"Sensation, and a general turning round of heads "to detect the interpolator. He was non est." "After the tremendous apostrophe to Distaffina "By all the risks my fearless heart hath run— Risks of all shapes, from bludgeon, sword, and gun; By the great bunch of laurels on my brow' there came again, from the same quarter, this unexpected completion of the quotation : "A chaplet of leeks would fit it better now.' "Renewed agitation. Suspicious glances directed "towards a rollicking-looking clerk in one of the de"partments. Big drops of perspiration chased each other down the face of the perplexed Bombastes. "When he came to the passage— "In some still place I'll find a gloomy cave; There my own hands shall dig a spacious grave; "All my prophecies events belie,' again added his indefatigable tormentor. "This put the climax to Bombastes' troubles. The "well-bred audience could no longer restrain their mer"riment. So discomforted by it was the burly warrior, "that he could scarcely muster strength enough to "attach his boots-his gage of battle, to the tree. His "tormentor took pity on him, and let him gurgle out "in peace his last adieus to the world." Now this story was not put in as ben trovato, but as a deliberate, serious narrative of fact. From beginning to end, it was a lie, with not one single word of truth in the whole story, except that Mr. Russell acted Bombastes,—and, for that matter, acted it very well too. Day after day there is a sort of triangular duel between the editors of the Herald, the Tribune, and the Times, in which personalities or, what in any other papers would be considered, gross libels are freely bandied to and fro. In this warfare the Herald, being utterly, instead of only partially, unscrupulous, comes off an easy victor. As a specimen, I can only spare the space to quote one short leader in the Herald, which struck me as a gem in its peculiar class of journalism. It is headed "Poor Greeley playing Jacobin," and runs thus :— "Poor old silly Greeley cries out for a traitor, weeps "salt tears for a traitor, howls like a hyena for a traitor, "shouts for all the universe to bring him a traitor. "What does he want of a traitor? Why, Greeley wants "to be blood-thirsty-he wants to be a little Robes"pierre. He wants to hang a traitor with his own "hands. Let him come down to our office, and we'll "give him a shilling to buy a rope-since the Tribune "is so poor-and then he may hang himself to the "nearest lamp-post, and thus at once satisfy his desire "to hang a traitor, and greatly gratify the loyal "public." In the advertisement department the Herald has one or two specialities of its own. Like almost all American papers, its columns are disfigured by "catch the eye" advertisements. Every variety of inversion and perversion of which type is capable, is adopted to attract notice. There was one advertisement constantly repeated, which used to impress me as a triumph of genius. The words were short and simple enough— "Buy Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, with all the news of the war." It would puzzle an ordinary English compositor how to make this extend in small type over the whole of one column, but like Columbus's method for making an egg stand on one end, the solution of the puzzle was wonderfully simple, and consisted solely in dividing the advertisement into three paragraphs. Buy Frank Leslie's-Illustrated Newspaper -with all the news of the war-and repeating each paragraph, line below line, some score of times in all. The Broadway saloons, where "the prettiest waiter-girls in the world afforded intellectual recreation to the customers," were especial patrons of the Herald, and showed a peculiar fondness for this sensation typography. The Herald, too, was the organ of the astrologers, and of searchers after matrimony. In one copy I happened to take up at hazard, I picked out the following specimens. Under the heading "Astrology" the list was unusually small, and only contained seven advertisements, of which two samples will be enough. "Astrologists. Great excitement-Read! read!! "The beautiful Madame Henri, whose wonderful and "exquisite mode of reading the future destinies of "thousands are (sic) daily creating the wildest furor. "This lovely young lady is, without exception, the Imost accomplished in her line of business. She will "write the name you marry, show their likeness, give good luck, and her lucky numbers are sure to "draw a prize. Her rooms are at 80, West Broadway, corner Leonard, name on the door." 66 66 Again. "Astonishing Madame Morrow, seventh daughter, has a gift of foresight, tells how soon and "how often you will marry, and all you wish to know, "even your very thoughts, or no pay. Lucky charms 66 free. Her equal is not to be found. Her magic "image is now in full force, 184, Ludlow Street, "below Houston. Price 25 cents. Gentlemen not "admitted." The matrimonial column, on the other hand, was fuller than usual, and contained half-a-dozen offers of marriage, of which, for the sake of gallantry, I will only quote two from ladies. "A young widow lady, with means to support herself, "wishes to make the acquaintance of a gentleman with "a view to matrimony. None but persons of intelligence and refinement need address Mrs. E. Harland, "Station A, Spring Street." 66 The next lady is suspiciously silent as to means, but more positive as to age. She says that "a young lady not over twenty-five years of age would like "to open a correspondence with some gentleman possessed of an affectionate disposition, and a fair "share of the world's goods, with a view to matrimony. One who can appreciate a woman's good "feelings may address Jennie Edwards, Station G, Broadway." 66 66 Moreover, the Herald has, or rather used to have when I first came to the States, a column headed "personals," of a most extraordinary character. To judge from a perusal of it, you would suppose that whenever a gay Lothario met a soft-hearted Dulcinea in the streets, it was the etiquette not to address her personally, but to publish an advertisement in next day's papers, expressive of admiration and the desire for further acquaintance. In plain words, assignations, which charity alone bids one suppose were virtuous, were daily made in the columns of the Herald. The way in which the "personals" were extinguished is a curious comment on the principles by which the Herald is guided. In one day's paper there appeared an advertisement even more flagrant than usual, purporting to be from a lady making an assignation to meet a friend at the reception room of a well-known hotel. The Tribune got hold of this, and in a bitter article pointed out how the advertisement, besides its intrinsic immorality, was calculated to injure the character of the hotel, and |