The Project Gutenberg eBook of The idealists This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook. Title: The idealists Author: Helen R. Hull Release date: October 19, 2026 [eBook #79825] Language: English Original publication: New York: Mary Fanton Roberts, Inc., 1917 Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/79825 Credits: Jens Sadowski. This book was produced from images made available by the HathiTrust Digital Library. *** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE IDEALISTS *** The Idealists Helen R. Hull The Touchstone, vol. 1, Sep. 1917, pp. 457-463. Characters: HOWARD WINCHERLY TOM CHASE MARY LAKE Time: The present day, or even tomorrow. An evening in late winter. Scene: Mary Lake’s sitting room, a room both austere and careless. The austerity appears in the lack of any personal adornment in the high, square room; the carelessness in the indifferent scattering about of books, of coats and a sweater piled in a chair, of neckties making a splash of color over the papers on the table, of canvases faced against the walls. Howard Wincherly, a slight little man in a well-pressed gray suit, is slumping in a chair by the table, his chunky fingers clasped between his knees. He watches Mary Lake, his eyes incredulous, somewhat terrified, his thin lips pressed together, giving him the aspect of a worried ascetic. Mary Lake, backed against the open window, facing Howard, is a woman in her late twenties, with a supple, muscular body and an intense vitality in her eyes and coloring. Her hands are thrust into the pockets of a faded blue painting smock. A suppressed eagerness destroys the effect of the solicitude she is trying to express in her face. MARY: That’s all, Howard. HOWARD: All! You knock over the world, and say that’s all! MARY: Must I begin all over again? HOWARD: You can’t break our engagement like this—for no reason—Mary! Is it something I’ve done—said? I’ll do anything you say—— MARY: Oh, no. No! It’s just that I don’t love you. I won’t marry you. HOWARD: But you must love me. You—you couldn’t have—why, I’ve seen you—betraying more than you would ever say—— MARY: I suppose you mean kissing you. Is that it? HOWARD: Yes. MARY: (Leaving the window and coming forward to a chair near the table) You know, Howard—I’m going to shock you terribly—but kissing’s no sign at all. (She seats herself, her hands clasped loosely about one knee) HOWARD: Mary! You—would let any man kiss you? MARY: No. Not any man. HOWARD: Well! MARY: But within limits, you know—— HOWARD: You can’t understand what you are saying. I won’t believe that you could have allowed me to love—as you have unless you really loved me. MARY: Don’t you see! There you go again, knowing more about me than I do myself. HOWARD: Of course I do. You are trying to make me think you a horrible creature, a woman without self-respect, who would let any man kiss her—— MARY: That’s not quite what I said. HOWARD: When I’ve seen your eyes, all luminous—don’t you think I’ve known—and knelt to you for the love you gave me! MARY: Howard, I wish you’d try to believe what I say—just for a few minutes. HOWARD: (Rising and moving about with short, irritated steps) I won’t believe you when you say such things. They aren’t true. You have promised to marry me. MARY: Do you remember, several times—when I have tried to tell you—that if you didn’t—take all the love I had to give—you couldn’t keep me? HOWARD: You wouldn’t marry yet! MARY: And so you would take what you wanted—up to your limit—— HOWARD: Are you accusing me—for decency? MARY: Never seeing—— HOWARD: A man has to protect a woman. MARY: Well—I might have gone on—if he hadn’t written. HOWARD: Why should that drive you mad! There’s more between you than you’ve said. MARY: Am I mad? (She throws out her arms) I’ve been stifling and suddenly I see why. (Leaning forward, she brushes papers and ties off the little alarm clock on the table) If you don’t go, he’ll be here. HOWARD: (Seats himself on a straight chair near the window) I am not going. I will stay and tell him I’m your affianced husband. MARY: But you aren’t! That’s all over. HOWARD: I won’t have it over! (Beseechingly) I can’t! MARY: I’m sorry, Howard. HOWARD: (Eagerly) Then see him, send him away, and we’ll—— MARY: Oh, he won’t stay. It’s curiosity he’s coming for. To see what he made of me! I was just a child. He played with me—(Howard winces)—with my soul. I was an ordinary, homely girl, expecting to marry and settle down, as every other girl I knew expected to. He discovered my wings. Then he went away—and left me with a lot of unused love. He hadn’t wanted it—on the level where he moved. You caught me on the rebound. HOWARD: Mary! Don’t desecrate what you have been! MARY: Is truth desecration? HOWARD: It has the same sound. MARY: You had a chance to tether that love. You haven’t. HOWARD: Is he coming back to amuse himself with you again? MARY: (Rises with a restless shake of her shoulders) Oh, you can’t see! HOWARD: I see the whole structure of my life being knocked over. Mary! I’ve planned all the rest of my life about you. You can’t step out without even a reason. MARY: (Slowly) I know those plans you have made. You’ve draped them all about me. They stifle me. HOWARD: Plans any woman should desire draped—as you sneer. MARY: Any woman? How do you know? Do you remember once—I said I never could stay in the nursery to tend children—if I wanted to paint. You told me, oh, most severely! that you would expect me to be on hand when the children had need of their mother. And I kept silence. HOWARD: But if the children needed you—— MARY: I’ve tried to break through your plans with some of my own, and yours were iron fetters snapping shut about my hands. HOWARD: It’s just that I know things will seem different to you, once you are married, in my home. I haven’t meant to fetter you. MARY: You can’t help it. HOWARD: I’ll leave you free—— MARY: (Stopping near him in her restless moving about the room) You think you could? You—who’ve grown content with——(She laughs, breaking off at the sound of a knock. She turns her head toward the door, her lips parted, a subdued radiance drifting into her face. After a moment she crosses to the door, flings it open and steps back) TOM CHASE (stands in the doorway an instant, looking at Mary before he speaks. He is tall, with a narrow face, gray eyes well spaced, and satiric lips. His laugh is as satiric as his lips; his smile, which is rare, gives his entire face an unexpected gentleness and sympathy) TOM: Hello, Aspasia! (He extends his hand. Mary lays her hand in his, with a casualness which suggests the revival of an old habit) You’ve picked an out of the way place for your tower. (Draws his fingers across her wrist) You are more beautiful than ever, Aspasia. (Howard rises, kicking his chair aside. Mary turns; the present telescopes suddenly into a vivid past, so that she is held above herself in a brooding intensity) MARY: This is Howard Wincherly, Tom. HOWARD: (Stiffly) How-de-do. MARY: I told him you were coming, but he wouldn’t go. HOWARD: (Seating himself again) I’m not going. It’s too important. TOM: Am I interrupting anything? MARY: You aren’t. It’s all over. HOWARD: It’s not over, Mr. Chase. We are engaged. Suddenly, upon hearing that you are coming, Mary attempts to break the engagement. TOM: (With a laugh) Aspasia! You aren’t engaged—to Mr. Wincherly! HOWARD: Why not! TOM: To that respectable man? MARY: He called it that. I just said I’d marry him, and now I can’t. TOM: Is he very rich? Aspasia, what have you been playing with him for? MARY: Howard, won’t you please go? HOWARD: (With dignity) No! Mr. Chase, are you in love with her? TOM: (Laughing again) In love? Mary, did you think I was in love with you? MARY: (Steadily, although the question wipes the color from her face) You know very well I never did. HOWARD: You break our engagement because of him! TOM: Come, come. She may give me as a reason. I don’t mind being given as a reason. But it will be more interesting to know the real cause. (He drops comfortably into the armchair near the table, Mary watching him as she answers) MARY: You are the reason. And you are the reason I ever—was engaged. TOM: I? Ah, Aspasia, can you find no better excuse—— HOWARD: That’s what she says. That she’s given me leftover affection—love you didn’t want! MARY: (She moves slowly behind a chair, where she rests her arms on the back. She speaks hesitatingly, like a person trying a new language. It is, after all, a new language she is using, for it is the expression of long silences) I didn’t intend that remark for you, Pericles. But it is true. TOM: Aspasia! Did I ever make love to you? We understood that love is only a delusion of the bourgeois—you and I—a mask for an ancient, disreputable instinct. Surely I never lured you into that morass! MARY: You were subtle. I believed you—with my ears! TOM: I found you unawake. I liberated your spirit. There was nothing else between us. MARY: Nothing. And yet when your fingers touched mine, a flame went through my heart. (She watches Tom with grave, heavy eyes) HOWARD: Mary! MARY: Hush! I am finding out something. Pericles—you knew it! You saw I loved you! TOM: I was afraid you did, at first. (He smiles at her, his slow, strangely sympathetic smile. Mary’s fingers strain together) But that wasn’t what we wanted. Women had loved me. To be quite frank, they were always falling in love with me. Falling in love—curious phrase, that. I thought of a companionship with a beautiful woman which should leave the flesh behind—and yet have all the nuances of emotion. And you—you were so deliciously young and eager to be taught. You grew out of that first reaction to me into this other. MARY: Grew out of it? I grew around it. I hid it. I struggled to build walls thick enough to endure the terrible fire that blazed within—that I might give you what you wanted. All because I thought you didn’t know. And you were training me into your mould. Just as he has done! Have you come back to see whether I kept the shape you would give me? TOM: Ah, Aspasia, don’t you realize that all your ferment made you heady wine, and I’ve come back (Under her intensity of gaze he puts off his mockery) I’ve come back because I missed you, Mary. HOWARD: (Violently) What have you come back for? More of your nuances of emotion? MARY: Howard, you’d better go, now. HOWARD: I can’t go and leave you. You aren’t yourself. MARY: (Seats herself, looking slowly from one man to the other. Howard rises and grasps the corner of the table, somewhat ridiculous in the stress of his feeling. Tom leans back in his chair, one leg thrown high over the other knee. His satiric delight in the situation is gradually slipping away) Not myself? Who, then? Your idea—or his? TOM: Don’t be bitter, Mary. It doesn’t become you. MARY: You didn’t wish any of the uncomfortable qualities in me, did you? Do you, Howard? I’m bitter now because I’m raw where I’ve wrenched myself out of chains. But I am out. HOWARD: (With a beseeching humility) Mary! Do you mean our engagement? TOM: Aspasia! Let me forge another set of chains. I’ll marry you. I’m tired of missing you. MARY: (Leaning her elbows on the table and cupping her chin in one hand) Funny, how you can go on, without ever knowing why. Here was I, always waiting for you to come back and discover that I loved you. And you had drawn me to the very edge—and left me. Oh, I remember that night you went! You quoted Shaw to me—“Cleopatra the Queen must have fortitude—courage—pride!” Were you afraid I’d make a scene? Then, because I was helpless with love, I threw myself into the first kind hands that offered. (Into her voice comes a note of compassion) Poor Howard! You had to shape me up, too. If you had just taken my whole life with your kisses I might have lived forever on my illusions. HOWARD: Mary, I can’t hear you insulting yourself—— MARY: I insult only your ideal, Howard. I’ve lived up to it as long as I can—a nice woman—liking to be kissed, but not knowing why—eager, not too eager, to be the mistress of your proper household. I’m sorry if I’ve hurt you. I didn’t know I was seeking relief for the ravishing of—something more than just my body. TOM: (Rising and towering over Howard) Can’t you see, Mr.—Mr.—what is your name—that she wants you to go? MARY: Yes. Both of you. TOM: (With a swift step to the table, where he pulls Mary’s hands from beneath her chin and holds them firmly) I’m not going. I’ve been a fool—but I’ve come back. MARY: Yes? TOM: (Bends over and kisses her. Howard makes a desperate step toward them, and stops, his hands clutched) There! Aspasia, I love you! MARY: (As he releases her) That bourgeois morass! TOM: You’ve said you love me! MARY: (Rises, pushes back her chair, shaking herself with a splendid gesture) I was young—to lose my head! Now I’m cleared of it. (She drops her arms with a sigh) But—I’m tired. Won’t you go, both of you! TOM: You don’t mean you don’t want me! MARY: (Laughs quietly) HOWARD: But what are you going to do? MARY: (With a vague gesture about the studio) Oh—work. And I’ll hunt for a man who’ll meet me halfway. Body and soul and children and work—who won’t have a notion for me to live up to—— HOWARD: I’ll do anything you say! TOM: There isn’t a man on earth—— MARY: Perhaps I can make one over—to my idea! TOM: Practice on me, Aspasia! That would be interesting! MARY: (Somewhat regretfully) I couldn’t. I bear too many of your finger-prints. HOWARD: Anything you wish, Mary! That the real woman I know is you, desires——(He breaks off, disconcerted at Mary’s laugh) MARY: Good-bye! (She retreats toward the corner of the room. Her laugh is not hysterical; in its devastating ring of amusement it has the promise of healing) Your plaything’s broken. The strings won’t make it dance. Good-bye! (After a moment of staring at her, the two men look at each other. Either of them, alone, might linger insistently. The two can’t. Tom, with a gesture of resignation which attempts to be satiric, stalks out of the door. Howard, with several backward glances, follows. As the door closes behind them, Mary drops on to the stool before the easel, her hands relaxing in her lap) Transcriber’s Notes Transcribed from The Touchstone, vol. 1, Sep. 1917, pp. 457-463. New original cover art included with this eBook is granted to the public domain. The original spelling and punctuation were mostly preserved. *** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE IDEALISTS *** Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will be renamed. Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away—you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark license, especially commercial redistribution. START: FULL LICENSE THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG™ LICENSE PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work (or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project Gutenberg License available with this file or online at www.gutenberg.org/license. Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg electronic works 1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property (trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg electronic works in your possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project Gutenberg electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. 1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg electronic works even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project Gutenberg electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. 1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project Gutenberg electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the United States and you are located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project Gutenberg mission of promoting free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg name associated with the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg License when you share it without charge with others. 1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project Gutenberg work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any country other than the United States. 1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: 1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg License must appear prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg work (any work on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, copied or distributed: This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg™ License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook. 1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg electronic work is derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase “Project Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. 1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg electronic work is posted with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked to the Project Gutenberg License for all works posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. 1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg. 1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project Gutenberg License. 1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg work in a format other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official version posted on the official Project Gutenberg website (www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. 1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg works unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. 1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing access to or distributing Project Gutenberg electronic works provided that: • You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from the use of Project Gutenberg works calculated using the method you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg trademark, but he has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in Section 4, “Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.” • You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™ License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™ works. • You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of receipt of the work. • You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works. 1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. 1.F. 1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™ electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain “Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment. 1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE. 1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further opportunities to fix the problem. 1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. 1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. 1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg work, and (c) any Defect you cause. Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg is synonymous with the free distribution of electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from people in all walks of life. Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg’s goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg collection will remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure and permanent future for Project Gutenberg and future generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org. Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws. The Foundation’s business office is located at 41 Watchung Plaza #516, Montclair NJ 07042, USA, +1 (862) 621-9288. Email contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations ($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt status with the IRS. The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate. While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who approach us with offers to donate. International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate. Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg electronic works Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project Gutenberg eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. Most people start at our website which has the main PG search facility: www.gutenberg.org. This website includes information about Project Gutenberg, including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.