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ALF'S
BUTTON

BY
W. A. DARLINGTON

NEW YORK
FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
PUBLISHERS

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First published in America by
Frederick A. Stokes Company
in 1920

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FOREWORD

It is a curious fact that since the death of the late lamented Aladdin,nothing seems to have been heard of his wonderful Lamp. Mr. ArthurCollins and other students of ancient lore have been able, afterpatient research, to reconstruct for us the man Aladdin in his habit ashe lived and to place before our eyes a faithful picture of his times.Alike in literature and on the stage the Lamp plays an all-importantpart; and this makes it all the more strange that its subsequenthistory should have been so entirely lost.

I myself incline to the theory that Aladdin allowed the secret of histalisman to die with him, and that his widow disposed of an objectwhose presence in her husband's collection of articles of "bigotry andvirtue" she had always resented, for what it would fetch. Its traditiononce broken, we cannot suppose that an old battered lamp bearing onone portion of its surface a half-effaced inscription in forgottencharacters would attract much attention as an objet d'art. In fact,it would be without value or interest except to a scholar learnedenough to interpret the inscription aforesaid—which may be rendered inour tongue "Rub Lightly."

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All this, however, is mere conjecture. It is based on my knowledge,accidentally gained, that a lamp of this description formed part of ajob lot of "assorted curios" acquired by the Government with a viewto subsequent reissue in the form of buttons for soldiers' tunics.This fact, taken in conjunction with the unusual events I am about torelate, does lend a certain color to the theory which I support; but ofsolid proof I can of course offer nothing.

Some of Alf Higgins' adventures have previously appeared in ThePassing Show. The Editor of that paper, by the interest he showed inAlf, has incurred the grave responsibility of encouraging me to writethis book about him.

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CONTENTS