Foxton Literary and Debating Society.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXVII, Issue 3551, 25 July 1905, Page 2

Foxton Literary and Debating Society.

“ POPULAR MISCONCEPTIONS.’* ANOTHER ADDRESS BY MR . -NOTT. The term .“ popular - miscoocepw lions ” conveys no very clear mean-* ing to the uninitiated mind. A discourse on the subject might relate only to the lighter side of human nature, and shatter some of the little foibles 5 to which most people air» prone- Or it might be ( of a more' soriodd type, and treat iff the graver faults and shortcomings ot the present generation. Mr Nott in a happy mutinCr combined both aides of |h« subject, and the result was an addrasl of a popular ye I high class order. The lecturer prefaced f/;s address fcy staling what had induced him to 1 take the- subject he had Oboson, dome years ago ho had occasion to visit a young men’s mutual improve"* rnent sodoty, large in numbers, but devoid of speaker-:. The young men if they spoke at all did go in a Tory halting and coramonp'ace fashion. To remedy this he delivered the gam* Return to them, but, us the speafc? facetious'y said, without having any appreciable effect, Ho hoped be would not tread on anyone’s corns this evening) but if he was compelled r,o do so, bn would tread as lightly M possible " Mr Nott then pointed out that many people end avoar to cover their ignorance by an assumption of knowledge,' and gave several in* stances of this littD failing. Dealing" ;,hon with the causes of ignorance, he attributed it to he due lo two thing—shasty judgment and itf*perfect observation. A young mao enters into a sweep-stake, and says to himself, “ If T pay so much, I might win so much,” without taking into account the fact that thousands of other people were looking at the , matter in precisely the same light, and that his chance was only one out of thousands. His error was the result of hasty judgment. Mr Nott then exp’ained the fallacious theory that the moon has an influence on the weather, apropos of which he related some hunrv’ous anecdotes. The notions that uMi caught in tne moonlight were poisonous, and that people are affected -by the moon and become moonstruck, were also shown to be erroheus ; and passing on the speaker dealt with some of the misconceptions of onr fore-fathers, instancing John Wes] ( ,y’s euro for rheumatism and Sir K. Digby’s sympathetic powders Mr Nott than proceeded to “knock the ’ bottom. ” out of several phrases that have crept into our language and are generally accepted as irrevocably true, such as “ ignorance is bliss,” and “ The exception proves the rule.” To'illustrate this latter, stock'phrase,’the lecturer arrayed several bottles on the table, and explained in a simple yet, convincing manner the incorrectness of the proverb. Tn concluding Mr Nott referred to, mesmerism, and showed the wrong ideas that people am apt to get, on this subject. The person who m-Htod the rff.rts of "another to mesmerise him generally rejoices at the fact as evidence of his strong wil'-power, whereas, as the speaker pointed .out, the reverse is actually the case, i.e. such a person is of weak intellect. An illustration ot unexplainable mesmerism brought tie lee-urn to a close.

A vote of thanks to the lecturer, moved by Rev, Peatheryton, was carried with approbation, and a few remarks by tlpe chairman (Mr ]s. Mo ire) terminated the evening. The drawback- to an otherwise pleasant evening was the smallness of the audience. ' 1