New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1854-08-07
MISS M1TFoRD,s IorTERY r1cKEr.

The following strange incident in the life Of
Mary Russell Milford, related by herself, may
not have been before brought to the notice Of
our readers
What my fathers plans were do not e1-
actly know; probably to gather together what
dsposable money still remained after paying
all debts from the sale of books, plate and fur.
niture at Lyme, and thence to proceed (backed
up by his greatly lessened income) to prac-
tice in some distant town. At all events Lon.
don was the best starting place, and he could
consult his old fellow pupil and life long friend,
DR.. Babington, then one Of the physicians to
Guys Hospital, and refresh his medical studies
with experiments and lectures, while determin-
ing in what place to bestow himself
In the mean while his spirits returned as
buoyant as ever, and so, now that fear had
changed into certainty, did mine. In the inter-
walls of his personal pursuits he walked about
London with his little girl in his hand and
| one day lit was my birthday, and was ten
years old) he took me into q not very tempt
| ing looking place, which was, as I speedily
| found, a lottery -ofice An Irish lottery was
| on the point of being drawn, and he desired me
| to choose one out of several bits of printed pa
per Il did not then know their signifcance)
that lay upon the counter:
ssChoose which number you like best,'' said
the dear papa, IS and that shall be your birth
day present"
l Immediately selected one, and put it into
his hand: No. 2,224. ~
"Ah, said my father, examining it, ss you
must choose again, want to buy a whole
ticket; and this is only q quarter. Choose
again. my pet
mo, dear papa, l like this one best
" Here is the next number" interposed the
lottery office keeper, &c No. 223''
"Ay,a said my father, Sc that will do just as
well. Will it not, Mary Well take that
"No!a returned l, obstinately 6 that won't
do, This is my birthday you know, papa, and
| am ten years old, Cast a,p my number, and
You'll find that makes ten The other is only
nine'
My father, supersttious like all speculators,
was struck with my pertinacity, and with the
reason gave, which he liked none the less be-
cause the ground of preference was tolerably
unreasonable, resisted the attempt of the Office
keeper to tempt me by different tickets, and we
had nearly left the shop without purchase,
when the clerk, who had been examining DIFF
ferent desks and drawers, said to his principal:
81 think, sir. the matter may be managed if
the gentleman does not mind paying few shil-
lings more. That ticket, 2,224, only came yes
,erday, and we have still all the shares; one
half. one quarter, one eighth, two sixteenths
1t will be just the same if the young lady is set
upon it,
The young lady was set upon it, and the
shares were purchased. s7 3.ia#
The whole affair was q secret between us,
and my father, whenever he got me to himself,
talked over our future twenty Thousand pounds
Just like Alnaseher over his basket of eggs
Meanwhile, time passed on, and one Sunday
morning we were all preparing to go to church,
when face that had forgotten, but my father
had not, made its appearance. Il was the clerk
of the lottery Office An express had Just ar
rived from Dublin, announcing that number
2 22A had drawn prize Of twenty thnusana
pounds, and he had hssssusa 70 eamnanissss
The ssed asws, sg 5sz4. ~. - s.. "a