invented。IgotitoutoftheBladesoversaloon。Wefoundawoodwhere“Trespassing“wasforbidden，anddidthe“RetreatoftheTenThousand“throughitfromendtoend，cuttingourwaybravelythroughahostofnettlebedsthatbarredourpath，andnotforgettingtoweepandkneelwhenatlastweemergedwithinsightoftheHighRoadSea。Sowehaveburstattimes，weepingandrejoicing，uponstartledwayfarers。UsuallyItookthepartofthatdistinguishedgeneralXenophen——andpleasenotethequantityoftheo。Ihaveallmyclassicalnameslikethat，——SocratesrhymeswithBatesforme，andexceptwhenthebleakeyeofsomescholarwarnsmeofhisstandardsofjudgment，Iusethosedearoldmispronunciationsstill。ThelittlesplashintoLatinmadeduringmydaysasachemistwashedoffnothingofthehabit。Well，——ifImetthosegreatgentlemenofthepastwiththeiraccentscarelesslyadjustedIdidatleastmeetthemalive，asanequal，andinalivingtongue。Altogethermyschoolmighteasilyhavebeenworseforme，andamongothergoodthingsitgavemeafriendwhohaslastedmylifeout。
ThiswasEwart，whoisnowamonumentalartistatWoking，aftermanyvicissitudes。Dearchap，howhedidstickoutofhisclothestobesure！Hewasalonglimbedlout，ridiculouslytallbesidemymoreyouthfullcompactness，and，exceptthattherewasnoblackmoustacheunderhisnoseblob，hehadthesameroundknobbyfaceashehasto-day，thesamebrightandactivehazelbrowneyes，thestare，themeditativemoment，theinsinuatingreply。SurelynoboyeverplayedthefoolasBobEwartusedtoplayit，noboyhadareadierknackofmantlingtheworldwithwonder。CommonnessvanishedbeforeEwart，athisexpositorytouchallthingsbecamememorableandrare。FromhimIfirstheardtelloflove，butonlyafteritsbarbswerealreadystickinginmyheart。Hewas，Iknownowthebastardofthatgreatimprovidentartist，RickmannEwart；hebroughtthelightofalaxworldthatatleasthadnotturneditsbackuponbeauty，intothegrowingfermentationofmymind。
IwonhisheartbyaversionofVathek，andafterthatwewereinseparableyarningfriends。WemergedourintellectualstocksocompletelythatIwondersometimeshowmuchIdidnotbecomeEwart，howmuchEwartisnotvicariouslyandderivativelyme。
AndthenwhenIhadnewlypassedmyfourteenthbirthday，camemytragicdisgrace。
Itwasinmymidsummerholidaysthatthethinghappened，anditwasthroughtheHonourableBeatriceNormandy。Shehad“comeintomylife。”astheysay，beforeIwastwelve。