“About the opening of the twentieth century morality in business had sunk to a very low ebb; every one was possessed by a craze for making money—in what manner was quite a secondary consideration—consequently the richest people were almost invariably the most unscrupulous. At last the working classes revolted and by sheer force of numbers sent a majority of working men to Parliament, and by such means obtained Old Age Pensions. Still they groaned under the dishonest and callous actions of the moneyed people and employers, and in course of time they rose up in revolution and swept the country clean. From that time everything has improved, and though we have in some minor matters, such as modes of expression and what not, reverted to the style of our forefathers of about the twentieth century, science has progressed by leaps and bounds, until now we have got almost to the other extreme, and everything is science:—we eat, drink, live, move and have our very being on scientific lines, till one gets tired and weary almost to death at the mere word.” “You’ll certainly have to change your diet, old fellow!” put in Gilbert, laughing, “but go on!” “I am really serious,” continued Ross, smiling at the sarcasm. “I don’t believe this world was ever intended for man, and it’s my opinion that we came here by accident from some other planet.” “Really!” “Yes. Just think! where intellectual man is not, vegetation grows to magnificent luxuriance; so do wild animals, insects, birds and flowers; all these are made and suited to the world by nature, but directly the so-called ‘lord of creation’ comes, one of two things must happen—he must either open out nature and bring it into line with his life and habits, or he must gradually acclimatise himself to his surroundings by various doses of malaria, swamp fever, orchid-poisoning and the like, and by the time he has become immune from these evils and can live, he is not so healthy or so useful as were the scarecrows of ancient fame. And wherever numbers live together, so many hygienic matters have to be considered that healthy living in numbers is, and always will be, a most serious problem. No, man is about the only animal on the earth that upsets nature, or is upset by nature.