When Benzon had melted his patrimony of a quarter of a million, he
thought to maintain his notoriety by telling the world how he had managed
to do it. To this motive may be attributed the appearance of a book
attributed to him, and entitled, “How I Lost £250,000 in Two Years.” His
friends now considered that a new and reputable career was opened up to
him; for the work was extremely well written, and the “Jubilee Juggins”
accepted with never-failing geniality the congratulations which were
showered upon him. But even here Benzon was fated to be a disappointment
to his friends. Some months after the book appeared an action was
brought against the publisher by Vero Shaw. From the evidence given
during the hearing it transpired that, save for the two words “Ernest
Benzon” which appeared under his likeness opposite the title-page, not a
scrap of the work had been done by the “Juggins” himself. It was all the
work of Vero Shaw, constructed out of such flimsy materials as could be
gathered from the vapid conversation of the devoted plunger and the diary
of the latter’s tutor.
The last time I saw Benzon he was somewhat less of the butterfly than in
the days of his vanity. He was living on an inalienable income paid
weekly. His salient qualities were selfishness and silliness. He was
what “bookies” used to call “a fly-flat,” and, I may add, more flat than
fly.
Saturday-to-Mondaying became recognized as having a place among British
sports and pastimes some time at the close of the seventies, I think. It
was started, like so many other delightful innovations, by Bohemians.
Having once “caught on,” it was adopted by Society, and in quite recent
years became recognized under the name which it originally and naturally
bore. But though Society has sanctioned—or shall I say sanctified?—the
term, the first public allusion to the beneficent custom was on the stage
of the music-hall, and was made by Miss Marie Lloyd or another. The
stimulating refrain ran: “Oh, will you be my Saturday-to-Monday?”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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