The New Bloomfield, Pa. times. (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1877-188?, 1881-03-08

and Westminster Bank" Welcome as
the information may have been to those
concerned, there was probably greater
gratitude felt for that conveyed in the
slip of paper inclosed in bottle cast
ashore on the coast of Wexford: "The
finder of this is to tell Elizabeth Gran
ton, of Ashton Grange, on the borders
of London, e. c., that the secret of her
birth will be found behind the picture of
the Earl of Warwick in the drawing
room and receive the blessing of
dying man."
The Bank of England has had no end
of valuables committed to its keeping.
The vaults of its establishment hold
mouldering chests, deposited there for
safety's sake, and apparently forgotten
by their owners. In 1872 one fell to
pieces from sheer rottenness, exposing
to sight quantity of massive plate and
bundle of yellow papers. The latter
proved to be collection of love-letters of
the period of the Restoration, which the
directors were enabled to restore to the
lineal descendants of the original own
ers.
In 1876 tin box was fished out of the
Seine containing more than five hun
dred letters addressed to divers persons
in Paris. The box--set afioat several
miles above Paris-had been hermetic-
ally sealed, and was furnished with
metal sails, that it might catch the
current of the river at every point; but
it had failed to achieve successful voy-
age, and lain at the rivers bottom for
years with its freight of letters for the
besieged Parisians, some of whom,
however, had the qualification of receiv-
ing them five years after date.
The betrothed of young watchmak-
er, living at Prescott, had to wait even
longer for one of his love letters. He
posted it in Coventry, in August, 1867;
but the fair one did not receive it,
Luckily, no mischief arose between the
pair in consequence; the course of true
love ran smoothly for once, and they
were soon afterward married and settled,
taking up their abode in the street in
which the lady had lived before the
marriage. One day in 1878, worn,
crumpled letter came to her. 1t was the
lost love letter. 1t had slipped down a
niche in a mail-van, and been discover
ed upon the condemnation and breaking
up of the vehicle.
At Highgate, near London, stands a
public. house, from the window of which
a skeleton cat challenges the notice of
the passers-by. In its teeth it hold
skeleton rat, caught no one knows how
long ago. Just as we see them now, cat
and rat were taken from the chimney,
where the house was undergoing altera-
ton. A more grisly chimney find fell
to some workmen a few years since in
the old house in the High Street of Hull,
notable as the birth place of Wilberforce,
the slave emancipator, for the skeleton
they disturbed was a human one. A
banking business was at one time carried
on in the house, so the bones were set
down to belong to thief who, hiding
in the chimney, either preliminary to
committing felony, or to escape pursuit
after committing 1t, had been suffocated.
Burglars and robbers sometimes get
into tight places, and fall sacrifice to
their evil ways. Nunez, the Spanish
banker, had strong room in his bank
at Lerida which was never entered un-
less some heavy payment in gold had
been made. To this there were origin
ally two keys, but one of them mysteri-
ously disappeared. One day it became
necessary for the cashier to visit the
reserve safe, and he was not a little
startled at finding that there was key
already In the lock. He hurried to
Nunez with the news; and the banker
himself opened the strong room door.
Inside lay the body of a man,-the
corpse of discharged bank servant.
He had stolen the missing key, and
availed himself of an opportunity to
rife the safe; but too eager perhaps to
finger the coin, had forgotten that the
door fastened with spring, and letting
1t close behind him, had wrought his
own punishment.
In January, 1873, the soda-laden ship
Lrvine arrived in the Thames from Peru,
and discharged her cargo at RotheIhithe.
Imbedded in the soda was found the
well-preserved body Of woman, sup
posed-we know not on what evidence
Ito be one of the victims of an earth
quake occurring many centuries ago.