I Had The Habit Of Sticking To My Work,
Various And Complicated As Much Of It Was, Day By Day, Until That Day's
Work Was Done.
It often happened that I forgot to eat the modest lunch
carefully put in my pocket by my wife on my leaving home, in early
morning.
And often and often I did not get home till nine o'clock at
night, so tired that occasionally I fell asleep over my dinner; and my
wife, seeing my condition of fatigue, got into the habit of carving our
frugal joints, a habit which has become permanent. Thus, when I say, as
a bit of pleasantry, that where the lady carves, you learn who is the
master of the house, Lady Watkin will retort by mentioning this old
story of past and anxious times.
Well, the Trent Valley Railway, of which I was Secretary and Manager,
was sold, at a large profit - I think 438,000l. - to the London
and Birmingham and Grand Junction Companies, then about to amalgamate
under the name of the "London and North Western." In the spring of 1846
it became necessary to close our accounts, and balance our books, with
a view to give each shareholder his share of principal and profit. It
was arranged that the shareholders should call at the office in Norfolk
Street, in Manchester, for their cheques on and after a day in April,
1846. Two days before this date, my Scotch book-keeper came to me to
report that in balancing the books he was out the small sum of
1s. 10d. (I think it was), and he proposed to carry that
to profit and loss ("Profeet and Loasse," he said). To which I, of
course, replied, "My good friend, a failure to balance of even a penny
may conceal errors on the two sides of the account by the hundred.
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