44 SUNSHINE AND SPORT IN 



unpleasant experience, for which I had only myself 

 to thank. Before I left England, my banker in 

 Devonshire had impressed on me the convenience 

 of letters of credit, but, spoilt perhaps by the former 

 kindness of friends abroad, I anticipated no diffi- 

 culty in cashing cheques whenever the occasion 

 might arise. I therefore rejected his wise counsel, 

 but hope that none who read this will do likewise, 

 for the result is both disagreeable and expensive. 

 The cashier at my hotel on Fifth Avenue politely 

 but firmly declined to accept a cheque in settlement 

 of my account. Though exceedingly wroth at the 

 time, I have, on reflection, realised that his objec- 

 tion was perfectly correct. All men are liars, even 

 fishermen, and there was nothing to satisfy him 

 that my bank account was in order. For myself, 

 the annoyance of the episode was aggravated by 

 the fact that I was timed to leave for Washington 

 in an hour, and, of all days in the week, of course 

 it was a Saturday, so that, allowing for the differ- 

 ence in time, the bank was already closed. Con- 

 sequently, the cable which I despatched at once 

 for remittance by wire would be inoperative for 

 forty-eight hours. Fortunately, I had just enough 

 to pay my bill, send my cable and get to Washing- 

 ton, after which there remained to me the princely 

 balance of a dollar and a half, otherwise six 

 shillings sterling. Even on the Monday evening, 

 when help eventually arrived by way of the sub- 

 marine cable and a Washington bank, I had no 

 little difficulty, owing to the combined need and 

 impossibility of identification, in obtaining posses- 

 sion of my own money. Not until I had produced 

 miscellaneous evidence that I was I, in the shape 



