Ticket-of-Leave-Man

Out of Maidstone Jail, Kentshire, there strode last week the irrepressible Horatio Bottomley, founder of that broadly humorous weekly John Bull, which was bought more largely by British soldiers in France than any other magazine.

Five years have passed since genial Mr. Bottomley was led into a cell for converting to his own use -L-5,000 ($24,300) of the really enormous sums which his fervent oratory had helped to raise for War purposes. To be sure the judge who sentenced Mr. Bottomley stigmatized his "long series of heartless frauds"; but the culprit, who had conducted his own defense, rose to the occasion with a deep bow and the words: "My Lord, I only go where all accused men are sent in this land."

As a prisoner he proved so docile and almost smugly obedient that his seven-year term was reduced automatically to five. Even this was cut down a few days last week by the prison authorities who had reason to think that if Horatio Bottomley was released on the date previously announced he would be met at the prison door by a huge admiring crowd of onetime soldiers, race-track folk, stage people and vague legions of "the lower classes." To prevent this scandal, the prisoner was hustled out of jail and despatched to his Sussex home in a discreet motor car.

Sussex Welcome. Mrs. Bottomley and numerous faithful servants greeted "the master" at his home in Dicker, Sussex while an old gardener hobbled down to tell the delighted villagers that their squire-was out of jail. " 'E's a ticket o'-leave-man, still, though," said the gardener sadly, "the Marster, on account 'e is out o' jail two years early, 'as to put in 'is ticket to them-- every month!" Soon the villagers hung out flags and other tokens to honor open-handed Squire Bottomley.

Projects. When gentlemen of the press arrived they were not so much received as feted. "I have written a poem," said their host impressively, "a poem in which I have described the hideous things in prison life. I have called this poem "The Ballad of Maidstone Jail," and it will soon be published. . . . .'"

Later, as Host Bottomley's spirits kindled, he announced other projects: 1) a lecture tour during which he would wear only prison garb and would denounce British prison methods "from every platform in the land"; 2) the founding of a newspaper, "for which my backers have ready -L-100,000, gentlemen." 3) publication (which subsequently took place last week in the London Dispatch) of an entire front-page story of his wrongs, plus an entire back page of pictures showing him plump before he went to jail and cadaverous today.

With these dynamic projects booming, there seemed small reason to doubt that Horatio Bottomley will soon try to regain his one-time seat in Parliament, perhaps choosing a slum district and riding to victory once more as the champion of the people against "them."

* Even irreproachable folk of the British middling classes have a trick of referring the upper classes, the higher clergy or the police as "them." "