MULTIPLE OFFICIAL PERSONALITIES.
[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sza,—In a lecture on "The Constitutional Evolution of the Civil Service," recently delivered by Lord Haldane, he related the following entertaining incident. When he was Secretary of State for War, he sent to the Secretary of State for Home Affairs a letter of request anent some business or other. Very shortly afterwards his colleague at the Home Office went away for a holiday and asked Lord Haldane to act for him. Of course the Secretary for War consented, and almost the first thing his eyes gazed upon was his own letter, unanswered. He gives no clue why he turned down his own letter, but, presumably, after consultation with the permanent officials of the Home Office, he saw fit to refuse his own request and wrote a letter to himself saying "No." This is on all fours with a similar incident related by General Grant in his memoirs, where he tells a little story of General Bragg, the great Confederate officer :—
" On one occasion, when stationed at a post of several companies commanded by a field officer, he was himself commanding one of the companies and at the same time acting as post quartermaster and commissary. He was first-lieutenant at the time, but his captain was detached on other duty. As commander of the company he made a requisition upon the quartermaster—himself—for something he wanted. As quartermaster he declined to fill the requisi- tion, and endorsed on the back of it his reasons for so doing. As company commander he responded to this, urging that his requisition called for nothing but what he was entitled to, and that it was the duty of the quartermaster to fill it. As quartermaster he still persisted that he was right. In this condition of affairs Bragg referred the whole matter to the commanding officer of the post. The latter, when he saw the nature of the matter referred, exclaimed, My God, Mr. Bragg, you have quarrelled with every officer in the army, and now you are quarrelling with yourself.' "
Giggleszeick-in-Craven.
—I am, Sir, &c., THEODORE P. BROCKLEHURST.
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