The Delaware herald., 1854-04-12
Sflisttuaneous,
Editor. .in.Chiefr

10 W says Iilc C4ulCOi
is man many acquaintances. 1t is case
of wonder, both to clerk and devil, how he can
remember SO many names and faces He does
not remember them but upon all his visitors
and they drop in at the rate of one minute
he bestows kind of civility, which is emphatic
but general, insnuating though non-committal.
| If he must know who man is, he says, "Let
me see, how do you spell your name!" And
this sort of maneuvring is strictly necessary.
For, consider-a young gentleman who had a
piece of poetry in the paper, the year before
last, comes to the city and calls upon the Editor
To that young gentleman the insertion Of his
| "Lines" was an event, an era. His soul boun-
ded within him when he saw them in print
He showed them exultingly to his mother, sent
a copy to his sweetheart, and handed them
round on the ''stoop" of the village store, and
| has thought better of himself ever since. To
the editor the printing OF those lines was no
event at all. He has forgotten them and their
author. Yet that young gentleman leaves the
office under the full conviction that he is dear
to the editorial heart great in the editorial eyes,
and-Worst mistake ofall-welcome to the edi-
torial sanctum. This is brought about by no
hypocrisy on the editor part. Broad and gen.
eral cIvIllty does the business and does it quick
ly.
Knowing everybody, both helps and hinders
the editor. 1t keeps him supplied with facts
and ideas, but it cramps the free expression of
his op inions. Can an editor write freely of an
author, an artist, or politician whom he cor
daily shook hands with yesterday, and wall
meet at dinner at this evening! Human nature
is human nature. That the editor is utterly IN
corruptble by money, we know; but he is rot
proof against The greater potency Of friendly
ieeling-which is a pity.
The Editor looks upon all things, subjects,
events, and persons in the light OF "material''
for articles. A catastrophe VIII ch makes the
town shudder, is to him a ''teature." He says
he "regrets to learn" or he is ''paned to an
nounce," but he snot-as an editor-paned in
the least: no more than an undertaken is paincd
to bury man in the highest style Of tashiona-
bic anguish. His business is with the grave,
and it is his business to do It gravely. The
Editor, anon, is ''rejo ced to be able to state,'
or has had the ''eXtreme satisfaction of ascer-
tanning beyond doubt" and in such assertions
his sincerity is perfect for the pride and Joy
and glory ofthe Editors hea 9 to he the "frst
To communicate" to the public an important
= piece OF intelligence. Eagerly he scans the
rival sheets, to see if they have any mixing of
the matter and how sure he is to let his readers
know, that in sour last number we announced,
in advance of all our contemporaries - and
with what ferocity of delight call our contem-
. peraries' are "enabled authoritatively to con-
tradict the statements which were so ostenta-
tIously paraded in morning paper"
The editor rather stumbled into his profession,
!. than chose it. No man has been brought up to
the business. 1t is taught at no school. No
father says, Lo my son shall be an Editor.
But as the duck takes to the water, as the Jew
takes to money-lending, as the game-cock takes
TO fighting, so the predestined Editor takes tc
types and paragraphing; and the impulse which
bore him into the profession, never ceases e
act strongly upon him. He is full of his occu.
patton, and never ashamed OF it, He perceives
the promise of paragraph from afar of. He
snuffs it in the air. He sees it in window
He catches it in the night, and prays Heaver
he may not forget it in the morning If he
takes a pill, he thinks PnI-TAKING IN Tm
UNITED STATES would be s'nagniicent sub
ject;'' and so it would. Ifhe cuts himslf with
razor, it suggests observations on the Beard
} movement. And he is prone to ask whethe,
y you have any objection to his giving publicity t
q : that remarkable fact. Yet the Editor, desper
II ate as he is to tell the public something it dom
y know, always keeps back part of his informa
e tlon; and there is an undercurrent Of "highl,
y interesting intelligence" that seldom gets int
. print. Editors of the audacious species hav
~ :. made their fortunes by tapping this turbid bu
:, fertilizlng stream. The Editor has his delu
IL sion as we'll as the Sub-Editor. He thinks h
y creates public opinion whereas he only reflect
= u it. The man who runs ahead of an advaucn
y throng seems to lead it, and does lead it, as lon
- as he runs where they toant to go but let hin
turn corner which they do not want to turr
- - and he finds himself running alone. No on
- conversant with our political history, can b
ignorant that, in influencing votes, papers an
=. sgnally impotent, and particularly the paper
y which are very ably conducted Another dc
lusion ofthe editor is, to suppose that the eve
~ of the country are upon his paper. He lit
~ thinks the loudest thunder that ever deafene
VI New York, died away among the Jersey hill
en- and was only heard of among the Highlands
The editor, too, is subject to decisions with r,
gu gard to his circulation. He hugs the though
" that if his circulation 10 small il il select. an
an that he goes freely in the Fifteenth Ward, ar
Y is read under chandeliers, and lies ON cente
~ tables; which latter, perhaps, he does occasion
lts ally.
y, In the olden time, when Kings were as dem
ns gods, hedged about with splendor, which
ai- once revealed their consequence and concealt
~ their person, it happened, now and then, that
,n' peasent became the inmate of court confront,
hs majesty face to face; saw him eat, drink, and
hu forth heard him talk, swear, snore, sneez
ct c@tera. Extreme used to be the astonis
Sc. ment of the peasant, after he had overcome,
oil some degree, the awe inspired by the augu
ir. presence, to discover that the puissant monar
the of arealm, in whose hands were the issue of Ii
ion and death, whose smile was wealth, who
be. frown was ruin, whose word moved armies, al
IN. whose whim decided the fate Of nations--w
CHI really, after ALL very much like people in ge
or. eral. Not less in the amazement of the eco
ea- slant reader" when chance makes him intima
rn- with King of the modern kird--tho respon
lies BILE editor Of a leading newspaper.
entl Learned ne is not, The printing office sen
to ten men 70 the editorial throne while the ct
.. Ilcgesends one and there are editors in Il
country, prosperous and renowned, who knc
hey gramner only by instinct, who owe their spe
eep ing to the compositor, and have no idea on WI
do, mapto look for Kamtschatla. Norris the d
lees tor wiser than the average Of men, nor me
given tore1ection, nor more likely to bs O