It was stated at a recent meeting of the Metropolitan
Gardens Association that the Middlesex County Council had promised £12,000 towards the purchase of the Donis Hill Estate,—Lord Aberdeen's house where Mr. Gladstone so often stayed. It appears that £50,000 in all is needed to save the estate from the builders, and Lord Teynham suggests that the Gladstone Memorial Committee should, out of the 230,000 they have received, help to acquire the estate. As the Committee have apparently decided not to adopt the pro- posal to endow the Bodleian, we cannot imagine a better memorial than that of a Gladstone Park at Donis Hill. The house might fitly be used as a Gladstone Museum,—i.e.,stored with Gladstone books, Gladstone pictures, and other records illustrating his career. At first the collection would be meagre, but by and by all sorts of Gladstone memorials would gravitate to Donis Hill. Apparently, 27,500 is still wanted to complete the purchase money, and that before the end. of the month. Abetter memorial for a popular statesman than a people's park cannot be imagined.
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