Tragedy of a Makeable Career A young friend of mine, Clarence Nobbs by name, having completed with some distinction and a good deal of entertainment his public-school and university career, di cided to take up, as his life's worl the honourable profession of journalist, As he was considered a Ipromising young man, he easily obtained a post upon the Daily Sereech," one of our most popular organs of public opinion, and my. story opens to find him writing, ith much skill and finish, the letterpress beneath the photographs of the notables of the day. "Mr. Claude Grahame-White, the popular aviator, taking morning stroll," "Miss Fuller Smiles, the celebrated actress, now performing in the chorus of "The Face-Cream Girl' at the Banatity Theatre," and such-like literary gems slipped from his pen with astonishing ease and fluency, In act, Nobbs's career was well on its way, and soon he found himself promoted to reporting minor cases in the police-courts, Only, one day, he began to ponder deeply over his profession general, and in particular over the injustice which he conceived it was doing to a large section of our public men and women.
"Why," thought he, "should the adjectives celebrated, famous, well-known, and the like, be applied to certain classes of persons only? Apparently only authors, actors, laters, athletes, and scientists have, in tie eyes of my profession, any claim to these encomiastic words. Are there no other types among whom fame, celebrity, and [distinction exist?"
So he looked at the reports he had written that day and he found that one of them read as follows "At the West End Police Court yesterday the magistrate (Mr. Binks) -sentenced W. Jackson to one month's imprisonment for drunkenness. This is Jackson's ninety-eighth conviction for this offence."
"This is most unjust," said Nobbs So he re-wrote as follow:
"At the West End Police Court yesterday William. Jackson, the distinguished dipsomaniac, appeared to answer to the ninety-eighth charge of drunkenness brought against him.
"Mr. Binks (the well-known,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.