When he was sent by the city editor of the _Brooklyn Eagle_ to review a theatrical performance and decided to write his review without going to the theatre, he had, of course, no warning that the performance would not take place.

He took what many a more experienced reporter would consider a reasonable chance and he suffered keen humiliation when the lesson was forced home that it does not pay to attempt deception.

He tells us that the incident left a lasting impression and he felt grateful because it happened so early in life that he could take the experience to heart and profit by it.

With equal candor he tells of the stock-market "tips" that resulted from his intimacy with Jay Gould.
Wisely he records that he resolved to keep out of Wall Street thereafter, in spite of his initial success in speculation.

When he gave up an association that probably would have led to his becoming a stock-broker, and somewhat later, when he declined an offer to be the business manager for a popular American actress, Edward Bok was called upon to make fateful decisions.