Allingham noted in his diary for Sunday, 7 April 1850: 'A guinea from Household Words for "Lady Alice," with a compliment from Dickens—indicating that at this stage in its publishing history, the magazine paid at least some contributors in advance of publication: in this instance almost as soon as the make-up of the number was decided. Also that the some brief editorial acknowledgement accompanied the payment.

Source: H. Allingham and D. Radford, eds, William Allingham. A Diary (London: Macmillan, 1907), p. 58.