Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1876-12-22
NEWS ITEMS.

The "Sons and Daughters OF Vermont"
at Worcester have elected r. NJ. Gould
president, and Ira G. Blake secretary OF
their association.
An Italian kidnapper, whose business
was confined to stealing girls for exporta-
tion, mainly TO England, died recently,
leaving fortune ofSlO0,OO0.
France hasn't invited Germany 10 par
ticipate in her coming national exhibition,
and the moon will rise an hour later all
through 1878 on that account.
Hon. w. A. Wheeler, Vice-President
elect, has not appeared in his seat in the
House thus far, being detained at home by
illness. He is rapidly recovering.
The arithmetic man figures up that The
cost Of uuiforming the political clubs in
the late election, and of the parades which
took place on account of it, was s., 900, 900.
The population of Peru is decreasing,
being less than three millions. The de-
crease is attributed to earthquakes, dis
eases, civil war and brandy, especially the
latter.
After fooling around for whole week
to open big safe, a Dubuque merchant
discovered that it hadn't been locked any
OF the time, and he called his head clerk
fool and discharged him.
Jack Frost was on bender in Agricul-
tural Hall, Philadelphia, Sunday, the 10th.
In the Portuguese wine department hum
dreds of bottles were broken. and in the
American section corks were popping in
every direction.
"A Biblical scholar in Germany has
been doing some pretty close figuring to
determine the dates of events described in
the Old Testament, and announces as one
result the discovery that Noah issued from
the Ark on Sept. II, BAG, at six o'clock in
the evening.
THE Duchess of Edinburgh is supply
ing Queen Victoria with an extensive as
sortment of grandchildren. Her first was
born October, 1874; her second October,
1875, and her third November, 1876.
Even the English sparrows find Cana
da good country 10 emigrate from. A
colony lately established in Montreal, dis
gusted with the inclemency Of the weather
and the inhospitality of the citizens, have
fed TO more congenial olimes.
The frightful havoc of the late cyclone,
by which quarter of a million lives were
lost, is not the only af1liction of unhappy
India. The cholera is again raging with
terrible violence, and the crops falling for
want of rain, another famine is impend
ing. ...
One patent medicine firm of New York
paid over $500, 900 laat year, for advertising;
aud has made as large contracts for the
coming year. No respectable druggist
sold patent medicines few years ago, but
they are now the great trade of the coun-
try.
Near Lansing, Mich, is cherry tree
six inches in diameter, growing up through
the crevice of large rock. The crevice at
the time the seed Tell in it was an opening
not much larger than pipe stem, but the
heavy rock is gradually opening year by
year to make room for the expanding
trunk.
In February, 1901, when the House OF
Representatives was engaged in the choice
of President, they were in session almost
two weeks before the Burr men gave in
and Jefferson was chosen. The session is
recorded under one date, and no recogni-
tion of the lapse of time appears on the
record.
Over 1000 applications for space in the
proposed permanent exhibition at Phila-
delphis, more than the building can accom-
modste, have already been received. The
Turkish exhibitors mean TO have much
iner display of goods than before. ofihe
hardware exhibitors nearly all will remain
in the American department and several
in the foreign.
Some boys created great excitement at
Rochester, N. Y, the other day, by stuff
ing pair OF striped stockings and arrang-
ing them so as to float down the Genesee
River with the feet upward, as If human
body was drilling along with the head
downward. A great crowd gathered to
rescue the supposed body, and after much
effort the stockings were fished out and the
deception became apparent.
The worl 'panic' has been in every
body's mouth during the past few days. 1t
has a curious origin. According TO Hero
dotus the god Pan was supposed 10 have
assisted the Greeks at The battle Of Mara
thon, 400 b. c., striking such terror into
the Persian hosts that they fed to their
ships in perfect dsmay. From that time
the Greek term panikon was used to de-
scribe unreasoning or sudden and over
powerlng fear.
"A party of four fishermen went into
the forests at Forest Bay, Newfoundland,
in February, 1875, with the intention of
spending the rest of the winter in trying
The experiment of catching and sailing
down trout, which abound in The lakes and
streams of that region. Nothing was heard
of them until about two months ago, al
though diligent search was made for them,
when trouting party discovered their four
skeletons in gully. They were probably
drilled in and perished in the snow.
The captain of an English ship which
recently arrived at Bombay saved his ves-
sci during a hurricane which lasted two
days by filling two canvas clothes bags
with oil, puncturing each slightly, and
then towing them astern. The oil slowly
spread over the water, and the huge waves,
that had been breaking over the vessel,
threatening to founder it, spent their force
at some distance, while around the vessel
there was large space OF calm water.