WILLIAM Gladstone, the Liberal leader who became Prime Minister of Britain four times, was a man of impressive accomplishments. What is less well-known about this eminent Victorian was his habit of scouring the streets of London at night "picking up fallen women" in order to save their souls. One night, so an apocryphal story goes, he rescued a particularly seasoned practitioner of the trade. He gave her a stern lecture, some coins, a cup of hot soup and escorted her to a sort of remand home where ladies of her persuasion were reformed. She swore on the Bible to mend her ways. Some weeks later, he encountered the same woman again, soliciting. Gladstone was livid; the streetwalker contrite. "I couldn't help myself, Sir," was the explanation she gave.