partitions, after any general design he wishes, and have them trimmed in
any style his fancy suggests. The materials used are non-combustible and
water-proof, and will wear indefinitely.
These houses can be put together in a few days and the trimmings
adjusted in less than two weeks, unless the structure is very elaborate.
Nearly all of their house furniture is also non-combustible, and no one
has ever conceived the idea of forming a fire insurance company, simply
because there is no need for one.
As the people are so much larger than we, so are all things relatively
larger than we see them in our world. Wagons and carriages and cars
appear as if they were made for mastodons.
I saw one of their largest bridges spanning a molten lake. Aside of it
the East River bridge would be a dwarf, either in height or length. It
is certainly thrilling to step into a world where all things are so
gigantic. At times a feeling of insignificance crept over me, but I took
courage when I thought that a man's greatness consists in his mental
powers and not in his physical bulk, for it is true that the fifty
ounces of brain in the skull of a Newton have accomplished more marvels
than the ten pounds of brain-matter found in the most cultured
Jupiterite.
We must give the people of Jupiter credit for exercising a large amount
of common sense. In many ways they are more practical than we, and this
is quite as noticeable in their language as in any other respect. They
have one simple language for the whole globe and in its use they are all
agreed. Their vocabulary is small because they have not yet branched out
into the infinite varieties of manufacture and invention.
Their words have a marvelous correspondence with the thought or the
action expressed, the manner of emphasizing syllables going a great
distance toward expressing the shade of emotion desired.
I admired especially one thing on this bulky planet. They have but one
authority for language. Hence there is no Century, Webster, Worcester or
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