Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1883-08-27
The Travelling Type setter.

He walked silently In. We knew
him The moment we raised our eyes
and saw him standing thu re-. In fact,
we hnd been expecting him; he nearly
always comes when weare In Just such
a strait aud needing him. He always
wears The same style OF clothes coat
OF one kind and pants OF another;
he hasn't any vest; his shoes
are worn out aud run down at the
heels and his hat Is battered and dusty
There are spots of ink about bis shirt
which hangs over his waistbund, and
his new paper collar IA the only fresh,
white thing about him, and IL looks Az
though he had just put 1t on with
soiled fingers. He Is pale, wcak-eyed
and prematurely gray-hnired he looks
as though he had never known reeu-
lar hours, either for eating or sleeping,
aud he must have con.e thousands OF
miles, and boen coming ever
since he was n boy. His starting
point was 30 lnr away, aud so long ago,
that he hid almost forgotten when or
where II was; but we have an idea that
IT must hive been when his mother
buttoned his little blue shiriband
around his white, poyish throat, put
on his little white hat, and sent him
TO work In the printing office. How
| proud he wns when he went home that
night and showed his new brass rule
aud tells his mother he had learned all
the boxes, and has y free ticket to the
circus next week, ana the editor gave
him u big piece OF wedding cake
n part OF which he had
brought home for the baby, and
| II he sets up u column In one
! day next week he can 10 fishing on
| Saturday. Yes, somewhere about
| there WIS the commencement of his
long journey, and here he Is now, per-
hnps two-thrds on the way. He nsks:
Whats the show for u sit?p We
| give him n case, and by and by he
says he feels mint, and asks II we
emit lend him quarter he hasn't
had my breakfast yet We know his
weakness, and, IA we need his work
we go down with himnud order some
breakfast for him ut tile nearest ros-
! tnurant. When he comes back he
looks happier aud better able To
work. In the evening, when he
goes to distributing his cnse, he
recounts tho history of his
late pluces of employment. He
knows the circulation and amount of
business OF every paper IN the state
and just why the Dispatch suspended,
and just why the Adpocate sold out To
the Courier. He il well acquainted
with the unknown editor or the YAun.
dcrdr, and has friends on tile editoriul
force Of all the leading Journals Of the
country. BY md by he whistles low
nm air from the Italian opera, and In
reply to question answers with Il
Latin quotation. He stays with us u
week, and wegrow TO him moro and
more every day; no has rend every.
thing from Shakespeare and Ruskin
to Bill Arp; lie knows more about our
laws, national and state, than tn,
best lawyers In the city; he Is
well acquainted with the lie OF every
eminent person OF his age, aud IL 4
perfect encyclopedia of current events.
But we canhot afford to keep him any
longer, SO we pay him of, aud again
he starts on that long road that leads
not 10 home for he has none, not To tb,
society of intelligent people like him
self, for outside OF the printing onlco
lac Is unknown; maybe back to night
work on some city daily; or, IL 10,
old and worn for that. u rapid descent
, from one country office To another
J with whisky aud laudanum for 60 n,
pnnions, to IN unmarked grave b.,
some lonely waysidc,