Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1894-08-25

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ways added piece OF money 10 the
value Of fifty centimes and waited to
see the result. This little game lasted
for eight years, during which time
not one passenger returned the sur
plus money he had received! At last
one day he had the pleasure Of hear.
Ing q young lady soy to the money.
taker: You have given me fifty
centimes too much" The eccentric
old nun was happy. He at once set
about making inquiries concerning
the paragon ind made his will in her
favor.
ZONE Of the most ingenious devices
for smuggling was detected in Russia
not long ago." said o. L. Ratovitch,
Of st. Petersburg, to reporter.
"A great number Of false bank notes
had been put into circulation within
the dominions Of the Car. They
could only have been imported, and,
although the strictest search was
made habitunlIy over every vessel en-
tering a Russian port, no trace Of the
smuggling Of false notes WINS discov-
cred. Accident, however, Mt last
brought the mystery to light. It
happened that several cases OF lead
pencils arrived one day from Eng
land, and while being examined one
Of them fell out from package, and
the Custom House officer, picking 1t
up, cut 1t to point, and used It to
sign the order which delivered up the
pencils to the consignee. He kept
the loose pencil for his own use, and
few days afterwards, because II
needed new point, he cut It again,
and found that there was no more
lead. He cut still further, and was
surprised to find thin roll Of paper
nested in the hollow place where the
lead was supposed to be. Tho paper
was one Of the false notes, and In
this way they had been struggled
into the country"
An amusing story IL told about the
construction Of telegraph line from
Bagdad, In Asia Minor, to the Per.
sian capital ofTeheran. The frontier
line between Turkey and Persia was
SO indefinable that tract Of no less
than seventeen miles OF land over
which the telegraph would have to
be carried was in dispute, each Of the
two countries claiming the right to
its possession. Now, the engineering
stores supplied to the Turkish gov.
eminent differed from those supplied
to the Persian government. The for.
mer had wooden telegraph poles the
latter iron ones. The Persian govern.
ment, In their jealous hatred OF the
Turks, feared that II wooden poles
were erected across the disputed ter.
ritory, posterity would regard them
as proof that the territory was Turk.
ish. On the other hand, the Turks
objected to iron poles being used lest
In tho fur future they should be I'D.
duced by Persia as evidence that the
land was hers. The way the SUPER
intendent OF the work contrlved to
get out OF the difficulty did credit to
his ingenuity and resource. He set
up first wooden pole, then an iron
one, then another wooden, then IN
iron again, and no on, alternating
wood and iron for the whole seven.
teen miles
By . curious combination OF
chances q diamond which was lost
moro than twenty years ago ut Bir-
mingham has been discovered, and 10
now In the hands Of the Chief Con.
stable, says an English paper.
Some days ago ono OF the workmen
In the employ Of Messrs. Taunton,
safe manufacturers, was engaged In
repairing safe and came across o
piece OF paper In u crevice, in which
was large diamond, estimated to be
worth, ut least $500. The condition
Of the paper indicated that the stone
had been undisturbed for long time,
and the finder considered he was en-.
titled to what he had found. Some
inquiries were afterward made, which
resulted In the discovery that the
owner Of the safe bought 1t four years
ago from the late Mr.. Davis. s. ].
Davis, tho son, explained that some
twenty years ago his father gave his
mother o huge diamond, which she
placed In q piece OF paper with the
name Of her son, and then deposited
1t somewhere for security. She hid
1t 80 eiiectually that 1t could not be
found afterward. The piece Of paper
In which the diamond was wrapped
does bear the name OF Mr.. Davis,
and there IL little doubt the stone
belongs to him.
some snake stories were being told,
when o man from Kentucky said: II
Gun tell you one that Is true to the
lettor, and quite as surprising as any
OF your yarns. A sister-in.law Of
mine, living in the vicinity OF Gar.
rett, KY, had q girl baby hardly two
years old, and not able to talk plain.
ly. She contracted u habit OF taking
a cup Of bread and milk every morn.
ing and strolling of into some high
weeds back OF the horse pond. Her
mother thought nothing OF 1t, until
finally her curiosity was aroused, as
tho child could not be prevailed up.
on to sit in the house and eat, and
would say'in an infantile prattle,
Give pretty sing some.' Ono day
her mother followed her, and the
sight she beheld almost caused her
to swoon. She screamed, grabbed
the child and ran to the house. She
was too agitated for time to speak,
and then only in disjointed sentences,
until she had torn the child's cloth
ing of and carefully examined 1t.
Finding she was unhurt, she became
calmer, and told what she had dis