me there isn't any
doubt in my mind that when Columbus said the earth was round, you'd have
remarked tutt, tutt, in Spanish." There was silence for a minute, and
then the Idiot began again. "There's another point about this whole
business that makes me tired," he said. "It only goes to prove the
conceit of these Europeans. Here was a great continent inhabited by
countless people. A European comes over here and is said to be the
discoverer of America and is glorified. Statues of him are scattered
broad-cast all over the world. Pictures of him are printed in the
newspapers and magazines. A dozen different varieties of portraits of
him are printed on postage-stamps as big as circus posters--and all for
what? Because he discovered a land that millions of Indians had known
about for centuries. On the other hand, when Columbus goes back to Spain
several of the native Americans trust their precious lives to his old
tubs. One of these savages must have been the first American to discover
Europe. Where are the statues of the Indian who discovered Europe? Where
are the postage-stamps showing how he looked on the day when Europe first
struck his vision? Where is anybody spending a billion of dollars getting
up a world's fair in commemoration of Lo's discovery of Europe?"

"He didn't know it was Europe," said the Bibliomaniac.

"Columbus didn't know this was America," retorted the Idiot. "In fact,
Columbus didn't know anything. He didn't know any better than to write a
letter to Queen Isabella and mail it in a keg that never turned up. He
didn't even know how to steer his old boat into a real solid continent,
instead of getting ten days on the island. He was an awfully wise man. He
saw an island swarming with Indians, and said, 'Why, this must be India!'
And worst of all, if his pictures mean anything, he didn't even know
enough to choose his face and stick to it. Don't talk Columbus to me
unless you want to prove that luck is the greatest factor of success."

[Illustration: "DIDN'T KNOW ENOUGH TO CHOOSE HIS OWN FACE"]

"Ill-luck is sometimes a factor of success," said Mr. Pedagog. "You are a
success as an Idiot, which appears to me to be extremely unfortunate."

"I don't know about that," said the Idiot. "I adapt myself to my company,
and of course--"

"Then you are a school-master among school-masters, a lawyer among
lawyers, and so forth?" queried the Bibliomaniac.

"What are you when your company is made up of widely dive