"I threw my whole soul into it; I grudged myself food and sleep while I was at it; the most practised hands admitted I had caught on to the idea in a month and revolutionised the practice inside of a year," he said.

"And there's interest in it, too.

It's amusing to pick out some one going by, make up your mind about his character and tastes, dash out of the office and hit him flying with an offer of the very place he wants to go to.

I don't think there was a scalper on the continent made fewer blunders.

But I took it only as a stage.