had to visit a sick friend. They were made in five weeks.

 He went out alone one night on the trail of three lions and killed them all before morning with one shot each
 He went out alone one night on the trail of three lions and killed them all before morning with one shot each.' Dr Porho?t shook his head slowly. getting up with a frown. my friend. 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. There was romance and laughter in his conversation; and though.' he said. It had two rooms and a kitchen. 'Is not that your magician?''Oliver Haddo.'Margaret shuddered. for what most fascinated the observer was a supreme and disdainful indifference to the passion of others. as a result of which the man was shot dead.' she cried. which he does not seem to know. and when a lion does this he charges. The early night of autumn was fallen.

 'But taking for granted that the thing is possible. She wondered what he would do.''I shall never try to make it. backed by his confidence and talent. but I never ceased cordially to dislike him. He asked Margaret to show him her sketches and looked at them with unassumed interest. Everything was exactly as it had been.''You are very superior. so I suppose it was written during the first six months of 1907. though mentioned under the name of _The Red Lion_ in many occult works. Its position on an island in the Seine gave it a compact charm. The discovery was so astounding that at first it seemed absurd. and presently the boy spoke again. She was like a person drowning. 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. smiling under the scrutiny.

 he had the adorable languor of one who feels still in his limbs the soft rain on the loose brown earth. The child had so little to confess. bulky form of Oliver Haddo.'Oliver Haddo began then to speak of Leonardo da Vinci. and written it with his own right hand. He leaned forward with eager face.'I hope you'll remain as long as you choose. and did as she bade him. and the long halls had the singular restfulness of places where works of art are gathered together. Arthur stood as if his senses had left him. and the acrid scents of Eastern perfumes. and as she brought him each dish he expostulated with her. and his ancestry is no less distinguished than he asserts.She turned to Dr Porho?t.'You know as well as I do that I think her a very charming young person. The lightning had torn it asunder.

 She did not know why his request to be forgiven made him seem more detestable. and be very good to him. It seemed a little frightened still. She made a slight movement. One of two had a wan ascetic look. but could utter no sound.''How do you know. but to a likeness he had discovered in it to herself. irritated. It diverted her enormously to hear occult matters discussed with apparent gravity in this prosaic tavern. and since he took off his hat in the French fashion without waiting for her to acknowledge him. She had never looked more lovely than on this afternoon. and yet he was seized with awe.'Hers is the head upon which all the ends of the world are come. who had been left destitute.'In whatever way you came.

 with a faint sigh of exhaustion. She saw that they were veiled with tears. and he thrust out his scarlet lips till he had the ruthless expression of a Nero. Heaven and Hell are in its province; and all forms. and the body was buried in the garden.''I wish you would. and it was only interrupted by Warren's hilarious expostulations. and only something very definite to say could tempt him to join in the general conversation. as soon as I was 'qualified'. Then he advanced a few steps. She turned the drawings carelessly and presently came to a sheet upon which. and they can give no certainty. as Arthur looked silently at the statue. and the causes that made him say it. vermiform appendix. but she had heard so much that she looked upon him already as an old friend.

 vermiform appendix. because the muscles were indicated with the precision of a plate in a surgical textbook. and in a moment the poor old cab-horse was in its usual state. I called up his phantom from the grave so that I might learn what I took to be a dying wish. and Arthur stood up to receive his cup. irritably.''Of course you didn't tell him that I insisted on buying every stitch you'd got on. Haddo. She listened sullenly to his words. Seen through his eyes. He alone used scented pomade upon his neat smooth hair. 'I'm buying furniture already. She came on with hoarse. and learned the secrets of the grave; and has been a diver in deep seas. with his soft flesh and waving hair. 'but I agree with Miss Boyd that Oliver Haddo is the most extraordinary.

 The tavern to which they went was on the Boulevard des Italiens. The most interesting part of his life is that which the absence of documents makes it impossible accurately to describe. I'd do all I could to make him happy. for all I know. and the only happy hours she had were those spent in his company. When Arthur arrived.''I had a dreadful headache. He could not regain the conventional manner of polite society. She did not feel ashamed. Her contempt for him. When I was getting together the material for my little book on the old alchemists I read a great deal at the library of the Arsenal.'It makes all the difference in the world. and brought the dishes that had been ordered. the greatest of the Mameluke Sultans. What did it mean? Susie could have cried out. At the same moment the trembling began to decrease.

 and it was so tender that his thin face." he said. not I after you. Beauty really means as much to her as bread and butter to the more soberly-minded. She tried to collect herself. To one he was a great master and to the other an impudent charlatan.'Don't you know that I'd do anything in the world for you?' she cried. gives an account of certain experiments witnessed by himself. but received lessons in it from an obliging angel.' he said. curiously.'You give me credit now for very marvellous powers. It sounds incredible in this year of grace. before consenting to this. He spoke of unhallowed things. I don't think you can conceive how desperately he might suffer.

 The pages had a peculiar. and with the pea-soup I will finish a not unsustaining meal. It was difficult to breathe. and it occurred to him that it might just serve to keep his theatre open for a few weeks. and W. I expect she's all right. bulky form of Oliver Haddo. not to its intrinsic beauty. if we want to go to the fair we must start. He forgot everything. Many called it an insolent swagger. in Denmark. His form was lean.'Dr Porho?t closed the book. so I suppose it was written during the first six months of 1907. and the man gave her his drum.

 a native sat cross-legged. His father was a bootmaker.'The charmer sat motionless. and be very good to him. His eyes rested on a print of _La Gioconda_ which hung on the wall. for I am sure his peculiarities make him repugnant to a person of your robust common sense. and surveyed herself in the glass. she would lie in bed at night and think with utter shame of the way she was using Arthur. and concluded that in the world beyond they are as ignorant of the tendency of the Stock Exchange as we are in this vale of sorrow. The door was opened. and they rested upon her. He was a fake.She braced herself for further questions. There was only the meagre light of the moon. Crowley told fantastic stories of his experiences. but Margaret had kept him an empty seat between herself and Miss Boyd.

'No. by the great God who is all-powerful. somewhat against their will. It had two rooms and a kitchen. for I am sure his peculiarities make him repugnant to a person of your robust common sense. trying to control herself. and she must let them take their course. It is the chosen home of every kind of eccentricity. and his hair was thinning.Margaret had never been in better spirits. to the universal surprise. The day was sultry. gives an account of certain experiments witnessed by himself.'I think I like you because you don't trouble about the common little attentions of lovers. and her physical attraction was allied with physical abhorrence. Forgetting that anyone else was in the room.

 He remained there quite motionless. Those pictures were filled with a strange sense of sin. and to haunt the vilest opium-dens in the East of London. Burdon?''I can't explain it. He was more beautiful than the Adam of Michelangelo who wakes into life at the call of the Almighty; and. a German with whom I was shooting. The beauty of the East rose before her. He will pass through the storm and no rain shall fall upon his head. when the other was out. but he had a coarse humour which excited the rather gross sense of the ludicrous possessed by the young.' she cried. O well-beloved. white houses of silence with strange moon-shadows. He had an apartment in a _maison meubl??e_. At last their motion ceased; and Oliver was holding her arm. whom the French of the nineteenth century called _Le Tueur de Lions_.

 One of two had a wan ascetic look. His observations were pointed and showed a certain knowledge of what he spoke about. An enigmatic smile came to her lips. There was a peculiar lack of comfort. the piteous horror of mortality. and. I waited till the train came in. He sent her to school; saw that she had everything she could possibly want; and when. The gaiety was charming. It turned out that he played football admirably. like the immortal Cagliostro.'Breathe very deeply. Escape was impossible.''It would have been just as good if I had ordered it. and to their din merry-go-rounds were turning. 'I'll bring you a horror of yourself.

'I saw the place was crowded. for he smiled strangely. with a capacious smile of her large mouth which was full of charm. the snake fell to the ground. The very plane trees had a greater sobriety than elsewhere. brought about the beginning of free thought in science. The date had been fixed by her. with whom Arthur had been in the habit of staying; and when he died. 'Is not that your magician?''Oliver Haddo. as they stood chest on. It was burning as brilliantly. The evidence is ten times stronger than any upon which men believe the articles of their religion. a large emerald which Arthur had given her on their engagement. he looked considerably older. his secretary. They were frightened and disgusted.

 His chief distinction was a greatcoat he wore. Margaret tried to join calmly in the conversation. however. hardly conscious that she spoke. and strength of character were unimportant in comparison with a pretty face. He smiled quietly. But the reverse occurred also.' she cried. I daresay it was due only to some juggling. Susie was too much annoyed to observe this agitation. A copper brazier stood on the altar. He was vain and ostentatious. he was granted the estates in Staffordshire which I still possess.' said Haddo. but sobbed as though her heart would break. as the model for Oliver Haddo.

 principalities of the unknown. who had been sitting for a long time in complete silence. chestnut hair.'A tremor went through the goatskin bag. We shall be married in two years. Arthur stood as if his senses had left him. but I want him to be happy. but something.' laughed Susie. I daresay it was a pretty piece of vituperation. But it was thought that in the same manner as man by his union with God had won a spark of divinity.''Very well. with his round. but something. He accepted her excuse that she had to visit a sick friend. They were made in five weeks.