Watch Yourself Go ByField, Al. G. (Alfred Griffith)
General
Watch Yourself Go By
Field, Al. G. (Alfred Griffith)
Circus performers -- United States -- Biography; Field, Al. G. (Alfred Griffith), 1848-1921; Wit and humor
Kaiser, the town jeweler, a German of delicate physique and features, a
skilled workman, was held in special contempt by the big blacksmith who
never passed the jeweler's shop that he did not hurl, under his breath,
contemptuous words at the delicate little jeweler sitting in his window
with a magnifying glass on his eye, plying his trade.
When Alfred handed the blacksmith the broken bits of the spring he took
them in the hollow of his big palm and said: "What's these?"
Alfred explained that the press was broken and it would be impossible to
print the paper until the spring was repaired and Mr. Hurd said he knew
that he, Mr. Chalfant, could fix it.
Davy turned the bits of broken steel over in his palm with the
forefinger of his other hand as he musingly said: "So Hurd said I could
fix this thing, did he?" And here he handed Alfred the broken bits.
"Well, you take it back to Hurd an' ax him what he takes me fur, a
damned jeweler?"
Someone suggested that Gus Lyons, the machinist and piano tuner, could
repair the spring, which he did after several hours work.
Harrison celebrated longer, with the result that the remainder of the
edition was not worked off until after the regular edition of the
following week. The edition of the week before went out with the regular
edition with an added note at the top of the page explaining the
terrible accident to the press which caused the delay.
It was one of the onerous duties of the business department to deliver
the paper in three towns, Brownsville, Bridgeport and West Brownsville.
To the houses on the hill above Workman's Tavern he generally sent the
paper by a boy; the subscribers along Water Street, down toward the coal
tipple, were served by somebody Alfred met going that way.
[Illustration]
When Alfred took charge of the business department he was furnished a
list of the subscribers in the three towns. It was not long until he
lost the list; in fact, he never was guided by the list. None of the
Democrats of any prominence in the town took the paper, but every week,
those holding office would be touched up in the paper. The business
department always took pains to deliver a copy of the paper to one thus
mentioned. If the article were pretty severe Alfred saw to it that all
the family of the one roasted received a copy of the paper.
This kept things stirred up around the office and the town. Alfred
generally distributed the papers to every family whether they subscribed
to it or not. From the outlying districts there came many complaints of
the non-delivery of the paper. The owner of the paper hired a horse and
buggy to trace the business department in its work.
Bob and Mrs. Hubbard owned a malt house and made excellent ale, so it
was said. They were subscribers to the paper. The owner of the paper
visited the Hubbards. The Mrs. was the business end of the firm. After
visiting a little while and sampling a goblet of the ale, the owner of
the paper announced the object of his visit:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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