A Golden Gossip; Neighborhood Story Number Two (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER HI. IN THE ORCHARD. Putnam King professed great delight in his aunt's shrewd reformatory proceedings. " How do you get along with your new School for Scandal ? " he would ask, when he came out to Wewachet for a Saturday to Monday stay. " It is the greatest woman-movement yet. But it interferes with their dearest rights, I 'm afraid. Does n't it take the edge off life for Sarah Crooke ? " " Now, Putnam, look here! Sarah Crooke has a fine background to her character." "Why does she keep it in the background, I wonder! " interpolated Putnam; but Miss Haven went sturdily on. "If you were tied to an armchair and four knitting-needles, ? no, we will say to a pipe and a newspaper, ? you ? or any man ? would be a thousand times worse gossip than ever she was. Would be ? You are now; and your newspapers are your condemnation. You men, you devourers of news, to despise gossip! when the daily columnsdon't suffice for you, with all their biggest capitals, and life is bare, unless the world comes to a partial end every day to feed your voracity ! " " Oh, that's legitimate," said Putnam, laughing. " It 's published news; it concerns the world, ? we don't want it upside down, but we must know if it is; it 's important. And print is open to contradiction and refutation. It's responsible. It does n't keep its tail in a hole, like an earthworm, ready to draw back if it sees danger." " Oh, does n't it ? Putnam King, newspaper gossip is the very crown ? no, abyss ? of gossip! See here! Did n't I read only the other day, in one of your high-toned journals, a long screed on one side about what the American newspaper is doing toward the bringing up of the American small boy in the way he should n't go; a virtuous, holy- horror article against the stuff with which the press h...