The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1895-06-28
THE CASEO OF Mr.. LUCRAFT
A NOVEL.
By WALTER BEsANT AND JAMES RICE
l..

The WaIueI While i passed through
this descending gamut of ambition, m,
two soyereigns We're melting ava,
with a 1.apidity quite astonishing.
The rent took five shillings; that wa!
paid in advance. Then / was eXtraya
CANT IN the matter of eating, and tool
three meals Il day, finding that no;
enough to satisfy my vigorous appetite
Once or1twice. too, / paid for admission
to the pit and saw, with a sinking
hear What real acting means. My
heart failed, because l perceived that
had to begin all v again, and from
the very bottom of the ladder.
Then had to buy a new pair OF
boots. 1T was always a trouble to me,
the rapid wearing out of leather.
And then there was something else;
become seriously alarmed about the
future.
| had one or two things which I could
DaWn-a watch. q waiStcoat, a few
odds and ends in the way of wardrobe,
and a few bOoks-on the proceeds of
them lived for Il whole week: but at
last, after spending two pence in the
puchase of a penny loaf and a sayeloy
for breakfast, l found myself not only
penniless, but also without the means
of procuring another penny at all, be.
cause l had nothing left to pawn.
Many a young fellow has found him
self in a similar predicament. but |
doubt whether anyone ever became so
desperately hungry as l did on that
day. | recollect that. having rashly
eaten up my sausage before s O'Clock
l felt "a sinking toward -; it was ag-
grayatcd by the savory smell Of roast
meat which steamed from the cook
shops and dining rooms as / walked
along the streets. About / o'clock
gazed with malignant envy on the hap
py clerks who could so in and order
p~latefuls of the roast and boiled which
smoked in the windows, and threw Il
perfume o delicious than the sweet
est strains of music into the streets
where | fingered and looked. And at
2 | observed the diners como out again,
walking more slowly, but with an up
right and satisfied air. while 1.-The
sinking had been succeeded by a dull
gnnWing pain-Was slowly doubling up.
At half past two | felt as if l could
bear it no longer. | had been walking
about trying different offices for a
clerkship. l might as well have asked
for a partnership. But l could walk
no more. l leaned against Il post-it
was in Bucklersbury-opposite a dining
room where hares. fowls and turkeys
We're piled in the windows among Il
boundless prOdigality and wealth of
carrots, turnips and c~auli1owers. till
my senses swan at the contemplation.
l longed for a caldron in which to put
the whole contents of the shop front.
and eat them at M Gnrgantuan &c
past. My appetite. already alluded to,
was hereditary; one Of the few things
constant complaint that my father used
ITO eat her out of house and home. TO
be sure, from other scraps Of informa-
ton handed down by tradition. | have
reason to believe that the word eating
was used as a figure of speech-thc
part for the Whole-and included drink
ing. | was good at both, and as a
trencherman | had been unsurpassed.
as | said above, in the company. the
dear Old company among whom l have
so often eaten beefsteak and fried
onions with Juliet. The door of tie
place opened now and then to let a
hungry man enter OF a full man go out.
and caught a glimpse OF the interior.
Dining rooms were not called restall-
rants in those days. They had no gid
ing, no bright paint, no pretty bar
maids. and no silver-plated forks and
spoons. Nor were they brilliant with
gas. All London-that is. all working
London-dined before 4 O'clock: the
clerks from II ITO . and the principals.
except a few OF the big-w:ggs, from ,
to 4. The cheaper rooms were like one
or two places still to be found in Fleet
street. There We're sanded floors; there
We're hard benches: you had your beer
out OF pewter, not plated tankardS;
there Was no clleap claret, and the pop
ular hotel Wine was 4 strong and fiery
port. Also, candles stood upon the
tables-not wax candles, but tallow
with long wicks which required snuff.
1ng. IAe.y dropped Il good deal of NUT
ton fat about the table. and it was NOT
uncommon to find yourself eating Il liz
tie tallow with your bread. which was
not nice even to men of IL strong StOn,.
ach. Finally. youhad steel forks. which
are inst as good. to my thinking, as
plated Silver. and more easily cleaned,
| stood by the post and watched with
hungry eyes. From within | hear.]
voices, stified voices. as those sent up a
pipe. calling for roast beef with plenty
of brown-good heavens! Plenty OF
brown; roast mutton, underdone-l
loved my mutton underdone; boiled
beef with suet pudding and fat-I al
ways took a great deal of pudding and
fat with my boiled beef; roast veal anu
bacon with stuffing-a dish for the
gods; calf's head for twoI could have
.anLtoaa 90 lfsS- hnad For. a dnxon. uritl, a..