The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1883-11-16
BANKS AND BANK NOTES.

csc Bank ia tho World.
From All the Year Round.
On one occasion the bank Of England
proved much too accommodating for its
own interests. Somewhere about the
year 1910, one of it's own directors, q
man of wealth and of unimpeachabl
honor, bought an estate for thirty thous.
and pounds, aud for convenience sake
obtained a nute for that amount. On
returning home, just as he was about to
put it under lock and key. he was called
out of the zoom. and placed the note
on the mantelpiece. On coming
back, a few minutes later, no
one was to he seen. No one
had entered the room in his absence,
and, after an anxious search, lie came
to the conclusion that the precious bit
Of paper had fallen into the are and
been consumed. Hurrving otto Thread.
needle street he told Ills colleagues what
had happened, and they gave him Q
second note upon MS UNDERTAKING TO re-.
store the lost one If it should come again
uto his hands, and. in case of it's being
presented by anybody else, repay the
tmount to the bank.
Thirty years aitetward, when he had
ong been dead and his estate distribu-
ed among his heirs. the supposed nou.
existent note turned up at the bank
COUNTER where It was presented for
payment. All explanation Of the circum.
-tances connected with it were lost up
on the presentee.the note had come
to him from abroad in the course of bus.
mess, and it must be honored without
'!clay. There being no help for it, he
was paid the thirty thousand pounds,
application was made to the representa-.
tives Of the defunct director to
refund tire money, but they promptly
lisclsimel their inability, and the bank
oerforce had to put up with the loss.
The story goes that it was discovered
how or when We are notinformed) that
the builder employed to pull down the
dead mans house preparatory to rear
ing new one on the site, had found the
note in u crevice in the chimney, and
kept it and his own counsel until lie
thought it was safe to reap the reward
OF his patience and unscrupu!ousness,
and SO became rich man at stroke.
| The executors Of Sir Robert Burdett
found lao less than 92IO,O0O worth OF
bank notes scattered here aud there
about his house, some slipped into
bundles of old papers, some between
the leaves of books, without memor.
andnin anywhere to apprise them OF the
l existance of such valuables, much less
of their whereabouts. A little better
advised were the executors of the gen.
tleman who left behind him scrap O!
paper marked. 'Sevcn hundred
pounds in ill., although they failed te
interpret it's meaning until they had
disposed of all the dead mans belong.
inps. Then one Of them recollectcd thu!
his library had contained lolio edition
OF ,ri!lotson's Sermons, and wondered il
"TilP had any reference 10 it. The
hooks had been sold to bookseller
who luckily had not found custome,
for them, although lie had GENT them or
approval to q gentleman ut Cambridge
vino haa returned them as not answer.
ing his expectations. The executor
bought til. Ti!lotson back again, ant
going carefully through the volume, re
covered notes to the amount Of t. 500.
The Waterman Of factory ut New
Haven, America, afforded the admins
traitors of his estate no clue whatever u
to the hiding place Of tile savings q
which they believed him to have die,
possessed. Overl,auIing hls clothes, p,e
paratory to selling them by'auction, OH,
of them threw an old overcoat aside
when dirty piece Of cloth dropped on
of one of the pockets. Oh examination
this was found to lie wrapped around
large cartridge shell, within which la,
notes Of 81 500 valve, which, but for
mere chance ,.misht unexpectedly hav
enriched a purchaser of secondhand
clothing.
Some sixty years since a Bunk Of Ehs
land IS note was paid into Liverpoo
mercll .nt's office i'll the ordinary co,lrs,
| of business. On holding it up to tn
light TO- test ur its gcnuincness, the casl
Ter saw some faint red marks up
on it. Examining them closel,
he traced some hal
effaced words between the printed line
and Upon the margin Of the note, write
apparently in blood. After a long an
minute scrutiny, lie made out the words
"lft this nots Should fall into the hand
Of John Dean, Of I.onghill. near Carlisle
he will learn hereby that Ills brother il
languishing IL prisoner in Algiers." Til,
merchant ilnme lately commune .tet
with Mr.. Dean, and he lost no time il
bringing the'rnatte: before the govern
ment. Enquiries were set on foot, ant
the un.ortun te man disc overed ant
ransomed. He had been slave to tht
Dey OF Algiers for eleven years, whel
tor Of wood dipped in his own blood
Liberty, however, came too late; the
pfivations and harisilips Of the galley
had sapped his strength, and. although
he was brought home to England, it was
but to die.