UNITED STATES AND CANADA 195 



flourishing just then, and my ambition was to take 

 and furnish a house, having enjoyed the discomfort 

 of ** furnished apartments " for many years of 

 married life. So I simply said that, all things con- 

 sidered, I would appreciate a grant from the Ex- 

 chequer more than anything else. That is the sum 

 total of all I had to do with the matter. I was given 

 a gratuity of a very munificent character, far more 

 perhaps than I deserved. Some of my colleagues 

 taunted me with being a " jobber ! " and one — a very 

 dear friend too — ^went so far as to say he would not 

 have taken it had he been in my shoes, which I don't 

 for a moment believe. People don't as a rule refuse 

 money when it is offered to them, least of all im- 

 pecunious Government officials. Anyway, that is 

 my experience. When *' My Lords of the Trea- 

 sury," not without a groan, finally sanctioned the 

 gratuity Mr. Chamberlain had proposed for me, 

 I wrote and told him, at the same time expressing 

 my cordial thanks. This is what he wrote me in 

 reply : 



40 Princes Gardens, S.W., 

 June 12, 1888. 



My dear Maycock, — I am very glad to hear 

 that my application on your behalf will be complied 

 with, and am happy to have been instrumental in 

 securing a recognition of services which I know 



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