Marvin sighed deeply as he began to see the complications ahead of him, but was recalled to the present by his companion.
“How long is yonder grain boat?”
“About four hundred and twenty feet.”
“Correct to the foot. And it’s about the length of the Egyptian transport used by Augustus to ruin Rome. He had lectured his nobles for not marrying, but he brought their farmers into competition with Egyptian slaves. By the same token, though our friends across the river are not Egyptian slaves, the entire Canadian crop will go into storage this year, and in 1920 American wheat will not bring what it cost to raise it.”
Chapter 34. Selenium
They walked on down, and Marvin drew deep breaths of relief and satisfaction. No matter how difficult the future, he had thus far met only sweet reasonableness. The nature of this old man was noble and ample. The air he breathed was one-fifth oxygen, the mountains about him were half oxygen, the river he loved was eight-ninths oxygen, and his soul was like them all.
Here were no volcanic passions depositing sulphur on the earth. If there had been such in his youth, they were all transformed to gentleness, just as sulphur has proved the most valuable of all chemicals to shape the objects used in civilized life.
So reflecting, the young man found himself once more in the library and presently called to dinner. The white sun slanted through the window and fell upon her long-sleeved tire as she stood there smiling. Her table was pretty with crimson radishes and with pale heads of lettuce cut down in the middle, revealing exquisite convolutions. And in the midst she had placed her armful of fireweed, which glowed almost as red as the radishes.
He seated her. Then father and daughter bowed their heads in gratitude to a silent God, and he followed their example.
Presently she was serving him soup made of hulled corn and full of minute golden nuclei. Next the perch came on, all decapitated except the big one, and all encrusted with delicious starches blended and browned. Marvin received the biggest, and before beginning on it drew out his centimeter stick and measured it.