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1Explanation "So far as I could see, all the world displayed the same exuberant richness as the Thames valley. From every
2hill I climbed I saw the same abundance of splendid buildings, endlessly varied in material and style, the same
3clustering thickets of evergreens, the same blossom-laden trees and tree ferns. Here and there water shone like silver,
4and beyond, the land rose into blue undulating hills, and so faded into the serenity of the sky. A peculiar feature,
5which presently attracted my attention, was the presence of certain circular wells, several, as it seemed to me, of a
6very great depth. One lay by the path up the hill which I had followed during my first walk. Like the others, it was
7rimmed with bronze, curiously wrought, and protected by a little cupola from the rain. Sitting by the side of these
8wells, and peering down into the shafted darkness, I could see no gleam of water, nor could I start any reflection with
9a lighted match. But in all of them I heard a certain sound: a thud--thud--thud, like the beating of some big engine;
10and I discovered, from the flaring of my matches, that a steady current of air set down the shafts. Further, I threw a
11scrap of paper into the throat of one, and, instead of fluttering slowly down, it was at once sucked swiftly out of
12sight. "After a time, too, I came to connect these wells with tall towers standing here and there upon the slopes; for
13above them there was often just such a flicker in the air as one sees on a hot day above a sun-scorched beach. Putting
14things together, I reached a strong suggestion of an extensive system of subterranean ventilation, whose true import it
15was difficult to imagine. I was at first inclined to associate it with the sanitary apparatus of these people. It was an
16obvious conclusion, but it was absolutely wrong. "And here I must admit that I learnt very little of drains and bells
17and modes of conveyance, and the like conveniences, during my time in this real future. In some of these visions of
18Utopias and coming times which I have read, there is a vast amount of detail about building, and social arrangements,
19and so forth. But while such details are easy enough to obtain when the whole world is contained in one's imagination,
20they are altogether inaccessible to a real traveller amid such realities as I found here. Conceive the tale of London
21which a negro, fresh from Central Africa, would take back to his tribe! What would he know of railway companies, of
22social movements, of telephone and telegraph wires, of the Parcels Delivery Company, and postal orders and the like? Yet
23we, at least, should be willing enough to explain these things to him! And even of what he knew, how much could he make
24his untravelled friend either apprehend or believe? Then, think how narrow the gap between a negro and a white man of
25our own times, and how wide the interval between myself and these of the Golden Age! I was sensible of much which was
26unseen, and which contributed to my comfort; but save for a general impression of automatic organisation, I fear I can
27convey very little of the difference to your mind. "In the matter of sepulture, for instance, I could see no signs of
28crematoria nor anything suggestive of tombs. But it occurred to me that, possibly, there might be cemeteries (or
29crematoria) somewhere beyond the range of my explorings. This, again, was a question I deliberately put to myself, and
30my curiosity was at first entirely defeated upon the point. The thing puzzled me, and I was led to make a further
31remark, which puzzled me still more: that aged and infirm among this people there were none. "I must confess that my
32satisfaction with my first theories of an automatic civilisation and a decadent humanity did not long endure. Yet I
33could think of no other. Let me put my difficulties. The several big palaces I had explored were mere living places,
34great dining-halls and sleeping apartments. I could find no machinery, no appliances of any kind. Yet these people were
35clothed in pleasant fabrics that must at times need renewal, and their sandals, though undecorated, were fairly complex
36specimens of metalwork. Somehow such things must be made. And the little people displayed no vestige of a creative
37tendency. There were no shops, no workshops, no sign of importations among them. They spent all their time in playing
38gently, in bathing in the river, in making love in a half-playful fashion, in eating fruit and sleeping. I could not see
39how things were kept going. "Then, again, about the Time Machine: something, I knew not what, had taken it into the
40hollow pedestal of the White Sphinx. Why? For the life of me I could not imagine. Those waterless wells, too, those
41flickering pillars. I felt I lacked a clue. I felt--how shall I put it? Suppose you found an inscription, with sentences
42here and there in excellent plain English, and interpolated therewith, others made up of words, of letters even,
43absolutely unknown to you? Well, on the third day of my visit, that was how the world of Eight Hundred and Two Thousand
44Seven Hundred and One presented itself to me! "That day, too, I made a friend--of a sort. It happened that, as I was
45watching some of the little people bathing in a shallow, one of them was seized with cramp and began drifting
46downstream. The main current ran rather swiftly, but not too strongly for even a moderate swimmer. It will give you an
47idea, therefore, of the strange deficiency in these creatures, when I tell you that none made the slightest attempt to
48rescue the weakly crying little thing which was drowning before their eyes. When I realised this, I hurriedly slipped
49off my clothes, and, wading in at a point lower down, I caught the poor mite and drew her safe to land. A little rubbing
50of the limbs soon brought her round, and I had the satisfaction of seeing she was all right before I left her. I had got
51to such a low estimate of her kind that I did not expect any gratitude from her. In that, however, I was wrong. "This
52happened in the morning. In the afternoon I met my little woman, as I believe it was, as I was returning towards my
53centre from an exploration, and she received me with cries of delight and presented me with a big garland of
54flowers--evidently made for me and me alone. The thing took my imagination. Very possibly I had been feeling desolate.
55At any rate I did my best to display my appreciation of the gift. We were soon seated together in a little stone arbour,
56engaged in conversation, chiefly of smiles. The creature's friendliness affected me exactly as a child's might have
57done. We passed each other flowers, and she kissed my hands. I did the same to hers. Then I tried talk, and found that
58her name was Weena, which, though I don't know what it meant, somehow seemed appropriate enough. That was the beginning
59of a queer friendship which lasted a week, and ended--as I will tell you! "She was exactly like a child. She wanted to
60be with me always. She tried to follow me everywhere, and on my next journey out and about it went to my heart to tire
61her down, and leave her at last, exhausted and calling after me rather plaintively. But the problems of the world had to
62be mastered. I had not, I said to myself, come into the future to carry on a miniature flirtation. Yet her distress when
63I left her was very great, her expostulations at the parting were sometimes frantic, and I think, altogether, I had as
64much trouble as comfort from her devotion. Nevertheless she was, somehow, a very great comfort. I thought it was mere
65childish affection that made her cling to me. Until it was too late, I did not clearly know what I had inflicted upon
66her when I left her. Nor until it was too late did I clearly understand what she was to me. For, by merely seeming fond
67of me, and showing in her weak, futile way that she cared for me, the little doll of a creature presently gave my return
68to the neighbourhood of the White Sphinx almost the feeling of coming home; and I would watch for her tiny figure of
69white and gold so soon as I came over the hill.
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