What Is Man? and Other Essays by Mark Twain
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page 3 of 349 (00%)
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Y.M. No--in ores. O.M. Are the metals suddenly deposited in the ores? Y.M. No--it is the patient work of countless ages. O.M. You could make the engine out of the rocks themselves? Y.M. Yes, a brittle one and not valuable. O.M. You would not require much, of such an engine as that? Y.M. No--substantially nothing. O.M. To make a fine and capable engine, how would you proceed? Y.M. Drive tunnels and shafts into the hills; blast out the iron ore; crush it, smelt it, reduce it to pig-iron; put some of it through the Bessemer process and make steel of it. Mine and treat and combine several metals of which brass is made. O.M. Then? Y.M. Out of the perfected result, build the fine engine. O.M. You would require much of this one? Y.M. Oh, indeed yes. |
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