preserve any illusions, when he
knows human beings thoroughly, sees that an emotion depends upon the
nerve of a tooth, a mood upon the degree of moisture contained in the
air, and a character upon the healthy or diseased stomach. You leave
your illusions upon your dissecting tables."

"What you say might be true if illusions and experiences came from the
same source. But they do not."

"I don't fully understand. Explain yourself."

"What you call illusions are ideal images and aspirations, which
originate in the sphere of our impulses and feelings, not in our
sensible reasoning. But the impulses and feelings are more elementary
and more deeply rooted, thought comes later and remains more on the
surface. We inherit our illusions from the countless generations that
have preceded us, our experiences we draw from our individual lives.
An individual experience cannot outweigh the illusions of a thousand
ancestors, who form a part of our organism. But, pardon me, I have
caught myself in the midst of a tutor's lecture--you see that impulse
is stronger than prudence."

"Do you ask pardon for that? What you say is so interesting. I
suppose you have a very bad opinion of women, since you do not think
them capable of understanding you?"

"I do not generalize. Whatever opinion I might have of women, I should
not apply it to you."

"You understand how to pay compliments admirably. You are not
commonplace."

He made no reply, but gazed at her with so earnest a look, expressive
of such unconscious admiration and worship that she flushed, and with a
nervous flutter of her fan rose. Bergmann rose also, bowed, and made a
movement to retire. Ada opened her eyes in surprise, and involuntarily
a word escaped her lips: "Why----"

"I thought I was wearying you."

She held out her finger-tips, which he pressed so warmly that she
hastily withdrew her hand. Going to one of the three large windows in
the drawing-room, she opened it and stepped out upon the broad,
projecting balcony, which on the second story extended along the whole
front of the castle. Leaning against the balustrade, both silently
watched for a moment the scene before them. The July night was warm,
and the air was stirless. Not a cloud appeared in the blackish-blue
sky, the stars were sparkling brightly, and among them, almost at the
zenith, sailed the full moon. At their feet lay the park, from which
rose faint odours of unknown wild flowers and th