false alarms in three months, Henry Handifort, a South Side boy, was arrested after a fire early today.
In a confession to the police Handifort, who is 16 years of age, said he began his career as a firebug when 5 years old, but after starting three fires was so punished by his parents that he refrained from further operations until a few months ago. He said his ambition was to be a fireman and that he started the fires to be on hand when the firemen came so he could help them. He said he enjoyed seeing the apparatus turn out.
The fires to which he confessed caused a total loss of $25,000. His climax came Sunday night, when three fires caused $8,000 loss. The boy, then under suspicion, was watched carefully, and a fire early today brought his arrest.
(2) What are the faults in the following story printed in a
weekly paper, and how should they be corrected in rewriting?
Mr. Ed. Williams of this city met with a very severe and painful
accident in the zinc works in this city.
Mr. Williams, who is employed as a cart driver at the works, was performing his usual duties, when in some way the horse became frightened and started to run away. Ed was thrown out of the heavy ore cart and fell in such a position, that the wheels of the cart passed over his body, causing severe injuries to his head and fracturing four ribs, besides bruising him internally. He was at once taken to the hospital rooms of Dr. Hulton, where his injuries were dressed. He was then conveyed to his home, where he is recovering nicely at present. It will be some time however before he will be at his post again.
(3) What is the weakness of the following story and how
could you improve it by rewriting?
Mrs. William Black, wife of the caretaker of the Yewdale Yacht
Club house, which is on the end of the long bulkhead of the South
Basin at the foot of Ring street, Lawton Park, sent her eleven-year-old
daughter, Madelaine, to Dresden Avenue yesterday morning
to get some oranges.
Mrs. Black sat by an upper window of the club house waiting for Madelaine to come back. Pretty soon the little girl put in an appearance. The wind was blowing so hard that the mother feared for the child's safety and she arose to go to her assistance. When she looked out of the window again, Madelaine had disappeared. She hurried out and saw the child's cloak floating on the water.
Charles Blaine, a sailor on the yacht Elizabeth E., and Otto Grey of the schooner John Bull, dived for the body several times before Blaine succeeded in bringing it up.
The child's father is on a fishing trip to Block Island.
