Year: 1867

HOW AN OLD LADY DISPOSED OF HER FORTUNE.


The London correspondent of the Belfast Ne,1s
Letter vouches for the truth OF the following re-
markable narrative:-


"a short time since an old lady, living in one
of the small streets leading out OF Albany street,
Regents Park, close to what was once the
Colosseum, entered the shop of Mr.. -, a
poulterer in the neighbour God, and purchased
a chicken. The tradesman was attentive to
her. as such people ought 10 be, aud the lady
became customer, always coming 10 the snop
and giving her own orders. She appeared to be
very old, but 10 have all her faculties about her
One Saturday evening. she came when the.
poulterer happened TO be very busy. She said
she wished to speak to him, and ne asked her to
walk into the little parlor behind the shop, and
he would come to her the moment he was dtsen-
gagged. In the parlor she met the daughter of
the poulterer and, after some conversation, in the
couree OF which she remarked that the young
girl looked i'll and required change OF air, she
produced parcel, tied up IN paper, and said,
Give this to your father, as he IS busy and can
not come, and cannot wait. | wish him to
take you away for q little change, and here is
something that will enable him to do so.' She
placed the parcel in the girls hand, and told
her to lock it up in a cupboard to which she
pointed. The girl did so, and thought no more
OF the matter; but when. some hours subse-
quently, the shop was closed, and ner father
came into the paror to get his supper, she pro-
duced the parcel, and gave the message by
which it was accompanied. The poulterer
laughed as be united it; but, TO his amazement
the parcel was found to consist of bank notes





in ii an antique gold watch and cham.


1.-The next day Mr.. - hurried round to hi
customer to thank her, when she desired him to
take his daughter out OF town Tor lew days,
and on their return to inform her of their arrl-
val. This, of course, was done. day or Two
after their return she called at the shop OF Mr..
- and SAID she wished him to come to her
house to tea, accompanied by his daughter. As
they were about to leave, after partaklng OF her
hospitality, she said to Mr. -, Il wish you par
ticularly to call upon me tomorrow morning
and bring with you two respectable persons
upon whom you can rely The next morning
MIR. - attended, accompanied by the curate
of the parish and a neighbor. The old lady
then said that she was upwards OF ninety years
OF age, and had no relative living but cousin.
an attorney who, she alleged, had not treated
her well, and by whom, she said, she had lost
100000. She added that she had f25,0OO in
consOls still LETT and that, as she felt she would
not live long, and was resolved that the attor-
ney should not get anything belonging to her,
she had asked MIR. - to attend, with two wit
nesses, in order that she might transfer to him
for his own absolute use the 825,000 to which
she had referred. She added that she knew
very we'll what she was about and that by Civ
ing him the money while she was alive. instead
of bequeathDg it to him at her death, he would
be saAed the payment OF legacy duty to the


''This announcement appeared to be of so
sineular a nature that the clergyman very pro-
perlv suee ested that solicitor should be sent
for The man of law came accordingly, and
the transfer was duly effected. The old lady's
preseptiment of approaching dissolution proved
10 be correct, as she died few weeks alter
making this singular disposition OF her pro-
perty, II seems that before her death she had
intended to give her money to chemist with
whom she used TO deal, but he had offended
her by some inattention to her wishes. The
moral of this story (of the substantial aecu-
racV of which there can be no doubt WhateVer)
is that civility costs nothing, and may some
times yield rich reward"