The Magician

artment in the ?le Saint Louis; and the lovers arranged to spend an hour on their way at t

art was uplifted from the sordidness of earth, and she had a sensation of freedom which was as delightful as it was indescribable. Arthur had never troubled himself with art till Margaret's enthusiasm taught him that there was a side of life he did not realize. Though beauty meant little to his practical nature, he sought, in his great love for Margaret, to appreciate the works which excited her to such charming ecstasy. He walked by her side wit

ently he insisted on going. With a laugh Margaret remonstrated, but secretly she was not displeased. She was aware that

irit of virginity. A lover in ancient Greece, who offered sacrifice before this fair image, might forget easily that it was a goddess to whom he knelt, and see only an earthly maid fresh with youth and chastity and loveliness. In Arthur's eyes Margaret had all the exquisite grace of the statue, and the same unconscious composure; and in her also breathed the spring odours of ineffable purity. Her features were chisell

aid she, as Arthur looke

they rested upon her. She saw t

earth's t

imself to say such foolish things. 'I'm so afraid that something will happen to prevent us fro

himself. Love of her drew him out of his character, and, though he could not resist, h

g almost to himself. 'Whenever I've really wanted anything, I've m

tinctive suspicion of the malice of circumstance

e so morbid as th

ned to the quay. By crossing the bridge and following th

*

he narrow streets, with their array of dainty comestibles, had the look of streets in a provincial town. They had a quaintness which appealed to the fancy, and they were very restful. The names of the streets recalled the monarchy that passed away in bloodshed, and in poudre de riz. The very plane trees had a greater sobriety than elsewhere, as though conscious they stood in a Paris where progress

a broad staircase, dark but roomy, and, at the command of the concierge, rang a

e are already here,' he

but the bookcases that lined the walls, and a large writing-table heaped up with books, much diminished its size. There were book

to me. I want to loo

raid they will disappoint you. They are of many sorts, but I

e with broken backs and dingy edges; they were set along the shelves in serried rows, untidily, without method or plan. There were many older ones also in bindings of calf and pigskin, treasure from half the bookshops in Europe; and there were huge folios like Prussian grenadiers; and tiny Elzevirs, which had be

cataract.' He showed her a beautifully-written Arabic work, with wonderful capitals and headlines in gold. 'You know that it is almost impossible f

ages as a lover of flower

erature on the occult

ho?t s

but I dare not show it to you in the presence of our friend Arthur. He is too

es along the names. It seemed to her that she was entering upon an unknown region of romance. She felt like an adventurous princes

t creature, Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Paracelsus Bombast von H

ury, with queer plates, on which were all manner of cabbalistic signs. T

art. It is the Grimoire of Honorius, and is the principal text

r back of Delrio's Disquisitiones Magicae and set upright the Pseudomonarchia Daemonorum of Wierus; his eyes rested for an instant on Hauber

You will see that the owner's name had been cut out, 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 Bibliothéque Nationale

rk, and his eye fell on a s

, of all the books that treat of occult science. You have heard

ed Susie, 'except that it's all very ro

ficulties which arose during his management of the Israelites, notwithstanding the pilgrimages, wars, and miseries of that most unruly nation. He covertly laid down the principles of the doctrine in the first four books of the Pentateuch, but withheld them from Deuteronomy. Moses also initiated the Seventy Elders into these secrets, and they in turn transmitted them from hand to hand. Of all w

elieve of this marvell

rd

an to be circulated by a Spanish Jew named Moses de Leon, who claimed to possess an autograph manuscript by the reputed author Schimeon ben Jochai. But when Moses de Leon was gathered to the bosom of his father Abraham, a wealthy Hebrew, Joseph de Avila, promised the scribe's widow, who had been left destitute, that his son should marry her

stretch his legs.

you tell us. You speak with such gravity that we are all tak

r know myself how much

rh

ame reason that Mr Haddo puz

h I know him fairly intimately, I have never been able to make up my mind whether he is an elaborate

d that serpent no effect on him though it was able to kill the rabbit instantaneousl

but I'm not inclined to attribute to the supernatur

tes in me a sort of horror,' said Margaret. 'I'

e from a nightmare in which he assumed fantastic and ghastly shapes. His mocking voice rang in her ears, and she seemed still to see that vast bulk and the savage, sensual f

m to tell me all he knows about him,' said

' cried Margaret vehemently. 'I fee

ered Susie gaily. 'He interests me enormously

hall be delig

y. They were all so taken aback that for a moment no one spoke. They were gathered round the window and

here?' cried Susie lightly

wered, with his puzzling smile. 'You were standing round the window, and I thought it would sta

ft elbow,' returned Susie. 'I h

' he answered, grave

re very welcome,' said Dr Porho?

atiently turne

he said. 'I should have thought your medical profession

shrugged hi

e 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. Man can know nothing, for his senses are his only means of knowledge, and they can give no certainty. There is only one subject upon which the individual can speak with authori

ew I do not sympathi

flectively. He looked at Arthur with a certain ironic gravity. 'Do yo

ainly

So far as I can see, it can be explained by none of the principles known to

y to his words. It was plain, even to Arthur, t

rench Consulate, brought him to me one evening. He was a fine man, tall and stout, of a fair complexion, but with a dark brown beard. He was shabbily dressed, and, being a descendant of the Prophet, wore a green turban. In his conversation he was affable and unaffected. I asked him what persons could see in the magic mirror, and he said they were a boy not arrived at puberty, a virgin, a black female slave, and a pregnant woman. In order to make sure that there was no collusion, I despatched my servant to an intimate friend and asked him to send me his son. While we waited, I prepared by the magician's direction frankincense and cor

nything in the

he boy a

began to tremble and see

sweeping the g

sweeping, tell me

done," sa

and asked who it was that I

e the widow Jean

paper into the chafing-dish, and fresh frankincense was adde

e white cap. She has a wrinkled face and her eyes are closed. There is a band tied rou

ffe that my mother wore. And if she lay there in her black dress,

s he see?" I as

tion, and presently

aps and black dresses. And I see a man in a white surplice, with a large cross in his hands, and a

o more," I said

at my moth

village in which she lived. They had buried her on the very d

cross his eyes, and for a li

y to that?' asked Ol

' answere

ith those queer eyes of his which

t celebrated occultist of recent years. He is thought to have know

a magician. His face beamed with good-nature, and he wore a long grey beard, which c

s evidently disposes to ob

sign that the taunt moved him. His unwinking, stra

the priesthood, but fell in love with a damsel fair and married her. The union was unhappy. A fate befell him which has been the lot of greater men than he, and his wife presently abandoned the ma

o tell us something very inter

e you his account of ho

of Tyana

re comfortably in her ch

lf a card, transversely divided, on which he at once recognized the character of Solomon's Seal, and a tiny slip of paper on which was written in pencil: The other half of this card will be given you at three o'clock tomorrow in front of Westminster Abbey. Next day, going to the appointed spot, with his portion of the card in his hand, he found a baronial equipage waiting for him. A footman approached, and, making a sign

pped her hands

eeting at Westminster Abbey in the Mid-Victorian era. Can't you see the elderly lady in a huge crinoline and a b

mong adepts; and I know that you have been asked for phenomena, but have declined to gratify a frivolous curiosity. It is possible that you do not possess the necessary materials. I can sho

ely, but with a comic gravity that prevent

on it upon two matters, one of which concerned Eliphas Levi and the other, the lady of the crinoline. She had at first counted on assisting at the evocation with a trustworthy person, but at the last moment her friend drew back; and as the triad or unity is rigorously prescribed in magical rites, Eliphas was left alone. The cabinet prepared for the experiment was situated in a turret. Four concave mirrors were hung within it, and there was an altar of white marble, surrounded by a chain of magnetic iron

nd she laughed as she saw in fancy the portly little Fren

y to approach. He closed his eyes, and called three times upon Apollonius. When he opened them, a man stood before him, wholly enveloped in a winding sheet, which seemed more grey than black. His form was lean, melancholy, and beardless. Eliphas felt an intense cold, and when he sought to ask his questions found it impossible to speak. Thereupon, he placed his hand on the Pentagram, and directed the point of his sword toward the figure, adjuring it mentally by that sign not to terrify, but to obey him. The form suddenly grew indistinct and soon it strangely vanished. He commanded it to return, and then felt, as it were, an air pass by him; and, something having

thinking it is plain that all these preparations, and the perfumes, the mirrors, the pentagrams, mu

me that its influence on him was very great. He was no longer the same man, for

ave tried such an interesting experiment

e something. A year after his death, I called up his phantom from the grave so that I might learn what I took to be a dying wish. The circumstances of the ap

he say?' a

"Buy Ashantis, they

n steadily. I sold out at considerable loss, and concluded that in the world beyond they

patiently. It disturbed his practical mind never to be certain if H