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Java Programming, Seventh Edition 6-1

Chapter 6
Looping

At a Glance

Instructor’s Manual Table of Contents

• Overview

• Objectives

• Teaching Tips

• Quick Quizzes

• Class Discussion Topics

• Additional Projects

• Additional Resources

• Key Terms
Java Programming, Seventh Edition 6-2

Lecture Notes

Overview
Chapter 6 covers looping structures. Students will learn to create definite and indefinite
loops using the while statement. Next, they will learn to use Java’s accumulating and
incrementing operators. Students will use for loops to create a definite loop and
do…while loops for use when a posttest loop is required. Finally, students will learn
how to create nested loops and how to improve loop efficiency.

Objectives
• Learn about the loop structure
• Create while loops
• Use shortcut arithmetic operators
• Create for loops
• Create do…while loops
• Nest loops
• Improve loop performance

Teaching Tips
Learning About the Loop Structure
1. Define a loop as a structure that allows repeated execution of a block of statements. The
loop body contains the block of statements.

2. Explain the purpose of a loop. Briefly introduce the three loop statements used in Java
that are listed on page 300.

3. Describe scenarios when looping is useful. If possible, equate the loop to a game or
real-life situation.

Teaching Repetition structures are the third and final type of program control structure
Tip along with sequence and decision.

Two Truths and a Lie

1. Discuss the two truths and a lie on page 300.
Java Programming, Seventh Edition 6-3

Creating while Loops

1. Define a while loop. Discuss that the loop body will continue to execute as long as the
Boolean expression that controls the loop is true.

2. Define a definite loop and an indefinite loop. Explain when each is useful in a
program.

Writing a Definite while Loop

1. Note that a while loop can be used to create a definite loop—one that repeats a
predetermined number of times. A definite loop is controlled by a loop control
variable.

2. Review the flowchart and program statements in Figure 6-2 and Figure 6-4.

3. If practical, code a definite while loop during your lecture.

Teaching Note that the flowchart symbol for a decision—a diamond—is also used in a
Tip loop flowchart.

4. Explain the concept of an infinite loop, as shown in Figure 6-3. Note that it is easy to
make a mistake when programming a loop that results in an infinite loop.

5. Describe the steps to avoid an infinite loop listed on page 302.

Pitfall: Failing to Alter the Loop Control Variable Within the Loop Body

1. Discuss the importance of altering the loop control variable within the body of a loop.

2. Using the code in Figure 6-5, demonstrate the pitfall of forgetting to insert curly braces
around the loop body.

Teaching Remind students that they should attempt to terminate a program that they
Tip believe contains an infinite loop.

Pitfall: Creating a Loop with an Empty Body

1. Using Figure 6-6, point out that a loop can have an empty body. Suggest to your
students that this should be avoided.
Java Programming, Seventh Edition 6-4

Altering a Definite Loop’s Control Variable

1. Definite loops are sometimes called counter-controlled loops. The loop control
variable must be changed to avoid an infinite loop.

2. Introduce the terms incrementing and decrementing. Figure 6-7 shows a loop
statement in which the loop control variable is decremented each time the loop
executes.

3. Students often think that increments or decrements can only be in steps of 1.

Demonstrate that loops can increment by 1, 2, 3, .5, or whatever value change is
needed.

Teaching It is more common for a loop control variable to be incremented than

Tip decremented.

Writing an Indefinite while Loop

1. Describe an indefinite loop. This type of loop is an event-controlled loop, often

controlled by user input, as seen in the program in Figure 6-8.

2. Note that indefinite loops are also commonly used to validate data. An example is seen
in Figure 6-10.

3. If practical, code an event-controlled loop during your lecture.

Validating Data

1. Define the term validating data. Provide a really good example of why validating data
is important.

2. Examine the shaded loop in Figure 6-10. Be sure to discuss with your class how this
loop functions. Point out that the loop continues to execute while the data is invalid.
The test in validating loops should check for invalid data, not valid data.

3. Code several data validating loops during your lecture.

Teaching Validating data should be a very important topic in your lectures. Students
Tip should get into the habit of validating every input.

Two Truths and a Lie

1. Discuss the two truths and a lie on page 310.
Java Programming, Seventh Edition 6-5

You Do It
1. Students should follow the steps in the book on pages 310–311 to create a Java
application that uses a loop to validate data entries.

Quick Quiz 1
1. True or False: Within a looping structure, a floating-point expression is evaluated.
Answer: False

2. A(n) ____ loop is one in which the loop-controlling Boolean expression is the first
statement in the loop.
Answer: while

3. To write a definite loop, you initialize a(n) ____, a variable whose value determines
whether loop execution continues.
Answer: loop control variable

4. A loop controlled by the user is a type of ____ loop because you don’t know how many
times it will eventually loop.
Answer: indefinite

5. Verifying user data through a loop is the definition of ____.

Answer: validating data

Using Shortcut Arithmetic Operators

1. Define the terms counting and accumulating.

2. Introduce the shortcut operators used to increment and accumulate values:

add and assign operator +=
subtract and assign operator -=
multiply and assign operator *=
divide and assign operator /=
remainder and assign operator %=

Teaching Ask students to write several equivalent arithmetic statements using the normal
Tip and accumulating operators.

3. Introduce the prefix and postfix increment operators and decrement operators.
Review the program in Figure 6-13 to discuss the use of these operators.

4. Write code during your lectures that uses several of the operators presented in this
section.
Java Programming, Seventh Edition 6-6

Two Truths and a Lie

1. Discuss the two truths and a lie on page 315.

You Do It
1. Students should follow the steps in the book on pages 315–317 to create a Java
application that uses the prefix and postfix increment operators.

Teaching
Stress the difference between the prefix and postfix operators.
Tip

Creating a for Loop

1. Define a for loop. Emphasize that the for loop is a definite loop. Discuss when the
for loop is appropriate in code. Contrast the for loop with the counter-controlled
definite while loop.

2. Using Figure 6-18, describe the program statements used in a for loop. The three
sections of a for loop are described on page 317. Discuss the different ways these
three sections may be used (listing on pages 318–319).

3. Point out that a for loop with an empty body is not infinite, and can be used to create a
brief pause in your program.

Teaching Remind students that a variable declared within a for loop is only accessible
Tip within the loop and goes out of scope when the loop exits.

Two Truths and a Lie

1. Discuss the two truths and a lie on page 320.

You Do It
1. Students should follow the steps in the book on pages 320–321 to create a Java
application that uses a definite loop.

Learning How and When to Use a do…while Loop

1. Explain that in both of the loop structures introduced in the chapter, while and for,
the body of the loop may not execute because the loop condition is checked before
entering the loop. This is known as a pretest loop.
Java Programming, Seventh Edition 6-7

2. In contrast, the body of a do…while loop will always execute at least once before the
loop condition is checked. This type of loop is called a posttest loop.

Teaching Provide examples of a situation for which it is desirable to use a pretest loop and
Tip one for which it is desirable to use a posttest loop.

3. Review the flowchart in Figure 6-20 and the program code in Figure 6-21.

4. Note that even though it is not required, it is a good idea to always enclose a single loop
statement within a block.

5. Revisit data validation. Point out that the code in Figure 6-10 asks for input both before
the loop and within the loop. The first input is called a priming input.

6. Recode the shaded portion of Figure 6-10 using a do…while loop. The use of the
do…while loop removes the need for the priming input. Code several other data
validation loops during your lecture.

Two Truths and a Lie

1. Discuss the two truths and a lie on page 324.

Quick Quiz 2
1. The statement count ____1; is identical in meaning to count = count + 1.
Answer: +=

2. The prefix and postfix increment operators are ____ operators because you use them
with one value.
Answer: unary

3. The three elements within the for loop are used to ____, ____, and ____ the loop
control variable.
Answer: initialize, test, update

4. A while loop is a(n) ____ loop—one in which the loop control variable is tested
before the loop body executes.
Answer: pretest

5. The do…while loop is a(n) ____ loop—one in which the loop control variable is
tested after the loop body executes.
Answer: posttest
Java Programming, Seventh Edition 6-8

Learning About Nested Loops

1. Note that like decision structures, loop structures can be nested inside other loops. This
is shown in a flowchart in Figure 6-23.

2. Make sure that students understand the terms inner loop and outer loop. Also, stress
that any type of loop can be nested within any other type (i.e., a for loop inside a
while loop).

3. An example of a program with nested loops is shown in Figure 6-24.

4. Use the code on page 327 to discuss the importance of placing the inner and outer loops
correctly.

5. Discuss the performance issues involved with using nested loops.

6. Code a nested loop with your class. A classic example is generating a multiplication
table.

Two Truths and a Lie

1. Discuss the two truths and a lie on page 327.

You Do It
1. Students should follow the steps in the book on pages 328–329 to create a Java
application that uses nested loops to print a list of positive divisors.

Loop performance is very important on mobile devices. Improving the

Teaching
performance of a loop will make code execute faster on mobile devices, and
Tip
draw less power.

Improving Loop Performance

1. Discuss simple ways to improve loop performance by using the techniques listed on
page 329.

Avoiding Unnecessary Operations

1. Describe the inefficiency of making a calculation within a loop test expression. An

example of what not to do and how to fix it is shown on page 330.

Considering the Order of Evaluation of Short-Circuit Operators

1. Remind students that when a logical expression such as AND or OR is used, the
expression is only evaluated as far as necessary to determine the true or false
Java Programming, Seventh Edition 6-9

outcome. It is important to place the condition most likely to terminate the loop first,
especially with an inner loop. An example is shown on page 330.

Comparing to Zero

1. Note that it is faster to perform a comparison to 0 than to another value.

2. The example in Figure 6-27 creates and times two sets of nested do-nothing loops. The
second set of loops will execute faster than the first set of loops.

3. If time permits, execute the code in Figure 6-27 during your lecture.

Employing Loop Fusion

1. Explain the concept of loop fusion, as shown on page 332.

Using Prefix Incrementing Rather than Postfix Incrementing

1. Using prefix incrementing is slightly faster than using postfix incrementing. The code
shown in Figure 6-29 times two do-nothing loops that loop 1 billion times. The first
loop uses postfix loops; the second uses prefix loops.

2. Figure 6-30 proves that over the 1 billion loops, the prefix loop executes about one-
tenth of a second faster.

Figure 6-30 will result in different times depending on your system. The numbers
will likely not impress your students. To make the numbers relevant, calculate
Teaching
the time saved if this code is executed 1,000 times in a day. This saves 100
Tip
seconds, or nearly 3 minutes of processing time per day, or over 1,000 minutes
per year.

Two Truths and a Lie

1. Discuss the two truths and a lie on page 334.

You Do It
1. Students should follow the steps in the book on pages 335–336 to create a Java
application that compares execution times for different loop techniques.

Don’t Do It
1. Review this section, discussing each point with the class.
Java Programming, Seventh Edition 6-10

Quick Quiz 3
1. When loops are ____, each pair contains an inner loop and an outer loop.
Answer: nested

2. True or False: When you use a loop within a loop, you should always think of the inner
loop as the all-encompassing loop.
Answer: False

3. True or False: Whether you decide to use a while, for, or do…while loop in an
application, you can improve loop performance by making sure the loop does not
include unnecessary operations or statements.
Answer: True

4. Combining loops to improve performance is referred to as ____.

Answer: loop fusion

Class Discussion Topics

1. Under what circumstances would you use a for loop rather than a while loop?

2. Why do you think the Java language provides three different types of loops if all loops
can be written using the while statement?

3. Modern processors run at over 3 GHz and have several cores. Given the speed of
modern computers, why is it still important to discuss performance issues?

Additional Projects
1. Create a Java program that uses nested loops to print out the following:

*
**
***
****
*****

2. A new variation on the for loop called the for each loop was introduced in Java 5.
Using the Internet, find a description of this loop and explain how it is different from a
standard for loop.

3. Create a Java application that prints a checkerboard using nested loops.

Java Programming, Seventh Edition 6-11

Additional Resources
1. The while and do-while Statements:
http://download.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/java/nutsandbolts/while.html

2. The for Statement:

http://download.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/java/nutsandbolts/for.html

3. Multiple Choice Java Looping Quiz:

http://mathbits.com/mathbits/java/Looping/MCLooping.htm

4. The For-Each Loop:

http://download.oracle.com/javase/1.5.0/docs/guide/language/foreach.html

5. Java program to demonstrate looping:

www.java2s.com/Code/Java/Language-Basics/Javaprogramtodemonstratelooping.htm

Key Terms
 Accumulating: the process of repeatedly increasing a value by some amount to produce
a total.
 Add and assign operator ( += ): alters the value of the operand on the left by adding
the operand on the right to it.
 Counter-controlled loop: a definite loop.
 Counting: the process of continually incrementing a variable to keep track of the
number of occurrences of some event.
 Decrementing: reducing the value of a variable by 1.
 Definite loop: a loop that executes a specific number of times; also called a counted
loop.
 Divide and assign operator ( /= ): alters the value of the operand on the left by
dividing the operand on the right into it.
 do…while loop: executes a loop body at least one time; it checks the loop control
variable at the bottom of the loop after one repetition has occurred.
 Do-nothing loop: one that performs no actions other than looping.
 Empty body: a block with no statements in it.
 Event-controlled loop: an indefinite loop.
 for loop: a special loop that can be used when a definite number of loop iterations is
required.
 Incrementing: adding 1 to the value of a variable.
 Indefinite loop: one in which the final number of loops is unknown.
 Infinite loop: a loop that never ends.
 Inner loop: contained entirely within another loop.
 Iteration: one loop execution.
 Loop: a structure that allows repeated execution of a block of statements.
 Loop body: the block of statements that executes when the Boolean expression that
controls the loop is true.
Java Programming, Seventh Edition 6-12

 Loop control variable: a variable whose value determines whether loop execution
continues.
 Loop fusion: the technique of combining two loops into one.
 Multiply and assign operator ( *= ): alters the value of the operand on the left by
multiplying the operand on the right by it.
 Outer loop: contains another loop.
 Postfix ++: evaluates a variable and then adds 1 to it.
 Postfix increment operator: another name for postfix ++.
 Posttest loop: one in which the loop control variable is tested after the loop body
executes.
 Prefix ++: adds 1 to a variable and then evaluates it.
 Prefix and postfix decrement operators: subtract 1 from a variable. For example, if b
= 4; and c = b--;, 4 is assigned to c, and then after the assignment, b is decreased
and takes the value 3. If b = 4; and c = --b;, b is decreased to 3, and 3 is
assigned to c.
 Prefix increment operator: another name for prefix ++.
 Pretest loop: one in which the loop control variable is tested before the loop body
executes.
 Priming input: another name for a priming read.
 Priming read: the first input statement prior to a loop that will execute subsequent
input statements for the same variable.
 Remainder and assign operator ( %= ): alters the value of the operand on the left by
assigning the remainder when the left operand is divided by the right operand.
 Subtract and assign operator ( –= ): alters the value of the operand on the left by
subtracting the operand on the right from it.
 Validating data: the process of ensuring that a value falls within a specified range.
 while loop: executes a body of statements continually as long as the Boolean
expression that controls entry into the loop continues to be true.
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178 “Agaric and fungi with mildew and mould
Started like mist from the wet ground cold.”

Only that here certainly it was not lack of care that produced all the
foulness, for there was plenty of evidence of care everywhere. The
beds were divided according to a well-marked plan: they were six in
all. The bed on the southern extremity must have been over two
hundred and fifty feet wide, and it had several narrow pathways
through it, well formed from end to end. Then there was a wide
pathway, say about eight feet in width, separating it from the next
bed. The next bed was only half the width, with about half as many
narrow pathways through it, and then a walk twice as wide as that
which separated it from the first bed. Then the third bed was only
half the width of the second, with a separating walk of about thirty-
two feet across. And so on, the width of the beds decreasing and
the width of the walks increasing in geometrical progression, so that
the last bed was only about eight feet wide, while the walk beyond it
was about two hundred and fifty feet wide.

All the beds and walks were the same length. As I was making these
approximate measurements mentally, with the aid of a powerful
field-glass, I observed another fact that seems worthy of notice. The
179
foul growths and vapours which, as I have told you, increased from
the southern extremity of the ground northward, came absolutely to
an end with the last bed but one. But the last bed, which was the
narrowest, with the walks on either side of it which were the widest,
occupied more than a third of the whole extent of the cultivated
ground. The true extent of the foul growths and vapours was about
this: they covered rather more than a third of the ground, and the
space which they covered was rather nearer the southern end than
the northern end. I had reason to believe before the close of the day
that these vapours were deadly; but I had reason also to believe
that there was something in the bed to the north beyond them
which was deadlier still.

There were many men employed at all the beds, much the greater
number at the first bed, but the work at the sixth bed seemed to be
far the more important; certainly it proceeded, as far as I was able
to judge, with far more care and deliberation. Not, however, that
there was anything slovenly about any of the work or of the workers.

I first turned my attention to the first bed, and there I saw a number
of men at about equal distances on each of the walks, each provided
with
180
an instrument like an elaborate sort of hoe, and having a box
slung round his shoulders, and hanging directly under his face.
Looking along these rows of men to the far edge of the beds, I saw
that the valley ended at the west end with a platform, and on this
platform several men were standing who were evidently working in
concert with the workers at the beds. This platform was not so high
as that at the east end, but, unlike that, it extended the whole width
of the valley. It consisted of two terraces connected by steps, and on
the lower terrace were the men whom I have mentioned who were
working in concert with the workers at the beds. One man stood at
the end of each walk, and handed to the nearest man on the walk a
parcel, and then another and another. He took these parcels out of a
little box on wheels that stood beside him. These parcels were
marked and numbered. At least so I concluded from the manner in
which the man on the walk received each parcel, glanced at it, and
passed it on. This distribution of the marked parcels had commenced
before I began to observe.

Looking to the boxes on wheels, I saw that they were standing on

rails, and were constructed so as to run on the same principle as the
little waggons at the eastern end. Following with my glass the
course
181
of the rails on which they ran, I saw on the upper platform
whither the rails led several machines in general appearance not
unlike some of those at the other end. The glass which I was using
was very powerful, much more powerful than any field-glass I had
ever seen. Still, I could not observe with any such exactness as if I
were standing by the machines. The car that I sat in, although there
was not a breath of wind, was not absolutely still. I should not
perhaps have noticed this if I had sat still and talked, or even read,
but the moment I began to observe closely some object not on the
car, I became conscious of a motion such as would be felt at sea on
a calm day if there were a long but very gentle swell.

I saw with enough exactness, however, to conclude that the

processes which were being carried on here were not mechanical,
but most likely chemical. I could see many jars and retorts and
instruments of similar aspect, and I thought I could make sure that
electricity was being largely applied, and that some strange use was
being made of light. It seemed as if there were some substances in
certain small vessels on which now and then light greatly magnified
was being thrown. These vessels were arranged in order within the
182
machines in such way that they could be subjected at the will of the
worker to the various light, magnifying, and chemical and electric
processes which it seemed to be the function of the machine to keep
in action.

I did not feel sure at first whether the substances in the vessels
were being simply examined, or whether they were being treated
with a view to effect some change in them. But I soon saw that the
latter was the more likely purpose. For I perceived on further
observation that they were subjected to a very severe and exact
scrutiny before they were placed in the vessels. At one end of the
row of machines was a very long table along which, near the middle,
a trough ran from end to end. A man stood at the table who seemed
to be examining something in the trough with a microscope, or at
least with some sort of magnifying apparatus. Then he laid aside the
magnifying apparatus, and poured from a little bottle either some
fluid or powder, I could not tell which, on the objects which he was
examining; then he would apply the magnifier again, and so on. Last
of all, from this trough he would take up something or other with a
little shovel or trowel, and place it in certain tiny waggons or boxes
on wheels which communicated, apparently by automatic means
such as I have before described, with the different machines,
emptying
183
their contents into the small vessels of which I have told
you. All the machines appeared to be of the same sort, and engaged
in the same work. I concluded that the man at the table with the
trough in it was examining certain substances, and that these were
being treated by the men at the machines with a view to some
modification of their nature. And I had no doubt that this work,
whatever it was, stood in some direct relation to the work at the
seed beds.

If I had had any such doubt it would have been removed by what I
observed at the other end of the row of machines. There I saw a
table just like an enormous billiard table, only there were no
pockets, and at this table stood four or five men busily at work. This
table was connected with the seed beds by the rails, along which ran
the boxes on wheels. Indeed, it was to it that my look had first been
directed when I followed, with my glass, the course of these boxes.
But the more curious aspect of the machines had attracted my
attention, and I had observed the whole row of them to the other
end and the table with the trough in it which stood there, before
observing this end more particularly. I now saw that the substances
which had been examined in the trough and treated in the machines
were
184
carried, still by automatic machinery, to this enormous table
and emptied upon it. There they were very rapidly sorted and
distributed into parcels by the five or six men at work there. These
men must have had great accuracy of eye and touch, and their way
of working reminded me of the man in the Mint who rings the coin.
The parcels which were so made up were distributed among the
workers in the seed beds in the way already described.

It was clear to me now that some substances, probably germs of

one kind or another, were being examined and treated by scientific
methods, and were being subjected afterwards to some sort of
discriminating culture. I began to guess at the purpose of all this,
and quite suddenly a suspicion broke upon me which almost made
me drop my glass with horror. And I may as well say here at once
that knowledge which I obtained later on confirmed this horrible
suspicion.

Recovering myself, I turned my attention to the workers at the seed

beds. The men engaged at the first bed went slowly along the walks
taking every now and then something out of the boxes which were
slung one over the shoulder of each, and planting it in the ground
and covering it over. I saw that they examined also something
already planted, and sometimes took it up and put it into the box. I
could
185
not tell, owing to the distance and the motion, whether or not
what they took up exhibited any visible growth. The substances,
whatever they were, which were thus taken up, were placed in a
little waggon which ran at the eastern end of the bed at right angles
to the walks, and conveyed its contents to the walks which
separated the first bed from the second, and were dealt with by the
workers there. If you ask me how I knew that it was the substances
exhumed and not the substances in the parcels that were thus
passed, I can only say that such was my conclusion from the whole
aspect of the movement, for I could not accurately distinguish small
objects at the distance.
The way of working at the next four beds was not so different from
what I have described, as to make it worth while attempting a
detailed account. It will suffice to say that the mode of procedure
was to sow something in each bed, and to take up something which
had been down in order to transfer it to the next bed, and this latter
process evidently involved much careful examination and
discrimination. I should also mention that at the third bed and
onward the workers wore masks, apparently wire masks of some
elaborate construction. They wore them, not continuously, but
whenever
186
they stooped to the ground or examined very closely the
substances with which they were dealing. At other times the masks
hung at the girdles. At the fourth bed the workers wore the masks
more frequently, and at the fifth they only removed them
occasionally. The way of working at the sixth bed was different and
will need a fuller description.

But before attempting to describe it I should say that just as I was

beginning to observe the sixth bed, a slight change came in the
weather which made two considerable changes, each in a different
direction, in my opportunities of observation. It had been quite calm
and at the same time cloudy. Now a light breeze began to blow and
the sun shone out. The effect of the breeze was, at first, so to
increase the motion of the car as to make very close observation
impossible. But Signor Davelli presently applied a sort of ballasting
machinery, which had the effect of greatly steadying the car. I was
so much interested in what was going on below that I did not very
accurately observe how this was done. But I think that it was
somehow in this way. He moved, by mechanical contrivance, certain
weights in the car, so as to change the centre of gravity in such
manner as to render the part of it which we occupied subject to less
motion than the rest. I have not much skill in such matters and I
187
hardly know if this is possible, but so it seemed to me. But even
after this was done the car was not by any means as steady as
before.

At the same time, however, the sunshine which now appeared

disclosed some features of the scene which I should otherwise have
missed. For now, at the northern end of the beds, on a platform at
right angles with the western platform, I saw several shadows which
indicated to my now skilled eyesight the presence of several of the
invisible cars. They were standing all still when I first saw them, but
presently one moved, rose quickly from the earth, and passed
gradually out of sight to the northward. I followed its course with my
glass for several minutes, till it was nearly out of sight. I then turned
again to the seed-beds. The men at the sixth bed were very few,
only five in all, and each was working apparently on his own
account. But they were all doing exactly the same kind of work.
They were, as I thought, making a final selection of the germs which
had undergone so careful a process of cultivation. Each of them had
three boxes, instead of one, slung in front of him, and a long
instrument in his hand with which he extracted certain substances
from the ground. This instrument was constructed so as to hold in a
little
188
receptacle what was lifted from the ground. Each of the
workers, also, had slung over his shoulder what looked like a small
frame. I selected one of the five at random, and watched his
proceedings more particularly. Now and then he would unsling the
frame and place it on the ground. Then he would give it a little twist,
whereupon it would assume a form very like that of a lady’s work-
table. I saw him do this many times, and each time he took
something out of the closed receptacle which I have just mentioned,
and placed it on the table, and observed it carefully with some kind
of instrument that might have been a kind of microscope. After a
more or less minute observation each time, he placed the substance
observed in one of the boxes at his girdle, which he opened each
time and carefully closed again. By-and-by he seemed to discover
some substance which challenged his attention specially, for after a
longer observation than usual, he took another instrument from his
girdle and observed it more carefully and for a longer time. Then I
could see that he called his neighbour, for he looked, and I almost
thought that I could see his lips moving, and immediately the other
looked up and came towards him. Then the first man handed his
observing instrument to the second, who examined very carefully
189
the substance on the little table. Some discussion seemed to follow,
an animated conversation as I thought, with certainly a rapid
pantomimic accompaniment.

Then a very strange thing happened. As the first man stooped

towards the table his mask fell off. My glass was so good that I saw
it quite plainly come loose at one side, and I saw the man’s hand
lifted up to catch it. But before he could reach it, it fell off as I have
said. Then in a moment the man’s body became a mass of rapidly
seething fluid, and the fluid became a dark cloud of smoke, which
spread into the air and disappeared. Just so I had seen Signor
Davelli’s body transformed and disappear the day before. The
second man at once caught up the mask and stood apparently
waiting. Presently a diffused vapour appeared. This became denser
and denser, until it assumed the appearance of a seething fluid, as
before. This quickly became consolidated and assumed the form of a
body, the body of the man who had just disappeared. Then the
other man, who was standing ready with the mask in his hand, fitted
it again upon the first man, and both men proceeded to examine the
substance before them, and to converse, as if nothing had happened
to interrupt them. All this time (which, however, was a very short
190
time, although the change was by no means instantaneous, as the
like change seemed to be yesterday) the other men worked away
without, as far as I could see, taking any notice whatever of what
was going on.

I exclaimed slightly and started, and this attracted Signor Davelli’s

attention. He had been, I think, examining and preparing some
instruments. “What do you see?” he said. I answered without taking
my eyes from the glass. “A man over there disappeared and
appeared again just as you did yesterday.”

“Careless wretches!” he said, looking towards the place that I was

observing.

“I suppose,” I said, “that these substances which they are examining

must be very deadly, for his mask fell off just before he disappeared,
and I remember you said yesterday that what would kill us only
drove you back into space.”

“And you infer, I suppose, that if you had been in his place you
would have dropped down dead.”

“That is what I think,” said I.

“Then you see if you become one of us you escape death.” He said
this with a strongly persuasive manner, and as he spoke a slight
shudder seemed to pass over me, and I expected him to say more.
But he said no more, and he returned to the task in which he had
been engaged.

I191
then turned my attention again to my examination of the workers
at the sixth bed.

You will understand that a very broad walk lay between the bed and
the northern platform. This walk was to all appearance formed of
some hard stuff like flags or asphalt, and I now perceived by the aid
of the sunlight that some of the cars had alighted upon this pathway
and were standing there.

I could see that there were five of them, and presently the five
workers went over to the cars, one to each car. There was a man in
each or beside each, I could not say which. For as you will
remember I could only see the shadows of the cars, and the sun
was now very high, and very near the zenith, and the shadows were
proportionately small. The five workers took the boxes, each one
from his girdle, one after another, and handed them, one after
another, each worker to one of the men in or beside each car. Then
the workers went back to the bed, and the cars rose from the
ground. I could see that they rose almost perpendicularly at first for
the shadows hardly moved, but became smaller and smaller; then
they lengthened and passed away to the north-east, and rapidly
disappeared. I looked up in the direction which seemed indicated by
the lengthening shadows, and I could see distinctly for a few
192
minutes something like a queer little cloud, and another and another
until I counted the five. Then I lost sight of them.

If the north platform was the port of departure for the cars it
seemed as if the south platform was the port of arrival. For now on
looking straight below I saw that many cars were standing there,
and some arrived as I looked. The bright sunshine enabled me to
count them as they stood and to see them coming; and my position
in respect of them enabled me to estimate the size of these cars by
their shadows much more exactly than that of those which I had
been just observing at the other end. A little further observation
showed me that the cargo they were laden with consisted of the
same sort of substances as those which were so carefully treated on
the platform, and in the seed beds, and, finally, in a modified
condition exported for use elsewhere. I had evidence already of the
care which was given to the preparation and final distribution of
these, and I now had evidence that the same kind of care was given
to their first selection. Signor Davelli lowered the car to the platform,
alighted, and called a man to his side. I alighted at the same time.
The man came at once, and it was clear that he knew what he was
called for; for he brought with him something that looked like a little
193
glass case or tray, in which were a multitude of little matters which
proved to be germs of some sort, part of them of animal and part of
vegetable growth, and these, as I gathered, had been selected from
a great number of similar matters which had just come in, and they
were now submitted to Signor Davelli for his examination and
approval. He examined them carefully in some ways that I
understood, and in some ways also that I did not understand at all.
As an instance of the latter I may mention the following. He
extracted one of the germs from the case and placed it on an
elliptical piece of opaque ware which was very slightly depressed in
the middle. The germ was so small that he had to work with a
magnifying-glass of enormous power, and with instruments of
extreme delicacy. He showed me the germ through the glass. It was
egg-shaped and colourless, with a tiny dark spot under a partly
transparent substance. Without the glass it was to me absolutely
invisible. Then he got a little glass tube into which he put something
out of a very small bottle, which he took from a number of others
which lay side by side in a little case which he took out of a pocket
in the side of the car. Whether what he took out of the bottle was
powder or fluid I could not tell, though I was now so near what I
was
194
observing. But I noticed that when poured into the tube it
seemed to change colour. Then Signor Davelli handed the tube to
the man who had come in answer to his call, and this man, who
appeared to know exactly what was expected of him, took the tube
and blew through it upon the germ. I could not see that anything
came through the tube, but in a few seconds a kind of cream-
coloured spray began to rise from the germ, and Signor Davelli
observed this, not the germ but the spray, very carefully through the
magnifier. He seemed highly pleased; he selected a few more germs
which he said were of the same sort as this; he spoke of them as
particularly “promising,” and he indicated, as I thought (for just here
he began to speak in a tongue unknown to me), the treatment
which in his judgment they ought to receive.

When I could no longer understand him I looked again to the

workers at the beds. There were now a great many more workers at
the first bed, and the work all through was proceeding in a very
rapid and orderly manner. I followed quickly the whole process from
first to last: the gathering in of the germs, their preliminary
examination, the treatment which they underwent on the platform,
the tests to which they were subjected before and after that
treatment,
195
their gradual passage through the several stages of
cultivation, and finally their dispersion, in their cultivated condition,
whither I could not certainly say, but presumably to the ends of the
earth.

One thing especially puzzled me: I could not estimate at all the
amount of time which the process of cultivation consumed in the
case of each germ. There were germs constantly going into
cultivation and frequently coming out; but how long it was from the
time that each one went in until the same one came out again,
whether they took different periods of time or uniform, or nearly
uniform periods, I could not at all guess. The rapidly decreasing size
of the beds implied certainly that the process of cultivation was a
process of elimination. It seemed that not one in a hundred of those
which passed through the first stage could ever have reached the
final stage. And I think also that it might be inferred with much
probability from the same fact that the process of cultivation lasted
in most cases for a long time. For otherwise they might surely have
made up for losses during culture by an increase of the numbers put
under cultivation. For what I saw left me no room to doubt that such
an increase in quantity was at their disposal. Making a rough
estimate,
196
I should say that hundreds of germs cultivated up to the
highest pitch were sent away every day, and that hundreds of
thousands went under cultivation.

While I was making these calculations, I became aware of a

disturbance at the first bed. Turning my glass hastily to the spot I
saw that one of the men had fallen down, and it struck me at first
that there was going to be a repetition of the sort of disappearance
and reappearance which I had already witnessed, and which I now
understood. But I very soon saw that this was quite a different
matter. There was a panic, and the men ran in all directions away
from the man who had fallen. I followed for a moment with my glass
the course of some of the fugitives. Turning the glass back towards
the spot where the man had fallen, I could perceive nothing at all.
Every trace of his body was lost. Then I heard a long and loud
whistle, and in almost as little time as it takes me to tell it the panic
had ceased and the men were working away just as before. Just
then I heard what seemed like a deep and desperate curse from
Signor Davelli, and looking towards him I saw him standing with his
arm half way up, holding the glass. He seemed to have just taken it
away from his eyes, and a scowl was passing over his face, made up
as
197
it seemed to me of malignity, ferocity, and fear. It reminded me at
once of the expression which had passed over his countenance on
the second day when the men were gathered in the square and
when one or two of them proved to be missing, and I remembered
also Jack’s words, “Depend upon it his damnation has got something
or other to do with the loss of these men.”
To conceal my horror I turned my glass again to the workers, but I
really observed nothing more, and presently at a signal from Signor
Davelli I resumed my place in the car. He raised the car just as
before, made a curve to the south, and then turned the prow of the
car towards the east end of the valley. We alighted at the same point
whence we had started, and then he spoke—

“Mr. Easterley, you know something of my power now.”

I looked at him, I suppose, interrogatively, for he went on to say—

“Among your kings who is the most powerful? Is it not he who

possesses the deadliest weapons and can use them with the most
facility and precision?”

I said nothing for a moment, for I knew he was misleading me, or

perhaps I should not say I knew, but I felt so, not indeed because of
198
any opinion that I had formed about the purpose of the cultivated
germs, but because of the profound distrust with which he had
inspired me. Then, as he seemed to be waiting for my reply I said
briefly, “I have no doubt at all of your power.”

“Very well,” he said; “we shall see to-morrow if you are worthy to
share it.”

I said nothing. The words that formed themselves in my mind were,

“I hope that I am not sufficiently unworthy,” but for obvious reasons
I kept silence.

Then he said, “We meet here to-morrow two hours before noon, and
now you can return to your friend; I can see him coming towards us
on the stair.”
I could not see, for I had left the glass in the car; but I exchanged a
parting salute with my companion, walked slowly to the stair and
began to ascend it. Before beginning the ascent I had seen Jack
standing half way up the stair, looking towards me.

After a hearty grip of the hand we turned back and walked slowly
towards the pathway that we had taken on the second morning of
our stay here. We spoke almost in whispers. I gave Jack a brief
account of what I had seen. He said that it indicated something of
which we could hardly guess the whole import, but he agreed with
me that such import was probably as bad as it could be.

“We
199
must try to escape,” he said, “as soon as possible. I know now
exactly how to work and steer the cars, and I know, too, how to lay
my hands on a second battery.”

“What do we want with a second battery?” said I.

“Well,” said he, “I don’t know what these batteries are made of; they
are of solid stuff, not fluid, and yet they all waste very quickly. I
doubt if any one of them will carry us as far as we may want to go;
indeed, I am not sure that any two of them will be enough.”

“But how are we to get away,” said I; “we are so closely watched?”

“I’ll tell you what I propose,” he said. “We shall not retire to-night
until an hour after dark, nor the next night, then we may hope that
they will take it as a matter of course that we shall not retire on the
third night until the same hour. But on the third night, immediately
after dark, we shall make a bolt of it, and so we may hope for an
hour’s start.”

“In the car?”

“Well, so I propose. I am aware that there is much to be said in
favour of an attempt to escape on foot. These lozenges of theirs are
meat and drink. We have had nothing else for several days, and we
200
want nothing else, and we know now how many of them we should
require, and it is certain that we could easily carry enough to last us
three weeks or more. And if we make a bee-line for the wire we
ought to reach it within three weeks or less. Besides, if we escape
on foot they will not know where to look for us. We shall have cover
among the trees, whereas in the air we shall have no cover.”

“Not even if we escape in an invisible car?”

“There is none of the cars invisible to them.”

“Ah! so I was beginning to think.”

“I am quite sure of it.”

“Well, go on.”

“Still, three weeks may not be enough. We may not be able to make
a bee-line. Probably we shall meet with some impassable scrub, or
other obstacle, and so our food may run out, and we may die
miserably after all. But if we escape in one of the cars the whole risk
will be over, and our fate will be decided one way or another within
twenty-four hours.”

“Very well,” said I, “we shall try it the night after next.”

Then I told him of my appointment next day with Signor Davelli.

He
201
looked very grave. “That’s the biggest risk of all,” he said. “If you
give in to him we’re both done for.”
“I won’t give in to him.”

“Good; but if he knows for certain that you are resisting him, he may
take immediate action, and then also we shall be done for.”

“He will give me more than one trial.”

“I think he will, but, any way, we are not likely to have as much time
as we thought. I would say, let us try to-night, but we are watched
so closely, that it is not possible. We had better say to-morrow
night.”

“So be it,” said I.

Then we went to our quarters and had some food and a little rest.
Then we walked backward and forward on the same path again.
About an hour after dark we retired for the night, and when we had
passed into the inner room we could see the bright light already
shining before the doors. The watch upon us was close and
constant.
202
CHAPTER X.
LEÄFAR.

That night we lay both of us in the outer chamber, partly for

company, and partly because neither of us wished to be within sight
of the light which lay all night before the door, and which could be
seen from the window of the inner chamber. There was nothing,
indeed, strange or ugly about the light itself; it was very bright, and,
under other circumstances, might have been pleasant. But to us,
guessing whence it was and what was its purpose, it had come to
have a weird look of doom about it.

We lay still, scarcely speaking. Only from time to time a word or two
passed between us, either suggestive of preparation, or of some
topic of encouragement. By and by we lapsed into silence, and
thence into an imperfect sleep. There was no artificial light in our
203
chamber, we had no occasion for any, although day and night were
nearly of equal length. Sometime in the evening before dusk we
used to take a second bath (if one may use the consuetudinal for so
short a period), and then to throw off our hats and sandals and to
exchange the long robe, which was our only other garment, for
another of the same sort, was the whole of our preparation for the
night.
I do not know how long I had been sleeping, but it could not have
been very long, when I woke up with a start. Surely there was a
light in the room? Yes, there was, and it was growing slowly brighter.
I looked over to the couch where Jack lay; it was very near my own,
but not near enough to permit me to touch him without rising.

I sat up and put on my sandals. The light had now become so much
brighter that I could see Jack plainly. He was awake and watching as
I was. The light was now increasing much more quickly, and in a few
minutes the room was quite brilliantly illuminated, and there was a
sort of core of brightness beginning to appear in the centre of the
light. This presently assumed a wavering aspect, and by-and-by
became a bubbling fluid. I was prepared to expect the appearance
of a form of human similitude, for I had witnessed as you will
204
remember, the same thing twice already. The same, and yet not the
same, for the dark vapour which I had seen in the former cases was
replaced in this case by a bright rose-coloured light. I suppose it was
partly because of this obvious difference that I felt now no fear, but
hope. I began to think that help was coming, and that we were not
going to be left to fight out a desperate battle alone.

As I looked, the bubbling fluid became consolidated and assumed,

as I had expected, a human form. A man of, it might be middle age,
stood before us. I should have said much under middle age only that
his expression indicated, as I thought, a ripeness of experience and
a calm wisdom seldom seen in very young men. There was a stately
beauty and benignity in his features and demeanour, a mingled tone
of love and command and entreaty; all the direct reverse of what we
had seen in Signor Davelli and his men. He wore a flowing robe of
much the same pattern as ours, but it was of a very bright, indeed
of a luminous material, and it had somehow a strange air of being
part of his body. His head was uncovered; his hair was brown, short,
and slightly curled, and his eyes were blue.

We both started to our feet, and made, almost involuntarily, a

profound salutation.

“Friends,”
205
he said, “you are in urgent danger, and I come to inform
and counsel and help you.” He spoke the English language with a
very sweet and firm intonation, and yet his accent was in some way
suggestive of an outland or foreign origin. “I am a friend,” he said,
“and in some sort a guide of men. It was my mission long ages ago
to warn your first father of the designs of an enemy of the same
order as this one of yours, but far mightier than he. Later on in the
plains of Assyria, under the name and form of a man, I baffled the
designs of another of the same evil race. And many times in more
modern days I have rendered help of which no record remains to
man and to the friends of man. Speak to me freely; you may call me
Leäfar.”

I was meditating whether or not I should begin with a confession of

my own faults, when Jack stepped forward, prevented me, and
spoke.

“Sir Leäfar,” he said, “tell us first of all who these men are into
whose power we seem to have fallen, and from whom we desire to
escape.”

“Yes,” answered he who called himself Leäfar, “it is best that you
should have information first; counsel and help will follow.

“These men and I have one thing in common. We are inhabitants

not of earth, but of ether; as they have themselves told you, we are
dwellers
206
in space. But they are not, as they would have you think, a
fair sample of the race which inhabits the ether, for although very
many as compared with the inhabitants of earth, they are very few
in comparison of those who hold with me.”

“How is it possible,” said I, “that you and they, although dwellers in

space, or inhabitants of the ether, can assume as you do the form of
men, and at least in some measure their nature?”

“I cannot,” he replied, “unfold the matter to you in full detail, for you
have not the faculties needful to enable you so to apprehend it; but
if you will attend I will try to show you by analogies how it is
possible for us to pass from our world to yours. But sit down,” he
said; “you will be weary, for I have much to say, and there is no time
to lose.”

Hereupon he sat down, having first indicated to us with a gracious

air where we were to sit. We both sat in front of him, but each one a
little to one side. Then he began. “The material,” he said, “of your
world and of such worlds as yours is limited. The material of our
world envelops and pervades it all, and extends to immeasurable
distances, as I believe to infinity, but the knowledge of infinity is
reserved to the Infinite One Himself.

“The
207
material of our world is the basis of the material of yours. The
latter is made out of the former by a simple process of
agglomeration. All the material of worlds like yours is resolvable
ultimately into extremely minute particles, each of which is just a
little twist of the ether. You may compare these particles to knots
that you make upon a cord. Just as the parts of the cord in the knot
act upon one another in a way in which they could not act if they
remained in one continuous line, so the knotted or twisted ether
becomes capable of a great variety of interactions which are not
possible to it in its original state, and as the knots increase in
complexity these possible interactions are multiplied. The motion by
which the first agglomeration of ether is formed generates the
various processes which are known to you as heat, magnetism,
electricity, and the different chemical affinities, and so the matter of
your world is built up. The bodies of the dwellers in ether are
composed of ether in the simple state, and by a process which is
simple enough although not fully explicable to you, we can transform
them into the material of which your bodies are made and
retransform them again.

“Two analogies, one mechanical and one chemical, may help you, if
not to understand the process at least to see how it is possible.
208
Suppose a string of immense length so thin as to be quite invisible;
and suppose it to be knitted and woven and re-woven until it be
formed into a piece of cloth, compact but very small. Suppose the
process of knitting or weaving to be performed very quickly, and
then suppose the web so formed to be as rapidly unravelled again.
In that case the piece of cloth would appear and disappear just as
you have seen our bodies do.

“Or suppose two vast masses of oxygen and hydrogen in the

proportions in which they exist together as water. Suppose them to
be brought together and subjected to the chemical process which is
needed in order to make them combine: what happens? A small
quantity of water suddenly appears. Reverse the process and it
disappears.

“By means roughly analogous to these we are able to assume

terrestrial bodies and to pass into the ether again. But while our
bodies are in terrestrial form they are subject to the same laws as
yours; we need food and sleep, and we are subject to the various
accidents and conditions of humanity.”
Here he paused for a moment and Jack spoke.

“But you are not subject to death as we are. Any cause that would
kill us only resolves your material bodies into their ethereal form.”
209
“That is the case,” he said; “but the difference is not such as you
suppose. All the material of your bodies is ultimately resolved into
ethereal matter, but not all of it is essential to your being, and that
which is essential is resolved by a much speedier process.

“But to speak of ourselves: while we remain in our own world we

have instruments of sensation fitted to our condition and analogous
to yours, just as hearing is analogous to seeing. But I cannot explain
to you any more exactly our means of sensation, just as you could
not explain sight to a man born blind.

“But our sensations are throughout strictly analogous to yours and

pass into yours when we assume terrestrial bodies.”

Here he paused again, and I asked, “Can you see our worlds from
yours?”

“No,” he replied. “The ether as far as we know pervades the universe

and passes freely through worlds like yours, and we, while dwelling
in the ether, have no more cognisance of your world than you of
ours.

“But there are certain links,” he added, “which bind both worlds
together, and two of these are known to you as light and gravity.
Our world is for ever in motion; motion is of the essence of its being,
210
and it communicates its motion to all that is formed out of it and
continued by it as your worlds are. Such motion is communicated in
exact proportion to the vastly varied complexities of the matter of
your worlds, and out of this proportionate communication arise the
movements and the laws of movement of all the stars and planets,
all of which movements and laws of movement are amenable to
calculation. Much of this is already known to you, and the day will
probably come when your men of science will be able to calculate
the proper motion of the remotest star that your instruments can
discover with as much precision as they now calculate the motions
of your moon.

“Light is another link between your worlds and ours. And light is the
one means which we have of detecting from our world the presence
of yours. Not that we see light as you see it. The sort of perception
that you have by means of light we have in our world by analogous
but higher means. The presence of light is known to us when in our
own world only by a slight shuddering motion of the ether. Just as
you perceive a difference in the mode of motion when you travel on
land and on the water or in the air; just so we perceive an
analogous
211
difference when we pass to the regions of light from the
regions where light is not. A shuddering motion of the material of
our world warns that we are where your worlds are. And just as for
you sometimes the motion of the air or water passes into a
hurricane or a whirlpool, so to us a vastly increased movement of
the ether (not the regular movement which is the cause of gravity,
but a quivering movement) indicates the presence of one of the
secular outbursts of conflagration which form part of the process by
which your worlds become fitted for your occupation.”

“But how,” inquired I, “can you come into our world without having
any direct sensation of its whereabouts?”

“Once we have been here,” he said, “it is a matter of easy

calculation to us to fix the locality; and we can communicate the
elements of the calculation to others who have not been here.”
Here he paused, and rose to his feet, and as we were about to rise
he signed to us to keep sitting.

“Now,” he said, “hearken carefully while I tell you of those into

whose power you are fallen.” And as he spoke it seemed to me that
his attention was directed more especially to myself.

He went on—“The Infinite One, ages before your worlds were

212
formed, called the ethereal host into being. And at first they were
like your brute creatures, only with vastly greater powers and
intelligence; yet, like them, for their vast powers were not under the
control of any will of their own, for there was no such thing then as
will, except the will of the Infinite One.

“But it pleased the Infinite One at last to give His creatures will. That
which is His own prerogative He communicated to them in order that
He might give manifold scope to the eternal love which is His
essence. That will of theirs it was His will that they should exercise
in conformity with that eternal love. But being free it might oppose
that eternal love, not indeed to eternity, but for incalculable cycles of
time.

“A few, a very few, as compared to the whole number, opposed

themselves to Him, and as the ages passed these grew ever more
evil, and ever more full of hatred of Him and of all who hold with
Him. A very few they were as compared with those who held with
Him, but a great many when compared with all the men who inhabit
this little world of yours, or who ever have inhabited it.”

Here he paused again, and there was dead silence for a space, and
then Jack spoke, and his voice was like that of a man hurried and
somewhat overawed.
“But
213
how did the will to resist the will of the Infinite One ever come
into being at all?”

“It was a possibility from the moment when the first free being was
created, and it became actual by the gradual and undue admixture
of things in themselves good. The desire to do great things is good,
and the joy to be able to do great things is good. But if these two
good things are suffered to govern the whole being, they become
the possible germs, inert as yet, of self-assertion and pride. And
then when the call for self-sacrifice comes, as it must, to the finite in
the presence of the Infinite, the will, the spark of divine life which
the Creator has committed to the creature, rises up against the
sacrifice, and by its action fertilises the germs of self-assertion and
pride.

“So began the deadly war of the finite with the Infinite. That had its
origin in ‘worlds before the man,’ and it speedily passed over into
man’s world, and would long ago have destroyed it had not the
Infinite One Himself become human in order to teach men by His
own example and in His own Person the divine lesson of self-
sacrifice.”

Here Leäfar paused again and sat down, and seemed to wait for
some question from us. I was quite powerless to speak. I felt quite
awe-stricken
214
and shamed, but presently I heard Jack’s voice ringing
out clearly and confidently like the voice of a fearless and innocent
child.

“Sir Leäfar,” he said, “do the men who inhabit this valley belong to
the evil race you speak of?”

“Yes,” he replied, “they are some of the least powerful, though not
the least evil among them.”
“And what is their purpose here?”

“Their purpose in general is to set the inhabitants of your world

against the will and purpose of the Infinite One, to teach them to
call evil good and good evil. And they work out this purpose by a
great variety of methods.

“They assume human forms, and they have dwellings in the most
inaccessible parts of your worlds, near the summits of the loftiest
mountain ranges, and in the polar regions, and in remote islands,
and in deserts as here. When civilised men move into their
neighbourhood they move away; and they destroy most of the
marks of their occupation. Sometimes nothing remains; sometimes,
it may be, a few huge rocks standing on end, or piled one upon
another. Such remains, when you discover them, you account for by
attributing their formation to races of men who have passed away.

“From
215
these remote settlements of theirs they make excursions into
the inhabited world; they mingle sometimes among men, stirring
them to murder and rapine, sowing discontent among the people,
and prompting rulers to tyrannous deeds of cruelty and violence.
This Niccolo Davelli, as he calls himself, was very active in the most
corrupt and violent years of the tenth century, when he was the
active adviser of an Italian bandit baron.

“But they have seldom taken prominent action in their own persons
in more modern times, although here and there they appear in
subordinate characters, stirring up strife and all kinds of evil, and
then they pass elsewhither.

“But this Davelli has lately taken up a line of action against God and
man which some of the more powerful of his kind took up ages ago
with far wider success; he has established here, and in the
inaccessible parts of the Himalayas, and in one or two other places,
artificial seed-beds of pestilence. His emissaries gather, from all
quarters, germs of natural and healthful growth, and submit them to
a special cultivation under which they become obnoxious and hurtful
to human nature. And then they sow them here and there in the
most
216
likely places, and thus produce disease, death, and disaster
among men. The black death, and the plague, and smallpox, and
cholera, and typhus and typhoid fevers have all had their origin in
this way, and some of these are kept alive since by the carelessness
of men. But of later years men are beginning to understand health
and disease better, and so the power of these evil beings is
becoming greatly restricted in this direction.”

Here he paused again, and I took heart and said—

“Is it simply to gratify their love of inflicting pain that they cultivate
and propagate these plagues?”

“Partly that, no doubt,” he said, “but, above all, their purpose is to

set men against the Infinite One by making them believe Him to be
the Creator of painful and abominable diseases.”

“But why should they not blame Him,” said I, “if He has called into
existence those evil beings who invent such diseases?”

“Suppose,” replied Leäfar, “that a human enemy were to poison your

water supply. Would you blame God or man?”

“Man, I suppose,” replied I.

“Yes,” he said, “for you would recognise the fact that man, being
man, is free, and that once his freedom absolutely ceases he is no
217
longer man. The Infinite One may, if He so please, take away his
freedom, but by so doing He annihilates the man.”
“You raise a hard question,” said I; “is the Infinite One, then,
committed to the eternal prevalence of evil? Is He pledged never to
annihilate the power to do evil?”

Leäfar answered very slowly and solemnly, and yet there was a smile
upon his countenance as he spoke.

“There is one thing impossible to the Eternal Love, and that is to

annihilate Himself: and it would be to annihilate Himself if He were
to permit the existence of Eternal hatred.”

“Then,” said I, “if I understand you rightly, these beings are doomed
to annihilation?”

He smiled again and said, “Surely the freedom which opposes and
continues to oppose God must perish: it is self-doomed; that is as
certain as that the Love of God is infinite. The creature who so
misuses his freedom must lose it at last, and then he is as if he had
never possessed it. And so his moral being is, as you say,
annihilated. All his other powers remain, but his will is dead. He
becomes, like the brute, or like the earliest of the ethereal creation;
nothing but an instrument in the hand of God. Such is the eternal
218
doom of those who choose evil and abide by their choice. No pain
remains, no hatred remains, no sin remains, because no opposition
to God remains. But no real soul remains. The moral being is dead
and done with, only an intellectual being remains.”

“And what becomes of them?”

“They become the beasts of burden of the universe: they become

instruments for carrying on the various mechanisms of the visible
creation. They become subject to us just as your horse is to you.
Many such are under my own direction and control.”
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