Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-07-31

and skill. When the Judge had moistened
his nightly labors with few bottles of
beer, it was well not to engage him In any
contest of strength, for he was apt then 10
forget that he could Guido any two Of us,
and in pure, exuberant benevolence he
would pick up a man and hold him in both
arms toward the ceiling. The victim OF
this little exercise always had an appre-
hension that the Judge in mere playfulness
might drop him out of a window, but no
such untoward event ever happened.
Humphreys life before he took to
journalism had been varied and curious.
As a boy he had been sohoolniate OF
Judge George Gray and John II. Rodney,
all three having been born in New Castle
in lSlO While vet young man me had
gone to sea on "a whaling voyage. His
accounts Of that adventure We're VIVID and
highly picturesque, but not such ms to IN
cline a suucamsh person TO the career OF a
whalcr Some time or other, probably
after the whaling voyage, he found nm
self in Philadelphia without employment
and almost without money. To meet the
situation he hired ms a fIcsc painter nj
Green's Hotel. Philadelphia, "a famous
hostclrle at that time IN course OF com
plotion. He was a proficient house painter,
having picked up the trade. but knew
nothing about frcsco work. SO telling the
boss TO whom he had applied that he could
not start in until afternoon. ne lodged
around the place all morning. carefully
avoiding the boss but keeping observant
watch on the operations of the workers
In this manner nc SO completely noted
how the men mixed and handled their
paints as to be able to take his place
that afternoon rs full-nedged froscoer
and TO render capable service. lie and his
fellow-palnters found n supply of bananas
in the building and largely lived upon the
frat His comrades finally struck iGT
higher wages, and Humphrey, though con
tent with his pay, struck with the rest
That seems TO have ended his career rs
frcsco painter. An aftermath OF the cx-
perience is o local subject landscape m
oils. executed by Humphrey and still
gwen position on the wall of the present
editorial sanct,m.
When Humphrey came to Every EVEN
ing be was married man with several
well-grown children He made his home IN
the southwestern part of the city, where
he had his books, his beloved telescope,
and such domestic comforts rs a faithful
and industrious wife could supply As ne
seemed to work both night and day, nc
home life of comparatively brief intervals.
II must. nevertheless have been com
Portable home for wife and children, Tor
Humphrey was without vices, and of mex
haustible patience and kindness. Now
and then he betrayed IN his writing a
somewhat humorous sense OF domestic
doings That was before the day OF the
veastcake in tin foil. and Humphrey wrote
an article on domestic custom IN tho mat
ter of yeast He declared that super
tradition forbade any housekeep-
or tn blIy liquid Yeast from q bakery less
than half a mile from home Whatever
the reputation of the bakery IN the home
block. somebody had to go pail IN hand,
twice a week or more, regardless OF wealth
ct or convenience, and fetch penny
worth of Yeast from the more distant
place OF supply Perhaps Humphrey
himself had made these pilgrmages under
vifely lnsistence AZ announcement tunes,
when he would rather have read good
book or studied the stars. BE that as II
NAV. he wrote of the matter with agreeable
humor and with no trace Of rancor. Do
nestle life with Humphrey may have had
its awkward moments. for his interests
were remote from the soothing common
places of everyday existence, but II Is
hard 10 imagine the judge moved to veNa-
ton even upon such domestic field days as
came with the housekeeping season. He
accepted life as he found IT with tne
of contentmenf, and took
refuge from its petty annoyanccs IN work, |
and in his own varied intellectual inter |
csts
left a widower somewhat late IN life, |
remarked and moved with his |
family to Florida, hoping to realize his |
ong-cherished dream of ending his days as |
an orange grower He put his savings into |
an orange grove, but misfortune overlook |
him, and death soon followed. He had |
quit journalism in the early fftles, con-
fdently expecting to live to be 100
Humphrey hes now in the sandy soil of |
his last earthly home, and his sole title TO /
anne after q lifetime of labor Is IN the /
hands of those who knew him well, labored |
" his side, and realized then as now, the
essential richness of his sound and simple /
nature Those of his old acquaintance
Who knew him will recall, as they read
hose lines, the great erect figure of the /
nan in which slumbered his harmless
physical strength, his huge, old black felt
rat covering seven and seven-eighths
lead his rusty clothes, worn with non
halant ease. his friendly smile, his keen,
hough kindly glance, his rich, gentle
'oice, his ample and ready, though I'M
,stentatious knowledge " no of all that
new the man can think of him with