Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1879-07-25
. Modest Poet.
AND THEYOUNG EDITOR WHO H.D HIS LITTLE
From the Burlington HawkeyeI

!
! JOKE
from the Burlington Hawkeyel
Anybody could tell what he had. Every
man in the sanctum knew in a minute
The timid knock at the door gave him
clear away at the very start. No man or
woman ever knocks at Il sanctum door I'M
less he comes on that fatal errand. Then
he came inside and took off his hat and
bowed all round the room, when every
man on the staff roared out, in Il terrible
chorus, Come i'll y Then he asked for
the editor, and when the underhngs, with
II fine iningling OF truth and grammer,
pointed to the youngest and newest man
in the office and yelled, That's him p he
walked up to the young gentleman de-
signated, and before he could unroll his
manuscript We knew the subject of it,
and deep groan echoed round the room.
Poetry, young man ?" asked the edi-
tor.
Yes, sir, said the poet ''a couple of
triolets and IL sonnet on the marriage of
my sister with an old college friend"
''Old college friend, male or female,
young man." asked the editor, severely.
Male, sir, said the young men.
lie SAID, sir every time, and every
time he said 1t all the young gentlemen
of the staff, save the young gentleman
who personated the governor, snickered.
He looked severe.
Anything more, young MANI" he
asked.
Yes, SIR" replied the infant Tenny-
son; "a kindof idyl and ode, inscribed
To My Lost Love-"
Love been lost very long, young
man . asked the journalist, very crit
ically.
We'll, it's immaterial, that is, stam-
mered the young man, Its indefinite
its"
Ever advertised for it ?" asked the re-
porter, who was writing puff for Slabs
tombstones, but he was instantly frown-
ed down.
Anything more asked the principal
mierlocutor anything more, young
MANI"
''Yes, SIR" was the hopeful response
"a threnody in memory Of nv departed
brother"
''BtoShsr L'tl. wan; mtl. y olly
gone to Sagetown"
dead, sir"
"Your own brother"
mo, sir. never had real brother !;
it's only imaginary
Cant take this, then, young man,
was the chilling reply Poetry, to find
true Have to reject this threnody. not
because it il not very beautiful, but be-
cause it is not true. Now, how much do
You want for these others ?" And he
fingered them over like man buying
mink skins.
The poet really didn't know. He had
never published before; he had barely
dared hope TO have his verses published
ut all. \ few copies ofthe paper contain
ing them, he was SURE
''Oh, no, the editor broke III, ''oh, no;
no, sir can't do that We don't do bust
ness that way if II poem or sketch is
worth publishing, it is worth paying for
Would SIS pay you for these y
The poet blushed to the floor with
gratitude, and the young journalist grand'
ly wrote out an order and handed it to
the poet
Take that to the Court House." he
said, Z" and the Auditors clerk will give
You the money"
The poet bowed and withdrew, and
with great merIiment the Journalist burn
ed his poems and resumed their work
That wasn't the funny part of it, how
ever The next day the supplemented
poet presented his order to the clerk de-
signated. And it was so that the clerk
owed the paper SlS for subscription and
advertising, and he promptly cashed the
order and turned it in when his bill was
presented, and the manager inst charged
it to the salary account of the smart young
journalist who signed the order, and the
happiest man and the maddest man in
America are living at Burlington. One
of them is happy, green unsophisticated
young machine poet, and the other is u
wide-a- wake, up-to-snuff, world,
get-up-and-dust young journalist, who is
already a rival of Horace Greeley in some
of the verbal departments Of journalism.
-B"ijngton Ha"kye.