Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-03-08
FAMOUS DEATH WATCHES.
A GOULISTI DETAIL IN NEW
YORK REPORTORIAL LIFE.

| show for the Academy Of Muse.
CoT-esDondesoe Of the Horaiag Fetos.
/ NEW YORK, March 5-While in a news
| paper office on Saturday night, l heard a
reporter, speaking OF Gen. Grants con-
/ dition, say, "The death watch must be
! at once established. HE'S liable to die at
/ any time" The speaker meant that he
or some one else should be detailed TO
/ visit Gen. Grants house shortly before the
! paper goes to press, every night, and as
/ certain whether he was dead, or likely to
| die during the night. Whenever a New
| Yorker, distinguished in public or social
! life, becomes seriously i'll. the different
/ newspapers establish a death watch. An
obituary is prepared at the start, and put
| in type, so that only Intelligence of tue
expected death is wanting 10 render the
article ready for publication. More than
one person, of Importance sufficient to
warrant death watch, has recovered
from what was supposed to be a fatal ILL
ness, and is now alive and well, so that
the newspapers had all their trouble for
nothing. Other distinguished persoaages
have been san uncOnsclOnably long time
a-dying," thus putting the newspapers 10
not bad the grace to apologize tor it as did
Charles IL.
Old Commodore Vanderbilt sinned most
in this respect, and the death watch over
him lasted nearly year and quarter.
1t was of most elaborate description,
and was conducted in most mAthodical
manner. The Commodore lived in large,
old-fash1Oned double house in WASHINGTON
place, and the reporters constituting the
watch nRnnniAH In fr,f
versity building two blocks distant. At
certain agreed upon hours during the day
and night, of which midnight and l a. m
were two, they were accustomed to meet
on the steps of the COmmOdOTe's house
and receive report OF his condition from
the physician in attendance, who would
appear without waiting to lie Summoned
by the bell. For between u and Is months
did each OF the larger newspapers pay a
man to do nothing else but wait for Com
mOdOre Vanderbilt to die.
The rate OF remuneration depended N
! the liberality OF the newspaper. Five
dollars was the figure of the most liberal,
a morning journal, which thus expended
| 81 SEQ in its measures to prevent the Com
mOd0re from dying without its readers
| knowing it. The rent OF the room in the
/ University building and coming mt tx
! penses were STARED among the different
| papers. and the wonder is that thew did
| not all unite in paving one man 20 DO the
! watching for ali of them. This. however,
| involved the risk, should Mr.. Vanderbilt
! die very late at night. of some journal
/ being lett out in the cold from the mes
! senger not having time to get around 10
| all. AS you may Remember, he died in
! the morning, 30 that the afternoon papers
| got the benefit Of printing his death while
| the morning journals only had their labor,
| apparently, for their pains.
| COMMODORE VANDERBILT KNEW OF THE
MEASURES TAKEN
| to get the earliest Intelligence of his de-
misc, and took not little interest IN the
appointments which the reporters had
with bis physicians.
IN the case Of TaurlOw Weed and Mr.
Bryant, the death watch was also con-
ducred in a systemative way, the nurse or
PHYSICIAN giving out bulletins to the re-
porters who called late into the night
But this was owing, perhaps TO both hav-
ipg been newspaper men. Ordinarily,
the families of the dying persons who are
distinguished enough to deserve news
| paper notice do not appreciate the neces-
slty OF such publicity, and the way of TIRE
reporter Is rendered spOudngly hard.
He is very nearly welcomed with bospita-
bic hands into bloody grave WHEN he
rings the bell at l O'clock in the morning
to inquire whether death has taken place.
sometimes he deserves such n welcnmr.
Custom causes callOusuess, and the re-
pOrters on the death watch do not al
ways pay the respect they should u the
feelings of the mourning family. While
Fletcher Harper lay dying some years
ago, reporters sat on the Bteps OF his
house and made the night hidpOus with
their loud conversation and nOisv laugh
ter. AS 1t was summer and the windows
we're open, the dying man must neces-
sarily have been disturbed by the uncar-
! dOrGble uprOar they created.
! The reporter who proposed 10 place
| the death watch ON Gen. Grant
was apparently too previous. AL
! though his disease is a mortal
one aud it Is only question Of time. and
OF not very long time, Gen. Grant
seems TO be in no great danger OF i'm
mediate death. Much suffering must be
! endured by him before he shutlles off this
mortal co |. 1t would have b On better
for his fame and he would have been
| spared much mental as well as physical
torment had he died two years ago
LADY BELONGING TO ONE OF THE BEST
FAMILIES
| in the country and occupying n CORE
! spending social position here met with Il
! misadventure at the Metropolitan Opera
+ House recently which might have re-
| suited very disastrOuslV for her. hut
]
! descending the stone stars leading from
! the second floor to the first, rreraratorv
| to quitting the building, she stopped to
| say good night to some friends several
! steps above her. her turning around
! caused her to lose her balance, and she
| went rolling down the stairs. In ner
| career she ran against and overturned a
man who was descending the stairs in
! front Of her, and the pair rolled the rest
! fhasvr
the bottom, where they formed a pic
tur97aque heap.
Miss M.'s sealskin cloak was a con
| spicuous feature of this heap, and at
CIacted the attention OF her brother who
| bad preceded her down the stairs and
! from whom she had got separated owing
| to the delay caused by the stopping 10
| speak to her friends, TO which her fall
| was due, Thinking the cloak bad been
| dropped by the wearer be went to pick il
/ up, intending to nave il restored O its
| owner. 10 his astOuishmeut he found his
/ sister inside the cloak and strange man
| entangled In the garment in a manner
| that made him seem the cause Of the
! catastrophe which had evidently taken
place.
Standing his sister against the wall,
MI. NJ accosted the unfortunate man
with, a fierce "What do you mean by
knocking my sister DOWN."
AS he picked himself up, all out OF
breath, the man gasped: Il didn't do any
thing to the lady, sir. She -"
"F0r mercy sake, leave him alone. 1t
was l who knocked him down." Miss NJ.
managed TO explain at this point.
Mutual apologies followed. Miss M,
did hurt her head in the tumble, but il
seemed miracle that she escaped with
80 little injury. 1t was doubtless due to
her seaIskin cloak, which protected her
IN Its ample folds, that she came to 10
greater harm.
Municipal business is at a standsti1
just now. Go where you will in any Of
the city departments and you will find all
the Democratic officials conspicuous by
their absence. Nearly every politician
OF prominence and no end Of '.ssatesmep',
unknown out Of the barr0Oms OF taeir
own wards, went TO WASHINGTON to in
augurate the first Democratic President
in "a years. Only Republican officials
are to be found at their desks, and they
al have melancholy, leir-out-in-the-
cold, got-to-wait-fo ur-years-aL-least-if-no
observation-disclosures look in their eyes az
they tell You that no matter requiring a
quorum can be attended to until the re-
turn of their Democratic colleagues.