Our Philadelphia . air was thick with association. J. and I walked inan atmosi)here of the past, delightfully conscious of it butnever troubling to reduce it to dry facts. We could nothave been as young as we were and not scorn any ajDproachto pedantry, not as lief do without ghosts as to grub themup out of the Philadelphia Library or the Historical So-ciety. We left it to the antiquary to say just where the firstFriends landed and the corner-stone of their first buildingwas laid, just in which Third Street house Washingtononce danced, in which Front Street house Bishop Whiteonce lived.
Our Philadelphia . air was thick with association. J. and I walked inan atmosi)here of the past, delightfully conscious of it butnever troubling to reduce it to dry facts. We could nothave been as young as we were and not scorn any ajDproachto pedantry, not as lief do without ghosts as to grub themup out of the Philadelphia Library or the Historical So-ciety. We left it to the antiquary to say just where the firstFriends landed and the corner-stone of their first buildingwas laid, just in which Third Street house Washingtononce danced, in which Front Street house Bishop Whiteonce lived. It was for the belated Boswell, not for us, tofollow step by step the walks abroad of Pemi, or Franklin,or any of our towns great men. It was no more necessaryto be historians in order to feel the charm of the past thanto be architects in order to feel the charm of the houses,and for no amount of exact knowledge woidd we haveexchanged the romance which enveloped us. Could I have put into words some of the emotion I. ARCH STREET MEETING THE ROMANCE OE WORK 293 felt in gathering together my material, what an article1 would have made! But my words came with difficulty,and indeed I have never had the ready pen of thejournalist, always I have been shy in expressing emotionof any kind. No reader could have guessed from myarticle my enthusiasm as I wrote it. But at least it didget written and my pleasure in it was not disturbed bydoubt. I was too enthralled by what I had to say to realizethat I had not managed to say it at all. IV With the publication of the article our task was at anend, but not our walks together. J. and I had got into thehabit of them, it was a pleasant habit, we saw no reasonto give it up. Sometimes we walked with new work as an were articles about Philadelphia for Our called it work—learning Romany—when we bothw^alked with my Uncle up Broad Street to Oakdale Park,and through Camden and beyond to the Reservoir, wherethe Gypsies camped
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectlithographyamerican
