THE ART OF FORGETFULNESS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXIII, Issue 53, 20 March 1901, Page 4

THE ART OF FORGETFULNESS.

The Loidor* Rveninr; Standard reeent'v midr the ".nnouncemeati of a l>t fngjru;'- the * ir ® very interr<iw3r<"> on tho "Art of Forg tfp.'nlt in c'iflico't at tim.'s to ac..our,t (or some of th? lapse? of nnmorv uhic come under our notice, but, usvertisies?, the individual who left behind " & h\nd sewing machine in a walnut caae," was javt bs much reli?y< d as the hearties miaoreant whs deposit-<t on the railway catcpioy'a doorsteps a copy of " Burkett oa the Not Testament." One of the most curi ins forgotten or dev rted dep wis *«,- that of fifty-seven elephants. WjiPo, which an expert left behind him at the Docks in 1893 Seven handr d-weight of orange peel, tbr»Fqu&tttfd of s ton of shark bones, 140 buffalo horns, and a conFi»nmert of senna leaves ae dung ct'er cnrio° ■which, if not l)fet, bav* at l'a«t ponr before. The returns from rror.don traffic show* ihit, in 16,200 pub' c vehicles av ilab'e for the i o lower thaw 17,497 nmtrflllaa weie aoccjetfally !< 3t. It is significant tba' nmbrii'ai and puises seem to b? mncb moro easily lost than walking sticks, the tig ares showing (hit in 1899 17,497 umbrella? were lost, 3,2141 purees and only 878 bticks, t! e rati' l l . of umbrellas to sticks b-iog 20 t) I.] The pre?ious year, the fi/urts wert much the same, being 17.113 umbrellas j 3.021 paries, and 852 sticks. Two dogs were among the «ncce afnl losie: of 1898, bnii ia 1899 animal losers succeeded in forgetting not only degs bat cats and t irds as wall, the latter including nn owl. Ooe individca' went very near acfcievirg a record by losing a mysterious gun, worth £2OO, st the Surrey Dock?, in Juce last Among other peculiar losses which are worthy of being chronicled may be mentioQfd a coaple of tons of theatrical scenery, and a consignment of 215 000 owt, <acks. To these may be added a wax fijiurshesd, a cue of stiff d birts, a petrified Irish giant, fifty bott'es of lemon iquesh, and two faulty incubators, ait of wh'ch wet.t to swell the divided* of various British railway shareholder Scores of seta of f«lse t:eth ate also recorded as being annually lrft behind in railway carriages. The art of forgeifolaesß is not altogether inexpensive to its devote*a, •s tray be gstbert d from tbe fact that last year aione the Great Western Pail way netted no less than £2,000 frcm the sale of forgott-.n articles.