"Did you ever read the testimonial letters of noted persons?" said the
Observer, thoughtfully, stirring his coffee. "There are many things
which come with fame besides public adulation; they are material
things and have a certain commercial as well as sentimental value,
such as soap and corsets, patent medicines, face powder, vapor baths,
books, cigars, corned beef, fountain pens, and patented trouser
hangers. As soon as a man gets his name in print a few times he is
deluged with samples by every manufacturer in the country. I know an
actor who hasn't bought a cake of toilet soap since he began to play
leading parts. All he's got to do is to write a testimonial for some
new brand, saying he would use no other, and he gets a case; then,
there is a leading lady who once endorsed a certain kind of shoe,
and now she's got a dozen pairs in her trunk, which didn't cost her
a cent.

"Among the personal effects of the late Senator D---- were six dozen
porous plasters and nearly a gross of Casey's Liver Regulator. Whether
the senator's demise was due to his strenuous efforts to deplete this
generous supply has never been made known, but I very much doubt if
the doctor, who attributed his death to heart failure was familiar
with these facts at the time.

"Another famous statesman, who was as bald as he was absent-minded,
once mailed a testimonial to the manufacturer of Blank's Hair
Restorer, enclosing a photograph of himself. In their next
advertisement they made two cuts from the picture, painting a
profusion of wavy hair upon one, and ran them over a reproduction of
his letter, labeled, 'Before and after using.' When the old gentleman
saw it he was so pleased with his appearance in the latter cut that he