The Schoolmaster: Carpentras 



Next came more reflection, with closed eyes, and 

 a fresh row of letters arranged in a different order 

 and likewise followed by a naught. Page after 

 page was filled in this queer fashion, each line wind- 

 ing up with o. 



" What are you doing with all those rows of 

 figures amounting to zero?' I asked him one day. 



The mathematician gave me a leery look, picked 

 up in barracks. A sarcastic droop in the corner 

 of his eye showed how he pitied my ignorance. 

 My colleague of the many naughts did not, how- 

 ever, take an unfair advantage of his superiority. 

 He told me that he was working at analytical 

 geometry. 



The phrase had a strange effect upon me. I 

 ruminated silently to this purpose: there was a 

 higher geometry, which you learnt more partic- 

 ularly with combinations of letters in which x and 

 y played a prominent part. How would the alpha- 

 betical signs, arranged first in one and then in 

 another manner, give an image of actual things, 

 an image visible to the eyes of the mind alone? 

 It beat me. 



" I shall have to learn analytical geometry some 

 day," I said. "Will you help me?" 



" I'm quite willing," he replied, with a smile 

 in which I read his lack of confidence in my deter- 

 mination. 



No matter: we struck a bargain that same eve- 

 ning. We would together break up the stubble 

 of algebra and analytical geometry, the foundation 

 of the mathematical degree; we would make com- 



III 



