News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-09-16
AN EDITORS TRAGEDY.
How n News Condenser Received Dis
patch About His Sweetheart's Death.

He was the " telegrah editor on
paper, and all through the evening and
morning hour he cut the sheets OF mani
fold, dotted the SIS" put In periods,
straightened the twisted sentences and
occasionally swore at the operator who
made such poor copy. lie was at
the time | knew him strictly temperate,
as l afterward learned, due to the fact
that while in New Orleans he had fallen
in love with young girl IN moderate
circumstances, who had promised to
become his wife when he should con-
slider himself in circumstances to warrant
such a step. He never told me of this,
but often spoke of'preferring to live in
small city, away from the boys, and
where he could save more money. He
had picture of young lady, that was
always on his desk, and often in the
night his eyes would wander from the
manifold" and look for five minutes
on the face-that of a sweet-face girl,
with dark hair and big eyes, that in
the picture seemed deep and liquid.
One night, or rather morning, for 1t
was nearly time for the paper to go to
press, the night editor came in and said;
''Mr.-, how is the report comingW
The Western Union "kid" had just
brought in the last sheet of copy and
the telegraph editor replied; Thirty is
in" When the telegraph operator re-
ceives the last dispatch for the night he
writes under it the conventional sign,
800" The night editor said unless
there was something important to kill
it, for it was getting late.
My friend with his pencil in his
fingers, ran hastily though it, and when
he reached the last paragrap ph stopped
short and for moment turned pale as
his fingers. But he recovered himself
in moment, and in reply to the night
editors question, said YEARLY: ''There
are two paragraphs-one on Beecher
trial, and another about some young
lady being struck by lightning in
town in Louisiana; that's all. " "Send
up the one about Beecher and kill the
other said the night editor :" nobody
in this part of the country cares con-
tinental about any young lady being
killed two thousand miles from here,
not at this time in the morning"
NV friend wrote a head for the
Beecher story and put the rest of the
manifold paper in his pocket. He put
on his coat with tired air and left the
office, passing the police reporter in the
adjoining room with brief good night.
Next evening he did not show up
at the usual hour, and the night
editor swore, for he had to handle
the telegraph himself. 1t was two
days before l saw or heard from
my friend, and then l heard that he
quit his job, and l went to his room,
way down on Elm street.
II am not we'll" he said. "I had to
quit night work a while. Pm about
done up" That was about all he said,
and for a week, as | made calls on him,
it was the same. lie got no better,
but said when he got over bad cold
he would be all right. Two weeks
later he died A Doctor had attended
him, and said it was a sort of quick
consumption. In his pockets were
found half dozen letters: one which
the dead man had evidently written
and neglected to mail, was directed to
Miss Annie Z. Clement New Orleans.
l was intending to mail it when l came
across, among the papers found in his
pockets, bit of manifold copy, on
which was written, as near as l can
re1aem Der. the following:
New ORLEANS, During severe
thunderstorm sevening lightning struck
house Mrs. E.Clement, No. - Caronde-
let streef, and lady's daughter Annie,
age twenty, instantly killed. That
evening went down to the Office where
the dead man had worked. A new man
was doing the telegraph" and no
body seemed to remember that the man
had ever worked there. The picture
was pushed over to the window sill and
was covered with dust. 1t was the
picture of Annie. who had been killed
by the bolt that day that the telegraph
editor ha6 quit his desk forever. The
picture, with the letters, were mailed to
the girls mother, with short notice of
the death, but no one ever told her that
the blow that broke the poor hardened
newspaper mans heart was the unim-
portant paragraph that the night editor
had ordered killed"