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Show AN OLD SUBSCRIBER. The country journalist, havi-ng concluded con-cluded his work of devil, printer, bookkeeper, book-keeper, job printer, reporter, editor, press hand, mailing clerk, collector, compositor and ad solicitor for the day, had sat down to study out what string to pull to get enough money to meet a note of $14.38 coming due next Saturday, Satur-day, when a man he did not know came into the office and sat down without being be-ing asked to do so. For a minute he looked around the place and at the presiding pre-siding spirit of it before he spoke. "You are," he said slowly, "the proprietor pro-prietor of this establishment, and it is a newspaper office?" "It is," replied the wondering editor, "And this is your product?" he said, holding up the week's issue. "A newspaper? news-paper? " "Yes;" "The herald of a noisy world?" said the visitor dreamily. "Yes." "The million-folded multiple of thought?" "Yes." "The hasty record of the world's affairs?" af-fairs?" "Yes." "The molder of public opinion?" "Yes," said the journalist, looking worried. "Man's daily doings done in ink?" "Yes." "The richest treasure of the art preservative pre-servative of arts?" "Yes." "The Archimedean lever that moves the universe?" "Yes," and by this time the editor vas getting ready to escape by the window. D "And all for two dollars a y ear." said the visitor, still in that dreamy tone, as he let his soft blue eyes fall over the page. "It's a durn shame," he went on, going down into his pocket, "here's $2, and I'll send you in a cord of wood and a bushel of apples and four gallons of cider next week." Then he got up and went out without so much assayin.r "good-bye" and the editor gazed "stupidly "stu-pidly at the $2 bill on his knee.--Washington Star. |