Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1905-11-23

twenty-four thousand and eighty-five
years ago. | am come to conduct you
to the distant past and crafty any one
wish you may ask. What seekest
thou?"
AT last Van felt that his one great
wish would be satisfied, and he immed-
lately shouted: 90, thou great Usher,
Shade Harmonious, seek light on a
dark subject Who was the author OF
| those lines: Little Willie he has left
| u.s. etc.?'
The Usher answered: II know not;
but we will go back step by step till we
find the criminal. | will always be
with you, only visible to you; to others
| am only air and thin air at that.
Wouldst go back by stages or grand
leap of thousands of years at once?''
Van decided to go little at time
so as to become acclimated; and said
he'd like to interview Horace Greeley.
One wave of the wand and they were
in New York City, the year 1860. Be
fore them was brick building of mod
est pretentions with swinging sign
'Tribune' over the door.
They entered, Were escorted to the
editorial department, and there sat a
man with his feet hooked on the back
legs of his chair, his body thrown for
| ward, his nose within eight inches of
the paper, and writing with lightning
rapidity page after page of hieroglyph-
| les that few men could read.
He never looked up, never stopped
writing, and said: ''The subscription
department is two doors to the rear y
getting no answer, he said while still
making those historic ink chicken
tracks of his: eve don't need any more
help" Still 40 answer 'We don't
want to buy anything.u Silence. sJim,
for the Lords sake give the man hall
dollar and let me finish this editorial. y
Van was still speechless.
Having torn off the last sheet of q
scathing editorial on the evils of Sc
cession," whistled through the tube t.
to the composing room, gave the copy
to an ink besmeared urchin who an.
swered the whistle, said '"Hhirty' anc
the boy disappeared
Mr.. Greeley then pushed back his ole
fashioned spectacles to their resting
kind benevolent face and for the frs
time noticed Van Zant, and inquired il
what manner he could serve him.
Van, having decided it best to keel
silent on being of another age, said hi
merely wished for a little information
"What is the nature of your query"
"Mr. Greeley, you are a man of wide
experience and can doubtless tell MT
the name of the author of the poem tina
starts like this: Little Willie he has
left US, ETC."
/ "4ou are laboring under an halluci
nation-authors, you mean, for they
are legion; but we will investigated
| Mr.: Greeley rang a bell and boy
who had been making a can of fresl
paste on an old cannon stove, stopped
his stirring and came into the room.
James, bring the Tribune indies
for the letter p"
Horace turned to "Poemsn and sale
it was too long to read, so handed tn
volume to Van, and there staring hin
in the face was the fact that "Littl
Willie, F" s'Little Mary" etc., had beer
published in the Tribune 61S times, anC
was written by 5S1 different ladies, l;
men, II loving friends, II sisters and
mother
"Mr. Greeley, what do you make O
simply els liars"
Thanking the great editor for hi
kindness, Van made his way to tn,
street and sought an hotel for he wa
weary, oh, so weary.
Go be continued)