THE EQUINOX
father, her lying, under-handed ways, especially her brutality.
His was a noble hatred, utter, blood-thirsty, virulent, eternal.
After years of melancholy and the physical consequences
thereof, Lionel Tabard found himself free from his tyrannical
parent. He soon forgot her, and, as the Divine Blinkings
passed by, his recollection became less and less distinct. He
only remembered two facts. She had once, during his sleep,
broken a bone of his nose with a poker, because he snored;
and, at another time, she had broken in two a valuable riding-
crop on his shoulder.
Her death pleased him. But his constitution was much
weakened by boyish exertions and the physical feeling of
emptiness and marrowlessness, the consequences of his shyness
and lack of sportsmanship.
The first use he had to make of his freedom and of his
fortune was to book a cabin on the first liner bound for New
Zealand, where he was led to expect a total recovery.
Il
THE EMPRESS
LiongEL lived on a large estate, rode, hunted, played games,
was made love to; discovered the joys of Nature, the pleasures
kept in reserve for man by Isis, and the superiority of the
numbers two and three over the unity. He found, to his
surprise, that women could take interest in him. His shyness
was apparent, but tempted them. In his eyes they met an
eager hungry expression, a longing infinite for all things
human, which tickled their desires. He seemed to be ever
staring at an invisible goal. The goal was the Tree of the
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