The Poet at the Breakfast-TableHolmes, Oliver Wendell
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The Poet at the Breakfast-Table
Holmes, Oliver Wendell
American fiction -- 19th century; Conversation -- Fiction; Poetry
There was no sooner a vacancy on our side of the table, than the Master
proposed a change of seats which would bring the Young Astronomer into
our immediate neighborhood. The Scarabee was to move into the place of
our late unlamented associate, the Man of Letters, so called. I was to
take his place, the Master to take mine, and the young man that which
had been occupied by the Master. The advantages of this change were
obvious. The old Master likes an audience, plainly enough; and with
myself on one side of him, and the young student of science, whose
speculative turn is sufficiently shown in the passages from his poem,
on the other side, he may feel quite sure of being listened to. There
is only one trouble in the arrangement, and that is that it brings this
young man not only close to us, but also next to our Scheherezade.
I am obliged to confess that he has shown occasional marks of
inattention even while the Master was discoursing in a way that I found
agreeable enough. I am quite sure it is no intentional disrespect to the
old Master. It seems to me rather that he has become interested in the
astronomical lessons he has been giving the Young Girl. He has studied
so much alone, that it is naturally a pleasure to him to impart some of
his knowledge. As for his young pupil, she has often thought of being
a teacher herself, so that she is of course very glad to acquire any
accomplishment that may be useful to her in that capacity. I do not see
any reason why some of the boarders should have made such remarks as
they have done. One cannot teach astronomy to advantage, without going
out of doors, though I confess that when two young people go out by
daylight to study the stars, as these young folks have done once or
twice, I do not so much wonder at a remark or suggestion from those who
have nothing better to do than study their neighbors.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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