The record-union., 1892-03-19
JOURNALISTIC FEATS.
Tricks That Have to be Resorted tC
Sometimes.

1t took place in 1873. NJ. Theirs had
just been overthrown. Nasr-ed- Deem;
the present Shah of Persia, had an
nounced his visit to Paris. He was the
first sovereign who had visited Paris in
state since the war. The De Broglie
ministry, the first Cabinet of Marshal
McMahon, resolved to give great eclat to
his reception. The Shah was received IN
ponp at Ranelagh. Masts and orl-
tiamlnes adorned the length of the ave-
nue. du Eois de Boulogne. The Champs
ElyseeS were decorated with flags ana
coiors. The Place de la Concorde was
brilliant to the eye, and the Ponte de la
Concorde marvel of decoration. Sol
diers stood in serlied lines all along the
route, and it was in the midst of daz-
zling splendor that Nasr- -ed-Deen reached
the Palais Bourbon, which had been pre-
pared for his residence. Fetes followed
feteS, and it was resolved to finish the
series with the most brilliant Of all. by a
fete at Versailles, with gala dinner in
the Galerie des Glaces. and with a truly
royal display of fireworks in the Neptune
Fountain.
Nj. Leon Renault, the great advocate,
now Senator, was then PrefecU of Police.
l was friend Of his. The Due de Brog-
lie and the Due Decazes were very
amlable to me, and set out for Versailles
furnished with everything that could
6A'C LIZ elGCSSS w p1dCSS 1hUC WHICH
might think it worth while TO penetrate.
All doors, indeed, opened before me.
But at certain moment four or five of
my colleagues in the foreign press found
themselves at my side, resolved not to
leave me, and intending to profit by all
the facilities at my disposal. This lasted
throughout the evening. / attempted 10
make shifts and turns, but still l found
this cortege at my heels, rather increas-
ing than diminishing.
l was extremely indignant What use
was 1t for me TO see everything if all the
world saw the same, if on the morrow all
the English papers published the same
details? For we had not then private
wire, and Versailles had the only wire by
which our telegram could be sent. We
thus reached, my friend NJ. Bertholon
and l, the basin of Neptune, still followed
by my colleagues.
The official tribune was almost sup
ported against wall, and behind it was a
small gate, by which there was narrow
passage between the platform and the
wall TO the street. There were more than
10000 persons present, and The soldiers on
guard had great difficulty in maintaining
order and preventing a crush letting
people pass only very slowly. I decided
that we must either ascend to the chateau
straight against the crowd, or wait two
hours 20 go out. Now, it was 10 o'clock,
and the telegraph at Versailles closed be-
fore midnight, SO that when we got out it
would be too late to reach the Versailles
office, and too late also to return to Paris
or to telegraph. However, so much had
been said of this fete that to be disarmed
by the telegraph agencies was to be
beaten.
We were now pushed against wall on
which rested roof which rose above
court. On the other side l could see the
top of a long ladder, by which people
from without had climbed upon the roof
in order to enter the park.
"Listen!' said l, in a low voice, to NJ.
Bertholon. Take one of the chairs by
the side of the platform, and let us lean it
against the wall; get up on the roof and
give me your hand" 1t was DONE "Now
1 have thrown back the chair, which I
am about to replace. descend the ladder
quickly, hold it, and l will follow you,
and when once l am down, you, who
and we will upset it.' Just as NJ. Ber-
tholon came to my rescue, the others
appeared on the roof, and tried to retain
the ladder, which, however, escaped
their hands and fell into the court. The
man to whom the ladder belonged ran
forward, crying out. Here are twenty
francs,' / said to him. Throw the lad
der into the street." The man fastened
to execute the order. l heard some
furious cries. 1 hastened toward the
carriage which 1 had ordered to
wait for me at a particular spot,
and at breakneck speed we rushed to the
telegraph office. l had the wire free, all
to myself, and wrote my telegram, which
was transmitted word by word. When I
was just finishing, an employe came to
me and begged me to make haste as the
office was about to close. handed him
my last page, and he gave the order to
shut the doors.
In the street l met those who had re-
NAMED in the park, and who were run
ming with all their speed to dispatch their
teslegrsams' and | heard them striking
telegraph office.
This is the way that one manages to
send kilograms before other people, and
succeeds in making five enemies in one
single well-employed evening.-From
alfonso MI. proclaimed King OF
Spain." by Mr.. De Blowitz in Harper's
Magazine.