Алая чума
Chapter 2
“Iknow,Iknow,Iamafilthyoldman,buttimeshavechanged. Nobodywashesthesedays,therearenoconveniences. ItissixtyyearssinceIhaveseenapieceofsoap.
“Youdonotknowwhatsoapis,andIshallnottellyou,forIamtellingthestoryoftheScarletDeath. Youknowwhatsicknessis. Wecalleditadisease. Verymanyofthediseasescamefromwhatwecalledgerms. Rememberthatword—germs. Agermisaverysmallthing. Itislikeawoodtick,suchasyoufindonthedogsinthespringoftheyearwhentheyrunintheforest. Onlythegermisverysmall. Itissosmallthatyoucannotseeit—”
Hoo-Hoobegantolaugh.
“You’reaqueerun,Granser,talkingaboutthingsyoucan’tsee. Ifyoucan’tsee’em,howdoyouknowtheyare? That’swhatIwanttoknow. Howdoyouknowanythingyoucan’tsee?”
“Agoodquestion,averygoodquestion,Hoo-Hoo. Butwedidsee—someofthem. Wehadwhatwecalledmicroscopesandultramicroscopes,andweputthemtooureyesandlookedthroughthem,sothatwesawthingslargerthantheyreallywere,andmanythingswecouldnotseewithoutthemicroscopesatall. Ourbestultramicroscopescouldmakeagermlookfortythousandtimeslarger. Amussel-shellisathousandfingerslikeEdwin’s. Takefortymussel-shells,andbyasmanytimeslargerwasthegermwhenwelookedatitthroughamicroscope. Andafterthat,wehadotherways,byusingwhatwecalledmovingpictures,ofmakingtheforty-thousand-timesgermmany,manythousandtimeslargerstill.
