The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1884-01-03
A Few Bank.Note Stories.


On one occasion the Bank of England
proved muchtoo accommodating for its
| own interests. Somewhere about the
year 1910 one of its own Directors, a
man of wealth and of unimpeachable
honor, bought an estate for 100000,
and for convenience sake obtained
note for that amount. On returning
| home, just as he was about to put it
under lock and key, he was called
out of the room, and placed the
note on the mantel-piece. On coming
| back, a few minutes later, no note was
| to be seen. No one had entered the
| room in his absence, and, after an
anxious search, he came to the conclu-
| sion that the precious bit of paper had
| fallen into the fire and been consumed.
| Hurrying off to Threadneedle Street he
| told his colleagues what had happened,
and they gave him second note upon
| his undertaking to restore the lost one
| if it should come again into his hands,
and, in case of its being presented by
anybody else, repay the amount to the
| bank.
| Thirty years afterward, when he had
| long been dead and his estate distribu-
| ted among his heirs, the supposed nom
existent note turned up at the bank
counter, where twas presented for pay
ment. All explanation of the circum-
stances connected with it were lost upon
the presentee--the note had come to
him from abroad in the course of bust
ness, and it must be honored without
delay. There being no help for it, he
was paid the 100000. Application was
| do - AoA - Al
funot Director to refund the money, but
they promptly disclaimed their liability.
and the bank perforce had to put up
with the loss. The story goes that it
was discovered chow or when we are
not informed) that the builder employed
to pull down the dead mans house,
preparatory to rearing anew one on the
site had found the note in crevice of
the chimney, and kept it and his own
counsel until he thought it was safe to
reap the reward of his patience and I'M
scrupulousness, and so become, a rich
man at a stroke.
The executors of Sir Robert Burdett
found no less than E270,O00 worth of
| bank notes scattered here and there
about his house, some slipped into
| bundles of old papers, some between
the leaves of books, without memo
randum anywhere to appraise them of
| the existence of such Valuables, much
| less of their whereabouts. A little better
| advised were the executors of the gentle
man who left behind him scrap of
| paper marked, ''Seven hundred pounds
in TILL although they failed to inter-
pref its meaning until they had dis
| posed of all the dead man s belongings.
Then one of them recollected that his
| library had contained folio edition of
| Tillotson 8 Sermons, and wondered Il
"Iilp' had any reference to it. The
| books had been sold to a bookseller,
who luckily had not found customer
for them, although he had sent them on
| approval to gentleman at Cambridge,
who had returned them as not answer
ing his expectations. The executor
bought the Tillotson back again, and
| going carefully through the volume,
| recovered notes to the amount of So, 500.
The Waterman of a factory at New
Haven, America, afforded the admins
traitors of his estate no clew whatever
as to the hiding place of the savings of
which they believed him to have died
| possessed. Overhauling his clothes pre-
paratory to selling them by auction,
one of them threw an old overcoat
aside, when dirty piece of cloth
dropped out of one of the pockets. On
examination this was found to be
wrapped around large cartridge
shell within which lay notes of 81, 800
value, which, but for a mere chance,
| might unexpectedly have enriched a
| purchaser of secondhand clothing.
Some sixty years since Bank of En-
gland Is note was paid into Liver
pool merchants Office in the ordinary
| course of business. On holding it up
to the light to test its genuineness the
cashier saw some faint red marks upon
it. Examining them closely, he traced
some half-effaced words between the
printed lines and upon the margin of
the note, written apparently with blood.
After long and minute scrutiny he
made out the words: eff this note
should fall into the hends of John Dean,
| of Long, Ill, near Carlisle, he will learn
hereby that his brother is languishine
a prisoner in Algiers." The merchant
Immediately communicated with Mr..
Dean, and he lost no time in bringing
the matter before the Government. In
quiries were set on foot, and the unfor-
tunate man discovered and ransomed.
He had been slave to the Dey of AL
giers for eleven years when the mes
sage he had traced with a splinter of
wood dipped in his own blood reached
the Liverpool counting house. Liberty,
however, came too late; the privations
and hardships of the galleys had Slapped
his strength, and although he was
brought home to England, twas but to
die.-AU the Year Round.
"A curious story comes from Brent
ford, England. A servant of DIR. Terry
was sent out to carry message. She
was short-sighted, and failing to return
r I !