The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1895-09-18
SELECTED STORY.
A Newspaper Item.

"Right you are; what's the trouble?"
81 thought perhaps you mightn't
have got an account of that accident
and inquest at Luxton, and as / made a
few notes, shall be glad to place them
at your disposal
"Thanks | A brother in adversely ?"
I" A little in that line. When does
your paper come out? Saturday. All
right; | may want copy or two. Good
morning."
He was well.dressed, intelligent
looking man of thirty to thirty-fve
years of age; perfect stranger to me,
and, as far as / could see, without even
nodding acquaintance with any OF the
Blackford worthless usually to be found
in or about the court house on bust
ness morning.
l was reporter on the staff of the
Bldckford Gazette, and was leaving the
courthouse after chronicling a driblet
of small beer in the shape of a couple of
"drunks," a sleeping.out case and q
"neglecting to maintain"
The "copy" which the stranger
handed me was done in press style and
ran as follows
FATALITY ON THE RAILWAY The body
of a mddle-aged man "a strangely was
found on the Luxton branch line early on
Wednesday morning by couple OF plate
layers. The police and the district coroner
were communicated with, and an inquest
was held at the Ilton Arms inn on Thurs
day afternoon. The body was terribly
mangled In a pocketbook were private
visiting cards bearing the name OF Fred
erick A. Wingfeld, but gave no address.
The sum of 20 las was found in the
pockets and a settled hotel bill, showing
that the deceased had stayed at Burston
the previous night. The landlord of the
Anchor hotel was called and stated that
the deceased brought no luggage with him
and only stayed one night. He seemed a
quiet gentleman and made no stir either
in coming or going. There was no evidence
to show how the deceased came to be on the
line. A verdict of killed on the railway
was returned by the jury. The remains OF
the unknown were inferred in the parish
churchyard the same evening"
l passed the paragraph and in so
doing decided my own future, though l
did not dream of it then.
A fortnight later-we didn't hurry
things in our country weeklies-a Lux
ton paper contradicted the whole story.
There had been no fatality on the rail-
way as stated, no inquest and no YER
dict
/ was bit surprised, but soon forgot
all about it. The governor said moth
ing-perhaps he had seen neither para.
graph nor contradiction-andI wasn't
going to make sensation when l had
really nothing TO go upon. If a joke
was intended it was rather grim one,
and if there was any serious intention
in the maneuver l failed to see it then.
The next time a stranger offered me
"copy" would not tumble to his plans
80 easily. There l allowed the matter
to remain.
l was young and ambitious and
dreamed of working my way up to the
London dailies, perhaps to the "gal-
lery," and toiled on for couple of years
in Blackford, with one eye on my work
and another on the road / meant TO
travel--the road to fortune.
In order to assist in the attainment of
my object made special study of
ladies' dress, and in course of time
could reel off column on shades and
settings, goefiered skirts and piqued
bodices, while all the technicalities-
scollop and trimming, laces and frills-
were at my finger ends.
This branch Of journalism requires a
good deal of study, but it pays in the
end. In my case it led to success.
Before the end of the third year after
the "railway fatality" paragraph was
doing my column on "Dress at the
Drawing Room" "Gowns at Good
wood" and " Frocks at Henley" for
the leading dailies, with no end of par
agraphs for society papers and trade
journals, all bringing grist to the mill
at rate which made the thirty shil-
lings a week of my earlier experience
seem scandalously small.
Professionally, and perhaps for other
reasons not unknown to gentlemen of
the press, had to visit Nine. Davour's
dressmaking establishment pretty often
Of course / was well received when
ever l went, and equally, of course,
Nine. Davour's name frequently APP
peared in descriptive articles and So
ciety paragraphs. But that is neither
here nor there.
At Nine. Davour's had to meet the
heads of the different departments, one
of the most sensible of whom was
known to me as Miss Vera. She could
describe dress in few words and say
all that could be said about bonnet in
the neatest of sentences. In reviewing
my" copy" often solicited her aid,
and saved my reputation more than
once by following her advice. was
much obliged to the girl and rather
liked her.
AT first there was nothing more than
that. One evening was passing OK
ford street, with Jack VIM of the
'Tiser, when we met Miss Vera and
another girl going home. She smiled
and bowed and l returned the salute.
g l admire your taste, old man." said
Jack; " that's the sweetest-looking girl
I've seen for many day. She walks
well, too"
I turned to look, and Vera and her
companion INDUCED their curiosity at
the same moment and were caught in
the act
1t was ihel. that began to think OF
my dressmaker acquaintance, and the
more | thought the more convinced
became that domeslicity was preferable
to bohe mianism, and that | might dc
Al la.