Page:A thousand years hence. Being personal experiences (IA thousandyearshen00gree).djvu/349

 assert without vanity, somewhat of a leading person generally in my world, was duly awarded this high position, so soon as it became known that I was about to visit the planet. But this being a relationship altogether externally imposed upon Mars, and without any reference to his own consent, our self-assumed position towards the planet was consequently of a rather delicate kind, and might be made somewhat ruffling to Marsian susceptibilities, were it not for the extreme care and consideration with which we were always wont to act.

A delegation met us at the landing, to invite myself and friend to a grand public dinner, which was then and there fixed for the last day of our proposed stay, Marsians can do nothing of public moment without a public dinner. Having duly accepted, we at once betook ourselves to the business part of our mission, in view of some remainder of our stay being devoted to such duties of my higher and representative mission as might fall in my way.

There is already an immense business between the two planets; for besides the fact that various metals and metalloids, and chemical elements generally, are relatively scarce or otherwise in one or the other planet—a circumstance which makes indeed the chief foundation of the entire interplanetary trade—we had much that was peculiarly Marsian commerce. Not the least section of this commerce comprised a loop-line of White's great interplanetary liners, which diverged to the two little moons, to which the Marsians