The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-01-16
The PHILOSOPHER.

There was once in the dark ages a
boy of great ambition and solid worth.
He did not play the fool and vex his
teachers. He was kind to cats. He
did not even annoy his papa and
mamma. When other boys were Dlav-
ing at tournaments damaging their
clothes, and sometimes losing their
temperS, he never Joined them. He sat
patiently at home studying the signs
of the zodiac and the virtues of herbs
and simpleS. He was devoted to study.
His brain developed rapidly. At the
age of twelve he had a forehead like
the Albert Hail. This made other boys
SO Jealous that they threw things at
him. but he did not care. because he
knew he was doing right. He had
great IDEAS On the whiteWashed wall
of his little bedroom he wrote in large
letters-"CONCEN may
observe in passing that in the dark
ages spelling was more a matter of
individual taste than 1T is now. His
father saw what his little son had done
and took the necessary steps, but he
could not help feeling he was spanking
boy with a future.
The father was but a poor armorer.
and suffered severely from the compe-
tttion of a big cut-price~ establishment
that had just started in the same
street. But he managed to scrape to-
gether enough money to apprentice his
son to an astrologer and general
alchern:st.
The astrologer said frequently and
enphatically that he had never had a
better or more studious apprentice.
Time passed and our young friend was
no longer boy. He was youth, and,
moreover. he was a youth whose
roOmy Uranium and established char
acter for Steadiness attracted the at
tentiOn of the maidens of the district
Girls then were very much as they are
now They would have nothing to say
TO youths with a certain amount of
devil in them however handsome or
however wealthy they might be- What
they liked was moral worth and plenty
or forehead So they threw shy glances
at our young philosopher and they
asked him to tea. Likewise, they sug-
gested that he should take part in
some amateur theatricals Further.
they said papa would be so glad if he
would come over and smoke a pine
with him one night. But the young
man would have none of it.
Other apprentices suggested that he
should take part in games where, al
though skill may have been present.
chance largely preponderated But he
remained firm. He would not make
love; ne would not play cards; he would
not come out and have a drink; he
was wholly devoted to his work. He
managed to scrape up enough money
1scraping ran a good deal in the fam
1ly) to take twelve lessons in the art
of transmitting the baser metals into
gold. 1t was true that the teacher had
AAON yet discovered tie secret h1TnS6lf,
but there was always a possibility of
some useful hints. Nowadays the
guides to success in Journalism. finance
and matrimony are almost invariably
written by the people who have not
attained it. The world has really
changed very little.
1t must not be supposed that the
young mans devotion to the study of
the great secret prevented him from
close attention to his ordinary bust
ness. During the whole time of his
apprenticeship he made only one mis-
take. At the end of his apprenticeship
his master offered him, and he accept
ed, the post of mead of the horosconf
department, and still every moment OF
leisure was given to study. He heard
the music, he heard the dance go on
but for him there was to be no resi-
and no amusement until he had found
the secret which would transmute the
baser metals to gold. His brain de.
velopment had now progressed to sucf
an extent that his hats had to be spe-
cially built for him.
Years passed away and his master
died On his deathbed he called the
studious head of the horoscope depart
ment to him and impaired the grea-
secret Our philosopher now very mid
die aged, went straight off to tn,
kitchen to test it and found that it die
not work. He countermanded the orde1
for a wreath of eVerlastings witt
'Mizpah' on it and refused to attend
the funeral.
After he had been middle aged for :
long period he became old. (Really il
some respects the world has no
changed one little bit.) He had neve
had any love; he had never had an,
fun; and he had not got the secret. l
was very dull. but one must admir-
his strength of purpose. He went on
The secret came at last when ne wa
toothless dodderer, and it came b,
accident. He sat before his furnac
with a biscuit tin which he had jus
converted into 22-carat gold. Wit