Page:Magician 1908.djvu/17

Rh “One of my cherished ideas is that it is impossible to love without imagination.”

Again Arthur Burdon made no reply, but a curious look came into his eyes as he gazed in front of him. 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.

“But Miss Dauncey has none of that narrowness of outlook which, if you will forgive my saying so, is perhaps the secret of your strength. She has a delightful enthusiasm for every form of art. Beauty really means as much to her as bread and butter to the more soberly-minded. And she takes a passionate interest in the variety of life.”

“It is right that Margaret should care for beauty, since there is beauty in every inch of her,” answered Arthur.

He was too reticent to proceed to any analysis of his feelings; but he knew that he had cared for her first on account of that physical perfection which contrasted so astonishingly with the countless deformities in the study of which his life was spent. But one phrase escaped him almost against his will.

“The first time I saw her I felt as though a new world had opened to my ken.”

The divine music of Keats’s lines rang through Arthur’s remark, and to the Frenchman’s mind gave his passion a romantic note that foreboded future tragedy. He sought to dispel the cloud which his fancy had cast upon the most satisfactory of love affairs.

“You are very lucky, my friend. Miss Margaret