The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1867-06-06
Ertr.ordiusry Roms.se.

London correspondence Belfast News Letter.
A short time since an old lady, living In
one of the small streets leading ont Of Al
bany street, Regents Park, close to what
was once the Colosseum, entered the shop
of a poulterer in the irsighborhood and
purchased chicken. The tradesman was
attentive to her, and the lady became o
customer, always coming to the shop ana
giving her own orders. She appeared To
be very old, but to have all her faculties
about her. On Saturday evening she came
when the poulterer happened 70 DC very
busy. She said she wished 10 speak "
him, and he asked her to Walk INTO the III
tie parlor behind the shop, ana ne woulu
come to her the moment he was dlsen-
gagged. In the parlor she met the daugn-
ter of the poulterer, and after some con-
yersation, in the course OF wnlch sne re,
marked that the young girl looked Ill ana
required change of air, she produced q
marcel tied I'D in paper, and said " Give
this TO your father, as he is busy and can
not come. and cannot wait. wish him
70 take Won away for little change, and
here is something that will enable him to
do So" She placed the parcel in the
girls hand, and told her to lock it up in
cupboard, to which she pointed. The girl
did so. and thought no more of the matter /;
but when, some hours subsequently, the
shop was closed, and her father came into
the parlor to get his supper, she produced
the parcel, and gave the message by which
it was accompanied.
The poulterer laughed as he united it,
but, to his amazement, the parcel was
found to consist Of bank notes and gold to
the value of $1,000. There was also in
| il an antique gold watch and chain. The
next day he hurried round to his customer
to thank her, when she desired him to take
his daughter out of town for few days,
and on their return to inform her of their
arrival. This, of course, was done. A
day or two after theirreturn, she called at
the shop and said she wished the trades
man to come to her house to tea, accom-
panied by his daughter. As they were
about to leave after partaldng OF her hos
pitality, she said TO him, 81 wish you par
! ticularly to call upon me tomorrow morn
ing, and bring with you two respectable
persons upon whom you can rely"
The next morning he attended, accom-
panied by the curate of the parish and
neigbbor. The old lady then said that she
was upwards of ninety years OF age, ana
had no relative living but cousin, an at
torney, who, she alleged, had not treatcd
her well, and by whom she said she had
lost 100000. She added that she had
f25, 900 in consols still left, and that she
felt she would not live long, and was re-
solved that the attorney should not get
anything belonging to her. She had asked
the shopkeeper to attend, with two wit
nesses, in order that she might transfer to
him, for his own absolute use, the t25,0OO
to which she had referred.
She added that she knew very well what
she was about, and that by giving him the
money while she was alive, instead OF be-
queathing it to him at her death, he would
be saved the payment of legacy duty to- the
extent of e. 900. This announcement APP
peared to be of so singular nature, the
clergyman very properly suggested that a
solicitor should be sent for. The man OF
law came accordingly, and the transfer was
duly effected. The old lady's prese ntiment
of approaching dissolution proved to be
correct, and she died few weeks after
making this singular disposition of her
property. 1t seems that before her death
she had intended to give the money to a
chemist with whom she used to deal, but
that he had offended her by some inatten-
ton to her wishes. The moral of this story
| (of the substantial accuracy of which there
can be no doubt whatever) is that civility
costs nothing, aud may sometimes yield a
! rich reward.