Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1891-08-27
"BAB'S" SUMMER MAIL.
Some Women Who Are All Ambi-
.tious to Become Journalists,


Landscapes I'm High or Water colors Not
Required in Newspaperdom, but Etch-
ings In Black and white--Tha News
paper OF To-day n Powerful Mirror.
special Correspondents Gazette and Journal
In A NEW ENGLAND FARM HOUSE.
Aug. 2l.-Once in while there comes a
ouii, gloomy sort of day, and you con.
CRUDE that you are going to answer all
your letters. 1t seems a day eminently
adapted to pouring ink on paper. You
are more or less relieved yourself BY this
operation, and you are apt to come out
Of it as bright and CHEEKY as the sum
shine, which, after all, Is behind the
clouds. During the long summer DAYS
tnere have been good many letters
coming to me; letters that were pitifnl
letters over which l grew sad, and vet
they were letters from people whom |
could not assist They were all letters
from women who wanted to make money
with their pens, and they all said,
won't you use your influence to help
me Now, my friends, in politics IN
nuence may mean great deal; in news
paper work 1t is absolutely nothing
You may come with letter Of introduce
ton from the Gar of Russia. You NAV
then be asked to write letter on
Russia, and If it turns out to be a poor
one, yon will never be asked to write
another one for that paper even if the
grand high mogul of the land of China
should DO your hacker A so-called
pull in newspaper offices usually
means that you do work that suits them
that you are on time, and that you are
exact.
GIVE Us PERFECT ENGLISH
These women who have written to
me say they can write beautiful descrip-
tive articles. Deari deari When we
want perfect English-when we want
magnificent word pictures-we go to
books, and we don't look for landscapes
In high colors or in water col3rs in
newspapers; we only look for etchings
In black and white. The newspaper Of
To-day is a looking glass; it reflects what
is going on, and makes the reflection
IN the clearest and most defined manner,
the good newspaper seldom adding to
or taking from the truth; consequently
marvellous word pictures about nothing
are not cared for. But what is cared
Tor Is an accurate description of some
thing that is novel; an accurate account
OF something curious that is going on
in your part of the country, or even
recipe for taking spots off mans coat,
or best OF all, an occasional suggestion
as to how to cure yourself of your faults
THE FOREIGN WOMAN AND HER SPORT
ING NOVEL.
Sometimes answering letters is very
unsatisfactory work. One of the wo-
men who wrote to me told me she would
DO anything to earn little money.
wrote to her and advised her to
write little description of some Of the
curious customs of her country, for she
was foreigner, or some little incident
in the life of the royal personages near
whom she lived, or little story that
had heard her tell of famous ghost
that walked IN her neighborhood. Did
she do any of these? Certainly not;
she sent back word she couldn't con-
slider such tribes and what she proposed
to do was to write sporting novel
hope she has gotten some money for 1t
but | doubt it very much. When will
women learn that even to get a diamond
you have to stoop down--it is true you
rise up afterwards with the prize in your
hand, but everything in this world that
is worth having requires work, and hard
work; requires either a mental or Il
physical bending of the back,
WOMEN JOURNALISTS RELATING THEIR
PAST EXPERIENCES.
heard four women who wrote talk
ing the other day, and perhaps what
they said will convince the lady who
J failed in dressmaking and housekeeping
that all is not gold that glitters in the
way of newspaper work. They We're
talking about the hardest work they
ever had to do. One of them, bright
western woman, said: Last year my
husband lost his position; he is very
: delicate man, and the railroad company
$ that invited him to leave knew when
they did this that his chance for getting
place in some other Office was very
doubtful; he came home to me with the |
news, and after had consoled him and |
made him feel that things were brighter
. than they looked, he went to the door
and got the evening mail from out of
! the letter box. The first letter that | |
opened told me that my services were
no longer required on paper which
had formed the greater part of my in
come. Understand, they didn't object
to my work, it was only that during the
summer months they had concluded to
close up that department. | thought |
should faint, but didn't; l laughed,
tore up that letter, made some light re-
mark about il that didn't hint at its con-
tents.
There is another letter that says the
woman has tried to be dressmaker, has
tried to keep house, and IS "afraid she
will have TO take to writing" She speaks |
Of this as if 1t were the easiest thing in
the world, and the most despicable; she |
speaks of it rs if all she had to do was TO |
walk into newspaper office, demand |
the salary of managing editor, write |
when she felt like it, and live in luxury |
ever after.
And opened the next one.
SHE CREATED A DETECTIVE STORY IN
A NIGHT.
This was a request from an editor |
that l would write him such thrilling
detective story as he said only could |
write. He wanted it by the next day. | |
sat down and began to write The /
prospect was not cheerful; husband /
without situation, and me with $50 a
week right out of my pocket. l never
knew how | wrote that story, and | /
don't think anybody can blame me if [
made the villain an editor. | worked
all night over it, and when the morning |
came | sent it down to the people who
had asked for it. The days were mighty |
gloomy after that, but the detective |
story caught on, and those people EN-
ployed me regularly, and when the fall
came, the other newspaper wanted me
back. What's that somebody said then.
L would not have gone? Oh, YES, YOU