Lendle

It is conceivable that, in Noah’s time—say, on the day before the
heavens opened and the floods descended—a complacent citizenry of
Antediluvia might have sat out on its front porches, enjoying the sunset
over Mount Ararat and speculating upon the probable results of the next
patriarchal election, all unsuspicious of chaotic cataclysms. Under
similar conditions—fair skies, a good groundwork of creature comforts,
and a total lack of threatening portents—there was no reason why the
two men, smoking their after-dinner cigars on the terrace of the
Lawrenceville Country Club, should suspect that the end of the world
might be lying in wait for either of them just beyond the hour’s
relaxation.