Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-05-18

E. ". Kemble, who used boy from
the Bronx for his model, in draaDing
Huck Finn.
BY LANES W. BOOTH.
IMMORTAL Huckleberry Finn was drawn
from the life by Mark Twain with q
real Hannibal, Mo-, boy as his model.
II But when It came to illustrating the
story of the carefree, lovable country
youth a boy from the Bronx posed for the
artist, who thus became Huck Firms godfather.
And the New York City youth posed not only
for Huck Finn, but for all the other characters
in the book, and helped to make Z. w. Kemble,
the illustrator, famous as q portrayer Of the
Southern darby.
Virtually every schoolboy and grown-up in
America knows what Huckleberry Finn looked
like The mere mention Of the name brings 10
mind q lanky youngster in q battered straw hat
and q pair Of wen worn and well patched over
alls held in place by q lone suspender strap.
He had an old single barrel shotgun In one
hand and cottontail-the result Of o quick
and accurate aim-held proudly in the other.
One may forget many Of the escapades Of
Huck and the runaway Negro, Jim, as they
hoated down the Mississippi on raft, and the
names of Aunt Polly. the Widow Douglas, Judge
Thatcher and those two unique scoundrels the
self-styled King and Duke, may grow dim in
memory, but the picture Of Huck. Is he was
sketched by the famous American artist Of the
eighties and nineties. e. w. Kemble. remains.
And as the boy who posed for Kemble's
illustrations is q prosperous business man today
and sportsman, who takes as much delight
In his hunting and fishing rs did the Huck Of
fiction, it is no breach Of the truth to say:
Huckleberry Finn stil lives.
He Il CORTLAND p. Morris of Audubon N J.
o suburb OF Philadelphia.
MUCH water has passed under the bridge
since the Spring and Summer of 1854
when young Court" Morris trudged daily to
the attic studio Of Kemble ut 150th street and
Watson avenue in what is now the Bronx New
York. and drew the envy Of all his companions
at No. go school by receiving the fabulous
sum Of four dollars o week for just standing
still while the artist sketched pictures of him
Since that time the Adventures Of Huckle-
berry Finn" then just q rough manuscript
typed out on an old-fashioned telegraph, with
a double keyboard, by Mark Twain some ten
years before. has been printed and reprinted
and sold by the hundreds of thousands of copies
I'm all sections Of the globe. It's author has gone
down in history as the greatest humorist
America has produced. And the youngster who
made 1t possible for such vivid picture Of
Huck 10 remain in the public mind through all
the years Is. In addition to being a sportsman
ana member OF numerous clubs the resident
manager In Philadelphia of one Of the largest
commercial establishments of its kind In the
country.
THAT "a week which KembIe gave me
Tor posing seemed like q fortune then" says
Mr.. Morris, who Is now 81. "It was the first
money ever earned and it made me the envy
OF all the youngsters In the neighborhood"
What did you do with the money!" asked
him.
Well he replied with a chuckle what
would fellow do with "a? Nothing except
spend it for candy. And that's Just what
did.
RACK IN 1884," says Mr.. Morris. "Kemble
was doing great deal Of illustrating for
Life. which had come into existence year or
30 before. One Of his contributions was a
picture OF small boy being stung by q bee
Mark Twain had completed the manuscript of
Huckleberry Finn some years before, but had
done nothing about having it published. AT
the time, however, he was casting about for an
illustrator and happened to see the picture It
had action and expression, and bore strong
resemblance to his mental concept of Huck, so
Kemble was engaged to do the illustrating
II was 16-year-old youngster at the time:
IN my last year In No. go school ND I'm Mott
Haven; that's part Of the Bronx today, you
know. We lived at 500 Mott avenue
'Kemble saw me playing In the neighborhood
one day and called me over and asked me If
would pose for him. When he said there would
be "a week In 1t, that settled the matter.
] agreed
THAT was In May and from then until school
closed. the FIRST Of July. went to his studio
every afternoon and posed from until 9
o'clock. When vacation started posed two
and three days o week until October, when