Master of His Fate

s Cou

se fields is not a condition of membership; for, just as the listening Boswell was the necessary complement of the talking Johnson, so in the Hyacinth Club there is an indispensable contingent of passive m

indow-sash), luxuriously smoking, and noting the warm, palpitating life of the world without. A storm which had been silently and doubtfully glooming and gathering the night before had burst and poured in the morning, and it was such a spring afternoon as thrills the heart with new life and suffuses the soul with expectation-such an afternoon as makes all women appear beautiful and all men handsome. The south-west wind blew soft and balmy, and all nature rejoiced as the bride

man who leaned against the window-frame. He appeared more than interested-absorbed, indeed-in the world without, and he look

superficial impression was contradicted by the set expression of his mouth and the calm observation and understanding of his eye, which spoke of ripe experience rather than of green hope. He bore a very good English name-Courtney; and he was believed to be rich. There was no member of whom the Hyacinth Club was prouder than of him: though he had done nothing, it was commonly believed he could do anything he chose. No other was listened to with such attention, and there was nothing on which he could no

d by the window, were a pair of journalis

e picture-shows, Julius?

om without, and turned on his shoulder

have just come up, and I've not thought

e country?"

y," said Courtney, still as i

looking love

want to go and stare at pictures. In the spring, to see the fresh, virginal, delicious green of a bu

ou had a taste for Art; I

g that Art can never compete with Nature in creating human pleasure. I mean no disparagement of your work, Kew, or any artist's work; but I can't endure Art except in winter, when everything (almost) must be artificial to be endurable.

ith a wistful lac

sudden turn of reflection, "there is in warm

ngley Dell, the Art critic, m

th such transcendental talk, had taken up 'The St. James's Gazette.' "What do you make of this queer

"we all read tha

y out of window, "is like a French journal: f

Julius?" asked Embro, amid t

; "and if it's a hospital ca

and the greater Charbon! But here comes a greater than Charbon-the celebrated Dr. Lefe

his friend Courtney. "Ha, Julius!" said he, crossing to h

d Julius,

been all this whil

in out of window, "I have been rambling

anity, eh?" s

t can there be any question of vanity or vexation in this sweet, glorious sun

efevre. "Come and sit

voice again sounded at Lefevre's elbow-"Come now

Paris

g him the paper. He took

H?tel-Dieu were very much exercised with her condition; but it was not till about a week ago that they succeeded in restoring to any extent her mental consciousness and her memory. She then remembered the events immediately preceding her application to the police. It had come on to rain, she said, and she was hurrying along to escape from it, when a gentleman in a cloak came to her side and politely offered to give her the shelter of his umbrella. She accepted; the gentleman seemed old and ill. He asked her to take his arm. She did so, and very soon she felt as if her strength had gone from her; a cold shiver crept over her; s

e had raised his eyes from the p

ay more, since I know nothing of it

o look at the Weather Forecasts." Lefevre handed him the paper, which he took with an unc

painful, but it's curious;" and

question with his forefinger; "do

e 'Telegraph,'" said Lefevre, "I

, "come-you're shi

k me prejudiced in favour of anything of the kind; perhaps I think

althy young woman mesmerised, hypnotised, or somnambulised, or whatever you like to call it, in the public street, by some man that casually com

orthy that, as they looked, they turned a referring glance on Courtney, as if it were a foregone conclusion that he must be the final arbiter

eems to me, Embro, that you view the thing through a very ordinary fallacy, and make a double mistake. You confound the relatively inconc

who still sat with his chin in his hand, looking as if he considered

here is," said the

ect intelligent gaze seemed to disconcert him, he said, "Now, Julius, you've seen, I daresay, a go

y I have,"

e!" quoth Emb

"I don't therefore nail

nce at the Salpétrière,-or what they call science there,-and studied and seen God knows what

fore I can't argue about it, for argument should come from knowledge, and I have none. I have a few opinions, and I am always ready to receive impressions

g his head. "But my opinion, founded on my knowledge, is tha

o leave the circle, "is the argument advanced b

h Lefevre, "is a convenient wa

llucination is the dust-heap and limbo of the meanly-equipped man of science to-day, just as witchcraft was a few hundred years ago. The poor creature of science long ago, when he came upon any pathological or psychological m

ay I ask?"

the cocksureness of theology would have suited you like your own c

natural and pleasant,-like the innocent actions and the simple, truthful speech of a child. Not even Embro

Science is the examination of facts, and what has imag

ittle facts,-clean facts and dirty facts. Imagination raises you and gives you a high and comprehensive v

the journalist and

imagination for painting and poetry. In science it just le

eculiar look, which made a man feel

you leave me the illusions, I'll give you all the realities. But how can we stay babbling and quibbling here all this delicious

moved away; "my mother and sister will call for me with the

Julius; "that

p of tea in the meantime. Come and sit

ervatory, and burnished the green of a certain plant; he perceived a fine black Persian cat, the latest pet of the Club, and exclaimed, "What a beautiful, superb creature!" He called it, and it came, daintily sniffed at hi

sfaction out of life, for ever mumbling the bare dry bones of science. S

a smile. "Still dreaming and wandering, intere

us. "I've all the world to enjoy!" and he

said Lefevre, "gives an extrao

e of life. Any smaller, any more obvious purp

efevre. "Art without a purpose goes off into all s

he had set up the point and regarded it at a distance. "Yes; perhaps it does." But the nex

re fond of science; science needs men like you more than the dull plodders that usually take to it. When you were in Charbon's cl

o yourself to sa

ould soon ec

t give a penny-piece for fame if all the magicians of the East came crying it

you might be as unknown as you like, and do

at him, and se

go down among them and try to take their work? And you know, in the next place, that medical philanthropy, like all other philanthropy, is so overdone that the race is fast deteriorating; we strive with so much success to keep the sickly and

"your life surely is not your

ght to smash his statue if it does not please him, nor to the poet the right to burn his manuscript;-why should you deny me the right to dispose of my life? I know-I know," said he, seeing Lefevre open his mouth and raise his hand for another observation,

o poor to maintain much equipage, but she made what use she pleased of her son's possessions.

said she. "This is Julius Courtney, Nora. You remembe

arkable gowns," ch

ius, "I have no d

"is jealous; because, being a doctor, he mu

d college, and been presented

"we have had cards engraved

ady Lefevre, "I hope yo

ng in Nature, and it seems to me Nature has had more to do with the fi

l compliments. I shouldn't wonder if he says that, my dear, bec

s face shone as with an inner light, and his talk was bright, searching, and ironical. The amazing thing, however, was that Julius had as stimulating and intoxicating an influence on Nora as, it was clear, Nora had on him. His sister had not appeared to Lefevre hitherto more than a beautiful, healthy, shy girl of tolerable intelligence; now she showed that she had brilliance and wit, and, moreover, that she understood Julius as one native of a strange realm understands another. When they entere

a rare attainment. When they had almost completed their third round, Julius (who had finished a marvellous story of a fairy princess and a cat) said, "I can

dy Lefevre, "let us go.

u like, mother,"

utiful to see. His favourites were certain creatures of the deer species, which crowded to their fences to sniff his clothes, and to lick his hands, which he abandoned to their caresses with manifest satisfaction. His example encouraged the queenly Nora and her sprightly mother to feed the beautiful creatures with bread and buns, and to feel the suffusion of pleasure derived from the contact of their soft lips with the pa

Moors. The creature crouched sulking in the back of the cage. Julius tapped on the bars, and entreated her in the language of her native land, "Ya, dudu! ya, lellatsi!" She bounded to him with a "w

autiful creature?"

quietly; "I brought her

n friendly or fond terms with animals, but never till now had he

y turned to leave the Gardens. "He seems to

found her mother was looking at her, her eyes sank, and as it were a veil of blu

g and extraordinary m

son, "and amazin

ve been a kind of rolling stone. If anything should come of this

know as muc

ofession?" qu

I suppose he could afford

e the idea," s

mehow think of him as not having enoug

people are of t

any people," said he, with a laugh. "He is the ki

r try to find out what h

Lefevre; "pe