"ARE YOU ALL DONE?" UNCLAIMED LUGGAGE .

Evening Post, Volume LXXV, Issue 32, 7 February 1908, Page 8

"ARE YOU ALL DONE?" UNCLAIMED LUGGAGE .

BARGAINS FOR ALL. The light of hope was in every eye, and there were many pairs. Men snatched a moment from the "doss's time' 1 to peer into the auction-room this morning, and woman postponed ■'the dusting and sweeping at home til! the afternoon, for might it r.ot be the one chance in a lifetime to get a very solid somothing for next to nothing? The attraction was unclaimed luggage left in tho hands of the Manawatu Railway Company by careless travellers, masculine and feminine. The populace crowded around the goods and bustled for advantageous positions near the treasurer. 'T don't know what is in the parcels,' 1 said tho auctioneer. "There may be diamonds anc? rubies. Men have made £20 or £30 on their bargains at these sales." The eyes of woman sparkled and the lips of man twitched with the gambling spirit. They diew deep breath, and awaited the time to bid. The battle began with a box of hats, all kinds of hats, hats for men and women and boys and babies, straws andi bowlers, enough to cover tho heads of a whole suburb. A timid littlo woman, with a baby in her arms, secured the lot for 2s, and a beautiful smile came over her face when the collection was won ior a florin. Perhaps she was a modern edition of the "Old Woman who lived in a shoo," and had a huge family. A bicycle, apparently in good order, went for £1, and a stretcher was sacrificed for 2s Then came a run of topcoats and ploaks, and they were scattered about for about Is each, in lots of half a dozen. A ' second-hand dealer bagged most of these garments, and also captured a good number of parasols and umbrellas at ridiculous rates, something like 6d each. There was a shower of these commodities. It is notorious that the' umbrella or the parasol seems to inspire forgetfulness, and is left in great quantities in tramcars and trains. Walking-sticks also, showed that they had a habit of standing still when the train Etoppped. Three sticks and four umbrellas were knocked down for 3s 6d, six umbrellas 3s 6d, 3 sticks and a lady's jacket 3s 6d, and so on. Respectable-looking citizens, who could not resist surrendering a paltry half-crown for five or six umbrellas or parasols, looked a trifle nervous when they ventured into the. street, 'lbey seemed fearful of being mistaken for the itinerant person who goes c*out grinding scissors and collecting ,nmbrollas to mend. They bolted into the fcjfat car that came along, eager to escape from the centre of the city. "Four egg-preserving boxes," called an attendant. The auctioneer was incredulous, and his brow puckered. "Preserving stuff and all,' continued the \yorkman. "Any eggs?" asked the auctioneer. Tho eggs were missing, but everything else was complete. Everybody seemed to need an egg-box ; finally a dealer got them for 8s 6d each. "A set of harness," cried tho seller. "How the deuce a man ever ."He was probably going to add "came to leave such a thing in a train," but the roar of the bidders left the sentence for ever unfinished. Tho article was complete, but fetched only £3 10s. The quaintest item in the whole weird array was a what-not. The dainty piece of furniture looked pitiful and slightly ashamed of itself as ft stood uppn a pile of swags. It found a new owner for 2s 6d. The way was now clear, for the great gamble — tho portmanteaux, dress baskets, and swags. A glorious old-fash-ioned "bluey," no doubt sprinkled with the dust of many a white road, was held up, and was lowered for 2s 6d. A woman was the speculator, and sho was keen to see how murh nor cent, she would make on the half-crown. A dress-basket, "full of clothes or somethiig" — to quote tho attendant — realised Bs. A solid leather portmanteau, stuffed with property, was slaughtered for Bs. A middle-aged woman, with a child in a perambulator, had an unfortunate bid for sudden fortune. She plunged a precious half-crown on a swag — and t was a swag, th? swaggiest of all swags. It was rat-eaten and moth-eaten, a rag-bag tied up with old rope, a thine which the Weariest Willie might scorn to own. "My boss will laugh at me getting this," she said to a bystander, and she passed her hand among the tatters, which opened to reveal the remains of some ancient dungarees. The woman's eyes and hands went up in horror, and her mind seemed to be figuring out the kind of laugh which her "boss" would make. But other speculators were much more lucky.

A start was made to-day with the work of altering Government House with tho view of preparing it for the next meeting of Parliament. Txr Th T e r Minister for' Public Works (Hon. W. Hall-Jonos) has promised Mr Dillon, M.P., and Mr. .W. D. Lysnar, chairman of the Gisborne branch of the Farmers' Union, representing Gisborne and Wairoa settlers, that he will look into the question of opening a stockdriving route between Gisborne, Wairoa, and the Waikato, at -an estimated cost of about £2000. Mr. James Hislop, nephew of tha Hon. T. W. Hislop, Mayor of Wellington, was married at Hastings on Wednesday to Miss Mollie Bush, of BalIdrat. Miss Mabel Hughes (Napier) and Miss Dorothy Hawke (Hastings) were bridesmaids, and Mr. R. Witheford acted as best man. The Prime Minister, Sir J. G. Ward will deliver a. political addrggs at Auck land to-night. After reviewing the work of the Government, he will refer to tho question of national annuities, ocal government, native land, electoral law, and tho Arbitration Act. It i s understood that the national annuity scheme will be somewhat simrjler than that of the late Mr. Seddon/ Though people on tho low levels iv the city have ceased to be very concerned about the drought, suburbanite are beginning to have a renewal of the anguish which was their portion beforo the last grateful shower. Nominally the spell of dryncss was broken, t,m pvactically tho period of baking has been ■continuous, for the few points of rain that came here evaporated almost as soon as they touched the warm earth In other parts of New Zealand, too, tho sky persists in remaining blue, and is lending some of its hue to the temperaments of the persons who are so eagerly awaiting moisture from the heavens. At 9 a.m. to-day Invcrcargill and the- Bluff had ram, but other parts of New Zealand had a high barometer and other indications of dryness. There is no prospect of immediate showers in Wellington. ° Special price* for boots and hhons are advertised at Messrs,. R. Hnnnah and Co.'s ealo Tho annual mooting of members and ' miOFcribcM of the Wellington Musical Union will bo held on Tuesday, 18th February. In connection with the Harbour Board election an extra polling-place has been fixed at Mr J Jane?'i> thop, Wadestownroad, Wadwslown. Mr. Il.irry A Shepherd, 6, Customhousequay. advertises in this iisue a fresh list of ci»v cu^ suburban propertiei for private