St. Landry democrat., 1885-01-03

4
to journalism, and learning short
hand, had finally secured a position on
one of the prominent London news
papers. There he worked a year or
more, when, thinking to better his pros
poets, he had come ito the States,n rs
he expressed it. He was too thorough
Bohemian to be long contented in any
enc place. and so, after knocking about
| from one to another of the large cities
in this country for three or four years
he had determined to return home and
was literally working his way thither
when he reached N without money
and applied to us for a position. An
important State election was to be held
| within few months and [ thought to
myself: Here is chance to utterly
distance the Item; they haven't stem
ographer on their force, and with this
fellow to furnish us with verbatim re-
ports of speeches during the campaign
excitement we can show the public
what enterprise is" After consultation
with the manager and listening to his
own pleadings for a position, ''eVen as
space man, hired him in the latter
capacity, telling him the place would
probably yield him but little for a few
weeks, but that as soon as the Guber-
material canvass began we would give
him all he could do in his specially, and
that ne could then make up for the time
in which he was able to do but little.
He went to work the next evening and
gave good satisfaction. The assign
ments, however, that was able to give
him were unimportant and the wages
he made the first couple of weeks were
barely sufficient to pay his board; so
small, indeed, were they that / hardly
expected him to stay with us. But that
shrewd face of his, as we afterwards ex-
planned to ourselves in recounting the
affair which am about to relate, indi-
Gated unlimited resources in his fertile
brain and tsmartness' of a dangerous
type. We did not think of this then, of
course, but saw it plainly in the light of
later developments.
One day, when his stay was length
ening into its third week, he failed to
make his appearance at the office at
the usual hour in the afternoon, and [
supposed that he had gone to pastures
new. was mistaken, though, for
the office at night it contained the fol-
lowing, written in shorthand, which
several of us who had smattering of
the art, after infinite trouble, finally
deciphered:
DEAR P: I've struck pay dirt, sure! I
was passing that arstocratic old mansion of
Welby'S on Stanley avenue this morning
when servant ran out and yelled to the
stable boy to go TO the doctor, chile, quick;
,1.a lofI &hTN+ InfF
The boy addressed evidently did not hear, for
he did not make his appearance. You know,
before got into the newspaper business,
took a course in surgery in London, and, in
the servants scared look and oh! that Mis-
Julel' my reportorial instinct scented news;
so turned back and went into the house,
arrived in the city with the intention of
establishing myself here; that, in passing the
house, / heard the servant instruct the boy to
go for doctor in haste, and, thinking the
case might be an urgent one, had come in and
would be glad to serve them, If could do so,
until their regular physician arrived. They
took it all as straight goods and soon had
the old gent as easy as could be expected.
Then they told me all; only daughter Julia
had been left at the seashore for few days
in charge of misunderstanding gambler makes
mash-an elopement with bridal
tour to Canada-old folks Frustrated with
grief, the excitement and shock causing the
old man to have q acknowledgement won't
you just stay and care for my husband until
he entirely RECEIVERS? asks Mrs. W.; we don't
want this to get into the horrfd newspapers,
and If you'll stay not another soul need know I
it. Wen make her leave that 10retch and send |
her to Europe, and, If possible, try to remain |
respectable yet. Now, won't you StayY |
promised to remain for few days, anyway. !
It's big sensation and I'll work it right from |
here, as far as the thing has developed. will |
write it up and drop the copy on the lawn |
under the east front window; send some one /
there at eleven tonight to get it,. will stay |
here incog. and put copy every night at same |
place as long as can work the thing to advan- |
tage in that way. The Welbys have just ar
rived home and probably haven't ordered any |
won't get onto our scoop and set about inves-
tigating how it got out-at least until / get out |
of this. We will give no names, and thus pre-
vent the other papers from doing anything |
more than rehearSing our account from day /
to day. write this in shorthand, which will |
prevent any one from reading it if it miscar- |
walk from the window, hoping it will be |
picked up and posted and thus reach you: If |
It does don't fail TO send for eoRy to place
cts ten-strike for Mac!' exclaimed
Jim, the society reporter, and if he
works it right the old Mercury will
have to Whack up handsomely on it.
It'll make no less than three columns if t
he makes the most of it.
I sent Watson, the Police Court re
porter, to the place and at the time in
dicated in the letter, and he returned
about midnight with the copy. It filed
nearly four columns, and we head-lined
It in a style that would have made the
proprietor of a mining camp journal
forever hide his face in shame, almost
the resources of the job Of
ice we were running in connection
with the paper. The following will
give the reader as good an idea as to
what a feature we made of the scoop
rs can be conveyed in ordinary body
"a SENSATION INDEED.