Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-09-15
ON SCRAP BOOKS.
Bill Nyo Relates His Experience for o
Readers Benefit.

Headers Benefit.
A correspondent writes from Pensacola,
Fla, asking what is perfection or the nearest
perfection in scrap book, also desiring to
know my own experience in scrap books, if
ever had any.
A scrap book generally is like diary: you
begin to keep it with extreme exuberance,
and you gradually flag and flicker out and
fumulix, as one might say.
began simply by ordering from my con-
gresham an edition de luxe Of the report of
the commissioner Of education, bound in
plain muslin and boards Taking volume
Of this kind to my airy suit Of hall bedroom
and woodbox, with the keen blade Of a
butcher knife cut out two leaves and left a
third ell the way through without marring
the general plot Of the book. This gave room
for pasting excerpts and other literary gems,
most of which referred to myself, and pre-
vented that general fullness which would have
resulted had not done so.
Whenever paper referred to me bought
some copies, and, having sent one to my dear
one, carefully cut out the excerpt from an
other copy and pasted it, by means Of some
loud and extremely offensive paste, on the
page Thus filed at last whole volume
of the reports Of the commissioner of educa-
ton with paragraphs in which it was stated
with more or less typographical inaccuracy
that was Gin town and quartered at RileyS
hotel" or that l was ION our streets" or that
''shook hands with friends here yesterday"
or that l was attending the quarterly con-
ference in town. and many other state
ments which would be invaluable as refer
ences in future years. I also had much
larger book in which l kept the adverse crit
icisns of the press, paragraphs In which
| was alluded to as 1.-THE intellectual
wart on the editorial page Of The
Sassafras Commonwealth" and "the
flea bitten fugitive from justice who
edits the porous plaster across the street"
Whenever my feelings were wounded l put
the item in the large book and kept it where
nv children could see it when l should rest
from my labors forever. thought it would
teach them humility and really do them
good The other book used to keep on the
center table for the use Of visitors. If l had
q visitor who had the habit of putting in a
day or two at time conversing with mo
about himself generally asked him to glance
over this scrap book, and while he was doing
SO / would slip out and take train for some
other point. 1t is a good plan
the sourest paste you can procure, and when
a man insists on giving you large bales and
mowsful of information about himself when
YOU would rather converse about yourself,
hand him this book to entertain himself with
and then you can gently ooze out the side
door and go to the renotest parts OF the
earth.
Finally heard Of new patent scrap book
with ready gummed pages, and bought one.
The price was big enough for set OF
Dickens, but had heard that it was good
thing, and SO got it. Then period Of hui
nudity came along and that book closed for
ever 1t wouldn't open any moro than
marble slab.
waited till autumn and then got another
one My wife filed it full of autumn leaves.
They were not fully dry. She then put
heavy weight on the top. We still have the
scrap book and the leaves, but the book opens
with time lock, and the time set for it to
open is a profound secret between Gabriel
and his wife.
Lately / have adopted the plan of purchas-
ing several thousand manila envelopes, put
ting each newspaper clipping into one Of
these envelopes, and then writing the title on
the outside then hire house and, by US
ing the gummed flaps Of the envelopes, fasten
them in rows tastefully on the inner walls Of
the house, marking a general heading over
each row by means of red chalk. This gives
the room CHEEKY appearance, adds to the
acoustics Of the house and is certainly very
convenient. By means of a step ladder am
enabled to select anything desire readily,
and the space usually fooled away and COW
cred by expensive but non-remunerative pic
lures is made highly useful.
Sometimes have to hire an amanuensiS to
do this work, and 1t is not done the same
way 1 would do it myself. Last year 1 went
away for a few months to give some reading,
in aid of O few poor children for whom
feel myself responsible, and, while absent,
had young man named Pulaski Murkley
attend to this. He was very methodical and
wrote good hand, as / afterwards learned
by comparing some of my own signatures at
the bank with some studies which he had
made Of the same subject. They were better,
if anything, than my own, l must admit,
and tie cashier at the bank agreed with me
about it.
But he was very methodical, indeed, and
kept my scrap book carefully, according to
his own ideas. He came from summer re-
sort called Chisel- em-out-of-their-
hurst-by-the-sea. His father resided at Up
ights-of-stairs-o n-the-H Hudson, and usu-
ally spent his summers at Abouttwo- miles
behind Burdick's- lath cumberland shingle-
mill cash paid for hides undertaking-em-
balming -and-ice-cream-by- the-sea-
People who GENE from there always think
they know all about everything, and SO I
allowed him to run my scrap book.
Last fall l had occasion to look for an arti-
Gle on the English colliery. For week or
two l could not find it and probably would
never have run across it it hadn't happened
to look one day under the heading Of cpl
denies.
How few people, even if well paid, can do
a thing just exactly as we would do it our
selves-Bill Nye in New York World.
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