Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1916-06-08
EDUCATIONAL MISFITS.
Wrong View of Knowing Persons who
Live by sweat Of Brow.

IT'S always rather ptiful to contem-
plate people who have seen better days"
observed the druggist. I'VE now have
u washerwoman who had all kinds of an
education when she was young, and the
language she uses would knock your nat
off. Every now and then she springs
word as long as the cotheslne she hangs
our shirts ON, and it doesn't seem to jar
her in the least
"The other day she said she'd Lave no
kick coming if she only had enough to
read. She just suffered for literature.
She couldn't afford to buy what she want
ed, and the shelves at the public library
are loaded down with tommyrot, and she
viewed the long winter evenings with
dread I told her that if books were all
she needed to make her happy she could
shoe her troubles away, for she was well
come to go to my bookcase and get all
the stuff she wanted
she nearly wept for JOY, and before
she started for home that evening she
dug through the bookcases, and I'll be
hanged if she didn't carry off every heavy
volume in the lot. The best sellers had
no attraction for her. She loaded herself
down with n lot of mody philosophy and
poetry. | tell you felt sorry to see a
, woman of her ability and education re-
duced to washing clothes for a living"
Il feel sorry for her. too said the vii
lage patriarch, but wouldn't engage
her as the family washerwoman. ] don't
like to have superior people working for
me, There must he something wrong in
that woman's makeup or she would put
her education to use in one way or an
other | wouldn't give pcayune for
the education that won't bring in a reve-
nue. You will find before she has worked
| for you long that she's an uncomfortable
woman to have around or I miss my
guess.
Some day when you're Dragging Of a
novel you have just read she'll read you
a lecture on the demoraizing influence
of cheap literature, and urge you to read
/ Gihhon or some other fossil, and then
you'll discharge her and engage a laun-
dress who can't distinguish her own name
when she sees it in letters three teet
high.
Last winter ! engaged a learned man
who was down on his luck to saw some
cordWood and do other chores for me
That man was once professor In a uni
versty and he could speak fluently in
Latin, Greek and several other misht
languages. When | first hired him I an.
tcipated much pleasure in talking with
him, but I found that there's no salts
faction in employing a man who knows
more than do.
This professor was always stoppine
me when | was making remarks to point
out some hdeous grammatical error OF
bad break in the construction of my sen
split infinitives and other things 1 neve,
heard Of before. and made me feel un
easy and embarrassed. He'd lay dow1
his bucksaw or AK and explain the rules
governing our language, until I'd bs
obliged to remind him that / was payine
him 81. 80 a day to whack up stove wood
not to explain the true inwardness Of the
language
mo man is more keen in the pursuit.
of knowledge than ! am. If a friend o.
mine stops me in the middle of an i'm
rassioned discourse to point out that
am getting my grammar all balled up
feel grateful to him and will remembe
the pointers he gives me. for future ref
erence. But it's one thing to receive cor
rection or rebuke from a friend and an
other to he called down by some bacl
number who has failed to make a decen
} living for himself. with all his erudition
especially if the back number Is worlsin,
your bucksaw or washing machine for
= few bits day"-Pittsburg Chronicle Tel
egraph.