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PARTISAN REVIEW
this who le ma tter into th e hands of a committee of th ree
obj ective members of the audience."
"Oh ," said Cornelius to himself, " they a re going to start the
whol e obj ective and subj ective business again ."
There was a pause whil e three members of the audience
were solicited
to
act as judges. T he assistant manager, still
a ttempting to maintain hi s benevol ence, o ffered free thea ter ,
ti ckets for th e following week as rewa rd for jury service.
A
dentist, a lawyer, and the owner of a haberdashery store came
forward. The dentist, a sympa theti c man , immedi a tely o ffered
to
fix Weinga rten 's teeth cheap , for a nominal sum. The o ld man
ignored the offer, offending the denti st.
"Give me my money," he said weakl y, almost an echo of hi s
fo rmer voice.
The committee was given the di sputed card and went in to a
conference in a corner. But before they h ad been there long, an
enterprising usher found another card on whi ch the one had
been printed with a blur next to it. The card was brought up to
the stage and in a moment everything was se ttl ed once and for
a ll.
The assistant manager announced the di scovery. T he law–
yer announced the committee's decision. The audi ence ap–
plauded, sa tisfied tha t justice h ad been don e. Casper Weingarten
sa t down on the stage again . Cornelius looked help less ly about
him, and the audi en ce began to cl ap and hoo t.
"Why don ' t you go home," said one.
"Ca ll a cop, " said ano ther.
Cornelius stepped forth and said, pa instaking ly, "Can ' t you
see th at the fact tha t two cards have the same blur on them
proves nothing.
It
may be a one in both cases . You are permit–
ti ng yourselves to be deceived. "
But the audi ence had decided once and fo r a ll. It was now
intent upon going on with the game and then on with the show,
and answered Co rnelius by hoo ts and whistles. The ushers came
forward .
And then , threatened by the u shers, Co rn elius made th e
worst mistake.
" Be logical," he said angril y, "don ' t be hopelessl y middl e
