n the neighbourhood of the guitars and the
inviting seclusion of the various refreshment-rooms. From all sides
rose the hum of comment and the murmur of speculation. Pince-nez were
adjusted, eyeglasses screwed into eyes, fingers pointed, feet elevated
upon uneasy toes. Pretty girls boldly trod upon the gowns of elderly
matrons in the endeavour to draw near to Mrs. Bridgeman and her group
of celebrities; youths pushed and shoved; chaperons elbowed, and old
gentlemen darted from one place to another in wild endeavours to find an
inlet through the press. And amid this frantic scramble of the curious,
the famous members of the occult world stood, calmly conscious of their
value and in no wise upset or discomposed. Verano stroked his Roman
features, and ran his large white hand through his curly fringe; Dr.
Birdie Soames tapped her skull; Mrs. Eliza Doubleway played with her
bead bracelets; Mr. Bernard Wilkins and Madame Charlotte Humm conversed
together in dreamy murmurs; while Professor Elijah Chapman shook
his brass-coloured hair till it fell forward over his variegated
shirt-front, and glanced inquiringly at the multitudes of anxious noses
which offered themselves to his inspection beneath the glare of the
electric lights.

Mr. and Madame Sagittarius, completely overlooked in the throng,
elbowed, trampled upon, jogged from behind and prodded from before,
gazed with a passion of bitter envy at their worshipped rivals, who were
set in the full blaze of success, while they languished in the outer
darkness of anonymous obscurity.

"_O miseris hominum men_--don't set your feet on me, sir, if you
please!" cried Madame. "_O pectorae caec_--ma'am, I beg you to take your
elbow from my throat this minute!"

But even her powerful and indignant organ was lost in the hubbub that
mingled with the wild music of the guitars, to which was now added the
tinkle of bells and the vehement click of a round dozen of castanets,
marking the bull-fighting rhythm of a new air called "The Espada's
Return to Madrid."

"Jupiter!" she gurgled. "I shall be suff--"

"Mr. Amos Towle!" roared the footman savagely.

"The great medium from the Wick!"

"Towle the seer!"

"Amos Towle, the famous spiritualist!"

"Mr. Towle who materialises!"

"The celebrated Towle!"

"The great and only Towle!"

"Oh, is it _the_ Towle?"

"I must see Towle!"

"Where is he? Oh, where is Towle?"

"Towle who communicates with the other world!"

"Towle the ma