The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1899-05-09
SHOWERED WITH LUCK.
Stories of People who Go to Bed Poor
and Awake Up WeaIthy-Idiosyncra
sizes of the Unexpected.
(Lcndon lid Bits

Fortune is never so capricious as when
| whole library might be written of 1.-THE
| strange pranks she has played with those
| who have wooed her in this guise. She
was in strangely capricious mood when
it pleased her to convert Dublin shop
assistant into man of 70 rtune of q no.
BILE family.
Luke White, the father of the first Lord
Annaly. was poor Manxman who had
drifted to Dublin to serve behind the
counter of booksellers shop. In the
hope of adding to his scanty earnings
he bought number of lottery tickets for
sale, but found himself unable to dispose
of them all. At the last moment he de-
cided to send the unsold tickets tossBelfast
in the hope of fir ling a better market
there; but when the coach had been a day
on its journey he received.a letter inform
ing him that the despised tickets had won
valuable prizes.
Although the news came in the dead of
night, Luke White got up Immediately,
saddled a horse and raced madly in chase
of the zach. He rode through the night
and the whole of the following day, and
overlook the coach within a few miles OF
Belfast. He rescued the bundle of tickets,
and returning home, exchanged them for
prizes of the value of 800, 600.
An amusing story is told OF a wicked
trick which fortune played short time
ago on lady. The lady and her husband,
who were travelling, called at the shop OF
a country draper to make a few pur-
chases. They were about to leave the
shop, when an attraotivye bonnet arrested
the lady's attention, and she induced h or
husband to buy 1t for her.
When 1t came to payment, however, the
husband found 10 his dismay that he had
not sufficient money to pay for it. In this
dilemma he offered the draper an eighth
share ticket In German lottery which he
had in his purse, and finally induced him
TO accept it in part payment. A few days
later the lady learned, to her disgust,
that the lottery ticket had won an eighth
Of $40, 600, and that her darling bonnet"
mad thus cost hsr the record price of
nearly 80, 600.
1t was happy inspiration that tempt
ed young lieutenant on the Italian bat
tleship LepRnto to turn his attention to
the Spanish Christmas lottery couple OF
years ago. The ship was cruising off the
coast of Spain, and it occurred to the
lieutenant to induce all ON board, from
captain to cabin boy, to join in purohas-
ing lottery ticket. The ticket was
bought,and to the delight of all. was for
tunate enough to win the tsst prize of
s165, 0J0, which was divided among the
lucky owners on Christmas Day.
A very curious piece of good fortune fell
last year to the lot of poor widow who
kept small shop in a suburb of Berlin.
One evening as she was serving custom
or workingman stepped into the shop
and begged permission to light his pipe.
Drawing piece of paper from his pocket
he twisted 1t up, lit it at the gas jet, and
after lighting his pipe. threw down the
spill and walked out with word OF
thanks. When sweeping the floor the next
morning the woman took up tho oharred
paper out of idle curiosity and. unfolding
1t, saw that 1t was a lottery ticket, only a
fraction of which had been burnt She
folded it up. put 1t away in her pocket.
and had almost forgotten it when the re-.
suit Of large lottery drawing caught her
eye in the paper. She then remembered
the crumpled ticket in her pocket, and,
on producing it, found to her amazemsnt
and delight that the rejected ticket had
won prize OF $500 She claimed the
prize and although she advertised widely
for its original owner with the intention
of sharing 1t with him, she has been left
In undfsturbed possession Of her fortune.