be placed in _The Times_
office and the other in the Royal Exchange. Two somewhat similar tablets
were also placed in Christ's Hospital and the City of London School. For
these purposes the sum of L2,700 was very quickly subscribed, the lord
mayor leading off with ten guineas. If anything had been wanting to
place _The Times_ upon the pinnacle of preeminence among journals, this
famous trial firmly established it there, and ever since it has been
looked up to as an oracle of the commercial world. But _The Times_ was
not contented to rest quietly on its oars. It was ambitious, and looked
farther afield. In 1845, its vigor, enterprise, and disregard of expense
were exemplified in a remarkable manner. _The Times_ had been in the
habit of sending a special courier to Marseilles, to bring its Indian
despatches, and thus anticipate the regular course of the mail. The
French Government threw every possible obstacle in the courier's way,
and _The Times_ took Lieutenant Waghorn, the originator of the Overland
Route, into its pay. In October, 1845, a special messenger met the mail
on its arrival at Suez on the 19th. Mounted on a dromedary, he made his
way, without stopping, to Alexandria, where Waghorn awaited him with a
steamer. Waghorn came _via_ Trieste--special post horses and steamers
and trains being ready for him at the various points of the route--and
he reached London on the morning of the 31st, in time for his despatches
to appear in the morning's issue of the paper. The result of this was
that _The Times_ reached Paris with the Indian news from London before
the regular mail had reached that city from Marseilles. The next
noticeable enterprise of _The Times_ was the sending out commissioners
to investigate the condition of the poor and laboring population of
London in 1847, an enterprise which was crowned with the moat
satisfactory results. _The Times_ has always been the firm friend of the
poor, and its columns are always open to the tale of distress. No case
is advocated until it has been thoroughly investigated; but when once it
has been mentioned in _The Times_, subscriptions pour in on all sides.
At the commencement of each year especially, _The Times_ publishes
gratuitously appeals from public charities, and during last January the
sums received through those appeals reached the large amount of L12,000.
The last great exploit of _The Times_ was the sending forth a special
correspondent with the English army to the