New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-08-01
THE RECORD OF FIFTY YEARS
"REMINISCENCES OF A JOURNALIST.
By CHARLES T. C0NGDoy.
XXXIII
NEWSPAPER PERKS.


como NEWSPAPERS AND THEIR DoLEfCL fAII
"A PLENTY OF coon ADVICE GRATIS.
journalism has its pleasures and pains. o.
these have already spoken But II has ais1
its peTils. of which | ought TO say something, Il
the profession Is to be fully discussed IN thes,
papers 10 not here refer TO the enormous rlsF
of starting q newspaper, and OF actually putting
money INTO il. That - commercial matter
aud the dangers 10 which allude are mainly
moral or Intellectual. Every reader knows that
the literary calling. pIrsued for The sake OF
supplying immediate wants, has always teen
likely to lead men. and especially young men,
into tempiation. That branch OF literature
which We call journalism. Is far from aflOrding
any exc ption to the rule-lndeed. as far rs pos
sible have no notion whatever of preaching
a sermon; | am the last person in the world to
do that; but there are things which may be
said pleasantly by man OF experience 10 which
man of less experience may doigD 10 listen
without any compromise of his dignity.
Some quarter of a century ago, we imported
from France, among other things which we
could well do without. " hat is called Bohemian
ism. Bohemian in thOs, days was one who
was clever i'll writing smart jokes and pretty
poems and lively tales and brisk essays and
other newspaper commodities winch perish IN
the reading. If he did not have permanent
employment, and generally there was nothing
permanent about hIm, he hawkcd his wares from
Office 10 Office, and sold them at PRACTICALLY
small prices, subsequently investing the amount.
it was Ill-uaturedly declared, III great deal of
beer and very little bread. SOM times he
was fantastic in c0SiUm', and wnrl lie was
caricatnrtd. as he frequently WIS, he vas rep
resented in tall peaGed hat, not unlike those
which we're once worn III connection with vel
yeteen coats by bligands III the mclOdramaS
There was a drOl picture of The TRIBUNE
office, out of every window of which 4 man III
one OF these sugar-lOaf hats was replcSen ed
as peeTing int the street in search of a para
graph. IL was a vile SANDER. for we had no
Of hafa nllQ nftI a.
little BOhemanlSm, or what the sagaciOus
public understood TO he such, as any similar
establishment in the old Square. There was
desperate effort TO establish the bohemian
guild IN New York, but the climate. | suppose,
was mfavorablc. 1t figured mostly IN weekly
newspapers which are dead long ago. while the
performers have followed their WORKS. l do
not mean 10 say, hOweVeI, that there were not
many excellent fellows and men OF rale genus
enrOle under the Bohemian banner; young
gentlemen were there, who soon found tpat
such way Of life was not wise poets were there
who have since won deserved and honorable
fame, and VINO now preside with dignity at the
family tea table, and give good al vice, with
the morning muffin, to their well-grOwn boys
and gliis. Such Il haTIIm- scdTum life such lis
teLing To the chimes at midnight, and utter
disregard of the cOnvcntlOnalltles and respect
abilities and responsibilities, generally tests
man pretty sharply. Ii he really has brains,
he usually gets away from it before II gets
away with him. VagabondHng Losses its
charm III last 1t is much nicer after the dews
of existence are dried up to go 10 bed a. early
as possible, 10 take pans with ones stomach,
to live cleanly and TO flee from the cares OF
life, IT'S HXietieS and its dlsappCinmcDt>, To any
home, However humble.
Those VINO did not desert f ON the Bohemian
ranks, as Il Iule, did worse. Ii was jolly while
If lasie.i bit II could not last There were a
| mean rOlelaby yOung-whO used to meet
every night in one of the beer vaults OF a well
known cellar in Broadway, and there, with
much con sumption Of lager and much smoking
of pipes, hold high converse, and fancy that II
was hike Auoi bacb's cellar IN Faust Ihe cell
ing WAS low; the walls were OF stone the
bai rels and bogsAeads were ranged about; and
indeed il was all quite medieval and gypsy like
and picture, que-we choice spirits (ln the lesh)
beng tic most picturesque of all. And | nave
head IaCer good talk thce in my time. IL
wasn't al pretcnce and playing at dtNli-may-
care feeling and enjoyment after all. SGme-
times W were serious enough especially when
IT came 20 settling the score at tive O'Clock in
the morning.
Thelr wa, one man who figured at these sub
terrancaH sympoSia who was known III New
York IL the klng OF the BOhemau>-a man
whose ne was 50 entirely illustrative of the
Uerls which bcset thc career OF il journalist
that ! venture 10 speak Of hlm by name. |
have TIE less kcIuple m doing 50, because he /
was Et,.ectly well known IN AeW-loIh-
known at Pals, at DclmOHicOs, in ali places to F,
and fOi cornwall enjoyment. Everybody who /
knew apything Of the newspaper business knew /
Henry ChDp. | was associated win nm be- .
tore tie laughed, ana mdde pUns, and wrote .
light and clever articles Ia NeW-l UIk. ! doubt /
If be c0..d have written an au OJOS.aDay ID .
any other yhdD "a merely entertaining way. |
should nave been a htje doubtful Of the de
tails; Dut he would surely have had materials
enCush Tor fascinating book. He Was born
IN Nantucket, Mass, and when mere boy
made Il voyage i'll brig which Was fiici out 10y
Admiral Sir Isaac Conn, OF the British Navy,
Tor the express pleasure aud benefit of Nan
ucsct boys Sir Isaac being OF the COiliu family
which Wd- 80 numerous 81 that lsianu. After
ward Mr. Clapp was a merchant Of oil and
andes IN Boston, wntTe he WAS emIuentIy
espectablc. a good church member, and even
teacher, believe iii il Sunday-scn0oL Then
le went 20 New-Oreans t. engage Ill the same
,uslDcsS For some reason the OIL and candle
rade came 10 the gIief of insolvency. After
hat the ready man made his first essay in Jour
ahsln uDOn The Ae,o Bedford bulletin, a news
'aper OF which | was the Editor. found
nm not without value whatever he could do
I all he could do readily; his conversational
lowers were uncommon and so he stayed tor
little while with us aud then suddenly went
ntO the business of lecturing upon temperance
nd slavery setting himself up as great
efOImer and "A radical Of the first class
ext, le edited newspaper In Lynn, Mass,
rinted by a radical shoe manufacturer with a
&c in his bonnet Clapp wrote So vigorously
nat be soon touud himself sentenced 10 i'm
risOnmcnt for thirty days foi the offence
{ hbelling an obnoxious justice of the
eace. Coming out. he WAS sent as dele
ate, ] think, to some Worlds Temperance
convention, OF Worlds Anti-slavery Conven- !
on, ia London. Then he was heard of in ]
als where he did some work, as he told me.
Jr one OF the London newspapers H. n core {
pondent Here he met Nj. Greeley. and CON
acted with that innocent man Tor letters TO }
He TRIBUNE, receiving, of course, certain
oney amount in advance. If the etteIs were !
TitteD they never were printed. Pretty soon
e back again III New York, where he |
SISTED Mr. Brisbane III tTansatIng the works q
/ Fourier. Until ill-health overlook him. he {
a. ndomitable. lie had a way OF making c
lends, and OF making them useful. He set i
? a newspaper called The Saturday Press, and f