Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1871-09-15
MISCELLANEOUS.

What is the characteristic of watch2 ?
Modesty, as it keeps its hands before its
face and runs down its own works.
--Lubricating oil has at last rewarded
some persevering well borcrs at Torre
Haute, Ind. The auger was driven 1,G3G
feet into the earth.
"A Terre Haute man refused to pay for
the funeral notice OF his mother-in-law.
Some men would pay for such a thing with
pleasure.
Western Journals report that twenty
three persons in the State of Iowa alone
have suffered the involuntary amputation
Of their limbs this season, in using reapng
machines.
The Rev. Newman Hall declares that
the churches Of the United Kingdom have
lost not less than 100000 members by the
vice of intemperance during the past three
years.
"A wonderful instance of bookselling is
fur nished by the success of little relig-
ious work called "The Sinners Friend"
Of which 100000 copies, or 4l3 editions of
over four thousand copies each, have been
sold. The book was written by Mr.. Hall
of Maidstone, England, the father of Rev.
Newman Hall.
In speech before the Iowa Methodist
Convention, the other day, Rev. Mr.. Skin
ner asked: "What must the Almighty think
to see an immortal soul playing croquet?
Passing beyond the Stiffness and irrever-
ence of this, we should like to hear from
Mr.. skinner his opinion of what the Al
mighty must think to see AN immortal soul
eating yaller-legged chicken Dayton
Journal.
DIR. Crookes, well known scicrtist,
and editor of the London Chemist, has
b cen investigating the performances of the
so-called spiritual medium Home, who has
been setting England agog with his Won
derlul feats. The result is that DIR. Crookcs
has become a convert, not TO spritualism,
but to the belief in the existence of Il pc
culiar force, called by him, psychic force
.pfor want of a better name. This force, he
kryes, tmdnaiee from persons eGl!ed
M cdiums, and can move inanimate objects
independently of muscular action. DR..
Huggns, the EN- incnt astronomer, saw the
experiments of DR., Crookcs, but he de-
suits attained.
An old lady down east recently read an
item in one of the papers describing how
criudstonc burst in saw factory, and kill
ed four men. She just happened TO re-
me mLcr that there was a small grindstone
in her cellar leaning up against the wall.
So she went out and got an accident insur-
n /, ROD
girl, and holding the pie board in front of
her, 50 that if the thing exploded her face
would not he injured, she had the stone
tax en- out in the alley, where twenty-four
buckets of wat er were thrown on it, and a
stick was stuck in the hole, bearing a pla-
card marked Dangerous" She says it's
mercy the whole house was not blown to
pieces by the thing before this.
-Nasby's lecture for the coming season
will recite the exploits and experiences Of
the Apache Indian, who started as II mis-
sionary with the philanthropic purpose OF
civilzing the American white people. 1t
is needless to say that, under Nasby's skill
lul manipulation, the poor missionary has
an amusingly hard time Of it, and finds so
many evils to reform and sins to be repent
cd of, so much fashionable misery, and
nonsense among sensible people, and hy-
pocrisy among Christians, that he despairs
of accomplishing his undertaking, and con-
cludcs that the hydropathic remedy resort
ed to in Noah's time was not so bad after
all.
The people of Chicago have app ropri-
ated one thousand and filty-five acres of
land ON the south and southwest of the
city, AT distance of some six or eight
miles from the business centre, for the
purpose of public park and Mr. +. l..
Olmsted has been invited to examine the
land and to prepare plan for the work.
The site consists of two tracts, Il mile or "A
mile and a half apart. one of these tracts
! contains nearly six hundred acres, lying
upon Lake Michigan, ON which it has a
frontage of a little more than a mile and a
half; and the other, three hundred and
seventy-two acres, entirely inland. The
situation is by no means picturesque, but
it is hoped that liberal use of the resourc-
es of landscape gardening, under the di-
rection of competent artist, will do much
to remedy that defect.
They have down in Maryland man
whom they style the African Fire King.
He gave am exhibition of his "powers' re-
Gently in IA physicians Office in the pres
ence of about twenty persons, and one of
them describes the results thus: lie first
heated a shovel red-hot, and applied it to
the bottom of one of his feet. 1t made no
impression ON him whatever. lie next
heated shovel red-hot and licked it re-
peatedly with his tongue. 1t did not even
dry the saliva in his mouth. lie then put
his hand in hot stove and took therolrom
a rcd hot anthracite coal, and offered it to
me spectators, who declined to accept the
He then called out to know If there We're
any "unbeievers" present. To his aston
ishment we announced ourselves still an
"unbeliever." He then put shovel in
the stove and partially filled it with shot,
when the shot had got pretty hot he stirred
them with his naked fingers till the lead
had melted. lie then took the shovel In
his right hand and then poured the hot
melted lead in his left hand, and then pour
ed the burning solution into his mouth,
kept II there Till it cooled, and spit 1t out
in lump. We then expressed ourselves
entirely satisfied. lie said "that was only
$50 performance; If they would make
him up $50 he. would show something
worth seeing