Show REPORTING IN YE OLDEN TIME IN LONDON england a book entitled newspaper reporting in the olden time and today has enst J net been printed in this book the history of the reporter is traced as far back as the times of cicero and ceesar and what strikes the modern reader most forcibly to is the similarity between the items of the modern newspaper and those of the ancient there was published in ancient rome a journal entitled the aota aeta durna duma uma it was not printed of course it was waa written under the direction of the magistrates and placed in the hall of liberty it took cognizance of all the pawing passing events and did not ignore very trifling items it shows that the reporter of ancient rome borne was not a long way removed from his brother of modern new york or chicago here is an item translated from the acta of ancient rome borne gilt it thundered and an oak was struck with lightning on that part of the mount Paia palatine Lins called summa yelia velia early in the afternoon A fray happened in a tavern at the lower end of the banker a street in which the keeper of the hog in armour tavern was dangerously wounded bertinius Ter tinius the fined the butcher fur for selling belling meat which had not been inspected by the overseers of the markets markeis the fine is in to be employed in building a chapel to the temple of the goddess tellus 11 this is under date of the ath of the of april here is hs another paragraph the subjects of which would seem to demand more extended treatment paulus the consul and cu octavius Oct avins the lor set out this day for macedonia in their habits of war aud and vast numbers of people attending them hem to 10 the gates gated the futi futeral eral of marcia was performed r with greater pomp of imaged I 1 man M attendance of mourners mournen the proclaimed the plays in honor of the cybele the history of reporting is skill skillfully tully treated in this work from the days of ancient rome boole until the appearance of the newspaper in En england glaDd there are extracts from english papers of the seventeenth century which show that the reporter was in quest of the marvellous marcellous marv ellous and sensational three bun hundred years ago the man osh fish and the mermaid mernia ld were in thoe thode times treated as realities here is an item which shows that such shows were attended to by the english newspaper man of three centuries ago A true relation of the strange appearance of a man fish about three miles between the river thames having a musket in one hand and a petition in the other credibly reported by six sailors who both saw an and talked with the monster here is another relating to the mermaid A perfect mermaid was by the great wind last night bilven driven ashore near greenwich with a comb in one hand and a lookingglass looking glass glem in another she seemed to be of the countenance of a most moat fair and beautiful woman with her arms crossed weeping out many pearly dro drops to of salt it tears and afterwards she gently gen y turning herself upon her back again swam away without being seen any more ay the london of 1666 contains of the great fire of london it reminds one of the chicago fire of 1871 and the excitement alarm and destruction caused by it here is a report of the london fire I 1 on the ad dinst at I 1 of the clock in the morning there happened to break out a sad and deplorable fire in pudding lane near new fish street which falling out oat at that hour of the night and in a quarter of the town so close built with wooden pitched ditched itched houses spread itself so far before 9 day a and with such distraction to the inhabitants h haute and neighbors that care was not taken for the timely preventing the further effusion of it by pulling down houses as ought to have been so that this lamentable fire in a short time became too big to be mastered by any engines or working near it it fell out most unhappily too that a violent easterly wind fomented it and kept I 1 it t burning all that day and the night follo following sp spreading ang itself up to grace church street and down downwards wras from cannon street to the west side as fat far as the three cranes in the Vin trey 11 it to is not generally known that dr samuel johnson is really the founder of our colern system of reporting lie he was employed by cave the london publishers publisher to write the parliamentary reports the doctor was dining one evening at samuel footes footers the actor the conversation turned on reporting foote expressed his bis admiration of one of the older pitts speeches as it appeared in print dr johnson said he wrote the speech whereupon foote expressed his astonishment saying that it was almost impossible the surly doctor replied as an follows sir I 1 wrote it in exeter street I 1 no never ver was in the gallery of the house of commons but once in my life cave the publisher who employed dr johnson had interest with the doorkeepers he and the persons em employed aloyed under him got admittance they brought away the subjects of discussion the names of the speakers the side they took and the order in which they rose together with notes of various arguments adduced in the course of the debate the whole was afterwards communicated to me me and I 1 composed the speeches in the form they now have in the parliamentary debates P dr johnson was emp employed oyed as reporter for three years by cave the doctor was a staunch tory and that in writing parliamentary reports took good care the whig dogs should never dever have the best of the argument the speeches as written by johnson Jo linson were polli shed eloquent ani forcible the orators to whom they were credited were as much surprised at the abe excellence of their language as were the public the fight between the english parliament and the press was long and bitter atone at one time cave bad to publish his parliamentary report under the title of an appendix to captain lemuel Gulliver 8 account of the famous empire of lilliput 11 the debates debated i were beaded debates in the senate of great politicians understood the whole matter while cave could not he prosecuted in 1771 miller the editor of the london evening post was expelled from the house of commons by the sergeant at arms miller gave the officer into custody for assault there was a law suit the city of london and the public in gereral sided with miller the result was that the press triumphed over parliament and the debates are no longer a mystery anything that relates to the distant past is interesting to the people of thea the present pree ent and all the developments of history and modern research and discovery go to show that human to is human batth 1 in every age and that hat the people of ancient periods were very much alike the folks of today |