He was the very incarnation of reaction against revolution, and he became the demigod of that horde of petty despots who infest Central Europe.

The apparently mysterious presence of the little demigod in such an out-of-the-way place was easily explained.

They seem like demigods on a different plane (in Russia I mean; of course when they come to Paris their godlike attributes disappear, unfortunately for themselves).

If you had known how my childish fancy had predisposed me to worship you, you might have vouchsafed me some more consideration, and I might have gone on believing you a demigod to the end of the chapter.