Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1890-01-23
INSTANTANEOUS MEN.

ABSENT-MlNDED MEN.
Notable People WAs We're Cursed with
Treacherous Memories.
At the representation of one OF his
masterpieces at . court concert Bee
thoven was so absentminded that he
beat time ON Emperor Joseph's back.
The Emperor, having taken = position
near him, patiently submitted, and aft
erward said, laughingly: THAT was the
only time was beat by one OF my sub
jects-"
One of the most absent-minded per-
sons was the orchestral director, Benda-
1t has been told that he was not in the
habit of doing any thing without his
wife's advice and sanction, and after her
death. on the day of the interment. he
called into the family sitting room:
''Dear wife, is every thing ready for the
services"
OF the deceased Prof. Schle.cher, of
the city of jena. the following anecdote
Is related: One day the professor APP
peared at the college, not, as usual, in .
gray coat, buttoned up to his neck. but
in black overcoat, open in the front.
When he wanted to take his pamphlet
out of his coat pocket he found that it
was not there. He begged to be ex-
cused for ten minutes and then hurried
away. Arriving at home, he at once
took the pamphlet from the pocket Of
his gray coat and put it in tho black
one, but then he thought to himself that
he might as well change the coats. No
sooner thought of than done. He put
on the gray coat, and. of course. left the
pamphlet in the black one. So he APP
peared the second time in the college,
and, as result of his treacherous mena-
DRY, was compelled to disHss his class
for the day.
During his stay in Naples the singer
Lablache was often called to the King.
One day he hurried into the palace and
fell into conversation with the court
people in the ante-room and begged
leave to keep his hat on as he was suffer
| ing with a cold in his head. Suddenly
| the chamberlain called: His Majesty
| commands the presence of Signor La
| blache." The singer FASTENED to COM
| ply with the call. and as he had entirely
| forgotten that he had kept on his hat,
| in q hurry he seized some one else's hat
and entered the Kings cabinet with the
hat in his hand. The King received
him with loud laughter, which in some
degree confused him, yet he soon col
| 1ected himself and asked the King re-
| specially what excited this merriment.
''My dear Lablache," said the King.
tell me which of the two hats is yours,
the one on your head or the one in your
| hand, or are both yours?" Lablache
| recovered his wits promptly and replied:
pardon, Majesty. Two hats are indeed
| too many for man who has no head"
The mathematician Lambert once
visited, as he seldom did, the grand
opera in Berlin, and sat there SO deeply
absorbed that his neighbors were aston
ished at the wonderful power exercised
| upon him by the music. When the
opera was ended he still remained
seated, and not until the lights were
| lowered did he awake from his contem-
plations, and then he CROPPED his way
out in the dark. 1t was afterward
| learned from him that he did not
concern himself in the least about the
music rendered, but that he had been
busily engaged the whole evening max
ing calculations of the refractions of the
large chandelier.
Once Lambert wanted to answer an
important question in an essay about
the reflection of light. He needed a
large mirror for this and went to a cot
fee-house where he knew there was one.
There were some officers and citizens
present playing games Lambert
greeted them as he generally did, with.
out looking at them. Then he bent his
! head to the right side and stationed
himself before a large mirror. A sword
hanging on the wall he drew from its
sheath, went forward, then backward.
made all kinds of motions as if fencing
and meditated on the observations he
had made. This he continued for hall
hour without noticing that all the men
present, perplexed at his strange be-
havior and believing him insane. had
surrounded him and prepared, if neces
sary, to seize and render him harmless
For his part Lambert continued his ex
ercises until he reached the desired re-
suit Then he quietly replaced the
sword in the sheath, nodded Indifferent
ly to the rest of the guests and hurried
, home to write out his essay.-London
i