Many objects of the
greatest value we pass by with an indifferent glance because our
previous knowledge is not sufficient to give us their meaning.
If a dry goods merchant, a horse jockey, and an architect pass down a
city street together, what will each observe? The merchant notices all
the dry goods stores, their displays, and their favorable or
unfavorable location. The jockey sees every horse and equipage; he
forms a quiet but quick judgment upon every passing animal. The
architect sees the buildings and style of construction. If in the
evening each is called upon to give his observations for the day, the
jockey talks of horses and describes some of the best specimens in
detail; the merchant speaks of store-fronts and merchandise; the
architect is full of elevations of striking or curious buildings. The
architect and merchant remember nothing, perhaps, about the horses; the
jockey nothing of stores or buildings. Three people may occupy the
same pew in a church; the one can tell you all about the music, the
second the good points in the sermon, and the third the style and
becomingness of the bonnets and dresses. Each one sees what he has in
his own mind.
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