"Poor Mr. Adamson had no idea we were having a ball... at the beginning of his visit." "Your father thought more of his eagerness... to see Mr. Adamson's specimens... than he did of our own projected entertainment." "Fortunately, he's much of a height with Edgar... who was able to help him with a suit." "I should have had no dress suit in any event." "All my earthly belongings... have burned or drowned or both in the shipwreck... and they never included a dress suit." "Well, well." "You must be possessed... of immense resources of strength and courage." "I'm sure they'll be equal... to a turn around the dance floor." "Once learned, a waltz can never be forgotten." "Are you free to dance?" "My father was so sorry to hear... you had lost so much in the terrible shipwreck... for your sake and for his own." "He was eager to add to his collection." "I did manage to save... one or two of the rarest, most beautiful butterflies." "I suppose there's a certain pathos... in saving a dead butterfly... but one in particular is such a rarity." "I'll say no more now... but I believe your father will be glad to have it... and you, too." "It's to be a surprise, really." "I hate people who tell me I am to have a surprise... and will not tell me what it is." "You don't like suspense?" "No, I don't." "I am afraid of surprises." "I must remember never to surprise you, then." "Stop that!" "How dare you!" "What did you do to her?" "I'm so sorry." "I have no idea." "Can't imagine what I might have done." "Something must have happened, mustn't it?" "Too much dancing, I'll be bound." "Eugenia loves to dance." "She can't get enough of it." "I see." "Please, excuse my roughness." "I'm Eugenia's brother, and thereby her protector." "Of course." "It's nothing." "Good, good." "Well, now." "More dancing." "Well?" "Let's have some more dancing." "Please excuse Eugenia's behavior." "She's not feeling herself." "It's of no importance." "I want you to know that her leaving the ball... was no reflection on your behavior." "I hope she'll feel better soon." "Indeed." "Although I'm not sure... she will ever be the same again." "She was to be married... only her fiance Captain Hunt died quite suddenly." "It was a terrible shock." "Poor Eugenia's only just recovering." "We don't talk about it, but everybody knows." "I'm not tittle-tattling." "I just thought it might be helpful to know." "I see." "Thank you very much for telling me." "You are very fortunate to have escaped with your life." "We must be glad of that." "But the loss of your specimens... must have been a very severe setback." "What will you do, Mr. Adamson?" "If you do not think it impertinent to ask." "I've hardly had time to think." "Your own family cannot help." "No." "My father's a butcher... and even if he had the wherewithal..." "I could not ask him." "I'd hoped to sell enough... to be able to stay in England for some time... write about my travels and perhaps earn enough money... to equip myself to return to the Amazons." "We've barely begun to pick up twigs... those of us who've worked there." "There are millions of unexplored miles... countless unknown creatures... and yet I've never felt more profoundly alone... than I did there." "You were so very kind in your letters, sir... the receipt of which was one of the very few moments... of luxury in my time in the forest." "I used to ration the reading to savor them longer... as one rations sugar and flour." "I am glad to have given such pleasure to anyone." "I've brought you something rare." "Something very rare." "They fly in the broad, sunny roads in the forest." "They float very slowly... occasionally flapping their wings like birds... and they almost never come down below twenty feet... so they are almost impossible to catch." "But I employed some agile, little lndian boys." "They were able to climb up and fetch me this pair." "Now, I must confess, I did not know then... how appropriate they were to add to your collection." "They are Morpho Eugenia, Sir Harald." "Well!" "What a lovely creature!" "What a beautiful, glittering blue she is!" "No." "He." "It's the male who is blue." "The female is a tawny brown." "What a pity!" "I prefer the shimmering blue... but then, I am female, so that is natural." "It's hard not to agree with the Duke of Argyll... but the extraordinary beauty of these creatures is... in itself, evidence of the work of a Creator... who also gave us human sensitivity to beauty... design, delicate variation, and brilliant color." "From our spontaneous response to them, sir..." "I feel instinctively drawn to agree with you... but from a scientific point of view, I must ask... what purpose of natures might be fulfilled... by all this brilliance and loveliness?" "Mr. Darwin inclines to think that the fact... it is very preponderantly male butterflies... and birds that are so brilliantly colored... while the females are often drab and unobtrusive... suggests there's some advantage to the male... in flaunting his scarlets and golds... that might help make the female select him as a mate." "Could it be that the drabness of the female... might be protective?" "Yes, definitely." "Mr. Wallace" "Don't worry, my dear." "Forgive me, Mama." "Did you live entirely without the company... of civilized peoples among naked savages?" "Not entirely." "I had various friends of all colors and races... during my stays in various communities... but, yes, sometimes, I suppose..." "I was the only white guest in tribal villages." "Are they really naked and painted?" "Some are partly clothed, some wholly clothed." "They are greatly given to decorating their skins... with vegetable dyes." "These floating clumps of twigs and grasses... even remind me of the great floating islands... of upturned trees, creepers, and bushes... that make their way down the great river." "I used to compare those... to the passage in "Paradise Lost"... where Paradise is cast loose after the deluge." ""Then shall this mount of Paradise..." ""by might of waves be moved out of his place..." ""pushed by the horned flood..." ""with all his verdure spoiled and trees adrift..." ""down the great river to the opening gulf..." ""and there take root an island salt and bare..." ""the haunt of seals and orcs and sea-mews' clang."" "Clever Matty." "Lady Alabaster would be pleased if you would... take tea with her when you've finished your work." "You seem to have undertaken quite a labor of love." "What's that?" "Looks quite alarming." "It's become detached... from whatever specimen it was attached to." "Several parts of specimens have become detached." "I keep a special box for the most puzzling." "This foot and leg obviously belong... to some fairly large quadrumane." "You might suppose they were those of some human infant." "I assure you, they're not." "The bones are too light." "I must look to you as if I'm practicing witchcraft." "No." "I didn't mean to suggest such a thing." "Of course not." "Indeed, I've noticed you take a great interest... in the natural sciences." "Everyone seems to be taking an interest... in the natural sciences since your arrival." "It's a worthwhile pursuit, I hope." "My father seems to think so... which is fortunate for you." "Saved you from the poorhouse, I'd say." "My origins are humble... but I doubt it would have come to that." "No, hopefully not." "Indeed, my father's charity has served you rather well." "Your father's been very kind... and I'm pleased to be able to repay him... by organizing his collection... according to scientific principles." "How long will the job take?" "That depends on what I find in this mountain of boxes." "That could take forever, I'll wager... since you have nowhere else to go." "I'm so sorry." "I must leave now." "I have to take tea with Lady Alabaster." "While you're taking tea with my mother... and talking about whatever it is... that you talk to my father about... just don't get too comfortable." "You're not one of us." "I am aware of that." "Good day." "Come in, Matty." "Mr. Adamson is here, Lady Alabaster." "I hope you're comfortable here." "Oh, yes, very much so." "My husband is not overburdening you with work?" "No." "I've a great deal of spare time." "Lady Alabaster expressed the hope that you might... be able to spare a little time helping Miss Mead... and myself in the scientific education... of the younger members of the family." "She feels that they should profit... from the presence of such a distinguished naturalist." "Of course." "I'd be happy to do what I can." "Matty has such good ideas." "So ingenious she is." "Tell him, Matty." "Lady Alabaster's twins are still too small... but I have taken the three older girls on rambles." "I would be delighted to help." "We shall truly profit from your presence amongst us." "Oh, look!" "You would not suppose the queen... to be of the same species as her rapid servants." "We've attempted to keep these insects before." "We have a deathly touch, it appears." "The creatures simply curl up and die." "You probably had not captured a queen." "Ants are social beings." "They exist, it appears... only for the good of the whole nest." "The center of that nest is the queen ant... whose laying and feeding the others tend ceaselessly." "I'd like to believe humankind capable... of such altruistic behavior... though when I look around me..." "I think Socialist society may never be realized." "You think a great deal, Miss Crompton." "For a woman." "You were about to say "for a woman"... and then refrained, which was courteous." "It's my great amusement-- thinking." "Wonderful, wasn't it?" ""1-8-6-0-2-5-3." "Ventner, Isle of Wight."" "Young Mr. Swinnerton wishes to marry my daughter." "I have given permission." "He said he already knows what she will say." "So you must wish me joy." "I do, indeed." "The first fledgling out of the nest." "The others must soon follow in the course of things." "I know they must, but I worry about Eugenia." "I confess I feel this news is not calculated... to improve her happiness... but perhaps I underestimate her." "Then it is not Miss Eugenia Alabaster... who's to be married?" "Oh, no!" "I was about to say, "Oh, no." "Alas!"" "It is Rowena who is to marry Mr. Swinnerton." "She's so beautiful, sir, so very beautiful... and, well, perfect, that she cannot be long... without finding some worthy partner." "So I believe, but her mother is concerned." "She will not be pleased if Rowena goes first." "It is not right." "Please, I beg you." "I cannot." "Please." "It's no use." "Couldn't help noticing you were in distress." "Can I be of help?" "I will do anything to help if I can." "You're very kind, but I cannot be helped." "I'm beyond help." "I wish I were dead, to speak truly." "I wish I were dead." "I ought to be dead, as Harry is dead." "I know about your tragedy, Miss Alabaster." "I'm very sorry." "I hope you may be comforted." "I don't think you do know, not at all." "No one can." "Well, it must be so." "You've shown great courage." "Please don't be unhappy." "So many people love you, you cannot be unhappy." "It is you who are good and kind and brave... even though you don't understand." "You've been kind to everyone... even the little girls." "We are lucky to have you here." "And I would feel lucky and honored... if you would feel you could let me be your friend." "Despite the differences between us... if you could trust me a little." "I don't know what I'm talking about." "Why should you trust me?" "I want so much to do something for you... anything at all." "I own nothing, as you know, so it's all folly... but please command me if I can help in the least way." "Miss Alabaster?" "So?" "What is it?" "I've something to show you." "You'll have to come in quickly now." "Am I safe?" "With me, quite safe." "They take your dress for the sky itself." "You don't find them disagreeable?" "They are so light, so soft." "It's like colored air." "It's almost a cloud." "It is a cloud." "You are a miracle worker." "Well, it's for you." "I have nothing real to give." "No pearls, no emeralds." "I've nothing... but I wanted so much to give you something." "They are so terribly fragile." "You could hurt them just by touching." "One careless pinch would be enough." "I would never hurt one of those." "Never." "How can I thank you?" "You've already done so with your appreciation." "Would you come back again this evening?" "Your moths are trying to perform suttee." "I don't know why they're so driven... to make burned offerings of themselves." "I've wondered if they navigate by moonlight... and mistake candles for very bright, heavenly bodies." "Won't you sit down... and see if the moths think you are the moon... as the butterflies took you for the flowers and sky?" "What is that?" "It's a newly-hatched hawk moth." "A female." "In a little time, when she's strong..." "I'll take away the cage and release her." "She seems very weak." "Takes a great deal of force to break out of the pupa." "Insects are all at their most vulnerable... at the moment of metamorphosis." "They can easily be snapped up by any predator." "There are none here, I hope." "Oh, no." "Good." "How lovely it is in the moonlight!" "This is what I promised myself... for making you a cloud of butterflies." "Don't answer this... and don't feel that I speak to alarm you." "I only want to say that you cannot know... how much these few moments can mean to me." "I shall remember them always-- your closeness, your calm." "If things were only different..." "I might say quite different things to you... but I know how the land lies." "I've no hopes except perhaps... to be able to speak briefly and honestly to you... for I do not see how that could hurt you." "Take them away!" "I don't like these!" "They're the male hawk moths." "They're drawn by the female in some mysterious way." "Please get them away." "They're quite harmless." "Get them away!" "There's no reason to fear them." "I'll carry her to the other end of the conservatory." "Now they'll follow her and leave you." "There is another trapped here." "Quickly!" "I shall scream!" "Please!" "It must be the scent." "Oh, that was terrible!" "It was like bats, like ghosts." "It was foul!" "I didn't mean to frighten you." "My dear, I didn't mean to..." "It isn't you." "It is everything." "I'm so unhappy." "Is it because of Captain Hunt?" "Do you still grieve for him so?" "He didn't want to marry me." "He died because he didn't want to marry me." "That must be nonsense." "Anyone would want to marry you." "It wasn't really an accident." "That is only what they say." "He did it because he didn't want to marry me." "Why didn't he?" "How should I know?" "Only it is so." "It is just clear to me that he didn't" "You torture me saying this." "My dearest wish in the world... as you must know... would be to be able to ask you to be my wife... which I can never do... because I cannot support a wife or even myself." "I do know that." "But it's unbearably painful to me... to hear you speaking like this... and not be able myself..." "I do not need to marry a fortune." "I have one of my own." "What are you saying?" "There could be a double wedding." "I should not be married after Rowena." "Not..." "Not if I am to be married at all." "Shall I speak to your father?" "Tomorrow?" "Arms up, please, Alice." "Seven." "Five." "So with all the wagers on, I drove the gigs... through narrow gaps in seven hedges... and only one wheel fell off... and that was right at the very end." "The horse wanted to go on... but with all the fences behind us... there was no further point." "You, sir, must not have the nerve or the strength... to do such a thing." "You sit there, and you smile fatuously... but you could not bring such a thing off." "No doubt I could not." "I don't like your attitude, sir." "I have never liked it." "I believe you sneer in your heart." "I do not mean to sneer." "Since we are to be brothers..." "I hope I would not give such an appearance." "It would be most wrong." "Brothers, you say." "I don't like that." "You are underbred, sir... and you are no good match for my sister." "There is bad blood in you, vulgar blood." "I do not accept either bad or vulgar." "I am aware that I'm no good match... and that I have few prospects and no future." "Your father and Eugenia have done me... the great kindness of overlooking that... and I hope you may come to accept their decision." "You should rather wish to fight me." "I insulted you." "You are a miserable creature... without breeding or courage." "You should stand up, sir, and face me." "I think not." "As for breeding, I count my father... as a kind man, an honest man... and I know no other good reason for respect." "As for courage, I think I may claim... that to have lived for ten years on the Amazons... to have survived murder plots... poisonous snakes, shipwreck... fifteen days on a lifeboat in the mid-Atlantic... may reasonably compare with driving a poor horse... into a house through a window." "I think I know what true courage is." "It does not consist in fisticuffs... as a response to an insult." "Well said, William Adamson." "Well-said, my fellow bridegroom." "You shall not have her, do you hear?" "She is not for such as you." "Please do not breathe in my face." "You resemble nothing more than an angry dragon." "Stand up!" "You shall not provoke me into disgracing... a house and a family I hope to belong to." "Stand up!" "In the Amazons, young men who make themselves... stupid with spirits behave as you do." "They often end by killing each other inadvertently." "I should not care if you were killed." "Eugenia might care very deeply if I were." "She's already lost one hus" "I beg you not to make too much of Edgar." "He is wild in his cups, and he is quiet after." "He often does not remember what has passed." "It was the drink insulted you." "I'm happy to accept such an explanation." "Good man, fellow bridegroom." "Civilized man." "We are not armed warriors now, are we?" "Civilized men who stay seated as we should, we are." "I admire you, William." "Edgar is an anachronism." "You didn't think I knew that word, I'll be bound." "On the contrary." "Thank you for your kindness." "We are both men of the outdoors." "We have that in common, do we not?" "We do." "And I hope that, in time... we may come to find other common interests." "Indeed." "I'm sure we will." "Good night, Edgar." "Good night, William." "A present from Miss Eugenia, sir." "Well... here I am, you see." "Here we are." "I cannot believe my own happiness." "Well, you will catch cold... if you cannot believe it enough to come in." "I've loved you... from the first moment that I saw you." "I don't want to hurt you." "You're honey." "Sweet as honey." "We're going to be so happy together." "Good morning." "Hope I don't disturb you." "By no means." "I'm conducting experiments... on these fascinating creatures." "You'll no doubt find my research is crude." "On the contrary." "What is it that you're studying?" "I've been placing various foods... upon the surface of the earth in the tank... and counting the number of ants... who hurry to avail themselves of the food... and how they dispose of it." "Come and look." "They're greatly attracted to fragments of grape and melon." "It's taken half an hour almost exactly... for this scrap of sweet fruit... to become no more than a living pincushion." "You cannot but admire the spirit of cooperation." "I do hope my formica prima hasn't drowned in juice." "She hasn't stirred for quite ten minutes." "You're at the point of recognizing individual ants." "May I see your book?" "You put me to shame, Miss Crompton." "I've been secretly worrying about... the cutting short of my hoped-for researches... into the insect life in the Amazon basin." "My present good fortune, and here you are... doing what I should be doing-- observing the unknown world which is to hand." "My sphere is naturally more limited." "I naturally look closer to hand." "Good night, sir." "Good night, Arthur." "I believe we can expect a happy event." "I believe I am with child." "Congratulations, my dear." "That's wonderful news." "You look quite different-- a new creature." "You look wonderfully mysterious." "I am a little peaked." "I do not quite feel myself." "I am somewhat nauseous, no doubt quite naturally." "Poor Eugenia, it's so hot." "I must confess, I am quite uncomfortable." "I shall be until the baby arrives." "I don't like these ants!" "Please!" "Have them go away!" "I think the formica fusca have chosen today... for their annual nuptial dance." "Like cygnets." "You're like swan's down, and they're like cygnets." "They do not seem to resemble me at all." "They will, you know." "I've seen ever so many babies... and they change from week to week... even from day to day." "Resemblances run across their faces like clouds." "Papa today, Grandpapa tomorrow..." "Aunt Ponsonby on Tuesday... and Great-Grandmama at Friday dinnertime." "It's because they're so soft, the dears... so plastic." "You'll suddenly see your own chin on Agnes." "And one or other of your grandmothers... smiling out of Dora's eyes." "I'm sure you're right." "What are you doing?" "When I come down... the scullery's a-run with creatures, sir." "I have to set traps at night." "You put molasses in one of the empty tins... and they fall in and can't right themselves." "Then I have to take them out... and pour boiling water on them." "You'd be amazed how quick they come back no matter how many of them you boil to death." "I hate the smell." "I beg your pardon." "And an eight." "A little cherub" "That's exactly what you are." "A beautiful baby." "Yes, you are." "My turn?" "Thank you, nurse." "A six." "Can't we keep them down a little longer?" "I should so like to hold them a little longer." "Rowena, dear, there is tomorrow, too." "Nurse has to feed and ready them for bed now." "I so rarely hold a baby." "My dear Rowena." "Your turn, Rowena." "Rowena?" "Eugenia, please." "Let me go to her." "I think it would be better." "You and William are so blessed-- two beautiful children and another expected." "It is very hard for Rowena." "You are... so blessed." "It was incredible." "The people in the train were waving and cheering... as we overtook them." "We went on for three miles." "Were it not for the river, we could have gone longer." "There's no future in those locomotives." "Give me a purebred Arab stallion any day." "No question about it." "For speed and strength, the Arab is unmatched." "There is no substitute for pure blood, Robin." "Keep the breeds separate... and you can't go far wrong." "That is the cardinal rule." "God made creatures distinct." "It is our job to keep them that way." "Am I not right?" "Well, a breed, like a dialect of language... can hardly be said to have a distinct origin." "Indeed, the evidence is that all horses... have descended from the same animal." "If you look" "Don't be absurd." "A dray horse has nothing in common with an Arab." "There is no blood shared there." "They're different, quite different... and if you knew horses, you'd see that." "It is hard to believe, I agree." "However, you do not need to take my word for it." "There's ample eviden" "Mr. Darwin makes his argument very clear... in the "Origin of Species," which you would know... if you ever took any interest... in the important ideas of our time." "Indeed, we need look no further... than our own flock of small, black sheep... to see that careful breeding... with our own flock and that of our neighbors... has produced an entirely new breed." "Father." "Think, Edgar, before you speak." "The boy's name must be Edgar." "Why?" "Why?" "There is an Edgar in every generation of Alabasters." "My son is not an Alabaster." "My son is an Adamson... and I wish to give my child a name from my own family... however undistinguished." "I do not see why." "We do not see your family or speak... or seem likely to do so." "Your family does not come here... and Edgar will not know them, I suppose." "We are your family... and I think you must own we have been good to you." "More than good, my dear." "More than good." "Only I..." "Only?" "Well, I wish to have something of my own... and my son is my own, in some sense." "We could call him..." "William Edgar." "Not my name." "My father's--Robert." "Robert's a good English name." "Robert Edgar." "Abraham?" "Methuselah?" "I am what I am." "Moses?" "I am!" "Am." "Am." "Lesson?" "Apple?" "Bee?" "What's that?" "A crocodile." "Nope, nope." "Alphabet lesson." ""A."" "You're so clever." "Belt?" "Girdle?" "Zone." "Oh, well done, Miss Mead." "Am-a-zon." "Come on." "Lovely!" "It's very strange." "When I was in the Amazons..." "I used to wake daily from a dream... of mild English sunshine... simple and wonderful things... such as bread and butter, instead of endless cassava." "Now, I wake... from dreams of the forest curtain... the movement of the river... and my work." "You work, I believe, with Sir Harald on his book." "I do, but I'm not really needed... and my views..." "In short, my views do not wholly agree with his." "Perhaps you should write your own book." "No, no, no." "I've no settled opinions to advance... and no wish to convert anyone... to my own rather uncertain views on things." "I did not mean opinions." "I meant a book of facts... a book of scientific facts... such as you are uniquely qualified to write." "I have thought about writing a book about my travels." "Such books are very successful, I know... but all my detailed notes, all my specimens... all lost in the shipwreck." "I've not the heart to invent, even if I could." "But nearer to hand lie things... you could observe and write about." "Yes, yes." "You've said this before." "I'm certain you're right." "I'm very grateful to you... but a detailed scientific study... would take many years, much rigor... and I'd hoped to..." "You'd hoped?" "I had hoped to set out again on a foreign journey... to collect more information about the untraveled world." "I wish to do that." "Sir Harald has suggested that he might be sympathetic." "The book I should like to see you write... is not a major scientific study... not the work of a lifetime... it's a book I think may prove useful... and I daresay, profitable to you... in the quite near future." "I think if you were to write... a natural history of the ant colonies over a year... you'd have something very interesting... to a very general public and yet of scientific value." "It might be interesting." "It might be fun." "Fun." "The children could be usefully employed... and I myself would be proud to assist." "Miss Mead would do what she could." "I see the children as characters in the drama." "There has to be a drama for it to appeal to the public." "Why don't you write it yourself?" "It's your idea." "You should get credit." "No, I've not the requisite knowledge... nor the time... though I don't know where my days go." "I don't see myself as a writer but as an assistant." "If you would accept me, I would be honored." "I can draw." "I can write." "I can copy, if necessary." "I..." "I'm extraordinarily grateful to you, Miss Crompton." "I do believe you've transfigured my prospects." "Hardly, but it may be the answer... with good will and hard work." "What name shall we give to the home... of the blood-red slavemakers?" "It is a horrible trade." "Never have I wept so over a book... as I wept over "Uncle Tom's Cabin."" "I pray nightly for the cause of President Lincoln." "We could call the nest Bredely Hall." "We have lots of servants." "That wouldn't be appropriate, Margaret." "Well, I propose Red Fort." "That sounds war-like enough... and brings in the color of the sanguinea." " That's appropriate." " Yes." "In the spring of 1862... we began the organized ant watch." "The colony was busily preparing for the breeding season." "As the red ants set about their tasks... we set about ours... observing and recording the colony at work." "On our first sentry duty..." "Edith noticed worker ants cleaning their nest... much as human beings spring-clean their houses." "Margaret, Elaine, and Miss Crompton... carefully mapped out the city and its satellite suburbs." "There were numerous entrances and exits... with well-worn paths winding across the forest floor." "The girls illustrated the scene with a column of worker ants... setting forth on a foraging expedition." "Miss Crompton's evening watches had revealed... that the city was never defenseless against outsiders." "Nighttime guards were posted behind gates... barricaded with twigs and leaves." "Not all outsiders were unwelcome." "With much patient observation... and the help of Miss Mead's umbrella... we uncovered a thriving population of nitidulidae." "These small beetles..." "live peacefully on the fringes of the city... scavenging after the ants' leftovers." "As the weeks passed, we came to understand... the ants' activities in Red Fort... as well as any man would know... the comings and goings of his own house... if not better." "Oh, there you are." "I've recruited Amy to keep an eye on the nest... of the fusca ants on her afternoons off." "I'm certain your assistance... will prove to be extremely useful, Amy." "Thank you, sir." "Go and join Tom now." "Miss Mead and the girls... will be here to relieve you both later." "It will do her good to get a bit of fresh air... having no family and nowhere to go... and earn a few extra pennies." "What would you say... to a few cartoon-like illustrations to your text?" "Here I've drawn one with a stiletto... and here a string helmet and heavy wrench." "I should think it might add greatly... to the human interest." "Good-bye." "Enjoy the hunt." "We will." "William?" "Is that you?" "It is you." "I could tell by your step." "Are you tired, dear?" "Somewhat." "I am stiff from a day in the saddle... but, my dear... it was wonderful to be out with the hunt again... after my confinement." "I do love it so." "You look beautiful, my dear." "Really?" "As beautiful as ever?" "More beautiful than ever." "The world has changed so much, William... in my lifetime." "I am old enough to have believed... in the first parents in Paradise... as a little boy... to have believed in Satan hidden in the serpent... and the Archangel with his flaming sword... closing the gate." "And now I am supposed to believe in a world... in which we are what we are... because of the mutations... of soft jelly and calcius bone... which goes on and on through unimaginable millennia." "A world in which angels and devils... do not do battle in Heaven for vice and virtue... but in which we eat and are eaten... and are absorbed into other flesh and blood." "I shall molder like a mushroom... when my time comes... and it will always be soon." "I shall end my life like a skeleton leaf... about to be humus... a mouse clutched by an owl... a bull calf going to the slaughter... through a gate which leads only to one way-- to blood and dust and destruction." "And then I think no brute beast... would think such things." "No frog, no hound, even... would have such a vision of the Angel of Annunciation." "Where does it all come from?" "Come quick!" "Do come!" "What's the matter, Amy?" "Tom says the bloody ants are coming up in a great army." "He says, "Come quick." "Something's up."" "I saw them myself." "They're like gravy boiling." "Do come." "The great slaving raid took place on a hot afternoon... after several days of frantic activity within Red Fort." "We arrived at the nest... to see gossiping and seething crowds of red ants... massing for a clearly important event." "We knew not what." "And then, at some sign... the ants swarmed out of the city from every exit." "Was it a little Napoleon who led the call to arms... or had the heat of the sun alone... signaled the ants to act in unison?" "We followed as the army set out across the forest floor." "The rough terrain of twigs and leaves... separated the well-organized ranks... into seemingly raggle-taggle brigades." "Fifteen yards from their own citadel... the red ants stopped, regrouped... and then descended... upon an unsuspecting nest of black ants... the formica fusca." "The black ants sallied forth bravely... to beat off the thieves and kidnappers... waving their antennae." "Hurrying furiously... they bit at the legs and heads and feelers... of the busy bloody ants." "They attempted, sometimes with success... to grasp the red invaders and bite them to death." "The red ants had one purpose only-- to snatch the unhatched black ants from the nest... and carry them in their fine jaws to Red Fort." "From that moment on... the fate of the captured black ant nestlings was sealed." "They would live and die as red ants... not as true black ants." "They would feed and nourish little blood-red ants... and, in time, respond to the sun... by massing to attack their forgotten families." "It is as if environment were everything... and inheritance nothing." "Amy?" "I didn't know you had an interest... in this little thing." "I don't." "Not a personal one... but in her general well-being." "Her general well-being." "Well, tell him, Amy-- was I hurting you?" "Were my attentions unwelcome, perhaps?" "No." "No, sir." "I'm quite all right, Mr. Adamson." "Please." "I think you should apologize, sir... and leave us." "I think Amy should run on." "I think she'd do best to run on." "Sir." "Run off, then, child." "I can always find you if I want you." "Servants in this house are none of your concern..." "Mr. Adamson." "You do not pay their wages... and I'll thank you not to interfere with them." "That little creature is no more than a child... and one who's not had a proper childhood." "Nonsense." "She's a nice little packet of flesh... and her heart beats faster when I reach for it... and her little mouth opens sweetly and eagerly." "You know nothing, Adamson." "I've noticed that you know nothing." "Go back to your beetles and your creepy-crawlies." "I won't hurt the little puss, you can believe." "Just add a little bit of natural spice." "Anyway, it's none of your business." "You're a hanger-on." "And I've yet to learn what use you are to the world... or anyone in it." "I told you." "I've noticed that you know nothing." ""And what of the fusca ant males?" ""Their fate exemplifies..." ""the remorseless, random purposefulness..." ""of Dame Nature, of natural selection." ""Their whole existence is directed..." ""only to the nuptial dance..." ""and the fertilization of the queens." ""They are flying amorous projectiles..." ""truly no more than the burning arrows..." ""of the winged and blindfold God of Love..." ""and after their day of glory..." ""they're unnecessary and unwanted." ""They run hither and thither..." ""aimlessly draggle-winged." ""They are beaten back for the most part..." ""from the doors of their home nests..." ""and driven away to mope and die..." ""in the cooling evenings..." ""of the late summer and early autumn."" "Very eloquent." "I'm quite overcome with pity... for these poor, useless male creatures." "I must admit, I'd never seen them in that light before." "Do you not think you may have been... somewhat anthropomorphic in your choice of rhetoric?" "I thought that was our intention in this history-- to appeal to a wide audience by telling scientific truths... with a note of the fabulous." "Perhaps I've overdone it." "I could tone it down." "I'm quite sure you should not." "It will do excellently as it is." "It will appeal greatly to the dramatic emotions." "The book is to be delightful... as well as profound and truthful, is it not?" "I've been making a collection of literary citations... which I thought you might place at the head of your chapters." "I found a wonderful sonnet by poor, mad John Clare... which seems to suggest that our ideas of fairies... are only anthropomorphizing of insects... and I've had an idea... to put my little drawings of fairy insects into a book." "A book?" "I'm amazed at your accomplishments" "Latin, Greek, draftsmanship of a high quality... a thorough knowledge of English literature." "I was educated with my betters... in the schoolroom of a bishop." "in the schoolroom of a bishop." "My father was the tutor... and the bishop's lady kindly intentioned." "You should publish on your own behalf." "This is for my own entertainment." "The ants, you know, were my muse." "They inspired me." "I'll take it into town on the pretext... of looking for new winter boots." "I do not trust that village postmistress... not to tell everyone that a fat packet has gone off." "We do not wish to attract attention... to what may be a completely fruitless endeavor." "No." "When the book is handsomely bound... and ready for review... then we shall be open." "She can't be expected to do any more... in her condition." "Get this cushion here." "That's better." "Can I have a drink?" "Mother?" "There." "Good." ""Dear Mr. Adamson..." ""You are to be heartily congratulated..." ""upon your ingenious natural history..." ""which is just the kind of book..." ""which the world of letters at present cannot have enough." ""We are very happy..." ""you've chosen our house as the publishers..." ""and hope we may come to a happy arrangement..." ""for what will be a fruitful partnership." ""Yours sincerely, J. Marion, publisher."" "I was so afraid." "I can hardly believe it." "We must not be oversanguine." "I have no idea of the profit... from a successful book." "Nor I, nor I." "I hardly like to mention it to Sir Harald." "He's in a very bad way with his own project." "He's torn up several sheaves of writing... only yesterday." "I don't feel I've given him the support he needs." "Oh, I understand." "Perhaps" "It's not certain enough yet to be revealed... perhaps we should keep our own counsel." "I'm quite happy to go on as we are." "The shock--the surprise, I should say-- will be all the more complete... when we come to reveal what has been in the making." "Mr. William, I can tell you now... that you are the father of not one, but two infant girls... both living, both doing well." "Hounds, gentlemen, please!" "Mr. Adamson!" "Whoa!" "Mr. Adamson, sir!" "You're asked to come back to Miss Eugenia, please." "Is she ill?" "Is anything wrong?" "Didn't say, sir." "Just come back to Miss Eugenia." "Is my wife well?" "I think so, sir." "Do you know where she is?" "In her room, sir, I think." "She told me she was not to be disturbed until after dinner." "Get dressed." "Go." "Go now." "You must take those." "Take them in your hand and anything else and leave." "I told you to go now!" "You, too." "Dress yourself." "Cover up now." "Just cover up." "William..." "Dress yourself!" "Just dress yourself!" "Dress yourself!" "It's like a whorehouse!" "It's disgusting." "You are disgusting." "I can't put this on without Martha." "Will you help me?" "I shan't touch you." "Why don't you just cover yourself?" "Cover yourself!" "You're horrible to see!" "Hurry up!" "This..." "This has been going on for some time, hasn't it?" "Has it?" "All the time I've been here." "Yes." "How long?" "Since I was very little." "Very little." "Yes." "You cannot possibly understand." "No, I cannot." "At first, it seemed... nothing to do with the rest of my life." "It was just something secret... that was." "You know?" "Like other things you must not do and do..." "like touching yourself in the dark." "You don't understand." "When I was going to marry Captain Hunt, he saw." "He saw." "Not so much as you have seen, but enough to guess." "And it preyed on his mind." "It preyed on his mind." "I swore then I would stop it... and I did stop it... because I wanted to be married... and good and like other people... and I did persuade him that he was mistaken in me." "It was so hard... for he could not say what he feared." "He would not speak it out loud." "That was when I saw how very terrible it was..." "I was." "Only we could not stop." "I don't think... that he meant even to stop." "He's strong, William." "And, of course, Captain Hunt-- someone led him to see it... and he wrote a terrible letter to both of us... and he said... oh, that he could not live with the knowledge... even if we could" "that is what he said-- and then he shot himself." "In the desk, there was a note to me... saying I would know why he had died... and he hoped that I would be able to be happy." "And even after that, you just went right on." "Who else could I turn to?" "Well, you turned to me." "You made use of me anyhow." "All the children, who revert so shockingly... to the ancestral type" "No!" "I don't know!" "Well, I know, don't I?" "Perfectly obvious!" "You just have to look at them!" "I'll go now." "We can talk again later." "What will you do?" "I don't know what I shall do." "I shall tell you when I do know." "You need not be afraid that I shall kill myself... or him." "I want to be a free man, not a convicted murderer." "Remember, William... the aim is to get rid of all your letters." "Phoenix." "I only had this left." "No, not now." "Later." "I'll find a time later." "Please take a seat." "I hope you don't think this is too conspiratorial." "You wish to talk." "You sent me a word tonight... and someone sent for me to come back to the house today... when I was not wanted... when I was anything but wanted." "I didn't send for you... if that's what you're thinking." "There are people in a house, you know... who can know everything that's going on-- invisible people." "Now and then, the house simply decides... that something must happen." "I think your message came to you... after a series of misunderstandings... that were at some level deliberate." "But you know what I saw." "There are people in houses... between the visible inhabitants and the invisible" "largely invisible to both-- who can know a very great deal if they choose." "I choose to know about some things... and not about others." "I've become interested... in knowing about things that concern you." "I've been used." "I've been made a fool of." "Even so, that's not the most important thing." "What I want to know is what you feel." "I want to know what you're going to do." "I find that my most powerful feeling... is that I'm free." "I ought to feel shocked or vengeful, humiliated... and I do feel all these things from time to time... but mostly, I feel I can go now." "I can leave this house." "I can return to my true work." "There was talk of equipping a further Amazon venture." "I cannot now take one Alabaster penny." "You must see that." "You see everything, I begin to think." "I must go away and soon..." "and never return." "You are all that I shall miss here." "I've never felt anything... in my heart of hearts... for all those white children." "This may be only of the moment." "No, I can go." "I shall go." "My book--our book-- will provide something." "More can be earned." "I've sold my book." "Your book?" "Yes." "I told you I was preparing... a book of drawings and writings... integrating the insect realm with fairy tales." "When did you write it?" "Why didn't you tell me?" "I wrote it here." "I had to do it alone." "I had to do something that would be mine." "All my life, I've worked for others for their good." "Everything I had, even this... could be taken away from me on someone else's whim." "My book was my secret... just as now it's my gift." "You are not offering..." "I've taken certain steps... entirely subject to your approval." "I have a banker's draft from Mr. John Marion, publisher... which would be more than sufficient... and a letter from Mr. Stevens... offering to negotiate the sales of specimens as before... and a letter from Captain Papagay... who sails from Liverpool to Rio in a month." "He has two berths free." "You truly are a good fairy." "You wave your wand... and I have everything I desire... before I can think of desiring it." "I watch and contrive and write letters... and consider your nature, and you do desire it." "You've just said so." "Two berths?" "I would come with you." "You've filled me with a desire for paradisal places." "I shall not rest until I've seen the great river... and felt the air of the tropics." "You cannot do that." "Think of the fever... think of the terrible, biting creatures... think of the monotonous, insufficient food... of the rough men out there, the drunkenness." "Yet you will go there." " I'm not a woman." " Oh, I am." "It's no place for a woman." "There are women there." "Yes, but not of your kind." "I don't think you know what kind of woman I am." "I don't think you know that I am a woman." "You've never seen me." "Why should that not continue as it is?" "You have no idea who I am." "You have no idea even how old I am." "You think I am between 30 and 50." "Confess it." "If you know so precisely what it is I think... it's because you've meant me to think it." "All right, tell me." "Since you invite the question, how old are you?" "I'm 27." "I've one life... and 27 years of it have passed... and I intend to begin living." "Not in the rain forest." "Not in the Amazons." "The place is very much an inferno." "But you will go there." "My work is there, Matty." "I know how to live that life." "I can learn." "I'm strong, resourceful." "I have not lived softly, contrary to appearances." "You need not heed me once the voyage is over." "It's a daydream." "It is what I will do!" "Matty, Miss Crompton..." "Up here, at night, there is no Matty." "My name is Matilda." "Look at me!" "I have looked at you." "I've seen your wrists, Matilda." "I only wanted you to see me." "I don't think that was all you wanted." "Shall I stay here?" "Or shall I go back now?" "I should like you to stay... but it's not very comfortable here." "If we are to travel together... you'll find that we'll look back on this... as a paradise of comfort." "So... you have decided." "What is to be my fate?" "I must confess, I'm more interested in my own." "I've decided to leave you, Eugenia." "And... shall you speak to anyone?" "Shall you tell?" "Who can I tell, Eugenia... whom I should not destroy in the telling?" "You must live with yourself." "That's all I can say." "You must live with yourself." "I know it was bad. but you must understand-- it didn't feel bad." "Breeders know even first-cousin marriages... produce inherited defects, increase the likelihood" "That is a cruel thing to say." "Morpho Eugenia... you are very lovely." "It has not done me any good to look pretty... to be admired." "I would like to be different." "Good-bye, Eugenia." "I shall not return." "Be off." "Come on."