FORTUNES LOST THROUGH LAZINESS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6120, 5 March 1898, Page 2

FORTUNES LOST THROUGH LAZINESS.

(Tit Bits.) We should not like to hazard even an approximate guess at the number of fortunes that have been lost through laziness, but we feel sure that they must count up to a very considerable total. An old Arabian proverb runs that "Fortune knocks at everyone's door once," and very probably that is so. But how many persons have been too lazy to draw the bolt, and, consequently, have had the chagrin of seeing Dame Fortune slip in next door! Here are a few very striking instances of the kind. A capable, but lazy, young solicitor was asked by a friend, also a solicitor, to leava the London office where he was employed as managing clerk, and enter into partnership with him in a solicitor's practice he had bought in Manchester. The offer was of a half-partnership, and at the same time the fellow was guaranteed a salary equal to what he received in London for so long as the practice was not worth more, after which his income would naturally inI crease. The offer was an excellent one, but he declined it on the score that the practice, having gone down, would require so much time and pushing. That was eighteen years ago. He is now the possessor of a small suburban practice, possibly worth .£3OO a year, while the post he refused in Manchester is worth .£4OOO or .£SOOO a year, the firm being one of the biggest in Cottonopolis. We were told recently, by a well-known solicitor, of a client of his who had actually lost .£'Booo a year by his laziness and procrastination. This client was the happy possessor of a snug little fortune, which he wished to invest, and he instructed his solicitor to find him a good security. This the latter did, the security being some cheap building land, which had every prospect of " booming " in value in a very short time. The client readily agreed on the purchase of the land, seeing what a future it had, but he could not be dragged into the inconvenience of coming to town to complete the purchase, while at the same time he objected to his solicitor seeing the conveyance completed without him. After three months he mustered up enough energy to get to the city, but by this time the property had been sold to a better purchasor. To-da.y that property is bringing in between .£7OOO and .£BOOO a year, and the lazy man is wearing out his existence on the remnant of an income that he has eaten away because he was too lazy to invest it. Shortly after the first rush consequent upon the discovery of the mineral wealth of South Africa, two Englishmen had possession of a small digging which they worked, as they thought, for all it was wotth, which was not very much. The names of these two men were Taylor and Jennings. There was an unequal division of labour between them : Jennings did the ■ work and Taylor did the talking. But ' before long Taylor tired of the little he did, and practically gave up the whole thing to Jennings, while he himself idled about doing nothing. The thing did not pay enough for him. It paid fairly well, but not enough to recompense him for the agony of working. At last he sold his share for a few pounds to Jennings, and went up-country a disappointed man. A month or so later he had drunk himself to death on the proceeds of the sale of his share of the mine, while his energetic partner was scooping out nearly £40 a week, and later, nearly .£2O a day. Eventually the creek became so rich that Jennings, having taken some .£6OOO or .£7OOO out of it, sold it for a considerable fortune. But while such cases are more or less common, it does notoftenoccurthat a man misses one and loses another fortune by the same laziness. Such, however, was the unhappy lot of a Liverpool merchant not long ago. He was in the habit of conducting his business from his private residence, having a responsible jnanager in command at his warehouse. He never, however, permitted his manager to conduct any really important transactions for him, but journeyed to Liverpool expressly for such purposes. One day he had two appointments in Liverpool: one for tho purchase of some valuable investments, and the other for signing a fire policy of insurace upon his warehouse and the heavy stock he had recently taken in. From sheer laziness he postponed his appointments until the following day. But as ill-luck would have it the investment had suddenly gone up in valuo by that time, and the man who was to sell refused to do so until the market had settled a little. At the same time, he was unable to complete the fire policy that day owing to his delay, and before it could be done his warehouse was burned down, and so much of his stock as was not burnt was completely ruined by water. The policy that was offered him was for more than half as much again as his warehouse was worth. He lost some .£12,000 over tho fire and nearly as much again over the shares he had intended taking up, for thev rose tremendously during the following "few days, and remained up for a time more than sufficient for hi m to have realised upon them if he had kept his appointment. W Sthanse and oo> are now offerin^ 6X ffi T? J^^Wanketsand flannefi Ti-Sf H?Jhl /\ Mar Lod S e ' the Duke of