The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1877-11-24
December Magazines.


| The December number Of Harper's is quite
as attractive as any OF its predecessors, There
| is Christmas suggestion on the first page, as
the eve meets Millions Hymn on the Nativity
beautifully illustrated. Another proiuscly il
Illustrated poem is Keramos, pleasantly writ
by II. w. Longfellow, Mrs Spotiord's finely
| illustrated article on ElZabethan and later
English Furniture surprises one by the extent
and minutcness of her acquaintance with Il
subject which she treats with signal taste and
discrimination But to the general reader We
imagine, the most attractive article will be
that of William II. Ridcing on the Metropoli-
tan Newspaper. The whole process of manu-
featuring the great city daily is traced from
the first click Of the type to the climax in the
full printed sheet, illustrated step by step with
lifelike pictures. Take for instance glance
at the editorial room about night-rcmem-
bering that by 3 O'Clock the last line of copy
must be in thc hands of the compositors:
The smoke from the cigars and pipes rolled
up to the ceiling, and the pens sped over the
pages of manuscript paper. The writers bent
to their work with tremendous carnestness and
concentration there was not one of them who
had written less than column of matter that
night, and some were closing two and three
column articles, which contained nearly as
many words rs five pages OF Hdrper's maya
cine They were pale and carc-worn One OF
them was heading and subheading cable dis
patches from the scat of war, another was writ
Il nj al
graphic news that came in, another was damn
ing new play III virulcnt prose, another was
revising thrilling account of u murder, an.
other was transcribing his stenographic notes
of speech on the initiation of the currency,
another was putting the finishing touches up.
on wcllconsidered article criticisng debate
in the French Assembly, and another was alb
sorbed in the description of yacht race. The
little tin box in the shaft bounced up and down
more frequently, and the night editor became
more nervous and imperative than ever, as the
fingers of the big clock on the wall went be
You'd two. The pages of manuscript were sent
up one by one, and lorg moist prootshccts
came down from the composing room. Then
the "cutting down" began, and some of the
writers saw articles that had cost them hours
of research annihilated by the stroke Of pen,
or reduced from columns to paragraphs-not
on account Of uhimportancc but simply be
cause there is always a supcr,luity of matter,
contrary to the erroneous notion that the edi-
tors great difiiulty is to fill his space-and in
some instances even the paragraphs were final
" omitted to make room for unexpected news
that arrived later kilograms were still com
ing in at half past two, but soon after that hour
one dispatch brought the words goodnight, y
and that meant the closing. The night editor
and his assistant now disappeared into the
mposing-rooms, where they remained to
superintcnd the makingup of the forms, and
themen at the desks prepared to leave, or threw
themselves back in their chars for chat and
some more smoke.
Mrs Jessie Benton Fremont wife Of John
| G. FreemonO continues her Year Of Amcri-
can Travel and gives us familiar pictures OF
number of very notable men decade or two
ago The first part of Miss Thackerays
new story Da Capo, is given, and there are sew
eral very good short stories, with poems by
James T. Field, Edgar Fawcctt, \. j. Rcquier
| &c