Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1869-04-09
From the Brooklyn Monthly
yevsna1eT Life In New York.

1t happened that found my way, twenty
five years ago, into a New York newspaper
oficie, in the capacity of assistant proof
reader, with the liberal salary Of two dollars
week and the privilege Of % finding my
self.
have a very lively recollection of the
TiJne, the Herald, the Courier and En-
g1ar5r, the Journal Of Commerce, the Morn
ing Express, the Sirn, the True Sun, the
EUcniHg Post and the Commercial Adrcr-
HSer Of that day. There was no Times :;
there was no World there was no host Of
little evening papefs-no Mails, nor Com
mOnCeqlfhs, nor .NelCs, nor Kilograms, and
all the papers were bitterly personal and
some of them terribly heavy. Raymond had
Just left the Tribune to join James Watson
Webb on the Courier and Enquirer Gree
lev was not yet out of debt, and his paper
was but a two-year old, scarcely able to 90
alone Bennett was in full yigor, and Ben
nett Junior a nursing infant Manton Mar
bic was a boy, Just beginning to think what
he afterwards professed, that it was good to
be an abolitionist Bryant was fifty, and a
hard worker on the Erening Post at half
past seven in the morning Goodwin was a
Young and rising writer Beach had the Sun
and the seceders from his establishment ran
the True sun Levi D. Slamm published
the Plebian on the corner Of Nassau and
Spruce streets, the site now the property OF
the Tribune and there were nasty little pa
pers published in New York and Albany,
under such titles as Siciiches, Microscopes and
SltJfeTrdneGnS.
was particularly attracted to the Tribune
in those early days. iancied Horaee's odd
ways-he was even odder when younger
and he gave me many hearty fits Of laugh
ter Once, when - Jim" Swain came in
from the east end of Long Island, with I'M
portant election returns from Patchogue or
Quogue or some other queer place, brought
by special engine at the rate of sixty-tve
miles an hour ION the Long Island Railroad
too y the yell of Joy which Greeley uttered
might have been heard quarter of mile.
As goes Quogue, so goes the Union, and the
returns in question settled the fate of a dis
trict.
Horace was very peppery, and has not yet
conquered that failing, though much mllder
than formerly, owing to the accumulation OF
fat. In his earlier years, the infrmitles ol
/ his temper caused some curious scenes. l
was once in the habit of studying him pretty
closely, and | found th& the pains | took
were not wasted. The painter who desires to
produce Characteristic picture of his sitter,
draws him out in various ways and calls forth
different expressions, and then seizes and
combines the salient points -, though not
painter, and never dreaming that should
have need to sketch even the faintest outline
Of Horace, took especial delight in watching
the play of his mind ard the phases of his
outward expression
have already told, in another place, one
story of Greeley, but perhaps it will bear re-
peating
An old compositor in the printing room Of
the Tribune, long gathered with the saints
was what the printers call "blacksmith =
that is to say. he was SO feeble, wretched
stupid in every way, that manuscript which
fsIj into his hands became horribly meta
nborsed. By evil fortune, this old man whf
was known as 's the Captain" once had
{. take y of Greeley's copy to 4" set up Al
was to have been expected he made sorT,l
mess of it, for Horace's manuscript wouic
have tried Job. By another evil chance
that particular article happened to go mt
the paper without the supervision oil .le
nroofreader. Horace saw the paper cary
the next morning, bounced upstairs three