The Henson Journals

[83]

Tuesday, October 1st, 1912. White Marsh.

I spent the morning in 'realizing' the condition of my books & papers, into which an entire bottle of my tooth powder had been discharged in the course of travel. Then I wrote several letters respecting arrangements: and also to Sir Henry Craik, & Gilbert Box, Kirshbaum & Harold K.

We went for a pleasant motor drive in the afternoon, in the course of which we called on an elderly lady named Miss Chew, who dwelt in an old colonial house of some historic interest. It had been defended by the British troops against Washington. She shewed me with legitimate pride the dents in the floor which had been made by the muskets of the British garrison.

Mrs Toland gave a small dinner–party. I found old Mr Stuart Patterson an extremely interesting man. He told me that there was an intimate connection between the Bar of Philadelphia & the Inns of Court in England. Until 1830 the members of the one received their legal education at the other. He said that the decisions of the English Courts were constantly appealed to in the Pennsylvanian Courts, & carried great weight. He discussed the political situation in England with great intelligence, being indeed unusually well–informed not only by frequent visits to England, but also by a regular & close study of our Parliamentary debates. He thought we were leading the world in a [84] Socialistic experiment. With respect to American politics he was by no means optimistic. He shared the general opinion that Wilson wd get in: Taft was too slow & judicial for the contest, & had missed a great opportunity of winning the support of the honest public by signing the Panama Canal Bill. Rooseveldt, he said, was reported to be shewing signs of mental disturbance, of which his family history contained much: he was said to be giving way to violent explosions of temper, and to be drinking heavily. If there be truth in such statements, which are no doubt exaggerated (though the gravity and apparent knowledge of Mr P. gave them verisimilitude) there can be but one end to Rooseveldt's tempestuous campaign. Mr P. gave me his address, & begged me to lunch with him in Philadelphia on 26th Oct.

[C. Stuart Patterson Esq.

Gracehill

Chestnut Hill

Philadelphia]

He had lost the fingers of his right hand, when he served in the Civil War.

Mr Toland, our host, arrived about 10 p.m. having been absent on an expedition to New Jersey to shoot ortolans, a bird resembling our snipe.

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