£600 IN AN OLD "TILE."

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1523, 20 August 1912, Page 7

£600 IN AN OLD "TILE."

» ABERDEEN MYSTERY SOLVED. An Aberdeen story sounds an echo in connection with welt-known and protracted litigation which at the timo aroused interest in tho Granite City. After the death of Mr. William Lewis, Great Western Road, his affairs were under review, and amongst the items was a deposit receipt for .£2OO and an acknowledgement for i'MO whioh wero missing, and the best efforts to find them wero unavailing. The months dragged on, and despite tho most complete inquiry, no trace of tho deposit receipt could be obtained, It was eventually ascertained that tho money had been deposited in the Bunk of Scotland, and tho officials, acknowledginc Hint tho £200 had been paid in,'ultimately refunded tho whole of tho sum. Tho sequel to the story is pet in oxIremes. At the opposite end of the city there is n little broker's shop in Marißchal Street, where Mrs. Middleton carries on a thriving business in "cast-offs." A considerable time ago Mr?. Middleton purchased a job-lot of old "tile" silk hats at a jumble sale, and tho headgear was bundled away below mi old potinter, where in obscurity it lay until recently when a remark.iblo development look place. Into the shop stalked a gentleman of foreign nationality, keen on securing any bargains that were agoing. "Any old hats!" queried tho prospective customer, and Mrs. Middleton fished out a bevy of archaic-looking "tiles." The visitor selected the • best-looking "him"—it was tattered and torn and dented in the crown. With the/ attention which is so eminent and ever present a characteristic of the Orient native, the buyer turned out tho lining of the hat. and. hey presto! out fell two imfst} , documents. Doubtless sharpened by an experience of "fortunes in trifles", the buyer mnrto a grub for the pawrs. luit Mrs. MiddMnn, equally astute, picked thorn up and retained them. "I'll post them to the address,' , remarked tlio buyer, but Mrs. Middfaton replied that sho could do that liersolf. Finally the old tile hat exchanged hands for the modest pittance of 3d.,' and the visitor departed. Ono document was a deposit receipt from the .Bank of .Scotland for .KOO, and Ihc other is connected with a loan of .£4(10 to the Royal Lunatic Asylum. The papprx were placed in the hands- of the police, and they are none other than Ilio long-lost documents, the whereabouts of which'havo mystified many for a long period.