five pounds proved to be the utmost value of
it, with all it contained. In another instance,
a gentleman of property lost a leather hat-case,
containing " very valuable articles;"
but did not, in his modesty, name their
exact worth in money. For some tune the
search was fruitless, and a heavy drag upon
the treasury was anticipated when, at the
eleventh hour, the hat-case was " washed
ashore " as the wreckers would say, and the
value of the inside did not prove so much as
that of the outside—the price of a second-hand
hat-box.

On the North-Western Railway, luggage left
behind at the stations is kept for two days;
and if, during that time, no one calls for it, it
is, if it be properly addressed (a proviso which
should impress all travellers with the necessity
of using legible labels) it is forwarded to
its owner. Should there be no address, it is
kept for a month, and then opened to find a
clue to the possessor. Some time ago
the superintendent, on breaking open a
locked leather hat-box, found in it, under
the hat, sixty-five pounds in Bank of England
notes, with one or two private letters,
which enabled him to restore the
money to the owner; who, it turned out,
had been so positive that he had left his
hat-box at an hotel at Birmingham, that
he had made no inquiry for it at the railway
office.

Lastly, should no clue whatever be found to
ownership, the property is kept about two
years, and has hitherto been sold by
auction in the large coach-factory to the
company's servants—a portion of the proceeds
being handed over to the sick-fund for persons
who have been hurt in the service, and the
remainder to " the Friendly Society " among
the men. It having, however, been ascertained
that a few of the railway men who had
spare cash purchased the greater portion of
these articles, it has been determined
henceforward to sell the whole of this property by
auction exclusively to the public; and as the
company's servants are not allowed to be
purchasers, they can no longer derive any
benefit whatever from lost property.

The quantity and value of property thus
remaining, even after passing through the
two days' and two months' tests, is almost
incredible; and while it surprises, it may
amuse the reader to glance over a list of the
two years' accumulations but very recently
submitted to public auction.

Umbrellas, 243; Parasols, 168; Walking-sticks,
173; various sorts of Men's Attire, 508 articles;
Men's Caps, 129; Women's Attire, 301 articles;
Respirators, 2; Pocket Handkerchiefs, 302; Clogs
and Pattens, 28; Travelling Bags, 63; Gloves,
366; Brushes, 47; Combs, 17; Books, 135;
Sample Cases, 5; Card Cases, 7; Cushions, 20;
Baskets, 50; Whips, 14; Fishing-rods, 6: One
Cricket-bat; Bird-Cages, 3; Small Casks, 2; Beds, 3;
One Bundle of Horn; One Iron Wheel; Boxes, 8;
Purses, 14; Cigar-cases, 7; Snuff-boxes, 5;
Smelling-bottles, 8; Pocket-knives, 10; Scissors, 7;
Razors, 4; One Paper-knife; Bracelets, 4; Brooches,
26; Shawl and Scarf Pins, 17; Necklaces, 4;
Gold Rings, 2; One Gold Toothpick; One Gold Eye-
glass; Gold Pencil-Cases, 3; One Gold Chain and
Seals; Pairs of Spectacles, 20; Silver Pencil-Cases
4; Studs, 5; One Lever Watch Cap; One Fusee
Box; Flask Bottles, 3; One Opera-Glass.

It has been calculated that only about
forty per cent, of Railway waifs and strays
remain unowned, and come to the hammer.
From the above list, therefore—that of only
one trunk line—the enormous amount of
property that is continually left behind may
be calculated.

These facts show, that while the public is
excessively heedless, Railway officials are
curiously careful.

CHIPS.
THE BARON OF BEEF AND THE MARQUIS OF
WELLINGTON.

The following Chip embodies a true story,
not at all disagreeable to know, at this time
of year.

At Slough, near Eton, then a small straggling
village, was to be seen, in the year 1813,
a magnificent coat of arms over the door of a
shop: the blazoning was of the most gorgeous
kind, but they were not the royal arms. The
quarterings of the hero of the Peninsula cast
down their glittering beams upon the dazzled
eyes of the admiring travellers on the Bath
road; and under them was inscribed in flaming
letters of gold " SHIRLEY, BUTCHER TO THE
MARQUIS OF WELLINGTON!"

This seemed strange; for, in this year, the
great Marquis was fighting the battle of Vittoria,
and crossing the Pyrenees! How, then,
was he to eat beef in England, and become
the patron of a newly-fitted up butcher's
shop in Slough?

This butcher was a dashing young fellow,
in his way. His father, wishing to make him
"genteel," had placed him with an attorney,
and he duly served out his articles. But, in
course of succession, the patrimonial inheritance
of the butcher's shop became his; and
young Shirley thought that a thriving trade,
and a spirited hack, who could bear him
gallantly in a day's hunt, were to be preferred
to the drudgery of a country lawyer's office.
He accordingly flung aside his rusty black
office-coat, and exchanged it for a suit of
light brown, with blue linen apron and sleeves,
a steel, and a purple satin waistcoat with
gold button-drops for Sundays. If he abandoned
all design of shining in the law, he
was determined to make a figure in some
other way, and to do something worthy of
note.

After the battle of Salamanca, in the summer
of 1812, the British nation was excited to
the utmost pitch of enthusiasm; nor was
their sympathy of less degree with the sufferings