to him among so many failures; and every time that he discovered afresh the imperfections of commercial humanity, it seemed to come upon him as a surprise. In the city of Mexico, where business men arebusiness men, he was respected universally, and by the Indians he was adored. "He is a good man, Jebb," said an honourable old Jewish trader of that city to me,-"a man among a thousand, whom I would trust anywhere. See, I will prove it to you, Amigo; he has lived in this town doing business for years, yet, with all his opportunities, he leaves it poorer than he came here. Did you ever hear the like of that, Amigo?" And so it came about that John Gladwyn Jebb left both Mexico and this land, where we have "no abiding city," almost as naked of the world's goods as when he entered it. He was not suited to the life that fell to his lot, at least not to the commercial side of it, for an adventurer-using the term in its best sense-he must always have been. He was too sanguine, too romantic, too easily deluded by others, and too mystical—a curious vein of mysticism was one of his most striking characteristics for this nineteenth century. As a crusader, or as a knight-errant, doubtless he would have been a brilliant success, but as a manager of companies and a director of business matters it must be confessed that he was a failure. It Would that there existed more of such noble failures-the ignoble are sufficiently abundant-for then the world might be cleaner than it is. matters little now: his day is done, and he has journeyed to that wonderful Hereafter of which during life he had so clear a vision, and that was so often the subject of his delightful and suggestive talk. But his record remains, the record of a brave and generous man who, as I firmly believe, never did, never even contemplated, a mean or a doubtful act. To those who knew him and have lost sight of him there remain also a bright and chivalrous example and the memory of a most perfect gentleman. DITCHINGHAM, 21st August 1894. H. RIDER HAGGARD. UNIV. OF CALIFORN A STRANGE CAREER. CHAPTER I. BOYHOOD, AND ENTRANCE INTO THE ARMY. JACK JEBB'S PARENTAGE-EARLY LIFE AT WALTON-EDUCATION AT IN telling the life story of a real or a fictitious personage, it is usual to start at the beginning and plod on more or less steadily, until at the last "Finis" can be added to the adventures or the days of the hero. But there are times when the chronicler feels that it would be easier to begin at the end-when the character has attained to all that it ever will of good and of evil, and when Α we can see by what strange chances and weary paths it came to its maturity. As this book is intended, however, to be a sketch of many adventures in distant lands rather than of the manly and loyal nature of him who underwent them, it shall follow the orthodox course. There are many disadvantages about being an only child; and if there are any corresponding benefits to be derived from that fact, the subject of this memoir, John Beveridge Gladwyn Jebb, never profited by them. Born in 1841, when both his parents had passed their first youth, he was naturally regarded by them as a sort of Koh-i-noor, a roc's egg, or something equally rare and priceless. They agreed in doing their best to spoil him; but unfortunately they held diametrically opposite views as to the best way of performing the operation. There is no need to go further back in the annals of the Jebb family history than to the time of John's grandfather, himself an only son, who at one time possessed considerable property both in England and in the West Indies, but who, through various mischances, died a comparatively poor man. The small estate of Walton, Derbyshire, was entailed on his eldest son, Sir Joshua Jebb, K.C.B., Director-General of Prisons, |