The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-01-06


mother
BY grace of these truly wise and ex-
cellent instructions, Joe tumbled Fitch
down next morning with a bullet
through his lower leg, which furnished
MIN permanent limp. And Joe lost
nothing but lock of hair, which he
could spare better then than he could
now. For when saw him here in New
York year ago, his crop was gone; he
had nothing much left but a fringe,
with a dome rising above.
About a year later I got my chance.
But l was not hunting for it. Good
man went off to San Francisco for a
weeks holiday, and left me to be chief
editor. / had supposed that that was
an easy berth, there being nothing to
do but write one editorial per day:
but I was disappointed in that super
stition. / couldn't find anything to
write an article about, the first day.
Then it occurred to me that inasmuch
as it was the 22nd of April, 1864, the
next morning would be the three-hun-
dredth anniversary of Shakespeare
birthday-and what better theme could
I want than that? I got the Cyclopae-
dia and examined it, and found out who
Shakespeare was and what he had
done, and I borrowed all that and laid
it before a community that couldn' t
have been better prepared for instruc-
ton about Shakespeare than If they
had been prepared by art. There
wasn't enough of what Shakespeare
had done to make an editorial of the
necessary length, but filled it out with
what he hadn't done-which in many
respects was more important and strik-
ing and readable than the handsomest
things he had really accomplished. But
next day was in trouble again. There
were no more Shakespeares to work up.
There was nothing in past history, or
in the worlds future possibilities, to
make an editorial out of, suitable to
that community; so there was but one
theme left. That theme was Mr.. Laird,
proprietor of the Virginia Union" His
editor had gone off to San Francisco
too. and Laird was trying his hand at
editing. I woke up Mr.. Laird with some
courtesies of the kind that We're fash
ionabe among newspaper editors in
that region, and he came back at me
the next day in a most vitriolic way.
He was hurt by something I had said
about him-some little thing-I don't
remember what 1t was now-probably
called him a horse-thief, or one of those
little phrases customarily used to de-
scribe another editor. They were no
doubt Just. and accurate, but Laird was
a very sensitive creature, and he didn't
like it. So we expected challenge
from Mr.. Laird, because according to
the Understanding to the etiquette Of
duelling as reconstructed and reorgan-
lied and improved by the duellists OF
that region-whenever you said thing
about another person that he didn't
like, it wasn't sufficient for him to talk
back in the same offensive spirit; ETH
quette required him to send a cha1-
lenge; so we waited for challenge
waited all day. 1t didn't come. And
as the day wore along, hour after
hour, and no challenge came, the boys
grew depressed. They lost heart. But
l was cheerful; felt better and better
all the time. They couldn't understand
it. but I could understand it. 1t was
my make that enabled me to be cheer
full when other people We're respondent.
So then it became necessary for us to
waive etiquette and challenge Mr..
Laird. When we reached that decision,
they began to cheer UP, but began TO
lose some of my animation. However,
in enterprises of this kind you are In
the hands of your friends; there is
nothing for you to do but to abide by
what they consider to be the best
course. Daggett wrote a challenge for
me, for Daggett had the language-tne
right language-the convincing Ian
I lacked it. Daggett poured
out a stream of unsavory epithets upon
Mr.. Laird. charged with vigor and
venom of a strength calculated to per-
suade him; and Steve Gillis, my Sec
ond, carried the challenge and came
back to wait for the return. 1t didn't
come. The boys were exasperated, but
kept my temper. Steve carried an
other challenge, hotter than the other,
IF it. I began to feel quite comfort
able. I began to take an interest In
he challenges myself I had not felt
any before; but it seemed to me that
was accommodating a great and valu-
lble reputation at no expense, and my
ielight in this grew and grew, as chal-
enge after challenge was declined, un-
il by midnight I was beginning TO
hink that there was nothing in the
world so much to be desired as a |
nance to fight a duel. So I hurried |
)aggett up; made him keep on sending |