His cap was still in his hand, and, with a helpless gesture, he put it on and scattered his floral offering in the road.

Then he made a bee-line for the Two Schooners.
Though convivial by nature and ever free with his money, he sat there drinking alone in silent misery.

Men came and went, but he still sat there noting with mournful pride the attention caused by his unusual bearing.

To casual inquiries he shook his head; to more direct ones he only sighed heavily and applied himself to his liquor.

Curiosity increased with numbers as the day wore on, and the steward, determined to be miserable, fought manfully against an ever-increasing cheerfulness due to the warming properties of the ale within.
"I 'ope you ain't lost nobody, Sam ?" said a discomfited inquirer at last.
Mr.Wilks shook his head.
"You look as though you'd lost a shilling and found a ha'penny," pursued the other.
"Found a what ?" inquired Mr.Wilks, wrinkling his forehead.
"A ha'penny," said his friend.
"Who did ?" said Mr.Wilks.
The other attempted to explain and was ably assisted by two friends, but without avail; the impression left on Mr.Wilks's mind being that somebody had got a shilling of his.