A CHAPTER OF COINCIDENCES.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1260, 23 April 1896, Page 10

A CHAPTER OF COINCIDENCES.

The late well-known archaeologist, Albert Way, crossing Ball Mall, cannoned against an old gentleman. After mutual apologies, cards were exchanged ; on each card was printed; “Mr Albert Way." The older gentleman, dying, left bis fortune to the other Albert Way. The planet Neptune, which had for countless ages revolved in the heavens unseen by anyone on earth, was discovered simultaneously and independently in 1840 by Professor Adams and M. Lever tier, the two most brilliant astronomers of the day. Sonic few years ago a shepherd boy placed a sleeper on the railway line between Brighton and Walmer, with the result that a train was thrown off the rails. One year later to a day—almost to a minute that same youth was stiuck by lightning and instantaneously killed within a couple of miles of the spot at which the accident occurred.

.Sir Walter Besant tells of the following curious coincidence which happened to himself. “I was consulting," he says, “an artist, with regard to the face and feature of a character which lie was illustrating for me, and I briefly described to him the kind of face I had in mind. Ho was meanwhile rapidly sketching a face on a piece of paper lie had before him. ‘ Will that do V he asked, showing me the exact portrait of the man I had been thinking of.” The four King Georges of England all died on the same day of tho week. A lady lost a ring on “Tho Underr/round." She returned and icported her Las. At that moment a train entered the station, when her ring was found on the step of her carriage, having completed the circle in that position.

At a place of worship in Rotherhithe, some little time ago, tho minister was telling how Wellington said at a crisis of cue of liia great battles, “If darkness would only come it would save him."

Hardly had he uttered these words when • the gas went out in the chapel, j In 1890, a few weeks before the censusj taker began his enumeration of the people I of Elm Grove, Virginia, the town autho- ) rities counted their own population, pro- | paratory to filing articles of incorpora--1 tion. The following was the remarkable , result : Number of males over twentyI one years of age, 148 ; number of males ' under twenty one years of age, 148 ; number of females over sixteen years of age, 148; number of fern ties under sixteen years of age, 148 'Some four years ago in Teheran an English sailor was caught in the act; of carrying off some precious stones from tho 'Shah’s palace. The thi* f was brought before the “ King of Kings," who swore •hat next time lhe sailor crossed his path, lie would at once be put to death. It is a curious fact that this very sailor was crossing the street when the Shah was ‘driving in Berlin now some years ago, and was knocked down and instantaneously killed. Some Zulus were on exhibition in Aberdeen, and a gentleman who had been in South Africa himself went and began Ito talk with the men in their own language. One of the natives was exceptionally shy, which rather attracted tlie gentleman’s attention. He looked athim more closely, and recognised him as a man who had worked for him in Natal, and had run away with a pair of trousers which did not belong to him.