278 " MY KINGDOM FOR A HORSE ! " 



mentioned in connection with it, I can see but one course open to 

 me, and that I am adopting by sending you the receipt. 

 I am, sir, your obedient servant, 



W. ALLISON (Editor, St Stephen's Review). 



The Right Hon. W. E. GLADSTONE, M.P. 

 The following was the reply : 



10 DOWNING STREET, WHITEHALL, 



Sth June 1883. 



SIR, Mr Gladstone is obliged to you for your courtesy forward- 

 ing to him the receipt for 100 stated to have been contributed 

 by him in aid of St Stephen's Review ; and he desires me to 

 inform you that he has no claim to be considered the donor of the 

 sum in question. 



The receipt is herewith returned. 

 I am, sir, your obedient servant, 



E. W. HAMILTON. 



Not long afterwards a similar joke of agreeable character 

 was played on us in the name of " Joseph Chamberlain," 

 and this time it took the form of a cheque for 250 drawn on 

 a bank in Birmingham and signed " Joseph Chamberlain." 

 The cheque was met in due course, but here again Mr 

 Chamberlain denied all knowledge of it. 



Obviously from the above details, it will be seen that 

 I had good friends somewhere behind the scenes, though I 

 did not identify them until long afterwards. Incidentally 

 Mr Gladstone served admirably for advertising purposes. 

 Still the financial position was absurdly weak, and I even 

 started a " Beauty Competition " to run over several 

 weeks, voters for the most beautiful woman in her 

 Majesty's dominions having to buy a paper in order to 

 fill in a coupon. The result was rather funny, for the 

 week before the poll closed Miss Daisy Vern headed the 

 list, with Mrs Langtry second, and Miss Kate Vaughan 

 a rather bad third. Just before the conclusion someone 

 came in to the publisher's office and inquired how many 

 copies he would have to buy to give coupons enough to 

 place Kate Vaughan at the head of the poll, and the 



