The others stared at him as though he was demented. "A hundred
thousand," one said. "There are not that many literate persons on the
continent."
"There will be," Mayer crowed. "This is but one of our levers to pry
power from the barons. And here is another." He turned to Russ.
"Honorable Russ, your city is noted for the fine quality of its steel,
of the swords and armor you produce."
Russ nodded. He was a small man fantastically rich in his attire. "This
is true, Honorable Mayer."
Mayer said, tossing a small booklet to the other, "I have here the plans
for a new method of making steel from pig iron. The Bessemer method,
we'll call it. The principle involved is the oxidation of the impurities
in the iron by blowing air through the molten metal."
Amschel Mayer turned to still another. "And your town is particularly
noted for its fine textiles." He looked to his assistants. "Jerry, you
and Gunther bring in those models of the power loom and the spinning
jenny."
While they were gone, he said, "My intention is to assist you to speed
up production. With this in mind, you'll appreciate the automatic flying
shuttle that we'll now demonstrate."
Kennedy and Gunther re-entered accompanied by four servants and a mass
of equipment. Kennedy muttered to Amschel Mayer, "I feel like the
instructor of a handicrafts class."
Half an hour later, Kennedy and Gunther wound up passing out pamphlets
to the awed merchant guests. Kennedy said, "This booklet will give
details on construction of the equipment and its operation."
Mayer pursed his lips. "Your people will be able to assimilate only so
fast, so we won't push them. Later, you'll be interested in introducing
the mule spinning frame, among other items."
He motioned for the servants to remove the printing press and textile
machinery. "We now come to probably the most important of the devices I
have to introduce to you today. Because of size and weight, I've had
constructed only a model. Jerry!"
Jerry Kennedy brought to the heavy table a small steam engine, clever in
its simplicity. He had half a dozen attachments for it. Within moments
he had the others around him, as enthusiastic as a group of youngsters
with a new toy.
"By the Supreme," Baron Leonar blurted, "do you realize this device
could be used instead of waterpower to operate a mill to power the loom
demonstrated an hour ago?"
Honorable Russ was rubbing the side of his face thoughtfully. "It might
even be adapted to propel a coach. A coach without horses.
Unbelievable!"
Mayer chuckled in excitement and clapped his hands. A servant entered
with a toy wagon which had been slightly altered. Martin Gunther lifted
the small engine, placed it in position atop the wagon, connected it
quickly and threw a lever. The wagon moved smoothly forward, the first
engine-propelled vehicle of Genoa's industrial revolution.