Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-06-18

ONE of the real bcncfactors of humanity
~ this warm weather is the man who runs
the cardshop at $40 Chestnut street. In his
window he keeps a card with the message,
Kind Thoughts and Good Wishes,' and a
jolly little picture of snow scene. probably
intended as Christmas card, but very re-
freshing to contemplate on hot day.
We sometimes wonder if the pilots of the
Camden ferries know how much envy
them their job?
We notice that the good old Beverly. Walt
Whitman'S favoritc ferryboat. is undergoing
some repairs as shr lies alongside one of the
Camden piers. Probably she is getting ready
to take hand in transporting the July
Fourth crowds. The Beverly always gives
IL secret smile. for she was the scene OF an
incident of pure and unaloycd happiness.
Walt Whitman was crossing on her, one
evening in the spring of 80, when two re-
portcrs from the then newly started Camden
Courier asked him to write down some of his
"reminiscences for that paper. Nothing
pleased Walt more than to be asked TO do
this. In fact nothing pleascs any one more
than to be asked to relate the story of his
life.
Inhappily. not all reminiscers are as in
onrc--he came from Brooklyn, we believe
who used to inhict upon us copious excerpts
from the annals of his very blameless and
uneventful career. At that time we were
student at certain foreign seminary where
there were number of Americans, and this
worthy old gentleman, having retired from
active pulpiteering, had apparently con-
ceived the notion that his young compatriots
abroad might be suffering from homesickness
Al, ann tad Inv
hearing him chirp at length on the subject of
comparative religions. For some unknown
| reason this excellent old man fastened his at
| tention upon us, and would occasionally ap-
| pear in our room, with large fascicle of
| memoranda, to continue his argument
| through the long course of Persian and Sans
! krit and Oriental mythology. We were
| young and bashful and did not know just how
| to Cvadc the garrulous elder. But at last we
| became rcstive. One day, at meeting of
| earnest young men, we seized friend of ours
| whom we knew as a youth of exceeding pa
tiencc and docic simplicity. We tookAhim
| up to the reverend doctor, who was waiting
| to atch some ones eye, and introduced him.
| doctor Trapezoid' we said, 1--WE want to
| present to you friend Godfrey Fruit,
| who is more eager to learn about comparative
| religions than any man we ever met. we
| have given him an outline of what you have
| so dellghtfully explained 10 us, ana you Gun
| continue the argument from the point where
you stopped last night
| The old mans eyes beaconed. Godfrey
| Fruit cast an anguishedr gaze upon us, but it
was too late. We left him in the clutches of
| Doctor Trapezoid, who was already in iux.
| We thought we had pulled something no.
tably amusing We had shifted the history
of comparative religions upon Godfrey, who
1--WE knew was far too long suffering and
gentle ever to be able to escape.
| And indeed it was as we thought Doctor
Trapezoid and Godfrey became inseparable.
Of an afternoon, just as Godfrey was about
to go out to play tennis, along would come
| Doctor TrapezOid with a new sheaf of notes
on the Zend -Avesta or something of that
sort. In spite of Godfreys determined eff
forts, Doctor Trapezoid insisted on spending
a vacation with him. We even heard that
the doctor had taken Godfrey on a trip to
the Levant, paying all his expenses. We
heard a rumor that Godfrey had made the
acquaintance of Miss Trapezoid, the daugh-
ter, and we smiled to imagine what the young
lady must be like.
And then, some years later, we learned the
truth. The young lady-Amanda was her
name-was as fair as the dawn, as lovely as
the rainbow. She had eyes that sh0ne like
stars on an autumn evening. She was slen-
der without being thin, she was humorous
without being laxative, she was creature
of curves and comeliness. Godfrey had fallen
In love with her and she with him. They
!. F.. +