Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-01-07
THE CHAFFLNG DISH
A City Notebook


Studious observation of types seen in
Broad Street Station during the evening
yields the following analysis:
Main Line commuters. Mostly ladies with
very large fur coats and very small feet.
They walk fast, with an air of great de-
termination and are difficult to assess merely
from rear view.
Bridal couples, extraordinarily young.
Mostly going to Emira and Penn Yam.
Men going to Wiliamsport and Erie wear
soft hats, pushed down over resolute brows.
Men going to Harrisburg wear derbies,
tilted very far backward over their ears
Commuters to Media carry green lawyers
bags.
Men going to Chicago on the limited are
the object of much respectful attention by the
porters. These men all wear shell spectacles
and take with them two small, narrow suit
cases of very rich brown leather. One con-
tains silk pyjamas and copy of That's
Me All Over. Mabe," and IA tube of shaving
cream (never shaving soap). The other
contains, we are persuaded ''the papers,"
They all say, with the sharp decision of i'm
portant business men, "I'll be ack on Fri
day" The first thing they do on reaching
Chicago is to send telegram saying Back
Tuesday evening
Ladies seeing other ladies off to Buffalo
and Boston. They are very keen on seeing
the last of the departing friend. After
the latter has gone through the gate they
stand with rather appealing usefulness,
gazing through the iron railing. 'There she
goes; see, just getting on" they say, savoripg
the last pang of parting with greedy an
guish. Their eyes are full of sweet sorrow.
If they are young, lovely and frost tinted as
TO cheek. one has an impulse to comfort
them. They may be recognized a few min
utes later taking very cold nut sundae at
the drug stoft and removing the little smudge
on the left side of their nose with lilliputian
handkerchief. using small round mirror
which is inside their handbags. Then thew
go off along Fifteenth street and brighten
their souls at the shop windows.
Very young men, with straps at the backs
of their overcoats and long pointed brown
shoes. These shoes are highly polished. but
the soles seem very thin. They are made TO
lace all the way up. The confidence with
which these young men survey life and its
problems is great solace to one who some
times is little uncertain as to the destiny
of man on this planet. These young men are
so sure about life, it must be all right. They
are very carefully shaven and seem quite un-
abashed. Apparently they are not travelling
anywhere. After a mysterious disappcaranco
(perhaps to the moviesD they reappear about
IL p. N. in the lunch rooms, where thcv
drink very hot coffee and eat egg sandwiches
The brides of petty officers in the navy
These are mostly on their way with their
husbands) to Mauch Chunk and gaze with
delightful alteration upon their rather en-
barrassed lords. They seem yearning for an
admiral to pass by, so that they can disdain
him.
Boarding school girls from Bryn Mawr, in
wooIcn stockings and low, brown, heelless
shoes. They seem to spend the whole eve
ming in going up and down the main stair
way, looking for the chaperon, who is
struggling to get out of the phone booth
where she has caught her mesh bag in the
hinge of the door.
Fred w, Breitinger. our special legal adj
wiser, sends us "A corking wheeze. but-well-
after all-of course everybody admits
still
Dove Dulcet offers new definition of
poetry Poetry, he says, is the kind of thing
you put on paper because you would be en-
barrassed to say il aloud to your best male
friend.
We often wonder, what does a billiard
champion do when he's off duty?
8lN.tt A.a SD(,J{ AfpIN