THE STORY OF AN ENTOMOLOGIST 



people are still of the fine Central New York type, with an 

 added culture brought there by the University. But I think they 

 are rather too aware of the latter. Still, judging superficially from 

 my occasional visits, the atmosphere of the town has changed 

 somewhat. It is no longer quite so much of a country village, 

 but has become metropolitanized to a certain extent. 



In Ithaca, they tell a story about Professor Hiram Corson that 

 is worth repeating. This man who was very much of a scholar, 

 and who had been with the University almost since its begin- 

 ning, was slender and solemn, and had a sepulchral voice. When 

 he allowed himself small conversation he did it in a sepulchral 

 way. The Professor had a keen sense of humor, but no trace 

 of it ever appeared in his face. When, after prolonged efforts, the 

 trolley line was first established, the service for a while was not 

 satisfactory. One day he joined a young lady standing on a corner 

 awaiting a car. She said, "Good morning. Professor Corson. I 

 am greatly annoyed: I have been waiting for a car for twenty 

 minutes." "Madame," replied Professor Corson in a deep voice 

 (he was an extraordinary elocutionist), "I have been waiting 

 for this car for twenty years." 



Here is another anecdote about Professor Corson that has not 

 been told in print. My parents were giving an evening reception, 

 and I, a small boy, was allowed to stay up and stand around in 

 corners. Coffee was always served at these evening affairs, and I 

 happened to be standing near Corson and Professor Prentiss, the 

 botanist, also a tall, solemn and rather lugubrious person, and 

 I overheard this conversation between the two. "Corson," said 

 Prentiss, "what would life be without coffee?" Corson thought a 

 moment and said, as though plunged into infinite sadness, "Pren- 

 tiss, after all, what is life even with coffee?" That conversation 

 I have never forgotten. In fact, it rather saddened my life for 

 several days. 



But later in student days and afterwards I found that both 



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