STRANGE RECOVERIES.

Western Star, Issue 377, 4 September 1880, Page 1 (Supplement)

STRANGE RECOVERIES.

Matty 'straJrige anecdotes hate been, told ■ m our coluhias and elsewhere, of articles that' Wre mysteribnsly'disappeared, and that.have been Mysteriously, recovered after aif pse of time.' Much interest having been manifested in the instances we have placed before, our readers, we venture to:,offer a new batch, which • -have/been, selected, for us. by a contributor whose ;good faith we can guarantee. She writes as follows : ,; We lived in the"cduritry, mariy miles distant from: the town where father's ■ iuhtresided. She Was t a veryold woman, jSad had'soine Strange ideas, one of which ' was,,that .hp; kind .of article of recent manufacture iWas-ror could be—halfcas good asVhat was madein "the food old times" when she was a "girl, he loved everything that was old—old china, old'•picturesj etc.; but old lace was 'What''she. v&lrie&'/iribst. • ;She had a pissioi for ; it,;'' tsj'peciUlly r'* old.point." 'lt'''was! amusing"-to see the' way she would gaze a| it,.and the. tender way she "handler it.; just.-as if/it ,hadßeeling, and she/were -afraid, of., it. Every summer , Aunt Katharine came to spend a few months with ais, and wenalways looked forward with .pleasureto'her-visits; for ishe-was 4;'kind-hearted' old lady arid dearly • loved;''us 1 obildrerii' which * rather* reirrarkable,' considering that we Were ri6fc' l m'e:k'ißtence'm 1 the good 1 days °|f ■her'Childhood.'": '' \: ( \ ''„[, .■ , f Orie Aunt Katharine called 'mo up t 6 :herTro6m,j and,, opening/ her -jewellery"boijj .lt.spmb, pieces of,: her .precious " old point." .■ wis-ji ;•■/'' Katie, idear/'J she )sai'd--I wascalled ; «Eber rher-^-'Mi'think you ate a; careful .little(gitlir.il amjgoingfto:wash'these ; bits :of lace/and'can Itrust you to 'take them you .w^tch'' J ,them'' ail the time, tp see that 'thet r are 7 'ribi; i blbwh a&&t or torn .'by .;" Indeed,. Aunt, Ka'tharine, ,". I'll, be dreadfjilly >.'. <B'eyertake my/eyes, off them until I bring them/baqk'toyou.". F-nubhioa aiil" :ih i •And 50 rliully intended. 7. But,'alas ! my good, intentions «ame to nought, as the Sequel ani? mm- :: ■. ! '.,'- ; I took ! the pieces of lace out td the gatdeh/' arid spread f benk;pri the grftss ' to dry, 'and. sat ; a littlre 4 way .off, watching ; tbem."'The,sua ye'ry.hpty-so'it thought j I could Watch, quite as well I went a Uttle the shadpipf a large/pheßnut tr§e n j, Sow it happened I /4pn't know/Jbut ,1 fell asleep; ■'■ I Was roused/by hearing, the:gong'sounding for luiich;vi/:Jltijunrped up quickly, myiflrst thought' being the prebipusiace. '. But •"Where '-was; it? Not Where-1 had left it/, fiertairilyV r Itmust' have/got dd wri. behind "everywhere, roundand rbun&;tfre garden, land in, every.place I.could tKmk of,but in vain'.,,/ truth was too apparent;.the,beautii/til lace that had been entrusted tomy keeping, was gone I ■Never can I forget what I endured,'When I remembered that I hesd to go and tell Aunt Katharine about it. ■'■ My mother was out, 'or I would'have asked ; her to help iae. : But.it had to'be told-sPmBhoW, s'oj screws ing ujrriiy bojurage\ ;) £s Weil as 3? ;cbuld r I went up to'her iroorn. and standing 'opposite tb h'e'r, a very 'picture of despair, I said, in a very low, sad voice':— . "They are, gone,; Aunt Katharine—l jow't find them anywhere." , ".,;, ,':■. lit Gtonej .child-! ti What • s gone ? Not my 'bits.of old pototi surely?'' J ■■■ ■■ n •- e ;•« Yes,.Aunt;Katharine:' While I was watching thetti Ife.ll ; asleep; 'arid-Wheri I c fewbke they'had'disappeared.' ",,I have Tieen-'fdr We'last 'hour' looking for therh; ■but to* ho "phtp'o'se. - ,It is Very strange 'became of 'them; and jam sbsiorry. about i|jfpy .i-knpw ypu'li be ..vexed with me;! and, I didn't intend to fall asleep/;' but.l conJLd;not helprit." i;I must ;say; Aunt Katharine bore her loss better.than I thought. Seeing how much upset I: was catelessness, she" tried'tb comfort me.' : ~/ ; a-;. ...

- ■•' "• frjtfs 'my farilt; Kate," she said, " more than r old heads'can't be puton ybudg'Mhbuiders/'''''' '- . [;'' V.-'". '., '..'.'.[, No, more was, said about the'matter fheii/'arid *ii*wSß neaßy^'forgotten:' #li/en,, about a' year afterlivards, ohe,' of";the; chimneys beirig found to.smdk;e,Va sweep Was sent for. •He .itburid, great, difficulty in getting the brush up to, the top, which Was paused;, by '. some jackdaws, having built their neats right'across it.,/ As the machine was pushed; up it dislodged their nests, ai.d down camo such a collection of rubbish as I never saw before. Quitea cart-load of short twigs and bits of sticks, 'more "than:a dozen wooden bleaching pins, Old' stockings and socks, and'three or four thimbles; a silver one I had missed' some months before being one of.them. Then .came ah old nightcap, and bits, of all kinds of old rags; And,, yes Lin the midst of h all (the dust,soot; etc.-r-dirty and. hardly recognisable, —were Aunt Katherine's. pieces of lace, which these rogues of jackdaws must have stolen while I was asleep. At" first I was' afraid ; that they' were totally but strange to say; they were almost quite uninjured. , . ..,,LOST -IN- AN TJMBEELLA. I Was standing With a friend one day in a shop .where -she was making some purchases. Among the change which was received was: a half-sovereign; as she was putting it; into her purse it fell. We both stooped to look for it, but could not find it anywhere: There was no chink or crevice in' -the; floor that it could have rolled irito, sd we were quite puzzled as to Where it could be. We searched our pockets, shook bur dresses and handkerchiefs, but, all ,;. our; efforts to find it were useless, so we gave it up at last and returned home, wondering what,had become Of it. •■ • I) nini ■:■ : * :

Some months afterwards, as I was going to church one Sunday, a sudden shower came oh, and I hastily opened my umbrella. Hardly had I done so when I heard some one. calling my name. I lobked'rdtmtt: 7 tfrid ; saw a friend close behind.

" How fast you are going," he said; " I called you twice before you heard me." " I was hastening on out of the rain," I answered, " as I had no shawl or cloak; and it was by the merest chance I brought my umbrella, the morning looked so very bright and sunny." "Tell me, Miss Marsden," he.said, "do half-sovereigns always fall out of it when youopenit?"' , ~>:''■ "I don't understand you," I-replied. "Half-sovereigns fall'out of what? " "Yourumbrella,"he answered. "When, you opened it now this one fell from it." " This is very strange," I said. "It certainly is not. inline, and how it could have come there is most unaccountable." On thinking over the circumstances some time afterwards, I remembered I had this same umbrella with me the day my friend and I were so puzzled about the half-sovereign she dropped in the shop. It must have got between the silk and a small piece .of leather, which is put at the top inside to prevent coming through. Why it, .'h'a'd'.hpt fallen out before I could not tell, but most,likely it was dislodged from its hiding place by the sudden jerk I gave the umbrella in my haste to open it. : l-i FOUND IN THEPIANOi ' -' • The anecdotes which might' be told of long-icst rings, are; so numerous that I willoniy select a few. < ; ■ ' At a friend's house one evening, a lady present, who was ( .,a. gppd .musician, was requested to -sing. l Before'' doing so she took off a very handsome diamond ring, saying it was rather large 101? her; and used •sometimes to; fall off j hfcir' fingers When she was playing. She laid it With her glOves' on the'piatfo' hear 'her.'''She had a beautiful voice, and" W&s c asked to sing sohg after ! songj WKich she did in the inost obliging hiahher. As she rose ftohi' the -piano she Was JgOiug tb replace; h'ef; ribg;" but it had disappeared, Th,e i ; 'glo.ve | & WCre ;, sa'fe enbii'gh under some p'ieceapif music, but no sign of the.ripg. 'Sparch .was made, immediately everywhere:that it -was'possihle a ring could have/fallen to no purpose. Mysteriously it hadvanishedy but.where no;one could.tell. Two years Went by without any tidings of the ring, when one day ■&■ strange kind of jingling noise was noticed in the piano. ' A thher was sent for, and oh the'Works being (examined to see what 'caused the -noise, : he found'the diamond-ring; Which had sbine-i, hoW got within the Wires 'when the pbsition had been changed a short tithe 'before:.' '.. '.."•; '*' „ /'':•' :'. !/.•'".' '-■' ii-m >',