Various / 2008-08-02 00:00:00

"
"I do not understand you, Mr. Jimmy, give me a specimen--"
"Sir?"
"An example--"
"To be sure--here's a spes-a-example; you see, for instance, I put in
the spelling-column, C-r-e-a-m, _cream_, and here in the explification
column, I put the exemplifying illustration--_Unctious part of milk!_"
We had asked, at our first interview, if our candidate was an
algebraist, and his reply was _negative_; but, "he allowed he could
'_qualify_' by the time of election, as he was powerful good at figures,
and had cyphered clean through every arithmetic he had ever seen, the
rule of promiscuous questions and all!" Hence, some weeks after, as I
was passing his door, on my way to a squirrel hunt, with a party of
friends, Mr. Jimmy, hurrying out with a slate in his hand, begged me to
stop a moment, and thus addressed me:
"Well, Mr. Carlton, this algebra is a most powerful thing--ain't it?"
"Indeed it is, Mr. Jimmy--have you been looking into it?"
"Looking into it! I have been all through this here fust part; and by
election time, I allow I'll be ready for examination."
"Indeed!"
"Yes, sir! but it is such a pretty thing! Only to think of cyphering by
letters! Why, sir, the sums come out, and bring the answers exactly like
figures. Jist stop a minute--look here: _a_ stands for 6, and _b_ stands
for 8, and _c_ stands for 4, and _d_ stands for figure 10; now if I say
a plus b minus c equals d, it is all the same as if I said, 6 is 6 and 8
makes 14, and 4 subtracted, leaves 10! Why, sir, I done a whole slate
full of letters and signs; and afterward, when I tried by figures, they
every one of them came out right and brung the answer! I mean to cypher
by letters altogether.
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