The Republican journal., 1907-01-24
The Congregational Club.
ADDRESSES BY REV. J. w. VAUGHAN
AND GEORGE A. DUMMY. =

regular meeting Wednesday evening,
JAN 10th, had the usual excellent sup
per, followed by addresses by Rev. j.
w. Vaughan, whose subject was'"A
New Workers. Impressions of Maine"
and by George A. Quimby, who spoke
as follows on Some Odds and Ends"
Mr.. President and members of the
Congregational Club:-I have learned
that in choosing subject on which
to speak, one needs to use the same
good judgment and discretion that he
would in drawing up charter or a
will; he wants to cover every possible
loophole and allow himself the widest
scope, and in choosing ''Some Odds and
Ends for my subject, it seems to me
that have pretty we'll fortified my po-
sition, inaSmuch as it gives me rowing
commission, as it were, all over the
United States, while my friend here
must confine himself to the State of
Maine. You know that in every house,
barn, or place of business there is a
drawer, box, barrel, or some receptacle
for things one does not want to throw
away, and yet are hardly good enough
to keep, where you can find anything
from a safety razor to wood cut of
the Landing of the Pilgrims, and these
are called "Odds and Ends" and in
every human mind there is similar
receptacle, and now that you know
where the material for my remarks is
coming from, if you do not find any
thing interesting or instructive you
must not be disappointed.
An old adage says, THE nearer one
~, Ii bnrco tho cafpr no iS -
/ don't know whether it means the per-
son is safer, or the horse, but | assume
it means the person. | never bothered
to find out by experience whether this
were true or not, as | always felt COM
paratively safe if | were out of the
reach of his heels, without getting any
nearer, but | do not think the smile
holds true with a speaker and his au-
dience. | know | feel safer when am
away where ! am not known. | can
get up with all the assurance in the
world, and those present do not know
but that | am somebody, and | can al
most hear them enquiring and wonder
ing what chair | occupy at Harvard,
or of what particular science | am
professor; but with you, well, do not
seem to hear any such enquiry. You
all know, too well, every girl | ever
went home with, many Of you know
whose orchards | have robbed and
some of you know about certain I'M
paid bills and other shady transactions,
and It's impossible for any of you to
see halo about my head, and know
all this better than you do, and | can
only ask you to believe that | did not
covet this job or want to address you
and tried my best to decline, but it is
as impossible to escape the net of the
president of a club, when he starts ont
to fish for speakers, as it is to get away
from a nettle III an underShlrt. a
president of a club is worse than a
smallpox epidemic. You can escape
that by being vaccinated, but there is
no known method of becoming immune
from club president. | know, for I
have been trying it for a number of
wears, and have made a perfect failure
in all my attempts up to and including
rise to the hook and accept the invita-
ton, till l complete my remarks and
sit down, the matter weighs on me like
al incubus. l never saw an incubus,
but | can tell one as quickly as canni-
bal can tel with his eyes shut, by the
flavor, whether he is devouring a Meth
odist or Baptist missionary. An in
cubus is a night bird, and it comes to
YOU after you retire, and rests op your
chest and is a sort of a cross between
a well defined case of seasickness and
acute dyspepsia. Icubuses are not
Matched in incubators, but are the chill
drpn of a worried mind.
| was asked to give my Impression of
New York. Well, to take you right in
to my confidence and be honest with
YOU, do not think that | made much
Of an impressions; certainly not enough
to warrant me in talking about it. |
was there but one day, and such a day
1t showed and rained ia English, French
and Italian. | did 60 into the Waldorf
Astoria. This is not, as you might
think, bar room, but IS an hotel. 1t
is larger than our hotels here. Their
lowest priced rooms are 50, and you can
get COW little room for 800, if you
prefer These rooms have carpets on
the floors, and two chairs, and a nail in
the wall TO hang your coat on. The
clerk told me contidentially that the
house had to take $4,000 day before
the proprietor got cent, and some dull
DAYS he would have to hang around till
after supper before he could get money
enough to 60 to the theater. He also
told me it cost the house last year $780,
900 for broken dishes. | told him |
didn't doubt it, as | knew the hired girl
who broke them, for she worked at our
house few weeks once.
One can hardly realize the immensely
of everything in that wonderful city,
but what struck me most forcibIy was
the recklessness of the tipping system.
Here with US, if we tip our hat to a lady
on the street, we think we have done
the whole thing, but there, one has to
tip everybody; the elevator boy the por-
ter, the messenger boy, the waiter, and
thought the limit was reached when
saw lady pay cabman his fare, and
then give him tip. You go into bar
room. and there, first, you tip the bar
keeper then tip your head, then tip the
glass, and draw the back of your right
hand across your mouth, and the cere-
mony is over l know, for l watched
man do it. And l see by the papers
since nv return, that they are even try
ing to tip the mayor out of ot1ice,-but
they are tip top people there, anyway,
whatever they do. The immensely of
the city so impressed me that | felt
like the boy who came over from ersey
with his mother to see the sights. In
one of the big department stores, in the
crowd. they got separated, and the boy
began to yell at the top of his voice.
H., trioI tn inf