Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-03-27
JUST A LITTLE KNOWLEDGE.
The Possession of 1t Does Not Pay Vel
WelI in the Long Run.

The Possession of 1t Does Not Pay Very
Well in the Long Run.
'Tt doesn't pay to know just a little about
things" said one of those men who are always
after general information" to a STAR re-
porter. Judging from experience I thor
oughly agree with the gentleman who said, "A
little knowledge is a dangerous thing For ex-
ample, have never been able to eat an egg
with thorough relish-though exceedingly fond
of them for their favor-since learned that the
little spot on one side Of the yelk, toward the
butt end. is the germ Of the chicken. You may
cook an egg in what fashion you please; but
whether it Is boiled, poached or fried you will
find that germ always conspicuous, when once
you know it is there, and you cannot eat the egg
until you have carefully removed 1t. 1t would
add considerably to my happiness il could be-
Ieve today what was taught in the nursery,
that the white of the egg makes the bones of
the subsequent fowl and the yelk the flesh, in
stead OF knowing, as do, that both are merely
the food by the consumption of which the
germ is developed.
MAKES HIM A HYPocHoHpRIAc.
But that is only very minor instance. My
slight knowledge Of pathological anatomy,
amounting to the merest smattering, is a source
OF continual distress to me. Though an abb
stemious man, on the whole, I cannot indulge
In glass of any alcoholic beverage without
realizing that j am subjecting my system
to the action Of heart stimulant' which
accelerates the pulsations of that organ injuri-
ously. The slightest sensation of any sort
about my chest causes me to imagine. despite
myself, that the tubercular bacilli are beginning
to get in their deadly work upon my
pulmonary system. Presumably, it is only a
trifing intercostal rheumatism, but am none
the less uneasy. A simila- feeling in the small
OF my back makes me think of Bright's
disease. Surprising that 1 swallow an
orange seed by accident, it occurs to me
at once that there is chance for its
getting into certain useless sac attached to
the stomach where, if it does, it will occasion
inflammation that is necessarily fatal be-
fore long. know that my intestines
are prey to certain vermiculor par
asites, as are those of every one else: but they
do not occasion me SO much annoyance as the
possibility. always existing, that painful con-
cretions of lime may be forming in my bladder
or my liver.
TAKES AWAY THE POETRY.
"a superficial knowledge of physiology takes
much of the poetry out of existence and re-
moves large part of the gliding from the Sub
lunary gingerbread, as one might say. Having
acquired it, man realizes rather painfully that
he If largely an elevated animal after all. though
hitherto he has imagined himself chiefly mind.
'Supposlng that ones partner in the german
is thin girl, he cannot help figuring her out
as an articulated skeleton and setting an esti-
mated price upon her preparation in that
guise. This does not apply, however, when
she is an acknowledged heiress
"lmagination is always opposed TO facts and
by as much as the latter are calculated to dis
pei agreeable illusions they are destructive of
happiness. Therefore, / am inclined to think
that however desirable knowledge may be re-
sPectIng things with which one has no per-
sonal and intimate concern. it is most comfort
able to know a very little about ones self and
ones environment. Drink deep or taste not
the Pierinn spring."