The Portland daily press., 1872-12-25
A MAINE MAN IN DISTRESS The Boston
Herald of Saturday says:

fectly deaf and nearly helpless for years.
A MAINE MAN IN DISTRESS. The Boston
Herald of Saturday says:
Last Thursday morning. as a well-known
metal merchant of the North End was on his
way to his place of business, he was met by
pale, well-dresSed man, who asked him for
food. After some Questioning, he told the fol-
lowing story He arrived in this city from
New York last Tuesday morning, with his wife
and infant child, who had gone on there from
their home in Maine to administer to his wants.
he then being confined there by severe sick
ness Their money waslost or stolen while in
New York, and he wrote to a brother sea-
captain in this city for aid The captain an
swered by promising him and his family free
passage from this port to Machias, their home.
and named the day of sailing. He arrived, as
stated above, on Tuesday, and learned that the
vessel had sailed. Here he was with his wife
and child. with but ST. in his pocket, and he an
invalid Not knowing what to do or where to
go, he stopped a gentleman on the street and
asked for lodgings. The kind-hearted stranger
took them to hotel not far from Dock-square,
and paid their lodging for two nights; but the
inn-keeper had no food to give away, so they
lived on Wednesday and Thursday on what
that 81 would buy. This is the story as it was
told to the merchant He took the sick man
to his Office, Immediately began an investiga-
ton, and found the case even worse than repre-
sented. To make long story short, the mer-
chant and his partner and clerks raised good
ly sum OF money, and, through the kindness
of the Superintendent OF well-known road,
procured free passage for him and his little
family to Bangor.
EXTRAORDINARY PHENOMENON IN ENGLAND.
The town of King Sutton, Eng, appears to
have recently been visited by what we call
tornado in this country. About one O clock in
the day the people saw something in the shape
of haycock, of great size, revolving through
the air. 1t was accompanied by fire and great
deal Of smoke, and sometimes was seen high
in the air aud at others near the ground. 1t
made great noise, something like railway
train travelling, and progressed with great rap
idity. As the terrific visitant passed along it
tore up numerous large trees, in one instance
taking ten to fifteen tons of earth with tree,
and more than hundred yards of stone wall
were thrown down. In England stone wall
a dense smoke. There was heavy rain at the
time, and a few minutes before vivid flash of
lightning. For mile and half there are
traces of the destruction caused by the phenom-
| enon, which seems to have travelled almost in a
| straight line from south to north. It was fol-
| lowed by wlrlwind that swept everything
before it, and pond it passed was dried up,
stones carried a distance of forty yards and
ratings knocked down. The people were great
ly alarmed-some of them say the noise was
1clLilC-duu tuty tuOuSHU tHo 6dfGn was ABOUT
to open and swallow everything up. After
travelling for about two miles the fire meteor,
as the local paper calls it, seems to have ex-
pended itself.
SUICIDE OF MAINE MAN IN CHICAGo-A
despatch from Chicago says that e. G.. East
man, prominent private banker of that city,
and Vice President of the city savings bank,
died at his residence Tuesday evening from a
dose of arsnic taken Saturday night. No rea-
son can be found for the suicide as his finan-
cial affairs are reported to be in good condition
and his family relations were pleasant Mr.
Eastman came to Chicago from Maine, shortly
after the great fire, and commenced business as
broker on Canal street, near Washington. He
was at ono time United States Consul at Dub
lin
Mr.. Eastman was formerly resident of
Hallowell, and was United States Consul at
Queenstown, Ireland, we beive, through MI
Lincoln's and Mr.. Johnson's administrations.
Ee was man highly esteemed by all whoInew
him. and he leaves large circle Of friends and
relations in the Kennebec Valley, who will
learn with deep regret of his sad death.
A MAN UNDERTAKES TO WORRY RAT TO
DEATH WITH HIS TEETH-Ihe Result-A story
is told by the Preston, Ont, Guardian which is
to say the least, quite as unpleasant as sensa-
tional. number of persons being congregat-
ed in the kitchen of an inn in that town, the
conversation turned upon rats ami rafting. One
of the company having boosted that he was in
possession OF 1.-THE largest rat that those present
had ever SEEM" A man named Baron "reu-
dered foolhardy by drink" declared he could
k IL the biggest rat that could be procured An
immense old rat was accordingly withdrawn
from its cage with much difficulty, and having
been secured to nail in the table by piece of
string passed through its thigh. Baron set
about his task, and contriving to get hold of the
rat with his teeth sabout the middle of it's
back, killed it, not before the Infatuated crea-
ture had bitten him severely through the cheek.
He thought little of the wound at the time. but
in week or ten days it gave him intense pain,
and he is now in Blackburn infirmary suffering
from hydrophobia 1t is to be hoped that his
melancholy fate will lead others in Preston and
elsewhere to reflect that worrying rats to death
is not only an unintellectual amusement but
also an amusement attended with no inconsid-
cradle personal risk
Too BAD.-Recently man was driving
cart in a field in Lewiston, when the wheel
struck stump and mved it from its base when
out rolled pile of glittering. coin. The man
thinking he had struck one of Capt Kids res
ervoirs, began building ar-castles while he
picked up the glittering treasure. With
cheerful air he precipitated himself and treas
ure homeward, but finally discovered that the
heap of coin he had fallen upon was pile of
pewter dollars, the production probably of
some counterfeiters who had discovered that
pewter was ''no go" and had hidden their ELL
thy lucre" IN abe decayng stump. All is not
gold or silver that glitters.-Journal