Happening's at London Furniture Removals.

Otago Witness, Issue 2251, 22 April 1897, Page 52

Happening's at London Furniture Removals.

An amusing incident occurred quite recently ' during a removal from a bouse iv a West End ' square. The owner had lived there for a good ' many years, and in the hall had fixed a large clock. When every thing bad, aB he thought, 1 reen carted away, tbjs gentleman took a last j look round.

" There ! I think there is nothing left behind," said he to his wife, and then, glancing up at the clock, added, " We must hurry. It is already quarter past."

The lady also took a furtive peep at the dial, and then they departed, leaving the familiar timepiece behind. And the loss was not discovered until three days afterwards, when, becoming settled in their new home, the gentleman observed ai he was going out one morning :

" Why, what's become of tbe clock ?"

Close to the wainscot in a certain drawing room the removers. recently discovered a long line of silver coins hidden beneath the carpet. Some couple of score half-crowns, florins, and co forth were brought to light. It was subsequently learned that one of the housemaids, stealing the money, bub fearing that it might

be marked, had been in the habit of thus banking her savings, *o that any searching of her boxe3 should yield no result. And once the confusion of moving started she had had no opportunity of getting at her hidden hoard. The theft of a heavily-laden moving van would appear to be almost an impossibility. Yet it was accomplished only last year. Besides the. driver, three men sat on the board behind, and, arriving at a half-way house, all went inside for refreshments. There an obliging stranger amused them with his concertina and paid for drinks. The strideut music drowned all other sounds. A confederate outside cilmly drove off the van ; and when the loss was discovered the musician shot down a side street to catch the runaway pantechnicon, and — like the furniture itself — was seen no more.

But tho loss then incurred was paltry indeed when compared with tho damage done to a furniture v*n which was set on fire while passing through a London suburb. The contents were pictures belonging to a noblemaD, and the conflagration was supposed to have beea caused by the lighting of a pipe. Daspite all efforts the fire raged till but tbe framework of the van remained One of tbe paintings thus destroyed was alone valued at £10,000, and the total lo3S was set down at fully three times that sum.