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Show STRANGE STORY ABOUT A BIBLE. The Pall Mall Gazette says everybody every-body has beard of the three wise men who went to sea in a bowl. The place where these three worthies of nursery literature flourished before the unfortunate shipwreck which terminated their history was some years ago the scene of an event, or to speak more accurately, it is said to have been the scene of an event, which goes far to prove that the centuries which have elapaW since the niarititinj venture Just mentioned had not added to the wisdom of the place. The church was being restored, re-stored, bo wo are informed, and the wood work, as is usual in such cases, was being removed md sold, to be replaced, no doubt, with the j "Gothic" of Southampton Btreet, when a grocer in the village bought for a few shillings an oak reading desk ,and the bible chained to it. Eor some time he used the leaves of the bible for trade uses, and the desk and chain went the way of old effects. But a friend, a bookseller, book-seller, suggesting that the bible deserved de-served better treatment, he was put into communication with an eminent emi-nent collector who gave him 30 for what remained. This turned out to be a copy, bo runs the tale, of the groat bible of Hentry VIET., in perfect per-fect state it was perfect when the church sold it worth about 250, at least that may be called roughly 1 its value; but as many years have elapsed since one was sold, it is very possible that twice or even thrice that sum might have been reached in an auction room. Our object is not to Bpread idle gossip, but to give the authorities of a highly respectable Lincolnshire parish, with a' purely gothic and thoroughly "restored" church, an opportunity of denying the truth of a rumor whick does them more discredit than even the exploit of their three wise men of old, for, as the heralds say, ancient disgrace, so it be ancient enough, is better than modern honor, be it ever bo great. |