The new room, which was comfortably furnished in the first place, rapidly grew more habitable through the skill and good taste of the two reporters. The gift of a set of books from home first gave Herbert the idea of accumulating a library. Tomlin joined with him, and in a surprisingly short time they were the possessors of quite a valuable little library which counted among its principal assets several important books of reference.
One day Herbert was delighted to receive a visit from Mr. Anderson, who had been his school-teacher for so many years in Cleverly. In honor of the event he begged off from the office for the night, and secured a similar privilege for Tomlin. The three men sat in the room till long past midnight, chatting about books and newspapers and other topics of a congenial nature. Mr. Anderson told the story of “barring out day” at the school in Cleverly, and the recital was done so well that it filled Tomlin with delight and caused him to laugh with such heartiness that the tears fairly ran down his cheeks.
On another occasion a little later in the year Noah Brooks, the editor of the Cleverly Banner, visited New York, and while in the city was the guest of Herbert Harkins. The young man was very much pleased at the thought of entertaining the veteran editor, who had been such a good friend to him in Cleverly. He took Tomlin into his confidence, and between them they planned a program which kept Mr. Brooks engaged every minute of the day and night during his four days’ stay in the metropolis. In fact Herbert exhausted his resources in showing the visitor what he was pleased to call “the time of his life.” As the three men walked along Broadway together, Mr. Brooks looking up at the high buildings on either side of him, said musingly:
“Herbert, it’s been over forty years since I visited this town before, and I want to say that there have been many changes since then.”
“I should say so,” replied Herbert, with a laugh; “in fact, although I have been here only a few months I can see changes that are going on at the present time.”
“Yes, many changes,” assented the old editor, nodding his head in a reflective manner; “and these changes are not only in the big buildings, but in the big men. I may be mistaken, but I don’t think you produce the kind of men that we had in the days when I was in my prime. However, I won’t insist on that. It may simply be the natural thought of every old man.”