SOME STORIES ABOUT BOTTOMLEY.

Dunstan Times, Issue 3136, 25 September 1922, Page 7

SOME STORIES ABOUT BOTTOMLEY.

Mr Henry J. Houston, "confidant f and secretary" to Horatio Bottomley, now undergoing seven years' penal serviture for fraud, tells several good stor- , ies of hie employer in the News of t)K i World. Of his passion for champagne dozens [ s of good stories could be told, lie says. r 1 remember arriving with him in the ' small hours of a Sunday morning at \ Carlisle, where ho was to address re- ', cruiting meetings. All went well until 11 o'clock. That [ was an important hour for "H. 8." At five minutes to eleven indulgence in alcohol was to him a vicious habit. At 11 o'clock it was an imperative necessity. I never knew him to drink before ; that hour, and I never knew him happy if the thirst-quenching ceremony was delayed much beyond it. On this particular occasion I rang promptly for the waiter, and demanded a bottle of Poramery, 1906, his favorite brand. Quite impossible, said the waiter, Sunday was a day of total prohibition in Carlisle. "Send the manager up," said "H. 8." The manager came, and Mr Bottomley began, one of his usual wheedling approaches. All without success. The manager was adamant. "Hut," protested Mr Bottomley, "this is a serious neglect of duty on your part, 1 wrote you asking for 1 half a dozen bottles to be placed in my room, and nothing has been clone." For a while the manager protested that he had never received the letter but after "H. 8." had inquired if he seriously intended to Denalise a guest for the delinquencies of the Postmas-ter-General, the bottles were produced. As a matter of fact, no such letter was ever written, but "H. 8." having given his personal assurance of the dispatch of the missive, the manager. on the promise of being •furnished with a copy of the letter, authorised the issue of the necessary stores. "Well, that's that-" was "H.B.'s" only comment as he raised his glass to myself and the manager, who joined us He bad one little vanity about his hair, Mr Houston continues. After lie bad submitted patiently to the barber. ha would always take a brush and comb a I i . im J )a . Tt a " upward curl to the back •of his hair. Tn other respects his egotism was colossal. Around his room at King street be hung portrait studies of great figures in history. There were Napoleon, Bradlaugh, Haig. Foch Beatty, Kitchener.. The Saviour—and Bottomley! He loved to see himself among the giants. He was particular about having •; crowded ball to hear him. Emptv seats wounded his vanity deeply, and," if necessary, people we're to lie paid to occupy them. He insisted, too, that the applause making his entry on the platform should Tiever be left to chance. / Then the money obsession reached a stage when he felt that he could not go on the platform until he knew how much was in the house. As reliable information concerning receipts was rarely available until the meeting was almost due to start, when "H. 8." was usually in an ante-room of the ball being lionised by the local notabilities, who were to support him on the platform. T had to devise a code in order to convey the desired information to him without disclosing to those around him the sordid character of his chief interest. "That train you were inquiring about leaves at 4.15,' J I would sav to him when my assistant bad advised me that the receipts were £45. Anvtbmg between £45 and £SO was indicated by -I.:30, and 5 o'clock meant £SO. He bad a series of stock perorations, graduated into degrees of eloquence and loftiness of thought. These perorations were bis great stock-in-trade. They were always decided on the first in the preparation of aiw speech lie made and the "loftiness""of the peroration depended solely on the receipts. In financial matters his character presented a perfect contrast. When big financial schemes were "afoot he would display a recklessness that was amazing. The thrill of a battle of wits against other clever meir was the most stimulating tonic he could have. Yet in one respect lie exhibited a meticulous scrupulousity in finance. He would never "knock''' a bookmaker. A lost bet was in bis eyes a debt of honor absolutely scrcd. To pay such a debt promptly he would borrow, if neecssar;,. at an extortionate rate of interest. Bottomley has often been credited with being a clever City man. As a matter of fact, he was always a complete failure in the City, and in business generally. None of the companies bo founded had more than a shadowy foundation. The City only attracted as a possible happy hunting-ground, for the sport of money-making, and he only remained there while be could do this. His knowledge of finance was practically nil. Distance and direction were hidden mysteries to him. Two hundred miles conveyed nothing to him, and afforded no clue as to the time it would take io cover it. Of the positions of towns and cities in the United Kingdom he was completely ignorant. Once when we had finished a late meeting nt Manchester be asked where be was to speak next dav. Tt was Sunderland. When 1 told him be replied, "Get a taxi and let us go now. F don't want to stay in Manchester tonight- '