Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1902-11-22
THE PHILOSOPHER.
NY BARRY PAIN.

As an instance Of what / have been
saying, he said, 1T was years before
could roll cigarette himself
He tore two papers from the book in
stead OF one He separated the two pa
pers laboriously and with difficulty. In
doing 50 he dropped MS open pouch, and
the tobacco spread itself on the floor.
As he was endeavoring to collect it, the
draught from the window swept the two
loose papers into the fireplace. The young
man watched him with interest; he prof
fered his cigarette case.
''No, thanks" said the professor. 81
have at last taught myself to roll a cigar
cite, and do not wish to get out Of prac-
tice To resume, this manual dexterity
unless it is, as in my case, a very diff
cult aequisition-may be taken as almost
certain evidence of an incapacity for abb
stract thought. On the other hand, show
me man who is clumsy with his fingers,
who cannot use the simplest apparatus
without laundering, and i will show you
a great thinker. Blame i'll" he added
softly, as he broke his third cigarette pa
per and started afsesh
Yet some chaps who can use their
hands are supposed to be clever" said
who perform delicate operations.
"Cleyerness of a finite, materialistic,
worthless kind. No man who could, say,
prepare microscopic slides could ever by
any chance be a metaphysician. | was
watching you at tennis this afternoon /
do not understand the game, but | take
K that it consists in part in hitting
ball, and, moreover, in hitting it with
some regard for force and direction"
That is it, roughly speaking" said the
young man.
You seemed to me to be good at ii,
said the professor, severely
Not particularly" said the young
man. I'm a crock compared to some Of
them"
Certainly" said the professor, land
blaine it again" His half-made cigarette
had dropped from his fingers, and the
work had to begun once more. "You are
wise to recognize your limitations. 1t has
frequently happened to me to give the
converse of that diagnosis, and to detect
the greatness of mans mind from OBJ
serving his extraordinary clumsiness. All,
j remember one Casa sad case in some
respects but interestingl"
The young man saw that he was to ask
to be told about it, and did 50 obedient-
iy. He was modest young man, and
respected age.
One day | was in one of the London
parks. There We're few people about in
that part of it, it CHANGED. There | saw
a young fellow, of about your age. He
had with him a small hand camera He
threw this into the air, took savage
kick at it and missed. He repeated the
operation again and missed. Then he
put the camera down and jumped on it,
until it was completely wrecked. He
walked away from it and took chair
under the trees. There he sat with his
head thrown back and his eyes closed.
Now what does that look to you like?"
Well,-er-drunk?" suggested the
young man, hesitatingly.
Il am ashamed that the same suspi-
eion did for an instant cross my own
mind However, / took the next chair to
him, and we soon began to talk. Kindred
souls recognize one another rapidly He
had very soon told me the whole story.
IL appears that the camera he had is one
OF the simplest cameras made; the adver-
tisements assert-and, | believe, with
truth--that child can work it, This
young fellow-his name was Smith-un-
derstood the theory of the camera COM
pletely. Yet he had just taken six snap
shots on the same plate. 1t was not the
first or the second time that he had done
this 1t was his habtual blunder. 1t al
ways eXasperated him, and that morning
1t had gone beyond endurance. That was
why he had broken up the camera. 1t
seems to me- he said, that / can't touch
the simplest apparatus without making
fool OF myself. | am only safe when |
am sitting still with my eyes shut If you
Will excuse my depression, can you tell
me why the gummed edge of this paper
adheres freely to my fingers, but not to
the other edge of the paper?"
Possibly you've licked the wrong side"
1T may be so; that had not occurred
to me. Well, this confession of Smiths
made an impression upon me. / drew my
bow at venture. And what is your
theory OF the hereafter" | asked. He
began on it at once. That was at IL in
the morning, and we sat there talking
until six in the evening The man was
Marvellous miracle, He had not any
remarkable range of NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. the
contrary. There were many books, espe-
cially in the German language, with which
he should have been familiar, but he was
not. But there was the right TYNE of
mind. His theory was brilliant and au,
dacious, and to the best Of my knowledge
quite original. / need hardly say that /
disagreed with it in toto-my own theory
Is, believe, well known. But | urged
hum 10 work it out fully, and he promised
me he would. The last time | saw MIN
that night he had just fallen into the
mud while attempting to enter an omni-
bus IN motion-his was no mind for finite
matters
Did he work it out?" asked the young
man. patiently, suppressng yawn.
He did not, 1t is lost-unless | do
something with il myself. He died in an
asylum few months afterwards. All!
You will observe that I have now made
my cigarette. 1t looks, perhaps. a little
unshapely, and | fear it will take some
tlm4to dry"
Have one Of NINE in the meantime"
said the young man
Thank you" said the Philosopher. al
think that after All Dprhans | will - ~