Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1890-03-01
AS YOU LIKE IT.
Stray Leaves From = Reporters |
Note Book.

Note Book.
Apropos of the threat of Mrs Margaret
Shepard to inflict another paper, one of
the long-felt-want variety, upon Water
bury, a few words may not be amiss.
One of the simplest things to do in the
world is to start a newspaper. Almost
anybody possessed of fair amount OF
publisher. Until the first issue of the
new born journal appears the embryo
editor is happy. About the second
week, except in rare cases, his trials be-
gin. Creditors are more numerous than
subscribers and the printers are begin
ming to wonder why the boss don't
"come down." About the third Mon
day morning the door is found locked
and the composing room towel 70 seen
floating mourpfully from an upper win
dow, signifying palmer than words that
the editor has left town on freight
| train Such is the fate of more than
one newspaper wot of in this great and
glorious climate. Occasionally an en-
| terprise OF the kind above mentioned
comes to life in much the same manner
as Mrs Shepard's proposed organ. AT
first money is plenty. The paper cuts
| shine and attempts to rup before 1t is
able to walk. Everything is lovely and
the bank account continues to grow
| first wear all that remains is a chattel
mortgage and pail of sour paste.
This IS the cold and cruel practical side
of newspaper life. To establish sue
cessful newspaper requires years OF toll
and the closest application to business
imaginable.
About every day or two one sees the
question in print Will the year 1900
be a leap year? 1t will not. When
Julius Caesar revised the calender he
appointed an extra day every four years;
and his calendar lasted until A. D. 1882.
Now the ordinary year is II minutes and
II seconds short of being 1851 days in
length, so that there isn't really full
sized extra day TO be added to February
every four years. Caesar didn't know
this, or didn't care about it, and for
1 900 years we kept borrowing from the
future, until in 1859 we'd borrowed ten
days. Pope Gregory XIII, started to
correct this. He ordered October 5, 1882,
to be called October Is, and to square
things, ordered that centurial years
should not, as a rule, be leap years. But
| if leap year is omitted regularly
every hundredth year, we pay back
further ordered that every centurial
year which could be divided by 400
should be leap year after all. So we
borrow II minutes each year from the
future, more than pay our borrowings
back by emitting three leap years in
three centuries, and finally square mat
tiers by having a leap year in the fourth
centurial year. This arrangement is 80
exact that we borrow more than we pay
back to the extent of only one day in
1896 years. Sixteen hundred was leap
year, 1000 will be, but 1900 will not be.
A bright, smoothly worn shoe, cast
from the hoof of Il horse, jingled on
South Main strset the other day, A
gentleman who was crossing the street
at the time, picked up the shoe, dropped
it in the capacious pocket of his ulster,
and passed along. The movement at
tracted no attention. Those who saw
the occurrence doubtless envied the
fellow. 1t is not little strange that
this superstition has fixed itself SO firmly
upon the popular mind. There are hun
dreds of people who will not allow that
they are in the least superstitious, but
nevertheless not one of them would
willingly pass horseshoe in the street.
Young man, don't marry high
strung widow with an idea of tanning
her. John Kane of West Virginia tried
it and the doctors have taken thirty
buckshot out of different parts of his
anatomy and John is still ballasted with
twenty more.