Pagina 317 di 657

"You are the first who have ever heard my story. My father was a

schoolmaster in Chesterfield, where I received an excellent

education. I travelled in my youth, took to the stage, and

finally became a reporter on an evening paper in London. One day

my editor wished to have a series of articles upon begging in the

metropolis, and I volunteered to supply them. There was the point

from which all my adventures started. It was only by trying

begging as an amateur that I could get the facts upon which to

base my articles. When an actor I had, of course, learned all the

secrets of making up, and had been famous in the green-room for

my skill. I took advantage now of my attainments. I painted my

face, and to make myself as pitiable as possible I made a good

scar and fixed one side of my lip in a twist by the aid of a

small slip of flesh-coloured plaster.