The mirror., 1922-07-20
Saltwater, Minnesota, Thursday July 20, 1922.

to say, he is sincerely appreciated in the
community of which he is a prominent
part, and l regret to observe, is rare
example of type all too few in our COM
munity life that might well be emulated.
Reviewing what l have written so far
of the "Reminiscences" l am aware of
many, many errors of style, grammar, con-
struction, ETC., but am soothed somewhat
by the sense of perception l exhibited in
asking the kind indulgence of the reader,
which am confident will be granted. AL
so, am moved to make comment here, in
justification of these lines, by reason of an
editorial under the caption "What Next"
appearing in a recent issue of the Far
mers Tribune" in which the writer of
same decrys the unrestrained food of
writing of so-called books of "Self-Revela
tion," referring to it as "ME" literary
disease. No doubt the gentleman is right,
hut anticipating the possible disparage-
ment of these lines by readers of the
"Silent City" superinduced by the editorial
mentioned, I want to promise here that l
will refrain from "Self-Revelation' as
much as possible, only reminiscing on in
cidents that deem of possible interest, in
cluding only the necessary personal ele
ment.
AS mentioned before, we are to meet the
managing editor of the Blade. Another
big man, by the way. l shall never for
.-et the impression formed of this man,
whom we will call Mr.. Walsh, when first
l applied for a place on the staff. Some
what self-conscious and slightly uncertain
as to my ability, but, nevertheless, deter
mined to make stab at my ideal work, l
approached the "great man" resolutely, al
belt timidy. l beheld pair of kindly
grey eyes, peering at me appraisingly,
over gold-rimmed spectacles. The face
was round and benevolent but of pallor
that indicated constant stay indoors, not
unlike what is called the "prison pallor."
Affable lines gave evidence of genial
nature. The hair, almost entirely gone
from the crown, revealed badness. His
ample bulk was comfortably deposited in
revolving chair, at his desk, of generous
size. He had just laid aside the inevitable
blue pencil and proof. His face relaxed,
and the furrow of industry disappeared,
momentarily, from his brow. was i'm
mediately conscious, in the semi-darkness
of the waning afternoon, of sort of glow
ing halo, very intangible, but discernible,
Ia trick of the sunlight no doubt) that
enshrouded the man, emphasizing to me,
instinctively, a simple and kindly nature.
At once 1 made known the object of my
visit, being as brief as possible.
The afternoon was warm and sultry,
and his first words in reply were typical
of the man as came to know him:
"Unbutton your coat, and be seated.
Gee! it's warm, isn't it," and with the
words he drew up chair for me. There
followed short conversation and l was
engaged at nominal salary to begin my
duties the next morning.
Introductions to the rest of the staff fol-
lowed, with desk and typewriter pro-
vided, also what was known as the "in-
dustrial district" was assigned to me, and
l was ready for the supreme" test. In
the days that followed l became conscious
of general recognition of some ability,
judging from additional page 8, OoL 81