WhatareallynicegirlmighthavedonewithhimIcannottell，butfatehadthrownnonesuchinhiswayexcepthisyoungestsisterAlethea，whomhemightperhapshavelikedifshehadnotbeenhissister。Theresultofhisexperiencewasthatwomenhadneverdonehimanygoodandhewasnotaccustomedtoassociatethemwithanypleasure；iftherewasapartofHamletinconnectionwiththemithadbeensocompletelycutoutintheeditionoftheplayinwhichhewasrequiredtoactthathehadcometodisbelieveinitsexistence。Asforkissing，hehadneverkissedawomaninhislifeexcepthissister——andmyownsisterswhenwewereallsmallchildrentogether。Overandabovethesekisses，hehaduntilquitelatelybeenrequiredtoimprintasolemnflabbykissnightandmorninguponhisfather’scheek，andthis，tothebestofmybelief，wastheextentofTheobald’sknowledgeinthematterofkissing，atthetimeofwhichIamnowwriting。Theresultoftheforegoingwasthathehadcometodislikewomen，asmysteriousbeingswhosewayswerenotashisways，northeirthoughtsashisthoughts。
WiththeseantecedentsTheobaldnaturallyfeltratherbashfulonfindinghimselftheadmiredoffivestrangeyoungladies。I
rememberwhenIwasaboymyselfIwasonceaskedtotaketeaatagirls’schoolwhereoneofmysisterswasboarding。Iwasthenabouttwelveyearsold。Everythingwentoffwellduringtea-time，fortheLadyPrincipaloftheestablishmentwaspresent。ButtherecameatimewhenshewentawayandIwasleftalonewiththegirls。
Themomentthemistress’sbackwasturnedtheheadgirl，whowasaboutmyownage，cameup，pointedherfingeratme，madeafaceandsaidsolemnly，“Ana-a-stybo-o-y！”Allthegirlsfollowedherinrotationmakingthesamegestureandthesamereproachuponmybeingaboy。Itgavemeagreatscare。IbelieveIcried，andIknowitwasalongtimebeforeIcouldagainfaceagirlwithoutastrongdesiretorunaway。
TheobaldfeltatfirstmuchasIhadmyselfdoneatthegirls’