It is true the California gold will last forever unchanged, if
its owner chooses; but, while it so lasts, it is of no use; no,
not as much as its value in pig iron, which makes the best of
ballast; whereas gold, while it is gold, is good for little or
nothing. You can neither eat it, nor drink it, nor smoke it. You
can neither wear it, nor burn it as fuel, nor build a house with
it; it is really useless till you exchange it for consumable,
perishable goods; and the more plentiful it is the less its
exchangeable value--EDWARD EVERETT.
(1263)