The record-union., 1898-12-18
HOW THE CITY EDITOR DIED.

Copyright, 1893, by Leigh H. Irvine. Pub
fishers are cautioned against reproduc-
ing this story, either wholly or in part.)
In the summer of 1880 there began
with me what you will probably con-
slider one of the most wonderful exper-
fences that ever befell a human being.
1t wove its subtle mysteries about me
in such way as to change the cur
rent Of my life, and bewilder my dear
est relatives and friends. AS that mys
terry annihilated the very fortress Of
friendships that had bound me to my
comrades, and as its consequences ex-
tended far beyond the limits of my
own life, I have decided to tell the
story without further delay.
Let me affirm at the outset that my
| name is James Vizeen, no matter how
| many people may dispute that fact,
| or call me a pretender; and when I
die, if my body should be found in
such condition as to permit an exam
| ination, there are two secret marks by
| which it may be identified beyond dis
pute. The middle toe of the left foot
was amputated in 1865 (because a poi
sonous spiders bite made that opera
| tion necessary to save my life), and
| the words James ViZeen, son of Clark
| ViZeen, will be found plainly tattoocd
| between my shoulders, in the most
| brilliant crimson that ever shone from
| human flesh. The punctures that spell
those words were made by my fathers
| hands, and the rare pigment which he
| injected under my skin when l was an
| infant preserves his well-known hand
writing unto this day. While it is not
relevant to this story to say it, 1 will
state that this little photographic
memento is the only scrap of evidence
| in my possession that shows his pen
manship. 1 have often stood with my
I naked back to a mirror and read the
words of my father by the aid of a
hand glass-a strong proof that hand
writing is hereditary, for the writing
is counterpart of my own.
l should also state that the high
| lights on my shoulders are said to be
an exact fac simile of the writing on a
scrap of paper now folded away and
preserved with certain little family
heirlooms under lock and key with the
papers of my fathers estate With
these facts before you there will be no
trouble in your mind as to my identity
At the age of thirty I removed from
Kansas City to San Francisco, deter
mined to rub out the past and begin
life anew. Having made and lost a
| fortune in real estate, I went back to
my original calling newspaper report
| ing), and resolved to do all in my
power to get ahead by saving my
steady earnings. This was the more
! urgent from the fact that I was the
head of a growing family-two little
girls and promising boy of less than
| three years of age. The struggle was
pretty hard, but in the commendable
! effort to provide for these dear little
people I was materially aided by their
! mother, a woman of rare sense, dig
nifty, culture and beauty-but why ex-
| tol her virtues? Well, we were hap-
PLY married, and there was everything
in the world to nerve us in our effort
to get on in life
| Though my wife did not fully realize
the situation, / will tell you that there
was one thing that continually worried
me-lack of funds. Having had sue
cess in a dignified business of my own,
it CALLED me to feel that 1 was always
doing less than my best work; for the
hired neWsgatherer of a great daily
| paper is compelled at times to do a
sort of messengerboy service and
petty waiting at respectable citizens
door-steps, which causes him to realize
that his calling has many phases that
! are far beneath the dignity of a. gen.
tleman. AT best his income is scant
compared with the earnings of men of
| culture who exert equal energy in
other pursuits-law, medicine. COM
merce, etc. In my case there was lit
tie hope of promotion, and there was
I
| poor as it was, might end any day.
| Slgnett, the city editor of the
'Bugle," had the Overbearing manners
of slave-driver, and scarcely a day
passed that my pride and manhood
were not put to the test He worked
me shamefully, growled without prov
ocation, addressed me as if L had been
accustomed to menial service all nv
life, and seemed to delight in deviling
me with petty details, which often de-
| tanned me, without extra pay. until
/ late and unreasonable hours NV DO
| llteness and submissiveness fed his
| hend1sh desire to drive me- and I was
! often compelled to take a detail at 9
O'CLOCK IN the morning, even though I
had worked until after 2 o'clock the
nght before. 1t thus CHANGED that in
the struggle for my daily bread I was
| OFTEN forced to go without proper sleep.
or 10 sleep the greater part of each
forenoon, and l saw far too little of my
wife and children. 1 aged rapidly un-
| der this cruel pressure, and the killing
! pace soon upset my nerves and made
such lnroads on my health that I be-
| gan to cast about for some escape
from the slaves life 1 was leading
during these exasperating trials we
| llVed IN very plain cottage of five
| rooms far out on Folsom street This
at once cut us off from association with
! people OF the class we had known in
| other cities. Though I say it with
proper respect for the neighborhood,
and with good will toward my fellow
men, the vicinity was not such as l:e-
/ fitted the rank and condition of nv
family. Our neighbors were for the
most part noisy beer drinkers, whose
carousals rivaled the rows of Donny-
| brook Fair
At the end OF ;nree months of slavish
| toll and niggardly saving, Mrs. Viz cen
| and L surveyed the situation, with an
| eye to casting up chances of saving
| enough money to free ourselves from
| our pressing necessities. The invoice
showed that we had supported our fam
| lily and saved 500 from my earnings.
/ Thus encouraged, we made a forecast
| to the effect that we might be. able to
| buy a few acres in Alameda County in
year or two, build a cottage, and add
to our income by raising chickens.
Il believe that my work is appreciat-
ed on the Bugle at last 1 said to my
wife one bright morning. for Signett