The Girl's Own Paper, Vol. XX, No. 980, October 8, 1898 — John Shaqi
The Girl's Own Paper, Vol. XX, No. 980, October 8, 1898Various
General
The Girl's Own Paper, Vol. XX, No. 980, October 8, 1898
Various
Children's literature -- Periodicals
A story which I thought very remarkable was told me the other day, and
happened, I believe, at Hastings. A maidservant in the family of a
resident found a brooch in the street, and as it was both pretty and
rather valuable, an advertisement was put into a local paper by the
finder, who wished to discover the owner, but without success. Two
years elapsed, and the girl and her mistress both agreed that there was
no hope of an owner turning up, and so she wore it. The very first day
she put it on she went out, and walking down one of the main roads into
Hastings, she met a lady who, looking at her closely, said, coming up
to her, "I think you are wearing my brooch." The wonderful part of this
story is that the lady was only a visitor, and had not been in Hastings
since the day she had lost her brooch, two years before.
A writer in the _Globe_, a short time ago, gave a very remarkable
account of a coincidence which is said to have been quite
authenticated. A lady finding that the setting of a valuable ring had
become insecure, entrusted it to a lad in her service to take it to the
jewellers to be repaired. She lived on her estate at a short distance
from the neighbouring town, and on his way the messenger had to cross a
wooden bridge over a stream in the park. This, of course, presented the
usual attraction. The boy lingered, and bethinking him of his charge,
took the ring from the case for a closer inspection. But ill-luck
followed him, for the ring suddenly slipped from his hold, and falling
on a muddy bank, disappeared from view. The lad searched in vain; and
being apprehensive that he might be charged with its theft, absconded
from his situation and went to sea. Being a quick and handy boy, he
grew into an energetic and enterprising man; settled in a colony, and
in the course of time realised a large fortune. Returning to England,
he found the estate on which he had formerly served was in the market,
whereupon he bought it and took up his residence in the Manor House.
Walking through his grounds one day with a friend, they came to the
scene of the lost ring, and he related the story which had indirectly
led to his present position. "And that is the very spot where it
dropped," said he, thrusting his stick into the bank. The lost ring was
found upon the stick when it was withdrawn. It had actually impaled
the lost jewel, which was its own startling verification of the story.
The strange part of this tale is that the loser should have been the
finder, for there is nothing marvellous in the misadventure until we
come to the finding of the ring.
One of the interesting things shown at the Stuart Exhibition was the
keys of Lochleaven Castle. I am sure my readers will all remember the
romantic story of Queen Mary's escape from thence in 1568, with the
help of young Douglas, who locked the gates to prevent pursuit, and
then threw the keys into the lake, where they lay until discovered in
1805.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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