The banner-enterprise., 1883-09-06
[From London Society,"
HI COLT.
A TALE OF THE DERBY.

Nv, L liCNCl SuutbiC. l. NOh IhN
fesS a pious horror of it, II anything
OF that sort, you know, but | simply
Office. to it as a waste of time, money
and temper. Not that / won't have
sixpence on the rub, with threepenny
points, or so, just to give an interest
10 ones whist; and not that won
put a crown on a horse or take a ticket
III a social sweepstake. But that
we're amusement | never bet or gam
BILE in earnest.
Why don't II Well, for u very
simple reason. once all but made q
grand coup; l once came within the
cock Of a horses ear OF pulling of q
yely big %thing-and l didn't.
What do you say ? Funk No, sir,
l call it c mmOn sense. | had d
chance such as Il man rarely gets
more than once in his life, and fortune
didu't favor me. | have reasoned it
out since, and come to the conclusion
that the odds against a gambler are
heavier eve than any II Supposes.
/ believe that l should never have
such another chance as that, and,
upon the whole, it dOsn't seem to me
to be worth while to gamble now. |
am satisfied that | am not u luck hand
in that way.
However, you shall hear the tale.
Not that it's much of a story, either,
but you say you would like to hear the
account of my life. And this one bit
of mine is really the most important
incident | think, in my whole career.
For, had it gone otherwise But
there! you shall judge for yourself.
Seeing me now what | am, a -four
ishing tradeSman in Auckland, New
Zealand, you would hardly imagine
how | began Lille, | have taken root
here and proSpered; | have IA wife
and family, as you see, and am com
portable man. Yet only IL very few
years ago my caSe was widely differ.
ent.
All, yes! Eighteen Seventy-two ;
Ceremonies Year. It's a queer thing
TO look back on these times. Only a
short ten Years ago, and Yet | am
quite Il different man.
l was a gentleman III those days, if
you please, although as poor as IA rat ;
an artist to boot, tnat being once of the
well-known lucrative professions that
needy gentlemen are so fond of adopt
ing.
1 don't say that | had much faith
in my own genius. Youthful and yer
dant as / was then, | knew better
than that. But an artists lie seem
ell an agreeable n TO me, aud was
sanguine enough to suppose that l
could earn ~ living at it, as Il copyist
a2d producer of potboilerS. That was
abotta Hooked forward to.
Idwelt in Camden Town, London,
in o studio high up at the top of a
house that stood in an anything but
q ~pretentious street. | was practically
alone in the world. For, though | had
relations, l saw or knew but little OF
them. Being poor, and an artist, |
was naturally a Bohemian, and my
associates were mostly drawn from
that heterogeneous stratum of socie-
ty.
| was poor, as | have said, but |
was not so INDECENT as some of my
friends aud acquaintance were. In
their opinion, indeed, | vas far too
we'll off to thoroughly comprehend the
luxtries of poverty for | used to re-
cefve an occasional ten-pound note
from one OF my relatives, who, though
he grumbled at my uSeleSsness, yet
always sent me that sum wheneverl
was so pushed as to bring myself to
apply to him.
Besides that, l could earn money.
There was a picture dealer who used
10 give me an occasional job, to make
u copy or the like. And then there
were certain pawnbr0kers | VAS aware
of, who would advance sums on such
pictures as / brought to them. oh,
yes ! that used to be a regular system
chen. aud l dare say it is now.
This is the way OF it: you paint a
pseture and take it TO the artistic
Vuncle.r He lends you on it a GER
ain price, which he fixes according
10 the size of the picture, and with
mall relation to its subject or txecu.
.ssion. Ifyou think proper, of course,
you can redeem the picture any time
within q year, or you could take a
possible purchaser to view it at the
shop. AT the expiration of the year
il becomes auncle's' property.
Lots Of rs used to find that these
pawnbrokers were our only patrons.
They lent us a price on our paintings
that, deductihg the cost OF materials,
would leave us what might he reek-