THE YOUNG JOURNALIST
WITH the morning, however, Henry was fresh for the fray again. The
prospects of his first day in active journalism swept away all doubts
and misgivings.
Edgar having to attend the Monday police court, which was always fat
with drunks and wife-beaters, Henry was left to make his way to the
_Guardian_ office himself.
On his arrival there he found the office-boy descending the stairs by
using the railing as a slide, at the end of which he fell somewhat
heavily on the door-mat, but picked himself up and smiled at Henry in
proof that no bones were broken. Upstairs, the weedy young man with
downy whiskers, who bore on his narrow shoulders the full weight of the
_Guardian's_ commercial affairs, was at work on the morning's letters.
He looked up as Henry entered, and inquired his business.
"Is Mr. Springthorpe in?" the new reporter asked.
The clerk was surprised for a moment to hear the editor's name
mentioned thus early in the day. Then he answered:
"No, he is rather irregular in his hours. He may not arrive till eleven
or twelve to-day!"
"It's only ten o'clock now," said Henry, as though he were thinking
aloud. He would never try to play Monte Cristo again, and Winton had
told him that Mr. Springthorpe was never assiduous in his office
attendance.
"But I expect Mr. Yardley soon," the clerk continued. "Are you Mr.
Charles?"
"Yes. Shall I go to the reporters' room?"
The clerk opened the door for him, and he entered on the scene of his
future labours. A long table of plain wood, cut and hacked by knives on
the edges, stood in the centre of the floor, and around it were four
cane-chairs, all of different shapes. The floor was covered by worn-out
oilcloth, the walls were dingy, the ceilings blistered like a
water-biscuit. A single gasalier, carrying two burners, hung from the
roof and served to light the table, on which lay a few bundles of
copy-paper, two ink-pots, and some pens. The only other furniture in the
room was a small bookcase half-filled with volumes, most of which were
tattered, and some without binding, having reached that condition, not
so much from frequent reference as from occasional use in a game wherein
the reportorial staff tried to keep two books flying round the room
from hand to hand without falling--a game that was never successful. A
bundle of unopened newspapers, in postal wrappers, lay at the window-end
of the table, and also a few letters.
Presently the door was opened and Mr. Wilfrid Yardley, sub-editor,
stepped in. He was a man of sallow complexion, with very black hair and
dark, restless eyes that suggested worry. He wore a light yellowish
summer suit and a straw hat. For a moment he paused on seeing Henry,
who, as he entered, was examining the literary treasures in the
bookcase.
"Good morning!" he said. "You are Mr. Charles, I suppose?" and he held
out his hand to Henry. "You are early. The reporters have no hours. I'm
the only one on the literary staff who is chained to the desk."
He took off his hat and jacket, exchanging the latter for a ragged thing
that hung on one of the pegs along the wall. Then he seated himself at
the end of the table, and commenced opening the newspapers that lay
there. All the while his eyes flitted about in his head as if he feared
that someone would pounce on him unawares. Evidently a quiet fellow and
a conscientious worker, but a trifle too nervous to have much character.
"Mr. Springthorpe has not fixed any work for you?" he said to Henry,
with questioning eyebrows, while slitting an envelope.
"No, nothing has been arranged. I suppose I'm to do anything that turns
up."
"Bertram--that is our chief reporter--will want you to help him, I
suppose. But I'm sure I could do with assistance. You can't learn too
much, however, so just try your hand here," and he marked several items
in a daily paper referring to happenings in the Midland counties. "Try
to rewrite those pars, keeping in all the facts, but only using about
one-third of the space in each case. Sit down in that chair there, and
perhaps you'll find a pen that suits you among those, though I never
can."
Henry acquitted himself very well according to Mr. Yardley, and found
the latter so considerate in his advice that he immediately conceived a
liking for him.
After all, Trevor Smith and Edgar Winton were raw youths, but here was a
man of thirty-five at least, and there was no "side" about him. He
seemed capable and intelligent. Why, then, did he stick in Wheelton?
Would Henry only reach a similar post when he was his age? These
thoughts came to him as he watched the earnest face of Yardley poring
over reporters' copy, "licking it into shape," sucking the while at his
briar pipe. Such thoughts are not pleasant, but they must come to every
youth who aspires to make a success of life, and they will for a moment
damp his enthusiasm, unless he has the perception which tells him that
no two men's careers are alike, and that every man carries within
himself the qualities that make for success or failure. But Yardley may
not have thought himself a failure, and there's the rub.
When the editor arrived he showed no overweening interest in Henry, but
warmly commended him for the work he had done under the subeditor's eye,
and urged him to make the most of his opportunities, without telling him
how. Undoubtedly Winton had described the situation accurately to
Henry--Mr. Springthorpe's interest ended when he pocketed the premium.
Bertram, the chief reporter, proved to be a person with distinct family
resemblance to Trevor Smith, and was probably about twenty-eight years
of age. He shared the editor's weakness for looking upon the wine when
it is red, but always managed to get through the work required of him.
Without possessing qualities of the slightest distinction, he had
achieved a reputation in various newspaper offices as "a clever fellow
if he'd only keep straight."
This is, perhaps, not peculiar to journalism, and if we inquire into
the characters of many who are reputed to be exceptionally endowed, but
imperil their success by unsteady habits, we shall find that in most
cases their abilities are below the average of the steady plodder, who
is seldom described as clever, simply because the shadow of unsteadiness
never falls on his life as a background for the better display of such
qualities as he possesses. The fact is, that your "clever fellow if he'd
only keep sober" is a very ordinary fellow, whose ever-changing
employers are apt to over-estimate his abilities during a decent spell
of sobriety.
* * * * *
It is doubtful if it would be to the advantage of our story to dwell at
any length on the next few months of Henry's life. The newspaper office
in which he found himself was typical of hundreds in the English
provinces, no better nor worse. The existence of the _Guardian_ was one
constant struggle to increase a small circulation and add to the
advertising revenue of the paper. To the latter end the services of the
reporters were frequently required, and puffs of tradesmen had to be
written whenever there was a chance of securing thereby a new
advertisement. All the petty details of local life had to be reported at
great length, even to the wedding presents received by the daughter of
an undertaker in a small way of business. These were actually displayed
with the names of their donors in separate lines, following the report
of the marriage ceremony, which included a full description of the
bride's dress, with the name of the local dressmaker who had made it.
The pettiness of it all was rudely borne in upon the young reporter when
it came to his knowledge that the item--"Purse from Servant of Bride's
Mother"--represented an expenditure of eleven-pence three-farthings on
the part of a faithful domestic thirteen years of age.
As an off-set against these experiences, Henry had made one great upward
move. In a moment of audacity, which he must recall with wonder, he
ventured to write a leading article and to swagger the editorial "we."
It so happened that when he presented this to the editor, that worthy,
having had a bibulous week and being short of copy, pronounced it good,
and printed it with a few alterations. As it was Mr. Springthorpe's aim
to do a minimum of work each week, he generously encouraged the youth to
further editorial effort, with the result that Henry "we'd" pretty
frequently in the leading columns of the _Guardian_. He was the first
"pupil" who had ever shown any marked ability, and Springthorpe was
secretly proud of him.
As the six months wore away, Henry began to hope that he might be added
to the permanent staff, but neither Bertram nor Edgar showed signs of
departing, and the prospects of his receiving a salaried position
remained low. To the surprise of his colleagues, however, and against
all precedent, he was not ejected at the end of his six months, but
actually received a salary of half-a-guinea a week, accompanied,
however, by the information that he would do well to look elsewhere for
a situation at his leisure.
Now commenced a strenuous time of replying to advertisements in the
_Daily News_. For a while never a sign came back from those doves of his
which went forth trembling, but in the spring of the year after his
going to Wheelton, there came a reply from the manager of one of the two
daily papers at the large and important Midland town of Laysford, asking
Henry to come and see him with reference to his application for the post
of editorial assistant.
The plan of submitting specimens of his work, backed by an eloquent
testimonial from Mr. Springthorpe, had at length succeeded, and to the
amazement of the staff, Henry returned from the interview entitled to
regard himself as assistant editor of the _Laysford Leader_. To this day
the event is talked of at the office of the _Guardian_, but it is never
recorded that important factors in bringing it about were the pressing
need of the _Leader_ to have a new assistant at a week's notice, and
the growing desire of Mr. Springthorpe to save half-a-guinea on the
weekly expenses of the _Guardian_. Moreover, Henry had named a salary
five shillings less than the only other likely candidate.
From such sordid circumstances do events of life-importance spring.