“If your conscience prompts you to make such a reflection,” replied Charlotte, “I certainly need not distress myself.  These comparisons are pleasant and entertaining; and who is there that does not like playing with analogies?  But man is raised very many steps above these elements; and if he has been somewhat liberal with such fine words as Election and Elective Affinities, he will do well to turn back again into himself, and take the opportunity of considering carefully the value and meaning of such expressions.  Unhappily, we know cases enough where a connection apparently indissoluble between two persons, has, by the accidental introduction of a third, been utterly destroyed, and one or the other of the once happily united pair been driven out into the wilderness.”

“Then you see how much more gallant the chemists are,” said Edward.  “They at once add a fourth, that neither may go away empty.”

“Quite so,” replied the Captain.  “And those are the cases which are really most important and remarkable—­cases where this attraction, this affinity, this separating and combining, can be exhibited, the two pairs severally crossing each other; where four creatures, connected previously, as two and two, are brought into contact, and at once forsake their first combination to form into a second.  In this forsaking and embracing, this seeking and flying, we believe that we are indeed observing the effects of some higher determination; we attribute a sort of will and choice to such creatures, and feel really justified in using technical words, and speaking of ‘Elective Affinities.’”

“Give me an instance of this,” said Charlotte.

“One should not spoil such things with words,” replied the Captain.  “As I said before, as soon as I can show you the experiment, I can make it all intelligible and pleasant for you.  For the present, I can give you nothing but horrible scientific expressions, which at the same time will give you no idea about the matter.  You ought yourself to see these creatures, which seem so dead, and which are yet so full of inward energy and force, at work before your eyes.  You should observe them with a real personal interest.  Now they seek each other out, attract each other, seize, crush, devour, destroy each other, and then suddenly reappear again out of their combinations, and come forward in fresh, renovated, unexpected form; thus you will comprehend how we attribute to them a sort of immortality—­how we speak of them as having sense and understanding; because we feel our own senses to be insufficient to observe them adequately, and our reason too weak to follow them.”

“I quite agree,” said Edward, “that the strange scientific nomenclature, to persons who have not been reconciled to it by a direct acquaintance with or understanding of its object, must seem unpleasant, even ridiculous; but we can easily, just for once, contrive with symbols to illustrate what we are speaking of.”