Democratic Sentinel, Volume 16, Number 22, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 June 1892 — THEY FOLLOWED COPY. [ARTICLE]

THEY FOLLOWED COPY.

How a Space Writer Lost a Chance to Try Married Life. “Horrors! what an obscure hand you write!” said tne literary editor to the new space writer as he turned in a bit of poetry. “ Oh, it’s plain enough,” interjected the poet, hastily. •‘The rhymes and the meter will help the compositor out, and there’ll not be the least bit of trouble if they just follow the copy.” And the manuscript went hustling up the tune to the composing-room, says the Cincinnnti Commercial Gazette. * • * * • * « “ Sn-ay, what dod-gasted chump has been sendin’ iu his Chinese luundry bill for copy?” wildly yelled out slug 10, wiping a sudden burst of perspiration from his forehead and glaring at his Inst take. “ I can’t make head or tall cut of this thing!” “ Well, Chinese or no Chinese,” cried the hurrying foreman, “ make whatever you can out of it and snag it up in mighty short order, for we’re late now.” And the type fairly jumped from tho case into the stiok. * **•*•* " Good Cfcsar!” gasped the proofreader, clutching at his brow. “ Are my eyes failing or is this a premonition of nervoqs prostration ?” Then he rubbed his eyes and stared. “By tho gods! either I’ve got the blind staggers or slug 10’s on a royal toot!” At that instant a scream came down the spout: “ Rush that proof along for heaven’s sake! We’re late!” The proof-reader groaned, galloped down tho column, hesitated, and then desperately thrust the slip into the tube, huskily murmuring: “I compared it with the copy and that’s as near as I can get to Hebrew these days.” * * * * » * * That night the now space writer hurriedly wrapped up and addressed a copy of the issue without a glance and dropped it into the mail, with this brief note: “My Onliest Sweet and Dearest Marie: I send you a number of the Sunday supplement containing my little poem. Your face was an overpresent inspiration to mo when I wrote and happy thoughts of you inspired every sentenco. Here you will find expressed what I have ever felt toward you, but have hardly dared to voice before- Till death, etc.” Miss Marie Cortland Van Clifton franeed through the tender note, lushed with pleasure, and, hurriedly, opening tho paper, road: TO MAIUE. When the breeze from the bluebottle’s blustering bllm Twirls the toads in a tooroomnloo, Anil the whiskery whiue of tho wheedlesome whim Drowns tho roll of the rattatntto, Then I dream in the sha.ie of tho shally-go-shee, Ami the voice of the bully-mo-lay Brings the smell of the stale poppy-eodsblum* mered in bile From the willy-wad over the way. Ah, the shuddering shoe aud the blinketyblanks Wheil the pungiuug falls from the bough, In the blast of a hurricane’s htekety-hanks Over the bills of the hocketty-how! Give the rigmarole to the elaugery-wang If they care for such fiddle-de-dee; But the thingumbob kiss of tho wangirybang Keeps the hlggledy-piggle for me. V ENVOI. It is piUy-po-doddle and aligobung When the lollypop coveys the ground, Yet the poldlddlo iierlshe* plunkety-pung When the heart jlmmy-cogglee around. If the soul can hot suoop at the gigglesCme cart Keeking surcease In the gluggety-glug, It is useless to sav to the pulsating heart: “ Yunkee-doodle kor-cbuggety-chug! ’’

The new space writer and Miss Marie Cortlandt Van Clifton ure non engaged now.