LADY’S £40,000 DOWNFALL.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXI, Issue 8713, 12 January 1907, Page 1

LADY’S £40,000 DOWNFALL.

A remarkable stroke of good fortune has befallen a relative of a Southend town councillor, Mr George Allen, a retired builder, of York Road, Southend. This relative, a cousin, is a Mrs Savage, of Calcutta, whoso father occupied a prominent position as a Government official in the place. Some time ago Mrs Savage, who is an elderly (ady and accustomed to travel a great deal, invested several pounds In the purchase of. State lottery tickets. She mentioned this fact one evening in the course of conversation with friends, one of whom, with an instant that proved strangely prophetic, declared that among the tickets was the lucky number. He offered to give Mrs Savage £SOO if she would dispose of them. The first prize was £40,000. Mrs Savage, of course, treated the offer as a joke, but finding it was persisted in she decided that she would first consult her husband. She herself strongly favoured the acceptance of a certain £SOO as against the remote chance of £40,000. Her husband counselled caution, and, finally, to put the temptation of selling the tickets entirely out of question, offered himself to give £SOO for them, on condition that she would pay him £SOOO, if she were successful. Eventually the announcement came that Mrs Savage had won the first prize.