OUR District Organizing Secretary in I the North of England has sent us the | following story as an example of " the i value of the sovereign and the power of ; suggestion." It is an excellent example also of the gift, invaluable to all who work for a great charity, of asking at just the right moment and in just the right way.

He was at a lunch where one of the guests boasted of having a real sovereign, which he produced to show that what he said was true. Our Organising Secre- ' tary saw his opportunity and took it.

He said that it was surely a matter of regret that, in spite of all the appeals to the contrary, this sovereign should have ' been hoarded so long. He suggested j that the hoarder could beat purge his offence by handing it to the Life-boat Service. He suggested further that it would be a fitting penalty if he also imposed on himself a fine of a shilling to be given to the same cause.

This courageous suggestion, aptly combining an appeal for a good cause with an appeal to the feeling of good citizenship, was immediately accepted.

The owner of the sovereign not only handed it over accompanied by a shilling, but promised yet further gifts, for h ; said: '" Your sublime impertinence shall be rewarded. You may count me as an annual subscriber of a guinea." We do not know which to admire most for neatly rising to the occasion, our new subscriber or our District Organizing Secretary..