THE DYING EDITOR.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1721, 28 November 1887, Page 3

THE DYING EDITOR.

(Wi h apologies to the autbore-'S of "The tSoluier or the . egion ")

Tho ttwrer ot a paper lay dying m his I.'iir, and 'he dews of d. ath had gathoied on his br w so calm and Mr ; hut a printer knelt lodide him, as Lis life-blood ebbo i away, and fiskcd the dying writer if hi had aught to say The doomed man murmured voftly, as he grabbed the prntei'afiat : — " Well, atlastthestrugglos's over, and 1 never will be missel. ake a message and a tok»n to that c ty man of mine, that all hie worn out funny bits he had better pot m brine There's bis joko about the weather, which he's used these ina*>y years, and tbo gag about the fellow who is always hunting be^rs. And the item he's bo fond of, on tho man who ped-'IeB b*ioks, and the joke ho based on . people w v o go fisbine at the brooks ; just t<> save t> c paper's credit, and to cast no slur* on mint!, I would asfc him as a favor just to put sich gae^ m brine A.nd tho ha he's fond of telling, of the tramcars and the tracks, and the ancient joko about the man who s ops upon some tac'*B and the one about some dv <y Yfho v/ill never pay for clothi-a and the one on womeu cleaning house — it'a weary, heaven koows 1 Oh I know I'll slumber happy m my grave beneath the- vine, it the man who does tho city work will put these j >kea m brine. Tell the man who tends to busings nqt to weep |am dead, bat to buy himself a clqb and hit thp first man on the bead who comes m with strings of items and requests them printed frep, when the advertising rates are lees than thsy really ought to be. Tell the foreman when he makes np not to turn a rale for me, bnr to simply print an item saying that my ■oul is free ; for I want no eulogistic taffy of that character m mine, and I think Bnch | worn out platnudes should be pickled well lin brine. Make that gay and fresh reporter I engaged the other day put a stop to writing * { exquisite " and "ha showed fine nll-rouod pl&y," and ff he talks of "Bkying," you canst trauiple In his gore, for you knew I'd ne'er allow It m the happy days of yore. And the man v?bo comes to tell you how to run the paper well, should be greeted whe.n he enters with a pewter Bpoca end bell ; and you'll print iho paper promptly, be the weather fall of storms, and the foreman must hi careful when he's making op the forms that the beauty of the paper may through all tb? agea nhlue, and not be like its nplghbore, only fit to pu,tin brine." The dyirg writer faltered, at these Blmple wnrda he spoke, tmd the printer know directly ih/*t be w&a aboiit to oroak, bo he propped hin^ np a3 gen'ly »3 & mother wonld her phiid, but the writer's soul had wandered to the land of unde&led, And the pr(nter cobbed a little aa he gave one ■ ogress, and he muttered j " I muat. leave him, for it's time to go to press Very few could b'.-at him writing, for his art'olen were sublime, and we never had to plaoe them m a bqokoful f hrlo«,"