  We present a detailed study of the X-ray and optical spectra of the luminous
Seyfert galaxy Mrk 1393, which revealed variable partial obscuration of the
active nucleus. The X-ray spectra obtained by XMM-Newton and Swift show
moderate absorption with a column density around 3x10^21 cm^-2, consistent with
a dust-reddening interpretation of the steep Balmer decrement seen in recent
optical spectra. The X-ray flux in the 0.5 to 2 keV band during the XMM-Newton
observation in 2005 and Swift observation in 2006 was a factor 6 brighter than
that of the ROSAT All Sky Survey in 1991. In the past 4 years, the broad
H\alpha line brightened by a factor of 4 accompanied by a decrease in the
Balmer decrement. A comparison with literature spectra reveals variations in
the dust extinction on time scales of several years, suggesting that the
obscuring material is very close to the active nucleus. These observations
indicate that a dust-to-gas ratio as high as the Galactic value can be present
in moderately thick gas in the vicinity of the central engine within a few
parsecs. We suggest that the obscuring material may be debris disrupted from
the dusty torus.

Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics;Astrophysics of Galaxies