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204ARIADNE.them to him alone, this living woman he couldnotforget,and he said againand againto himself," AVho else could love melike that ? "There aremen whom the entire consciousnessof theperfect possession of a woman's life makesindifferent:there is no need to guard what wdlnot stray: such men need the spur of uncertainty,the stimulant of rivalry; this is whyinnocent women fail and vile women succeed.Hilarion was one of these men; the absoluteconsecration of her, body and soul, to himselfdid not cement butonly loosened the bonds thatbound him."She will always be there," he had said tohimself. So he had left her and had strayed tothose of whom he was not so sure.Thefaint unformed jealousy which nowrose inhim of Maryx drew his thoughtsback toher asnosense of her Uving and dying for his sake couldeverhave done. Hecould nottell thatMaryxnevereven saw her face. He could not know that shehad refused to seeher master, and that Maryx ofhis ownwill shrank from any approach to her.He heard that Maryx had placed her talent