50 History of Gutta-Percha Wille.

 

after a while he happened to make a remark which
led to the following question from Willie :—

“Do you understand astronomy, Hector?”

“No. It’s not my business, you see, Willie.”

“ But you’ve just been telling me so much about
the moon, and the way she keeps turning her face
always to us—in the politest manner, as you
said!” :

“T got it all out of Mr Dick’s book. I don’t
understand it. I don’t know why she does so. I
know a few things that are not my business, just as
you know a little about shoemaking, that not being
your business ; but I don’t understand them for all
that.”

“Whose business is astronomy then?”

“Well,” answered Hector, a little puzzled, “I
don’t see how it can well be anybody’s business
but God’s, for 1’m sure no one else can lay a hand
to it.”

“And what’s your business, Hector?” asked
Willie, in a half-absent mood.

Some readers may perhaps think this a stupid
question, and perhaps so it was; but Willie was
not therefore stupid. People sometimes appear
stupid because they have more things to think _
about than they can well manage; while those who
think only about one or two things may, on the
contrary, appear clever when just those one or two
things happen to be talked about.