of the Clarion asking me to be certain to forward my carnival article on the following day, so that it would appear in that week's issue. This was for my wife—she was so partial to things being proved. A private letter would ensure the insertion of an article which I must write. The only way out of the difficulty was to state that I was obeying instructions from the office, and to own that a harmless piece of deception was used in case our darling wives would not approve of foreign doings and masked balls. The ladies were brought to us by our drinking friend, there was a stormy five minutes, and a good many tears, but all unpleasantness was forgotten before the supper was finished. But as I said before, Peter Dodd's ideas have a tendency to lead one into mischief. [Pg 27] [Pg 27] CHAPTER V. THE FIFTEEN POSTAGE-STAMP PUZZLE. THE FIFTEEN POSTAGE-STAMP PUZZLE. The two Conspirators— The Destitute state of the Finances—Swindle concocted—A polite Speech—The golden Harvest. It is a threadbare saying, but a very true one, that nothing succeeds like success. Be the money made in questionable ways, such as by a little piracy in Chinese waters, selling guns never intended to shoot to North American Indians, or by a quack medicine, which professes to cure all diseases humanity is heir to, the man himself, the millionaire, will be glorified. As in America, so in the mother country, the money-bags cover a multitude of sins. It is pitiable, and does not give one a high impression of the multitude's brains, that the most glaring imposition, if thoroughly well advertised and persisted in, is bound to yield large profits. It may not have been overlooked, although not noticed much in the newspapers, but the most satirical thing done in the present century of the Christian era has been the erection of an asylum for imbeciles by a gentleman who shall be, for obvious reasons, nameless. The act speaks volumes, and ought to be worth a cartoon by Tenniel as a lesson for thousands. The donor has been behind the scenes, and knows our little weaknesses and is ashamed of us! After
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