New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-08-20
A NNATCHED POT.

WATCHED PpI.
seth Peters WAS II watched pot, and so he never
boiled.
When he was n baby he was prcternaturally
vlse-looking baby So his mother and his father.
his grandmother and his grandfather ana all MS
brothers sisters. aunts and cousins watched MN
necessarily IN constant anticipation that he would
do some remarkable thing. Such Websteran eyes
Such a Shakespcarean brow! Surely no mortal
child could have such features. such expressions
such an indescribablc bearing and not do renarka-
bic things
So they watched him. night and day. momen-
tarlly expecting 10 see the prodigy reveal hlnSeit
in some Orphic utteranoe some Solomon-like WIS
dom Bu, little Seth only distinguished himself by
reaching for the moon and occasionally saying
"Gonk," just like other babies
II was "A long while before Seths vocabulary got
beyond 'gonk." Bat h. kept growing wiser ana
wiser looking all the time. His forehead bulged
ont further over his eyes his eyes retreatcI further
within his head. aud his deep and knowing look
grew deeper and more knowing every day
When he WAS five years old ana went To School
all hs folks watched him. expecting he would dis
tlnguish his family by his brilliancy. and at the,
end Of the second week be able to teach his'
teacher.
But in learning the alphabet Seth manifested
strange preference for the letter ~ lie hkel 10
have his teacher tell him over and over again
week after week that il a. 1t was won
tired of hearing 1t repeated over and over again.
Every morning for weeks the teacher told him IL
was A. and every time he acted IA II he were glad
10 hear il. Every day this truth dawned upon MIN
with the force and beauty of revelation Ills
Webstcrian eyes grew lustrous and his snake
s,,earcan brow expanded each day, month after
month the cogency Of the great truth that II was
4 vas horne in upon his mind II seemed to I'LL
bis soul with a complete satisfaction which asked
for nothing more He didn't want to know any
thing about b. lie had no curiosity about {. lie
didn't care to penetrate into such untraV"Ii"i
depths OF learning lie settled down 10 the per
feet and serene contentment that II was y.
That H. ne did until the next day, when he
wanted IN have the beautiful old. old story re
peated 10 him again. Then the old surprise would
come into his eyes again. the old wonder would
suff,Ise his features lie lost in awe ana con-
temptation.
SIN as ne grew older. he looked more and more
profound and his own family and all his neigh
borhood and the whole school district watch'H hiiN
like lynx-eycd detectives. expecting he would 40
some great thing He looked so wise that every
body was convinced that he had IA great anu
Ai.d in fact. as he continued at school he IT,, dli
give expression to very many orisimnl ue t"r
lie had If ws ON arithmetic and geography lor
instance. that were widely at variance mi'' h ,i'
views of the authors OF those books No VIA" dv
u iG i u'' H. conItal of Prnnsylvana the com
nNer wnS .,r rath@r inclined to believe him. he
looked so wise and 50 deeply and darkiy ihte'"-
gent about ii. ,., ILL.,, eone
And when the committeeman asked MN . So ie
easy question in grammar, and he replied, daInl
no use nohow to study grammar. nor nothlh ny
committeeman was almost persuaded 10 receive II
as th, learned view of expert, ana Ddhsh ban
mars from the schools. And when he rcau tht III !,
him as 'rhe-calf ran overa -dead-man ana heu i
him" the committeeman never opened ms io
He took 1t for granted that Seth knew fnore oo"'
il than he did. 8, ,,.., no GOT
Seth was almost thirty years od Delo'c ne 81 So
into rnilege and then he entercrd NOT so HI"C" p'
th. strength OF his examination papers az Oh tl1 I,
strength of his looks. The professors S "
that il was impossible for 50 wise Il o1hine r.., -,
moi To- Ice n man of talent, and that his hacCuidte
and IlIosyncra sizes Of genius. All ms iaiiis
I'm fact the whole town, now watched Setu VIII VIII
kcencr interest than ever. Now they Sa a,,, biz,
shine now n. will dazzle now ne VIII SioN ,IiIi-
self Tn. reason ne has never disthsulSh'r ~.
s-f before il because the grammar s'nop am .ic
high school o-. too elementary for ms pl"lil.
did not give his intellect room ehousH ~. w,anst,a
self Th.y were too contracted i"r 'h' N''
mind. ,,.,,,sss grro tor
| than ever. to-. mayor asked
! Rut the professors in that college henrr "'hci
him any questions that he caF.u 70 .r,ar,llv aska,i
always. in the classroom, th'S r"nt md thaSa
him things OF which he was lShp3ra"' ,o,r vaars,
stupid educators. during his emu 81 him about
| course. never had tact enough W ,Iadga And 90
ANYTHING of which he had any knowleuse III ~
they fatuously lost all the dement's Iour vsors re-
They none the wiser for thelr lon ,,ch mn ain
| latIons with him In fact. they wer,I noncommit
full interviewers that Seth remained no, 70
tai all through college and all tneH @''S'"SN~ ~