The Anaconda standard., 1890-06-22
HIS bad SATURDAY"
Photograph Of q Day In the Life Of Billy
Wa6s,a Young New Yorker.
Being a Philosopher He Discovers
that Winning at Faro 10 the
Secret of Entire Happine ass
His Disaster.

Billy wagg's Saturday. like a good
many of his Saturdays, had been un prof
table, says the New York Erening Sun.
When he awoke the next morning he re-
membered that he had come home
''broke, ,'and he reflected sorrowfull lily that
all through the week TO come he would
have to borrow money for his lunches and
his cigars and stay at home every night.
He couldn't even pay his landlady, and
the prospect was bad for the spring suit
which he needed SO badly. So, Mr.. Wagg,
having been there before, and having be-
come q philosopher, turned over and
went to sleep again.
Billy was young and good looking, and
clerk in the employ of an insuranc
company. He was a good clerk, too, and
not at all bad young man. But he had
one strong passion. That was gambling.
Being a philosopher he had sought
Entire f1s nspDnss the ,rsd ssere, masS S
things. At last he concluded that
the nearest approach To joy unalloyed was
to play faro and win. He therefore played
regularly every pay day, which was every
Saturday.
this kind of felicity Mr.. WaRg found him
self sadly in debt. Sometimes he had won
and he had experienced much happiness,
but he had lost so much oftener that when
he figured up the business this Saturday
morning he discovered that he owed alto
gether 500. Now. that was not large
sum, and careful man could easily have
saved up enough in n few months, with
Mr.. Wagg's salary to pay it. But to a
man of his temperament saving money
was an impossibity-least of all, saving
money to pay debts. He was anxious to
pay. Nobody in the world. Billy often
said, had more capacity To pay debts than
he-provided, always, that he could have
little margin left for himself.
He made up his mind on this Saturday,
as he had often made up his mind before,
that he would Twin himself out" When
his salary of S5 was handed to him at
noon he hurried by several fellow-clerks
TO whom he owed small amounts and
avoided shoe-making creditor who, he
had been informed by q friendly Office
boy, was waiting to see him in the hall, by
going down the back stairway.
As he walked up Broadway he decided
that. before plunging into the exhilarat-
ing JOY OF winning sufficient money to pay
his debts with the little margin left for
himself, he would indulge i'm the milder
pleasure of the matinee. Next to the con-
temptation of an accumulating pile of
checks on his side of the table, Billy
loved the bright lights, the colors, the
music, and the surroundings of comic
opera.
IL you happen ever to have known well
a born gamsler. you will recall that one
of his peculiarities was a desire to always
win money for intended purchases. He
wants to win his dinner, a suit of clothes,
a hat or a carriage ride. Frequently un-
kind fortune balks these desires. There
was once young man i'm this city who in
the fall proposed to win a $50 overcoat.
He finally succeeded. but i'm the mean
time he had lost $500; and the gentle
winds of spring were dallying with the
murmuring pines and hemlocks when the
tailor took his measure.
In Mr.. Wagg this peculiarity was devel-
oped to a remarkable degree. So. when
he concluded to go to the theater he also
concluded that he might just as well win
the price of the ticket. He turned into a
little by-street and went up the steps
leading to one of the well known down.
town gambling rooms. He rang the bell.
The slide over the little hole i'm the door
WAS pushed mp and a colored mans face
appeared.
Hello, Mose," said Mr.. wagg.
"Howdy, Mr.. Billy" said Nose, and he
dropped the slide and opened the door.
Mr.. Billy was greeted quite cordially by
the dealer at the faro table and by two or
three of the players; He threw down So.
The dealer handed him a stack of twenty
white checks. Billy liked quick action.
He was believer in the gamblers adage
that ''you can't win money by holding
checks i'm your hand" So he split the
stack, putting $50 on one card and $3.50
on another. The first turn by the dealer
made Billy winner of $3.50. That was
more than sufficient to pay for his theater
ticket, but II had come so easily that Billy
decided hastily that he might just as well
win the price of cab uptown. On the
next turn Billy won $3.50 more. Then
he reflected that he might just
as well win the price of nice, quiet little
dinner with n pint OF wine. But Goddess
Fortune, being an ethereal creature, was
| displeased at this carnal prompting, and
| she caused Billy to lose "A bet. Then she
made him lose another, and climaxed her
mood of displeasure by causing that dire
full thing to happen to him which is de-
scribed by sporting men as being "whip-
sawed Off the face of the earth," which,
translated. means that his two remaining
bets were lost at once.
Billy frowned slightly and arose. As
he moved away from the table he turned
and said: "TH bet you s. on the ace.n
But the inspiration was Of no value. The
ace lost and Billy left the house SO out.
The peculiar disregard of the value of
money which a few moments at the gam
bling-table give to some men-and which,
by the way, effect tally prohibits their ever
becoming successful gamblers-was upon
Mr.. Wagg as he walked To Broadway. He
decided To ride up town i'm cab, anyway.
He hailed the first one he saw and drove
to Broadway theater. There he dis
missed thoughts of creditors and of his
late loss from his mind and enjoyed him
self for two hours. Between the acts he
indulped i'm few high-priced drinks, as
became gentleman who would presently
win more money than he needed.
After the theater the desire for a good
dinner was strong within him. But. of
rourse, il must be won. He went to a faro
bank, and after an hours play. during
which AT one time he was $50 ahead. he was
elean, fiat broke. But he was a good loser.
and he cheerfully borrowed $40 from the
proprietor. His credit was good. because
he always paid the gamblers. even IL he
lidn't pay his landlady. This SO he lost
IN another house. and there he borrowed
IS. which he deposited i'm third house in
4 vain attempt to make a losing king win.