Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1869-06-04
AObOdy's Luggage.


did Noah. to crowd great deal of matter IN
very little compass.
iObOdy's Luggage.
The scene is a huge dock warehouse on
England's great highway to the East and
West, where, coming IN from the hustle and
the sunshine, and the fresh air of the docks,
one Is impressed with strange stiffness and
gloom. The air is fluffy with very old dust,
and the blg NOTES, floating in sunbeams that
fall through heavily grated windows, move
sluggishly and grayely. The place Is hushed
and tomblike. No busy porters nor selfim-
portant custom house officials are here. yet
the place is heaped and piled and strewn
with luggage Nobody's luggage-in value
many thousands Of pounds worth. Why
don't the owners fetch it awav? Nobody
knows, and Nobody cares, and as it belongs
to Nobody, Nobody knows best. Much of
this unclaimed luggage has been here FIVE
years and more; ; still, Nobody asks for it,
save in rare instances, and then Nobody Of
ten refuses to redeem it by paying the ware
house charges which have accumulated on
No5ody's goods These goods have either
been wrongly addressed, or not addressed at
all or Improperly advised, or not advised at
all OF the oonsignee Is dead OF bankrupt, or
wen t pay the dock dues on them and here
they are in bond and keeping for six years
imprisonment. The dock authorities have
power % sell goods unclaimed after two wears
% reimburse themselves: hut it answers
their purpose better to let Nobody's luggage
'' eat its head of - in charges, as thev pat it:
so that if Nobody should ever turn up after I.
the goods are sold, he may get nothing.
With this view the unclaimed luggage is ex- /
amlned from time to time, and ticketed with
the charges incurred for storing to date.
Those packages are then selected on which
the dock company's lien for dues being con-
sdered equal TO the value of the goods. their
heads may be supposed to be eaten of. and
they are offered for sale by auction
\ strange assortment is nobody's luggage. /
One would have expected among SO much
unclaimed property to have found one or
two umbrellas warming to be restored to
the arms of their long-lost and righ tful
guardians. But no-not even stick of one.
Where do they all 20 to-strav umbrellas?
They do not enter here Nobody hasn't
got jhcm.
hat did nobody intend to do with that
five hundred weight Of caoutchouc2 1.-THE +.
dock-porters call it E. ka-chook" for short I
don't laugh at his gnorance-Knowls and .
Smart, the auctiOneers. call it - ko-chukO; 1
and why don he take 1t away, and rub out .
tne score
-,opouy sent twenty serons OF Syrian tea .
without address or bill Of lading There it
is in the great skin-Tackages in the ware
house Nobody's tea has been waiting for
him lor -ix yefts viii the man never come
to his tea, or has be gone for good 20 his
hiert
There is indigo in maunds Of buffalo hide,
q ton Of it,, that has been here seven wears,
and may stop here " till all is blue 90 before
it viii get claimed
VIII Nobody ever come to fetch the ivory
tu,ks, near dozen Of them in canvas pack
ages, which were sent to Ills order from the
Hrazl's &c long timc ago. Or. if be has
NOT rem.ltrl payment for them. and is short
10. funds. why does Nobody Rot come and
claim tAc box Of gold dust, marked and mum
hcrod-. But no this a dock secret Aha.
Mr.. Nobody, Won prick YOUR ears. Untold
riches which nobody knows await You here.
and the best and the worst of 1t is-NObodv
can claim them. However, it viii be long
before the box Of gold dust eats It's head
or In charges; 20, set your wits to work.
At the time OF the dearth in the cotton
supply. when many thoughtful minds turned
their attention to seeking p substitute for
cotton. a scientific man brought home from
the West Indies an immense quantity Of
queer looking roots. They are very fbrous,
and fray out into strands stronger than fax,
and a, soft and Is shining as silk itself But
when be came back. the war was over in
America, and the cotton supply promised
Letter so he relnquished his project. and
leiJ his roots IN .' pound Tor the dock dues.
There they remain ~ this day
1T the Tar end OF the warehouse is am im-
meu9e PIE oil c1airs-nohody chairs. Hun
1ieds' almost thousands oi them these are
Hech Ghaiis' Which the nome passengers
~ me Ieninsular ana oriental steamboats,
u'u5nl ior the passage nome, and have pre-
leFIel 70 De Teiie'ed irom' rather than pay
tAe sNIcnce dock dues on something so awk-
ward 70 carry about as deck char. They
are oi aH shapes ana sizes and sorts. Amer
itAa- french, ana lndian-ham11o, birch,
rattan NiIe' ana cane lhey viii accumu-
iate' and no matter how often the storehouse
is cleared OF them. there is always pile.
Here are sea-chests, too, belonging 70 sea
men-sent to the docks to beleit-tor seamen
who never come. The chests wait in the
baggage warehouse till all hope is gone, and
when the time for hope has passed without
inquiries they come mp here-dead mems
chests-chc-ts of orphan. homeless sailor
men and boys, with the Foreign Bible Slcic-
ty Is Bible IN them, and no one 70 inquire
even for that-till Jhe Judgment day.
At tlC last sale of NOhOdV's unclaimed