St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1903-06-27
IGNORANCE IN HIGH PLACES.
Prominent People who Have Had TO
Confess They Were sim In In
telIectual Darkness.

One is amazed at the amount OF ig-
norance which exists in high places.
People of light and leading, general
ly supposed by the man in the street
to know everything, often air their
lack of knowledge. Mr.. Gladstone
once nonplussed the commons by
| suggesting that not half dozen OF
his hearers could tell him. on the
snur of the moment, the exact loca-
ton of the Bay of Fuady. That same
| evening a member asked the question
of 60 fellow M. Ps. and not single
one could answer it correctly, says
Golden Penny.
Curiously enough, Mr.. Gladstone
himself afforded an illustration of
ignorance. A long time back the
G.. o. NJ. used the expression bag
and baggage to describe the policy
he suggested regarding Turkey, but
he was not aware whence the phrase
came. Later on he attended per-
Torrance of "As You Like 1t, and
when Touchstone proposed to depart,
"If not with bag and baggage, at
least with scrip and scrippage, Mr..
Gladstone was astonished for mo-
ment and then laughed vigorously.
He afterward told friend that up to
that time the origin of the expression
was unknown to him.
That one of our most literary
statesmen should have lived to man
hood unacquainted with that famous
book, atom Browns School Days"
almost passes understanding. A ref
erence was made to the work by
gentleman in 1894 when talking to
Lord Rosebery, who frankly con-
fessed that he was ignorant OF the
existence of such book. That very
day. however, his lordship obtained
copy and read it through at one sit
ting. So much enthusiasm did it
excite in the reader that he wrote to
Tom Hughes flattering letter ask
ing for an authors autograph copy.
John Morley, too, displayed his In
accurate knowledge of natural his
tory in a speech not long ago. He
described the chameleon as ga MIN
BILE creature with a prehensile tail,
which changes its color with the
skies and feeds upon air. The right
honorable gentleman was wrong in
every detail of the animal except its
tail, which is prehensile. It is by no
means nimble. as it creeps along the
ground in most sluggish manner;
It takes its colors from the ground,
green leaves, or boughs of trees. 1t
is but fable to say that the animal
feeds. upon air; when opportunity
comes, it is a very solid eater, shoot
ing out Its long tongue and gather
ing in mouthful Of flies.
From particulars lately divulged it
appears that the late Lord Randolph
Churchill reached mans estate with
out ever seeing or reading play of
Shakespeare's. Many years ago, when
Irving was playing Hamlet" in Dub
lin, Lord Randolph went to the ac-
tors dressing room, and the visitors
became much interested in the story
of the play, which Irving narrated
to him. As he was leaving he admit
ted he had never seen a Shakespear-
can play, or even read one. Lord
Randolph, however, endeavored to
make up for his ignorance by seeing
Hamlet" on each of the three sue
ceeding nights. The following Sum
day the actor 1unched with the
statesman and his wife. During the
meal Churchill said: "Mr. Irving,
have to thank You for as great a
boon as ever man conferred on an
other. assure you knew nothing
of Shakespeare, but have now made
up for lost time, and I feel that you
have introduced me to new world"