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"In view of the grave importance of the present political situation The Times will be reduced in price to a penny."—Press Association.

Reclining Nut. "I don't bother to hold the girls now-a-days, I just let 'em nestle."

OUR NEW PENNY PAPER.

Thanks to Sir Edward Carson—or, as The Times prefers to put it, "the grave importance of the present political situation"—the price of The Times has fallen to one penny.

While it must be admitted that the famous journal is well worth a penny, we think it only fair to say that certain issues of The Daily Mail and Evening News last week, whose amazing editorial organisations were so freely and disinterestedly engaged in overcoming colossal obstacles in order to give information about the approaching revolution, were worth anything from fourpence to ninepence apiece.

If these philanthropic journals had not been behind The Times last week, what might we not have missed? Who, for instance, would have learned that; "the price (2d.) ... was equivalent to that of one penny paper and two halfpenny papers per diem"? We have checked that statement, with the aid of a ready-reckoner and a Latin dictionary, and we find it substantially correct. We are also able to agree to the further statement made last Thursday, that "from Monday next The Times, together with any one of the halfpenny morning papers, will be obtainable for less than the present price of The Times alone." If the mathematician who dug up that fact had said "evening" instead of "morning" his statement, curiously enough, would still have been right.

Thanks to the reminder from The Evening News that first numbers had been known to become valuable, fetching from £10 to £100, some 27,000 people put aside nice clean copies of The Times on Monday, in the hope of selling them at a profit of about 24,000 per cent, in 1964.

The greatest achievement in the annals of journalism was of course The Daily Mail man's successful attempt to interview the publisher of The Times. How he managed it we cannot think; but we are very, very grateful to him. We may add that ours is the only journal that has succeeded in interviewing the intrepid reporter. "How did you contrive to force your way through the seething mass in Printing House Square, and pass the closely-guarded portals of the world's chief and largest newspaper office; and by what means did you persuade the Colossus of publishing to tell you anything about it?" we asked. We regret that we cannot give his reply; only the incomparable genius of the painter of La Gioconda could do that.

A curious incident took place outside the Mansion House on Monday. In the Agony Column of a famous two-penny newspaper on Saturday the following announcement had appeared: "Will wate f. u. outsd. Mansn. Hs. 10-11 Mon. morn. Carry cop. Times so I may no its u." A frantic lady rushed at so many young and middle-aged men, exclaiming, "Horace! at last we meet!" that long before 10.30 it was necessary for a kindly City policeman to lead her away to a neighbouring chemist's for first aid.

"The fact that to-day is the 104th anniversary of the birth of Mr. Gladstone prompts reflection as to the different ways in which their birthdays have been regarded by some famous men."—Westminster Gazette.

The Writer (as he finishes): "Got it in at last, thank Heaven!"