UNDER THE WEATHER 



German firm, and we had a number of old steel plates, 

 Landseer subjects and others. Later he sent me out 

 to push his wares in England, Scotland and Ireland, 

 and I knew the ropes in all the big cities ; this was 

 before I was seventeen. Of course I went to race- 

 meetings occasionally, but I had no teacher, and had 

 to pick up all the knowledge myself. Tegg and I fell 

 out eventually, and the sack followed, but youth 

 can be independent, especially when a twenty-to-one 

 , chance to a sovereign has just been brought off. 

 I It is a long time ago, but I shall always look back 

 ' happily to that little old gentleman, who, despite being 

 crotchety on occasions, was always delightful. He 

 was a renter of Drury Lane and used to give me his 

 card very frequently to get his seat. He lived in 

 I Doughty Street I believe to his death, but things did 

 not go well with him in closing years, and the business 

 ceased to exist. 



During my compulsory holiday pool was learnt, in 

 addition to pyramids, and the former was played at 

 the old Bay Tree in St Swithin's Lane. A few of us 

 would get very broke sometimes, and then it became 

 a question of combining the silver and the mugs among 

 us having to sit out while the swell player of our little 

 lot would give the money a run. He had to try to turn 

 it into gold, and if luck came our way we would go 

 to old Carrs in the Strand or the old Pavilion or 

 Promenade concerts, and then perhaps finish at the 

 Argyle Rooms. This was supposed to be a terrible 

 place by all the correct people, but it never struck 

 me as being a horrible haunt of vice ; in fact, it was 

 intensely amusing. Two M.C.'s used to walk up and 

 down and switch on a few pasty-faced young men to 

 t dance with some of the ladies. Few of the real men 

 i danced unless their dinner had been a long one. 



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