Year: 1878

During the last few years degree of H.
cense in chronicling personal gossip has
been taken, which has never been exer-
cised with lmpuniiy in this country, and
will not long be tolerated now. No doubt
scurriious journals have been known at
many former periods of our history, but
they had an uneasy life Of il, and their
fate was not such as to tempta crowd of
imitators into the field. All such papers
run certain and we'll marked course.
AT first they surprise and amuse the pub
lie. People like to see the names oftheir
friends coupled with some disparaging
allusion or anecdote; and the more names
there are mentioned the better the paper
sells. But at last the blows begin to
rain round too freely. The laughers
themselves get hit. People who have
perhaps supplied the materials for "spicy
articles" are staggered 10 find that they,
too, are called up for punishment. But
what is the editor to do? He must have
the usual supply of personal paragraphs.
1t is not possible for him to spare his
friends; all must be grist that comes TO
his mill. An ingenious concector ofthese
legends Of lords and ladies onced avowed
that he always found it better and easier
to make them upout of his own head than
10 wait for the news TO dribble IN. But
this may sometimes be dangerous work,
and it is as we'll TO have grain of truth
in the budget ofscandle. Itgives itpoint.
If Lord A-sends a little item to-day,
he is equally liable TO find that his own
indescretions are paraded before the pub
lie the following week. The editor him
selfis scarcely safe; and indeed we must
fear that in some cases his own little slips
would bear telling about the least of all.
But unless some brother journalist comes
out with the story, ii will remain untold.
No one likes to bell the cat. Thus the
gossip-monger can go on shooting his ar
rows into every household. The end of
it is that enemies rise up against the pa
per in all directions. and tear it to pieces,
and the literary garbage gathsrer is ulti-
mately sent adrift with his dirty stale and
offensive wares.


This, we say, is the end; but in the pre-
sent day it takes long while sometimes
to reach the end, and in the meantime the
trade grows apace. Each new conner in
in the field tries to outdo the last TO Jump
higher and scream louder, to drag in
more names of private persons, to tell
nastier stories, and to defle still more the
tone and character OF private life. Any
tale which compromises a woman is
eagerly sought for. The scavenger who
first get hold of such a story is sure OF
his reward double pay, and praise from
the chief cook and bottle washer. Last
week one Of these papers did not scruple
to relate long history, in which not only
the good name of one Of the Queens sons
was assailed, but his wife was also drag
ged in, and private lady was described
in way to which the merest o1tcast
might reasonably object. Whether the
story was true or false we know not, but
that it should be published without shame,
and read with avidity by the public, are
facts which prove how little we have to
boast of, other with reference to society
or the press. No doubt there are many
stories afoat about royal princes, for some
of which they have to blame their own
indiscretion. In these days. if they make
their escapades too notorious the public is
sure to hear Of them. The protection Of
mere rank is getting worth less and less.
But fall the scandal sfoat about dstin-
guished personages is to be printed in the
newspapers most people would prefer to
omit the names of defenseless women
from the anecdotes. The Journal to which
we have referred not only brought out
thoss names, but was careful to announce
when the owners Of them would arrive in
London. London Week.