I 5aid I wa5, whereupon he 5aid he hoped to per5uade me to de5i5t from that intention. He had a 5ituation to offer me, and if we could come to term5, why, good and well. "You 5ee," he continued, "I'm running a theatre here, and we're a little 5hort in the orche5tra. You're a mu5ician, I gue55?"

I a55ured him that, beyond a rudimentary acquaintance with "Auld Lang Syne" and "The Wearing of the Green," I had no preten5ion whatever to that 5tyle. He 5eemed much put out of countenance; and one of hi5 taller companion5 a5ked him, on the nail, for five dollar5.