IRISH TIMES ODDITIES: ALLEN FOSTER culls stories from the archives of The Irish Times, available online at www.ireland.com/archive
A FORTUNE THAT CAME TOO LATE
A fortune that came too late was revealed by the death of a poor 71-year-old Irishwoman, Miss Minnie Gommon, who was found dead in a small room she had occupied for some time in the Paris suburb of Courbevoie. On the floor lay an unopened letter from her Paris lawyer asking her to call about an inheritance of £8,000 of which she was the beneficiary. Miss Gommon, who lived the life of a recluse, had not been seen since last Friday, and the alarmed concierge notified the police, who broke open the door and found her dead, apparently from heart failure. The woman had been employed at a well-known Paris dressmaking establishment for nearly 30 years, but had been pensioned a few years ago. - October 31st, 1931
WOMAN CHAINED TO BED
A woman told a magistrate's court in Cape Town yesterday that she had been chained to the bed of a taxi-driver, 40-year-old Leslie Sampson, who was accused of assault and with intent to do grievous bodily harm. The court adjourned after hearing the woman say she took pity on Sampson when he was ill and went to live with him. She described how in January, 1948, Sampson got a chain and put it round her foot and put a lock on it. He then locked the other end to the bed, she declared. "I sat on the bed for weeks on end. He never went out. The woman who worked for him used to prepare the food." The woman said that she was kept chained until last Easter, when he released her for two days. Then he put her in chains again for another six months. - January 31st, 1950
LIFTED
Stefano Saldi was arrested in Luino, Italy, yesterday, on a charge of stealing a ski-lift. Police said that a six-month investigation proved that the 18-year-old had made several trips into Switzerland and brought back an entire lift, bit by bit, including its engine and 400 yards of steel cable. - July 3rd, 1954
LUCKY FISHERMAN
A codfish caught off Point Aconi, near Sydney provided a pleasant surprise for the fisherman, who found inside it a ladies bracelet set with a dozen diamonds and valued at several thousands of dollars. Its lucky finder, Homer Leblanc, hopes to be able to realise sufficient from its sale to purchase a large fishing schooner. - June 24th, 1929