Page:Morley--Travels in Philadelphia.djvu/20

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The very first thought that came into his nob
(After buying some buns) was to look for a job.
So up from the ferry
Our Benjamin stalked,
And hungrily, very,
Ate buns as he walked.
A certain blithe flapper,
A whimsical lass,
Observed the young strapper
And thought he lacked class,
And so, in the manner of feminine strafing,
The superior damsel just couldn't help laughing;
But Ben, unabashed by this good-natured chaffing,
Although young Deborah
Was certainly rude,
He thought he'd ignore her
And cheerfully chewed.
With the best kind of repartee later he parried her,
For seven years afterward he went and married
her.

Well, you all know of his varied successes,
Electrical hobbies and his printing presses.
See how his mind, with original oddity
Touched and found interest in every commodity:
Busy with schemes to domesticate lightning,
Inventing a stove for home warming and brightening,
Scribbling a proverb, a joke or a sermon,
Publishing too (what I am loth to mention
For fear of its bringing up any dissension)
Printing, I say, a newspaper in German—
Also, for which he's remembered by most,
He founded the Saturday Evening Post,
For which Irvin Cobb has consistently praised him—
And its circulation would much have amazed him!