Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1869-04-09

steps at time, showed the paper under the
nose Of the astonished foreman, and shouted
% Show me the man who did that!'' The un-
| lucky culprit was standing near, and inno-
Gently answered 90 set that up, Mr.. Gree
ley :" Horace turned to him with comical
expression of rage and despair in his face,
and exclaiming - Well, G-d-you y
rushed back to the editorial room below He
knew it was useless to swear at the poor old
% Captain for he wouldn't have under
stood it.
During one of the most terrible snow
storms that ever visited New YOrk-in Feb
ruary, lS45-the Office Of the 1rlbune was
burned down. The paper had " gone to
press" at halfpast two in the morning, and
the whole edition had been delivered to the
carriers, when, at four o'clock a fire broke
out in the lower part of the building, and
two hours later there was only heap OF
ruins. At eight O'Clock, looking on from the
brink of the fiery chasm whence smoke and
steam still ascended saw Greeley trudging
through two or three feet of snow, closely
followed by his partner. Thomas McElrath-
the latter a shrewd business man, to whom
Greeley has repeatedly attributed the first pc
cuniary success of the Tribune establishment
and |, standing by the side of Greeley, put
to him this question:
4" Well, Mr.. Greeley, what are you going
to do? VIII the Tribune be published
again ?''
Greeley replied with that curious corruga-
ton of the brow which always indicates any
perturbation in his mind, and in the odd ial-
setto note with which he gives ear-piereing
/ expression to any woe that may atilict him
/ % I-dO-o-n't KNOW ~
Just at this moment McElrath came up.
/ Greeley turned to him with 4 woe-begone ex-
preston, and said,
- Well, MeElrath, this is pretty clean
/ smash What shall we do p
McElraih replied " Get out the paper to
morrow as usual -
1t was done. Though the partners did not
/ know but they were ruined, though their
[ safe was still roasting in the ruins with all
their books in it, and though their capital
was exhausted. the indomitable energy Of
/ McElrath caused the paper to appear at the
regular time next morning, and the event
proved to be the best kind of an advertise
/ ment, for it brought the Tribune literally a
/ thousand compliments, and gave It's managers
a lasting reputation for energy and enter
prise.
Winchester's old building, No. 80 Ann
street. was hired publication Office was
/ fitted up for the reception Of advertisements
on the top floor, printers cases were speedily
/ filled with eight or nine different kinds OF
/ tvpe, picked up anywhere and everywhere
/ Greeley was slowed away in the corner Of an
unfurnished loft directly under the printers,
and his desk was a smooth board supported
by two barrels all the other improyised ap-
pointments being Of similar simplicity. Here
all hands were soon busily at work, for the
whole PAPER was to be re set The business
was done, the paper was served to its sub
scribers at breakfast time, and few months
later. the building now occupied by the Tn
June was finished.
A funny incident occurred during the first
night in Winchester's building. The house
was a tumble-down concern, and the ragged
floors were seived with huge knot-holes.
Among the c0mrositors was one young tel-
low. n Southerner ,lwho chewed hall a paper
Of tobacco at one time, and whose expectOr-
atlons were inlrequent but formidable. Pa
tient and comprehensive rumination upon
his " cud for an hour usually resulted IN
/ Niagara. which describing q parabola, fell
far and fell plump, covering much territory,
In an unhappy moment one OF q" sam r
floods happened TO rush through knot-hole
winch was on a direct line with the bald pate
of Horace in the room below. Imagine the
effect Greeley came stamping and swearing
up-stairs. with tobacco Juice streaming down
his face, shaking his head between the oath-,
and screaming '' By and could
kiH the nun irh0 fld that
1t Is perhaps unnecessary to remark that
Mr.. Horace Greeley is sometimes given to
pro.ane swearing. His nature Is controyer-
Sal. But he has tender spots, and one of his
finest traits is his love Of little children. His
devotion t. his son Arthur, who died OF chol-
era in ls49, was very touching and beautiful.
But there is material for volume in the
ouartcr-century of a history Of the Ir7iiHs
and inasmuch as Mr.. Greeley has made vol
ume Of it, it is needless to say more here
only, it NAV be remarked that Mr.. GTeelcy's
Autobiography does not tell all that could be
told. nor does it record any Of the incidents
to which | have made alluslon. Il If Just
such incidents as these which 60 long way
to illustrate the real character OF the parIici-
pant. Autobiography Is rarely the truth.
Montaigne is an exception.
To pass 10 other papers
Henry j. Raymond, now editor of the
Times, has an interesting personal history,
and ~ am upon the subject Of newspaper
men. q story OF two Of his carly life may be
told. Born in Lima, Livingston county, in
this State, forty-eght years ago, Raymond
came into an inheritance Of poverty. But
his parerts found means to send him to school,
and when Iof proper age, the lboy himself
found means to 20 through college at BuTl-
ington. Vermont-and at the same time to
fall in love with the cstimable lady who Is
now his wife. Determined to win his way
by literary labor. Raymond came to New
York about thirty years ago, made acquaint-
ance with Horace Greeley and soon after
wards ioined him in conducting the NGr
Yorker Becoming exceedingly useful to
Greeley, Raymond accompanied him in the
Tribune venture in April, 1871, and carried
nearly all the heavy work Of the paper. This
was the period when Dr. Di0nysius Lardner
was at the height Of his celebrity as popu-
lar lecturer on science. His lectures were
delivered in that extraordinary old church in
Broadway called the . Tabernacle" long
since pulled down, in which Jenny Lind de-
clined to sing because it was 'ian old tub
and so it was. Dr. Lardner came with
great reputation. Raymond was determined
to gain a reputation for the Tribune for en-
terprise and quick sight. He promised to
make full reports of the lectures delivered by
Lardner, and Greeley assented. Raymond,
always swift handed, had stenographic sys-
TEN Of his own, kind Of long g-short-hand,
by the use of which he was able to follow an
ordinary speaker very closely and his news
paper reports of Lardners remarks proved to
be SO accurate that the Doctor subsequently
adopted them and with slight revision they
were published in two large octave volumes
by Greeley and McElrath, under the title Of
- Lectures on Science and Art"
1t was on the night when DR.. Lardner de-
liEered the last lecture Of this course that
p Raymond fell i'll. Coming out from the heat
ed church, he found tempest raging, and
reached the TrijaHe Office only after thor
: ough drenching. Sitting for hours in wet
clothes, he finished his report-a very long
and excellent one-and went to his home in
the small hours of the morning, to wake next
day in a violent fever. His room was on the
upper floor Of boarding g-house on the corner
of Vesey and Church streets; his means
were limited the attendance was poor; fare
was scanty; neither family nor friends were
near him it was altogether an unpleasant
predicament. But Raymond pulled through,
bravely He had sickened in the service of
the Tribune and, as has too often occurred
in Mr.. Greeley's establishment, h,rd service
was inadequately rewarded. Some time
elapsed before Greeley came to inquire about
his assistant, the loss of whose presence was
beginning to tell upon the paper. Then con-
versation occurred, something like this ;
Greeley " When will you be well enough
to come back p
RAYMOND: 20 shall never go back to the
: Tribune on the litiful salary CT eight dollars
iceek"
Greeley inquired how much Raymond
wanted - Twenty dollars week ~ said
Raymond. Greeley protested angrily that he
couldn't think of it but he did, and paid
the money too. So Raymond went back to
~. I'D ,vorl.o1 bo- nd xra1l nm