admirable and fearless. And at worst, he only strives to do
what Jacob did at Peniel," said Philip Borsdale, lightly. "The
patriarch, as I recall, was blessed for acting as he did. The legend
is not irrelevant, I think."

They passed into the adjoining room.

Thus the two men came into a high-ceiled apartment, cylindrical in
shape, with plastered walls painted green everywhere save for the
quaint embellishment of a large oval, wherein a woman, having an
eagle's beak, grasped in one hand a serpent and in the other a knife.
Sir Thomas Browne seemed to recognize this curious design, and gave an
ominous nod.

Borsdale said: "You see Dr. Herrick had prepared everything. And much
of what we are about to do is merely symbolical, of course. Most
people undervalue symbols. They do not seem to understand that there
could never have been any conceivable need of inventing a periphrasis
for what did not exist."

Sir Thomas Browne regarded Borsdale for a while intently. Then the
knight gave his habitual shrugging gesture. "You are braver than I,
Philip, because you are more ignorant than I. I have been too long an
amateur of the curious. Sometimes in over-credulous moments I have
almost believed that in sober verity there are reasoning beings who are
not human--beings that for their own dark purposes seek union with us.
Indeed, I went into Pomerania once to talk with John Dietrick of
Ramdin. He told me one of those relations whose truth we dread, a tale
which I did not dare, I tell you candidly, even to discuss in my
_Vulgar Errors_. Then there is Helgi Thorison's history, and that of
Leonard of Basle also. Oh, there are more recorded stories of this
nature than you dream of, Philip. We have only the choice between
believing that all these men were madmen, and believing that ordinary
human life is led by a drugged animal who drowses through a purblind
existence among merciful veils. And these female creatures--these
Corinnas, Perillas, Myrhas, and Electras--can it be possible that they
are always striving, for their own strange ends, to rouse the sleeping
animal and break the kindly veils?--and are they permitted to use such
amiable enticements as Herrick describes? Oh, no, all this is just a
madman's dream, dear lad, and we must not dare to consider it
seriously, lest we become no more sane than he."

"But you will aid me?" Borsdale said.

"Yes, I will aid you, Philip, for in Herrick's case I take it that