Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-01-23
THE DAILY CHIT-cHAT.
By Ruth Cameron.

An English judge has made a list of
fifteen of the most common mistakes of
life, from which list / have occasionally
quoted In these letters. Today I want
to add one which the judge left out. Ny
sixteenth most common mistake is this
ITO think people are barbarians because
they do not happen to know the particu-
lar things which you know,
In Jane Austen's Mansfield Park, .
when the little country cousin comes to
live at the great house her wealthy cou-
sins are astonished at her ignorance and
constantly run to their mother, saying,
Dear mamma, only think, my cousin
cannot put the map of Europe together
or my cousin cannot tell the principal
rivers in Russia. or she does not know
the difference between water colors and
crayOns. How strange! Did you ever
hear anything SO stupid?"
In the end it turns out that Fanny, al
though she may be ignorant of the rivers
in Russia or the distinction between
crayon and water colors, knows a great
many things that her cousins do not, and
is developed along lines in which they
are painfully deficient. incidentally, as
any one who has ever visited Mansfield
Park will remember, Fanny eventually
wins OUT to use a slangy but ex-
pressive term.
>
sins at the great house is the attitude
which many much older and should-be
wiser folks are prone to assume when
they find that people are ignorant in
any line in which they themselves are
proficient.
Say that you are well versed in litera-
ture, and in conversation with friend
chance to quote from Rossetti. and your
friend lets out the fact that he never
heard of Rossetti. With what holy hor-
81 IT. = 1vv
you set him down as an impossible ig-
noramus. All. my friend, suppose he
should begin to talk about the fnterna-
tional peace situatiOn-surely something
as vital and wonderful as even Rossettis
poetry-and should mention great names
and events that were all as Greek to
you, wouldn't he have as great right
to set you down as impossible and a
barbarian?
There are so many thousands of
branches on the tree Of knowledge and
SO many millions of twigs on each branch
that if a man were to live all of Me-
thuselah's 969 years, and apply himself
to learning all the days of his life. there
is no doubt that he would still die igno-
rant on many subjects.
Doubtless some young sprig, who was
particularly interested in some tiny twig
on the tree of knowledge, might start to
talk to this supposititious person on this
particular subject, and, finding that he
hucW HOliiiIlS doOuC IL, set IiliH uoWH DIS
an ignoramuS.
If you look very long and intently at
one object and then shut your eyes you
can still see that object everywhere.
great many of look long and in
tently at the particular objects that in
terest us, and close our eyes to other
interests so tightly, that we see our own
interests everywhere and cannot compre-
bend those who do not share with us
this distortion of vision.
There are not many men in this world.
after all" says David Grayson, that ii
will not. pay us to go to school to. for
something or other"
If we would only remember this truth,
and be willing to go to school to other
people occasionally, instead of insisting
on always playing teacher ourselves, l
think we should make the sixteenth mis-
take less often.