CHAPTER XVIII 



THE LANGUEDOCIAN SCORPION : THE FAMILY 



Book-knowledge is a poor resource in the problems of 

 life ; assiduous converse with facts is preferable here to 

 the best-stocked library. In many cases, ignorance is a 

 good thing : the mind retains its freedom of investigation 

 and does not stray along roads that lead nowhither, 

 suggested by one's reading. I have experienced this 

 once again. 



An anatomical monograph — the work, indeed, of a 

 master — had told me that the Languedocian Scorpion 

 is big with young in September. Oh, how much better 

 should I have done not to consult it ! The thing happens 

 much earher, at least in my part of the country ; and, as 

 the rearing does not last long, I should have seen nothing, 

 had I tarried for September. A third year of observation, 

 tiresome to wait for, would have become necessary, in 

 order at last to witness a sight which I foresaw to be of 

 the highest interest. But for exceptional circumstances, 

 I should have allowed the fleeting opportunity to pass, 

 lost a year and perhaps even abandoned the subject. | 



Yes, ignorance can have its advantages ; the new is 

 found far from the beaten track. One of our most illus- 

 trious masters, little suspecting the lesson he was giving 

 me, taught me that some time since. One fine day, 

 Pasteur rang unexpectedly at my front-door : the same 



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