Mexico weekly ledger., 1893-12-28

the morning. Sometimes he spent hHs
day at the chemical son
times in the dissecting-rooms u oo
casionally in long walks, which aP-
reared 10 take him into the lowest por-
tons of the city. Nothing could ex-
coed his energy when the working IL
was upon him, but now and again a re-
action would seize him and for y
on end he would lie upon the sofa In
the ~sittinc-room, hardly uttering q
word or moving a muscle from morn
ing to night. On these OCCASIONS
I have noticed such a dreamy, vacant
expression in his eyes a L mlgns
have suspected him of being addlcoeo
tn the use of some narcotic hau no1
the temperance and cleanliness OF MS
whole life forbidden such a notion
As the weeks went by, my interest,"
IN him and my curiosity as to his aims
in life gradually deepened n in
creased. His very person and ap-
~pearance were such as to strike the at
tention of the most casual observer
In height he was rather over six feet,
and SO excessively lean that he seemed
to be considerably taller. Has eyes
were sharp and piercing, save during
those intervals of torpor to which L
have alluded; and his thin, hawk-lIke
nose gave his whole expression an ali
of aIertness and decision. His chin,
too, had the prominence and square
ness which mark the man of determine
ton. His hands We're invariably blottea
with ink and stained with chemicals,
vet he was possessed of extraordinary
delicacy of touch, as l frequently had
occasion to observe when L watched
him manipulating his fragile philo-
sophical instruments.
The reader may set me down as a
hopeless busybody, when l confess
how much this nan stimulated my
curiosity and how often l endeavored
to break through the reticence which
he showed on all that concerned hlms
| self. Before pronouncing Judgment.
| however, be Remembered how object
less was nv life and how little there
was to engage my attention. MY
health forbade me from venturlng out
unless the weather was exceptionally
genial, and | had NJ friends who would
call upon me and break the monotony
of my daily existence. Under these
| circumstances / eagerly hailed the lit
tie mystery which hung around my
| companion, and spent much OF my
time in endeavoring to unravel it.
He was not studying medicine. He
| had himself, in reply to a question,
confirmed Stamford's opinion upon
| that point. Neither did he appear to
| have pursued any course of reading
| which might fit him for a degree
in science or any other recognized
portal which would give him an en-
trance into the learned world. Yet
his zeal for certain studies was re-
narkable, and within eccentric limits
his knowledge was SO extraordinarily
| ample and minute that his observa-
| tions have fairly astounded me. Sure
" no man would work SO hard to at
| tain such precise information unless
| he had some definite end in view.
| Desultory readers are seldom remark
| able for the eXactness of their learn
ing. No man burdens his mind with
small matters unless he has some very
| good reason for doing so.
His ignorance was as remarkable as
his knowledge. Of contemporary lit
erature, philosophy and politics he
appeared to know next to nothing.
Upon my quoting Thomas Carlyle, he
inquired in the naivest way who he
might be and what he had done. My
surprise reached a climax, however,
when | found incidentally that he was
ignorant of the Copernican theory and
of the composition of the solar sys-
tenn. That any civilized human being
in this nineteenth century should not
be aware that the earth travelled
round the sun appeared to be to me
such an extraordinary fact that [ could
hardly realize it.
"You appear to be astonished," he
said, smiling at my expression of sur
prise. "Now that 1 do know it I shall
do my best to forget it."
ITO forget It'll"
"You see," he explained, 81 consider
that a mans brain originally is like a
little empty attic, and you have to
stock it with such furniture as you
choose. A fool takes in all the lumber
of every sort that he comes across, so
that the knowledge which might be
useful to him gets crowded out, or at
best is jumbled up with a lot of other
things, so that he has a difficulty in
laying his hands upon it. Now the
skillful workman is very careful indeed
as to what he takes into his brain
attic. He will have nothing but the
tools which may help him in doing his
work, but of these he has a large
assortment, and all in the most perfect
order. 1t is a mistake to think that
that little room has elastic walls and
can distend to any extent. Depend
upon it, there comes a time when for
every addition of knowledge you for
get something that you knew before.
1t is of the highest Importance, there
fore, not to have useless facts elbowing
out the useful ones."
"But the solar svstem!" 1 protested.
what the deuce is 1t to mep" he in
terrupted impatiently; you say that
we go round the sun. If we went
round the moon it would not make a
pennyworth of difference to me or to
my work"
l was on the point of asking him
what thai work might be, but some
thing In his manner showed me that
the question would be an unwelcome
one l pondered over our short con-
versation, however. and endeavored to
draw my deductions from it. He said
that he would acquire no knowledge
which did not bear upon his object.
Therefore all the knowledge which he
possessed was such as would be useful
to aim. enumerated in my own mind
all the various points upon which he
had shown me that he was exception
ally well informed. | ever took a
pencil and jotted them down. l could
not help smiling at the document when
l had completed it. Itran in this way: