A CARPENTER'S LUCK

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5739, 5 December 1896, Page 4

A CARPENTER'S LUCK

— — -*~ OLD FURNITUEE AT A PE^MIUM. QUEER BEDSTEAD LEGS. [Fkqm Our Correspondent.! _ , LONDON, Oct. 9. There has been a great rise in the value* of old furniture in the south-eastern district of the metropolis. Old piano stools, and bedsteads of the old four poster variety,, are at a high premium, whilst ancient worm eaten cabinets, which a few days ago were valued at kindling prices, are now unobtainable. There will be a decided "slump" shortly, that much one can prophesy with certainty, but for the present the bulletin is "market strong, prices exceptional/ The explanation of this state of affairs is simple and sordid. An old maiden lady named Bonsor recently died at Lewisham, ostensibly leaving' nothing behind her save a few antiquated and well-worn pieces of furniture. She during life lived in the most economical, not to say penurious, fashion, and her neighbours long ago decided that she was "hard set" to make ends meet. Her "bits" were put up to auction to defray the funeral expenses, and, included in, the not very extensive catalogue, were a piano stool, much beyond its prime, and a four-posfeer bedstead, in considerable need of repairs and polish. A local doctor gave a few shillings for the stool, and a carpenter of the locality was held to have purchased the bedstead dearly at five and twenty pieces of silver. The doctor turned the stool over to the carpenter, with, instructions to give it a new leather covering. Whilst f ulfilling this order/the joiner found in the horsehair padding of the stool ten bright golden sovereigns, and, being an honest man, he took the treasure trove to the medico, who rewarded him with one of the pieces. Onhiswayhomeagain,ifcoccurred to the carpenter that the old bedstead, for the buying of which " rubbish " his wife had gently reviled him, might conceivably prove worth "developing," 01/ . rather demolishing. He took it to pieces, and was rewarded by finding in the legs over nine hundred pounds in gold and notes. The story of his luck soon got abroad, and hence the surprising price far old furni* ture obtaining in the locality.