Mr Myson's homage to Mrs Machin,
whom they chanced on in the paradise of the bath-room, was the polished
mirror of courtesy. How Denry wished that he could behave like that when
he happened to meet countesses.
Then, once more in the drawing-room, they resumed the subject of
newspapers.
"You know," said Mr Myson, "it's really a very bad thing indeed for a
district to have only one daily newspaper. I've nothing myself to say
against _The Staffordshire Signal_, but you'd perhaps be
astonished"--this in a confidential tone--"at the feeling there is
against the _Signal_ in many quarters."
"Really!" said Denry.
"Of course its fault is that it isn't sufficiently interested in the
great public questions of the district. And it can't be. Because it
can't take a definite side. It must try to please all parties. At any
rate it must offend none. That is the great evil of a journalistic
monopoly.... Two hundred and fifty thousand people--why! there is an
ample public for two first-class papers. Look at Nottingham! Look at
Bristol! Look at Leeds! Look at Sheffield!...and _their_
newspapers."
And Denry endeavoured to look at these great cities! Truly the Five
Towns was just about as big.
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