Mr. Gladstone's Postal Cards

A few years ago Mr. Gladstone was seized with a njania for answering oq postal cards all Communications addressed to hlm. Hls reply to requests for an opinión were so delightfully noncommittal, that the recipiënt of the postal was never any the wiser as to the great statesman's views. For instance, Mr. Gladstone was once asked what he thought of the use of tobáceo. Forthwith on a postal came the followlng: "White some persons consider the use of tobáceo to be exceedingly injurlous to themselves and offensive to others, not a few persons consider It an innocuous and delightful indulgence. What do you think about it?" These quasipalindrome8 froni Gladstone's pen were all much alike and created such fun that they were eagerly sought for. The old gentleman has for some time ceased this manner of correspondence, but the enterprising swindler in London, who Uas been flooding this country with CHadstonian postáis, must have made a rich harvest. He netted $3 a piece for them. It may have been that Mr. Gladstone's studied care not to express an jpinion was due to the fact that he expected an imposition of this nature would arlse. St. Augustine dubbed Cicero "a weigher and measurer of urords." But give the wonderful sage jf Hawarden a postal and he can discount the great Roman orator at nis