The Sensory Animals of Ston Hill

According to Grace, Anna wrote: "I feel that I have no effect, sitting 'there', only feeling powerless and angry, and I might as well sew lace with Eva." He said "there" means meeting table.

Allen replied: "Every 'today' is only once, and time should not be wasted on meaningless things that you don't like. There are lectures by scientists every day in the Academy of Sciences. I wonder if you are interested in listening?"

Grace asked, "What kind of lecture, 'Practice Genetics' kind of lecture?"

Allen said: "If that kind of lecture is better, you can use your rich life experience and astute mind to find the loopholes in it, so as to prevent more stupid rich people like me from being cheated out of gold coins."

Grace happily changed her clothes and took Eva and Anna out of the palace.

Grace attended the lecture not as a dignified future queen, but as a close friend of Colonel Allen Stone.It was his first time to come to the Academy of Sciences. The structure of the lecture hall was similar to that of a theater, but the atmosphere was as solemn as a church.

It was a chemist who came to give a speech, explaining his experiments on "mass conservation".These experiments are serious and cautious, which made Grace's life experience and quick mind useless, but turned him into the most curious child, who was fascinated by those ingenious experimental designs and repeatedly admired them.

At the end of the speech, the chemist asked his assistant to carry a set of huge experimental equipment. He wanted to simulate the breathing experiment of the French chemist Lavoisier on the spot, proving that there is an oxidation process of carbon and hydrogen in human breathing.

The scientist asked which audience member would be interested in providing breath for the experiment, and Grace immediately stood up.The chemist thanked him with a smile, but said: "This experiment requires the subject to take deep breaths for a long time. Women's bodies are not suitable for this activity, and it will cause fainting."

Allen raised his hand, like the gesture he often used when he was about to speak at the conference table, and said, "I can guarantee that this lady is healthier than most men, and she is up to the task."

He had just donated money to the Academy of Sciences recently, so Grace was invited to the podium.The chemist and assistant explained to him which mask was for inhalation and which was for exhalation.Grace put the mask on her face and showed no signs of fear. Some viewers almost thought he was a chemist's babysitter.

Finally, the weighing was over and the experiment had achieved ideal results. The audience applauded excitedly, especially Grace.When he heard the last thanks from the chemist, he mentioned the name "Lavoisier" again, saying that he would always remember this unfortunate genius.

He asked Ellen: "Who is Lavoisier? Is he dead?"

Allen said: "Yes, he is dead. He is a French scientist. His main achievements are in the field of chemistry. He is very good at inventing and improving experiments to test his theories."

"Like?"

"For example, the principle of conservation of mass mentioned in the speech just now was first proposed by him; and the theory of elements, which I guess you have seen in my science magazine before, was also first proposed by him; and combustion theory, and corrected the once-popular 'phlogiston theory'."

"It was the refutation of the 'phlogiston theory' that led to his tragic death." The scientist listened for an unknown amount of time and joined their conversation. He and Allen exchanged salutes, and then kissed the back of Grace's hand, Thanks to him for his bravery in the experiment.

"Please continue what you just mentioned, why did Lavoisier's refutation of the 'phlogiston theory' lead to his death?"

"A 'tragic death,'" the scientist emphasized, asking Grace, "do you know Mara?"

Grace shook her head, and the scientist looked at Allen beseechingly, asking if he could talk politics to his girlfriend.

Allen made an inviting gesture, "I only know about Marat's influence in politics, but I don't know what he did in chemistry. Please tell me in detail."

Scientists praised him for his open-mindedness, saying: "Many people think that women are not intelligent enough to understand politics, and that information will make them lose their minds and even suffer from epilepsy. But it is scientifically proven that women are intellectually and spiritually capable enough to bear that knowledge."

Allen felt that the scientist was good in everything, but there was too much foreshadowing before the speech.

Science finally gets to the bottom of it, telling Grace that Marat was one of the architects of the bloody regime during the French uprising and was a chemist before he became famous for his political activism.When Marat was young, he submitted his thesis on "phlogiston theory" to the French Academy of Sciences.Lavoisier had a high status in the French Academy of Sciences at that time, so of course he had a low evaluation of this wrong and outdated theory.Later, Marat was elected as a representative of the National Convention and became an influential leader of the Jacobins during the French riots.He specially wrote pamphlets to fabricate Lavoisier's rumors, aroused people's hatred, and finally pushed Lavoisier to the guillotine.

Allen analyzed: "But in fact, Mara did not have such a strong influence during his lifetime. He was too extreme and bloodthirsty. In the months before his death, there have been many critical voices. On the contrary, his violent death is the reason. He attracted widespread sympathy. The Jacobins seized the opportunity to make themselves more popular and fueled the reign of terror, which included Lavoisier's death."

The scientist admired his insight, "You are right, Lavoisier died in Marat's pamphlet, and died after Marat. If Marat did not die, or Marat died before writing that pamphlet, Lavoisier will not die."

"exactly."

"Colonel, do you also think Marat is more guilty than Danton and Robespierre?"

"It's hard to say." Allen replied.

His cautiousness caused disappointment on the scientist's face, but the scientist immediately laughed sarcastically, "The Death of Marat is not a good classical art painting, but it is definitely the most successful one." political paintings."

"exactly."

Grace interjected at this point: "Marat is dead, but his influence has become even greater, because his views are not actually his own views, but the views of the 'Accordian faction'. Although he is dead, But his allies are still there and using his death to promote him as a martyr, right?"

The scientist glanced at Grace in surprise, not expecting that this overly beautiful young woman was still following their conversation and actually understood it.

"Exactly," said the scientist, too.

"You mentioned that Marat was a representative of the Convention."

"Is such that."

"He was chosen by the people."

"Is such that."

Grace was stunned for a while, then asked him again: "How did Marat die? Did he die by court judgment?"

"No, he died of an assassination, a conservative woman named Charlotte Corday killed him." Speaking of this, the scientist was stunned for a moment, and murmured: "A female assassin, a historical figure changer."

"Who is she on orders from?" Grace asked.

“She claims to be completely personal, but she may also be lying, to cover the real instigation, to defend the interests of the Girondins.” Someone else, attracted by their conversation, joined in.

"It is said that a beautiful woman, very young, entered Marat's bathroom alone, and killed her with a knife in the bathtub."

"Are you implying something?"

"No! But it is said that she was extremely calm when she was arrested, neither crying nor trying to escape. She was the same before the guillotine, and even the executioner was overwhelmed by the calm beauty that bloomed before her death. She was only agitated once, because a congressman searched her chest for hidden documents, which caused her clothes to be completely open, revealing her breasts..."

Feeling disgusted, Grace turned her head away. Alan and the scientist stopped the disrespectful conversation and followed Grace to a quieter place.

But Grace only has one last question, "Why would she do that? She knows she's going to pay with her life for it, right?"

The scientist replied: "Miss Corday said before she died that she killed a man to save millions."

"But in fact, after the death of Marat, the bloody reign you just mentioned has become even bloodier."

A shocked expression appeared on the scientist's face, "...it's like this."

Grace thought for a long time, and then said: "When people choose Marat as their representative, they don't know that he will become a bloodthirsty person."

Allen continued his words: "When Marat was elected as a representative, she must not have thought that she would make that choice in the future."

The scientist couldn't help looking at them back and forth, wanting to say something, but couldn't even think of a word of value.

On the way back from the Academy of Sciences, Allen and Grace took the same carriage, because Grace asked him to enter the carriage.

He was silent for a long time, and suddenly asked Allen: "What's the use of chemistry?"

Allen thought for a while and said: "I know Lavoisier in the gunpowder class. His combustion theory provides the basis for the improvement of gunpowder and guns. If you want to improve, you can't just rely on blind experiments. There must be theory as a guide.”

"William once studied Arundel's guns. His guns are faster than our guns. All the guns produced in his factory are faster. They are close to the most advanced models in the United States, so the army now uses them from The gun he bought there. He must have used some method, maybe stealing it, maybe bribing it, to get the American patent; and the US can have that patent because they have better scientists.”

"Why are there more scientists in the United States? Is it because Americans are smarter than us? ... It's not true, the United States is all immigrants from the mainland by boat."

"Grace, have you ever wondered why England invented the shuttle loom and the spinning jenny?"

Grace shook her head and looked at Allen expectantly.

It's a pity that Alan didn't know, he just sighed melancholy, "We also have a large number of colonies that can grow cotton, and we have navy and merchant ships that can expand the market. If the Jenny loom appears in our country, everything will be different It's the same."

The author says:

Lavoisier and Marat are a pair of life-and-death enemies, one appears in the middle school chemistry textbook as the father of modern chemistry, and the other appears in the middle school art textbook as the angelic face of "The Death of Marat".

The opinions of the characters in the article are only their own and do not represent the author.