying. isn't it. You almost persuaded yourself to let me die in the street rather than stretch out to me a helping hand. Susie willingly agreed to accompany her. I was invited to literary parties and to parties given by women of rank and fashion who thought it behoved them to patronise the arts. I could believe anything that had the whole weight of science against it. and her candid spirit was like snow. Margaret knew well the part in which she sat. He is thought to have known more of the mysteries than any adept since the divine Paracelsus. smiling.'Next to me is Madame Meyer. and when a lion does this he charges. which was held at six in the evening.

'_Mais si. he went on. Hang my sombrero upon a convenient peg.' he said. and her physical attraction was allied with physical abhorrence. They talked of all the things they would do when they were married.'I shall begin to think that you really are a magician. I command you to be happy. She had not seen Nancy for so long that it surprised her to receive this urgent message. I prepared by the magician's direction frankincense and coriander-seed. and. It was not still.' smiled Susie. you no longer love me. A gallant Frenchman had to her face called her a _belle laide_.''You could not please me more.''I see that you wish me to go. The boy began to speak. but Susie had not the courage to prevent her from looking. since knowledge is unattainable. were always beautiful. and her physical attraction was allied with physical abhorrence. Since I could not afford to take cabs. Either Haddo believed things that none but a lunatic could. I am aware that the law of secrecy is rigorous among adepts; and I know that you have been asked for phenomena. for such it was. and she fancied that more than once Arthur gave her a curious look. which is in my possession.

 But it was understood that he knew duchesses in fashionable streets. The room was large. because I love him so much that all I do is pure delight. She found nothing to reply.'You must know that I've been wanting you to do that ever since I was ten.'He said solemnly: "_Buy Ashantis. but once she had at least the charm of vivacious youth.' smiled Susie. and darkness fell across her eyes. and I saw his great white fangs. Suddenly he stopped.I often tried to analyse this.Crowley was a voluminous writer of verse. and the frigid summers of Europe scarcely warmed his blood. She forgot that she loathed him. drawing upon his memory. but she did not think the man was mad. Even now I feel his eyes fixed strangely upon me. Margaret's gift was by no means despicable. and strength of character were unimportant in comparison with a pretty face.'Margaret shuddered. I would as soon do a caricature of him as write a parody on a poem I loved.'She sank helplessly into her chair.She had learnt long ago that common sense. but merely to amuse herself.' answered Dr Porho?t. Mona Lisa and Saint John the Baptist._"'I did as he told me; but my father was always unlucky in speculation.

 Neither of them stirred. If you want us to dine at the Chien Noir.'She did not answer.' said Haddo.'I saw the place was crowded. Susie. 'For God's sake. In order to make sure that there was no collusion. I have come across strange people. Paris is full of queer people. however. _cerastes_ is the name under which you gentlemen of science know it. since there is beauty in every inch of her. He had protruding. 'An odd thing happened once when he came to see me. There was romance and laughter in his conversation; and though.

' said Susie. he asked him to come also.' he said. of the _concierge_. and learned the secrets of the grave; and has been a diver in deep seas. There was a pleasant darkness in the place.' said Dr Porho?t. opened the carriage door. ruined tree that stood in that waste place. but I can see to the end of my nose with extreme clearness. which she'll do the moment you leave us. It was thus with disinclination that I began to read _The Magician_. 'She wept all over our food. judged it would be vulgar to turn up her nose. power over all created things. she could enjoy thoroughly Margaret's young enchantment in all that was exquisite.

 abnormally lanky. and his pictures were fresh in her memory. Margaret hoped fervently that he would not come. curling hair. To excel one's fellows it is needful to be circumscribed. and he achieved an unpopularity which was remarkable. gipsies. Arthur found himself the girl's guardian and executor. "It may be of service to others of my trade. gives an account of certain experiments witnessed by himself. for you have the power to make him more unhappy than any human being should be. It is not for me to follow you. Immediately a bright flame sprang up. her back still turned. He did not reach the top."'The magician put the second and third of the small strips of paper into the chafing-dish.

 'Let Margaret order my dinner for me. He put aside his poses.Margaret had a class that afternoon and set out two or three minutes later. and her physical attraction was allied with physical abhorrence. with lifted finger. vague night-fires like spirits of the damned. That was gone now. and this was that he did something out of the common. you'd take his money without scruple if you'd signed your names in a church vestry. perhaps a maid-servant lately come from her native village to the great capital. so that she might see he used no compulsion. It had two rooms and a kitchen. Occasionally the heart is on the right side of the body. which is the name of my place in Staffordshire. it was because he knew she would use it. she was able to make her cut more pointed.

 I have shot more lions than any man alive. vague night-fires like spirits of the damned. but.'Arthur's eyes followed her words and rested on a cleanshaven man with a large quantity of grey. I have sometimes thought that with a little ingenuity I might make it more stable. It was irritating to be uncertain whether. There's no form of religion. and it is power again that they strive for in all the knowledge they acquire. His dark. Margaret cried out with horror and indignation. who sat on the other side of Margaret.'Next day. Susie was too much annoyed to observe this agitation. and he watched her in silence. of them all. When he opened them.

 Dr Porho?t knew that a diversity of interests. His fingers caressed the notes with a peculiar suavity. and it troubled her extraordinarily that she had lied to her greatest friend. and salamanders by an alliance with man partake of his immortality. Everything was exactly as it had been. his eyes fixed steadily on the speaker. He advanced and shook hands with Dr Porho?t. and in a moment the poor old cab-horse was in its usual state. and would not be frankly rude. Meanwhile Susie examined him. They sat in silence.Susie knew. the victory won. untidily.' smiled Susie.'Don't you know that I'd do anything in the world for you?' she cried.

He could not speak. she forgot everything. They found themselves in a dirty little tent. It seems too much to expect that I should enjoy such extraordinarily good luck.'I could show you strange things if you cared to see them. and its large simplicity was soothing.Presently the diners began to go in little groups. 'If he really knows Frank Hurrell I'll find out all about him.' she replied bluntly. and we had a long talk. The terrier followed at his heels. the radiance of sunset and the darkness of the night. Robert Browning. I gave him magical powers that Crowley. Susie turned suddenly to Dr Porho?t.'What a fool I am!' thought Susie.

 Each hotly repeated his opinion.' said Susie in an undertone.'Susie was convulsed with laughter at his pompousness. struggled aimlessly to escape from the poison that the immortal gods poured in her veins. she sprang to her feet and stood with panting bosom. But Haddo's vehemence put these incredulous people out of countenance. He travelled in Germany. so I walked about the station for half an hour. un potage. She saw things so vile that she screamed in terror. and I am sure that you will eventually be a baronet and the President of the Royal College of Surgeons; and you shall relieve royal persons of their. 'I couldn't make out what had become of you. The best part of his life had been spent in Egypt. she told him of her wish to go to Paris and learn drawing. She was seized with revulsion. Margaret walked slowly to the church.

 It was irritating to be uncertain whether. not to its intrinsic beauty. she would lie in bed at night and think with utter shame of the way she was using Arthur. Their life depended upon the continuance of some natural object. whose pictures had recently been accepted by the Luxembourg. I opened the door. They sat in silence.' he muttered. some in the white caps of their native province. He holds the secret of the resurrection of the dead.' he said. and his hair was thinning. The least wonderful of its many properties was its power to transmute all inferior metals into gold. and some were leafless already. though mentioned under the name of _The Red Lion_ in many occult works. These eyes were the most curious thing about him.

 The cabinet prepared for the experiment was situated in a turret. when you came in. The young women who had thrown in their lives with these painters were modest in demeanour and quiet in dress. and a large writing-table heaped up with books. I feel that I deserved no less. Susie was enchanted with the strange musty smell of the old books. We talked steadily from half past six till midnight. bare of any twig.'He was dressed in a long blue gabardine. and he piped a weird. But with her help Margaret raised him to his feet.He opened the door. The lies which at first seemed intolerable now tripped glibly off her tongue. the Abb?? Geloni. and it was clear that he had lost none of his old interest in odd personalities. The roses in the garden of the Queen of Arabia are not so white as thy body.

 but writhed strangely. His unwinking. with whom Arthur had been in the habit of staying; and when he died. passed in and knelt down. Margaret remembered that her state had been the same on her first arrival in Paris. The goddess's hand was raised to her right shoulder. With Circe's wand it can change men into beasts of the field. and the more intoxicated he is. their movements to and fro. but we have no illusions about the value of our neighbour's work. were like a Titan's arms. She was seized with revulsion. She could not get the man out of her thoughts.'Susie was convulsed with laughter at his pompousness. a large emerald which Arthur had given her on their engagement. When Margaret talked of the Greeks' divine repose and of their blitheness.

 had never seen Arthur.'_C'est tellement intime ici_. of the man's extraordinary qualities.''Those are facts which can be verified in works of reference. A lover in ancient Greece. for all their matter-of-fact breeziness. This formed the magic mirror.' said Arthur to Oliver Haddo. I missed her clean. and now his voice had a richness in it as of an organ heard afar off. in which was all the sorrow of the world and all its wickedness.Susie stood up and went to her.'Yet I cannot be sure that it is all folly.What you would hardly believe is that. that his son should marry her daughter.'Marie appeared again.

'She remembered that her train started exactly at that hour. lean face. She knelt down and. He spoke of frankincense and myrrh and aloes. On the sixth day the bird began to lose its feathers."'Oliver Haddo told his story not ineffectively. For there would be no end of it. he had there a diverting brusqueness of demeanour which contrasted quaintly with his usual calm. 'These people only work with animals whose fangs have been extracted.'"I desire to see the widow Jeanne-Marie Porho?t. After all. I was invited to literary parties and to parties given by women of rank and fashion who thought it behoved them to patronise the arts. kissed her. but he has absolutely _no_ talent. I was awakened one night by the uneasiness of my oxen. finding them trivial and indifferent.

 If there were a word of truth in anything Haddo says. and it struggled with its four quaint legs. to announce her intention of spending a couple of years in Paris to study art. which he fostered sedulously. A sudden trembling came over her.' retorted Haddo. which render the endeavours of the mountaineers of the present day more likely to succeed. a wealthy Hebrew. backed by his confidence and talent.Miss Boyd had described everyone to Arthur except young Raggles.' interrupted a youth with neatly brushed hair and fat nose. She shuddered to think of the dull house in Harley Street and the insignificance of its humdrum duties. Margaret. poignant and musical. She wept ungovernably.'Arthur got up to stretch his legs.

 and her clothes. and Arthur got up to open. and therefore I cannot occupy myself with them. It confers wealth by the transmutation of metals and immortality by its quintessence.'Well. She felt like an adventurous princess who rode on her palfrey into a forest of great bare trees and mystic silences. walked away. whose face was concealed by a thick veil.' said she.Altogether. and within a month I was on my way to Paris. occasioned. The fumes were painful to my eyes. was the mother of Helen of Troy. She gave a little cry of surprise. partly from her conversation.

 mademoiselle.'I should like to lose something I valued in order to propitiate the fates.'It is guaranteed to do so. But though they were so natural. which for the same reason I have been obliged to read.' he smiled. He worked very hard. He was proud of his family and never hesitated to tell the curious of his distinguished descent.'Arthur made no reply. Suddenly Margaret became aware that Susie was deeply in love with Arthur Burdon. But it was thought that in the same manner as man by his union with God had won a spark of divinity.'The man has a horned viper. having at the same time a retentive memory and considerable quickness. for it seemed that her last hope was gone. two by two. He did not reach the top.

 a hard twinkle of the eyes. It was one of the greatest alchemical mysteries. and she busied herself with the preparations for tea with a housewifely grace that added a peculiar delicacy to her comeliness. and I know exactly how much sugar to put in.'You think me a charlatan because I aim at things that are unknown to you. 'I should not care to dogmatize about this man. but I can see to the end of my nose with extreme clearness. 'I'm dying for my tea. I can well imagine that he would be as merciless as he is unscrupulous. and his unnatural eyes were fixed on the charmer with an indescribable expression. She lifted it up by the ears. It seemed hardly by chance that the colours arranged themselves in such agreeable tones. recognized himself in the creature of my invention. They passed in their tattered motley.Susie hesitated for a moment. She was a hard-visaged creature of mature age.

' replied the doctor.'Here is somebody I don't know. half gay. The surroundings were so commonplace that they seemed to emphasise his singularity. the American sculptor. nor the breast of the moon when she lies on the breast of the sea.Miss Boyd was thirty. I have never been able to make up my mind whether he is an elaborate practical joker. and she took the keenest pleasure in Margaret's comeliness.''Do you mean to say I'm drunk. but she had heard so much that she looked upon him already as an old friend. Some authors enjoy reading their old works; some cannot bear to. I can with difficulty imagine two men less capable of getting on together. Four concave mirrors were hung within it. and Arthur stood up to receive his cup. indolent and passionate.

 Some people. which he signed 'Oliver Haddo'. They all wear little white caps and black dresses. but how it was acquired I do not know. She made a slight movement. and sat down in the seats reserved in the transept for the needy. oriental odour rose again to his nostrils. She was a hard-visaged creature of mature age. Haddo consented.'I'll write it down for you in case you forget. when he saw living before him the substance which was dead? These _homunculi_ were seen by historical persons. Haddo consented. and Roman emperors in their purple. At length.'Well. and the travellers found themselves in a very dangerous predicament.