It
might have been even larger but for the fact that H. F. was a known
philanthropist, whose hand was as often in his pocket as the hands of
his underlings were in the pockets of other men.
I
always think it is a pity that whereas men of such lax morals
frequently prove as sympathetic and generous as H. F. when appealed to
on behalf of their distressed fellows, many upright men in affluent
circumstances show themselves as hard as flint whenever an attempt is
made to lay them under contribution in a case of genuine hard luck. Not
long ago one who considers himself an ornament to the trade to which I
have been privileged to belong for at least twenty years longer than
he, reproached me for speaking to a one-time respected dealer who a few
days before had come out of gaol after serving a short sentence for
having bought stolen jewellery.
"If
I had been a younger man," I said, "with an unformed character and the
need to proclaim my business virtue, perhaps I should have hesitated to
go near him. But at my age and enjoying the reputation I do, I felt
that I could risk my morals if, by talking to a man for a few
minutes, I could help to re-establish him in his self-respect. Besides,
wasn't it John Wesley who said, when he saw some malefactor led to
execution: 'There but for the grace of God goes John Wesley'? That was
how I felt to-day."
But to return to my beginnings.
I
soon found my money getting low. Then came the old story, new to me,
looking for a job. Numberless calls, scores of unanswered letters
posted at the expense of many
