"  Meantime  he  had  loved,  won  and  wed
ded.  This  difficult  and  perplexing  question —
momentous,  however  decided  —  had  for
awhile  restrained  him  from  the  consummation
of  his  happiness,  but  when  did  love  ever  con-


THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.  149

tinue  to  reason  long  ?  The  fairest  beauty  of
Castile  became  his  bride.  The  sole  issue  of
that  union  was  myself.
"  My  father,  among  other  of  his  quali
fications,  was  a  man  of  set  determination ;
and,  convinced  of  the  integrity  of  his  idea,
he  did  not  hesitate  to  put  it  into  practice.
He  relied  implicitly  on  his  logical  deductions,
and  having  once  arrived  at  a  conclusion,  all
apparently  valid  contradictions  were  merely
clever  sophistries.  He  remained  unmoved.
"  So  soon  as  I  had  arrived  at  an  age  of
discernment  he  reverted  to  his  former  ex
travagances  of  life,  for  he  loved  me  with  a
tenderness  which  was  all  but  idolatry,  and
his  willingness  for  self-sacrifice  extended  to
the  soul  !  Among  his  friends  some  remained
faithful,  but  the  greater  part,  believing  him
mad,  deserted  him.  He  did  not  swerve.
Would  to  God  he  had  !

"  All  went  serenely  during  the  earlier
years  of  our  youth.  In  spite  of  example,  I
retained  my  integrity.  But  at  last  came  the
consequences  which  might  naturally  have
been  expected.  I  became  as  depraved  as  my
father —  even  worse.  Alas,  for  his  visionary


150  THE  FALL  OF  UTOPIA.
system  !  It  has  darkened  my  miserable  life.
One  after  another,  in  rapid  succession,  I
embraced  all  the  vices  in  the  category  of  sin.
I  became  an  abandoned  man.
