The Press., 1895-02-07

ana TOT days Oli Cnu I.C WCClu lie upon the sofa ill the sitjl < rCCm, hardly ut tering word CT Movirs a muscle from morning to night. On these occasions have noticed such d t1Can y, vacant ex- pression ill his eyes that might have suspected him of being addicted to the uso of some narcotic had rot tho tenn perance and cleanliness of Lis whole life forbidden such notion
 As tho weeks went by my interest in him and my curiosity ;:; tO lis aims in life gradually deepenod and increased. His very person and appearance were such as to strike tho attention of the most casual observer In height ho was rather over 6 feet, and so excessively lean that he seemed to bo considerably taller. His eyes were sEGrp and pierc- ing, savo during those intervals of tor por to which have alluded, and his thin, hawklikc nOSO gave his WhOlo ex- pressiOn an air of alertHC Ss and decision. His chin, too, had the prominence and squarCnCss which mark the man of de termination. His hands were invariably plotted with ink and stained with chem icals, yet he was possessed of extraordi- nary delicaGy of touch, as l frequently had occasion to observe when watched him manipulating his fragile philosoph ical instruments.
 The reader may set mo down as a hopeless busybody when 1 confess how much this man stimulated my curiosity and how often l endeavOred to break through the reticenco which he showed on all that concerned himself. Before pronouncing judgment, however, be it remembered how objCctIess was my life and how little there was to engage my attention. My health forbade mo from venturing cut unless tho weather was exceptionally genial, and had no friends who would call upon me and break the mOnotony of my daily exist ence. Under these circumstances eager ly hailed the little mys tery which hung around my companion and spent much of my timo ill en6eavOling to 1nravel it.
 Ho was not studying medicine. He had himself, i'll reply to question, con- fir1ned Stamford's opinion upon that point. Neither did he appear to have pursued any course of reading which might fit him for degree in science or any other recognized portal which would give him an entrance into the learned world. Yet his zeal for certain studies was remarkable, and within eccentric limits his knowledge was so Cxtraordi- narily ample and minute that his obser- vatlOn@ hayo fairly astoundod me- Sure l ly no man would work so hard to attain such precise information unless he had some definite CEd in view Desultory l readers Gro seldom remarkable for the exactnesa of their learning No man burdens his mind with small matters unless he has some very good reason fol doing 20.
 His ignorance wCs as remarkable as his knowledge. Of contemporary litera. ture, philosophy and politics he appear, ed to know next to nothing. Upon my quoting Thomas Carlylo he inquired il the naivcst way who he might be anG what he had done Mysurpriso reached a climax, however, when I found incl dentally that ho was ignorant of tht Copernican theory and of the compost tion of the solar system. That any civi lized human being ill this nineteenth century should not be aware that thu earth travelled round the sun appeared tt be to me such an extraordinary fact tha I could hardly realize it.