rains and fogs whose
people, feeling the need of a little more sunlight perhaps, or of
pin-money and elbow-room, sailed away and conquered for themselves two
entire continents, as well as a good part of a third. I have also heard
that the inhabitants of this island, not content with killing and
enslaving so many defenseless fellow-creatures, or with picking up any
lesser island, cape, or bay that happened to suit their fancy, took it
upon themselves to govern several hundred million unwilling individuals
of all colors and religions in other parts of the world. And, having
thus procured both sunlight and elbow-room, those enterprising islanders
assumed a virtuous air and pushed the high cries--as our friend Gaston
would say--if any of their neighbors ever showed the slightest symptom
of following their very successful example. Have you ever heard of such
an island? And would you not say--as a philosopher sitting amidst the
ruins of empires--that it had also bitten off rather more than it could
chew?"

Matthews, facing the question and the now open smile, felt that he
wanted to be cool, but that he did not altogether succeed.

"I dare say that two or three hundred years ago we did things we
wouldn't do now. Times have changed in all sorts of ways. But we never
set out like a Caesar or a Napoleon or a Bismarck to invent an empire. It
all came about quite naturally. Anybody else could have done the same.
But nobody else thought of it--at the time. We simply got there first."

"Ah?" Magin smiled more broadly. "It seems to me that I have heard of
another island, not so far from here, which is no more than a pin-point,
to be sure, but which happens to be the key of the Persian Gulf. I have
also heard that the Portuguese got there first, as you put it. But you
crushed Portugal, you crushed Spain, you crushed Holland, you crushed
France--or you meant to. And I must say it looks to me as if you would
not mind crushing Germany. Why do you go on building ships, building
ships, building ships, always two to Germany's one? Simply that you and
your friends can go on eating up Asia and Africa--and perhaps Germany
too!"

Matthews noticed that the elder man ended, at any rate, not quite so
coolly as he began.

"Nonsense! The thing's so simple it isn't worth repeating. We have to
have more ships than anybody else because our empire is bigger than
anybody else's--and more scattered. As for eating, it strikes me that
Germany has done