The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1885-07-08
THE WAR CORRESPONDENT.
heh Who Sometimes Gain Reputation al
the CannOn,s Mouth.

1t is melancholy to think how much our
histories might have gained had the war
correspondent been among the camp follow
ers OF Marlborough, Peterborough or o
Wellington. Though, ON second thoughts,
it is absurd to talk of the war correspondent
as content to take his place among the camp
followers. On the contrary, it is his bust
ness to be always in the front, and to face
the shells and the bullets without the hope
of medals or promotion. Should he fall,
the utmost his modesty need expect is an
obituary notice from his colleagues, and a
tribute in the journal he scribbles for. Yet,
In way, the ingenious and dashing cores.
pendent does gain reputation at the can.
mons mouth, and social distinction besides,
to say nothing of more solid advantages.
Commander-in-chiefa and generals of di.
vision may dislike him; they may dread
those trenchant and unprofessional
criticisms which he strikes off almost in the
saddle at moments notice they detest
him when fortune is declaring against them.
But for their own sakes they are bound to
be civil to him, since they know how much
he has in his power. It is not so easy to
fight down condemnatory letter that has
been condensed into half the European Ian.
guages. So the correspondent in the rush
of the invading columns that peacefully car.
ries some stagnant provincial town has snug
quarters assigned him by grumbling quar-
termaster. He is invited to take camp luck
on fillets of horsefesh, when the fighting
men are signing for the rations that are far
in the rear with the commissariat wagons
and he smokes cigars of quiet evening with
statesmen who are already revolving mo-
mentous conditions of peace. Though it is
dc rSgueur that his letters should be un-
signed, If they make their mark they give
his name wide notoriety; and the pro-
prietors of the paper make much of the man
who could so easily provide himself with
another situation. The life is rough and
often perilous; but then the pay and al
lowances are good in proportion.
The correspondent at the top of the tree
has carte blanche for horses, conveyances,
&C., and of course for kilograms, while some
times he receives almost fabulous pay,
which naturally he has few opportunities of
spending. Happily for him there are al
ways I" little wars by way of interludes to
the big ones, though march to Ashanti or
through the Mountains of the Moon may be
more trying than the sharpest campaign on
the Danube. But even the piping times OF
peace are by no means an unmixed misfor-
tune to him. They give him leisure TO
recuperate,n rs the Americans say, from a
strain that would become unsupportable
were it mover to be relaxed. The man who
can scribble brightly in the saddle or over
tho campfire, is sure to have considerable
versatility of talents and in any case it ia
worth while to give him handsome retain
ing fee to keep him available for the next
emergency. .Ho makes a small fortune be.
sides, by signing his name to magazine ar.
ticles, in which no works up his waste ma
terial till his web becomes flimsy and thread
bare.-English Exchange.