hgwellsr packageThe goal of hgwellsr package is to provides access to the full texts of 6 novels by H. G. Wells. The plain-text for each novel was sourced and lightly cleaned from Project Gutenberg. Each novel is in a character vector. Currently, the package contains:
library(devtools)## Warning: package 'devtools' was built under R version 4.0.3## Loading required package: usethis## Warning: package 'usethis' was built under R version 4.0.3install_github("mryap/hgwellsr")## Skipping install of 'hgwellsr' from a github remote, the SHA1 (389eb1c4) has not changed since last install.
## Use `force = TRUE` to force installationlibrary(hgwellsr) # load library
timemachine## [1] "The Time Traveller (for so it will be convenient to speak of him)"
## [2] "was expounding a recondite matter to us. His grey eyes shone and"
## [3] "twinkled, and his usually pale face was flushed and animated. The"
## [4] "fire burned brightly, and the soft radiance of the incandescent"
## [5] "lights in the lilies of silver caught the bubbles that flashed and"
## [6] "passed in our glasses. Our chairs, being his patents, embraced and"
## [7] "caressed us rather than submitted to be sat upon, and there was that"
## [8] "luxurious after-dinner atmosphere when thought roams gracefully"
## [9] "free of the trammels of precision. And he put it to us in this"
## [10] "way--marking the points with a lean forefinger--as we sat and lazily"
## [11] "admired his earnestness over this new paradox (as we thought it)"
## [12] "and his fecundity."
## [13] ""
## [14] "'You must follow me carefully. I shall have to controvert one or two"
## [15] "ideas that are almost universally accepted. The geometry, for"
## [16] "instance, they taught you at school is founded on a misconception.'"
## [17] ""
## [18] "'Is not that rather a large thing to expect us to begin upon?'"
## [19] "said Filby, an argumentative person with red hair."
## [20] ""
## [21] "'I do not mean to ask you to accept anything without reasonable"
## [22] "ground for it. You will soon admit as much as I need from you. You"
## [23] "know of course that a mathematical line, a line of thickness _nil_,"
## [24] "has no real existence. They taught you that? Neither has a"
## [25] "mathematical plane. These things are mere abstractions.'"
## [26] ""
## [27] "'That is all right,' said the Psychologist."
## [28] ""
## [29] "'Nor, having only length, breadth, and thickness, can a cube have a"
## [30] "real existence.'"
## [31] ""
## [32] "'There I object,' said Filby. 'Of course a solid body may exist. All"
## [33] "real things--'"
## [34] ""
## [35] "'So most people think. But wait a moment. Can an _instantaneous_"
## [36] "cube exist?'"
## [37] ""
## [38] "'Don't follow you,' said Filby."
## [39] ""
## [40] "'Can a cube that does not last for any time at all, have a real"
## [41] "existence?'"
## [42] ""
## [43] "Filby became pensive. 'Clearly,' the Time Traveller proceeded, 'any"
## [44] "real body must have extension in _four_ directions: it must have"
## [45] "Length, Breadth, Thickness, and--Duration. But through a natural"
## [46] "infirmity of the flesh, which I will explain to you in a moment, we"
## [47] "incline to overlook this fact. There are really four dimensions,"
## [48] "three which we call the three planes of Space, and a fourth, Time."
## [49] "There is, however, a tendency to draw an unreal distinction between"
## [50] "the former three dimensions and the latter, because it happens that"
## [51] "our consciousness moves intermittently in one direction along the"
## [52] "latter from the beginning to the end of our lives.'"
## [53] ""
## [54] "'That,' said a very young man, making spasmodic efforts to relight"
## [55] "his cigar over the lamp; 'that ... very clear indeed.'"
## [56] ""
## [57] "'Now, it is very remarkable that this is so extensively overlooked,'"
## [58] "continued the Time Traveller, with a slight accession of"
## [59] "cheerfulness. 'Really this is what is meant by the Fourth Dimension,"
## [60] "though some people who talk about the Fourth Dimension do not know"
## [61] "they mean it. It is only another way of looking at Time. _There is"
## [62] "no difference between Time and any of the three dimensions of Space"
## [63] "except that our consciousness moves along it_. But some foolish"
## [64] "people have got hold of the wrong side of that idea. You have all"
## [65] "heard what they have to say about this Fourth Dimension?'"
## [66] ""
## [67] "'_I_ have not,' said the Provincial Mayor."
## [68] ""
## [69] "'It is simply this. That Space, as our mathematicians have it, is"
## [70] "spoken of as having three dimensions, which one may call Length,"
## [71] "Breadth, and Thickness, and is always definable by reference to"
## [72] "three planes, each at right angles to the others. But some"
## [73] "philosophical people have been asking why _three_ dimensions"
## [74] "particularly--why not another direction at right angles to the other"
## [75] "three?--and have even tried to construct a Four-Dimension geometry."
## [76] "Professor Simon Newcomb was expounding this to the New York"
## [77] "Mathematical Society only a month or so ago. You know how on a flat"
## [78] "surface, which has only two dimensions, we can represent a figure of"
## [79] "a three-dimensional solid, and similarly they think that by models"
## [80] "of three dimensions they could represent one of four--if they could"
## [81] "master the perspective of the thing. See?'"
## [82] ""
## [83] "'I think so,' murmured the Provincial Mayor; and, knitting his"
## [84] "brows, he lapsed into an introspective state, his lips moving as one"
## [85] "who repeats mystic words. 'Yes, I think I see it now,' he said after"
## [86] "some time, brightening in a quite transitory manner."
## [87] ""
## [88] "'Well, I do not mind telling you I have been at work upon this"
## [89] "geometry of Four Dimensions for some time. Some of my results"
## [90] "are curious. For instance, here is a portrait of a man at eight"
## [91] "years old, another at fifteen, another at seventeen, another at"
## [92] "twenty-three, and so on. All these are evidently sections, as it"
## [93] "were, Three-Dimensional representations of his Four-Dimensioned"
## [94] "being, which is a fixed and unalterable thing."
## [95] ""
## [96] "'Scientific people,' proceeded the Time Traveller, after the pause"
## [97] "required for the proper assimilation of this, 'know very well that"
## [98] "Time is only a kind of Space. Here is a popular scientific diagram,"
## [99] "a weather record. This line I trace with my finger shows the"
## [100] "movement of the barometer. Yesterday it was so high, yesterday night"
## [101] "it fell, then this morning it rose again, and so gently upward to"
## [102] "here. Surely the mercury did not trace this line in any of the"
## [103] "dimensions of Space generally recognized? But certainly it traced"
## [104] "such a line, and that line, therefore, we must conclude was along"
## [105] "the Time-Dimension.'"
## [106] ""
## [107] "'But,' said the Medical Man, staring hard at a coal in the fire, 'if"
## [108] "Time is really only a fourth dimension of Space, why is it, and why"
## [109] "has it always been, regarded as something different? And why cannot"
## [110] "we move in Time as we move about in the other dimensions of Space?'"
## [111] ""
## [112] "The Time Traveller smiled. 'Are you sure we can move freely in"
## [113] "Space? Right and left we can go, backward and forward freely enough,"
## [114] "and men always have done so. I admit we move freely in two"
## [115] "dimensions. But how about up and down? Gravitation limits us there.'"
## [116] ""
## [117] "'Not exactly,' said the Medical Man. 'There are balloons.'"
## [118] ""
## [119] "'But before the balloons, save for spasmodic jumping and the"
## [120] "inequalities of the surface, man had no freedom of vertical"
## [121] "movement.'"
## [122] ""
## [123] "'Still they could move a little up and down,' said the Medical Man."
## [124] ""
## [125] "'Easier, far easier down than up.'"
## [126] ""
## [127] "'And you cannot move at all in Time, you cannot get away from the"
## [128] "present moment.'"
## [129] ""
## [130] "'My dear sir, that is just where you are wrong. That is just where"
## [131] "the whole world has gone wrong. We are always getting away from the"
## [132] "present moment. Our mental existences, which are immaterial and have"
## [133] "no dimensions, are passing along the Time-Dimension with a uniform"
## [134] "velocity from the cradle to the grave. Just as we should travel _down_"
## [135] "if we began our existence fifty miles above the earth's surface.'"
## [136] ""
## [137] "'But the great difficulty is this,' interrupted the Psychologist."
## [138] "'You _can_ move about in all directions of Space, but you cannot"
## [139] "move about in Time.'"
## [140] ""
## [141] "'That is the germ of my great discovery. But you are wrong to say"
## [142] "that we cannot move about in Time. For instance, if I am recalling"
## [143] "an incident very vividly I go back to the instant of its occurrence:"
## [144] "I become absent-minded, as you say. I jump back for a moment. Of"
## [145] "course we have no means of staying back for any length of Time, any"
## [146] "more than a savage or an animal has of staying six feet above the"
## [147] "ground. But a civilized man is better off than the savage in this"
## [148] "respect. He can go up against gravitation in a balloon, and why"
## [149] "should he not hope that ultimately he may be able to stop or"
## [150] "accelerate his drift along the Time-Dimension, or even turn about"
## [151] "and travel the other way?'"
## [152] ""
## [153] "'Oh, _this_,' began Filby, 'is all--'"
## [154] ""
## [155] "'Why not?' said the Time Traveller."
## [156] ""
## [157] "'It's against reason,' said Filby."
## [158] ""
## [159] "'What reason?' said the Time Traveller."
## [160] ""
## [161] "'You can show black is white by argument,' said Filby, 'but you will"
## [162] "never convince me.'"
## [163] ""
## [164] "'Possibly not,' said the Time Traveller. 'But now you begin to see"
## [165] "the object of my investigations into the geometry of Four"
## [166] "Dimensions. Long ago I had a vague inkling of a machine--'"
## [167] ""
## [168] "'To travel through Time!' exclaimed the Very Young Man."
## [169] ""
## [170] "'That shall travel indifferently in any direction of Space and Time,"
## [171] "as the driver determines.'"
## [172] ""
## [173] "Filby contented himself with laughter."
## [174] ""
## [175] "'But I have experimental verification,' said the Time Traveller."
## [176] ""
## [177] "'It would be remarkably convenient for the historian,' the"
## [178] "Psychologist suggested. 'One might travel back and verify the"
## [179] "accepted account of the Battle of Hastings, for instance!'"
## [180] ""
## [181] "'Don't you think you would attract attention?' said the Medical Man."
## [182] "'Our ancestors had no great tolerance for anachronisms.'"
## [183] ""
## [184] "'One might get one's Greek from the very lips of Homer and Plato,'"
## [185] "the Very Young Man thought."
## [186] ""
## [187] "'In which case they would certainly plough you for the Little-go."
## [188] "The German scholars have improved Greek so much.'"
## [189] ""
## [190] "'Then there is the future,' said the Very Young Man. 'Just think!"
## [191] "One might invest all one's money, leave it to accumulate at"
## [192] "interest, and hurry on ahead!'"
## [193] ""
## [194] "'To discover a society,' said I, 'erected on a strictly communistic"
## [195] "basis.'"
## [196] ""
## [197] "'Of all the wild extravagant theories!' began the Psychologist."
## [198] ""
## [199] "'Yes, so it seemed to me, and so I never talked of it until--'"
## [200] ""
## [201] "'Experimental verification!' cried I. 'You are going to verify"
## [202] "_that_?'"
## [203] ""
## [204] "'The experiment!' cried Filby, who was getting brain-weary."
## [205] ""
## [206] "'Let's see your experiment anyhow,' said the Psychologist, 'though"
## [207] "it's all humbug, you know.'"
## [208] ""
## [209] "The Time Traveller smiled round at us. Then, still smiling faintly,"
## [210] "and with his hands deep in his trousers pockets, he walked slowly"
## [211] "out of the room, and we heard his slippers shuffling down the long"
## [212] "passage to his laboratory."
## [213] ""
## [214] "The Psychologist looked at us. 'I wonder what he's got?'"
## [215] ""
## [216] "'Some sleight-of-hand trick or other,' said the Medical Man, and"
## [217] "Filby tried to tell us about a conjurer he had seen at Burslem; but"
## [218] "before he had finished his preface the Time Traveller came back, and"
## [219] "Filby's anecdote collapsed."
## [220] ""
## [221] "The thing the Time Traveller held in his hand was a glittering"
## [222] "metallic framework, scarcely larger than a small clock, and very"
## [223] "delicately made. There was ivory in it, and some transparent"
## [224] "crystalline substance. And now I must be explicit, for this that"
## [225] "follows--unless his explanation is to be accepted--is an absolutely"
## [226] "unaccountable thing. He took one of the small octagonal tables that"
## [227] "were scattered about the room, and set it in front of the fire, with"
## [228] "two legs on the hearthrug. On this table he placed the mechanism."
## [229] "Then he drew up a chair, and sat down. The only other object on the"
## [230] "table was a small shaded lamp, the bright light of which fell upon"
## [231] "the model. There were also perhaps a dozen candles about, two in"
## [232] "brass candlesticks upon the mantel and several in sconces, so that"
## [233] "the room was brilliantly illuminated. I sat in a low arm-chair"
## [234] "nearest the fire, and I drew this forward so as to be almost between"
## [235] "the Time Traveller and the fireplace. Filby sat behind him, looking"
## [236] "over his shoulder. The Medical Man and the Provincial Mayor watched"
## [237] "him in profile from the right, the Psychologist from the left. The"
## [238] "Very Young Man stood behind the Psychologist. We were all on the"
## [239] "alert. It appears incredible to me that any kind of trick, however"
## [240] "subtly conceived and however adroitly done, could have been played"
## [241] "upon us under these conditions."
## [242] ""
## [243] "The Time Traveller looked at us, and then at the mechanism. 'Well?'"
## [244] "said the Psychologist."
## [245] ""
## [246] "'This little affair,' said the Time Traveller, resting his elbows"
## [247] "upon the table and pressing his hands together above the apparatus,"
## [248] "'is only a model. It is my plan for a machine to travel through"
## [249] "time. You will notice that it looks singularly askew, and that there"
## [250] "is an odd twinkling appearance about this bar, as though it was in"
## [251] "some way unreal.' He pointed to the part with his finger. 'Also,"
## [252] "here is one little white lever, and here is another.'"
## [253] ""
## [254] "The Medical Man got up out of his chair and peered into the thing."
## [255] "'It's beautifully made,' he said."
## [256] ""
## [257] "'It took two years to make,' retorted the Time Traveller. Then, when"
## [258] "we had all imitated the action of the Medical Man, he said: 'Now I"
## [259] "want you clearly to understand that this lever, being pressed over,"
## [260] "sends the machine gliding into the future, and this other reverses"
## [261] "the motion. This saddle represents the seat of a time traveller."
## [262] "Presently I am going to press the lever, and off the machine will"
## [263] "go. It will vanish, pass into future Time, and disappear. Have a"
## [264] "good look at the thing. Look at the table too, and satisfy"
## [265] "yourselves there is no trickery. I don't want to waste this model,"
## [266] "and then be told I'm a quack.'"
## [267] ""
## [268] "There was a minute's pause perhaps. The Psychologist seemed about to"
## [269] "speak to me, but changed his mind. Then the Time Traveller put forth"
## [270] "his finger towards the lever. 'No,' he said suddenly. 'Lend me your"
## [271] "hand.' And turning to the Psychologist, he took that individual's"
## [272] "hand in his own and told him to put out his forefinger. So that it"
## [273] "was the Psychologist himself who sent forth the model Time Machine"
## [274] "on its interminable voyage. We all saw the lever turn. I am"
## [275] "absolutely certain there was no trickery. There was a breath of"
## [276] "wind, and the lamp flame jumped. One of the candles on the mantel"
## [277] "was blown out, and the little machine suddenly swung round, became"
## [278] "indistinct, was seen as a ghost for a second perhaps, as an eddy of"
## [279] "faintly glittering brass and ivory; and it was gone--vanished! Save"
## [280] "for the lamp the table was bare."
## [281] ""
## [282] "Everyone was silent for a minute. Then Filby said he was damned."
## [283] ""
## [284] "The Psychologist recovered from his stupor, and suddenly looked"
## [285] "under the table. At that the Time Traveller laughed cheerfully."
## [286] "'Well?' he said, with a reminiscence of the Psychologist. Then,"
## [287] "getting up, he went to the tobacco jar on the mantel, and with his"
## [288] "back to us began to fill his pipe."
## [289] ""
## [290] "We stared at each other. 'Look here,' said the Medical Man, 'are you"
## [291] "in earnest about this? Do you seriously believe that that machine"
## [292] "has travelled into time?'"
## [293] ""
## [294] "'Certainly,' said the Time Traveller, stooping to light a spill at"
## [295] "the fire. Then he turned, lighting his pipe, to look at the"
## [296] "Psychologist's face. (The Psychologist, to show that he was not"
## [297] "unhinged, helped himself to a cigar and tried to light it uncut.)"
## [298] "'What is more, I have a big machine nearly finished in there'--he"
## [299] "indicated the laboratory--'and when that is put together I mean to"
## [300] "have a journey on my own account.'"
## [301] ""
## [302] "'You mean to say that that machine has travelled into the future?'"
## [303] "said Filby."
## [304] ""
## [305] "'Into the future or the past--I don't, for certain, know which.'"
## [306] ""
## [307] "After an interval the Psychologist had an inspiration. 'It must have"
## [308] "gone into the past if it has gone anywhere,' he said."
## [309] ""
## [310] "'Why?' said the Time Traveller."
## [311] ""
## [312] "'Because I presume that it has not moved in space, and if it"
## [313] "travelled into the future it would still be here all this time,"
## [314] "since it must have travelled through this time.'"
## [315] ""
## [316] "'But,' I said, 'If it travelled into the past it would have been"
## [317] "visible when we came first into this room; and last Thursday when we"
## [318] "were here; and the Thursday before that; and so forth!'"
## [319] ""
## [320] "'Serious objections,' remarked the Provincial Mayor, with an air of"
## [321] "impartiality, turning towards the Time Traveller."
## [322] ""
## [323] "'Not a bit,' said the Time Traveller, and, to the Psychologist: 'You"
## [324] "think. You can explain that. It's presentation below the threshold,"
## [325] "you know, diluted presentation.'"
## [326] ""
## [327] "'Of course,' said the Psychologist, and reassured us. 'That's a"
## [328] "simple point of psychology. I should have thought of it. It's plain"
## [329] "enough, and helps the paradox delightfully. We cannot see it, nor"
## [330] "can we appreciate this machine, any more than we can the spoke of"
## [331] "a wheel spinning, or a bullet flying through the air. If it is"
## [332] "travelling through time fifty times or a hundred times faster than"
## [333] "we are, if it gets through a minute while we get through a second,"
## [334] "the impression it creates will of course be only one-fiftieth or"
## [335] "one-hundredth of what it would make if it were not travelling in"
## [336] "time. That's plain enough.' He passed his hand through the space in"
## [337] "which the machine had been. 'You see?' he said, laughing."
## [338] ""
## [339] "We sat and stared at the vacant table for a minute or so. Then the"
## [340] "Time Traveller asked us what we thought of it all."
## [341] ""
## [342] "'It sounds plausible enough to-night,' said the Medical Man; 'but"
## [343] "wait until to-morrow. Wait for the common sense of the morning.'"
## [344] ""
## [345] "'Would you like to see the Time Machine itself?' asked the Time"
## [346] "Traveller. And therewith, taking the lamp in his hand, he led the"
## [347] "way down the long, draughty corridor to his laboratory. I remember"
## [348] "vividly the flickering light, his queer, broad head in silhouette,"
## [349] "the dance of the shadows, how we all followed him, puzzled but"
## [350] "incredulous, and how there in the laboratory we beheld a larger"
## [351] "edition of the little mechanism which we had seen vanish from before"
## [352] "our eyes. Parts were of nickel, parts of ivory, parts had certainly"
## [353] "been filed or sawn out of rock crystal. The thing was generally"
## [354] "complete, but the twisted crystalline bars lay unfinished upon the"
## [355] "bench beside some sheets of drawings, and I took one up for a better"
## [356] "look at it. Quartz it seemed to be."
## [357] ""
## [358] "'Look here,' said the Medical Man, 'are you perfectly serious?"
## [359] "Or is this a trick--like that ghost you showed us last Christmas?'"
## [360] ""
## [361] "'Upon that machine,' said the Time Traveller, holding the lamp"
## [362] "aloft, 'I intend to explore time. Is that plain? I was never more"
## [363] "serious in my life.'"
## [364] ""
## [365] "None of us quite knew how to take it."
## [366] ""
## [367] "I caught Filby's eye over the shoulder of the Medical Man, and he"
## [368] "winked at me solemnly."
## [369] ""
## [370] ""
## [371] ""
## [372] ""
## [373] "II"
## [374] ""
## [375] ""
## [376] "I think that at that time none of us quite believed in the Time"
## [377] "Machine. The fact is, the Time Traveller was one of those men who"
## [378] "are too clever to be believed: you never felt that you saw all round"
## [379] "him; you always suspected some subtle reserve, some ingenuity in"
## [380] "ambush, behind his lucid frankness. Had Filby shown the model and"
## [381] "explained the matter in the Time Traveller's words, we should have"
## [382] "shown _him_ far less scepticism. For we should have perceived his"
## [383] "motives; a pork butcher could understand Filby. But the Time"
## [384] "Traveller had more than a touch of whim among his elements, and we"
## [385] "distrusted him. Things that would have made the frame of a less"
## [386] "clever man seemed tricks in his hands. It is a mistake to do things"
## [387] "too easily. The serious people who took him seriously never felt"
## [388] "quite sure of his deportment; they were somehow aware that trusting"
## [389] "their reputations for judgment with him was like furnishing a"
## [390] "nursery with egg-shell china. So I don't think any of us said very"
## [391] "much about time travelling in the interval between that Thursday and"
## [392] "the next, though its odd potentialities ran, no doubt, in most of"
## [393] "our minds: its plausibility, that is, its practical incredibleness,"
## [394] "the curious possibilities of anachronism and of utter confusion it"
## [395] "suggested. For my own part, I was particularly preoccupied with the"
## [396] "trick of the model. That I remember discussing with the Medical Man,"
## [397] "whom I met on Friday at the Linnaean. He said he had seen a similar"
## [398] "thing at Tubingen, and laid considerable stress on the blowing out"
## [399] "of the candle. But how the trick was done he could not explain."
## [400] ""
## [401] "The next Thursday I went again to Richmond--I suppose I was one of"
## [402] "the Time Traveller's most constant guests--and, arriving late, found"
## [403] "four or five men already assembled in his drawing-room. The Medical"
## [404] "Man was standing before the fire with a sheet of paper in one hand"
## [405] "and his watch in the other. I looked round for the Time Traveller,"
## [406] "and--'It's half-past seven now,' said the Medical Man. 'I suppose"
## [407] "we'd better have dinner?'"
## [408] ""
## [409] "'Where's----?' said I, naming our host."
## [410] ""
## [411] "'You've just come? It's rather odd. He's unavoidably detained. He"
## [412] "asks me in this note to lead off with dinner at seven if he's not"
## [413] "back. Says he'll explain when he comes.'"
## [414] ""
## [415] "'It seems a pity to let the dinner spoil,' said the Editor of a"
## [416] "well-known daily paper; and thereupon the Doctor rang the bell."
## [417] ""
## [418] "The Psychologist was the only person besides the Doctor and myself"
## [419] "who had attended the previous dinner. The other men were Blank, the"
## [420] "Editor aforementioned, a certain journalist, and another--a quiet,"
## [421] "shy man with a beard--whom I didn't know, and who, as far as my"
## [422] "observation went, never opened his mouth all the evening. There was"
## [423] "some speculation at the dinner-table about the Time Traveller's"
## [424] "absence, and I suggested time travelling, in a half-jocular spirit."
## [425] "The Editor wanted that explained to him, and the Psychologist"
## [426] "volunteered a wooden account of the 'ingenious paradox and trick' we"
## [427] "had witnessed that day week. He was in the midst of his exposition"
## [428] "when the door from the corridor opened slowly and without noise. I"
## [429] "was facing the door, and saw it first. 'Hallo!' I said. 'At last!'"
## [430] "And the door opened wider, and the Time Traveller stood before us."
## [431] "I gave a cry of surprise. 'Good heavens! man, what's the matter?'"
## [432] "cried the Medical Man, who saw him next. And the whole tableful"
## [433] "turned towards the door."
## [434] ""
## [435] "He was in an amazing plight. His coat was dusty and dirty, and"
## [436] "smeared with green down the sleeves; his hair disordered, and as it"
## [437] "seemed to me greyer--either with dust and dirt or because its colour"
## [438] "had actually faded. His face was ghastly pale; his chin had a brown"
## [439] "cut on it--a cut half healed; his expression was haggard and drawn,"
## [440] "as by intense suffering. For a moment he hesitated in the doorway,"
## [441] "as if he had been dazzled by the light. Then he came into the room."
## [442] "He walked with just such a limp as I have seen in footsore tramps."
## [443] "We stared at him in silence, expecting him to speak."
## [444] ""
## [445] "He said not a word, but came painfully to the table, and made a"
## [446] "motion towards the wine. The Editor filled a glass of champagne, and"
## [447] "pushed it towards him. He drained it, and it seemed to do him good:"
## [448] "for he looked round the table, and the ghost of his old smile"
## [449] "flickered across his face. 'What on earth have you been up to, man?'"
## [450] "said the Doctor. The Time Traveller did not seem to hear. 'Don't let"
## [451] "me disturb you,' he said, with a certain faltering articulation."
## [452] "'I'm all right.' He stopped, held out his glass for more, and took"
## [453] "it off at a draught. 'That's good,' he said. His eyes grew brighter,"
## [454] "and a faint colour came into his cheeks. His glance flickered over"
## [455] "our faces with a certain dull approval, and then went round the warm"
## [456] "and comfortable room. Then he spoke again, still as it were feeling"
## [457] "his way among his words. 'I'm going to wash and dress, and then I'll"
## [458] "come down and explain things ... Save me some of that mutton. I'm"
## [459] "starving for a bit of meat.'"
## [460] ""
## [461] "He looked across at the Editor, who was a rare visitor, and hoped he"
## [462] "was all right. The Editor began a question. 'Tell you presently,'"
## [463] "said the Time Traveller. 'I'm--funny! Be all right in a minute.'"
## [464] ""
## [465] "He put down his glass, and walked towards the staircase door. Again"
## [466] "I remarked his lameness and the soft padding sound of his footfall,"
## [467] "and standing up in my place, I saw his feet as he went out. He had"
## [468] "nothing on them but a pair of tattered, blood-stained socks. Then the"
## [469] "door closed upon him. I had half a mind to follow, till I remembered"
## [470] "how he detested any fuss about himself. For a minute, perhaps, my"
## [471] "mind was wool-gathering. Then, 'Remarkable Behaviour of an Eminent"
## [472] "Scientist,' I heard the Editor say, thinking (after his wont) in"
## [473] "headlines. And this brought my attention back to the bright"
## [474] "dinner-table."
## [475] ""
## [476] "'What's the game?' said the Journalist. 'Has he been doing the"
## [477] "Amateur Cadger? I don't follow.' I met the eye of the Psychologist,"
## [478] "and read my own interpretation in his face. I thought of the Time"
## [479] "Traveller limping painfully upstairs. I don't think any one else had"
## [480] "noticed his lameness."
## [481] ""
## [482] "The first to recover completely from this surprise was the Medical"
## [483] "Man, who rang the bell--the Time Traveller hated to have servants"
## [484] "waiting at dinner--for a hot plate. At that the Editor turned to his"
## [485] "knife and fork with a grunt, and the Silent Man followed suit. The"
## [486] "dinner was resumed. Conversation was exclamatory for a little while,"
## [487] "with gaps of wonderment; and then the Editor got fervent in his"
## [488] "curiosity. 'Does our friend eke out his modest income with a"
## [489] "crossing? or has he his Nebuchadnezzar phases?' he inquired. 'I feel"
## [490] "assured it's this business of the Time Machine,' I said, and took up"
## [491] "the Psychologist's account of our previous meeting. The new guests"
## [492] "were frankly incredulous. The Editor raised objections. 'What _was_"
## [493] "this time travelling? A man couldn't cover himself with dust by"
## [494] "rolling in a paradox, could he?' And then, as the idea came home to"
## [495] "him, he resorted to caricature. Hadn't they any clothes-brushes in"
## [496] "the Future? The Journalist too, would not believe at any price, and"
## [497] "joined the Editor in the easy work of heaping ridicule on the whole"
## [498] "thing. They were both the new kind of journalist--very joyous,"
## [499] "irreverent young men. 'Our Special Correspondent in the Day"
## [500] "after To-morrow reports,' the Journalist was saying--or rather"
## [501] "shouting--when the Time Traveller came back. He was dressed in"
## [502] "ordinary evening clothes, and nothing save his haggard look remained"
## [503] "of the change that had startled me."
## [504] ""
## [505] "'I say,' said the Editor hilariously, 'these chaps here say you have"
## [506] "been travelling into the middle of next week! Tell us all about"
## [507] "little Rosebery, will you? What will you take for the lot?'"
## [508] ""
## [509] "The Time Traveller came to the place reserved for him without a"
## [510] "word. He smiled quietly, in his old way. 'Where's my mutton?' he"
## [511] "said. 'What a treat it is to stick a fork into meat again!'"
## [512] ""
## [513] "'Story!' cried the Editor."
## [514] ""
## [515] "'Story be damned!' said the Time Traveller. 'I want something to"
## [516] "eat. I won't say a word until I get some peptone into my arteries."
## [517] "Thanks. And the salt.'"
## [518] ""
## [519] "'One word,' said I. 'Have you been time travelling?'"
## [520] ""
## [521] "'Yes,' said the Time Traveller, with his mouth full, nodding his"
## [522] "head."
## [523] ""
## [524] "'I'd give a shilling a line for a verbatim note,' said the Editor."
## [525] "The Time Traveller pushed his glass towards the Silent Man and rang"
## [526] "it with his fingernail; at which the Silent Man, who had been"
## [527] "staring at his face, started convulsively, and poured him wine."
## [528] "The rest of the dinner was uncomfortable. For my own part, sudden"
## [529] "questions kept on rising to my lips, and I dare say it was the same"
## [530] "with the others. The Journalist tried to relieve the tension by"
## [531] "telling anecdotes of Hettie Potter. The Time Traveller devoted his"
## [532] "attention to his dinner, and displayed the appetite of a tramp."
## [533] "The Medical Man smoked a cigarette, and watched the Time Traveller"
## [534] "through his eyelashes. The Silent Man seemed even more clumsy than"
## [535] "usual, and drank champagne with regularity and determination out of"
## [536] "sheer nervousness. At last the Time Traveller pushed his plate away,"
## [537] "and looked round us. 'I suppose I must apologize,' he said. 'I was"
## [538] "simply starving. I've had a most amazing time.' He reached out his"
## [539] "hand for a cigar, and cut the end. 'But come into the smoking-room."
## [540] "It's too long a story to tell over greasy plates.' And ringing the"
## [541] "bell in passing, he led the way into the adjoining room."
## [542] ""
## [543] "'You have told Blank, and Dash, and Chose about the machine?' he"
## [544] "said to me, leaning back in his easy-chair and naming the three new"
## [545] "guests."
## [546] ""
## [547] "'But the thing's a mere paradox,' said the Editor."
## [548] ""
## [549] "'I can't argue to-night. I don't mind telling you the story, but"
## [550] "I can't argue. I will,' he went on, 'tell you the story of what"
## [551] "has happened to me, if you like, but you must refrain from"
## [552] "interruptions. I want to tell it. Badly. Most of it will sound like"
## [553] "lying. So be it! It's true--every word of it, all the same. I was in"
## [554] "my laboratory at four o'clock, and since then ... I've lived eight"
## [555] "days ... such days as no human being ever lived before! I'm nearly"
## [556] "worn out, but I shan't sleep till I've told this thing over to you."
## [557] "Then I shall go to bed. But no interruptions! Is it agreed?'"
## [558] ""
## [559] "'Agreed,' said the Editor, and the rest of us echoed 'Agreed.' And"
## [560] "with that the Time Traveller began his story as I have set it forth."
## [561] "He sat back in his chair at first, and spoke like a weary man."
## [562] "Afterwards he got more animated. In writing it down I feel with only"
## [563] "too much keenness the inadequacy of pen and ink--and, above all, my"
## [564] "own inadequacy--to express its quality. You read, I will suppose,"
## [565] "attentively enough; but you cannot see the speaker's white,"
## [566] "sincere face in the bright circle of the little lamp, nor hear the"
## [567] "intonation of his voice. You cannot know how his expression followed"
## [568] "the turns of his story! Most of us hearers were in shadow, for the"
## [569] "candles in the smoking-room had not been lighted, and only the face"
## [570] "of the Journalist and the legs of the Silent Man from the knees"
## [571] "downward were illuminated. At first we glanced now and again at each"
## [572] "other. After a time we ceased to do that, and looked only at the"
## [573] "Time Traveller's face."
## [574] ""
## [575] ""
## [576] ""
## [577] ""
## [578] "III"
## [579] ""
## [580] ""
## [581] "'I told some of you last Thursday of the principles of the Time"
## [582] "Machine, and showed you the actual thing itself, incomplete in the"
## [583] "workshop. There it is now, a little travel-worn, truly; and one of"
## [584] "the ivory bars is cracked, and a brass rail bent; but the rest of"
## [585] "it's sound enough. I expected to finish it on Friday, but on Friday,"
## [586] "when the putting together was nearly done, I found that one of the"
## [587] "nickel bars was exactly one inch too short, and this I had to get"
## [588] "remade; so that the thing was not complete until this morning. It"
## [589] "was at ten o'clock to-day that the first of all Time Machines began"
## [590] "its career. I gave it a last tap, tried all the screws again, put"
## [591] "one more drop of oil on the quartz rod, and sat myself in the"
## [592] "saddle. I suppose a suicide who holds a pistol to his skull feels"
## [593] "much the same wonder at what will come next as I felt then. I took"
## [594] "the starting lever in one hand and the stopping one in the other,"
## [595] "pressed the first, and almost immediately the second. I seemed to"
## [596] "reel; I felt a nightmare sensation of falling; and, looking round,"
## [597] "I saw the laboratory exactly as before. Had anything happened? For"
## [598] "a moment I suspected that my intellect had tricked me. Then I noted"
## [599] "the clock. A moment before, as it seemed, it had stood at a minute"
## [600] "or so past ten; now it was nearly half-past three!"
## [601] ""
## [602] "'I drew a breath, set my teeth, gripped the starting lever with both"
## [603] "hands, and went off with a thud. The laboratory got hazy and went"
## [604] "dark. Mrs. Watchett came in and walked, apparently without seeing"
## [605] "me, towards the garden door. I suppose it took her a minute or so to"
## [606] "traverse the place, but to me she seemed to shoot across the room"
## [607] "like a rocket. I pressed the lever over to its extreme position. The"
## [608] "night came like the turning out of a lamp, and in another moment"
## [609] "came to-morrow. The laboratory grew faint and hazy, then fainter"
## [610] "and ever fainter. To-morrow night came black, then day again, night"
## [611] "again, day again, faster and faster still. An eddying murmur filled"
## [612] "my ears, and a strange, dumb confusedness descended on my mind."
## [613] ""
## [614] "'I am afraid I cannot convey the peculiar sensations of time"
## [615] "travelling. They are excessively unpleasant. There is a feeling"
## [616] "exactly like that one has upon a switchback--of a helpless headlong"
## [617] "motion! I felt the same horrible anticipation, too, of an imminent"
## [618] "smash. As I put on pace, night followed day like the flapping of a"
## [619] "black wing. The dim suggestion of the laboratory seemed presently to"
## [620] "fall away from me, and I saw the sun hopping swiftly across the sky,"
## [621] "leaping it every minute, and every minute marking a day. I supposed"
## [622] "the laboratory had been destroyed and I had come into the open air."
## [623] "I had a dim impression of scaffolding, but I was already going too"
## [624] "fast to be conscious of any moving things. The slowest snail that"
## [625] "ever crawled dashed by too fast for me. The twinkling succession of"
## [626] "darkness and light was excessively painful to the eye. Then, in the"
## [627] "intermittent darknesses, I saw the moon spinning swiftly through her"
## [628] "quarters from new to full, and had a faint glimpse of the circling"
## [629] "stars. Presently, as I went on, still gaining velocity, the"
## [630] "palpitation of night and day merged into one continuous greyness;"
## [631] "the sky took on a wonderful deepness of blue, a splendid luminous"
## [632] "color like that of early twilight; the jerking sun became a streak"
## [633] "of fire, a brilliant arch, in space; the moon a fainter fluctuating"
## [634] "band; and I could see nothing of the stars, save now and then a"
## [635] "brighter circle flickering in the blue."
## [636] ""
## [637] "'The landscape was misty and vague. I was still on the hill-side"
## [638] "upon which this house now stands, and the shoulder rose above me"
## [639] "grey and dim. I saw trees growing and changing like puffs of vapour,"
## [640] "now brown, now green; they grew, spread, shivered, and passed away."
## [641] "I saw huge buildings rise up faint and fair, and pass like dreams."
## [642] "The whole surface of the earth seemed changed--melting and flowing"
## [643] "under my eyes. The little hands upon the dials that registered my"
## [644] "speed raced round faster and faster. Presently I noted that the sun"
## [645] "belt swayed up and down, from solstice to solstice, in a minute or"
## [646] "less, and that consequently my pace was over a year a minute; and"
## [647] "minute by minute the white snow flashed across the world, and"
## [648] "vanished, and was followed by the bright, brief green of spring."
## [649] ""
## [650] "'The unpleasant sensations of the start were less poignant now. They"
## [651] "merged at last into a kind of hysterical exhilaration. I remarked"
## [652] "indeed a clumsy swaying of the machine, for which I was unable to"
## [653] "account. But my mind was too confused to attend to it, so with a"
## [654] "kind of madness growing upon me, I flung myself into futurity. At"
## [655] "first I scarce thought of stopping, scarce thought of anything but"
## [656] "these new sensations. But presently a fresh series of impressions"
## [657] "grew up in my mind--a certain curiosity and therewith a certain"
## [658] "dread--until at last they took complete possession of me. What"
## [659] "strange developments of humanity, what wonderful advances upon our"
## [660] "rudimentary civilization, I thought, might not appear when I came to"
## [661] "look nearly into the dim elusive world that raced and fluctuated"
## [662] "before my eyes! I saw great and splendid architecture rising about"
## [663] "me, more massive than any buildings of our own time, and yet, as it"
## [664] "seemed, built of glimmer and mist. I saw a richer green flow up the"
## [665] "hill-side, and remain there, without any wintry intermission. Even"
## [666] "through the veil of my confusion the earth seemed very fair. And so"
## [667] "my mind came round to the business of stopping."
## [668] ""
## [669] "'The peculiar risk lay in the possibility of my finding some"
## [670] "substance in the space which I, or the machine, occupied. So long"
## [671] "as I travelled at a high velocity through time, this scarcely"
## [672] "mattered; I was, so to speak, attenuated--was slipping like a vapour"
## [673] "through the interstices of intervening substances! But to come to"
## [674] "a stop involved the jamming of myself, molecule by molecule, into"
## [675] "whatever lay in my way; meant bringing my atoms into such intimate"
## [676] "contact with those of the obstacle that a profound chemical"
## [677] "reaction--possibly a far-reaching explosion--would result, and blow"
## [678] "myself and my apparatus out of all possible dimensions--into the"
## [679] "Unknown. This possibility had occurred to me again and again while I"
## [680] "was making the machine; but then I had cheerfully accepted it as an"
## [681] "unavoidable risk--one of the risks a man has got to take! Now the"
## [682] "risk was inevitable, I no longer saw it in the same cheerful light."
## [683] "The fact is that, insensibly, the absolute strangeness of everything,"
## [684] "the sickly jarring and swaying of the machine, above all, the"
## [685] "feeling of prolonged falling, had absolutely upset my nerve. I told"
## [686] "myself that I could never stop, and with a gust of petulance I"
## [687] "resolved to stop forthwith. Like an impatient fool, I lugged over"
## [688] "the lever, and incontinently the thing went reeling over, and I was"
## [689] "flung headlong through the air."
## [690] ""
## [691] "'There was the sound of a clap of thunder in my ears. I may have"
## [692] "been stunned for a moment. A pitiless hail was hissing round me,"
## [693] "and I was sitting on soft turf in front of the overset machine."
## [694] "Everything still seemed grey, but presently I remarked that the"
## [695] "confusion in my ears was gone. I looked round me. I was on what"
## [696] "seemed to be a little lawn in a garden, surrounded by rhododendron"
## [697] "bushes, and I noticed that their mauve and purple blossoms were"
## [698] "dropping in a shower under the beating of the hail-stones. The"
## [699] "rebounding, dancing hail hung in a cloud over the machine, and drove"
## [700] "along the ground like smoke. In a moment I was wet to the skin."
## [701] "\"Fine hospitality,\" said I, \"to a man who has travelled innumerable"
## [702] "years to see you.\""
## [703] ""
## [704] "'Presently I thought what a fool I was to get wet. I stood up and"
## [705] "looked round me. A colossal figure, carved apparently in some white"
## [706] "stone, loomed indistinctly beyond the rhododendrons through the hazy"
## [707] "downpour. But all else of the world was invisible."
## [708] ""
## [709] "'My sensations would be hard to describe. As the columns of hail"
## [710] "grew thinner, I saw the white figure more distinctly. It was very"
## [711] "large, for a silver birch-tree touched its shoulder. It was of white"
## [712] "marble, in shape something like a winged sphinx, but the wings,"
## [713] "instead of being carried vertically at the sides, were spread so"
## [714] "that it seemed to hover. The pedestal, it appeared to me, was of"
## [715] "bronze, and was thick with verdigris. It chanced that the face was"
## [716] "towards me; the sightless eyes seemed to watch me; there was the"
## [717] "faint shadow of a smile on the lips. It was greatly weather-worn,"
## [718] "and that imparted an unpleasant suggestion of disease. I stood"
## [719] "looking at it for a little space--half a minute, perhaps, or half an"
## [720] "hour. It seemed to advance and to recede as the hail drove before it"
## [721] "denser or thinner. At last I tore my eyes from it for a moment and"
## [722] "saw that the hail curtain had worn threadbare, and that the sky was"
## [723] "lightening with the promise of the sun."
## [724] ""
## [725] "'I looked up again at the crouching white shape, and the full"
## [726] "temerity of my voyage came suddenly upon me. What might appear when"
## [727] "that hazy curtain was altogether withdrawn? What might not have"
## [728] "happened to men? What if cruelty had grown into a common passion?"
## [729] "What if in this interval the race had lost its manliness and had"
## [730] "developed into something inhuman, unsympathetic, and overwhelmingly"
## [731] "powerful? I might seem some old-world savage animal, only the more"
## [732] "dreadful and disgusting for our common likeness--a foul creature to"
## [733] "be incontinently slain."
## [734] ""
## [735] "'Already I saw other vast shapes--huge buildings with intricate"
## [736] "parapets and tall columns, with a wooded hill-side dimly creeping"
## [737] "in upon me through the lessening storm. I was seized with a panic"
## [738] "fear. I turned frantically to the Time Machine, and strove hard to"
## [739] "readjust it. As I did so the shafts of the sun smote through the"
## [740] "thunderstorm. The grey downpour was swept aside and vanished like"
## [741] "the trailing garments of a ghost. Above me, in the intense blue"
## [742] "of the summer sky, some faint brown shreds of cloud whirled into"
## [743] "nothingness. The great buildings about me stood out clear and"
## [744] "distinct, shining with the wet of the thunderstorm, and picked out"
## [745] "in white by the unmelted hailstones piled along their courses. I"
## [746] "felt naked in a strange world. I felt as perhaps a bird may feel in"
## [747] "the clear air, knowing the hawk wings above and will swoop. My fear"
## [748] "grew to frenzy. I took a breathing space, set my teeth, and again"
## [749] "grappled fiercely, wrist and knee, with the machine. It gave under"
## [750] "my desperate onset and turned over. It struck my chin violently. One"
## [751] "hand on the saddle, the other on the lever, I stood panting heavily"
## [752] "in attitude to mount again."
## [753] ""
## [754] "'But with this recovery of a prompt retreat my courage recovered. I"
## [755] "looked more curiously and less fearfully at this world of the remote"
## [756] "future. In a circular opening, high up in the wall of the nearer"
## [757] "house, I saw a group of figures clad in rich soft robes. They had"
## [758] "seen me, and their faces were directed towards me."
## [759] ""
## [760] "'Then I heard voices approaching me. Coming through the bushes by"
## [761] "the White Sphinx were the heads and shoulders of men running. One of"
## [762] "these emerged in a pathway leading straight to the little lawn upon"
## [763] "which I stood with my machine. He was a slight creature--perhaps"
## [764] "four feet high--clad in a purple tunic, girdled at the waist with a"
## [765] "leather belt. Sandals or buskins--I could not clearly distinguish"
## [766] "which--were on his feet; his legs were bare to the knees, and his"
## [767] "head was bare. Noticing that, I noticed for the first time how warm"
## [768] "the air was."
## [769] ""
## [770] "'He struck me as being a very beautiful and graceful creature, but"
## [771] "indescribably frail. His flushed face reminded me of the more"
## [772] "beautiful kind of consumptive--that hectic beauty of which we used"
## [773] "to hear so much. At the sight of him I suddenly regained confidence."
## [774] "I took my hands from the machine."
## [775] ""
## [776] ""
## [777] ""
## [778] ""
## [779] "IV"
## [780] ""
## [781] ""
## [782] "'In another moment we were standing face to face, I and this fragile"
## [783] "thing out of futurity. He came straight up to me and laughed into my"
## [784] "eyes. The absence from his bearing of any sign of fear struck me at"
## [785] "once. Then he turned to the two others who were following him and"
## [786] "spoke to them in a strange and very sweet and liquid tongue."
## [787] ""
## [788] "'There were others coming, and presently a little group of perhaps"
## [789] "eight or ten of these exquisite creatures were about me. One of them"
## [790] "addressed me. It came into my head, oddly enough, that my voice was"
## [791] "too harsh and deep for them. So I shook my head, and, pointing to my"
## [792] "ears, shook it again. He came a step forward, hesitated, and then"
## [793] "touched my hand. Then I felt other soft little tentacles upon my"
## [794] "back and shoulders. They wanted to make sure I was real. There was"
## [795] "nothing in this at all alarming. Indeed, there was something in"
## [796] "these pretty little people that inspired confidence--a graceful"
## [797] "gentleness, a certain childlike ease. And besides, they looked so"
## [798] "frail that I could fancy myself flinging the whole dozen of them"
## [799] "about like nine-pins. But I made a sudden motion to warn them when I"
## [800] "saw their little pink hands feeling at the Time Machine. Happily"
## [801] "then, when it was not too late, I thought of a danger I had hitherto"
## [802] "forgotten, and reaching over the bars of the machine I unscrewed the"
## [803] "little levers that would set it in motion, and put these in my"
## [804] "pocket. Then I turned again to see what I could do in the way of"
## [805] "communication."
## [806] ""
## [807] "'And then, looking more nearly into their features, I saw some"
## [808] "further peculiarities in their Dresden-china type of prettiness."
## [809] "Their hair, which was uniformly curly, came to a sharp end at the"
## [810] "neck and cheek; there was not the faintest suggestion of it on the"
## [811] "face, and their ears were singularly minute. The mouths were small,"
## [812] "with bright red, rather thin lips, and the little chins ran to a"
## [813] "point. The eyes were large and mild; and--this may seem egotism on"
## [814] "my part--I fancied even that there was a certain lack of the"
## [815] "interest I might have expected in them."
## [816] ""
## [817] "'As they made no effort to communicate with me, but simply stood"
## [818] "round me smiling and speaking in soft cooing notes to each other, I"
## [819] "began the conversation. I pointed to the Time Machine and to myself."
## [820] "Then hesitating for a moment how to express time, I pointed to the"
## [821] "sun. At once a quaintly pretty little figure in chequered purple and"
## [822] "white followed my gesture, and then astonished me by imitating the"
## [823] "sound of thunder."
## [824] ""
## [825] "'For a moment I was staggered, though the import of his gesture was"
## [826] "plain enough. The question had come into my mind abruptly: were"
## [827] "these creatures fools? You may hardly understand how it took me."
## [828] "You see I had always anticipated that the people of the year Eight"
## [829] "Hundred and Two Thousand odd would be incredibly in front of us in"
## [830] "knowledge, art, everything. Then one of them suddenly asked me a"
## [831] "question that showed him to be on the intellectual level of one of"
## [832] "our five-year-old children--asked me, in fact, if I had come from"
## [833] "the sun in a thunderstorm! It let loose the judgment I had suspended"
## [834] "upon their clothes, their frail light limbs, and fragile features."
## [835] "A flow of disappointment rushed across my mind. For a moment I felt"
## [836] "that I had built the Time Machine in vain."
## [837] ""
## [838] "'I nodded, pointed to the sun, and gave them such a vivid rendering"
## [839] "of a thunderclap as startled them. They all withdrew a pace or so"
## [840] "and bowed. Then came one laughing towards me, carrying a chain of"
## [841] "beautiful flowers altogether new to me, and put it about my neck."
## [842] "The idea was received with melodious applause; and presently they"
## [843] "were all running to and fro for flowers, and laughingly flinging"
## [844] "them upon me until I was almost smothered with blossom. You who"
## [845] "have never seen the like can scarcely imagine what delicate and"
## [846] "wonderful flowers countless years of culture had created. Then"
## [847] "someone suggested that their plaything should be exhibited in the"
## [848] "nearest building, and so I was led past the sphinx of white marble,"
## [849] "which had seemed to watch me all the while with a smile at my"
## [850] "astonishment, towards a vast grey edifice of fretted stone. As I"
## [851] "went with them the memory of my confident anticipations of a"
## [852] "profoundly grave and intellectual posterity came, with irresistible"
## [853] "merriment, to my mind."
## [854] ""
## [855] "'The building had a huge entry, and was altogether of colossal"
## [856] "dimensions. I was naturally most occupied with the growing crowd of"
## [857] "little people, and with the big open portals that yawned before me"
## [858] "shadowy and mysterious. My general impression of the world I saw"
## [859] "over their heads was a tangled waste of beautiful bushes and"
## [860] "flowers, a long neglected and yet weedless garden. I saw a number"
## [861] "of tall spikes of strange white flowers, measuring a foot perhaps"
## [862] "across the spread of the waxen petals. They grew scattered, as if"
## [863] "wild, among the variegated shrubs, but, as I say, I did not examine"
## [864] "them closely at this time. The Time Machine was left deserted on the"
## [865] "turf among the rhododendrons."
## [866] ""
## [867] "'The arch of the doorway was richly carved, but naturally I did"
## [868] "not observe the carving very narrowly, though I fancied I saw"
## [869] "suggestions of old Phoenician decorations as I passed through, and"
## [870] "it struck me that they were very badly broken and weather-worn."
## [871] "Several more brightly clad people met me in the doorway, and so we"
## [872] "entered, I, dressed in dingy nineteenth-century garments, looking"
## [873] "grotesque enough, garlanded with flowers, and surrounded by an"
## [874] "eddying mass of bright, soft-colored robes and shining white limbs,"
## [875] "in a melodious whirl of laughter and laughing speech."
## [876] ""
## [877] "'The big doorway opened into a proportionately great hall hung with"
## [878] "brown. The roof was in shadow, and the windows, partially glazed"
## [879] "with coloured glass and partially unglazed, admitted a tempered"
## [880] "light. The floor was made up of huge blocks of some very hard white"
## [881] "metal, not plates nor slabs--blocks, and it was so much worn, as I"
## [882] "judged by the going to and fro of past generations, as to be deeply"
## [883] "channelled along the more frequented ways. Transverse to the length"
## [884] "were innumerable tables made of slabs of polished stone, raised"
## [885] "perhaps a foot from the floor, and upon these were heaps of fruits."
## [886] "Some I recognized as a kind of hypertrophied raspberry and orange,"
## [887] "but for the most part they were strange."
## [888] ""
## [889] "'Between the tables was scattered a great number of cushions."
## [890] "Upon these my conductors seated themselves, signing for me to do"
## [891] "likewise. With a pretty absence of ceremony they began to eat the"
## [892] "fruit with their hands, flinging peel and stalks, and so forth, into"
## [893] "the round openings in the sides of the tables. I was not loath to"
## [894] "follow their example, for I felt thirsty and hungry. As I did so I"
## [895] "surveyed the hall at my leisure."
## [896] ""
## [897] "'And perhaps the thing that struck me most was its dilapidated look."
## [898] "The stained-glass windows, which displayed only a geometrical"
## [899] "pattern, were broken in many places, and the curtains that hung"
## [900] "across the lower end were thick with dust. And it caught my eye that"
## [901] "the corner of the marble table near me was fractured. Nevertheless,"
## [902] "the general effect was extremely rich and picturesque. There were,"
## [903] "perhaps, a couple of hundred people dining in the hall, and most of"
## [904] "them, seated as near to me as they could come, were watching me with"
## [905] "interest, their little eyes shining over the fruit they were eating."
## [906] "All were clad in the same soft and yet strong, silky material."
## [907] ""
## [908] "'Fruit, by the by, was all their diet. These people of the remote"
## [909] "future were strict vegetarians, and while I was with them, in spite"
## [910] "of some carnal cravings, I had to be frugivorous also. Indeed, I"
## [911] "found afterwards that horses, cattle, sheep, dogs, had followed the"
## [912] "Ichthyosaurus into extinction. But the fruits were very delightful;"
## [913] "one, in particular, that seemed to be in season all the time I was"
## [914] "there--a floury thing in a three-sided husk--was especially good,"
## [915] "and I made it my staple. At first I was puzzled by all these strange"
## [916] "fruits, and by the strange flowers I saw, but later I began to"
## [917] "perceive their import."
## [918] ""
## [919] "'However, I am telling you of my fruit dinner in the distant future"
## [920] "now. So soon as my appetite was a little checked, I determined to"
## [921] "make a resolute attempt to learn the speech of these new men of"
## [922] "mine. Clearly that was the next thing to do. The fruits seemed a"
## [923] "convenient thing to begin upon, and holding one of these up I began"
## [924] "a series of interrogative sounds and gestures. I had some"
## [925] "considerable difficulty in conveying my meaning. At first my efforts"
## [926] "met with a stare of surprise or inextinguishable laughter, but"
## [927] "presently a fair-haired little creature seemed to grasp my intention"
## [928] "and repeated a name. They had to chatter and explain the business"
## [929] "at great length to each other, and my first attempts to make the"
## [930] "exquisite little sounds of their language caused an immense amount"
## [931] "of amusement. However, I felt like a schoolmaster amidst children,"
## [932] "and persisted, and presently I had a score of noun substantives at"
## [933] "least at my command; and then I got to demonstrative pronouns, and"
## [934] "even the verb \"to eat.\" But it was slow work, and the little people"
## [935] "soon tired and wanted to get away from my interrogations, so I"
## [936] "determined, rather of necessity, to let them give their lessons in"
## [937] "little doses when they felt inclined. And very little doses I found"
## [938] "they were before long, for I never met people more indolent or more"
## [939] "easily fatigued."
## [940] ""
## [941] "'A queer thing I soon discovered about my little hosts, and that was"
## [942] "their lack of interest. They would come to me with eager cries of"
## [943] "astonishment, like children, but like children they would soon stop"
## [944] "examining me and wander away after some other toy. The dinner and my"
## [945] "conversational beginnings ended, I noted for the first time that"
## [946] "almost all those who had surrounded me at first were gone. It is"
## [947] "odd, too, how speedily I came to disregard these little people. I"
## [948] "went out through the portal into the sunlit world again as soon as"
## [949] "my hunger was satisfied. I was continually meeting more of these men"
## [950] "of the future, who would follow me a little distance, chatter and"
## [951] "laugh about me, and, having smiled and gesticulated in a friendly"
## [952] "way, leave me again to my own devices."
## [953] ""
## [954] "'The calm of evening was upon the world as I emerged from the great"
## [955] "hall, and the scene was lit by the warm glow of the setting sun."
## [956] "At first things were very confusing. Everything was so entirely"
## [957] "different from the world I had known--even the flowers. The big"
## [958] "building I had left was situated on the slope of a broad river"
## [959] "valley, but the Thames had shifted perhaps a mile from its present"
## [960] "position. I resolved to mount to the summit of a crest, perhaps a"
## [961] "mile and a half away, from which I could get a wider view of this"
## [962] "our planet in the year Eight Hundred and Two Thousand Seven Hundred"
## [963] "and One A.D. For that, I should explain, was the date the little"
## [964] "dials of my machine recorded."
## [965] ""
## [966] "'As I walked I was watching for every impression that could possibly"
## [967] "help to explain the condition of ruinous splendour in which I"
## [968] "found the world--for ruinous it was. A little way up the hill, for"
## [969] "instance, was a great heap of granite, bound together by masses of"
## [970] "aluminium, a vast labyrinth of precipitous walls and crumpled"
## [971] "heaps, amidst which were thick heaps of very beautiful pagoda-like"
## [972] "plants--nettles possibly--but wonderfully tinted with brown about"
## [973] "the leaves, and incapable of stinging. It was evidently the derelict"
## [974] "remains of some vast structure, to what end built I could not"
## [975] "determine. It was here that I was destined, at a later date, to have"
## [976] "a very strange experience--the first intimation of a still stranger"
## [977] "discovery--but of that I will speak in its proper place."
## [978] ""
## [979] "'Looking round with a sudden thought, from a terrace on which I"
## [980] "rested for a while, I realized that there were no small houses to be"
## [981] "seen. Apparently the single house, and possibly even the household,"
## [982] "had vanished. Here and there among the greenery were palace-like"
## [983] "buildings, but the house and the cottage, which form such"
## [984] "characteristic features of our own English landscape, had"
## [985] "disappeared."
## [986] ""
## [987] "'\"Communism,\" said I to myself."
## [988] ""
## [989] "'And on the heels of that came another thought. I looked at the"
## [990] "half-dozen little figures that were following me. Then, in a flash,"
## [991] "I perceived that all had the same form of costume, the same soft"
## [992] "hairless visage, and the same girlish rotundity of limb. It may seem"
## [993] "strange, perhaps, that I had not noticed this before. But everything"
## [994] "was so strange. Now, I saw the fact plainly enough. In costume, and"
## [995] "in all the differences of texture and bearing that now mark off the"
## [996] "sexes from each other, these people of the future were alike. And"
## [997] "the children seemed to my eyes to be but the miniatures of their"
## [998] "parents. I judged, then, that the children of that time were"
## [999] "extremely precocious, physically at least, and I found afterwards"
## [1000] "abundant verification of my opinion."
## [1001] ""
## [1002] "'Seeing the ease and security in which these people were living, I"
## [1003] "felt that this close resemblance of the sexes was after all what"
## [1004] "one would expect; for the strength of a man and the softness of a"
## [1005] "woman, the institution of the family, and the differentiation of"
## [1006] "occupations are mere militant necessities of an age of physical"
## [1007] "force; where population is balanced and abundant, much childbearing"
## [1008] "becomes an evil rather than a blessing to the State; where"
## [1009] "violence comes but rarely and off-spring are secure, there is less"
## [1010] "necessity--indeed there is no necessity--for an efficient family,"
## [1011] "and the specialization of the sexes with reference to their"
## [1012] "children's needs disappears. We see some beginnings of this even"
## [1013] "in our own time, and in this future age it was complete. This, I"
## [1014] "must remind you, was my speculation at the time. Later, I was to"
## [1015] "appreciate how far it fell short of the reality."
## [1016] ""
## [1017] "'While I was musing upon these things, my attention was attracted by"
## [1018] "a pretty little structure, like a well under a cupola. I thought in"
## [1019] "a transitory way of the oddness of wells still existing, and then"
## [1020] "resumed the thread of my speculations. There were no large buildings"
## [1021] "towards the top of the hill, and as my walking powers were evidently"
## [1022] "miraculous, I was presently left alone for the first time. With a"
## [1023] "strange sense of freedom and adventure I pushed on up to the crest."
## [1024] ""
## [1025] "'There I found a seat of some yellow metal that I did not recognize,"
## [1026] "corroded in places with a kind of pinkish rust and half smothered"
## [1027] "in soft moss, the arm-rests cast and filed into the resemblance of"
## [1028] "griffins' heads. I sat down on it, and I surveyed the broad view of"
## [1029] "our old world under the sunset of that long day. It was as sweet and"
## [1030] "fair a view as I have ever seen. The sun had already gone below the"
## [1031] "horizon and the west was flaming gold, touched with some horizontal"
## [1032] "bars of purple and crimson. Below was the valley of the Thames, in"
## [1033] "which the river lay like a band of burnished steel. I have already"
## [1034] "spoken of the great palaces dotted about among the variegated"
## [1035] "greenery, some in ruins and some still occupied. Here and there rose"
## [1036] "a white or silvery figure in the waste garden of the earth, here and"
## [1037] "there came the sharp vertical line of some cupola or obelisk. There"
## [1038] "were no hedges, no signs of proprietary rights, no evidences of"
## [1039] "agriculture; the whole earth had become a garden."
## [1040] ""
## [1041] "'So watching, I began to put my interpretation upon the things I had"
## [1042] "seen, and as it shaped itself to me that evening, my interpretation"
## [1043] "was something in this way. (Afterwards I found I had got only a"
## [1044] "half-truth--or only a glimpse of one facet of the truth.)"
## [1045] ""
## [1046] "'It seemed to me that I had happened upon humanity upon the wane."
## [1047] "The ruddy sunset set me thinking of the sunset of mankind. For the"
## [1048] "first time I began to realize an odd consequence of the social"
## [1049] "effort in which we are at present engaged. And yet, come to think,"
## [1050] "it is a logical consequence enough. Strength is the outcome of need;"
## [1051] "security sets a premium on feebleness. The work of ameliorating the"
## [1052] "conditions of life--the true civilizing process that makes life more"
## [1053] "and more secure--had gone steadily on to a climax. One triumph of a"
## [1054] "united humanity over Nature had followed another. Things that are"
## [1055] "now mere dreams had become projects deliberately put in hand and"
## [1056] "carried forward. And the harvest was what I saw!"
## [1057] ""
## [1058] "'After all, the sanitation and the agriculture of to-day are still"
## [1059] "in the rudimentary stage. The science of our time has attacked but"
## [1060] "a little department of the field of human disease, but even so,"
## [1061] "it spreads its operations very steadily and persistently. Our"
## [1062] "agriculture and horticulture destroy a weed just here and there and"
## [1063] "cultivate perhaps a score or so of wholesome plants, leaving the"
## [1064] "greater number to fight out a balance as they can. We improve our"
## [1065] "favourite plants and animals--and how few they are--gradually by"
## [1066] "selective breeding; now a new and better peach, now a seedless"
## [1067] "grape, now a sweeter and larger flower, now a more convenient breed"
## [1068] "of cattle. We improve them gradually, because our ideals are vague"
## [1069] "and tentative, and our knowledge is very limited; because Nature,"
## [1070] "too, is shy and slow in our clumsy hands. Some day all this will"
## [1071] "be better organized, and still better. That is the drift of the"
## [1072] "current in spite of the eddies. The whole world will be intelligent,"
## [1073] "educated, and co-operating; things will move faster and faster"
## [1074] "towards the subjugation of Nature. In the end, wisely and carefully"
## [1075] "we shall readjust the balance of animal and vegetable life to suit"
## [1076] "our human needs."
## [1077] ""
## [1078] "'This adjustment, I say, must have been done, and done well; done"
## [1079] "indeed for all Time, in the space of Time across which my machine"
## [1080] "had leaped. The air was free from gnats, the earth from weeds or"
## [1081] "fungi; everywhere were fruits and sweet and delightful flowers;"
## [1082] "brilliant butterflies flew hither and thither. The ideal of"
## [1083] "preventive medicine was attained. Diseases had been stamped out. I"
## [1084] "saw no evidence of any contagious diseases during all my stay. And I"
## [1085] "shall have to tell you later that even the processes of putrefaction"
## [1086] "and decay had been profoundly affected by these changes."
## [1087] ""
## [1088] "'Social triumphs, too, had been effected. I saw mankind housed in"
## [1089] "splendid shelters, gloriously clothed, and as yet I had found them"
## [1090] "engaged in no toil. There were no signs of struggle, neither social"
## [1091] "nor economical struggle. The shop, the advertisement, traffic, all"
## [1092] "that commerce which constitutes the body of our world, was gone. It"
## [1093] "was natural on that golden evening that I should jump at the idea of"
## [1094] "a social paradise. The difficulty of increasing population had been"
## [1095] "met, I guessed, and population had ceased to increase."
## [1096] ""
## [1097] "'But with this change in condition comes inevitably adaptations to"
## [1098] "the change. What, unless biological science is a mass of errors, is"
## [1099] "the cause of human intelligence and vigour? Hardship and freedom:"
## [1100] "conditions under which the active, strong, and subtle survive and"
## [1101] "the weaker go to the wall; conditions that put a premium upon the"
## [1102] "loyal alliance of capable men, upon self-restraint, patience, and"
## [1103] "decision. And the institution of the family, and the emotions that"
## [1104] "arise therein, the fierce jealousy, the tenderness for offspring,"
## [1105] "parental self-devotion, all found their justification and support in"
## [1106] "the imminent dangers of the young. _Now_, where are these imminent"
## [1107] "dangers? There is a sentiment arising, and it will grow, against"
## [1108] "connubial jealousy, against fierce maternity, against passion"
## [1109] "of all sorts; unnecessary things now, and things that make us"
## [1110] "uncomfortable, savage survivals, discords in a refined and pleasant"
## [1111] "life."
## [1112] ""
## [1113] "'I thought of the physical slightness of the people, their lack of"
## [1114] "intelligence, and those big abundant ruins, and it strengthened my"
## [1115] "belief in a perfect conquest of Nature. For after the battle comes"
## [1116] "Quiet. Humanity had been strong, energetic, and intelligent, and had"
## [1117] "used all its abundant vitality to alter the conditions under which"
## [1118] "it lived. And now came the reaction of the altered conditions."
## [1119] ""
## [1120] "'Under the new conditions of perfect comfort and security, that"
## [1121] "restless energy, that with us is strength, would become weakness."
## [1122] "Even in our own time certain tendencies and desires, once necessary"
## [1123] "to survival, are a constant source of failure. Physical courage and"
## [1124] "the love of battle, for instance, are no great help--may even be"
## [1125] "hindrances--to a civilized man. And in a state of physical balance"
## [1126] "and security, power, intellectual as well as physical, would be out"
## [1127] "of place. For countless years I judged there had been no danger of"
## [1128] "war or solitary violence, no danger from wild beasts, no wasting"
## [1129] "disease to require strength of constitution, no need of toil. For"
## [1130] "such a life, what we should call the weak are as well equipped as"
## [1131] "the strong, are indeed no longer weak. Better equipped indeed they"
## [1132] "are, for the strong would be fretted by an energy for which there"
## [1133] "was no outlet. No doubt the exquisite beauty of the buildings I saw"
## [1134] "was the outcome of the last surgings of the now purposeless energy"
## [1135] "of mankind before it settled down into perfect harmony with the"
## [1136] "conditions under which it lived--the flourish of that triumph which"
## [1137] "began the last great peace. This has ever been the fate of energy in"
## [1138] "security; it takes to art and to eroticism, and then come languor"
## [1139] "and decay."
## [1140] ""
## [1141] "'Even this artistic impetus would at last die away--had almost died"
## [1142] "in the Time I saw. To adorn themselves with flowers, to dance, to"
## [1143] "sing in the sunlight: so much was left of the artistic spirit, and"
## [1144] "no more. Even that would fade in the end into a contented"
## [1145] "inactivity. We are kept keen on the grindstone of pain and"
## [1146] "necessity, and, it seemed to me, that here was that hateful"
## [1147] "grindstone broken at last!"
## [1148] ""
## [1149] "'As I stood there in the gathering dark I thought that in this"
## [1150] "simple explanation I had mastered the problem of the world--mastered"
## [1151] "the whole secret of these delicious people. Possibly the checks they"
## [1152] "had devised for the increase of population had succeeded too well,"
## [1153] "and their numbers had rather diminished than kept stationary."
## [1154] "That would account for the abandoned ruins. Very simple was my"
## [1155] "explanation, and plausible enough--as most wrong theories are!"
## [1156] ""
## [1157] ""
## [1158] ""
## [1159] ""
## [1160] "V"
## [1161] ""
## [1162] ""
## [1163] "'As I stood there musing over this too perfect triumph of man, the"
## [1164] "full moon, yellow and gibbous, came up out of an overflow of silver"
## [1165] "light in the north-east. The bright little figures ceased to move"
## [1166] "about below, a noiseless owl flitted by, and I shivered with the"
## [1167] "chill of the night. I determined to descend and find where I could"
## [1168] "sleep."
## [1169] ""
## [1170] "'I looked for the building I knew. Then my eye travelled along to"
## [1171] "the figure of the White Sphinx upon the pedestal of bronze, growing"
## [1172] "distinct as the light of the rising moon grew brighter. I could see"
## [1173] "the silver birch against it. There was the tangle of rhododendron"
## [1174] "bushes, black in the pale light, and there was the little lawn."
## [1175] "I looked at the lawn again. A queer doubt chilled my complacency."
## [1176] "\"No,\" said I stoutly to myself, \"that was not the lawn.\""
## [1177] ""
## [1178] "'But it _was_ the lawn. For the white leprous face of the sphinx was"
## [1179] "towards it. Can you imagine what I felt as this conviction came"
## [1180] "home to me? But you cannot. The Time Machine was gone!"
## [1181] ""
## [1182] "'At once, like a lash across the face, came the possibility of"
## [1183] "losing my own age, of being left helpless in this strange new world."
## [1184] "The bare thought of it was an actual physical sensation. I could"
## [1185] "feel it grip me at the throat and stop my breathing. In another"
## [1186] "moment I was in a passion of fear and running with great leaping"
## [1187] "strides down the slope. Once I fell headlong and cut my face; I lost"
## [1188] "no time in stanching the blood, but jumped up and ran on, with a"
## [1189] "warm trickle down my cheek and chin. All the time I ran I was saying"
## [1190] "to myself: \"They have moved it a little, pushed it under the bushes"
## [1191] "out of the way.\" Nevertheless, I ran with all my might. All the"
## [1192] "time, with the certainty that sometimes comes with excessive dread,"
## [1193] "I knew that such assurance was folly, knew instinctively that the"
## [1194] "machine was removed out of my reach. My breath came with pain. I"
## [1195] "suppose I covered the whole distance from the hill crest to the"
## [1196] "little lawn, two miles perhaps, in ten minutes. And I am not a young"
## [1197] "man. I cursed aloud, as I ran, at my confident folly in leaving the"
## [1198] "machine, wasting good breath thereby. I cried aloud, and none"
## [1199] "answered. Not a creature seemed to be stirring in that moonlit"
## [1200] "world."
## [1201] ""
## [1202] "'When I reached the lawn my worst fears were realized. Not a trace"
## [1203] "of the thing was to be seen. I felt faint and cold when I faced the"
## [1204] "empty space among the black tangle of bushes. I ran round it"
## [1205] "furiously, as if the thing might be hidden in a corner, and then"
## [1206] "stopped abruptly, with my hands clutching my hair. Above me towered"
## [1207] "the sphinx, upon the bronze pedestal, white, shining, leprous, in"
## [1208] "the light of the rising moon. It seemed to smile in mockery of my"
## [1209] "dismay."
## [1210] ""
## [1211] "'I might have consoled myself by imagining the little people had put"
## [1212] "the mechanism in some shelter for me, had I not felt assured of"
## [1213] "their physical and intellectual inadequacy. That is what dismayed"
## [1214] "me: the sense of some hitherto unsuspected power, through whose"
## [1215] "intervention my invention had vanished. Yet, for one thing I felt"
## [1216] "assured: unless some other age had produced its exact duplicate,"
## [1217] "the machine could not have moved in time. The attachment of the"
## [1218] "levers--I will show you the method later--prevented any one from"
## [1219] "tampering with it in that way when they were removed. It had moved,"
## [1220] "and was hid, only in space. But then, where could it be?"
## [1221] ""
## [1222] "'I think I must have had a kind of frenzy. I remember running"
## [1223] "violently in and out among the moonlit bushes all round the sphinx,"
## [1224] "and startling some white animal that, in the dim light, I took for a"
## [1225] "small deer. I remember, too, late that night, beating the bushes"
## [1226] "with my clenched fist until my knuckles were gashed and bleeding"
## [1227] "from the broken twigs. Then, sobbing and raving in my anguish of"
## [1228] "mind, I went down to the great building of stone. The big hall was"
## [1229] "dark, silent, and deserted. I slipped on the uneven floor, and fell"
## [1230] "over one of the malachite tables, almost breaking my shin. I lit a"
## [1231] "match and went on past the dusty curtains, of which I have told you."
## [1232] ""
## [1233] "'There I found a second great hall covered with cushions, upon"
## [1234] "which, perhaps, a score or so of the little people were sleeping. I"
## [1235] "have no doubt they found my second appearance strange enough, coming"
## [1236] "suddenly out of the quiet darkness with inarticulate noises and the"
## [1237] "splutter and flare of a match. For they had forgotten about matches."
## [1238] "\"Where is my Time Machine?\" I began, bawling like an angry child,"
## [1239] "laying hands upon them and shaking them up together. It must have"
## [1240] "been very queer to them. Some laughed, most of them looked sorely"
## [1241] "frightened. When I saw them standing round me, it came into my head"
## [1242] "that I was doing as foolish a thing as it was possible for me to do"
## [1243] "under the circumstances, in trying to revive the sensation of fear."
## [1244] "For, reasoning from their daylight behaviour, I thought that fear"
## [1245] "must be forgotten."
## [1246] ""
## [1247] "'Abruptly, I dashed down the match, and, knocking one of the people"
## [1248] "over in my course, went blundering across the big dining-hall again,"
## [1249] "out under the moonlight. I heard cries of terror and their little"
## [1250] "feet running and stumbling this way and that. I do not remember all"
## [1251] "I did as the moon crept up the sky. I suppose it was the unexpected"
## [1252] "nature of my loss that maddened me. I felt hopelessly cut off from"
## [1253] "my own kind--a strange animal in an unknown world. I must have raved"
## [1254] "to and fro, screaming and crying upon God and Fate. I have a memory"
## [1255] "of horrible fatigue, as the long night of despair wore away; of"
## [1256] "looking in this impossible place and that; of groping among moon-lit"
## [1257] "ruins and touching strange creatures in the black shadows; at last,"
## [1258] "of lying on the ground near the sphinx and weeping with absolute"
## [1259] "wretchedness. I had nothing left but misery. Then I slept, and when"
## [1260] "I woke again it was full day, and a couple of sparrows were hopping"
## [1261] "round me on the turf within reach of my arm."
## [1262] ""
## [1263] "'I sat up in the freshness of the morning, trying to remember how"
## [1264] "I had got there, and why I had such a profound sense of desertion"
## [1265] "and despair. Then things came clear in my mind. With the plain,"
## [1266] "reasonable daylight, I could look my circumstances fairly in the"
## [1267] "face. I saw the wild folly of my frenzy overnight, and I could"
## [1268] "reason with myself. \"Suppose the worst?\" I said. \"Suppose the"
## [1269] "machine altogether lost--perhaps destroyed? It behoves me to be"
## [1270] "calm and patient, to learn the way of the people, to get a clear"
## [1271] "idea of the method of my loss, and the means of getting materials"
## [1272] "and tools; so that in the end, perhaps, I may make another.\" That"
## [1273] "would be my only hope, perhaps, but better than despair. And, after"
## [1274] "all, it was a beautiful and curious world."
## [1275] ""
## [1276] "'But probably, the machine had only been taken away. Still, I must"
## [1277] "be calm and patient, find its hiding-place, and recover it by force"
## [1278] "or cunning. And with that I scrambled to my feet and looked about"
## [1279] "me, wondering where I could bathe. I felt weary, stiff, and"
## [1280] "travel-soiled. The freshness of the morning made me desire an equal"
## [1281] "freshness. I had exhausted my emotion. Indeed, as I went about"
## [1282] "my business, I found myself wondering at my intense excitement"
## [1283] "overnight. I made a careful examination of the ground about the"
## [1284] "little lawn. I wasted some time in futile questionings, conveyed, as"
## [1285] "well as I was able, to such of the little people as came by. They"
## [1286] "all failed to understand my gestures; some were simply stolid, some"
## [1287] "thought it was a jest and laughed at me. I had the hardest task in"
## [1288] "the world to keep my hands off their pretty laughing faces. It was"
## [1289] "a foolish impulse, but the devil begotten of fear and blind anger"
## [1290] "was ill curbed and still eager to take advantage of my perplexity."
## [1291] "The turf gave better counsel. I found a groove ripped in it, about"
## [1292] "midway between the pedestal of the sphinx and the marks of my feet"
## [1293] "where, on arrival, I had struggled with the overturned machine."
## [1294] "There were other signs of removal about, with queer narrow"
## [1295] "footprints like those I could imagine made by a sloth. This directed"
## [1296] "my closer attention to the pedestal. It was, as I think I have said,"
## [1297] "of bronze. It was not a mere block, but highly decorated with deep"
## [1298] "framed panels on either side. I went and rapped at these. The"
## [1299] "pedestal was hollow. Examining the panels with care I found them"
## [1300] "discontinuous with the frames. There were no handles or keyholes,"
## [1301] "but possibly the panels, if they were doors, as I supposed, opened"
## [1302] "from within. One thing was clear enough to my mind. It took no very"
## [1303] "great mental effort to infer that my Time Machine was inside that"
## [1304] "pedestal. But how it got there was a different problem."
## [1305] ""
## [1306] "'I saw the heads of two orange-clad people coming through the bushes"
## [1307] "and under some blossom-covered apple-trees towards me. I turned"
## [1308] "smiling to them and beckoned them to me. They came, and then,"
## [1309] "pointing to the bronze pedestal, I tried to intimate my wish to open"
## [1310] "it. But at my first gesture towards this they behaved very oddly. I"
## [1311] "don't know how to convey their expression to you. Suppose you were"
## [1312] "to use a grossly improper gesture to a delicate-minded woman--it is"
## [1313] "how she would look. They went off as if they had received the last"
## [1314] "possible insult. I tried a sweet-looking little chap in white next,"
## [1315] "with exactly the same result. Somehow, his manner made me feel"
## [1316] "ashamed of myself. But, as you know, I wanted the Time Machine, and"
## [1317] "I tried him once more. As he turned off, like the others, my temper"
## [1318] "got the better of me. In three strides I was after him, had him by"
## [1319] "the loose part of his robe round the neck, and began dragging him"
## [1320] "towards the sphinx. Then I saw the horror and repugnance of his"
## [1321] "face, and all of a sudden I let him go."
## [1322] ""
## [1323] "'But I was not beaten yet. I banged with my fist at the bronze"
## [1324] "panels. I thought I heard something stir inside--to be explicit,"
## [1325] "I thought I heard a sound like a chuckle--but I must have been"
## [1326] "mistaken. Then I got a big pebble from the river, and came and"
## [1327] "hammered till I had flattened a coil in the decorations, and the"
## [1328] "verdigris came off in powdery flakes. The delicate little people"
## [1329] "must have heard me hammering in gusty outbreaks a mile away on"
## [1330] "either hand, but nothing came of it. I saw a crowd of them upon the"
## [1331] "slopes, looking furtively at me. At last, hot and tired, I sat down"
## [1332] "to watch the place. But I was too restless to watch long; I am too"
## [1333] "Occidental for a long vigil. I could work at a problem for years,"
## [1334] "but to wait inactive for twenty-four hours--that is another matter."
## [1335] ""
## [1336] "'I got up after a time, and began walking aimlessly through the"
## [1337] "bushes towards the hill again. \"Patience,\" said I to myself. \"If you"
## [1338] "want your machine again you must leave that sphinx alone. If they"
## [1339] "mean to take your machine away, it's little good your wrecking their"
## [1340] "bronze panels, and if they don't, you will get it back as soon as"
## [1341] "you can ask for it. To sit among all those unknown things before a"
## [1342] "puzzle like that is hopeless. That way lies monomania. Face this"
## [1343] "world. Learn its ways, watch it, be careful of too hasty guesses"
## [1344] "at its meaning. In the end you will find clues to it all.\" Then"
## [1345] "suddenly the humour of the situation came into my mind: the thought"
## [1346] "of the years I had spent in study and toil to get into the future"
## [1347] "age, and now my passion of anxiety to get out of it. I had made"
## [1348] "myself the most complicated and the most hopeless trap that ever a"
## [1349] "man devised. Although it was at my own expense, I could not help"
## [1350] "myself. I laughed aloud."
## [1351] ""
## [1352] "'Going through the big palace, it seemed to me that the little"
## [1353] "people avoided me. It may have been my fancy, or it may have had"
## [1354] "something to do with my hammering at the gates of bronze. Yet I felt"
## [1355] "tolerably sure of the avoidance. I was careful, however, to show no"
## [1356] "concern and to abstain from any pursuit of them, and in the course"
## [1357] "of a day or two things got back to the old footing. I made what"
## [1358] "progress I could in the language, and in addition I pushed my"
## [1359] "explorations here and there. Either I missed some subtle point or"
## [1360] "their language was excessively simple--almost exclusively composed"
## [1361] "of concrete substantives and verbs. There seemed to be few, if any,"
## [1362] "abstract terms, or little use of figurative language. Their"
## [1363] "sentences were usually simple and of two words, and I failed to"
## [1364] "convey or understand any but the simplest propositions. I determined"
## [1365] "to put the thought of my Time Machine and the mystery of the bronze"
## [1366] "doors under the sphinx as much as possible in a corner of memory,"
## [1367] "until my growing knowledge would lead me back to them in a natural"
## [1368] "way. Yet a certain feeling, you may understand, tethered me in a"
## [1369] "circle of a few miles round the point of my arrival."
## [1370] ""
## [1371] "'So far as I could see, all the world displayed the same exuberant"
## [1372] "richness as the Thames valley. From every hill I climbed I saw the"
## [1373] "same abundance of splendid buildings, endlessly varied in material"
## [1374] "and style, the same clustering thickets of evergreens, the same"
## [1375] "blossom-laden trees and tree-ferns. Here and there water shone like"
## [1376] "silver, and beyond, the land rose into blue undulating hills, and"
## [1377] "so faded into the serenity of the sky. A peculiar feature, which"
## [1378] "presently attracted my attention, was the presence of certain"
## [1379] "circular wells, several, as it seemed to me, of a very great depth."
## [1380] "One lay by the path up the hill, which I had followed during my"
## [1381] "first walk. Like the others, it was rimmed with bronze, curiously"
## [1382] "wrought, and protected by a little cupola from the rain. Sitting by"
## [1383] "the side of these wells, and peering down into the shafted darkness,"
## [1384] "I could see no gleam of water, nor could I start any reflection"
## [1385] "with a lighted match. But in all of them I heard a certain sound:"
## [1386] "a thud--thud--thud, like the beating of some big engine; and I"
## [1387] "discovered, from the flaring of my matches, that a steady current of"
## [1388] "air set down the shafts. Further, I threw a scrap of paper into the"
## [1389] "throat of one, and, instead of fluttering slowly down, it was at"
## [1390] "once sucked swiftly out of sight."
## [1391] ""
## [1392] "'After a time, too, I came to connect these wells with tall towers"
## [1393] "standing here and there upon the slopes; for above them there was"
## [1394] "often just such a flicker in the air as one sees on a hot day above"
## [1395] "a sun-scorched beach. Putting things together, I reached a strong"
## [1396] "suggestion of an extensive system of subterranean ventilation, whose"
## [1397] "true import it was difficult to imagine. I was at first inclined to"
## [1398] "associate it with the sanitary apparatus of these people. It was an"
## [1399] "obvious conclusion, but it was absolutely wrong."
## [1400] ""
## [1401] "'And here I must admit that I learned very little of drains and"
## [1402] "bells and modes of conveyance, and the like conveniences, during my"
## [1403] "time in this real future. In some of these visions of Utopias and"
## [1404] "coming times which I have read, there is a vast amount of detail"
## [1405] "about building, and social arrangements, and so forth. But while"
## [1406] "such details are easy enough to obtain when the whole world is"
## [1407] "contained in one's imagination, they are altogether inaccessible to"
## [1408] "a real traveller amid such realities as I found here. Conceive the"
## [1409] "tale of London which a negro, fresh from Central Africa, would take"
## [1410] "back to his tribe! What would he know of railway companies, of"
## [1411] "social movements, of telephone and telegraph wires, of the Parcels"
## [1412] "Delivery Company, and postal orders and the like? Yet we, at least,"
## [1413] "should be willing enough to explain these things to him! And even of"
## [1414] "what he knew, how much could he make his untravelled friend either"
## [1415] "apprehend or believe? Then, think how narrow the gap between a negro"
## [1416] "and a white man of our own times, and how wide the interval between"
## [1417] "myself and these of the Golden Age! I was sensible of much which was"
## [1418] "unseen, and which contributed to my comfort; but save for a general"
## [1419] "impression of automatic organization, I fear I can convey very"
## [1420] "little of the difference to your mind."
## [1421] ""
## [1422] "'In the matter of sepulture, for instance, I could see no signs of"
## [1423] "crematoria nor anything suggestive of tombs. But it occurred to me"
## [1424] "that, possibly, there might be cemeteries (or crematoria) somewhere"
## [1425] "beyond the range of my explorings. This, again, was a question I"
## [1426] "deliberately put to myself, and my curiosity was at first entirely"
## [1427] "defeated upon the point. The thing puzzled me, and I was led to make"
## [1428] "a further remark, which puzzled me still more: that aged and infirm"
## [1429] "among this people there were none."
## [1430] ""
## [1431] "'I must confess that my satisfaction with my first theories of an"
## [1432] "automatic civilization and a decadent humanity did not long endure."
## [1433] "Yet I could think of no other. Let me put my difficulties. The"
## [1434] "several big palaces I had explored were mere living places, great"
## [1435] "dining-halls and sleeping apartments. I could find no machinery, no"
## [1436] "appliances of any kind. Yet these people were clothed in pleasant"
## [1437] "fabrics that must at times need renewal, and their sandals, though"
## [1438] "undecorated, were fairly complex specimens of metalwork. Somehow"
## [1439] "such things must be made. And the little people displayed no vestige"
## [1440] "of a creative tendency. There were no shops, no workshops, no sign"
## [1441] "of importations among them. They spent all their time in playing"
## [1442] "gently, in bathing in the river, in making love in a half-playful"
## [1443] "fashion, in eating fruit and sleeping. I could not see how things"
## [1444] "were kept going."
## [1445] ""
## [1446] "'Then, again, about the Time Machine: something, I knew not what,"
## [1447] "had taken it into the hollow pedestal of the White Sphinx. Why? For"
## [1448] "the life of me I could not imagine. Those waterless wells, too,"
## [1449] "those flickering pillars. I felt I lacked a clue. I felt--how shall"
## [1450] "I put it? Suppose you found an inscription, with sentences here and"
## [1451] "there in excellent plain English, and interpolated therewith, others"
## [1452] "made up of words, of letters even, absolutely unknown to you? Well,"
## [1453] "on the third day of my visit, that was how the world of Eight"
## [1454] "Hundred and Two Thousand Seven Hundred and One presented itself to"
## [1455] "me!"
## [1456] ""
## [1457] "'That day, too, I made a friend--of a sort. It happened that, as I"
## [1458] "was watching some of the little people bathing in a shallow, one of"
## [1459] "them was seized with cramp and began drifting downstream. The main"
## [1460] "current ran rather swiftly, but not too strongly for even a moderate"
## [1461] "swimmer. It will give you an idea, therefore, of the strange"
## [1462] "deficiency in these creatures, when I tell you that none made the"
## [1463] "slightest attempt to rescue the weakly crying little thing which"
## [1464] "was drowning before their eyes. When I realized this, I hurriedly"
## [1465] "slipped off my clothes, and, wading in at a point lower down, I"
## [1466] "caught the poor mite and drew her safe to land. A little rubbing of"
## [1467] "the limbs soon brought her round, and I had the satisfaction of"
## [1468] "seeing she was all right before I left her. I had got to such a low"
## [1469] "estimate of her kind that I did not expect any gratitude from her."
## [1470] "In that, however, I was wrong."
## [1471] ""
## [1472] "'This happened in the morning. In the afternoon I met my little"
## [1473] "woman, as I believe it was, as I was returning towards my centre"
## [1474] "from an exploration, and she received me with cries of delight and"
## [1475] "presented me with a big garland of flowers--evidently made for me"
## [1476] "and me alone. The thing took my imagination. Very possibly I had"
## [1477] "been feeling desolate. At any rate I did my best to display my"
## [1478] "appreciation of the gift. We were soon seated together in a little"
## [1479] "stone arbour, engaged in conversation, chiefly of smiles. The"
## [1480] "creature's friendliness affected me exactly as a child's might have"
## [1481] "done. We passed each other flowers, and she kissed my hands. I did"
## [1482] "the same to hers. Then I tried talk, and found that her name was"
## [1483] "Weena, which, though I don't know what it meant, somehow seemed"
## [1484] "appropriate enough. That was the beginning of a queer friendship"
## [1485] "which lasted a week, and ended--as I will tell you!"
## [1486] ""
## [1487] "'She was exactly like a child. She wanted to be with me always. She"
## [1488] "tried to follow me everywhere, and on my next journey out and about"
## [1489] "it went to my heart to tire her down, and leave her at last,"
## [1490] "exhausted and calling after me rather plaintively. But the problems"
## [1491] "of the world had to be mastered. I had not, I said to myself, come"
## [1492] "into the future to carry on a miniature flirtation. Yet her distress"
## [1493] "when I left her was very great, her expostulations at the parting"
## [1494] "were sometimes frantic, and I think, altogether, I had as much"
## [1495] "trouble as comfort from her devotion. Nevertheless she was, somehow,"
## [1496] "a very great comfort. I thought it was mere childish affection that"
## [1497] "made her cling to me. Until it was too late, I did not clearly know"
## [1498] "what I had inflicted upon her when I left her. Nor until it was too"
## [1499] "late did I clearly understand what she was to me. For, by merely"
## [1500] "seeming fond of me, and showing in her weak, futile way that she"
## [1501] "cared for me, the little doll of a creature presently gave my return"
## [1502] "to the neighbourhood of the White Sphinx almost the feeling of"
## [1503] "coming home; and I would watch for her tiny figure of white and gold"
## [1504] "so soon as I came over the hill."
## [1505] ""
## [1506] "'It was from her, too, that I learned that fear had not yet left the"
## [1507] "world. She was fearless enough in the daylight, and she had the"
## [1508] "oddest confidence in me; for once, in a foolish moment, I made"
## [1509] "threatening grimaces at her, and she simply laughed at them. But she"
## [1510] "dreaded the dark, dreaded shadows, dreaded black things. Darkness"
## [1511] "to her was the one thing dreadful. It was a singularly passionate"
## [1512] "emotion, and it set me thinking and observing. I discovered then,"
## [1513] "among other things, that these little people gathered into the great"
## [1514] "houses after dark, and slept in droves. To enter upon them without a"
## [1515] "light was to put them into a tumult of apprehension. I never found"
## [1516] "one out of doors, or one sleeping alone within doors, after dark."
## [1517] "Yet I was still such a blockhead that I missed the lesson of that"
## [1518] "fear, and in spite of Weena's distress I insisted upon sleeping away"
## [1519] "from these slumbering multitudes."
## [1520] ""
## [1521] "'It troubled her greatly, but in the end her odd affection for me"
## [1522] "triumphed, and for five of the nights of our acquaintance, including"
## [1523] "the last night of all, she slept with her head pillowed on my arm."
## [1524] "But my story slips away from me as I speak of her. It must have been"
## [1525] "the night before her rescue that I was awakened about dawn. I had"
## [1526] "been restless, dreaming most disagreeably that I was drowned, and"
## [1527] "that sea anemones were feeling over my face with their soft palps."
## [1528] "I woke with a start, and with an odd fancy that some greyish animal"
## [1529] "had just rushed out of the chamber. I tried to get to sleep again,"
## [1530] "but I felt restless and uncomfortable. It was that dim grey hour"
## [1531] "when things are just creeping out of darkness, when everything is"
## [1532] "colourless and clear cut, and yet unreal. I got up, and went down"
## [1533] "into the great hall, and so out upon the flagstones in front of the"
## [1534] "palace. I thought I would make a virtue of necessity, and see the"
## [1535] "sunrise."
## [1536] ""
## [1537] "'The moon was setting, and the dying moonlight and the first pallor"
## [1538] "of dawn were mingled in a ghastly half-light. The bushes were inky"
## [1539] "black, the ground a sombre grey, the sky colourless and cheerless."
## [1540] "And up the hill I thought I could see ghosts. There several times,"
## [1541] "as I scanned the slope, I saw white figures. Twice I fancied I saw"
## [1542] "a solitary white, ape-like creature running rather quickly up the"
## [1543] "hill, and once near the ruins I saw a leash of them carrying some"
## [1544] "dark body. They moved hastily. I did not see what became of them."
## [1545] "It seemed that they vanished among the bushes. The dawn was still"
## [1546] "indistinct, you must understand. I was feeling that chill,"
## [1547] "uncertain, early-morning feeling you may have known. I doubted"
## [1548] "my eyes."
## [1549] ""
## [1550] "'As the eastern sky grew brighter, and the light of the day came on"
## [1551] "and its vivid colouring returned upon the world once more, I scanned"
## [1552] "the view keenly. But I saw no vestige of my white figures. They were"
## [1553] "mere creatures of the half light. \"They must have been ghosts,\" I"
## [1554] "said; \"I wonder whence they dated.\" For a queer notion of Grant"
## [1555] "Allen's came into my head, and amused me. If each generation die and"
## [1556] "leave ghosts, he argued, the world at last will get overcrowded with"
## [1557] "them. On that theory they would have grown innumerable some Eight"
## [1558] "Hundred Thousand Years hence, and it was no great wonder to see four"
## [1559] "at once. But the jest was unsatisfying, and I was thinking of these"
## [1560] "figures all the morning, until Weena's rescue drove them out of my"
## [1561] "head. I associated them in some indefinite way with the white animal"
## [1562] "I had startled in my first passionate search for the Time Machine."
## [1563] "But Weena was a pleasant substitute. Yet all the same, they were"
## [1564] "soon destined to take far deadlier possession of my mind."
## [1565] ""
## [1566] "'I think I have said how much hotter than our own was the weather"
## [1567] "of this Golden Age. I cannot account for it. It may be that the sun"
## [1568] "was hotter, or the earth nearer the sun. It is usual to assume that"
## [1569] "the sun will go on cooling steadily in the future. But people,"
## [1570] "unfamiliar with such speculations as those of the younger Darwin,"
## [1571] "forget that the planets must ultimately fall back one by one into"
## [1572] "the parent body. As these catastrophes occur, the sun will blaze"
## [1573] "with renewed energy; and it may be that some inner planet had"
## [1574] "suffered this fate. Whatever the reason, the fact remains that the"
## [1575] "sun was very much hotter than we know it."
## [1576] ""
## [1577] "'Well, one very hot morning--my fourth, I think--as I was seeking"
## [1578] "shelter from the heat and glare in a colossal ruin near the great"
## [1579] "house where I slept and fed, there happened this strange thing:"
## [1580] "Clambering among these heaps of masonry, I found a narrow gallery,"
## [1581] "whose end and side windows were blocked by fallen masses of stone."
## [1582] "By contrast with the brilliancy outside, it seemed at first"
## [1583] "impenetrably dark to me. I entered it groping, for the change from"
## [1584] "light to blackness made spots of colour swim before me. Suddenly I"
## [1585] "halted spellbound. A pair of eyes, luminous by reflection against"
## [1586] "the daylight without, was watching me out of the darkness."
## [1587] ""
## [1588] "'The old instinctive dread of wild beasts came upon me. I clenched"
## [1589] "my hands and steadfastly looked into the glaring eyeballs. I was"
## [1590] "afraid to turn. Then the thought of the absolute security in which"
## [1591] "humanity appeared to be living came to my mind. And then I"
## [1592] "remembered that strange terror of the dark. Overcoming my fear to"
## [1593] "some extent, I advanced a step and spoke. I will admit that my"
## [1594] "voice was harsh and ill-controlled. I put out my hand and touched"
## [1595] "something soft. At once the eyes darted sideways, and something"
## [1596] "white ran past me. I turned with my heart in my mouth, and saw a"
## [1597] "queer little ape-like figure, its head held down in a peculiar"
## [1598] "manner, running across the sunlit space behind me. It blundered"
## [1599] "against a block of granite, staggered aside, and in a moment was"
## [1600] "hidden in a black shadow beneath another pile of ruined masonry."
## [1601] ""
## [1602] "'My impression of it is, of course, imperfect; but I know it was a"
## [1603] "dull white, and had strange large greyish-red eyes; also that there"
## [1604] "was flaxen hair on its head and down its back. But, as I say, it"
## [1605] "went too fast for me to see distinctly. I cannot even say whether it"
## [1606] "ran on all-fours, or only with its forearms held very low. After an"
## [1607] "instant's pause I followed it into the second heap of ruins. I could"
## [1608] "not find it at first; but, after a time in the profound obscurity, I"
## [1609] "came upon one of those round well-like openings of which I have told"
## [1610] "you, half closed by a fallen pillar. A sudden thought came to me."
## [1611] "Could this Thing have vanished down the shaft? I lit a match, and,"
## [1612] "looking down, I saw a small, white, moving creature, with large"
## [1613] "bright eyes which regarded me steadfastly as it retreated. It made"
## [1614] "me shudder. It was so like a human spider! It was clambering down"
## [1615] "the wall, and now I saw for the first time a number of metal foot"
## [1616] "and hand rests forming a kind of ladder down the shaft. Then the"
## [1617] "light burned my fingers and fell out of my hand, going out as it"
## [1618] "dropped, and when I had lit another the little monster had"
## [1619] "disappeared."
## [1620] ""
## [1621] "'I do not know how long I sat peering down that well. It was not for"
## [1622] "some time that I could succeed in persuading myself that the thing I"
## [1623] "had seen was human. But, gradually, the truth dawned on me: that"
## [1624] "Man had not remained one species, but had differentiated into two"
## [1625] "distinct animals: that my graceful children of the Upper-world were"
## [1626] "not the sole descendants of our generation, but that this bleached,"
## [1627] "obscene, nocturnal Thing, which had flashed before me, was also heir"
## [1628] "to all the ages."
## [1629] ""
## [1630] "'I thought of the flickering pillars and of my theory of an"
## [1631] "underground ventilation. I began to suspect their true import. And"
## [1632] "what, I wondered, was this Lemur doing in my scheme of a perfectly"
## [1633] "balanced organization? How was it related to the indolent serenity"
## [1634] "of the beautiful Upper-worlders? And what was hidden down there,"
## [1635] "at the foot of that shaft? I sat upon the edge of the well telling"
## [1636] "myself that, at any rate, there was nothing to fear, and that there"
## [1637] "I must descend for the solution of my difficulties. And withal I"
## [1638] "was absolutely afraid to go! As I hesitated, two of the beautiful"
## [1639] "Upper-world people came running in their amorous sport across the"
## [1640] "daylight in the shadow. The male pursued the female, flinging"
## [1641] "flowers at her as he ran."
## [1642] ""
## [1643] "'They seemed distressed to find me, my arm against the overturned"
## [1644] "pillar, peering down the well. Apparently it was considered bad form"
## [1645] "to remark these apertures; for when I pointed to this one, and tried"
## [1646] "to frame a question about it in their tongue, they were still more"
## [1647] "visibly distressed and turned away. But they were interested by my"
## [1648] "matches, and I struck some to amuse them. I tried them again about"
## [1649] "the well, and again I failed. So presently I left them, meaning to"
## [1650] "go back to Weena, and see what I could get from her. But my mind was"
## [1651] "already in revolution; my guesses and impressions were slipping and"
## [1652] "sliding to a new adjustment. I had now a clue to the import of these"
## [1653] "wells, to the ventilating towers, to the mystery of the ghosts; to"
## [1654] "say nothing of a hint at the meaning of the bronze gates and the"
## [1655] "fate of the Time Machine! And very vaguely there came a suggestion"
## [1656] "towards the solution of the economic problem that had puzzled me."
## [1657] ""
## [1658] "'Here was the new view. Plainly, this second species of Man was"
## [1659] "subterranean. There were three circumstances in particular which"
## [1660] "made me think that its rare emergence above ground was the outcome"
## [1661] "of a long-continued underground habit. In the first place, there was"
## [1662] "the bleached look common in most animals that live largely in the"
## [1663] "dark--the white fish of the Kentucky caves, for instance. Then,"
## [1664] "those large eyes, with that capacity for reflecting light, are"
## [1665] "common features of nocturnal things--witness the owl and the cat."
## [1666] "And last of all, that evident confusion in the sunshine, that hasty"
## [1667] "yet fumbling awkward flight towards dark shadow, and that peculiar"
## [1668] "carriage of the head while in the light--all reinforced the theory"
## [1669] "of an extreme sensitiveness of the retina."
## [1670] ""
## [1671] "'Beneath my feet, then, the earth must be tunnelled enormously, and"
## [1672] "these tunnellings were the habitat of the new race. The presence of"
## [1673] "ventilating shafts and wells along the hill slopes--everywhere, in"
## [1674] "fact, except along the river valley--showed how universal were its"
## [1675] "ramifications. What so natural, then, as to assume that it was in"
## [1676] "this artificial Underworld that such work as was necessary to the"
## [1677] "comfort of the daylight race was done? The notion was so plausible"
## [1678] "that I at once accepted it, and went on to assume the _how_ of this"
## [1679] "splitting of the human species. I dare say you will anticipate the"
## [1680] "shape of my theory; though, for myself, I very soon felt that it"
## [1681] "fell far short of the truth."
## [1682] ""
## [1683] "'At first, proceeding from the problems of our own age, it seemed"
## [1684] "clear as daylight to me that the gradual widening of the present"
## [1685] "merely temporary and social difference between the Capitalist and"
## [1686] "the Labourer, was the key to the whole position. No doubt it will"
## [1687] "seem grotesque enough to you--and wildly incredible!--and yet even"
## [1688] "now there are existing circumstances to point that way. There is"
## [1689] "a tendency to utilize underground space for the less ornamental"
## [1690] "purposes of civilization; there is the Metropolitan Railway in"
## [1691] "London, for instance, there are new electric railways, there are"
## [1692] "subways, there are underground workrooms and restaurants, and they"
## [1693] "increase and multiply. Evidently, I thought, this tendency had"
## [1694] "increased till Industry had gradually lost its birthright in the"
## [1695] "sky. I mean that it had gone deeper and deeper into larger and ever"
## [1696] "larger underground factories, spending a still-increasing amount of"
## [1697] "its time therein, till, in the end--! Even now, does not an East-end"
## [1698] "worker live in such artificial conditions as practically to be cut"
## [1699] "off from the natural surface of the earth?"
## [1700] ""
## [1701] "'Again, the exclusive tendency of richer people--due, no doubt, to"
## [1702] "the increasing refinement of their education, and the widening gulf"
## [1703] "between them and the rude violence of the poor--is already leading"
## [1704] "to the closing, in their interest, of considerable portions of the"
## [1705] "surface of the land. About London, for instance, perhaps half the"
## [1706] "prettier country is shut in against intrusion. And this same"
## [1707] "widening gulf--which is due to the length and expense of the higher"
## [1708] "educational process and the increased facilities for and temptations"
## [1709] "towards refined habits on the part of the rich--will make that"
## [1710] "exchange between class and class, that promotion by intermarriage"
## [1711] "which at present retards the splitting of our species along lines"
## [1712] "of social stratification, less and less frequent. So, in the end,"
## [1713] "above ground you must have the Haves, pursuing pleasure and comfort"
## [1714] "and beauty, and below ground the Have-nots, the Workers getting"
## [1715] "continually adapted to the conditions of their labour. Once they"
## [1716] "were there, they would no doubt have to pay rent, and not a little"
## [1717] "of it, for the ventilation of their caverns; and if they refused,"
## [1718] "they would starve or be suffocated for arrears. Such of them as were"
## [1719] "so constituted as to be miserable and rebellious would die; and, in"
## [1720] "the end, the balance being permanent, the survivors would become as"
## [1721] "well adapted to the conditions of underground life, and as happy in"
## [1722] "their way, as the Upper-world people were to theirs. As it seemed to"
## [1723] "me, the refined beauty and the etiolated pallor followed naturally"
## [1724] "enough."
## [1725] ""
## [1726] "'The great triumph of Humanity I had dreamed of took a different"
## [1727] "shape in my mind. It had been no such triumph of moral education and"
## [1728] "general co-operation as I had imagined. Instead, I saw a real"
## [1729] "aristocracy, armed with a perfected science and working to a logical"
## [1730] "conclusion the industrial system of to-day. Its triumph had not been"
## [1731] "simply a triumph over Nature, but a triumph over Nature and the"
## [1732] "fellow-man. This, I must warn you, was my theory at the time. I had"
## [1733] "no convenient cicerone in the pattern of the Utopian books. My"
## [1734] "explanation may be absolutely wrong. I still think it is the"
## [1735] "most plausible one. But even on this supposition the balanced"
## [1736] "civilization that was at last attained must have long since passed"
## [1737] "its zenith, and was now far fallen into decay. The too-perfect"
## [1738] "security of the Upper-worlders had led them to a slow movement of"
## [1739] "degeneration, to a general dwindling in size, strength, and"
## [1740] "intelligence. That I could see clearly enough already. What had"
## [1741] "happened to the Under-grounders I did not yet suspect; but from what"
## [1742] "I had seen of the Morlocks--that, by the by, was the name by which"
## [1743] "these creatures were called--I could imagine that the modification"
## [1744] "of the human type was even far more profound than among the \"Eloi,\""
## [1745] "the beautiful race that I already knew."
## [1746] ""
## [1747] "'Then came troublesome doubts. Why had the Morlocks taken my Time"
## [1748] "Machine? For I felt sure it was they who had taken it. Why, too, if"
## [1749] "the Eloi were masters, could they not restore the machine to me? And"
## [1750] "why were they so terribly afraid of the dark? I proceeded, as I have"
## [1751] "said, to question Weena about this Under-world, but here again I was"
## [1752] "disappointed. At first she would not understand my questions, and"
## [1753] "presently she refused to answer them. She shivered as though the"
## [1754] "topic was unendurable. And when I pressed her, perhaps a little"
## [1755] "harshly, she burst into tears. They were the only tears, except my"
## [1756] "own, I ever saw in that Golden Age. When I saw them I ceased"
## [1757] "abruptly to trouble about the Morlocks, and was only concerned in"
## [1758] "banishing these signs of the human inheritance from Weena's eyes."
## [1759] "And very soon she was smiling and clapping her hands, while I"
## [1760] "solemnly burned a match."
## [1761] ""
## [1762] ""
## [1763] ""
## [1764] ""
## [1765] "VI"
## [1766] ""
## [1767] ""
## [1768] "'It may seem odd to you, but it was two days before I could follow"
## [1769] "up the new-found clue in what was manifestly the proper way. I felt"
## [1770] "a peculiar shrinking from those pallid bodies. They were just the"
## [1771] "half-bleached colour of the worms and things one sees preserved in"
## [1772] "spirit in a zoological museum. And they were filthily cold to the"
## [1773] "touch. Probably my shrinking was largely due to the sympathetic"
## [1774] "influence of the Eloi, whose disgust of the Morlocks I now began"
## [1775] "to appreciate."
## [1776] ""
## [1777] "'The next night I did not sleep well. Probably my health was a"
## [1778] "little disordered. I was oppressed with perplexity and doubt. Once"
## [1779] "or twice I had a feeling of intense fear for which I could perceive"
## [1780] "no definite reason. I remember creeping noiselessly into the great"
## [1781] "hall where the little people were sleeping in the moonlight--that"
## [1782] "night Weena was among them--and feeling reassured by their presence."
## [1783] "It occurred to me even then, that in the course of a few days the"
## [1784] "moon must pass through its last quarter, and the nights grow dark,"
## [1785] "when the appearances of these unpleasant creatures from below, these"
## [1786] "whitened Lemurs, this new vermin that had replaced the old, might be"
## [1787] "more abundant. And on both these days I had the restless feeling of"
## [1788] "one who shirks an inevitable duty. I felt assured that the Time"
## [1789] "Machine was only to be recovered by boldly penetrating these"
## [1790] "underground mysteries. Yet I could not face the mystery. If only I"
## [1791] "had had a companion it would have been different. But I was so"
## [1792] "horribly alone, and even to clamber down into the darkness of the"
## [1793] "well appalled me. I don't know if you will understand my feeling,"
## [1794] "but I never felt quite safe at my back."
## [1795] ""
## [1796] "'It was this restlessness, this insecurity, perhaps, that drove me"
## [1797] "further and further afield in my exploring expeditions. Going to the"
## [1798] "south-westward towards the rising country that is now called Combe"
## [1799] "Wood, I observed far off, in the direction of nineteenth-century"
## [1800] "Banstead, a vast green structure, different in character from any"
## [1801] "I had hitherto seen. It was larger than the largest of the palaces"
## [1802] "or ruins I knew, and the facade had an Oriental look: the face"
## [1803] "of it having the lustre, as well as the pale-green tint, a kind"
## [1804] "of bluish-green, of a certain type of Chinese porcelain. This"
## [1805] "difference in aspect suggested a difference in use, and I was minded"
## [1806] "to push on and explore. But the day was growing late, and I had come"
## [1807] "upon the sight of the place after a long and tiring circuit; so I"
## [1808] "resolved to hold over the adventure for the following day, and I"
## [1809] "returned to the welcome and the caresses of little Weena. But next"
## [1810] "morning I perceived clearly enough that my curiosity regarding the"
## [1811] "Palace of Green Porcelain was a piece of self-deception, to enable"
## [1812] "me to shirk, by another day, an experience I dreaded. I resolved I"
## [1813] "would make the descent without further waste of time, and started"
## [1814] "out in the early morning towards a well near the ruins of granite"
## [1815] "and aluminium."
## [1816] ""
## [1817] "'Little Weena ran with me. She danced beside me to the well, but"
## [1818] "when she saw me lean over the mouth and look downward, she seemed"
## [1819] "strangely disconcerted. \"Good-bye, little Weena,\" I said, kissing"
## [1820] "her; and then putting her down, I began to feel over the parapet"
## [1821] "for the climbing hooks. Rather hastily, I may as well confess, for"
## [1822] "I feared my courage might leak away! At first she watched me in"
## [1823] "amazement. Then she gave a most piteous cry, and running to me, she"
## [1824] "began to pull at me with her little hands. I think her opposition"
## [1825] "nerved me rather to proceed. I shook her off, perhaps a little"
## [1826] "roughly, and in another moment I was in the throat of the well. I"
## [1827] "saw her agonized face over the parapet, and smiled to reassure her."
## [1828] "Then I had to look down at the unstable hooks to which I clung."
## [1829] ""
## [1830] "'I had to clamber down a shaft of perhaps two hundred yards. The"
## [1831] "descent was effected by means of metallic bars projecting from"
## [1832] "the sides of the well, and these being adapted to the needs of"
## [1833] "a creature much smaller and lighter than myself, I was speedily"
## [1834] "cramped and fatigued by the descent. And not simply fatigued! One of"
## [1835] "the bars bent suddenly under my weight, and almost swung me off into"
## [1836] "the blackness beneath. For a moment I hung by one hand, and after"
## [1837] "that experience I did not dare to rest again. Though my arms and"
## [1838] "back were presently acutely painful, I went on clambering down the"
## [1839] "sheer descent with as quick a motion as possible. Glancing upward,"
## [1840] "I saw the aperture, a small blue disk, in which a star was visible,"
## [1841] "while little Weena's head showed as a round black projection. The"
## [1842] "thudding sound of a machine below grew louder and more oppressive."
## [1843] "Everything save that little disk above was profoundly dark, and when"
## [1844] "I looked up again Weena had disappeared."
## [1845] ""
## [1846] "'I was in an agony of discomfort. I had some thought of trying to go"
## [1847] "up the shaft again, and leave the Under-world alone. But even while"
## [1848] "I turned this over in my mind I continued to descend. At last, with"
## [1849] "intense relief, I saw dimly coming up, a foot to the right of me, a"
## [1850] "slender loophole in the wall. Swinging myself in, I found it was the"
## [1851] "aperture of a narrow horizontal tunnel in which I could lie down and"
## [1852] "rest. It was not too soon. My arms ached, my back was cramped, and I"
## [1853] "was trembling with the prolonged terror of a fall. Besides this, the"
## [1854] "unbroken darkness had had a distressing effect upon my eyes. The air"
## [1855] "was full of the throb and hum of machinery pumping air down the"
## [1856] "shaft."
## [1857] ""
## [1858] "'I do not know how long I lay. I was roused by a soft hand touching"
## [1859] "my face. Starting up in the darkness I snatched at my matches and,"
## [1860] "hastily striking one, I saw three stooping white creatures similar"
## [1861] "to the one I had seen above ground in the ruin, hastily retreating"
## [1862] "before the light. Living, as they did, in what appeared to me"
## [1863] "impenetrable darkness, their eyes were abnormally large and"
## [1864] "sensitive, just as are the pupils of the abysmal fishes, and they"
## [1865] "reflected the light in the same way. I have no doubt they could see"
## [1866] "me in that rayless obscurity, and they did not seem to have any fear"
## [1867] "of me apart from the light. But, so soon as I struck a match in"
## [1868] "order to see them, they fled incontinently, vanishing into dark"
## [1869] "gutters and tunnels, from which their eyes glared at me in the"
## [1870] "strangest fashion."
## [1871] ""
## [1872] "'I tried to call to them, but the language they had was apparently"
## [1873] "different from that of the Over-world people; so that I was needs"
## [1874] "left to my own unaided efforts, and the thought of flight before"
## [1875] "exploration was even then in my mind. But I said to myself, \"You are"
## [1876] "in for it now,\" and, feeling my way along the tunnel, I found the"
## [1877] "noise of machinery grow louder. Presently the walls fell away from"
## [1878] "me, and I came to a large open space, and striking another match,"
## [1879] "saw that I had entered a vast arched cavern, which stretched into"
## [1880] "utter darkness beyond the range of my light. The view I had of it"
## [1881] "was as much as one could see in the burning of a match."
## [1882] ""
## [1883] "'Necessarily my memory is vague. Great shapes like big machines rose"
## [1884] "out of the dimness, and cast grotesque black shadows, in which dim"
## [1885] "spectral Morlocks sheltered from the glare. The place, by the by,"
## [1886] "was very stuffy and oppressive, and the faint halitus of freshly"
## [1887] "shed blood was in the air. Some way down the central vista was a"
## [1888] "little table of white metal, laid with what seemed a meal. The"
## [1889] "Morlocks at any rate were carnivorous! Even at the time, I remember"
## [1890] "wondering what large animal could have survived to furnish the red"
## [1891] "joint I saw. It was all very indistinct: the heavy smell, the big"
## [1892] "unmeaning shapes, the obscene figures lurking in the shadows, and"
## [1893] "only waiting for the darkness to come at me again! Then the match"
## [1894] "burned down, and stung my fingers, and fell, a wriggling red spot"
## [1895] "in the blackness."
## [1896] ""
## [1897] "'I have thought since how particularly ill-equipped I was for such"
## [1898] "an experience. When I had started with the Time Machine, I had"
## [1899] "started with the absurd assumption that the men of the Future would"
## [1900] "certainly be infinitely ahead of ourselves in all their appliances."
## [1901] "I had come without arms, without medicine, without anything to"
## [1902] "smoke--at times I missed tobacco frightfully--even without enough"
## [1903] "matches. If only I had thought of a Kodak! I could have flashed that"
## [1904] "glimpse of the Underworld in a second, and examined it at leisure."
## [1905] "But, as it was, I stood there with only the weapons and the powers"
## [1906] "that Nature had endowed me with--hands, feet, and teeth; these, and"
## [1907] "four safety-matches that still remained to me."
## [1908] ""
## [1909] "'I was afraid to push my way in among all this machinery in the"
## [1910] "dark, and it was only with my last glimpse of light I discovered"
## [1911] "that my store of matches had run low. It had never occurred to me"
## [1912] "until that moment that there was any need to economize them, and I"
## [1913] "had wasted almost half the box in astonishing the Upper-worlders, to"
## [1914] "whom fire was a novelty. Now, as I say, I had four left, and while I"
## [1915] "stood in the dark, a hand touched mine, lank fingers came feeling"
## [1916] "over my face, and I was sensible of a peculiar unpleasant odour. I"
## [1917] "fancied I heard the breathing of a crowd of those dreadful little"
## [1918] "beings about me. I felt the box of matches in my hand being gently"
## [1919] "disengaged, and other hands behind me plucking at my clothing. The"
## [1920] "sense of these unseen creatures examining me was indescribably"
## [1921] "unpleasant. The sudden realization of my ignorance of their ways of"
## [1922] "thinking and doing came home to me very vividly in the darkness. I"
## [1923] "shouted at them as loudly as I could. They started away, and then"
## [1924] "I could feel them approaching me again. They clutched at me more"
## [1925] "boldly, whispering odd sounds to each other. I shivered violently,"
## [1926] "and shouted again--rather discordantly. This time they were not so"
## [1927] "seriously alarmed, and they made a queer laughing noise as they came"
## [1928] "back at me. I will confess I was horribly frightened. I determined"
## [1929] "to strike another match and escape under the protection of its"
## [1930] "glare. I did so, and eking out the flicker with a scrap of paper"
## [1931] "from my pocket, I made good my retreat to the narrow tunnel. But I"
## [1932] "had scarce entered this when my light was blown out and in the"
## [1933] "blackness I could hear the Morlocks rustling like wind among leaves,"
## [1934] "and pattering like the rain, as they hurried after me."
## [1935] ""
## [1936] "'In a moment I was clutched by several hands, and there was no"
## [1937] "mistaking that they were trying to haul me back. I struck another"
## [1938] "light, and waved it in their dazzled faces. You can scarce imagine"
## [1939] "how nauseatingly inhuman they looked--those pale, chinless faces"
## [1940] "and great, lidless, pinkish-grey eyes!--as they stared in their"
## [1941] "blindness and bewilderment. But I did not stay to look, I promise"
## [1942] "you: I retreated again, and when my second match had ended, I struck"
## [1943] "my third. It had almost burned through when I reached the opening"
## [1944] "into the shaft. I lay down on the edge, for the throb of the great"
## [1945] "pump below made me giddy. Then I felt sideways for the projecting"
## [1946] "hooks, and, as I did so, my feet were grasped from behind, and I"
## [1947] "was violently tugged backward. I lit my last match ... and it"
## [1948] "incontinently went out. But I had my hand on the climbing bars now,"
## [1949] "and, kicking violently, I disengaged myself from the clutches of the"
## [1950] "Morlocks and was speedily clambering up the shaft, while they stayed"
## [1951] "peering and blinking up at me: all but one little wretch who"
## [1952] "followed me for some way, and well-nigh secured my boot as a trophy."
## [1953] ""
## [1954] "'That climb seemed interminable to me. With the last twenty or"
## [1955] "thirty feet of it a deadly nausea came upon me. I had the greatest"
## [1956] "difficulty in keeping my hold. The last few yards was a frightful"
## [1957] "struggle against this faintness. Several times my head swam, and I"
## [1958] "felt all the sensations of falling. At last, however, I got over the"
## [1959] "well-mouth somehow, and staggered out of the ruin into the blinding"
## [1960] "sunlight. I fell upon my face. Even the soil smelt sweet and clean."
## [1961] "Then I remember Weena kissing my hands and ears, and the voices of"
## [1962] "others among the Eloi. Then, for a time, I was insensible."
## [1963] ""
## [1964] ""
## [1965] ""
## [1966] ""
## [1967] "VII"
## [1968] ""
## [1969] ""
## [1970] "'Now, indeed, I seemed in a worse case than before. Hitherto,"
## [1971] "except during my night's anguish at the loss of the Time Machine,"
## [1972] "I had felt a sustaining hope of ultimate escape, but that hope was"
## [1973] "staggered by these new discoveries. Hitherto I had merely thought"
## [1974] "myself impeded by the childish simplicity of the little people, and"
## [1975] "by some unknown forces which I had only to understand to overcome;"
## [1976] "but there was an altogether new element in the sickening quality of"
## [1977] "the Morlocks--a something inhuman and malign. Instinctively I"
## [1978] "loathed them. Before, I had felt as a man might feel who had fallen"
## [1979] "into a pit: my concern was with the pit and how to get out of it."
## [1980] "Now I felt like a beast in a trap, whose enemy would come upon him"
## [1981] "soon."
## [1982] ""
## [1983] "'The enemy I dreaded may surprise you. It was the darkness of the"
## [1984] "new moon. Weena had put this into my head by some at first"
## [1985] "incomprehensible remarks about the Dark Nights. It was not now"
## [1986] "such a very difficult problem to guess what the coming Dark Nights"
## [1987] "might mean. The moon was on the wane: each night there was a longer"
## [1988] "interval of darkness. And I now understood to some slight degree at"
## [1989] "least the reason of the fear of the little Upper-world people for"
## [1990] "the dark. I wondered vaguely what foul villainy it might be that"
## [1991] "the Morlocks did under the new moon. I felt pretty sure now that"
## [1992] "my second hypothesis was all wrong. The Upper-world people might"
## [1993] "once have been the favoured aristocracy, and the Morlocks their"
## [1994] "mechanical servants: but that had long since passed away. The two"
## [1995] "species that had resulted from the evolution of man were sliding"
## [1996] "down towards, or had already arrived at, an altogether new"
## [1997] "relationship. The Eloi, like the Carolingian kings, had decayed"
## [1998] "to a mere beautiful futility. They still possessed the earth on"
## [1999] "sufferance: since the Morlocks, subterranean for innumerable"
## [2000] "generations, had come at last to find the daylit surface"
## [2001] "intolerable. And the Morlocks made their garments, I inferred, and"
## [2002] "maintained them in their habitual needs, perhaps through the"
## [2003] "survival of an old habit of service. They did it as a standing horse"
## [2004] "paws with his foot, or as a man enjoys killing animals in sport:"
## [2005] "because ancient and departed necessities had impressed it on the"
## [2006] "organism. But, clearly, the old order was already in part reversed."
## [2007] "The Nemesis of the delicate ones was creeping on apace. Ages ago,"
## [2008] "thousands of generations ago, man had thrust his brother man out of"
## [2009] "the ease and the sunshine. And now that brother was coming back"
## [2010] "changed! Already the Eloi had begun to learn one old lesson anew."
## [2011] "They were becoming reacquainted with Fear. And suddenly there came"
## [2012] "into my head the memory of the meat I had seen in the Under-world."
## [2013] "It seemed odd how it floated into my mind: not stirred up as it"
## [2014] "were by the current of my meditations, but coming in almost like a"
## [2015] "question from outside. I tried to recall the form of it. I had a"
## [2016] "vague sense of something familiar, but I could not tell what it was"
## [2017] "at the time."
## [2018] ""
## [2019] "'Still, however helpless the little people in the presence of their"
## [2020] "mysterious Fear, I was differently constituted. I came out of this"
## [2021] "age of ours, this ripe prime of the human race, when Fear does not"
## [2022] "paralyse and mystery has lost its terrors. I at least would defend"
## [2023] "myself. Without further delay I determined to make myself arms and a"
## [2024] "fastness where I might sleep. With that refuge as a base, I could"
## [2025] "face this strange world with some of that confidence I had lost in"
## [2026] "realizing to what creatures night by night I lay exposed. I felt"
## [2027] "I could never sleep again until my bed was secure from them. I"
## [2028] "shuddered with horror to think how they must already have examined"
## [2029] "me."
## [2030] ""
## [2031] "'I wandered during the afternoon along the valley of the Thames, but"
## [2032] "found nothing that commended itself to my mind as inaccessible. All"
## [2033] "the buildings and trees seemed easily practicable to such dexterous"
## [2034] "climbers as the Morlocks, to judge by their wells, must be. Then the"
## [2035] "tall pinnacles of the Palace of Green Porcelain and the polished"
## [2036] "gleam of its walls came back to my memory; and in the evening,"
## [2037] "taking Weena like a child upon my shoulder, I went up the hills"
## [2038] "towards the south-west. The distance, I had reckoned, was seven or"
## [2039] "eight miles, but it must have been nearer eighteen. I had first seen"
## [2040] "the place on a moist afternoon when distances are deceptively"
## [2041] "diminished. In addition, the heel of one of my shoes was loose, and"
## [2042] "a nail was working through the sole--they were comfortable old shoes"
## [2043] "I wore about indoors--so that I was lame. And it was already long"
## [2044] "past sunset when I came in sight of the palace, silhouetted black"
## [2045] "against the pale yellow of the sky."
## [2046] ""
## [2047] "'Weena had been hugely delighted when I began to carry her, but"
## [2048] "after a while she desired me to let her down, and ran along by the"
## [2049] "side of me, occasionally darting off on either hand to pick flowers"
## [2050] "to stick in my pockets. My pockets had always puzzled Weena, but at"
## [2051] "the last she had concluded that they were an eccentric kind of vase"
## [2052] "for floral decoration. At least she utilized them for that purpose."
## [2053] "And that reminds me! In changing my jacket I found...'"
## [2054] ""
## [2055] "The Time Traveller paused, put his hand into his pocket, and"
## [2056] "silently placed two withered flowers, not unlike very large white"
## [2057] "mallows, upon the little table. Then he resumed his narrative."
## [2058] ""
## [2059] "'As the hush of evening crept over the world and we proceeded over"
## [2060] "the hill crest towards Wimbledon, Weena grew tired and wanted to"
## [2061] "return to the house of grey stone. But I pointed out the distant"
## [2062] "pinnacles of the Palace of Green Porcelain to her, and contrived to"
## [2063] "make her understand that we were seeking a refuge there from her"
## [2064] "Fear. You know that great pause that comes upon things before the"
## [2065] "dusk? Even the breeze stops in the trees. To me there is always an"
## [2066] "air of expectation about that evening stillness. The sky was clear,"
## [2067] "remote, and empty save for a few horizontal bars far down in the"
## [2068] "sunset. Well, that night the expectation took the colour of my"
## [2069] "fears. In that darkling calm my senses seemed preternaturally"
## [2070] "sharpened. I fancied I could even feel the hollowness of the ground"
## [2071] "beneath my feet: could, indeed, almost see through it the Morlocks"
## [2072] "on their ant-hill going hither and thither and waiting for the dark."
## [2073] "In my excitement I fancied that they would receive my invasion of"
## [2074] "their burrows as a declaration of war. And why had they taken my"
## [2075] "Time Machine?"
## [2076] ""
## [2077] "'So we went on in the quiet, and the twilight deepened into night."
## [2078] "The clear blue of the distance faded, and one star after another"
## [2079] "came out. The ground grew dim and the trees black. Weena's fears and"
## [2080] "her fatigue grew upon her. I took her in my arms and talked to her"
## [2081] "and caressed her. Then, as the darkness grew deeper, she put her"
## [2082] "arms round my neck, and, closing her eyes, tightly pressed her face"
## [2083] "against my shoulder. So we went down a long slope into a valley, and"
## [2084] "there in the dimness I almost walked into a little river. This I"
## [2085] "waded, and went up the opposite side of the valley, past a number"
## [2086] "of sleeping houses, and by a statue--a Faun, or some such figure,"
## [2087] "_minus_ the head. Here too were acacias. So far I had seen nothing of"
## [2088] "the Morlocks, but it was yet early in the night, and the darker hours"
## [2089] "before the old moon rose were still to come."
## [2090] ""
## [2091] "'From the brow of the next hill I saw a thick wood spreading wide"
## [2092] "and black before me. I hesitated at this. I could see no end to"
## [2093] "it, either to the right or the left. Feeling tired--my feet, in"
## [2094] "particular, were very sore--I carefully lowered Weena from my"
## [2095] "shoulder as I halted, and sat down upon the turf. I could no"
## [2096] "longer see the Palace of Green Porcelain, and I was in doubt of my"
## [2097] "direction. I looked into the thickness of the wood and thought of"
## [2098] "what it might hide. Under that dense tangle of branches one would"
## [2099] "be out of sight of the stars. Even were there no other lurking"
## [2100] "danger--a danger I did not care to let my imagination loose"
## [2101] "upon--there would still be all the roots to stumble over and the"
## [2102] "tree-boles to strike against."
## [2103] ""
## [2104] "'I was very tired, too, after the excitements of the day; so I"
## [2105] "decided that I would not face it, but would pass the night upon the"
## [2106] "open hill."
## [2107] ""
## [2108] "'Weena, I was glad to find, was fast asleep. I carefully wrapped her"
## [2109] "in my jacket, and sat down beside her to wait for the moonrise. The"
## [2110] "hill-side was quiet and deserted, but from the black of the wood"
## [2111] "there came now and then a stir of living things. Above me shone the"
## [2112] "stars, for the night was very clear. I felt a certain sense of"
## [2113] "friendly comfort in their twinkling. All the old constellations"
## [2114] "had gone from the sky, however: that slow movement which is"
## [2115] "imperceptible in a hundred human lifetimes, had long since"
## [2116] "rearranged them in unfamiliar groupings. But the Milky Way, it"
## [2117] "seemed to me, was still the same tattered streamer of star-dust as"
## [2118] "of yore. Southward (as I judged it) was a very bright red star that"
## [2119] "was new to me; it was even more splendid than our own green Sirius."
## [2120] "And amid all these scintillating points of light one bright planet"
## [2121] "shone kindly and steadily like the face of an old friend."
## [2122] ""
## [2123] "'Looking at these stars suddenly dwarfed my own troubles and all"
## [2124] "the gravities of terrestrial life. I thought of their unfathomable"
## [2125] "distance, and the slow inevitable drift of their movements out of"
## [2126] "the unknown past into the unknown future. I thought of the great"
## [2127] "precessional cycle that the pole of the earth describes. Only forty"
## [2128] "times had that silent revolution occurred during all the years that"
## [2129] "I had traversed. And during these few revolutions all the activity,"
## [2130] "all the traditions, the complex organizations, the nations,"
## [2131] "languages, literatures, aspirations, even the mere memory of Man as"
## [2132] "I knew him, had been swept out of existence. Instead were these"
## [2133] "frail creatures who had forgotten their high ancestry, and the white"
## [2134] "Things of which I went in terror. Then I thought of the Great Fear"
## [2135] "that was between the two species, and for the first time, with a"
## [2136] "sudden shiver, came the clear knowledge of what the meat I had seen"
## [2137] "might be. Yet it was too horrible! I looked at little Weena sleeping"
## [2138] "beside me, her face white and starlike under the stars, and"
## [2139] "forthwith dismissed the thought."
## [2140] ""
## [2141] "'Through that long night I held my mind off the Morlocks as well as"
## [2142] "I could, and whiled away the time by trying to fancy I could find"
## [2143] "signs of the old constellations in the new confusion. The sky kept"
## [2144] "very clear, except for a hazy cloud or so. No doubt I dozed at"
## [2145] "times. Then, as my vigil wore on, came a faintness in the eastward"
## [2146] "sky, like the reflection of some colourless fire, and the old moon"
## [2147] "rose, thin and peaked and white. And close behind, and overtaking"
## [2148] "it, and overflowing it, the dawn came, pale at first, and then"
## [2149] "growing pink and warm. No Morlocks had approached us. Indeed, I had"
## [2150] "seen none upon the hill that night. And in the confidence of renewed"
## [2151] "day it almost seemed to me that my fear had been unreasonable. I"
## [2152] "stood up and found my foot with the loose heel swollen at the ankle"
## [2153] "and painful under the heel; so I sat down again, took off my shoes,"
## [2154] "and flung them away."
## [2155] ""
## [2156] "'I awakened Weena, and we went down into the wood, now green and"
## [2157] "pleasant instead of black and forbidding. We found some fruit"
## [2158] "wherewith to break our fast. We soon met others of the dainty ones,"
## [2159] "laughing and dancing in the sunlight as though there was no such"
## [2160] "thing in nature as the night. And then I thought once more of the"
## [2161] "meat that I had seen. I felt assured now of what it was, and from"
## [2162] "the bottom of my heart I pitied this last feeble rill from the great"
## [2163] "flood of humanity. Clearly, at some time in the Long-Ago of human"
## [2164] "decay the Morlocks' food had run short. Possibly they had lived on"
## [2165] "rats and such-like vermin. Even now man is far less discriminating"
## [2166] "and exclusive in his food than he was--far less than any monkey. His"
## [2167] "prejudice against human flesh is no deep-seated instinct. And so"
## [2168] "these inhuman sons of men----! I tried to look at the thing in a"
## [2169] "scientific spirit. After all, they were less human and more remote"
## [2170] "than our cannibal ancestors of three or four thousand years ago."
## [2171] "And the intelligence that would have made this state of things a"
## [2172] "torment had gone. Why should I trouble myself? These Eloi were mere"
## [2173] "fatted cattle, which the ant-like Morlocks preserved and preyed"
## [2174] "upon--probably saw to the breeding of. And there was Weena dancing"
## [2175] "at my side!"
## [2176] ""
## [2177] "'Then I tried to preserve myself from the horror that was coming"
## [2178] "upon me, by regarding it as a rigorous punishment of human"
## [2179] "selfishness. Man had been content to live in ease and delight upon"
## [2180] "the labours of his fellow-man, had taken Necessity as his watchword"
## [2181] "and excuse, and in the fullness of time Necessity had come home to"
## [2182] "him. I even tried a Carlyle-like scorn of this wretched aristocracy"
## [2183] "in decay. But this attitude of mind was impossible. However great"
## [2184] "their intellectual degradation, the Eloi had kept too much of the"
## [2185] "human form not to claim my sympathy, and to make me perforce a"
## [2186] "sharer in their degradation and their Fear."
## [2187] ""
## [2188] "'I had at that time very vague ideas as to the course I should"
## [2189] "pursue. My first was to secure some safe place of refuge, and to"
## [2190] "make myself such arms of metal or stone as I could contrive. That"
## [2191] "necessity was immediate. In the next place, I hoped to procure some"
## [2192] "means of fire, so that I should have the weapon of a torch at hand,"
## [2193] "for nothing, I knew, would be more efficient against these Morlocks."
## [2194] "Then I wanted to arrange some contrivance to break open the doors of"
## [2195] "bronze under the White Sphinx. I had in mind a battering ram. I had"
## [2196] "a persuasion that if I could enter those doors and carry a blaze of"
## [2197] "light before me I should discover the Time Machine and escape. I"
## [2198] "could not imagine the Morlocks were strong enough to move it far"
## [2199] "away. Weena I had resolved to bring with me to our own time. And"
## [2200] "turning such schemes over in my mind I pursued our way towards the"
## [2201] "building which my fancy had chosen as our dwelling."
## [2202] ""
## [2203] ""
## [2204] ""
## [2205] ""
## [2206] "VIII"
## [2207] ""
## [2208] ""
## [2209] "'I found the Palace of Green Porcelain, when we approached it about"
## [2210] "noon, deserted and falling into ruin. Only ragged vestiges of glass"
## [2211] "remained in its windows, and great sheets of the green facing had"
## [2212] "fallen away from the corroded metallic framework. It lay very high"
## [2213] "upon a turfy down, and looking north-eastward before I entered it, I"
## [2214] "was surprised to see a large estuary, or even creek, where I judged"
## [2215] "Wandsworth and Battersea must once have been. I thought then--though"
## [2216] "I never followed up the thought--of what might have happened, or"
## [2217] "might be happening, to the living things in the sea."
## [2218] ""
## [2219] "'The material of the Palace proved on examination to be indeed"
## [2220] "porcelain, and along the face of it I saw an inscription in some"
## [2221] "unknown character. I thought, rather foolishly, that Weena might"
## [2222] "help me to interpret this, but I only learned that the bare idea of"
## [2223] "writing had never entered her head. She always seemed to me, I"
## [2224] "fancy, more human than she was, perhaps because her affection was so"
## [2225] "human."
## [2226] ""
## [2227] "'Within the big valves of the door--which were open and broken--we"
## [2228] "found, instead of the customary hall, a long gallery lit by many"
## [2229] "side windows. At the first glance I was reminded of a museum."
## [2230] "The tiled floor was thick with dust, and a remarkable array of"
## [2231] "miscellaneous objects was shrouded in the same grey covering. Then"
## [2232] "I perceived, standing strange and gaunt in the centre of the hall,"
## [2233] "what was clearly the lower part of a huge skeleton. I recognized"
## [2234] "by the oblique feet that it was some extinct creature after the"
## [2235] "fashion of the Megatherium. The skull and the upper bones lay"
## [2236] "beside it in the thick dust, and in one place, where rain-water had"
## [2237] "dropped through a leak in the roof, the thing itself had been worn"
## [2238] "away. Further in the gallery was the huge skeleton barrel of a"
## [2239] "Brontosaurus. My museum hypothesis was confirmed. Going towards the"
## [2240] "side I found what appeared to be sloping shelves, and clearing away"
## [2241] "the thick dust, I found the old familiar glass cases of our own"
## [2242] "time. But they must have been air-tight to judge from the fair"
## [2243] "preservation of some of their contents."
## [2244] ""
## [2245] "'Clearly we stood among the ruins of some latter-day South"
## [2246] "Kensington! Here, apparently, was the Palaeontological Section,"
## [2247] "and a very splendid array of fossils it must have been, though the"
## [2248] "inevitable process of decay that had been staved off for a time, and"
## [2249] "had, through the extinction of bacteria and fungi, lost ninety-nine"
## [2250] "hundredths of its force, was nevertheless, with extreme sureness if"
## [2251] "with extreme slowness at work again upon all its treasures. Here and"
## [2252] "there I found traces of the little people in the shape of rare"
## [2253] "fossils broken to pieces or threaded in strings upon reeds. And the"
## [2254] "cases had in some instances been bodily removed--by the Morlocks as"
## [2255] "I judged. The place was very silent. The thick dust deadened our"
## [2256] "footsteps. Weena, who had been rolling a sea urchin down the sloping"
## [2257] "glass of a case, presently came, as I stared about me, and very"
## [2258] "quietly took my hand and stood beside me."
## [2259] ""
## [2260] "'And at first I was so much surprised by this ancient monument of an"
## [2261] "intellectual age, that I gave no thought to the possibilities it"
## [2262] "presented. Even my preoccupation about the Time Machine receded a"
## [2263] "little from my mind."
## [2264] ""
## [2265] "'To judge from the size of the place, this Palace of Green Porcelain"
## [2266] "had a great deal more in it than a Gallery of Palaeontology;"
## [2267] "possibly historical galleries; it might be, even a library! To me,"
## [2268] "at least in my present circumstances, these would be vastly more"
## [2269] "interesting than this spectacle of oldtime geology in decay."
## [2270] "Exploring, I found another short gallery running transversely to the"
## [2271] "first. This appeared to be devoted to minerals, and the sight of a"
## [2272] "block of sulphur set my mind running on gunpowder. But I could find"
## [2273] "no saltpeter; indeed, no nitrates of any kind. Doubtless they had"
## [2274] "deliquesced ages ago. Yet the sulphur hung in my mind, and set up a"
## [2275] "train of thinking. As for the rest of the contents of that gallery,"
## [2276] "though on the whole they were the best preserved of all I saw, I had"
## [2277] "little interest. I am no specialist in mineralogy, and I went on"
## [2278] "down a very ruinous aisle running parallel to the first hall I had"
## [2279] "entered. Apparently this section had been devoted to natural"
## [2280] "history, but everything had long since passed out of recognition. A"
## [2281] "few shrivelled and blackened vestiges of what had once been stuffed"
## [2282] "animals, desiccated mummies in jars that had once held spirit, a"
## [2283] "brown dust of departed plants: that was all! I was sorry for that,"
## [2284] "because I should have been glad to trace the patent readjustments by"
## [2285] "which the conquest of animated nature had been attained. Then we"
## [2286] "came to a gallery of simply colossal proportions, but singularly"
## [2287] "ill-lit, the floor of it running downward at a slight angle from the"
## [2288] "end at which I entered. At intervals white globes hung from the"
## [2289] "ceiling--many of them cracked and smashed--which suggested that"
## [2290] "originally the place had been artificially lit. Here I was more in"
## [2291] "my element, for rising on either side of me were the huge bulks of"
## [2292] "big machines, all greatly corroded and many broken down, but some"
## [2293] "still fairly complete. You know I have a certain weakness for"
## [2294] "mechanism, and I was inclined to linger among these; the more so as"
## [2295] "for the most part they had the interest of puzzles, and I could make"
## [2296] "only the vaguest guesses at what they were for. I fancied that if"
## [2297] "I could solve their puzzles I should find myself in possession of"
## [2298] "powers that might be of use against the Morlocks."
## [2299] ""
## [2300] "'Suddenly Weena came very close to my side. So suddenly that she"
## [2301] "startled me. Had it not been for her I do not think I should have"
## [2302] "noticed that the floor of the gallery sloped at all. [Footnote: It"
## [2303] "may be, of course, that the floor did not slope, but that the museum"
## [2304] "was built into the side of a hill.--ED.] The end I had come in at"
## [2305] "was quite above ground, and was lit by rare slit-like windows. As"
## [2306] "you went down the length, the ground came up against these windows,"
## [2307] "until at last there was a pit like the \"area\" of a London house"
## [2308] "before each, and only a narrow line of daylight at the top. I went"
## [2309] "slowly along, puzzling about the machines, and had been too intent"
## [2310] "upon them to notice the gradual diminution of the light, until"
## [2311] "Weena's increasing apprehensions drew my attention. Then I saw that"
## [2312] "the gallery ran down at last into a thick darkness. I hesitated, and"
## [2313] "then, as I looked round me, I saw that the dust was less abundant"
## [2314] "and its surface less even. Further away towards the dimness, it"
## [2315] "appeared to be broken by a number of small narrow footprints. My"
## [2316] "sense of the immediate presence of the Morlocks revived at that."
## [2317] "I felt that I was wasting my time in the academic examination of"
## [2318] "machinery. I called to mind that it was already far advanced in the"
## [2319] "afternoon, and that I had still no weapon, no refuge, and no means"
## [2320] "of making a fire. And then down in the remote blackness of the"
## [2321] "gallery I heard a peculiar pattering, and the same odd noises I had"
## [2322] "heard down the well."
## [2323] ""
## [2324] "'I took Weena's hand. Then, struck with a sudden idea, I left her"
## [2325] "and turned to a machine from which projected a lever not unlike"
## [2326] "those in a signal-box. Clambering upon the stand, and grasping this"
## [2327] "lever in my hands, I put all my weight upon it sideways. Suddenly"
## [2328] "Weena, deserted in the central aisle, began to whimper. I had judged"
## [2329] "the strength of the lever pretty correctly, for it snapped after a"
## [2330] "minute's strain, and I rejoined her with a mace in my hand more than"
## [2331] "sufficient, I judged, for any Morlock skull I might encounter. And I"
## [2332] "longed very much to kill a Morlock or so. Very inhuman, you may"
## [2333] "think, to want to go killing one's own descendants! But it was"
## [2334] "impossible, somehow, to feel any humanity in the things. Only my"
## [2335] "disinclination to leave Weena, and a persuasion that if I began to"
## [2336] "slake my thirst for murder my Time Machine might suffer, restrained"
## [2337] "me from going straight down the gallery and killing the brutes I"
## [2338] "heard."
## [2339] ""
## [2340] "'Well, mace in one hand and Weena in the other, I went out of that"
## [2341] "gallery and into another and still larger one, which at the first"
## [2342] "glance reminded me of a military chapel hung with tattered flags."
## [2343] "The brown and charred rags that hung from the sides of it, I"
## [2344] "presently recognized as the decaying vestiges of books. They had"
## [2345] "long since dropped to pieces, and every semblance of print had left"
## [2346] "them. But here and there were warped boards and cracked metallic"
## [2347] "clasps that told the tale well enough. Had I been a literary man I"
## [2348] "might, perhaps, have moralized upon the futility of all ambition."
## [2349] "But as it was, the thing that struck me with keenest force was the"
## [2350] "enormous waste of labour to which this sombre wilderness of rotting"
## [2351] "paper testified. At the time I will confess that I thought chiefly"
## [2352] "of the _Philosophical Transactions_ and my own seventeen papers upon"
## [2353] "physical optics."
## [2354] ""
## [2355] "'Then, going up a broad staircase, we came to what may once have"
## [2356] "been a gallery of technical chemistry. And here I had not a little"
## [2357] "hope of useful discoveries. Except at one end where the roof had"
## [2358] "collapsed, this gallery was well preserved. I went eagerly to every"
## [2359] "unbroken case. And at last, in one of the really air-tight cases,"
## [2360] "I found a box of matches. Very eagerly I tried them. They were"
## [2361] "perfectly good. They were not even damp. I turned to Weena. \"Dance,\""
## [2362] "I cried to her in her own tongue. For now I had a weapon indeed"
## [2363] "against the horrible creatures we feared. And so, in that derelict"
## [2364] "museum, upon the thick soft carpeting of dust, to Weena's huge"
## [2365] "delight, I solemnly performed a kind of composite dance, whistling"
## [2366] "_The Land of the Leal_ as cheerfully as I could. In part it was a"
## [2367] "modest _cancan_, in part a step dance, in part a skirt-dance (so far"
## [2368] "as my tail-coat permitted), and in part original. For I am naturally"
## [2369] "inventive, as you know."
## [2370] ""
## [2371] "'Now, I still think that for this box of matches to have escaped"
## [2372] "the wear of time for immemorial years was a most strange, as for"
## [2373] "me it was a most fortunate thing. Yet, oddly enough, I found a far"
## [2374] "unlikelier substance, and that was camphor. I found it in a sealed"
## [2375] "jar, that by chance, I suppose, had been really hermetically sealed."
## [2376] "I fancied at first that it was paraffin wax, and smashed the glass"
## [2377] "accordingly. But the odour of camphor was unmistakable. In the"
## [2378] "universal decay this volatile substance had chanced to survive,"
## [2379] "perhaps through many thousands of centuries. It reminded me of a"
## [2380] "sepia painting I had once seen done from the ink of a fossil"
## [2381] "Belemnite that must have perished and become fossilized millions"
## [2382] "of years ago. I was about to throw it away, but I remembered that"
## [2383] "it was inflammable and burned with a good bright flame--was, in"
## [2384] "fact, an excellent candle--and I put it in my pocket. I found no"
## [2385] "explosives, however, nor any means of breaking down the bronze"
## [2386] "doors. As yet my iron crowbar was the most helpful thing I had"
## [2387] "chanced upon. Nevertheless I left that gallery greatly elated."
## [2388] ""
## [2389] "'I cannot tell you all the story of that long afternoon. It would"
## [2390] "require a great effort of memory to recall my explorations in at all"
## [2391] "the proper order. I remember a long gallery of rusting stands of"
## [2392] "arms, and how I hesitated between my crowbar and a hatchet or a"
## [2393] "sword. I could not carry both, however, and my bar of iron promised"
## [2394] "best against the bronze gates. There were numbers of guns, pistols,"
## [2395] "and rifles. The most were masses of rust, but many were of some"
## [2396] "new metal, and still fairly sound. But any cartridges or powder"
## [2397] "there may once have been had rotted into dust. One corner I saw was"
## [2398] "charred and shattered; perhaps, I thought, by an explosion among the"
## [2399] "specimens. In another place was a vast array of idols--Polynesian,"
## [2400] "Mexican, Grecian, Phoenician, every country on earth I should think."
## [2401] "And here, yielding to an irresistible impulse, I wrote my name upon"
## [2402] "the nose of a steatite monster from South America that particularly"
## [2403] "took my fancy."
## [2404] ""
## [2405] "'As the evening drew on, my interest waned. I went through gallery"
## [2406] "after gallery, dusty, silent, often ruinous, the exhibits sometimes"
## [2407] "mere heaps of rust and lignite, sometimes fresher. In one place I"
## [2408] "suddenly found myself near the model of a tin-mine, and then by the"
## [2409] "merest accident I discovered, in an air-tight case, two dynamite"
## [2410] "cartridges! I shouted \"Eureka!\" and smashed the case with joy. Then"
## [2411] "came a doubt. I hesitated. Then, selecting a little side gallery,"
## [2412] "I made my essay. I never felt such a disappointment as I did in"
## [2413] "waiting five, ten, fifteen minutes for an explosion that never came."
## [2414] "Of course the things were dummies, as I might have guessed from"
## [2415] "their presence. I really believe that had they not been so, I should"
## [2416] "have rushed off incontinently and blown Sphinx, bronze doors, and"
## [2417] "(as it proved) my chances of finding the Time Machine, all together"
## [2418] "into non-existence."
## [2419] ""
## [2420] "'It was after that, I think, that we came to a little open court"
## [2421] "within the palace. It was turfed, and had three fruit-trees. So we"
## [2422] "rested and refreshed ourselves. Towards sunset I began to consider"
## [2423] "our position. Night was creeping upon us, and my inaccessible"
## [2424] "hiding-place had still to be found. But that troubled me very little"
## [2425] "now. I had in my possession a thing that was, perhaps, the best of"
## [2426] "all defences against the Morlocks--I had matches! I had the camphor"
## [2427] "in my pocket, too, if a blaze were needed. It seemed to me that"
## [2428] "the best thing we could do would be to pass the night in the open,"
## [2429] "protected by a fire. In the morning there was the getting of the"
## [2430] "Time Machine. Towards that, as yet, I had only my iron mace. But"
## [2431] "now, with my growing knowledge, I felt very differently towards"
## [2432] "those bronze doors. Up to this, I had refrained from forcing them,"
## [2433] "largely because of the mystery on the other side. They had never"
## [2434] "impressed me as being very strong, and I hoped to find my bar of"
## [2435] "iron not altogether inadequate for the work."
## [2436] ""
## [2437] ""
## [2438] ""
## [2439] ""
## [2440] "IX"
## [2441] ""
## [2442] ""
## [2443] "'We emerged from the palace while the sun was still in part above"
## [2444] "the horizon. I was determined to reach the White Sphinx early the"
## [2445] "next morning, and ere the dusk I purposed pushing through the woods"
## [2446] "that had stopped me on the previous journey. My plan was to go as"
## [2447] "far as possible that night, and then, building a fire, to sleep"
## [2448] "in the protection of its glare. Accordingly, as we went along I"
## [2449] "gathered any sticks or dried grass I saw, and presently had my arms"
## [2450] "full of such litter. Thus loaded, our progress was slower than I had"
## [2451] "anticipated, and besides Weena was tired. And I began to suffer from"
## [2452] "sleepiness too; so that it was full night before we reached the"
## [2453] "wood. Upon the shrubby hill of its edge Weena would have stopped,"
## [2454] "fearing the darkness before us; but a singular sense of impending"
## [2455] "calamity, that should indeed have served me as a warning, drove me"
## [2456] "onward. I had been without sleep for a night and two days, and I was"
## [2457] "feverish and irritable. I felt sleep coming upon me, and the"
## [2458] "Morlocks with it."
## [2459] ""
## [2460] "'While we hesitated, among the black bushes behind us, and dim"
## [2461] "against their blackness, I saw three crouching figures. There was"
## [2462] "scrub and long grass all about us, and I did not feel safe from"
## [2463] "their insidious approach. The forest, I calculated, was rather"
## [2464] "less than a mile across. If we could get through it to the bare"
## [2465] "hill-side, there, as it seemed to me, was an altogether safer"
## [2466] "resting-place; I thought that with my matches and my camphor I could"
## [2467] "contrive to keep my path illuminated through the woods. Yet it was"
## [2468] "evident that if I was to flourish matches with my hands I should"
## [2469] "have to abandon my firewood; so, rather reluctantly, I put it down."
## [2470] "And then it came into my head that I would amaze our friends behind"
## [2471] "by lighting it. I was to discover the atrocious folly of this"
## [2472] "proceeding, but it came to my mind as an ingenious move for covering"
## [2473] "our retreat."
## [2474] ""
## [2475] "'I don't know if you have ever thought what a rare thing flame must"
## [2476] "be in the absence of man and in a temperate climate. The sun's"
## [2477] "heat is rarely strong enough to burn, even when it is focused by"
## [2478] "dewdrops, as is sometimes the case in more tropical districts."
## [2479] "Lightning may blast and blacken, but it rarely gives rise to"
## [2480] "widespread fire. Decaying vegetation may occasionally smoulder with"
## [2481] "the heat of its fermentation, but this rarely results in flame. In"
## [2482] "this decadence, too, the art of fire-making had been forgotten on"
## [2483] "the earth. The red tongues that went licking up my heap of wood were"
## [2484] "an altogether new and strange thing to Weena."
## [2485] ""
## [2486] "'She wanted to run to it and play with it. I believe she would have"
## [2487] "cast herself into it had I not restrained her. But I caught her up,"
## [2488] "and in spite of her struggles, plunged boldly before me into the"
## [2489] "wood. For a little way the glare of my fire lit the path. Looking"
## [2490] "back presently, I could see, through the crowded stems, that from my"
## [2491] "heap of sticks the blaze had spread to some bushes adjacent, and a"
## [2492] "curved line of fire was creeping up the grass of the hill. I laughed"
## [2493] "at that, and turned again to the dark trees before me. It was very"
## [2494] "black, and Weena clung to me convulsively, but there was still, as"
## [2495] "my eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, sufficient light for me to"
## [2496] "avoid the stems. Overhead it was simply black, except where a gap of"
## [2497] "remote blue sky shone down upon us here and there. I struck none of"
## [2498] "my matches because I had no hand free. Upon my left arm I carried my"
## [2499] "little one, in my right hand I had my iron bar."
## [2500] ""
## [2501] "'For some way I heard nothing but the crackling twigs under my feet,"
## [2502] "the faint rustle of the breeze above, and my own breathing and the"
## [2503] "throb of the blood-vessels in my ears. Then I seemed to know of a"
## [2504] "pattering about me. I pushed on grimly. The pattering grew more"
## [2505] "distinct, and then I caught the same queer sound and voices I had"
## [2506] "heard in the Under-world. There were evidently several of the"
## [2507] "Morlocks, and they were closing in upon me. Indeed, in another"
## [2508] "minute I felt a tug at my coat, then something at my arm. And Weena"
## [2509] "shivered violently, and became quite still."
## [2510] ""
## [2511] "'It was time for a match. But to get one I must put her down. I did"
## [2512] "so, and, as I fumbled with my pocket, a struggle began in the"
## [2513] "darkness about my knees, perfectly silent on her part and with the"
## [2514] "same peculiar cooing sounds from the Morlocks. Soft little hands,"
## [2515] "too, were creeping over my coat and back, touching even my neck."
## [2516] "Then the match scratched and fizzed. I held it flaring, and saw the"
## [2517] "white backs of the Morlocks in flight amid the trees. I hastily took"
## [2518] "a lump of camphor from my pocket, and prepared to light it as soon"
## [2519] "as the match should wane. Then I looked at Weena. She was lying"
## [2520] "clutching my feet and quite motionless, with her face to the ground."
## [2521] "With a sudden fright I stooped to her. She seemed scarcely to"
## [2522] "breathe. I lit the block of camphor and flung it to the ground,"
## [2523] "and as it split and flared up and drove back the Morlocks and the"
## [2524] "shadows, I knelt down and lifted her. The wood behind seemed full of"
## [2525] "the stir and murmur of a great company!"
## [2526] ""
## [2527] "'She seemed to have fainted. I put her carefully upon my shoulder"
## [2528] "and rose to push on, and then there came a horrible realization. In"
## [2529] "manoeuvring with my matches and Weena, I had turned myself about"
## [2530] "several times, and now I had not the faintest idea in what direction"
## [2531] "lay my path. For all I knew, I might be facing back towards the"
## [2532] "Palace of Green Porcelain. I found myself in a cold sweat. I had to"
## [2533] "think rapidly what to do. I determined to build a fire and encamp"
## [2534] "where we were. I put Weena, still motionless, down upon a turfy"
## [2535] "bole, and very hastily, as my first lump of camphor waned, I began"
## [2536] "collecting sticks and leaves. Here and there out of the darkness"
## [2537] "round me the Morlocks' eyes shone like carbuncles."
## [2538] ""
## [2539] "'The camphor flickered and went out. I lit a match, and as I did so,"
## [2540] "two white forms that had been approaching Weena dashed hastily away."
## [2541] "One was so blinded by the light that he came straight for me, and I"
## [2542] "felt his bones grind under the blow of my fist. He gave a whoop of"
## [2543] "dismay, staggered a little way, and fell down. I lit another piece"
## [2544] "of camphor, and went on gathering my bonfire. Presently I noticed"
## [2545] "how dry was some of the foliage above me, for since my arrival"
## [2546] "on the Time Machine, a matter of a week, no rain had fallen. So,"
## [2547] "instead of casting about among the trees for fallen twigs, I began"
## [2548] "leaping up and dragging down branches. Very soon I had a choking"
## [2549] "smoky fire of green wood and dry sticks, and could economize my"
## [2550] "camphor. Then I turned to where Weena lay beside my iron mace. I"
## [2551] "tried what I could to revive her, but she lay like one dead. I could"
## [2552] "not even satisfy myself whether or not she breathed."
## [2553] ""
## [2554] "'Now, the smoke of the fire beat over towards me, and it must have"
## [2555] "made me heavy of a sudden. Moreover, the vapour of camphor was in"
## [2556] "the air. My fire would not need replenishing for an hour or so. I"
## [2557] "felt very weary after my exertion, and sat down. The wood, too, was"
## [2558] "full of a slumbrous murmur that I did not understand. I seemed just"
## [2559] "to nod and open my eyes. But all was dark, and the Morlocks had"
## [2560] "their hands upon me. Flinging off their clinging fingers I hastily"
## [2561] "felt in my pocket for the match-box, and--it had gone! Then they"
## [2562] "gripped and closed with me again. In a moment I knew what had"
## [2563] "happened. I had slept, and my fire had gone out, and the bitterness"
## [2564] "of death came over my soul. The forest seemed full of the smell of"
## [2565] "burning wood. I was caught by the neck, by the hair, by the arms,"
## [2566] "and pulled down. It was indescribably horrible in the darkness to"
## [2567] "feel all these soft creatures heaped upon me. I felt as if I was in"
## [2568] "a monstrous spider's web. I was overpowered, and went down. I felt"
## [2569] "little teeth nipping at my neck. I rolled over, and as I did so my"
## [2570] "hand came against my iron lever. It gave me strength. I struggled"
## [2571] "up, shaking the human rats from me, and, holding the bar short,"
## [2572] "I thrust where I judged their faces might be. I could feel the"
## [2573] "succulent giving of flesh and bone under my blows, and for a moment"
## [2574] "I was free."
## [2575] ""
## [2576] "'The strange exultation that so often seems to accompany hard"
## [2577] "fighting came upon me. I knew that both I and Weena were lost, but I"
## [2578] "determined to make the Morlocks pay for their meat. I stood with my"
## [2579] "back to a tree, swinging the iron bar before me. The whole wood was"
## [2580] "full of the stir and cries of them. A minute passed. Their voices"
## [2581] "seemed to rise to a higher pitch of excitement, and their movements"
## [2582] "grew faster. Yet none came within reach. I stood glaring at the"
## [2583] "blackness. Then suddenly came hope. What if the Morlocks were"
## [2584] "afraid? And close on the heels of that came a strange thing. The"
## [2585] "darkness seemed to grow luminous. Very dimly I began to see the"
## [2586] "Morlocks about me--three battered at my feet--and then I recognized,"
## [2587] "with incredulous surprise, that the others were running, in an"
## [2588] "incessant stream, as it seemed, from behind me, and away through the"
## [2589] "wood in front. And their backs seemed no longer white, but reddish."
## [2590] "As I stood agape, I saw a little red spark go drifting across a gap"
## [2591] "of starlight between the branches, and vanish. And at that I"
## [2592] "understood the smell of burning wood, the slumbrous murmur that was"
## [2593] "growing now into a gusty roar, the red glow, and the Morlocks'"
## [2594] "flight."
## [2595] ""
## [2596] "'Stepping out from behind my tree and looking back, I saw, through"
## [2597] "the black pillars of the nearer trees, the flames of the burning"
## [2598] "forest. It was my first fire coming after me. With that I looked for"
## [2599] "Weena, but she was gone. The hissing and crackling behind me, the"
## [2600] "explosive thud as each fresh tree burst into flame, left little"
## [2601] "time for reflection. My iron bar still gripped, I followed in the"
## [2602] "Morlocks' path. It was a close race. Once the flames crept forward"
## [2603] "so swiftly on my right as I ran that I was outflanked and had to"
## [2604] "strike off to the left. But at last I emerged upon a small open"
## [2605] "space, and as I did so, a Morlock came blundering towards me, and"
## [2606] "past me, and went on straight into the fire!"
## [2607] ""
## [2608] "'And now I was to see the most weird and horrible thing, I think, of"
## [2609] "all that I beheld in that future age. This whole space was as bright"
## [2610] "as day with the reflection of the fire. In the centre was a hillock"
## [2611] "or tumulus, surmounted by a scorched hawthorn. Beyond this was"
## [2612] "another arm of the burning forest, with yellow tongues already"
## [2613] "writhing from it, completely encircling the space with a fence of"
## [2614] "fire. Upon the hill-side were some thirty or forty Morlocks, dazzled"
## [2615] "by the light and heat, and blundering hither and thither against"
## [2616] "each other in their bewilderment. At first I did not realize their"
## [2617] "blindness, and struck furiously at them with my bar, in a frenzy of"
## [2618] "fear, as they approached me, killing one and crippling several more."
## [2619] "But when I had watched the gestures of one of them groping under the"
## [2620] "hawthorn against the red sky, and heard their moans, I was assured"
## [2621] "of their absolute helplessness and misery in the glare, and I struck"
## [2622] "no more of them."
## [2623] ""
## [2624] "'Yet every now and then one would come straight towards me, setting"
## [2625] "loose a quivering horror that made me quick to elude him. At one"
## [2626] "time the flames died down somewhat, and I feared the foul creatures"
## [2627] "would presently be able to see me. I was thinking of beginning the"
## [2628] "fight by killing some of them before this should happen; but the"
## [2629] "fire burst out again brightly, and I stayed my hand. I walked about"
## [2630] "the hill among them and avoided them, looking for some trace of"
## [2631] "Weena. But Weena was gone."
## [2632] ""
## [2633] "'At last I sat down on the summit of the hillock, and watched this"
## [2634] "strange incredible company of blind things groping to and fro, and"
## [2635] "making uncanny noises to each other, as the glare of the fire beat"
## [2636] "on them. The coiling uprush of smoke streamed across the sky, and"
## [2637] "through the rare tatters of that red canopy, remote as though they"
## [2638] "belonged to another universe, shone the little stars. Two or three"
## [2639] "Morlocks came blundering into me, and I drove them off with blows"
## [2640] "of my fists, trembling as I did so."
## [2641] ""
## [2642] "'For the most part of that night I was persuaded it was a nightmare."
## [2643] "I bit myself and screamed in a passionate desire to awake. I beat"
## [2644] "the ground with my hands, and got up and sat down again, and"
## [2645] "wandered here and there, and again sat down. Then I would fall to"
## [2646] "rubbing my eyes and calling upon God to let me awake. Thrice I saw"
## [2647] "Morlocks put their heads down in a kind of agony and rush into the"
## [2648] "flames. But, at last, above the subsiding red of the fire, above the"
## [2649] "streaming masses of black smoke and the whitening and blackening"
## [2650] "tree stumps, and the diminishing numbers of these dim creatures,"
## [2651] "came the white light of the day."
## [2652] ""
## [2653] "'I searched again for traces of Weena, but there were none. It was"
## [2654] "plain that they had left her poor little body in the forest. I"
## [2655] "cannot describe how it relieved me to think that it had escaped the"
## [2656] "awful fate to which it seemed destined. As I thought of that, I was"
## [2657] "almost moved to begin a massacre of the helpless abominations about"
## [2658] "me, but I contained myself. The hillock, as I have said, was a kind"
## [2659] "of island in the forest. From its summit I could now make out"
## [2660] "through a haze of smoke the Palace of Green Porcelain, and from that"
## [2661] "I could get my bearings for the White Sphinx. And so, leaving the"
## [2662] "remnant of these damned souls still going hither and thither and"
## [2663] "moaning, as the day grew clearer, I tied some grass about my feet"
## [2664] "and limped on across smoking ashes and among black stems, that still"
## [2665] "pulsated internally with fire, towards the hiding-place of the Time"
## [2666] "Machine. I walked slowly, for I was almost exhausted, as well as"
## [2667] "lame, and I felt the intensest wretchedness for the horrible death"
## [2668] "of little Weena. It seemed an overwhelming calamity. Now, in this"
## [2669] "old familiar room, it is more like the sorrow of a dream than an"
## [2670] "actual loss. But that morning it left me absolutely lonely"
## [2671] "again--terribly alone. I began to think of this house of mine, of"
## [2672] "this fireside, of some of you, and with such thoughts came a longing"
## [2673] "that was pain."
## [2674] ""
## [2675] "'But as I walked over the smoking ashes under the bright morning"
## [2676] "sky, I made a discovery. In my trouser pocket were still some loose"
## [2677] "matches. The box must have leaked before it was lost."
## [2678] ""
## [2679] ""
## [2680] ""
## [2681] ""
## [2682] "X"
## [2683] ""
## [2684] ""
## [2685] "'About eight or nine in the morning I came to the same seat of"
## [2686] "yellow metal from which I had viewed the world upon the evening of"
## [2687] "my arrival. I thought of my hasty conclusions upon that evening and"
## [2688] "could not refrain from laughing bitterly at my confidence. Here"
## [2689] "was the same beautiful scene, the same abundant foliage, the same"
## [2690] "splendid palaces and magnificent ruins, the same silver river"
## [2691] "running between its fertile banks. The gay robes of the beautiful"
## [2692] "people moved hither and thither among the trees. Some were bathing"
## [2693] "in exactly the place where I had saved Weena, and that suddenly gave"
## [2694] "me a keen stab of pain. And like blots upon the landscape rose the"
## [2695] "cupolas above the ways to the Under-world. I understood now what all"
## [2696] "the beauty of the Over-world people covered. Very pleasant was their"
## [2697] "day, as pleasant as the day of the cattle in the field. Like the"
## [2698] "cattle, they knew of no enemies and provided against no needs. And"
## [2699] "their end was the same."
## [2700] ""
## [2701] "'I grieved to think how brief the dream of the human intellect had"
## [2702] "been. It had committed suicide. It had set itself steadfastly"
## [2703] "towards comfort and ease, a balanced society with security and"
## [2704] "permanency as its watchword, it had attained its hopes--to come"
## [2705] "to this at last. Once, life and property must have reached almost"
## [2706] "absolute safety. The rich had been assured of his wealth and"
## [2707] "comfort, the toiler assured of his life and work. No doubt in that"
## [2708] "perfect world there had been no unemployed problem, no social"
## [2709] "question left unsolved. And a great quiet had followed."
## [2710] ""
## [2711] "'It is a law of nature we overlook, that intellectual versatility"
## [2712] "is the compensation for change, danger, and trouble. An animal"
## [2713] "perfectly in harmony with its environment is a perfect mechanism."
## [2714] "Nature never appeals to intelligence until habit and instinct are"
## [2715] "useless. There is no intelligence where there is no change and no"
## [2716] "need of change. Only those animals partake of intelligence that have"
## [2717] "to meet a huge variety of needs and dangers."
## [2718] ""
## [2719] "'So, as I see it, the Upper-world man had drifted towards his"
## [2720] "feeble prettiness, and the Under-world to mere mechanical industry."
## [2721] "But that perfect state had lacked one thing even for mechanical"
## [2722] "perfection--absolute permanency. Apparently as time went on, the"
## [2723] "feeding of the Under-world, however it was effected, had become"
## [2724] "disjointed. Mother Necessity, who had been staved off for a"
## [2725] "few thousand years, came back again, and she began below. The"
## [2726] "Under-world being in contact with machinery, which, however perfect,"
## [2727] "still needs some little thought outside habit, had probably retained"
## [2728] "perforce rather more initiative, if less of every other human"
## [2729] "character, than the Upper. And when other meat failed them, they"
## [2730] "turned to what old habit had hitherto forbidden. So I say I saw it"
## [2731] "in my last view of the world of Eight Hundred and Two Thousand Seven"
## [2732] "Hundred and One. It may be as wrong an explanation as mortal wit"
## [2733] "could invent. It is how the thing shaped itself to me, and as that I"
## [2734] "give it to you."
## [2735] ""
## [2736] "'After the fatigues, excitements, and terrors of the past days, and"
## [2737] "in spite of my grief, this seat and the tranquil view and the warm"
## [2738] "sunlight were very pleasant. I was very tired and sleepy, and soon"
## [2739] "my theorizing passed into dozing. Catching myself at that, I took my"
## [2740] "own hint, and spreading myself out upon the turf I had a long and"
## [2741] "refreshing sleep."
## [2742] ""
## [2743] "'I awoke a little before sunsetting. I now felt safe against being"
## [2744] "caught napping by the Morlocks, and, stretching myself, I came on"
## [2745] "down the hill towards the White Sphinx. I had my crowbar in one"
## [2746] "hand, and the other hand played with the matches in my pocket."
## [2747] ""
## [2748] "'And now came a most unexpected thing. As I approached the pedestal"
## [2749] "of the sphinx I found the bronze valves were open. They had slid"
## [2750] "down into grooves."
## [2751] ""
## [2752] "'At that I stopped short before them, hesitating to enter."
## [2753] ""
## [2754] "'Within was a small apartment, and on a raised place in the corner"
## [2755] "of this was the Time Machine. I had the small levers in my pocket."
## [2756] "So here, after all my elaborate preparations for the siege of the"
## [2757] "White Sphinx, was a meek surrender. I threw my iron bar away, almost"
## [2758] "sorry not to use it."
## [2759] ""
## [2760] "'A sudden thought came into my head as I stooped towards the portal."
## [2761] "For once, at least, I grasped the mental operations of the Morlocks."
## [2762] "Suppressing a strong inclination to laugh, I stepped through the"
## [2763] "bronze frame and up to the Time Machine. I was surprised to find it"
## [2764] "had been carefully oiled and cleaned. I have suspected since that"
## [2765] "the Morlocks had even partially taken it to pieces while trying in"
## [2766] "their dim way to grasp its purpose."
## [2767] ""
## [2768] "'Now as I stood and examined it, finding a pleasure in the mere"
## [2769] "touch of the contrivance, the thing I had expected happened. The"
## [2770] "bronze panels suddenly slid up and struck the frame with a clang."
## [2771] "I was in the dark--trapped. So the Morlocks thought. At that I"
## [2772] "chuckled gleefully."
## [2773] ""
## [2774] "'I could already hear their murmuring laughter as they came towards"
## [2775] "me. Very calmly I tried to strike the match. I had only to fix on"
## [2776] "the levers and depart then like a ghost. But I had overlooked one"
## [2777] "little thing. The matches were of that abominable kind that light"
## [2778] "only on the box."
## [2779] ""
## [2780] "'You may imagine how all my calm vanished. The little brutes were"
## [2781] "close upon me. One touched me. I made a sweeping blow in the dark at"
## [2782] "them with the levers, and began to scramble into the saddle of the"
## [2783] "machine. Then came one hand upon me and then another. Then I had"
## [2784] "simply to fight against their persistent fingers for my levers, and"
## [2785] "at the same time feel for the studs over which these fitted. One,"
## [2786] "indeed, they almost got away from me. As it slipped from my hand,"
## [2787] "I had to butt in the dark with my head--I could hear the Morlock's"
## [2788] "skull ring--to recover it. It was a nearer thing than the fight in"
## [2789] "the forest, I think, this last scramble."
## [2790] ""
## [2791] "'But at last the lever was fitted and pulled over. The clinging"
## [2792] "hands slipped from me. The darkness presently fell from my eyes."
## [2793] "I found myself in the same grey light and tumult I have already"
## [2794] "described."
## [2795] ""
## [2796] ""
## [2797] ""
## [2798] ""
## [2799] "XI"
## [2800] ""
## [2801] ""
## [2802] "'I have already told you of the sickness and confusion that comes"
## [2803] "with time travelling. And this time I was not seated properly in the"
## [2804] "saddle, but sideways and in an unstable fashion. For an indefinite"
## [2805] "time I clung to the machine as it swayed and vibrated, quite"
## [2806] "unheeding how I went, and when I brought myself to look at the dials"
## [2807] "again I was amazed to find where I had arrived. One dial records"
## [2808] "days, and another thousands of days, another millions of days, and"
## [2809] "another thousands of millions. Now, instead of reversing the levers,"
## [2810] "I had pulled them over so as to go forward with them, and when I"
## [2811] "came to look at these indicators I found that the thousands hand was"
## [2812] "sweeping round as fast as the seconds hand of a watch--into"
## [2813] "futurity."
## [2814] ""
## [2815] "'As I drove on, a peculiar change crept over the appearance of"
## [2816] "things. The palpitating greyness grew darker; then--though I was"
## [2817] "still travelling with prodigious velocity--the blinking succession"
## [2818] "of day and night, which was usually indicative of a slower pace,"
## [2819] "returned, and grew more and more marked. This puzzled me very much"
## [2820] "at first. The alternations of night and day grew slower and slower,"
## [2821] "and so did the passage of the sun across the sky, until they seemed"
## [2822] "to stretch through centuries. At last a steady twilight brooded over"
## [2823] "the earth, a twilight only broken now and then when a comet glared"
## [2824] "across the darkling sky. The band of light that had indicated the"
## [2825] "sun had long since disappeared; for the sun had ceased to set--it"
## [2826] "simply rose and fell in the west, and grew ever broader and more"
## [2827] "red. All trace of the moon had vanished. The circling of the stars,"
## [2828] "growing slower and slower, had given place to creeping points of"
## [2829] "light. At last, some time before I stopped, the sun, red and very"
## [2830] "large, halted motionless upon the horizon, a vast dome glowing with"
## [2831] "a dull heat, and now and then suffering a momentary extinction. At"
## [2832] "one time it had for a little while glowed more brilliantly again,"
## [2833] "but it speedily reverted to its sullen red heat. I perceived by this"
## [2834] "slowing down of its rising and setting that the work of the tidal"
## [2835] "drag was done. The earth had come to rest with one face to the sun,"
## [2836] "even as in our own time the moon faces the earth. Very cautiously,"
## [2837] "for I remembered my former headlong fall, I began to reverse"
## [2838] "my motion. Slower and slower went the circling hands until the"
## [2839] "thousands one seemed motionless and the daily one was no longer a"
## [2840] "mere mist upon its scale. Still slower, until the dim outlines of a"
## [2841] "desolate beach grew visible."
## [2842] ""
## [2843] "'I stopped very gently and sat upon the Time Machine, looking round."
## [2844] "The sky was no longer blue. North-eastward it was inky black,"
## [2845] "and out of the blackness shone brightly and steadily the pale"
## [2846] "white stars. Overhead it was a deep Indian red and starless, and"
## [2847] "south-eastward it grew brighter to a glowing scarlet where, cut by"
## [2848] "the horizon, lay the huge hull of the sun, red and motionless. The"
## [2849] "rocks about me were of a harsh reddish colour, and all the trace of"
## [2850] "life that I could see at first was the intensely green vegetation"
## [2851] "that covered every projecting point on their south-eastern face. It"
## [2852] "was the same rich green that one sees on forest moss or on the"
## [2853] "lichen in caves: plants which like these grow in a perpetual"
## [2854] "twilight."
## [2855] ""
## [2856] "'The machine was standing on a sloping beach. The sea stretched away"
## [2857] "to the south-west, to rise into a sharp bright horizon against the"
## [2858] "wan sky. There were no breakers and no waves, for not a breath of"
## [2859] "wind was stirring. Only a slight oily swell rose and fell like a"
## [2860] "gentle breathing, and showed that the eternal sea was still moving"
## [2861] "and living. And along the margin where the water sometimes broke was"
## [2862] "a thick incrustation of salt--pink under the lurid sky. There was a"
## [2863] "sense of oppression in my head, and I noticed that I was breathing"
## [2864] "very fast. The sensation reminded me of my only experience of"
## [2865] "mountaineering, and from that I judged the air to be more rarefied"
## [2866] "than it is now."
## [2867] ""
## [2868] "'Far away up the desolate slope I heard a harsh scream, and saw a"
## [2869] "thing like a huge white butterfly go slanting and fluttering up into"
## [2870] "the sky and, circling, disappear over some low hillocks beyond. The"
## [2871] "sound of its voice was so dismal that I shivered and seated myself"
## [2872] "more firmly upon the machine. Looking round me again, I saw that,"
## [2873] "quite near, what I had taken to be a reddish mass of rock was moving"
## [2874] "slowly towards me. Then I saw the thing was really a monstrous"
## [2875] "crab-like creature. Can you imagine a crab as large as yonder table,"
## [2876] "with its many legs moving slowly and uncertainly, its big claws"
## [2877] "swaying, its long antennae, like carters' whips, waving and feeling,"
## [2878] "and its stalked eyes gleaming at you on either side of its metallic"
## [2879] "front? Its back was corrugated and ornamented with ungainly bosses,"
## [2880] "and a greenish incrustation blotched it here and there. I could see"
## [2881] "the many palps of its complicated mouth flickering and feeling as it"
## [2882] "moved."
## [2883] ""
## [2884] "'As I stared at this sinister apparition crawling towards me, I felt"
## [2885] "a tickling on my cheek as though a fly had lighted there. I tried to"
## [2886] "brush it away with my hand, but in a moment it returned, and almost"
## [2887] "immediately came another by my ear. I struck at this, and caught"
## [2888] "something threadlike. It was drawn swiftly out of my hand. With a"
## [2889] "frightful qualm, I turned, and I saw that I had grasped the antenna"
## [2890] "of another monster crab that stood just behind me. Its evil eyes"
## [2891] "were wriggling on their stalks, its mouth was all alive with"
## [2892] "appetite, and its vast ungainly claws, smeared with an algal slime,"
## [2893] "were descending upon me. In a moment my hand was on the lever, and"
## [2894] "I had placed a month between myself and these monsters. But I was"
## [2895] "still on the same beach, and I saw them distinctly now as soon as I"
## [2896] "stopped. Dozens of them seemed to be crawling here and there, in the"
## [2897] "sombre light, among the foliated sheets of intense green."
## [2898] ""
## [2899] "'I cannot convey the sense of abominable desolation that hung over"
## [2900] "the world. The red eastern sky, the northward blackness, the salt"
## [2901] "Dead Sea, the stony beach crawling with these foul, slow-stirring"
## [2902] "monsters, the uniform poisonous-looking green of the lichenous"
## [2903] "plants, the thin air that hurts one's lungs: all contributed to an"
## [2904] "appalling effect. I moved on a hundred years, and there was the same"
## [2905] "red sun--a little larger, a little duller--the same dying sea, the"
## [2906] "same chill air, and the same crowd of earthy crustacea creeping in"
## [2907] "and out among the green weed and the red rocks. And in the westward"
## [2908] "sky, I saw a curved pale line like a vast new moon."
## [2909] ""
## [2910] "'So I travelled, stopping ever and again, in great strides of a"
## [2911] "thousand years or more, drawn on by the mystery of the earth's fate,"
## [2912] "watching with a strange fascination the sun grow larger and duller"
## [2913] "in the westward sky, and the life of the old earth ebb away. At"
## [2914] "last, more than thirty million years hence, the huge red-hot dome of"
## [2915] "the sun had come to obscure nearly a tenth part of the darkling"
## [2916] "heavens. Then I stopped once more, for the crawling multitude of"
## [2917] "crabs had disappeared, and the red beach, save for its livid green"
## [2918] "liverworts and lichens, seemed lifeless. And now it was flecked with"
## [2919] "white. A bitter cold assailed me. Rare white flakes ever and again"
## [2920] "came eddying down. To the north-eastward, the glare of snow lay"
## [2921] "under the starlight of the sable sky and I could see an undulating"
## [2922] "crest of hillocks pinkish white. There were fringes of ice along the"
## [2923] "sea margin, with drifting masses further out; but the main expanse"
## [2924] "of that salt ocean, all bloody under the eternal sunset, was still"
## [2925] "unfrozen."
## [2926] ""
## [2927] "'I looked about me to see if any traces of animal life remained. A"
## [2928] "certain indefinable apprehension still kept me in the saddle of the"
## [2929] "machine. But I saw nothing moving, in earth or sky or sea. The green"
## [2930] "slime on the rocks alone testified that life was not extinct. A"
## [2931] "shallow sandbank had appeared in the sea and the water had receded"
## [2932] "from the beach. I fancied I saw some black object flopping about"
## [2933] "upon this bank, but it became motionless as I looked at it, and I"
## [2934] "judged that my eye had been deceived, and that the black object was"
## [2935] "merely a rock. The stars in the sky were intensely bright and seemed"
## [2936] "to me to twinkle very little."
## [2937] ""
## [2938] "'Suddenly I noticed that the circular westward outline of the sun"
## [2939] "had changed; that a concavity, a bay, had appeared in the curve. I"
## [2940] "saw this grow larger. For a minute perhaps I stared aghast at this"
## [2941] "blackness that was creeping over the day, and then I realized that"
## [2942] "an eclipse was beginning. Either the moon or the planet Mercury was"
## [2943] "passing across the sun's disk. Naturally, at first I took it to be"
## [2944] "the moon, but there is much to incline me to believe that what I"
## [2945] "really saw was the transit of an inner planet passing very near to"
## [2946] "the earth."
## [2947] ""
## [2948] "'The darkness grew apace; a cold wind began to blow in freshening"
## [2949] "gusts from the east, and the showering white flakes in the air"
## [2950] "increased in number. From the edge of the sea came a ripple and"
## [2951] "whisper. Beyond these lifeless sounds the world was silent. Silent?"
## [2952] "It would be hard to convey the stillness of it. All the sounds of"
## [2953] "man, the bleating of sheep, the cries of birds, the hum of insects,"
## [2954] "the stir that makes the background of our lives--all that was over."
## [2955] "As the darkness thickened, the eddying flakes grew more abundant,"
## [2956] "dancing before my eyes; and the cold of the air more intense. At"
## [2957] "last, one by one, swiftly, one after the other, the white peaks of"
## [2958] "the distant hills vanished into blackness. The breeze rose to a"
## [2959] "moaning wind. I saw the black central shadow of the eclipse sweeping"
## [2960] "towards me. In another moment the pale stars alone were visible. All"
## [2961] "else was rayless obscurity. The sky was absolutely black."
## [2962] ""
## [2963] "'A horror of this great darkness came on me. The cold, that smote"
## [2964] "to my marrow, and the pain I felt in breathing, overcame me. I"
## [2965] "shivered, and a deadly nausea seized me. Then like a red-hot bow"
## [2966] "in the sky appeared the edge of the sun. I got off the machine to"
## [2967] "recover myself. I felt giddy and incapable of facing the return"
## [2968] "journey. As I stood sick and confused I saw again the moving thing"
## [2969] "upon the shoal--there was no mistake now that it was a moving"
## [2970] "thing--against the red water of the sea. It was a round thing, the"
## [2971] "size of a football perhaps, or, it may be, bigger, and tentacles"
## [2972] "trailed down from it; it seemed black against the weltering"
## [2973] "blood-red water, and it was hopping fitfully about. Then I felt I"
## [2974] "was fainting. But a terrible dread of lying helpless in that remote"
## [2975] "and awful twilight sustained me while I clambered upon the saddle."
## [2976] ""
## [2977] ""
## [2978] ""
## [2979] ""
## [2980] "XII"
## [2981] ""
## [2982] ""
## [2983] "'So I came back. For a long time I must have been insensible upon"
## [2984] "the machine. The blinking succession of the days and nights was"
## [2985] "resumed, the sun got golden again, the sky blue. I breathed with"
## [2986] "greater freedom. The fluctuating contours of the land ebbed and"
## [2987] "flowed. The hands spun backward upon the dials. At last I saw again"
## [2988] "the dim shadows of houses, the evidences of decadent humanity."
## [2989] "These, too, changed and passed, and others came. Presently, when the"
## [2990] "million dial was at zero, I slackened speed. I began to recognize"
## [2991] "our own pretty and familiar architecture, the thousands hand ran back"
## [2992] "to the starting-point, the night and day flapped slower and slower."
## [2993] "Then the old walls of the laboratory came round me. Very gently,"
## [2994] "now, I slowed the mechanism down."
## [2995] ""
## [2996] "'I saw one little thing that seemed odd to me. I think I have told"
## [2997] "you that when I set out, before my velocity became very high, Mrs."
## [2998] "Watchett had walked across the room, travelling, as it seemed to me,"
## [2999] "like a rocket. As I returned, I passed again across that minute when"
## [3000] "she traversed the laboratory. But now her every motion appeared to"
## [3001] "be the exact inversion of her previous ones. The door at the lower"
## [3002] "end opened, and she glided quietly up the laboratory, back foremost,"
## [3003] "and disappeared behind the door by which she had previously entered."
## [3004] "Just before that I seemed to see Hillyer for a moment; but he passed"
## [3005] "like a flash."
## [3006] ""
## [3007] "'Then I stopped the machine, and saw about me again the old familiar"
## [3008] "laboratory, my tools, my appliances just as I had left them. I got"
## [3009] "off the thing very shakily, and sat down upon my bench. For several"
## [3010] "minutes I trembled violently. Then I became calmer. Around me was"
## [3011] "my old workshop again, exactly as it had been. I might have slept"
## [3012] "there, and the whole thing have been a dream."
## [3013] ""
## [3014] "'And yet, not exactly! The thing had started from the south-east"
## [3015] "corner of the laboratory. It had come to rest again in the"
## [3016] "north-west, against the wall where you saw it. That gives you the"
## [3017] "exact distance from my little lawn to the pedestal of the White"
## [3018] "Sphinx, into which the Morlocks had carried my machine."
## [3019] ""
## [3020] "'For a time my brain went stagnant. Presently I got up and came"
## [3021] "through the passage here, limping, because my heel was still"
## [3022] "painful, and feeling sorely begrimed. I saw the _Pall Mall Gazette_"
## [3023] "on the table by the door. I found the date was indeed to-day, and"
## [3024] "looking at the timepiece, saw the hour was almost eight o'clock. I"
## [3025] "heard your voices and the clatter of plates. I hesitated--I felt so"
## [3026] "sick and weak. Then I sniffed good wholesome meat, and opened the"
## [3027] "door on you. You know the rest. I washed, and dined, and now I am"
## [3028] "telling you the story."
## [3029] ""
## [3030] "'I know,' he said, after a pause, 'that all this will be absolutely"
## [3031] "incredible to you. To me the one incredible thing is that I am here"
## [3032] "to-night in this old familiar room looking into your friendly faces"
## [3033] "and telling you these strange adventures.'"
## [3034] ""
## [3035] "He looked at the Medical Man. 'No. I cannot expect you to believe"
## [3036] "it. Take it as a lie--or a prophecy. Say I dreamed it in the"
## [3037] "workshop. Consider I have been speculating upon the destinies of our"
## [3038] "race until I have hatched this fiction. Treat my assertion of its"
## [3039] "truth as a mere stroke of art to enhance its interest. And taking"
## [3040] "it as a story, what do you think of it?'"
## [3041] ""
## [3042] "He took up his pipe, and began, in his old accustomed manner, to tap"
## [3043] "with it nervously upon the bars of the grate. There was a momentary"
## [3044] "stillness. Then chairs began to creak and shoes to scrape upon the"
## [3045] "carpet. I took my eyes off the Time Traveller's face, and looked"
## [3046] "round at his audience. They were in the dark, and little spots of"
## [3047] "colour swam before them. The Medical Man seemed absorbed in the"
## [3048] "contemplation of our host. The Editor was looking hard at the end"
## [3049] "of his cigar--the sixth. The Journalist fumbled for his watch. The"
## [3050] "others, as far as I remember, were motionless."
## [3051] ""
## [3052] "The Editor stood up with a sigh. 'What a pity it is you're not"
## [3053] "a writer of stories!' he said, putting his hand on the Time"
## [3054] "Traveller's shoulder."
## [3055] ""
## [3056] "'You don't believe it?'"
## [3057] ""
## [3058] "'Well----'"
## [3059] ""
## [3060] "'I thought not.'"
## [3061] ""
## [3062] "The Time Traveller turned to us. 'Where are the matches?' he said."
## [3063] "He lit one and spoke over his pipe, puffing. 'To tell you the truth"
## [3064] "... I hardly believe it myself.... And yet...'"
## [3065] ""
## [3066] "His eye fell with a mute inquiry upon the withered white flowers"
## [3067] "upon the little table. Then he turned over the hand holding his"
## [3068] "pipe, and I saw he was looking at some half-healed scars on his"
## [3069] "knuckles."
## [3070] ""
## [3071] "The Medical Man rose, came to the lamp, and examined the flowers."
## [3072] "'The gynaeceum's odd,' he said. The Psychologist leant forward to"
## [3073] "see, holding out his hand for a specimen."
## [3074] ""
## [3075] "'I'm hanged if it isn't a quarter to one,' said the Journalist."
## [3076] "'How shall we get home?'"
## [3077] ""
## [3078] "'Plenty of cabs at the station,' said the Psychologist."
## [3079] ""
## [3080] "'It's a curious thing,' said the Medical Man; 'but I certainly don't"
## [3081] "know the natural order of these flowers. May I have them?'"
## [3082] ""
## [3083] "The Time Traveller hesitated. Then suddenly: 'Certainly not.'"
## [3084] ""
## [3085] "'Where did you really get them?' said the Medical Man."
## [3086] ""
## [3087] "The Time Traveller put his hand to his head. He spoke like one who"
## [3088] "was trying to keep hold of an idea that eluded him. 'They were put"
## [3089] "into my pocket by Weena, when I travelled into Time.' He stared"
## [3090] "round the room. 'I'm damned if it isn't all going. This room and you"
## [3091] "and the atmosphere of every day is too much for my memory. Did I"
## [3092] "ever make a Time Machine, or a model of a Time Machine? Or is it all"
## [3093] "only a dream? They say life is a dream, a precious poor dream at"
## [3094] "times--but I can't stand another that won't fit. It's madness. And"
## [3095] "where did the dream come from? ... I must look at that machine. If"
## [3096] "there is one!'"
## [3097] ""
## [3098] "He caught up the lamp swiftly, and carried it, flaring red, through"
## [3099] "the door into the corridor. We followed him. There in the flickering"
## [3100] "light of the lamp was the machine sure enough, squat, ugly, and"
## [3101] "askew; a thing of brass, ebony, ivory, and translucent glimmering"
## [3102] "quartz. Solid to the touch--for I put out my hand and felt the rail"
## [3103] "of it--and with brown spots and smears upon the ivory, and bits of"
## [3104] "grass and moss upon the lower parts, and one rail bent awry."
## [3105] ""
## [3106] "The Time Traveller put the lamp down on the bench, and ran his hand"
## [3107] "along the damaged rail. 'It's all right now,' he said. 'The story I"
## [3108] "told you was true. I'm sorry to have brought you out here in the"
## [3109] "cold.' He took up the lamp, and, in an absolute silence, we"
## [3110] "returned to the smoking-room."
## [3111] ""
## [3112] "He came into the hall with us and helped the Editor on with his"
## [3113] "coat. The Medical Man looked into his face and, with a certain"
## [3114] "hesitation, told him he was suffering from overwork, at which he"
## [3115] "laughed hugely. I remember him standing in the open doorway, bawling"
## [3116] "good night."
## [3117] ""
## [3118] "I shared a cab with the Editor. He thought the tale a 'gaudy lie.'"
## [3119] "For my own part I was unable to come to a conclusion. The story was"
## [3120] "so fantastic and incredible, the telling so credible and sober. I"
## [3121] "lay awake most of the night thinking about it. I determined to go"
## [3122] "next day and see the Time Traveller again. I was told he was in the"
## [3123] "laboratory, and being on easy terms in the house, I went up to him."
## [3124] "The laboratory, however, was empty. I stared for a minute at the"
## [3125] "Time Machine and put out my hand and touched the lever. At that the"
## [3126] "squat substantial-looking mass swayed like a bough shaken by the"
## [3127] "wind. Its instability startled me extremely, and I had a queer"
## [3128] "reminiscence of the childish days when I used to be forbidden to"
## [3129] "meddle. I came back through the corridor. The Time Traveller met me"
## [3130] "in the smoking-room. He was coming from the house. He had a small"
## [3131] "camera under one arm and a knapsack under the other. He laughed when"
## [3132] "he saw me, and gave me an elbow to shake. 'I'm frightfully busy,'"
## [3133] "said he, 'with that thing in there.'"
## [3134] ""
## [3135] "'But is it not some hoax?' I said. 'Do you really travel through"
## [3136] "time?'"
## [3137] ""
## [3138] "'Really and truly I do.' And he looked frankly into my eyes. He"
## [3139] "hesitated. His eye wandered about the room. 'I only want half an"
## [3140] "hour,' he said. 'I know why you came, and it's awfully good of you."
## [3141] "There's some magazines here. If you'll stop to lunch I'll prove you"
## [3142] "this time travelling up to the hilt, specimen and all. If you'll"
## [3143] "forgive my leaving you now?'"
## [3144] ""
## [3145] "I consented, hardly comprehending then the full import of his words,"
## [3146] "and he nodded and went on down the corridor. I heard the door of"
## [3147] "the laboratory slam, seated myself in a chair, and took up a daily"
## [3148] "paper. What was he going to do before lunch-time? Then suddenly"
## [3149] "I was reminded by an advertisement that I had promised to meet"
## [3150] "Richardson, the publisher, at two. I looked at my watch, and saw"
## [3151] "that I could barely save that engagement. I got up and went down the"
## [3152] "passage to tell the Time Traveller."
## [3153] ""
## [3154] "As I took hold of the handle of the door I heard an exclamation,"
## [3155] "oddly truncated at the end, and a click and a thud. A gust of air"
## [3156] "whirled round me as I opened the door, and from within came the"
## [3157] "sound of broken glass falling on the floor. The Time Traveller was"
## [3158] "not there. I seemed to see a ghostly, indistinct figure sitting in"
## [3159] "a whirling mass of black and brass for a moment--a figure so"
## [3160] "transparent that the bench behind with its sheets of drawings was"
## [3161] "absolutely distinct; but this phantasm vanished as I rubbed my eyes."
## [3162] "The Time Machine had gone. Save for a subsiding stir of dust, the"
## [3163] "further end of the laboratory was empty. A pane of the skylight had,"
## [3164] "apparently, just been blown in."
## [3165] ""
## [3166] "I felt an unreasonable amazement. I knew that something strange had"
## [3167] "happened, and for the moment could not distinguish what the strange"
## [3168] "thing might be. As I stood staring, the door into the garden opened,"
## [3169] "and the man-servant appeared."
## [3170] ""
## [3171] "We looked at each other. Then ideas began to come. 'Has Mr. ----"
## [3172] "gone out that way?' said I."
## [3173] ""
## [3174] "'No, sir. No one has come out this way. I was expecting to find him"
## [3175] "here.'"
## [3176] ""
## [3177] "At that I understood. At the risk of disappointing Richardson I"
## [3178] "stayed on, waiting for the Time Traveller; waiting for the second,"
## [3179] "perhaps still stranger story, and the specimens and photographs he"
## [3180] "would bring with him. But I am beginning now to fear that I must"
## [3181] "wait a lifetime. The Time Traveller vanished three years ago. And,"
## [3182] "as everybody knows now, he has never returned."
## [3183] ""
## [3184] ""
## [3185] ""
## [3186] ""
## [3187] "EPILOGUE"
## [3188] ""
## [3189] ""
## [3190] "One cannot choose but wonder. Will he ever return? It may be that he"
## [3191] "swept back into the past, and fell among the blood-drinking, hairy"
## [3192] "savages of the Age of Unpolished Stone; into the abysses of the"
## [3193] "Cretaceous Sea; or among the grotesque saurians, the huge reptilian"
## [3194] "brutes of the Jurassic times. He may even now--if I may use the"
## [3195] "phrase--be wandering on some plesiosaurus-haunted Oolitic coral"
## [3196] "reef, or beside the lonely saline lakes of the Triassic Age. Or did"
## [3197] "he go forward, into one of the nearer ages, in which men are still"
## [3198] "men, but with the riddles of our own time answered and its wearisome"
## [3199] "problems solved? Into the manhood of the race: for I, for my own"
## [3200] "part, cannot think that these latter days of weak experiment,"
## [3201] "fragmentary theory, and mutual discord are indeed man's culminating"
## [3202] "time! I say, for my own part. He, I know--for the question had been"
## [3203] "discussed among us long before the Time Machine was made--thought"
## [3204] "but cheerlessly of the Advancement of Mankind, and saw in the"
## [3205] "growing pile of civilization only a foolish heaping that must"
## [3206] "inevitably fall back upon and destroy its makers in the end. If that"
## [3207] "is so, it remains for us to live as though it were not so. But to me"
## [3208] "the future is still black and blank--is a vast ignorance, lit at a"
## [3209] "few casual places by the memory of his story. And I have by me, for"
## [3210] "my comfort, two strange white flowers--shrivelled now, and brown and"
## [3211] "flat and brittle--to witness that even when mind and strength had"
## [3212] "gone, gratitude and a mutual tenderness still lived on in the heart"
## [3213] "of man."Web Analytics: Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Google API, Google Data Studio, Google Optimize
Google Marketing Data warehouse : Extract insights from diverse datasets into Google BigQuery (up to 324GB) with sql query as part of a hands-on lab skill in From Data to Insights with Google Cloud Platform
Web Design/Development: HTML, CSS, JavaScript
Advanced MS Excel: Vlookup, Index, Match, pivot tables
Machine Learning Algorithms: Decision Trees, Logistic Regression, Multiple Linear Regression, K Means Clustering, Random Forest
Data Science: R and Python for data collection (API, database, JSON), data parsing & cleaning, analysis in RMarkdown/Jupyter Notebooks, Docker and Conda for portability and reproducibility, Terminal/Shell command line for GitHub version control
Framework: Understand “See-Think-Do-Care” Customer Journey Mapping for marketing, HEART for product development process, Jobs-To-Be-Done for customer and Fogg Behavior Model