I was born at No - The MAN & Other Families

40train suddenly started and it was with difficulty I was able to scramble back into the trainwith the aid of Halliday pulling me up.At Naples we found Ellis (a partner in Bulloch Bros.) and his wife, who were staying atthe same hotel as we and were to be fellow passengers in the "Pegu". Naples was "enfete" on our arrival owing to the opening of a new Arcade called the "Galleria Umberto"in honor of King Humbert. We went that night to a performance of "Faust" at the opera.We sailed next morning. The "Pegu" was a very comfortable boat, though not to becompared with the boats of the Bibby Line which commenced running about a year later.We had about fifteen passengers and the weather was fine all the way. We had theatricalsduring the voyage, the play being "The Subaltern's Dodge", a little play which I hadwritten a few years previously.On arrival at Rangoon I was posted to the management of the Finance and AccountsDepartment and in this capacity came a good deal in contact with the Exchange brokerswho used to call daily at the offices seeking business. The leading Exchange broker was aman called Spence. He was in poor health and his doctor had ordered him a long seavoyage. He made me an offer of partnership. It was very tempting and I accepted. Afterabout a month he left for a trip to Australia and I carried on alone. Business was good andI did very well.I bought a nice little pony called "Pepper" on which I won the Hunt Steeplechase for thesecond time. I was elected Master of the Hunt, a position I held for two years, duringwhich time I led the hunt with Pepper and a beautiful white Arab called "Bally-hooley"who was a magnificent jumper. I also became a steward of the races.Mr. Man, who I have already mentioned as my future father-in-law, was then livingalone, his wife and eldest daughter, Beatrice, having returned to England after a briefvisit. He, for some reason, took a fancy to me and asked me to break in two horses he hadbought for his two eldest daughters who were coming out shortly with Mrs. Man and theyounger members of his family. I had plenty of horses of my own to ride, so breaking inthese two in addition to riding my own kept me busy in my spare time.When Spence returned from his trip to Australia I lived with him, but he soon got illagain. He was a very hard drinker and this was the trouble with him. He died of dropsy amonth or two after his return and I became the sole partner in the firm.Mrs. Man arrived in Rangoon about this time accompanied by six of her nine children.These were, Beatrice, aged about 21; Jo, twenty; Harry, 15; May, 10; Katie, 8; and Dolly,5. Mr. Man had a large yellow waggonette in which he used to drive the whole family inthe evenings, sometimes with a pair of horses and sometimes "Unicorn"; that is to say,one leader and two wheelers.The arrival of such a large family created quite a sensation in Rangoon, where, owing tothe climate, European children are sent back to England at a very early age and there isconsequently no family life, the husband and wife being the only members of the family