bition and sao a Big Business Man like Lever or illiam eley. Beteen and eigs to ‘improve my mind’ and train myself for a business career. I cured myself of dropping aitc rid of most of my Cockney accent. (In try accents . Except for ter talked Cockney.) I did a correspondence course tleburns’ Commercial Academy, learnt bookkeeping and business Englisful bla of Salesmansic and even my ing. een I’ve sat up late at nigongue of my moutising copperplate by ttle oil-lamp on table. At times I read enormously, generally crime and adventure stories, and sometimes paper-covered books t’. (translations of Maupassant and Paul de Kock.) But urned a ticket for ty Library, and began to stodge t about t time t I joined t one evening a er for erary discussion’. Under pressure from ts of Sesame and Lilies and even Browning.
And time slumping suddenly into tter, but it e ter Joe ran aer I to Grimmett’s.
Joe, at eigo an ugly ruffian. y c of tremendous sable moustac in tap- room of to s, sco t o knock to t enougo let t taking of s, yell over to t knoo do ing t e one nig of till and taken all t , luckily not muc eig eerage passage to America. ed to go to America, and I tain. It made a bit of a scandal in to Joe ed because a girl in treet as to ainly been so a dozen ot ed te, used it to excuse tealing t pounds and running a capable of grasping t Joe because stand a decent respectable life in a little country toed a life of loafing, fig utterly to t boto e. Luckily tions. As for t t Joe olen t pounds, Moto keep it a secret till t was a muchan Sally Chivers’s baby.
trouble over Joe aged Fat deal. to lose Joe o cut a loss, but it time forle grey man, y spectacles, really dates from t time. By sloing more and more involved in money erested in otalked less about politics and t trade. Moto tle, too. In my c and overflo of great opulent creature like ttles smaller and more anxious and older tc in more for neck of mutton, o use margarine, a to ter Joe o fr