flirting, boating, and fishing expeditions in season, evenings out at
restaurants or the theater, and I know not what else. He could sing (a
very fair baritone), play the piano, cornet, flute, banjo, mandolin and
guitar, but always insisted that his favorite instruments were the
jews'-harp, the French harp (mouth organ) and a comb with a piece of
paper over it, against which he would blow with fierce energy, making
the most outrageous sounds, until stopped. At any "party" he was always
talking, jumping about, dancing, cooking something--fudge, taffy, a
rarebit, and insisting in the most mock-serious manner that all the
details be left strictly to him. "Now just cut out of this, all of you,
and leave this to your Uncle Dudley. Who's doing this? All I want is
sugar, chocolate, a pot, a big spoon, and I'll show you the best fudge
you ever ate." Then he would don an apron or towel and go to work in a
manner which would rob any gathering of a sense of stiffness and induce
a naturalness most intriguing, calculated to enhance the general
pleasure an hundredfold.

Yes, Peter woke people up. He could convey or spread a sense of ease and
good nature and give and take among all. Wise as he was and not so
good-looking, he was still attractive to girls, very much so, and by no
means unconscious of their beauty. He could always, and easily, break
down their reserve, and was soon apparently on terms of absolute
friendship, exchanging all sorts of small gossip and news with them
about this, that and the other person about whom they knew. Indeed he
was such a general favorite and so seemingly impartial that it was hard
to say how he came close to any, and yet he did. At odd tête-à-tête
moments he was always making confessions as to "nights" or "afternoons."
"My God, Dreiser, I've found a peach! I can't tell you--but oh,
wonderful! Just what I need. This world's a healthy old place, eh? Let's
have another drink, what?" and he would order a stein or a half-schoppen