."

His strange companion entered the inn and returned presently, saying:
"She has not yet arrived. Delayed by the fog. We will have our
dinner, if you please."

Jack had not broken his fast since nine and felt keenly the need of
refreshment, but he answered:

"I think that I would better wait for Margaret."

"No, she will have dined at Tillbury," said the masterful lady. "It
will save time. Please come and have dinner, sir."

He followed her into the inn. The landlady, a stout, obsequious woman,
led them to a small dining-room above stairs lighted by many candles
where an open fire was burning cheerfully.

A handsomely dressed man waited by them for orders and retired with the
landlady when they were given.

From this point the scene at the inn is described in the diary of the
American.

"She drew off her hat and veil and a young woman about twenty-eight
years of age and of astonishing beauty stood before me."

"'There, now, I am out of business,' she remarked in a pleasant voice
as she sat down at the table which, had been spread before the
fireplace. 'I will do my best to be a companion to you until Margaret
arrives.'

"She looked into my eyes and smiled. Her sheath of ice had fallen from
her.

"'You will please forgive my impertinence,' said she. 'I earn my
living by it. In a world of sentiment and passion I must be as cold
and bloodless as a stone, but in fact, I am very--very human.'

"The waiter came with a tray containing soup, glasses and a bottle of
sherry. We sat down at the table and our waiter filled two glasses
with the sherry.

"'Thank you, but self-denial is another duty of mine,' she remarked
when I offered her a glass of the wine. 'I live in a tipsy world and
drink--water. I live in a merry world and keep a stern face. It is a
vile world and yet I am unpolluted.'

"I drank my glass of wine and had begun to eat my soup when a strange
feeling came over me. My plate seemed to be sinking through the table.
The wall and fireplace were receding into dim distance. I knew then
that I had tasted the cup of Circe. My hands fell through my lap and
suddenly the day ended. It was like sawing off a board. The end had
fallen. There is nothing more to be said of it because my brain had
ceased to receive and record impressions. I was as totally out of
business as a man in his grave. When I came to, I was in a berth on
the ship _King William_ bound for New York. As soon as I knew