\paperw3360 \margr0\margl0\ATXph16380 \plain \fs20 \f1 \fs22 The British novelist William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) was a regular contributor to \i FraserÆs Magazine\i0 an
d to \i Punch\i0 . His best-known novels are \i Vanity Fair \i0 (1847-48) and \i Pendennis\i0 (1848). Published as part of \i JamesÆs Diary\i0 in \i Punch\i0 , August 1845, the following passage wittily describes the career of a lucky speculator:
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\i Considerable sensation has been excited in the upper and lower circles in the West End, by a startling piece of good fortune which has befallen James Plush, Esq., lately footman in a respected family in Berkeley Square.\par
One day last week,
Mr. James waited upon his master, who is a banker in the City; and after a little blushing and hesitation, said he had saved a little money in service, was anxious to retire, and to invest his savings to advantage.\par
His master (we believe we may men
tion, without offending delicacy, the well-known name of Sir George Flimsy, of the house of Flimsy, Diddler and Flash) smilingly asked Mr. James what was the amount of his savings, wondering considerably how, out of an income of thirty guineas, Mr. Plush
could have managed to lay by anything.\par
Mr. Plush, with some hesitation, said he had been \i0 speculating in railroads\i , and stated his winnings to have been thirty thousand pounds. He had commenced his speculations with twenty, borrowed from a f
ellow-servant. He had dated his letters from the house in Berkeley Square, and humbly begged pardon of his master for not having instructed the Railway Secretaries who answered his applications to apply at the area-bell.\par
Sir George, who was at brea
kfast, instantly rose, and shook Mr. P by the hand; Lady Flimsy begged him to be seated, and partake of the breakfast which he had laid on the table and has subsequently invited him to her grand \i0 dΘjeuner\i at Richmond, where it was observed that Mis
s Emily Flimsy, her beautiful and accomplished seventh daughter, paid the lucky gentleman marked attention.\par
