The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1886-08-07
DEADl DEAD!
Tale Of a Rival Newspaper and It's
Mild Editor.

editor of a live, progressive newspaper
and the every body holding this opinion
included very decidedly Mr.. Henry
Petit himself. Mr.. Petit was editor ant
proprietor of the Hopeville Millennium.
Why he had chosen this name for his
paper no one knew exactly, though il
was supposed, from the Incidental re-
marks of the editor, that it was pro
phetic, in a modest way, of the state o.
things to which he would ultimately
bring Hopeville and such of its popula.
ton as were subscribers for the paper
and paid for it promptly. Mr.. Petit
was small in stature, sharp of features,
and loud of voice. Journalistically, be
wasin perpetual rage, rage varying
in its intensity from the spitefully
sarcastic to the bloodthirstily fero-
cious. There seemed to be fam
tastic connection between his degrees
of aggressiveness and the style OF
type used in his journal. Thus, when
treating of subject comparatively un-
important, he contented himself with
the light musketry of solid nonpareil.
the smallest type in his Office. A mat
ter for more forcible denunciation re-
quired minion or BREWER to give it
proper weight; from this he sometimes
passed to bitter invective and the larger
type yclept long primer, and he had
been known, after vainly trying to re-
lieve his outraged feelings through the
medium of double-leaded plea, bristling
with exclamation points and distorted
by italics, to set all typographical pre-
cedent at defiance, and lombard his
readers with rhetorical and maledictory
cannon-balls, manufactured from the
largest. heaviest and blacklist adver-
Using letters in his possession. He be-
lieved thoroughly in aggressive jour
nalism, and he always had fight on
his hands. He disproved the old adage
that sit takes two to make QUARREL"
by maintaining a perpetual dispute
with the world at large, without
even requiring his adversary to say a
word or add q single spark to the fire
OF rage that kept the quarrel at boiling
point. ~ fs.i s,st
The Mtttenfsna was a power in Hope
vile, and Henry Petit enjoyed the
proud consciousness that he had shout
dered himself and his paper into
the front rank by sheer force of
energy and display of that fight
ing temperament which never fails
sooner or later, to win the respect of
. community. As result, he was
reaping both fame and good income
from the Millennium. He could perhaps
have got along more peacefully and
quietly than he did, had he chosen, but
attrition with the world seemed to be
essential to his enjoyment of life, and
he was always denouncing real or i'm
aginary evils, and lamenting that there
was not more of them against which
he could couch his lance in deadly as
sault. Mr.. Petit was entirely satisfied
with himself, and never took the trouble
to inquire. into his. neighbours business.
1t was said of him that half the popula-
ton OF the town might be carried off by
an epidemic, and unless the death |
notices were sent to the Millennium for |
publication at regular rates, he would
never know that there had been a |
funeral. He rather prided himself on |
this self-concentration, and declared
that he despised curiosity save when its |
indulgence was necessary for the sue
cessful prosecution of his business. In
that case, he added, it ceased to be |
curiosity in the true and offensive sense
Of the word. .ssa
One day an event took place at Hope
vile, which, for the moment, literally |
paralyzed the editor of the Millennium |
with establishment Then he recovered |
his breath and retired to his little Office
20 try andrealize the situation. A man |
had actually come to Hopeville to start |
another paper! Mr.. Petit at first could |
hardly believe that such temerity could |
pass unpublished by the supernatural |
powers that watch over the interests of |
newspapers To think of mana
stranger IAN interloper Ia fellow
rom, no one knew where !-a-a-.
{ was Of no use Mr.. Pettit's breath
lad gone again and he could only lean
lack in his chair and gasp his amaze
nent at the new mans unparalleled
Meanwhile the new man
vent on quietly with his preparations.
ie looked over the ground, satisfied
limselftha Hopeville needed his paper,
'rought type and press and other ma
erial to the house he had rented, cam
assed the town for subscribers and
dvertisers with satisfactory results,
nd published the first number of the
iopeville Independent. taking no more
office of Henry Petit and the Miiles-
xfn than if neither had existed. Con-
rary to Mr.. Pettit's confident predic-
ons, the new paper was ably edited,
ewsy and bright, and was received by
he citizens with as much favor as
he Millennium itself. Mr.. Petit came
cross the Independent in the homes
his friends, in stores, Offices
nd places Of public resort, and he
owled darkly, He would show this
val editor that Hopeyllle needed only