256 " MY KINGDOM FOR A HORSE ! " 



contiguous premises he had contrived what King James I. 

 called a " Lug," and in it he could both hear and see what 

 went on in the office of Mr Cass, the petitioner's solicitor. 

 He revealed these secrets to me and to me only, and one 

 of them a really lovely one concerned a leading light 

 of Nonconformity and teetotalism who was a witness 

 for the petitioner. He had been seen and heard in Mr 

 Cass's office when his " proof " was being settled, and he 

 had been invited to take a drink. He had at first refused, 

 but the solicitor had said : " What ! Not some old 

 Jamaica ? " and had produced a bottle. This had proved 

 too much for the total abstainer, who succumbed to the 

 temptation and drank. Now I had all details of the 

 incident and wrote them down. My leader received the 

 memo, somewhat sceptically, and I could not explain, but 

 assured him it was right ; so he proceeded to ask the 

 witness if he had been supplied with drink in Mr Cass's 

 office. This he indignantly denied, saying : "I have 

 never tasted whisky, gin, rum, ale or anything else for 

 seven and twenty years." (Laughter.} 



Instantly there came the question in the exact words 

 that had been used by Mr Cass : " What ! Not some 

 old Jamaica ? " 



This so startled the witness that he fairly broke down, 

 believing that Cass had given him away, while Cass, on 

 his part, evidently regarded the witness as a traitor. This 

 was but one of many similar instances in which my secret 

 information enabled our side to dumbfound the witnesses 

 for the petitioner. 



The most amusing incident of all, however, was the 

 examination of our old Kilvington factotum, Tom Palliser, 

 to whose long career of drunkenness I have already called 

 attention. Never in his life had he dreamed of voting 

 other than " Blue," and, being the oldest inhabitant, 

 he had been asked, when Colonel Dawnay came to canvass 

 at Kilvington, to show the party round to the various 

 voters. He was given half-a-crown for his trouble, and it 

 was urged that this was a bribe. He had gone away after 



