he took the answer literally, and understood it soberly.

Immediately afterwards, the officer's famous reply to Pope was told to
S----. About ten days after this conversation, S---- said to his
sister, "I wonder, M----, that people don't oftener laugh at crooked
people; like the officer who called Pope a note of interrogation."

_M----._ "It would be ill natured to laugh at them."

_S----._ "But you all praised that man for saying _that_ about Pope.
You did not think him ill natured."

_Mr. ----._ "No, because Pope had been impertinent to him."

_S----._ "How?"

_M----._ "Don't you remember, that when the officer said that a note
of interrogation would make the passage clear, Pope turned round, and
looking at him with great contempt, asked if he knew what a note of
interrogation was?"

_S----._ "Yes, I remember that; but I do not think that was very
impertinent, because Pope might not know whether the man knew it or
not."

_Mr. ----._ "Very true: but then you see, that Pope took it for
granted that the officer was extremely ignorant; a boy who is just
learning to read knows what a note of interrogation is."

_S----_ (thoughtfully.) "Yes, it _was_ rude of Pope; but then the man
was an officer, and therefore, it was very likely that he might be
ignorant; you know you said that officers were often very ignorant."

_Mr. ----._ "I said _often_; but not _always_. Young men, I told you,
who are tired of books, and ambitious of a red coat, often go into the
army to save themselves the trouble of acquiring the knowledge
necessary for other professions. A man cannot be a good lawyer, or a
good physician, without having acquired a great deal of knowledge; but
an officer need have little knowledge to know how to stand to be shot
at. But though it may be true in general, that officers are often
ignorant, it is not necessary that they should be so; a man in a red
coat may have as much knowledge as a man in a black, or a blue one;
therefore no sensible person should decide that a man is ignorant
merely because he is an officer, as Pope did."

_S----._ "No, to be sure. I understand now."

_M----._ "But I thought, S----, you understood this before."

_Mr. ----._ "He is very right not to let it pass without understanding
it thoroughly. You are very right, S----, not to swallow things whole;
chew them well."

_S----_ looked as if he was still chewing.

_M----._ "What are you thinking of S----?"

_S----._ "Of the man's