Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1897-08-10
NY LOTTERY WIFE.

Of some folks, and yet / Jack Drum
mOnd, owe mine to nothing more nor
less than ticket No. O.05S,310 in the
Brussels Grand International lottery
of a few years ago.
1t occurred thus: I Was in the low
est of low water. /, "a playwright
whose pieces pOssessedZOf that the
author at least was convinced-the
power of drawing large sums from the
pockets of the multitudiuous pleasure
seekers Of the metropolis. Alas, / had
not convinced the managers that i, a
rank outsider, whose only dramatic
fame rested on the production of q
farce at a suburban church entertain
ment. could possibly write q three-act
comedy which should make the boxes
smile, the stalls litter, the dress circle
grin, the pit roar, and the gallery
scream with understandable meTrl-
ment
1 was, as have said, in low water.
had sent my latest comedy Sober
sides, the Funny Man'-tO the acunS
manager of the Thespian and was
little more than doubtful Of the re-
suit.
With "SObersides. the Funny Man
pigeon-holed at the Thespian, 1 had
nothing % do but struggle aions as
best l could on the minimum OF caSh
obtained by doing sweated reviewing
for a supposed respectable journal.
One day when had scampered
through ten volumes and written no
tees of them for the princeiy remuner-
alton of half as many shlliings l was
surprised land not altogether agree
ably by a visit from my uncle.
worthy button merchant of BirminS-
ham. he would never forgive me nav
ing Quilted the position which he had
found for me in his Office that l might
seek to earn a "beggarly subsistence
by nv pen. Pens" be would say,
"are made for bookkeeping for
bOok-making.r And bOOk-making IN
Fleet street was, TO his mind, no less
disreDutable than bOOk-making on the
race course.
Well, Uncle Joe came in, and if /
did not exactly welcome the coming, !
was certainly delighted to speed the
parting guest. Before be left 1 had
decided that he was not so bad after
all, for he treated me 90 an excellent
dinner and gave me- Gods bank and
saba ESQ note.
/ went to EustOn to see the old boy
on, sOftened toward him almost 10
the degree Of Offering to return like a
prOdigal TO Birmingham and its but
tons. AS the train was on the point
of starting Uncle Joe threw me an en-
velope. saying: Il was fool enough TO
buy that when in Brussels You may
o oil
The envelope much 20 my amuse-
ment, contained a ticket TO the BruS-
sells Grand international lottery.
On my way to my lodgings 1 re-
vOlved the question: WbaT shall / do
now? / determined %O husband my
means so 1 might Ne on the $50 as
long as possible willie making further
efforts at original work. Strong in
my new capitalistic cOhceit. I wrote
the editor whose sweated reviewer in
chief 1 had been. land threw up my
connection with his paper; and then,
having no ties of work TO bind me to
London. l determined to live ON the
continent as cheaplA as possible while
] wrote another lplay. A happy
thought struck me. Why not go to
Brussels while wor - waiting
for something - eve are
lat family of Micawber).
in at the lottery ticket
that the drawing was at
of July Ever a crea-
e, was by noon the fol-
Brussels.
the Belgian capital be-
ny way at once TO an
cel in a side street off
Madeleine. In the hotel
h a flaming bin about the
g the exact date Of the
yJuly 4. A happy augury
ht I, for that viii be indie
ay. The first prize represent
-mOus sum, the very consider
(Which gave me the dreams OF
bnaire. / began to consider my
as a really valuable possession.
lost as though il were an actual
p0faft for the amount of the first prize,
and at the very last as a kind of tails
man which was TO pass me along the
road to good fortune. such, indeed,
il was to prove. in a manner l could
never have imagined.
During my stay l determined to do
Brussels thoroughly. | spent my morn
ings in work, my afternoons in wan
dering in all quarters of the city, and
my evenings at Vauxhall Gay with
life. light and music. the popular resort
exercised a great fascination over me.
On the first visit my eye was taken by
an obviously English couple who sat
near mean old man and young wO-
man. Her pale face was fun Of char
acter and liz up by large, clear, gray