Evening journal., 1889-07-12

L
longer than six months We don't cher
ish any malice against Africa.
THE COMMENCEMENT SEASON.
OF all occasions in the varied course Of
reporters difficult duties perhaps none
are fraught with such dazzling repor
toire Of pleasures and pains as the period
which has just passed-the commence
ment season.
A reporter is generally young. he is
usually handsome, he is always witty
and bright. and freqently too fire.
auently-he is modest Those qualities
together with the fact, that to some ex
tent. he holds their fortunes on the tip
of his pencil make the boys and girls pay
considerable attention % the reporter
The girls. as is the effusive and explos
i've way Of the sweet girl graduate, usu-
ally say that he Is Just loo lovely for
anything. They seem to have an intui-
tive knowledge that as master pieces of
literary efFulgence, the essays they ex-
pect TO read cannot be relied upon for all
Of the impressions they wish to make.
The sweet girl has a Consciousness that
the periods she has rounded with so
much labor are not striking seintillations
Of wit nor gorgeous outbursts Of toll
some erudition She seems to
understand that she is not as
clever as she is pretty and
that she is more winsome than witty.
Hence she, like her mothers daughter
uses those sweet and innocent little arts
to make the gallant reporter estimate the
literary quality Of her essay by the ratio
Of her gentle but effective Establishments.
She places more reliance on graces Of
person and the charm Of pleasing man
ners than on all the sense and sentiment
that was ever crammed into a pretty
girls head.
She captivates the g1ileless reporter
She charms him into the belief that she
must have written a sensible and beauti
ful essay because she smiles with such
angelic sweetness She must be wise .:
cause she is so pretty,
At any rate without more ado the re-
porter exhausts his vocabulary Of com
plimentary adjectives throws IN a few
TAT nouns for ballast and sighs for longer
and louder words to express the delicious
thrills Of admiration which flicker
through his palpitating heart.
Not 80 with the boy He'l1nows he is a
genius. His bosom swells with generous
bursts of self contemplative pride. His
brain tingles with the twitchIng
pains Of struggling, struggling ideas,
He is conscious that he has
has been slnged by spark Of the Prone
THAN flame. He allows a lock Of hair 70
curl on his marble brow and he shows a
decided preference for red neclSties. He
walks the streets with the melodramatic
stride Of the last impecunious, barn
storming, ham fat actor he has seen. He
has shouted ITO be or not to be- "On
the Vine-cla Hills, Not a drum was
heard not a funeral note, and othei
cheerful orations in all the various stylei
Of barbaric elocutions that can be in
vented to torture the ears Of healthy bu'
, unwilling listeners. He has read tha
ancient chestnut about an eloquen
y Athenian-wnich came too late {,
' be verified before going to press
e and he sighs for pebble anl
!. the roaring sea, while his faithful bu
r hopeless teacher "longs for brick ba
e and a fling at he"
4 This lore.laden youth scorns the re
porter. He has looked at the lusterles
hat and the black bordered cuffs Of th
reporter with unconeealed contempt Fl
2 knows that the demonstrative orients
!. salaam with which he expects to astonis
n the people who crowd into little rooI
lie on a hot night in June. will make ther
y listen in gaping wonder 70 his burnin
i. eloquence.
re That Is true, His bow is sstonishin
St and the people gaze ia wonder when }
M begins to burn his eloquence. The efieci
he Of the whole performance al
Il very apparent and they howl with deligl
1T when the verbal artillery ceases and u
c gunner retires to a throne to mop Il
Al trickling sweat from his low bulgin
he brow.
he Now here is where the tragedy com
Il in The faithful reporter sharpens h
is pencil and makes the mild commen
Of an unpreiudiced and kindly crit
0O on these noisy triumphs OF muse
nd Ian eloquence. The reporter does n
~ think the goose Of green pumpkin
IN eloquent nor graceful The reporter do
M. not think that the sentences are ters
on strong, new or beautiful. He do
ne not say that they have any
he the merits which should be found
~ polished and well-written speeches. T
~ honest and truthful reporter says son
zen thing to the contrary and the geni
steps around next day TO demand sat
faction and a retraction. He frequent
out gets some wisdom but waits indefnit,
Ice for the satisfaction and the retr
om ton Still the reporter reioioes WI
vi vi the commencement season is over,
~ during that time his life Is a burden.
rce "
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