The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-10-26

-.,, Y;,,,,;,,estrs yooas,,,, for Norember.

ESeyn Lippincotfs Magazine for Norenber
Mr.. Prentice's forte as an editor consists in
his wit and sarcasm At his table, with his
spare notes and rapid amanuensis before
him, he pulls forth strings of witty sayings
from his brain as magician pulls t2rthscoils
Of silken ribbons from a hatl Whenever d
point suggestsitself he will ios it' down no
matter where he is or what accommodations
for jotting down are at hand He generally
has pencil and a slip of paper sometimes
only the debris Of an old envelope, about him,
but for p, desk -he will with eapl readiness
mhkeihseof his hat OF p Head wall OF a lamp
post. The note, consisting probably of only
a word, is then consigned to apparent
oblivion in the depths of pocket
or the inside of his hat, to be brought
out only by chance among number of boon
companions in the same place When he
feels inclined to wit, he takes from recepta-
eles whore he has placed his more fortunate
notes, thick slips of tiny manuscripts, with
bare suggestions of ajoke On these he com
.mences process, of incubation that is quite
las rapid 'as chat Of the famous Misrepresentation
He dictates in a slow and serious manner
with his eyes fixed alternately on his own llt-
tie slip of paper and on the ceiling punctu-
ating as he goes, never halting to supply a
word or two TO ernbel ellish figure, but straight
OH as fuentIyhg Wendell Phillips or Susan
b. Anthon$ sfswers q retort. His conversa-
tional powers, strangely enough, are very de
iicient He becomes painfully dull and
awkward when brought into brilliant
company Introduce him to a noted
wit, and although he may laugh at the
Jokes of his new acquaintance, the laugh
is partially forced. and his replies, if he at
tempts any, are irrelevant and pointess He
is slsgaof making any attempt at wit and
humory and Seems strongly inclined to dis
countenancs suciN an attempt on the part Of
another. His wit is apparent only in the col
umns Of a newspaper, for it requires to be
pruned and finished before it is presentable.
He does not say things that are bright, but
he thinks and writes great many.
During.t days just preceding the war.
Mr.. Prentice became great favorite with the
hardy bacllwoodsmen of Kentucky, who usu-
ally came to see him when they were in Louis
vile on business; not that ttheywere acquainted
with him., but, as they themselves would
tell him, Just to see what he looked like. Such
visits were of course peculiarly painful to a
sensitive nature, though. Nh, Prentice had no
recourse but to endure them. Reception
rooms are not generally in use among the
.;proyincial newspapers, and knock at the
door is the only intimation of a visitor before
he enters the room. One of these enthIlsias-
tic individuals shook Mr.. Prentice warmly by
~ the hand one day, when he had come. as he
''said, ON a visit Of curiosity" and after scan
ming the editors features in various lights,
drew hlmSelt up ana Sald;-
so, you're old George .R. Prentice. air
you? Well I'm mighty glad 10 see you I'M
Dodd bet me you was oOOd-looking. and I bet
, you wasn't and think I've won it. HtG,F q
M" Prentice probably enjoyed that visit
eyensless than usual
The law of libel has killed many a good
newspaper invective Emphatic abuse is III
consistent with careful use of the word ''al-
legged" OF the substitution of fanciful for real
names, In the great cities of our Eastern
seaboard, where libel laws are stringent real
ssiown-right editorial invectives are seldom
nsed Editors cannot trust themselves to be
severe, lest they should also be unparliament-
AIRY. To be sure, Grattan once scOnclusively
showed Cory i'll the English House of Com
mons how to do ii, but that was long time
ago, and editors n now-t,-tiays are not Grattans
Ps,ag9ssneral thing. SA0, s-TO-O ~
In Western and Southern communities
ttRey ;2prrtntsea these Caatters IditfarSptly.
The last resort of an individual outraged
editorially would be suit for libel
Whatever statutes there may Fbe upon
the subject have become null and void
through long disuse The courts would pro
baby look qponha a eass-pf the Kind ab rtlicu-
lous and the plaintiff as a man of no spirit
His suit would be lost through want of sym
pathy on the part of the jIuy, or else he
would receive a nominal verdict which would
neither line his pocket nor plaster his wound,
Ans editor, Etlierefore ntfalnnlelled by for
maities OF parliamentary decorum, can use
Eituperation without stint, printing his terAls
,in proyokingly clear tgpes without the fetr Of
Dhancery before his eyes But it
is quite likely that he will be called
out or shot on sight, or knocked down
at any moment on the morning Of pub
lication. This mode = Of procedure.i is
considered far preferable TO that in New York,
for instance where, if the same editor entered
the arena witlrtne sapie Weapons of abuse, he
would most probablyAbe compelled to devote
all his spare substance to paying the costs ef
"a ilibel suit EStIE1
z 1t may we'll be assumed that Mr. Prentice.
although comfortably exempt, from, al yexa-
stfods ela*suits,S was frequently Involved in
dangerous personal rencontres. lie does not
. a0now how often he has been shot, or how
upften his life has been despaired Of In all
his numerous rencOntreS he has seldom if
ever COME ont second-best Many of them
were sought by himself in retaliation for
abuse heaped upon him by rival editors,
for. free as he .is 'ih his abuse of Others,
he iss peculiarly sensitive ito abuse heaped
upon himself.
lsosl Reuben Durrettwas editor of the louisville
soG0vfSef, the principal local opponent of the
a .J0u7tdl IN 1858, aud kept sly paragraph
IN its columns for several days. intimating
that Mr.. Prentice, While ,'Rnder acloud." had
fallen from a Sangllank Of a steamboat into
fhe water, Mf. Prentice was intensely
aggravated by this'lttle paragraph He did
not deny its truth. 1t might have been true,
lint il was certainly no less Objectionable ON
that account, Probably he felt that even his