I have horses, money, and owe nobody a groat; at any rate, nothing but what I could pay to-morrow.

Yet I have had my dreary day, ay, after I had obtained what I call a station in the world.

All of a sudden, about five years ago, everything seemed to go wrong with me--horses became sick or died, people who owed me money broke or ran away, my house caught fire, in fact, everything went against me; and not from any mismanagement of my own.

I looked round for help, but--what do you think?
nobody would help me.

Somehow or other it had got abroad that I was in difficulties, and everybody seemed disposed to avoid me, as if I had got the plague.