The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-10-23
PUPPET OF FORTUNE.
Strange Adventures of a Man Who Is
 "Thirty-five and Tough"
From the London Express.

From the London Express. do not know everything, but I will undertake anything, anywhere, any time. l know America from pork-yards to the hup or culture; Australia from Kauri to Bottle-tree; the continent taught me French, German, and other things. fa- miliar with all stocks. deeds, and law yers' genial ways; can draw and plan to scale; reviewers say I can write; thirty five and tough
 The writer of this highly original ad yertisement, which appeared in a London morning paper a few days ago, was in- reviewed by an Express representative yesterday, 'nd solemnly asserted that he meant every word of 1t.
 He gave his name as Vivian Cuthbert and his address at St. Pauls Mansions Hammersmith. Good-loolxlng, well dress ed' Wlth calm demeanor, and a slightly American accent, he seemed to have plumbed the depths of worldwide expe- rience
 After generally successful experience or business in several parts of the world, he said, he had recently been swept from anluence to poverty almost in a day.
 After crossing the oceans" he had been "capsized in a puddle at home"
 F'ortune, he continued, "has knocked many times at my door, and have usual- ly taken her in-but not always. I once had the chance of an opal mine. During a terrible drouth in Queensland I was travelling over the Barcoo plains. and at dried-up water-hole found white man sitting with his back against a fallen tree When ] approached him saw that he wanted water. But was too late. As he tasted the first drops his head fell. and he was dead.
 Tn his pocket l found about twenty pieces Of rock, each containing a sample of opal of brilliant quality. The onIv scrap of writing upon him was a roughly peneiled map. But my only thought then was to quit that land of death
 Some day, perhaps I will look for that mine,i l thought. when the rain comes, as they say in the back blocks The rain did not come for many months and my affairs drew me to another quar- ter.
 "On another occasion Fortune not only smiled. but offered to marry me. On the mail steamer from Honolulu to San Fran cisco an American lady sought me out for her special favor She owned streets in San Francisco by the mile and wore dia monds by the yard. On landing she in- vited me to dinner at the Palace hotel
 She did not spare my feelings. You are very green young man. she said. nc people of this country will skin you alive before you know you are caught. fou nave not even the sense to know a sott thing when you see 1t. What you want Is steady home and some one who Will keep you out of nonsense until you are oldef. NOW, 1 am going to make a settlement on you. and we'll just get mar flea and fix it all up right herer m the dead of night I marched out ana escaped l went to Mormon City. men worked on quartz-crushng plant In Colorado. Zigzagging across the state l arrived in Boston, and devoted myself 10 the stock market. Here l was steadily successful, and amassed sufficient to think once more of Europe My most successful business operations were transactions in land in the suhurhs Of Australian cities. On one occasion while in England in response to a cable gram from Australia informing me of a legal hitch respecting the ownership of some lands in which I was interested. I set out on the moment in the dress suit In which l stood to catch the boat for Australia at Brindisi.''
 Questioned as to the amount of money he has made he said
 'I went to Australia without a pennv and came away with e20OO. l spent most of 1t in America. and then set to work and made e1200. In seven or eight years back in England I made about s1500 I'm not broke now. but I want something to do"