Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-10-08
aNiseellaneous R@dina.
CREIGHTON A WONDER
How Scotch Lad Challenged Universi.
ty Professors to intellectual Duel.

Crichton. This, it must be admitted, is
very high praise, for the real Admir-
able one was a phenomenon whose
equal is seldom found outside the COW
ers Of "Graustark" or a Fred Fear
naught." Mentally, as we'll as physi-
cally, he had all his contemporaries
gasping for help; he made all the uni
versity professors look like simps and
boneheads, and the ancient hopes fol
dueling honors threw up the sword.
Crichton's real name was James, and
he was the son of the lord advocate OF
Scotland in the reign Of Queen Mary
and James vi. He was born about
1857 or 1900 at Eliock House on Eliock-
burn, Drumfries-shire. His mother was
descended from the Scotch royalty
Crichton received his early education
at Perth school and completed his stu
dies at the University of st. Andrews
where he took his M. A. degree at the
age of IA.
Before he was 20 years old Crichton
had mastered all the sciences and could
speak and write ten languages, in ad-
dition to his own. Not being satisfied
with such puerile attainments as this
he excelled in riding, dancing, fencing
painting, singing and playing on al
musical instruments. OF course, 1t was
Just his luck that football hadn't been
invented then so that he could become
really famous. On leaving college he
went abroad to improve himself by
travelling. His biographers fail to
say in what respect he would improve
himself. He seems to have fairly well
covered the ground.
Anyway, he went to Paris and, ac-
cording to the custom of the hisf
brows, he placed large placards on the
gates of the university, challenging the
professors and learned men of the
city to dispute with him in all branches
of literature, art and science and Offer
ed to give answers in any Of the fol-
lowing languages: Hebrew, Syrian,
Arabic, Greek, Latin, Spanish, French,
Italian, English, Dutch, Flemish and
Slavonic, and either in prose or verse,
at the opinion of his antagonist. This
was rather a large assignment for the
Admirable to give himself, but he did
mt seem to be worried. He spent the
time intervening before the day In
amusements, kind not stated, which
would be an interesting fact. His idea
of amusement may have been deciph-
ering ancient hieroglyphics.
All the professors and wise men
thought this was fruit, and that they
would show this young upstart up. On
the day appointed more than three
thousand persons assembled to see his
discontinue. Fifty masters dug out all
the musty old volumes they could find
and asked him the most intricate ques-
tions imaginable. But Crichton an
swered them all with singular accura-
cy without batting an eye and in the
language required. Four celebrated
doctors Of the church then ventured to
dispute with him on religious topics,
but he refuted every argument they
advanced.
A sentiment Of terror mingled with
admiration at this remarkable exhibit
ton. In vain the schoolmen tried to
trip him up, but they had no luck. The
performance lasted from o'clock in
the morning until o'clock at night.
At it's conclusion, instead of getting
back at him by crying fake, and brand
ing him as a fraud, the professors all
showed that they were good sports by
giving Crichton a diamond ring and a
purse of gold and saluted him with the
proud title of THE Admirable Crich-
toni"
Just to show that he wasn't a grind
and nothing else, he went to fitting
match in the Louvre, and in the pres
ence of the princess Of France and a
great many fair women, he bore away
the ring fifteen times, and broke away
as many lances on the Saracen." At
ter this afternoons recreation he went
to Rome and disputed in the presence
of the pope, when he again put his au-
dience on it's back by his wonderful
endowments. From there he went to
to Aldus Manutius, the younger. For
this he was called "the prodigy of ma
ture" by the Imperialists. Just for that
he delivered a wonderful Grafton to
prove that they hadn't called him this
in. sudden burst of enthusiasm, and
disputed with all the literary guns OF
the city.
Having no more highbrows to con-
quer in Venice, Crichton went to Pa
dua. The professors of the university
assembled to do him honor, and on be-
ing introduced to them he took all the
wind out of their sails by making an
extemporaneous poem in praise of their
fair city and it's beautiful boulevards
the university and the persons present.
Of course. this put him in right at the
very start. He then disputed with them
for six hours and at the conclusion of
this spree delivered an unprecedented
speech in defense of ignorance, just to
make the professors feel good.
Then to prove that he had no hard
feelings against any Of them on ac-
count of their poor showing in the dis
putes, he offered to point out before
the university the innumerable errors
in the philosophy of Aristotle, and to
expose the ignorance Of his commen-
tators, as we'll as to refute the opin-
ions of certain celebrated mathemati-
clans, in the common logical method,
or by numbers or mathematical figures
and by a hundred different kinds of
verses. He performed this stupendous
task with one hand to the admiration
of every one. George Bernard Shaw in
his widest moments never had any
thing on the Admirable.
After defeating a famous philosopher
in a debate Che was awfully long on
debates) Crichton went to Mantua.
There he heard about a famous gladi-
ator who had won renown by killing
several antagonists. This rival for the
limelight got on the Admirable's nerves
and to punish him for stealing all