JIM MACE SLEEPS 



spirit of chaff about every wager laid which was 

 sufficient compensation for what was done. Some of 

 the bets took a bit of collecting ; nevertheless it was 

 picked up from time to time, and made a steady 

 addition to spending money. It was inevitable to 

 mix it, and occasionally I had to go in and back 'em. 

 I remember once backing a double, treble and quad- 

 ruple — that's a tall order — with an amateur book- 

 maker, a relative of a celebrated British admiral. He 

 ' lost heavily, and when the usual settling came about 

 I he had gone back to Melbourne. Naturally, I tried 

 I to get my bit, and eventually took half the money to 

 I square it from that delightful chap, poor Jack Saqui, 

 who kept a cigar shop in Melbourne. Jack Saqui, 

 for whom I shall always have the greatest respect, was 

 the son of old Austin Saqui, a contemporary of Joe 

 Thompson and once a partner of Jim Mace. Jack 

 Saqui was the father of Miss Male Saqui, who was 

 at the Gaiety for some years, a pretty girl and much 

 respected. 



While speaking of Mace, when I was first in Mel- 

 bourne he had an hotel, and of course a big bar in 

 Bourke Street. Jim used to sit there on quite warm 

 days with a very swell fur coat with big astrakhan 

 collar, and a silk hat well polished — ^this was the real 

 style for ex-heavyweights, John L. Sullivan also affect- 

 ing the same rig-out in his country, where the climate 

 certainly suited it better. Jim Mace wore a superb 

 diamond ring, a single stone, which he much prized. 

 He used to get a bit drowsy in the afternoon and early 

 evening, and one day the " boys " — that is, the tough 

 division — got him to take a little more than usual, 

 which made him sleep sounder than ever ; they 

 greased his finger and had the ring. Jim was in a 

 great state about it, and swore the most terrible 



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