The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1891-02-19
HOW WE SUFFER.
The Man Who wants-tO-K now-You-Kno
and His victims.

and His Victims.
never read of a railroad or steamboat
disaster without secretly hoping that The
man who wants to know-you know is
numbered in the victims. don't say any
thing against person storing his mind
with knowledge, but what | object to is
the way that knowledge is sometimes
fired off at "A man who is lame and can't
make his escape.
For instance, our train going east was
tagged at midnight and held for an hour
because of wreck on the road. Every
body in the sleeping car awoke, and most
of the people got up and dressed, although
it would have been common sense to turn
over and go to sleep again. One OF the pas
sengers was large, pOrtly man, who had
formerly driven hogs to market. by the
exercise of economy, perseverance, virtue,
| tenderness and Il dozen or so other attri-
| butes he had climbed up until he owned a
! slaughter house and bought the hogs
| which others drove. This was not only a
| good drive on him, but he was legally en-
| titled to feel proud Of it, He had Just fin
shed telling IA crowd of passengers in
loud voice that he was figuring to buy that
railroad and change the management
when The-man-whO-want know YOU
know suddenly interrupted him with:
Excuse me, my friend, but can ! ask YOU
a question:"
"Certainly, sir, was the courteous reply.
81 was talking with chap in the depot
at Buffalo, and we couldn't exactly agree
about MOhammed, the Arab. He was rs
you know, originally called IIalabi, and
was born about the year so. What we
differed about was his birthplace; as | have
il, it was Mecca; as he had it, it was Syria.
What is your opinion"
The man who had climbed up he ladder
of life by virtue of his own integrity turned
pale, looked hclplessly around and finally
sunk down crushed and helpless victim,
and he didn't even look up when an old
farmer remarked to his wife:
Good 'nuG for him. If Teller hain't
studied algebra and geography what's the
use Of his putin on so much style"
Again, there was a party of us ON the
promenade deck of Hudson river steamer
The prominent one Of the crowd was n pale
faced, weak eyed young man who had been
all over Europe, and who had attended col.
lege long enough to learn everything worth
knowing. He talked very gIibly of the
Stone Age, the Drift Period and all that,
observed that:
1.-The true igncous rocks belong either to
the trappcan or volcanic divisions, while
the mass you see before you is composed,
to very large extent, of stratiiicd meta
mOrphiC rocks"
looked around to see if Thc-man-who-
wants-tO know you know was present
He was. He sat with his chair tipped back
and his feet on the rail. His suit was Il
very loud check, and he had the general
bearing of man who trades in horses and
buys sheepskins of farmers. He listened
with great interest, ana when the young
man had finished he squared his chair
around and said;
Professor, you are right; you have hit
the bulls eye; yOu know il all"
"Aw" replied the young man.
Pm glad to have met you, because those
things have bothered me, and because
want to ask you Il question"
"Aw-proceed.
you have heard of Scipio, of course"
"AwW
KILLED, you know. in the year ISL b. CT"
"Aw"
"Of course you have heard of Basil, sur
named the Great? Greek, you know, and
born in the year 329 in Cappadocia. Pretty
good fellow, | guess, but wouldn't bet on
it,"
"Awl What is your question, sah?"
81 was getting to it. Suppose you owned
IA horse"
"Awr'
"No matter about the color or sex. You
are awoke at night by his stamping in the
stable"
"Awr'
You 90 out and find him very ill., Now,
sir, can you tell me how to inform myself
whether he is suffering with calcarcous
carbonate Of soluble obliquity or is attack
ell with a herbiverous transition of inter
stratitied eXhalutions?"
The young man rose up, looked around
him to take n last farewell of earth and
then plunged over the rail into the river.
The steamer was stopped and every effort
made to rescue him, but he did not want
to be rescued. lie wanted to sit down on
the bottom of the Hudson and have IA good
long think with himSelf-M. Quad in De-
trot Free Press