"'Any astrologer, madame, who works by proper methods can, from the
conjunction of the stars at anyone's birth, calculate whether their aspect
will be favourable or unfavourable at any given time, and may foretell
danger or death; but it needs a knowledge of human nature, a knowledge of
character and habits, and a knowledge of the questioner's surroundings to
be able to go much farther than this. That I have had marvellous successes
and that my counsels are eagerly sought depends, then, upon the fact that
I leave nothing to chance, but that while enveloping myself in a certain
amount of mystery I have a police of my own consisting of men of all
stations, many, indeed most of whom, do not know me even by sight. They
have no idea of the object of my inquiries, and indeed believe that their
paymaster is the head of the secret police, or the agent of some powerful
minister.'
"You see, Guy, the count spoke with perfect frankness to me. His object
naturally was to gain my confidence by showing himself as he is, and to
explain why he wished to secure a home for his daughter. He took up his
strange profession in the first place as a means of obtaining his living,
and perhaps to secure himself from the search of private enemies who would
have had him assassinated could he have been found; but he follows it now
from his love for an atmosphere of intrigue, and for the power it gives
him, because, as he told me, he has already amassed a considerable
fortune, and could well retire and live in luxury did he choose.
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