Evening journal., 1904-12-23
EDITORS AS MURDERERs.
some Newspapers Are Reckless In
Killing on Celebrities.


Captain Mayne Reid. the author of
'The Scalp Hunters" read what other
people thought about him no fewer
than three times, says Pearson's Week
ly. His initial demise" took place
during the Mexican war. Next, one
day in 1870. the New York papers put
on mourning for him, having gravely
buried him the previous day.
In spite OF this fact, however, he
lived to read yet a further notice" OF
his life and on his actual deathbed
vowed he meant to live IL only to spite
the journalists.
Another author, tho late Robert Louis
Stevenson. frequently perused his obit-
uary. He related once to a visitor TO
Samoa that reading the various mo-
tees" caused him much interest and
amusement, but that as the climate
was 50 admirably suitable he had no
doubt that he would be able to supply
his editors with copy FOR many years.
When at last the news Of his death
reached England in December, 1894,
Fleet street was mostly incredulous.
It was the old cry OF wolff Wolfr'
over again, said the editorial sanctums.
But confirmation followed quickly.
Instances are on record in which the
publication Of premature obituaries has
cost the offending newspaper dearly.
Some time ago a man was killed by
falling out OF a train in North Wales.
There were no papers by which he
could be identified, but the discovery
Of some sketch books in an empty com
partment OF the train, belonging TO a
well known London artist, led 10 the
assumption that he must be the dead
man, and a telegram to that effect was
published in the papers.
All might have ended happily had
not one OF the evening papers publish
ed an account OF the artists life, in
which It was pointed out that a greater
display OF zeal on his part would have
placed him In a far better position as
pen and Ink artist.
AS the artist in question happened to
be very much alive, however, he natu-
rally resented such remarks and insti-
tuted an action for libel, which. al
though settled out OF court, cost the
paper a considerable amount.
One OF the most remarkable expert
ences perhaps is TO write ones own
obituary, yet this is what Miss Har-
riet Martineau accomplished in 1855.
imagining that the end Of her career
was at hand. She was for many years
a leader writer on the stan of the Dai-
ly News, and her obituary notice lay in
a pigeonhole Of the office for twenty
one years. II appeared in 1876 in pre-
cisely the same form In which II was
written In three and a half columns OF
the journal to which she was so de-
voted a servant.
In this account OF her career she
stated that "she had small imaginative
and suggestive powers and therefore
no approach to genius" and that "she
could popularize," though "she could
neither discover nor invent" Few
have the faculty to take so judicial
and impartial a view OF their abilities
as this gifted authoress.
Not so long ago HazelPs Annal re-
corded the death OF G. b. Burgin, and
that writer OF great promise" wrote to
the paper. saying ''the report Of his
death was greatly exaggerated" Alas,
there are no original jokes leftl Both
Lord Charles Beresford and Mark
Twain denied their premature demise
in exactly the same wordsl