Leave it to Algy

A short story

Mr and Mrs Bingo Little are on holiday in the resort of Bramley-on-Sea. Bingo has lost five pounds on a horse and needs to redeem his cuff-links from the pawn shop before his wife institutes a police search. He persuades his employer to give him the money in return for judging a Bonny Babies contest. Unfortunately, he loses the money and has to approach Oofy Prosser, also in Bramley. He proposes that that Bingo diverts his wife's attention from cuff-links by having the son, Algy, win the contest under the name Prosser. But Oofy has an ulterior motive and phones his bookie ...

Characters

Bingo Little	editor of Wee Tots
Mrs Little	his wife
H. C. Purkiss	proprietor of Wee Tots
Oofy Prosser	a millionaire
Wally Judd	a cartoonist, draws 'Dauntless Desmond'
Mr McAlpin	a bookie
a police sergeant

Publishing Information

A Few Quick Ones

First published 1954 in Blue Book (US), probably as Hats Off to Algernon.
Also published 16 May 59 in John Bull magazine (UK).

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Notes and Quotes

Panama hat
- a hat of strawlike material made from the leaves of a pine tree.

''... there are a whole lot of unfortunate toads beneath the harrow ...'
- Rudyard Kipling, Pagett, M. P..

The toad beneath the harrow knows
Exactly where each tooth-point goes

Time, the great healer
- a much used phrase which might come from the Hebrew proverb 'Time is a great healer'.

Jack Dempsey
- (1895-1983) a world champion heavyweight boxer.

Freddie Widgeon's involvement with a bonny babies contest is told in Noblesse Oblige.

Chesterfield
- a sofa with arms and back of the same height and curved outwards at the top.

'None knew better than Bingo how prone the little fellow was to cleave the casques of men, as the poet said, if you put a spade in his hands.'
- possibly based on Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Sir Galahad which PG quotes in part elsewhere.

My good blade carves the casques of men,
My tough lance thrusteth sure,
My strength is as the strength of ten,
Because my heart is pure.

but is a closer match to another poem The King and the Child by Eugene Hall. I have little information on poet or poem but the last lines are:

Our swords may cleave the casques of men,
Our blood may stain the sod,
But what are human strength and power
Without the help of God?

Homburg hat
- a man's felt hat with a narrow curled brim and a lengthwise dent in the crown.

'He stood there, like Hamlet, moody and irresolute ...'
- a reference to the hero of the Shakespeare play that bears his name, a melancholy and wavering character.

'The poet Wordsworth has told us that his heart was accustomed to leap up when he beheld a rainbow in the sky ...'
- William Wordsworth, The Rainbow.

My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky

Acid test
- a severe or conclusive test.

'... might be snatched up to heaven in a fiery chariot.'
- 2 Kings: Chapter 2, Verse 11.

And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

Jockey Club
- the British governing body of horse racing on the flat.

'... stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood ...'
- Shakespeare, Henry V, Act 3, Scene 1 (from the Once more into the breach speech).

'... in this royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle, this earth of majesty, this seat of Mars, this other Eden, demi-paradise, this fortress built by nature for herself against infection and the hand of war.'
- Shakespeare, King Richard II, Act 2, Scene 1.

'Cor lumme'
- a mild and outdated oath, apparently a corruption of 'God, love me'. I have no idea where 'stone the crows' comes from but it indicates surprise. Neither phrase would be used by a lady.

Mirror
- the Daily Mirror, a national newspaper somewhere between the serious broadsheets and the tabloids (yellow press).