The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1894-02-15
The Art a. rr4eticed in Ana~rtez Amsxcs
the Versatile Freaehtnan-

DO mo-. believe Euu have got over me
difficulty by having him told that you
are not al home He viii return 10 the
charge ten. twenty times. be will stand
sentinei at your door, sleep ou the mat
outside your hotel bedroom, SO as 10
pounce upon YOU a. soon "a you show
your face in the morning Should you
succeed il escaping the hunter, rather
than retl n 10 the newspaper office
empty handed he vii! find your wife and
ask her if yau snore, whether YOU are an
early riser. whether you are the more
amidhle after dinner or before what YOU
eat at breakfast, what is your favorite
color in trousers and what size boots
YOU take. lie will ask her when you
were married, how long your honey
moon lasted, if YOU have children and
whether they have cut their teeth. With
these materials he VIII make up a col
umn
There is no question too indiscreet for
these enterprising inquisitors; they would
have interviewed st. Anthony in his hut.
Do not shout victory, either, because
you have succeeded in getting rid of the
interviewer without replying to his ques-
tons, To your stupefaction, the news
papers next day will have an account of
the conversation which you might have
aad with their reporters.
If my advice be worth giving, the best
thing you can do when the Interviewer
presents himself and says, Il am a re-
porter, sir, and have come to ask you for
few moments chat" is TO say to him:
Mad to see you. sir; pray be seated"
After all, interviewing is an operation
that one survives, and, to be just, | must
say that American reporters in general
are very courteous, Obliging and-which
is simply astounding when one considers
that they rarely take notes-accurate in
their accounts of interviews.
On the 18th of November, 1887, at 0 a.
M, the Germanic. after a terribly rough
passage of nine days, entered the harbor
of New York. All at once the Germanic
stopped. A little steam tug drew up
alongside, and there stepped on board a
few custom house officers, followed by
several other persons. Look Quit! cried
one of my fellow passengers. What is
the matter" | asked. The interview
ersr' Nonsense, not here SURELY ex-
claimed
No sooner were tho words out of nv
mouth than two young men handed me
their cards, with the announcement that
they were journalists.
1--WE have come to present our respects
to you" they said, land to wish you q
pleasant time in our country"
While they uttered these words they
scanned me from head to foot, iotting a
,few strokes on the note books. They
were taking my portrait, which appeared
next morning.
One paper gave the following descrip-
ton of your humble servant Max
ORell is rather globular Frenchman of
about forty"
''Globular!' the idea!
Question after question was put with
the rapidity of lightning flashes Have
you had a good PASSAGE Are you
sick at sea-" Where were YOU born?"
"How old are you;" How long do you
mean to stay in the United States?"
Excuse me, gentlemen" / said, 81
am tired and am going to the hotel to
rest | shall be happy to see you this af-
ternoon."
Oh! that first afternoon in New York,
spent in the company of the interview
ers! | shall never forget it.
'Ah! said one of them. after the usual
salutations, I'VE are going to bore you,
SO let us begin at the beginning"
This made me smile. Il know your
first question" | said, you are going to
ask me whether this is my first visit to
America"
You are right, that is generally our
first question; but have another to ask
you before. You have just eaten your
first meal in America: what did you
have?"
Gentlemen" Ireplied as seriously as
possibly could, Il have just been in for
a piece of turbot beefsteak and potato
chips, celery salad, and vanilla ice"
And now" remarked another repor-
ter, Il have an important question to put
to you. hope it will not astonish YOU"
"Oh!" / replied, Il am in America,
and quite ready not to be astonished at
anything"
We'll, then, said he, Il want to ask
you what are your impressions of Amer
lea"
Excuse me-" | exclaimed. 81 have
only been in it three hours. and those
three hours have been spent in this hotel.
You must really allow me to abstain for
the moment from telling you what |
think of America; for you will admit.
hope, that one must have passed whole
Gay at least in America, in order to
Judge it with any accuracy"
Here rolled a cigarette and rang for
lemon squash. The reporters immedi-
ately made an entry in their note books.
What Is that you have put down.? I
asked.
a young fellow, with face beaming
with activity and intelligence, replied:
- wrote that at this point of our con-
yersation you rolled q cigarette and rang
ior lemon squash"
"Really. gentlemen" ventured to OBJ
serve, ''do you imagine that such a re-
marx as that can possess the slightest in
terest for your readers:"
without doubt, they replied.
'Oh! in that case, excuse me; I ought
to have known that in America, as else
where, an intelligent man knows his
business. Go Oh with Your questions,
you Interest me greatly"
The questions recommended. One
wanted biographical details, another the
origin Of my pseudonym. One wished
to know if | worked iii the morning, the
afternoon or the evening: another
whether | worked sitting or standing up,
and also whether used ruled paper and
quill pens One reporter asked me if |
thought in English or in French, another
whether Gen. Boulanger had ans chance
OF soon being elected president of the
French republic. If. | crossed my legs
during the conversation, if took off my
glasses, nothing escaped these journal
lists; everything was iotted down.
With the idea of giving them some
thing better worth writing. | launched
into anecdotes. This brought about a
little scene which was quite comic. If