The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1912-03-15
HIS LAST RESOURCE.
Teols Might Have ussd e ae First, but
He 0idn't.

Tesis Might Have Ussd Il II First, but
He Didn't.
]. l. Toole, the English comedian.
dearly loved . joke and just As dearly
loved the excitement Of the gaming tn
BILE. though he invariably lost. Dur
ing q holiday that. says an English
writer, he and passed together at
Aix-les-Bains he did his best to i'm
peril the good effects Of his cure by
as constant attendance at the Cercle
and the villa des Fleurs. After a night
N which he had been more than usual
~ successful in exhausting the ready
cash he carried about him we made
our way on the following morning to
the little bank in the main street Of
Aix-les-Bains in order that he might
make a fresh draft upon his letter of
credit
But he did not at once reveal to the
clerk in charge his serious business
intent. Tapping lightly at the closed
window Of the guichet. he inquired in
broken English, which he appeared
strangely to believe would be some
how comprehensive to his foreign in
terlocutor, whether the bank would be
prepared to make him a small advance
upon a gold headed cane which he car
rfed in his hand. The request. as
might be supposed. was somewhat
briskly dismissed. and the little win
dow was abruptly closed in his face.
Toole retired, apparently deeply de-
jected by the refusal of his request,
but in a few minutes he returned to
the attack, having in the meantime
provided himself with fresh material
for a new financial proposition.
Fastening out into the little market
that lay near the bank. he hurriedly
purchased from one of the fish stalls
a small pike that had been caught In
the lake, and. having added to this a
bunch Of carrots, he returned to the
bank, where he carefully arranged
these pro1ered securities on the coun-
ter, enforced by the addition Of his
watch and chain. a threepenny bit and
a penknife.
When all was ready he again tapped
softly at the window and in a voice
that was broken by sobs implored the
clerk, in view Of his unfortunate posi-
ton, to accept these ill assorted arti-
cles in pledge for the small sum which
was needed to save him from starva'
ton.
The clerk, by this time grown indig.
nant. requested him to leave the 'estab-
lishment, explaining to him In emphat'
ic terms and in such English as he
could command that they only made
advances upon circular notes or let.
tiers of credit.
At the last named word Toole's sad.
dened face suddenly broke into smiles,
and, producing his letter Of credit, he
handed it to the astonished clerk with
the added explanation that he would
have offered that at first If he thought
the bank cared about it, but that the
porter at the hotel had told him he
thought that they liked fish better.
lnquirins For John.
The pricking Of that soap bubble,
pretention. is always an agreeable pas
time. In her volume Of "reminiscences,
entitled LAS I Remember" Mrs. Gou-
verneur relates that the son Of Presi-
dent Van Buren, was generally known
as Prince John because he had once
danced with Queen Victoria before her
accession to the throne and was unable
to forget 1t.
One day Van Buren, met on the street
James T. Brady, who had recently re
turned from q visit to England. In
a most patronizing manner he inquired
whether Brady had seen the queen.
Certainly" said Mr.. Brady, land un-
der these circumstances. was walk
ing along the street when by chance
the queens carriage overlook me, and
the moment her majesty's eye lighted
on me she exclaimed:
"'Hello, Jim Brady. When did you
hear from John Van Buren,"