A REPORTER’S DEATH.

Globe, Volume XX, Issue 1568, 27 February 1879, Page 3

A REPORTER’S DEATH.

The sad news comes from Paris of the death of W. Benton, the king of American reporters, who for seven or eight years past —so M. E. Deschaumes says in “ l.e Ligaro” —has been drawing a fantastic salary from one of the Amercan dailies. The lamented W. Benton scattered abroad the dollars of his journal with princely munificen e, was on intimate terms with all the political and military celebrities *>f Furope spoke eight languages with perfect fluency, and assisted at all the wars of the OM World as a most conscientous spectator. He had gained admission to Brine i Gortschaki ff’s presence as a tailor, to Biamark as a dog m rchant, to the Congress at Berlin as a photographer; he had gone to Eoyal banquets disguised as a waiter, and to Koyal funerals as a coffin bearer; in 1867 he made the acquaintance of Mdlle. Schnider in the role of a Brazilian diamond miner, while during the FrancoPrussiao war he figured as a Turku (blacker than life), a Zouave or Uhlan, according to the exigenc es of the situation dema tded. The accomplished journalist was about three weeks ago in a great German city, where the sensation of the time was a troupe of trained bears. There were six of them, and they went through their drill and other performances with such startling regularity that it was generally suspected that they were not bears, but men disguised in bear-skins. W. Benton thought as much, and offered to wager with the manager that he would enter the don, but the manager declined to sanction his enterprize W- Benton thereupon invite! all the journalists in the city to dinner, assured them that the bears were frauds, and invited them to be present at the afternoon performance next day. when he intended to unmask the humbug. Having bribed an employee of the menagerie, Benton, disguised as a bear, entered the cage. “ His live companions seemed furiously excited, but he attributed this to their desire to fend off suspicion. The public applauded most enthusiastically. It was then that the unhappy being, desirous of carrying out his plan, turned toward the Frees box, removed his bear’s bead, and bowed politely. A tremendous roar of laughter ensued, followed by an immense shriek of terror. The bears, on seeing this human face, precipitated themselves upon the unfortunate man. Before the tamer could take steps to save him, the reporter, frightfully mutilated, had breathed his last Thus perished poor W. Benton, whose editor in-chief seeks vainly a man fit to replace him.”—“New York World.”