Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1891-02-14
Nj. lIeeSoD' S viii.
By H. RIDER HAGGARD.
CHAPTER |.
AOGUsTA AND HER pm rrnr-.

W.. WIN birmingham will be acquainted Viii
tne vast publishing establishment ~" .t:Ii
AIoWh oy the short title of ..Meeson,s >,
when Is perhaps the most rayoo,.I-ai,i.
u'ion Oh the sort in Europe The
Are-or rather there were at IN az! ileie
Uno oesiilning OF this history--tbrea To,tl
hers In Meeson s-Meeson birnsoIf Pt tI'
managing partner, Mr.. Addison or,4 M ne
hoscoe-and people in Birmin@bs am III, MI
TO say That there were Others in4a,o-4S1
In Uhe affair, for Nelson's was a $3.50 t~ueu
pany' Qimited) ""' COM
However this may be. Maasor T. o.
was undoubtedly a commercial noor,1oI
~ employed more than 1000 hands. ana
us works lighted throughout with The
electric llght, cover two acres and A orar1
oi "a lanu. one hundred commercial
eieis' aC 30 week and a commits
ven lorCn east and west, and north
ana south. to sell the books Of Me- -
(Which were largely religious in H.. ISL
ure) in all lands; and fve-aod +-l-d La,
tame authors (who were illustrated h. 49,!
Teen tame artists sat-at salaries roI1r,
ing from GlOG to $500 a vear-in vanj2
IKE hutcheS in the basement and vi
Dy week poured out that hat work for
Wulch Meeson was justly famous. Then
thefe were editors and vice editors and
Aeaus OF the various departments and
suo-heaos, and financial secretaries. and
Ieacers' ana many managers; but what
tnelr names were no man knew because
at Nelson's all the employees of tbe
great house were known bv numbers
personalities and personal responsibility
being the abomination of the firm Nor
was 1t allowed to any one having deal
ngs with these items ever to see the
same number twice, presumably for fear
lest the number should remember that he
was man and brother, and his heart
should melt toward the unfortunate, and
the financial interests of Nelson's should
suffer In short, Nelson's was an estab-
ishment created for and devoted to
money making, and the fact was kent
studlously and even insolently before the
eyes OF everybody connected with it
winch was, Of course, as it should be, in
this happy land of commerce After all
That has been written, the reader will not
De surprised to learn that the partners in
Nelson's were rich beyond the dreams of
avarlce. Their palaces would have been
a wonder even III ancient Babylon, and
would have excited admiration in the cor
ruptest and most luxurious DAYS of Rome.
Where could one see such horses, such
- carriages, such galleries of sculpture, or
such collections OF costly gems as at the
palatlal halls of Messrs. Meeson, Addison
& Roscoe?
One day King Meeson sat in his count
ing house counting out his money, or, at
least. looking over the books of the firm.
He was in a very bad temper and his
heavy brOws were wrin6led up in a way
calculated to make the counting house
clerks shake on their stools Nelson's
had a branch establishment at Sydney, in
Australia, which establishment had, until
lately, been paying-it is true not as well
as the English one. but still 10 or 20 per
cent. But now a wonder had come to
pass. a great London publishing com
pany had started an opposition house in
Melbourne, and their "cuteness" was
more than the ''cuteness" of Meeson.
Did Nelson's publish an edition of the
works of any standard author at three
pence per volume, the opposition company
brought out the same work at twopence
halfpenny; did Meeson subsidize news
paper to puff their undertakings, the
opposition firm subsidized two to cry them
down. and so on. And now the results Of
all this were becoming apparent: for the
financial year just ended the Australian
branch had barely earned a beggarly net
dividend Of per cent.
No wonder Mir Meeson was furious, and
no wonder that the clerks shook upon
their stools.
This must be seen into, No 3, said
Mr.. Meeson, bringing his fist down with
bang ON to the balance sheet.
No. 3 was one of the editors-a mild
eyed little man with blue spectacles. He
had once been a writer of promise, but
somehow Nelson's had got him for its
own and turned him into q publishers
hack
.'Quite so, SIR" he said, humbly. 1t
is very bad-it is dreadful to think Of
Nelson's coming down to Z per cent
per cent? and lie held up his hands
Don't stand there like a stuck pig,
No 8. said Mr. Meeson, iercely, but
suggest something"
"Well, SIR said No. 3, more humbly
than ever, for he was terribly afraid Of
his employer. Il think, perhaps, that
somebody had better go to Australia, and
see what can be done.
Il know one thing that can be done,
said Mr. Meeson, with snarl; all those
fools out there can be sacked, and sacked
they shall be; and, what's more, III go
and sack them myself That will do, No:
8. that viii do" and No B departed, and
glad enough he was to go
AS he went q clerk arrived and gave a
card to the great man.
Miss Augusta Smithers," he read;
then. with grunt; ''Show Miss Augusta
Smithers in"
Presently Miss Augusta Smithers ar
rived She was a tall, well formed young
lady of about 25, with pretty golden hair
deep gray eyes, a fine forehead, and a
delicate mouth; just now, however. she
looked very nervous. ,o
well, Miss Smithers, what is it?'
asked the publisher
Il came, Mr.. Meeson-I came about my
book"
an affectation Of forgetfulness. LET me
see. Forgive me. but we publish so many
hooks Oh yes, | remember 'JemlIna
VOW Oh, well, believe 1t is gong Oh
Il saw YOU advertised the sixteenth
thousand the other day" put III MISS
Smithers. alphabetically
Did we-did we? All, then. you know
more about it than l do, and he looked
at his visitor in a way that conFeyeu
clearly enough that he considered the IN
terview was ended -
Miss Smithers rose, and then Win "a,
snasmodic effort, sat down again ht
fact is. Mr. Meeson, she sala-the I1c'
ia that | thought that, perhaps as 1e
mima's Vow had been such gfeae sue sue
cess. YOU might, perhaps-ln sholU !oT
might be inclined to give me some So T,
sum in addition to what nave aolon
M Meeson looked up. His forehead
,roe vrinEIed till the shaggy eyebrows
nearly hid the sharp little eyes " n"''
he said. WHAT
A. This moment the door opened and 9
SLOWLY IN. X