The semi-weekly mountain Democrat., 1860-11-06
The Editor.

sketch, WIN Huenty, tnat poor, nOuSeu
class, known as editors. AS cotempora-
ry truly remarks, ne may be the "rcspon-
siLlc." the "forcign," the " litersry," the
"lOcal," the commercial either de-
partmcnt he Is the subject Of laudation,
abuse, trials and triumphs He cmust have
ready pen, remarkable versatility Of
knowledge, q correct judgment, and con-
siderable nerve. II you intrude upon him,
yon will find him writing, reading sci>
sOring. lie will talk, hut his pen docs not
stop; he hunts amongst newspapers he
grows savage in 'lca'ler, or he III "lcarn-
cd" in "review." Politicians want to
buy him; needy artists ask his favorable
notice; inventors haze models to show
him; some want to thank hitn-othtrs de-
sire TO shoot him. lie il addressed upon
more subjects than it was ever intended
a single mind should comprehend and,
while his journal is called by some IL in
tlucntial, valuable" etc, there arc those
WHO bluntly pronounce it ScurriIOms"
and "pour" Swimming upon floods Of
excitement, battling, chaiing, arguing, con
Sulting, cxalting friends and crushing foes,
thinking, working. Is the sum and sub
stance OF an editors Career At home, he
writes with his wife at his elbow and his
child on his Knee; in the streets, lIc wcavcs
ont those ideas which, In few hours, will
sta,tlc the men who now ,jostle md crowd
him; in his sanctum, he makes ready
thunderbolts, moulded with pen, but
more powerful than any ever hurled from
Jovc lie delivers lectures; he is pOlili-
cian; he holds Office; he is traveller; fr
gives verdict upon manuscripts which
are more precious than the apple Of their
eye to aspiring authors; he helps on the
opc,a; he holsters the drama; he pleads for
the poor; he snubs the rich; he conclliateS,
he dctiCe; he Rrouses nations, he dethrOneS
kings; he is the guardian Of liberty, and
omnipOtcnt.
Up in garrets, in out Of the way places
sometimes furnished like pnrlOr, some-
times worse than q pig.pen-is his s0nS-
tWm SGnctOTun, the "hOly Of h0lies. ~
Are you partial to frOwnss DoyUu wish
to hear grOwli Disregard the notices
Of " Editors Room," " Private" No Ad-
mittAnce," and enter the denj you observe
the contracting brow you do not know
whether you are sAluted or insulted; your
tongue proposes to speak, and your legs
incline you to run away; head lifts itself
worn pen and linked fingers point you n
seat, which II takes you an instant to
reach, but, ere you have done so, the mon
ster has his clutches so deeply in an idea
that he has forgotten your existence -
There you sit; you try to count tho pyTa-
nids Of newspapers, and wonder if to be
an editor is necessary to be savage. You
see books and maps; but you would as
soon NEEDLE with the cob Of bear as any
thing in which the wild animal before you
has an interest. Delegations Of ''devils," :"
from the printing office, come for 'copy,"
and great many things are goingon which
are strange TO you. Other gentry come in,
who glance contcmptuOusly at yourself
They seat themselves, and you hear moth
ing but scratch, scratch, with gold pens,
steel pens and goose quilts they pull at
their whiskers; they clean there throats !;
they look up at the ceiling; they help each
other when their ideas run aground; they
write and rewritc; they cxpunge and they
amend; they become cheerful, If their
productions please them, and crusty, If
they do not. Now, remember that this
| ANSue"a S"h huSS 6V VIZ " NSy Au0 W
night, when the head is dizzy with sick
ness, and the heart weary with sadness,
that it entails study, research and thought;
that the themes are suggested, and must
be discussed within the hour; and you
will understand why you arc not wanted
| in an editors room. Presently, however.
he will talk to you; he will cut short your
long speeches; he will bring you directly
to your business; he will dispatch 1t and
you will OF once discover that necessity,
if not inclination, urges him to resume
his pen. In summer, when the flowers
are so tempting at midnight, with the
glare Of artificial light pouring in upon
him, there he is-a tOiling slave. He
writes for your pleasure adds to your
joys. DO you ever think Of his exhaust
ed brain, his fading life, his premature
death? Literature, was, perhaps, pass.
ion Of his boyhood, and he has pursued
the wicked phantom from year to year
finding, in the qualification Of refined
taste, some small reward for bis painful in :
iatuAtion.