I hadn't been on the Princeton campus but a few days when, one morning, while walking along a street of the village, I saw Dr. Einstein plodding along in the opposite direction on the other side of the street. I had forgotten that this was the year he was to assume his life-time appointment at the Institute for Advanced Study—that he and I both would be “fresh-men” together on the Princeton campus. I paused to watch the great scientist pass by. While so engaged I noticed a young fellow on the other side of the street walking toward Dr. Einstein. When he was about fifty feet from Dr. Einstein he looked up and saw the famous man approaching him. He stopped, and then suddenly darted across the street to where I was standing. I saw Dr. Einstein give a little puzzled shrug.

“Why did you suddenly cross the street when you saw Dr. Einstein approaching you?” I asked my new companion.

“Oh,” he replied, “I thought I should, otherwise I might disturb him while he was contemplating some deep theory.”

On an afternoon a couple of days later, I was again walking along the same street, when I noticed Dr. Einstein plodding along ahead of me in the same direction. I increased my pace to catch up with him, and when I reached him I asked, “May I walk along with you, Dr. Einstein?”