The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1877-11-02
PrentIe ON Caxton.

N. L. Prentis, of the Topeka Com
monwealth, whose letters from Europe
are so readable, has gone back from
Paris to London, and been inspecting
some relics of old time printing, which
have inspired him to utter the follow
ing:
The next day, at the instance of a
Liverpool printer, visited the CaxtOn
exhibition at the South KensingtOn
Museum. There was here q wonder
iul collection of everything relating 60
the past or present OF the art of print
ing. Some specimens of American
work were on exhibition, though moth
ing near as fine q show as could have
been made. In the midst of lot OF
cards noticed one of 'Haight g. Tay-
lor, Ellenville, N. " and the names
brought to my mind the recollection
of one whose death diminished the
world s too slender stock of sincere
and honest men, the late r. B. Taylor,
of WyandOtte.
There was q wonderful display of
old books, particularly those printed
by Caxton himself. I looked even at
the pages of the first book printed in
England. 1 suppose l ought to have
burst out into q torrent of eloquent
and grateful eulOgy on the ''art preser-
vatiVe of arts" the palladium of liber-
ty, etc. etc. ETC., and have blessed the
memory of William CaxtOn, but did
not. Seeing his work brought him
very near to me. He looked at me in
fact from the open pages of his book,
with the same provokingly bland, in
nocent, benevolent expression he wears
in Madises picture: it irritaued me, and
felt as if, providing he really could
''materialize," l would have addressed
him thus:
''Mr. William Caxton, you were orig
| inally q mercer, and you were also an
ambassador, and one with just the
statutory amount of common sense
| would suppose that that was a suffi-
| GENTLY fat take for you, but you must
needs go into the printing business.
Now then, what for? You say that
the Duchess OF Burgundy wanted you
to print 'Recueil of the history OF
Troye,' anu you did it; yes, and Eve
wanted Adam to eat the apple, and he
did 1t; and Herodius had an anxiety
for the head of John the Baptist, and
she got it, and Lady Macbeth wanted
Mac. to give old man Duncan 8 fatal
prod, and he did it. He never even
gave 'the old man q chance You
didn't foresee the consequences, you
say, when you set out your book, news
paper, and plain and fancy job print
ing establishment In Westminster Alb
by. You didn't know, now honest {?
You didn't think there would ever be
such q thing as q tramping jour, did
you? You didn't see the head of the
blooming old procession that has been
about three hundred years passing q
given point? You wasn't prepared for
that gay old cortege; that innumerable
caravan, were you? It didn't occur
very rum lot that were to put in their
time carrying it? Your prophetic eye
did not see the long string of red noses
and sore eyes and sun burnt necks and
| bills tered heels? You never thought
OF the fellows who would sleep on the
| bank, and under thu bank, and behind
the stove, and down in the press room
among the greasy rags and wrapping
paper and strings, and also repOse their
| old bones betimes in the calaboose
| No, you didn't think of any of these
| things we may we'll believe. You new
er dreamed, Bill, that some thousands
of your fellow creatures would put
| their eyes out, and grow old before
their time, and humpbacked In the
flower of their youth, sticking type on
morning papers. You never imagined
how they would all stir the fire up; how
the ''old man" would blaspheme the
foreman, and how the last named
would make even by calling the learn
ed and accomplished compositors lot
of g0ggle-eyed, slab-sided, knock
kneed blacksmiths. Bless your simple
hearted, ink-smearing old soul, nothing
appears to have occurred to you! YOU
didn't hear sounding down the ages
anything about ga few cords eff dry
wood wanted at this office immediate
ly," nor the loud and exceeding bitter
cry for ''any kind of country produce
You are responsible for all this, anC
you say you didn't thinki and in
that connection I may remark thai
that Is what every meddliBg, mischief
making lunatic says. You didn'
know the gun was loaded, and so ) on
snapped it, and that is the way som,
fool kills somebody every day in tn,
week But you didn't think; yoI
meant well, but were Just an idiot
that was all. Probably if you haC
thought you would have hung tn,
printing business on the dead hook
but you didn't, and it is now too late
The line Is hair-spaced now, and
can't be helped. We are in the ever.
lasting "drag," and are stuck 70
all night. Oh William, WilliamI'