,a ,,positive ,,romance  ,by ,edward    
,bellamy  #ahih   ,my friend ,hammond is
 a bachelor1 and lives in chambers in   
,new ,york4 ,whenever we meet on my     
occasional visits to the city1 he       
insists on my spending the night with   
him4 ,on one of these occasions we had  
been at the opera during the evening1   
and had witnessed an ovation to a       
beautiful and famous singer4 ,we had    
been stirred by the enthusiasm of the   
audience1 and on our walk home fell to  
discussing a theme suggested by the     
scene2 namely1 the tendency of man to   
assume a worshipful attitude towards    
woman1 and the reason for it4 ,was it   
merely a phase of the passional relation
 between the sexes1 or had it some      
deeper and more mysterious significance8
  ,when ,i mentioned the former idea1   
,hammond demanded why this tendency was 
not reciprocal between the sexes4 ,as a 
matter of fact1 while women showed      
endless devotion and fondness for men1  
their feeling was without the strain of 

adoration4 ,particular men's qualities  
of mind or heart might excite the       
enthusiastic admiration of women1 but   
such admiration was for cause1 and in no
 way confounded with the worshipful     
reverence which it was man's instinct to
 extend to woman as woman1 with         
secondary reference to her qualities as 
a particular person4 ,no fact in the    
relations of men and women1 he declared1
 was more striking than this contrast in
 their mutual attitudes4 ,it was the    
feminine1 not the masculine1 ideal which
 supplied the inspiration of art and the
 aroma of literature1 which was found   
enshrined in the customs and common     
speech of mankind4 ,to this ,i replied  
that man1 being the dominant sex1 had   
imposed his worship on the race as a    
conquering nation1 its gods on the      
conquered4 ,he1 not woman1 had been the 
creator of the art1 the literature1 and 
the language which were dedicated to    
her4 ,had woman been the dominant sex1  
the reverse might have happened1 and man

 been obliged to stand upon a pedestal  
and be worshiped4  ,hammond laughed1 but
 declared that ,i was all wrong4 ,man's 
tendency to worship woman1 while        
naturally blending with his passional   
attraction towards her1 did not spring  
from the instinct of sex1 but from the  
instinct of race1--a far deeper and     
generally unrecognized impulse4 ,even   
though woman should become some day the 
dominant sex1 man need suffer no        
apprehension of being worshiped4 ,his   
modesty would be respected4  ,some time 
later1 when we had cozily established   
ourselves before a sea-coal fire in     
,hammond's quarters1 with divers        
creature comforts at hand for one of our
 usual symposiums1 the subject came up  
again2 and under conditions so favorable
 to discursiveness our talk took a wide 
range4  8,by the way10 said ,i1 apropos 
of some remark he had made1 8talking    
about the adoration of woman1 did not   
that crack-brained ,frenchman1 ,auguste 
,comte1 propose something of the sort as

 a feature of his #8,religion of        
,humanity'80  ,hammond nodded4  8,i     
wonder10 ,i said1 8whether that feature 
of his scheme was ever actually         
practiced by his followers4 ,i should   
like to get a chance to ask a           
,positivist about that1 if indeed there 
are any in ,america40  ,hammond smoked  
in silence for some time1 and finally   
said1 quietly1 8,possibly ,i might tell 
you something about it myself40         
8,hello60 ,i exclaimed4 8,how long since
 you have been a ,positivist80  8,about 
twenty-five years10 was the             
matter-of-fact reply4  8,a ,positivist  
of twenty-five years' standing10 ,i     
ejaculated1 8and never told of it6 ,why 
have you hid your light under a bushel  
all this while80  8,i said that it was  
twenty-five years since ,i had been a   
,positivist10  replied ,hammond2 8as    
long1 in fact1 as it is since ,i have   
been a sophomore4 ,both experiences     
belonged to the same year of my college 
course1 and1 perhaps you may infer1 to  

the same stage of intellectual          
development4 ,for about six months at   
that time ,i was as ardent a convert1 ,i
 fancy1 as the ,religion of ,humanity   
ever had40  8,i thought you had told me 
all about yourself long ago10 ,i said4  
8,how is it that you have kept so mum   
about this experience8 ,i should fancy  
it must have been a decidedly odd one40 
8,it was a very odd one10 replied       
,hammond1--8the strangest passage1 on   
the whole1 ,i think1 in my life4 ,i have
 never spoken of it1 because it is one  
of those emotional experiences which no 
man likes to relate unless he is sure of
 being understood4 ,to tell it to most  
men would be casting pearls before      
swine4 ,i have always meant to tell you 
when a suitable opportunity came up40   
8,you know10 he said1 when ,i had       
signified my eagerness to hear1 8that ,i
 graduated at ,leroy ,college4 ,it was a
 little one-horse institution1 but blue 
as a whetstone in its orthodoxy2 and    
with my father1 who was a clergyman of a

 very strait sect and staid views1 that 
fact covered a multitude of             
shortcomings4 ,i was nineteen when ,i   
entered1 and consequently twenty when1  
at the beginning of sophomore year1 ,i  
came under the charge of ,professor     
,rgnier4 ,he was a ,frenchman1 but spoke
 ,english with perfect ease and         
precision and a very slight accent4 ,at 
the time ,i knew him1 he was probably   
sixty4 ,his hair was quite gray1 but his
 mustache and imperial were still dark4 
,it was rumored among the students that 
he had left his native land for         
political reasons1 having played for too
 high stakes at the national game of    
revolution4 ,true or not1 the report    
naturally heightened the interest which 
his personality had for us4  8,he made  
it his business to know personally all  
the students in his classes2 and as it  
is not easy for a man of sixty1         
especially if he is also their teacher1 
to become really acquainted with        
students of twenty1 the fact may be     

taken as evidence of his unusual tact4  
,he was1 ,i think1 the most fascinating 
man ,i ever saw4 ,his insight into      
character was like magic1 his manners   
were charming1 and his ,gallic vivacity 
made him seem like a boy4 ,gradually1   
while still remaining to the rest of the
 students a genial and friendly         
instructor1 he singled out a smaller    
circle of particular intimates4 ,of     
these ,i was one1 and ,i believe the    
most trusted4  8,of course we boys were 
immensely flattered by the partiality of
 such a man2 but equally of course the  
pursuit of his own pleasure could       
scarcely have been the motive which     
impelled him to seek our companionship4 
,it was1 in fact1 a motive as unselfish 
as that of the missionary who leaves the
 comforts and refinements of            
civilization and exiles himself among   
savages that he may win them to his     
faith4 ,he had been a personal friend   
and disciple of ,auguste ,comte1 then   
but lately dead1 and on coming to       

,america had sought his present         
employment1 not merely as a means of    
livelihood1 but equally for the         
opportunity it offered for propagating  
the new gospel among young men4 ,do you 
know much about what ,positivism is80   
,i confessed that ,i knew next to       
nothing1--scarcely more than that there 
was such a thing4  8,i shall not bore   
you with an account of it10 resumed     
,hammond1 8further than to say that it  
is a scheme for the perfection of the   
human race4 ,it rejects as idle all     
theories of superhuman intelligences1   
and declares the supreme object of the  
individual love and devotion should be  
humanity4 ,the rational demonstration of
 the truth of this system is sought in  
the course of history1 which is claimed 
to prove ,positivism the finality of    
social evolution4 ,you will find        
anything else you want to know about it 
in the books4 ,i dare say you will not  
be converted2 but if you were nineteen  
instead of twice that1 with ,hippolyte  

,rgnier to indoctrinate you1 ,i fancy   
the result would be about what it was in
 my case4  8,his personal influence over
 us1 and the intoxicating flattery      
implied in being seriously reasoned with
 on themes so lofty by a man whom we so 
greatly admired1 would have gone far1 no
 doubt1 to commend to us any form of    
opinions he might have taught2 but there
 were not lacking other reasons to      
account for his success in converting   
us4 ,as for ,comte's dogmatic denial of 
superhuman existence1 and his fanciful  
schemes of new society1 we were too     
young and crude to realize how          
unphilosophic was the former1 how       
impossible and undesirable was the      
latter4 ,while accepting them as facts  
of a new creed1 they meant little to us1
 nor did ,rgnier much insist upon them4 
,what most he did insist on was the     
ethical side of ,positivism1--the idea  
of the essential unity of the individual
 with the immortal race of man1 and his 
obvious duty to forget self in its      

service4 ,what could be better adapted  
to affect generous and impassioned boys 
than an appeal like this8 ,the          
magnificent audacity of it1 the         
assumption of man's essential nobleness1
 the contemptuous refusal to make any   
terms with selfishness1 captivated our  
imaginations4 ,i know now1 indeed1 that 
this enthusiasm of humanity1 this       
passion of self-abnegation1 which ,i    
thought a new religion1 was the heart of
 the old religions4 ,in its new-fangled 
disguise the truth and virtue of the    
doctrine were still operative1 and the  
emotional crisis through which ,i passed
 ,i found was as essentially religious  
as it was in form unorthodox4  8,at the 
end of sophomore year there were a      
half-dozen very positive young          
,positivists in our class4 ,the pride of
 intellect which we felt in our new     
enlightenment was intoxicating4 ,to be  
able to look down from a serene height1 
with compassion frequently tempered by  
contempt1 upon the rest of the world    

still groping in the mists of childish  
superstition1 was prodigiously to the   
taste of youths of eighteen and twenty4 
,how1 to be sure1 we did turn up our    
noses at the homely teachings in the    
college chapel on ,sundays6 ,well do ,i 
remember attending my father's church   
when at home on vacation1 and           
endeavoring to assume the mental        
attitude of a curious traveler in a     
,buddhist temple4 ,together with the    
intellectual vanity which it fostered1  
our new faith was commended to us by its
 flavor of the secret1 the hazardous1   
and the forbidden4 ,we were delightfully
 conscious of being concerned in a      
species of conspiracy1 which if it came 
to light would convulse the college and 
the community1 have us expelled1 and    
cause no end of scandal to the public4  
8,but the more ,i took my new faith in  
earnest and tried to make of it the     
religion it claimed to be1 ,i was       
troubled by a lack that seemed to be    
inherent4 ,humanity1 the object of our  

devotion1 was but an abstraction1 a     
rhetorical expression for a mass of     
individuals4 ,to these individuals ,i   
might indeed render affection1 service1 
compassion1 tenderness1 self-sacrifice2 
but their number and pettiness forbade  
me the glow of adoration with which     
service was touched in religions which  
offered a personified object of         
adoration4 ,when1 finally1 ,i confided  
these troubles to ,rgnier1 ,i expected  
to be rebuked2 but on the contrary1 and 
to my great discomfiture1 he embraced me
 effusively after the ,gallic manner4   
,he said that he had been waiting for   
the time when in the course of my       
development ,i should become conscious  
of the need ,i had confessed before     
explaining to me the provision made for 
it by ,positivism4  8,to start with1 he 
put in1 as a sort of special plea for   
,positivism1 that it was not singular   
among religions in recognizing as the   
object of devotion an abstraction1 the  
mode of the existence of which was a    

mystery4 ,as a solace to their votaries 
and an aid to their faith1 nearly all   
religions recognized sacred emblems2 not
 indeed to be confounded in clear minds 
with the original object of devotion1   
but worthy of reverence in its place1 as
 its special representative and         
reminder4 ,in precisely this sense the  
sacred emblem of humanity was woman4    
8,of course1 ,positivism claiming to be 
a creed of demonstration1 not of faith1 
,rgnier did not ask me to receive this  
proposition as his mere statement1 but  
proceeded to establish its              
reasonableness by logic4 ,i am going to 
give you what ,i remember of his        
argument1 because ,i believe still1 as  
,i did when ,i heard it1 that it is the 
only philosophical explanation of the   
instinctive reverence of man for woman  
which we have been talking about        
to-night4 ,it was given to me1 of       
course1 as a doctrine peculiar to       
,positivism2 but ,i don't know of any   
form of religious belief1 inconsistent  

with the recognition of the sacred      
quality of womanhood on the grounds     
given by ,rgnier4 ,indeed1 ,i am by no  
means sure whether the doctrine as ,i   
received it is orthodox ,positivism at  
all4 ,i have reason to think that       
,rgnier was quite too original a        
character for a very good interpreter1  
and should be interested to know how far
 his ideas were his own and how far his 
master's4  8,first he pointed out to me 
as matter of fact that there was no more
 striking feature of the modern and     
humane as compared with the ancient and 
barbaric world than the constantly      
growing tendency of the most civilized  
races to apotheosize womanhood4 ,the    
virgin ideal had been set up by the     
larger part of ,christendom as the      
object of divine honors4 ,the age of    
chivalry had translated for all time the
 language of love into that of worship4 
,art had personified under the feminine 
form every noble and affecting ideal of 
the race1 till now it was in the name of

 woman that man's better part adjured   
his baser in every sort of strife       
towards the divine4 ,is it alleged that 
it is man's passion for woman that has  
moved him thus in a sort to deify the   
sex8 ,passion is no teacher of          
reverence4 ,moreover1 it is as the race 
outgrows the dominion of passion that it
 recognizes the worshipfulness of woman4
 ,the gross and sensual recognize in her
 no element of sacredness4 ,it is the   
clear soul of the boy1 the poet1 and the
 seer which is most surely aware of it4 
,equally vain is it to seek the         
explanation in any general superiority  
of woman to man1 either moral or mental4
 ,her qualities are indeed in engaging  
contrast with his1 but on the whole no  
such superiority has ever been          
maintained4 ,how1 then1 were we to      
account for a phenomenon so great in its
 proportions that either it indicates a 
world-wide madness infecting the noblest
 nations while sparing the basest1 or   
else must be the outcome of some        

profound monition of nature1 which1 in  
proportion as man's upward evolution    
progresses1 he becomes capable of       
apprehending8 ,why this impassioned     
exaltation by him of his tender         
companion8 ,what is the secret spring   
that makes her the ceaseless fountain of
 lofty inspiration she is to him8 ,what 
is the hint of divinity in her gentle   
mien that brings him to his knees8 ,who 
is this goddess veiled in woman whom men
 instinctively reverence yet cannot     
name8  8,the adoration of woman1 which  
may almost be called the natural        
religion of the modern man1 springs from
 his recognition1 instinctive when not  
conscious1 that she is in an express    
sense1 as he is not1 the type1 the      
representative1 and the symbol of the   
race from which he springs1 of that     
immortal and mystical life in which the 
secret of his own is hid4 ,she is this  
by virtue1 not of her personal          
qualities1 but of the mother-sex1 which1
 overbearing in part her individuality1 

consecrates her to the interests of the 
race1 and makes her the channel of those
 irresistible attractions by which      
humanity exists and men are made to     
serve it4 ,as compared with woman's     
peculiar identification with the race1  
man's relation to it is an exterior one4
 ,by his constitution he is above all an
 individual1 and that is the natural    
line of his development4 ,the love of   
woman is the centripetal attraction     
which in due time brings him back from  
the individual tangent to blend him     
again with mankind4 ,in returning to    
woman he returns to humanity4 ,all that 
there is in man's sentiment for woman   
which is higher than passion and larger 
than personal tenderness--all1 that is  
to say1 which makes his love for her the
 grand passion which in noble hearts it 
is--is the fact that under this form his
 passion for the race finds expression4 
,mysterious ties1 subtending            
consciousness1 bind him1 though         
seemingly separate1 to the mighty life  

of humanity1 his greater self1 and these
 are the chords which1 when #8,love took
 up the harp of life1'444 #8passed in   
music out of sight4' ,in woman humanity 
is enshrined and made concrete for the  
homage of man4 ,this is the mighty      
indwelling which causes her to suggest  
something more august than herself1 and 
invests her with an impersonal majesty  
commanding reverence4  8,you may imagine
 with what power such a doctrine as     
this1 set forth by an enthusiast like   
,rgnier1 appealed to the mind of an     
impassioned boy of twenty1 as yet pure  
as a girl1 but long vaguely stirred by  
the master passion of our nature4 ,the  
other tenets of the ,religion of        
,humanity had been impressed upon me by 
argument1 but at the mere statement of  
this my heart responded1 ,o ,dea ,certe6
  8,subsequently1 in response to my     
questioning1 ,rgnier explained to me how
 the master had recommended his         
disciples to give practical effect to   
the cult of womanhood4 ,i must remember 

that it was nothing new and nothing     
peculiar to ,positivism for men to adore
 women to the point even of idolatry4   
,lovers constantly were doing it4 ,but  
in these cases the worshipers did not   
look beyond the personality of the idol4
 ,possibly1 no doubt1 some dim          
apprehension of the true grounds of     
woman's worshipfulness might mingle with
 the lover's sentiment1 but it was very 
far from being the clear and distinct   
sense necessary to redeem his homage    
from the charge of extravagance4 ,on the
 other hand1 the spirit in which women  
received the homage men rendered them   
was usually as mistaken as that in which
 it was offered4 ,either1 on the one    
hand1 from an impulse of personal       
modesty they deprecated it1 or1 on the  
other hand1 they accepted it as a       
gratification to their personal vanity4 
,in either case1 they equally           
misapprehended their true and valid     
title to worship1 which1 while personal 
qualities might enhance or partially    

obscure it1 was itself in root more than
 personal1 and consisted in the martyr  
and mother sex which so peculiarly      
sacrificed and consecrated them to the  
interests of humanity as to draw to them
 the homage and loyalty of all men who  
loved their race4 ,it had been the      
counsel of his master1 ,rgnier said1    
that1 while his disciples should hold   
all women in exalted reverence1 they    
should peculiarly address this general  
sentiment to some particular woman1 who1
 being of the same faith1 should be able
 to accept it worthily and without      
self-exaltation1 in the spirit in which 
it was offered4  8,of course the        
reflection was obvious that in the      
existing conditions of the ,positivist  
propaganda in ,america it would be      
impossible to find a woman capable of   
understanding1 much less of accepting1  
such a relation1 and1 therefore1 that to
 me the cult which ,i had been taught   
must remain entirely theoretical4       
,homage from men which did not insure to

 the titillation of the vanity would    
seem to women1 as usually educated1     
equally incomprehensible and            
unprofitable4  8,it was in recognition  
of this situation that ,rgnier ended by 
making a proposition which testified1   
more strongly than anything else could  
have done1 both to the enthusiasm and   
sincerity with which he himself held the
 faith he preached1 and to his          
confidence in my own equal singleness of
 heart4 ,he had never before spoken of  
his personal history or home life4      
,several times ,i had spent the evening 
at his house1 but on these occasions ,i 
had seen only himself4 ,certain womanly 
belongings1 however1 which ,i had       
noticed1 and the sound of a piano once  
or twice1 had suggested that the house  
might not be without a feminine         
presence4 ,the professor now told me    
that long ago in ,france1 for a few     
short1 blissful years1 he had been the  
husband of the sweetest of women4 ,she  
had left behind a daughter1 the sole    

companion of his life and the apple of  
his eye4 ,she lived in complete         
seclusion1 rarely even leaving the      
house4 ,he did not desire her to make   
acquaintances in this country1 nor      
indeed was she able to speak a word of  
any language but her own4 ,there was no 
question of my making her acquaintance  
in the ordinary sense1 or even of       
meeting her a second time1 but if ,i    
desired to testify my new appreciation  
of the sacred quality of womanhood1 it  
was possible that she might consent to  
receive my homage in the name of her    
sex4 ,he could not be sure what she     
would say1 but he would speak with her  
about it4  8,the following day1 a note  
from him requesting that ,i should call 
at his house that evening intimated that
 he had succeeded in carrying his point4
 ,when ,i called at the time set1 he    
told me that he had found it more       
difficult than he had anticipated to    
gain his daughter's consent to see me4  
,she had been very reluctant to assume  

the attitude required of her1 and only  
her respect for his wishes and the good 
of the cause1 and the assurance he had  
given her of the entire ingenuousness of
 my own motive1 had induced her finally 
to yield4 ,after some talk as to the    
significance of the interview before me1
 which ,i was too much agitated to      
comprehend1 he bade me follow him4  8,as
 may readily be supposed1 my fancy1 from
 the moment ,rgnier had suggested this  
interview1 had been exceedingly busy    
with conjectures as to the sort of scene
 it would prove1 and especially as to   
the personality of her who was to be the
 central figure4 ,except his intimation 
that the interview would be necessarily 
without interchange of speech and       
presumably brief1 scarcely more1        
probably1 than a confrontation1 he had  
told me nothing4  8,of course1 however1 
my fancies had not failed to take some  
form4 ,i think ,i had a general         
expectation of finding myself in the    
presence of a beautiful woman1          

statuesquely shaped and posed4 ,i       
imagine that ,i rather expected her to  
be enthroned or standing upon some sort 
of dais1 and ,i am sure that ,i should  
not have been surprised had there been  
some artificial arrangement of lights as
 in a theatre to add effectiveness to   
the figure4  8,i followed ,rgnier       
through several rooms without raising my
 eyes4 ,presently he paused and said1   
#8,my daughter4'  8,thrilling with the  
premonition of a vision of imperious or 
melting loveliness which should compel  
my homage by its mere aspect1 ,i raised 
my eyes to find myself facing a         
plain-featured1 plainly dressed young   
woman1 not ill-looking certainly1 but   
destitute of a single trait striking    
enough to have won a second glance from 
me had ,i met her on the street4  8,her 
father need not have told me of her     
reluctance to assume the part his wishes
 had imposed upon her4 ,for the fraction
 of an instant only1 a pair of black    
eyes had met mine1 and then she had bent

 her face as low as she could4 ,the     
downcast head1 the burning cheeks1 the  
quick heaving of the breast1 the pendent
 arms1 with tensely interlacing fingers 
and palms turned downward1 all told the 
story of a shy and sensitive girl       
submitting from a sense of duty to a    
painful ordeal4  8,the sudden and       
complete wreck of all my preconceptions 
as to her appearance1 as well as the    
accessories of the scene1 left me for a 
few moments fairly dazed4 ,not only were
 my highly wrought expectations as to   
the present interview brought to        
humiliating discomfiture1 but the       
influence of the disillusionment        
instantly retroacted with the effect of 
making the entire noble and romantic    
cult which had led up to this unlucky   
confrontation seem a mere farrago of    
extravagant and baseless sentiment4     
,what on earth had ,rgnier been thinking
 of1 to plan deliberately a situation   
calculated to turn a cherished sentiment
 into ridicule8 ,if he had seriously    

thought his daughter capable of         
supporting the rle he had assigned her1 
had there ever been a like case of      
parental fatuity8  8,but even as ,i     
indignantly asked myself this question1 
,i saw a great light1 and recognized    
that the trouble was neither with       
,rgnier's fatuity nor with his          
daughter's lack of charms1 but with     
myself1 and a most unworthy             
misconception into which ,i had fallen  
as to the whole object and purport of   
this interview4 ,what had the beauty or 
the lack of beauty of this girl to do   
with the present occasion8 ,i was not   
here to render homage to her for the    
beauty of her sex1 but for its perpetual
 consecration and everlasting martyrdom 
to my race4 ,the revulsion of feeling   
which followed the recognition of the   
grossness of the mistake ,i had made had
 no doubt the effect of greatly         
intensifying my emotions4 ,i was        
overcome with contrition for the        
unworthiness with which ,i had stood    

before this girl who had so trusted to  
my magnanimity1 appraising her like a   
sensualist when ,i should have been on  
my knees before her4 ,a reaction of     
compunctious loyalty made my very       
heartstrings ache4 ,i saw now how well  
it had been for a weak-minded fool like 
myself that she had not chanced to be   
beautiful or even pretty1 for then ,i   
should have cheated myself of all that  
distinguished this solemn meeting from  
the merest lover's antics4 ,i won in    
that moment an impression of the        
tawdriness of mere beauty which ,i have 
never gotten over4 ,it seemed to me     
then1 and more or less has ever since1  
that the beauty of women is a sort of   
veil which hides from superficial eyes  
the true adorableness of womanhood4     
8,unable longer to resist the magnetism 
of my gaze1 her eyes rose slowly to     
mine4 ,at their first meeting1 her face 
became crimson2 but as she did not avert
 her eyes1 and continued to look into   
mine1 the flush paled swiftly from her  

face1 and with it all the other         
evidences of her embarrassment passed as
 quickly away1 leaving her bearing      
wholly changed4 ,it was plain that      
through my eyes1 which in that moment   
must have been truly windows of my soul1
 she had read my inmost thoughts1 and   
had perceived how altogether impertinent
 to their quality self-consciousness on 
her part would be4 ,as with a gaze      
growing ever more serene and steadfast  
she continued to read my thoughts1 her  
face changed1 and from the look of a shy
 and timid maiden it gradually took on  
that of a conscious goddess4 ,then1 as  
still she read on1 there came another   
change4 ,the soft black eyes grew softer
 and yet softer1 and then slowly filled 
with tears till they were like brimming 
vases4 ,she did not smile1 but her brows
 and lips assumed a look of benignant   
sweetness indescribable4  8,in that     
moment no supernatural aureole would    
have added sacredness to that head1 or  
myth of heavenly origin have made that  

figure seem more adorable4 ,with right  
good-will ,i sank upon my knees4 ,she   
reached forth her hand to me and ,i     
pressed my lips to it4 ,i lifted up the 
hem of her dress and kissed it4 ,there  
was a rustle of garments4 ,i looked up  
and she was gone4  8,i suppose          
immediately after that ,i must have left
 the house4 ,i only know that the dawn  
found me miles out of town1 walking     
aimlessly about and talking to myself40 
,hammond poured himself a glass of wine1
 drunk it slowly1 and then fell into a  
profound reverie1 apparently forgetful  
of my presence4  8,is that all80 ,i     
asked at last4 8,did you not see her    
again80  8,no10 he answered1 8,i never  
saw her again4 ,probably1 as her father 
had intimated1 he did not intend that ,i
 should4 ,but circumstances also        
prevented4 ,the very next day there was 
an explosion in college4 ,there had been
 a ,judas among my fellow-disciples1 and
 the faculty had been informed of the   
,positivist propaganda going on under   

their noses4 ,i was suspended for six   
months4 ,when ,i returned to college1   
,rgnier had disappeared4 ,he had of     
course been promptly dismissed1 and it  
was rumored that he had gone back to    
,france4 ,he had left no trace1 and ,i  
never heard of him again or of his      
daughter4 ,i don't even know the name of
 the woman ,i worshiped40