h of himself, which appeared in
the _Birmingham Daily Times_ of May 29th, 1889, and was, perhaps, one of
the most daring and audacious feats of contemporary journalism on
record. If he had entrusted his task to his most bitter enemy it could
hardly have been more scathing than it was.

Mr. Jennings certainly did not blunt his steel when he proceeded to
operate upon himself. He did not spare himself, but dug the knife in and
turned it round. It was, indeed, a singularly curious piece of
biography, written with all the pungency and point its writer could
command, and it need hardly be said that such a sketch silenced the guns
of some of his foes and made something of a sensation in the town.

This clever and amazing article was a sort of dying swan's song so far
as Mr. Jennings and Birmingham were concerned. If I remember rightly,
soon after its appearance he severed his professional connection with
the town. He went to London and joined the staff of a financial journal.
Whether he has made his own fortune or the fortunes of others by his
London work I do not know and need not enquire. I will be content to
record the remarkable achievement I have mentioned in connection with
his Birmingham journalistic career.

One special reason why I am devoting some consideration and space to the
Birmingham press is because I wish to refer to one local publication
which had something to do, indirectly at least, with the making of
Modern Birmingham. I allude to the _Birmingham Town Crier_. This
serio-comic, satirical little paper was started in the year 1861, and
was for many years a monthly publication. On its first appearance it
created some stir by its original and, in some respects, unique
character, also by the general smartness and humour of its contents.

When it first appeared many were the guesses made as to its promoters
and contributors, and, so far as these came to my knowledge, not one
proved correct. Certain quite innocent men were credited with being
contributors to the new paper, and some of these did not deny the soft
impeachment. The general guessing, however, ranged very wide, and
included all sorts and conditions of men, from the Rev. Dr. Miller, then
rector of St. Martin's, to the bellman in the Market Hall. Considering
that the _Town Crier_ was started with a purpose, as I shall presently
show, and that it exerted some influence in its own way upon the
progress of the town, it is, I think, fitting that the story