Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-06-11
English Author is
a Chimney Sweep.


Special Correspondence of The Star.
LONDON, May 81, 1905.
There have been learned blacksmiths be-
sides Elihu Burritt. the famous American
one; and learned masons and cobblers even,
and various other humble callings have been
associated with scholarly fame, but until
Walter Hunt was discovered the other day
one never had heard of a learned chimney
sweep.
Certainly Mr.. Hunt can claim to be the
first member of the sooty brotherhood who
ever published book. 1t was that which
led to his being found out. Are We a De-
Ginning Nation?" is the title of the work.
There can be no doubt that much learning
and patient research has been involved in
it's composition 1t is brimful of quotations
from and references to Latin and Greek
authors and modern physiological experts
and it bristies with statistics and figures
But it is not the sort of book that attracts
the average reader 1t is hardly likely that
copies enough will be sold to justify Mr.
Hunt to abandoning chimney sweeping for
authorship. However that does not bother
him much. Such devotion as he has shown
to learning is never inspired by the mere
desire to make it pay.
He is forty-eight years old, short of fg-
ure, gray haired and gray bearded, but stili
strong and agile. For thirteen years he
was sailor in the British navy. Then he
came ashore, and for a few years was at
tached to the London fire brigade. all the
members of which are required to be ex-
sailors, because that is supposed to afford
a guarantee that they are spry on their
legs and good climbers.
1t was while in the fire brigade that the
thirst for knowledge seized upon him. Up
to that time, as he acknowledged, he had
not differed much from the ordinary man
who earns his living by manual toll But
when the thirst had once gripped him he
found that there was no getting rid of it.
He had to crafty 1t or submit to having
life made grievous burden to him. 1t
was that he might find opportunities for
study that he turned chimney sweeper.
At first glance it would seem that he
could hardly have selected a calling more
Ill suited to the cultivation of scholarly
tastes But Hunt knew what he was
about. He had his eye on the treasures of
the British Museum. They are accessible
only to those who can conduct their re-
searches by daylight. At night, which is
the only time when most folk who have to
work for living can find leisure for study,
the great reading room is closed. There
fore Hunt decided that he would earn his
living by some work which would give him
plenty of daylight leisure. Because it Is
such unpleasant, messy work and personal
contact with chimney sweep is objection
able to them, most folk insist on having
their chimney swept before they turn out
of bed AS a rule the chimney sweeps
days work Is done before that of the aver
age business man begins. 1t was that con-
sideration which made Mr.. Hunt turn
chimney sweep.
He settled in back street of Streatham.
one of the districts of London, where most
of the inhabitants are fairly well off and
don't neglect their chimneys. AS soon as
his work was done he would change his
clothes: give himself thorough washing
and HE away to the British Museum. No
one ever recognized in the neatly-clad,
keen-eyed, clear-skinned voracious de-
vourer of books the soot-begrimed individ-
ual who devoted the early morning hours
to cleaning Streatham's chinneys.
When in the navy, voyaging in far-away
seas. Hunt had noticed how contact with
Europeans caused deterioration among saw
age races. and in random fashion had spec
ulated upon 1t a great deal When he be-
gan reading for purpose the subject again
attracted him, but along much broader
lines. For years he devoted himself to a
study of the relations between national mo-
rails and national vigor and vitality Find
ing that much valuable data could be OBJ
tained from French scientific works which
had never been translated into English. he
attenued al evening CONTINUATION school
| until he had acquired a SUFFICIENT mastery
of French to be able to read the French
books dealing with the subject. He Is now
setting about mastering Greek thoroughly
| that he may read Plato and Homer in the
original.
| This chimney -sweep scholar Ia far from
being a mere bookworm. Nature attracts
| him as much as does the British Museum
/ In the slack season for his trade-the sum-
mer time. when people need fires only for
/ ~ Il, bicUrlo ,1ar
| far over the country, content with plain
| fare and humble lodgings and not above
doing an occasional odd job for his bed and
board. He has acquired a good philosophy
as well as scholarship, and has entirely es-
capped that complaint which spells so many
tself-made men-the ''swelled head" He sees
| nothing extraordins9s In what he has done.
with perseverance," he says. anyone can
/ get knowledge In these days. 1t Is only g
question of getting started.