The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1860-09-28
From the Household Words,
A Stocking full of Bank Notes


Some wears ago. in the days of the thir-
tv shilling notes, a certain Irishman saved
up the sum Of eighty-seven pounds ten
shIlings in notes of the Bank # Ir land
As sure means of securing this valuable
property, he put it in he foot of an old
sfoc king and buried it in Iii. garden,
where bank note paper couldn't fail to
keep dry. and come out when wanted in
the best preservation.
After leaving his treasure in this excel
lent place of deposit, for some months, it
occurred to the deposi:or to take look at
it and see how it was getting on. He
found the stocking foot apparently full
Of the fragments of mildew and broken
mushrooms No other shadow or shade
of eightv-seven pounds ten shilings.
ln the midst of his despair, the man had
the sense not to disturb tho ashes of his
property. He took the stocking foot in
his hand, posted off to the bank in Dublin,
entered it one morning as soon as it was
open, and staring at the clerk with most
extraordinary absence Of all expressions in
his face, said
"Ah, look at that, sir. Can you do
anything for me O.
"Whst do you call this Z" said the
clerk
Eighty swim pound tin, prai.e the
Lord as I'm sinner Ohone there was
a twenty as was paid to me by Mr. Phalin
O'Dnwd, sir, and a tin was changed bv
Mr. Pat Reilly. aud five as was my own
| l. Tal bo III
Phillip"
you have done it my friendn'
ooh, Lord, sir, and it's done it, have
most complete. Oh, good luck, to you,
sir can you DO nothing for me %
IL don't know what's to be done with
such mess as this Tell me, first of all
what you put in the stocking, you unfor
tunate hlunderer 2"
"Oh, YES, sir, and tell you true as if it
was the last word bad to speak intirelv,
and tie Lord be good to YOU. and Ted
Conner ses he to Guild Phillips, regarding
the fves as owen by Tim. and not inrluden
Of the tin which was charged by Pat Rel
ly--"
You didn't put Pat Rely or ould
Philips in the stocking, did you!'
" 1t is Pat or ould Phillips as was ever
the valv of eighty-sivin pounds tin, lost
and gone, includen the FIVE as was owen
by Tim. and Ted Conner"
J hen tell me what YOU did put in the
stocking, and let me take it down. And
then hold your tongue if you can and go
away and come again tomorrow"
The particulars Of the notes were taken.
without any reference to ould Phillips,
who could hot honever, by any means, be
kept ont Of this story and the man de
pated. When he WAS gone, the stocking
foot was shown to the chief engraver of
lie notes who SAID that if ANYBODY could
sett,e the business, his son could And
he proposed ttat the particulars Of the
notes should not be communicated to his
son, who was then employed IN his de
partment Of the bank, but should be put
away under lock, and discover from these
ashes what notes had really been in the
stocking and if the two lists should tally.
the man should be paid the lost amount.
To this prudent proposal the Bank Of Ire
and readily assen'ed, being extremely anx
ious that the man should not be loser
but Of course, deeming it essential to be
protected from imposition.
The son readily Undertook the delicate
task pronosed 20 him He detached the
fragments fom the stocking with he ut
most care IA the point of the penknfa,
aid tie al ae gent III basin Of warm
wafer, aud presently 2aw them to his de
j;ght, begin 20 expand and unfold Ike
flowers. BY and by, he began to tease
them with cameI's hair pencil, and the
penfinifs, got the various morsels separate
before him and began to place them to
gether. The first piece laid down was
family recognizable to practiced eve as
bit of the left hand corner Of twenty
pound note; then came a bit of FIVE !;
then of a ten; then bits of a twenty; then
more bits Of five and ten, then another
left hand bottom corner of twenty-so
there were two twentes and so on until
to the admiration and the astonishment of
the whole bank, he noted down the exact
amount deposited in the stocking, and the
exact notes ot which it had been composed.
Upon this, as he wished to see and divert
himself with the nan on his return-he
provided himself with bundle of cores,
pondirg new, clean, rustling notes, and
awaited his arrival
He came exactly as before, and the same
blank, staring face and the same INQUIRY,
"can YOU do anything for me sir?"
Well" said our friend, Il don't
know-may be | can do something But
| have taken great deal of pains and lost
great deal OF time. and want to know
what YOU mean to give me 2"
- Is it give. sir? Thin Is there any
thing wouldn't give you for my eighty
sivin pound ten, airy and it's murdered |
am by oud Phillips
Never mind him. There were two
Juveniles, were they not?'
"Oh holy mother, sir, there was =
Two raest ilIigan, swenties and Ted Con
ner-and PhaIin-wbich Reilly
He faltered and stopped, as our fiiend
with much ostentatious rustling of the
crisp produced new twenty. and then
the other twenty, and then the ten, and
five. DC Meanwhile, the man, occa
sionailv murmurino an exclamation n