Title:  The Pleasures of Ignorance

Author:  Robert Lynd

Release Date:  September 12, 2004 [EBook #13448]

Language:  English

Character set encoding:  ASCII

*** Start of this project gutenberg EBOOK the pleasures of ignorance ***

Produced by Ted Garvin, Project Manager, Keith M. Eckrich, Post-Processor and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreaders Team

THE PLEASURES OF IGNORANCE

BY ROBERT LYND

LONDON

Grant Richards Ltd.

ST MARTIN’S STREET

1921

PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY THE RIVERSIDE PRESS LIMITED

EDINBURGH

TO JAMES WINDER GOOD

CHAPTER PAGE

    I. The pleasures of ignorance 11

   II.  The herring fleet 19

  III.  The betting man 29

   IV.  The hum of insects 40

    V. Cats 51

   VI.  May 61

  VII.  New year prophecies 70

 VIII.  On knowing the difference 82

   IX.  The intellectual side of horse-racing 91

    X. Why we hate insects 102

   XI.  Virtue 114

  XII.  June 123

 XIII.  On feeling gay 132

  XIV.  In the train 141

   XV.  The most curious animal 149

  XVI.  The old indifference 158

 XVII.  Eggs:  An Easter homily 167

XVIII.  ENTER THE SPRING 176

  XIX.  The daredevil barber 186

   XX.  Weeds:  An appreciation 195

  XXI.  A juror in waiting 205

 XXII.  The three-halfpenny bit 215

XXIII.  THE MORALS OF BEANS 224

 XXIV.  On seeing A joke 233

  XXV.  Going to the Derby 243