Ihaveneverbeenthroughcollege,butIhadarelativewhowasfamousasateacherofrhetoricinoneofouruniversities,andespeciallyfortakingthenonsenseoutofsophomoricalyoungfellowswhocouldnotsayanythingwithoutriggingitupinshowyandsoundingphrases。IthinkIlearnedfromhimtoexpressmyselfingoodold—fashionedEnglish,andwithoutmakingasmuchfussaboutitasourFourthofJulyoratorsandpoliticalharanguerswereinthehabitofmaking。
Ireadagoodmanystoriesduringmyboyhood,oneofwhichleftalastingimpressionuponme,andwhichIhavealwayscommendedtoyoungpeople。Itistoolate,generally,totrytoteacholdpeople,yetonemayprofitbyitatanyperiodoflifebeforethesighthasbecometoodimtobeofanyuse。ThestoryIrefertoisin\"EveningsatHome,\"andiscalled\"EyesandNoEyes。\"Ioughttohaveitbyme,butitisconstantlyhappeningthatthebestoldthingsgetoverlaidbythenewesttrash;andthoughIhaveneverseenanythingofthekindhalfsogood,mytableandshelvesarecrackingwiththeweightofinvoluntaryaccessionstomylibrary。
ThisisthestoryasIrememberit:Twochildrenwalkout,andarequestionedwhentheycomehome。Onehasfoundnothingtoobserve,nothingtoadmire,nothingtodescribe,nothingtoaskquestionsabout。Theotherhasfoundeverywhereobjectsofcuriosityandinterest。Iadviseyou,ifyouareachildanywhereunderforty—
five,anddonotyetwearglasses,tosendatoncefor\"EveningsatHome\"andreadthatstory。Formyself,Iamalwaysgratefultothewriterofitforcallingmyattentiontocommonthings。HowmanypeoplehavebeenwakedtoaquickerconsciousnessoflifebyWordsworth\'ssimplelinesaboutthedaffodils,andwhathesaysofthethoughtssuggestedtohimby\"themeanestflowerthatblows\"！
Iwasdrivingwithafriend,theotherday,throughasomewhatdrearystretchofcountry,wherethereseemedtobeverylittletoattractnoticeordeserveremark。Still,theoldspiritinfusedby\"EyesandNoEyes\"wasuponme,andIlookedforsomethingtofastenmythoughtupon,andtreatasanartisttreatsastudyforapicture。Thefirstobjecttowhichmyeyesweredrawnwasanold—fashionedwell—sweep。