Connecticut western news., 1878-02-21

nesday evening the entertainment and oys- ter supper sn the lecture room passed off very pleasantly. The instrumental music
 by Messrs. Holcomb, Dean and Randall was excellent, and the ''Change of Base''
 amusing. The programme was shortened
 to make room for the oyster supper which
 was very well patronized and seemed to
 give very good satisfaction. ball at
 Citizens Hall on Thursday evening comple-
 ted the weeks gaieties. Rehearsing for
 ''Ten Nights in Bar-room" goes on vigor-
 ously the play to be given on Tuesday evening.
 Risky Business.-W the Express freight going north was rounding curve
 near Lee the other night, the engineer saw
 some men on the track ahead of him. He
 thought they were tramps, and stepping
 across his engine to see more plainly, dis
 covered a sleigh standing directly on the
 crossing, but was so near to it he could not
 stop the train, and of course the sleigh got zine. Stopping as soon as possible to as
 certain the amount of damage done, and
 going back, the train men found one of the
 men, the other having evidently skedadled.
 This man was just drunk enough to be en-
 tirely independent of any railroad compa-
 ny, and didn't care d-n for any of it's
 trains. He wouldn't tell his name, nor
 what he had his team standing on the track
 for, and if that engine wanted to try that
 little trick again, he would smash it's d-d
 headlight in for it. If the Housatonic folks don't want their engines battered up, l they must be careful, and not run against the fists and muscles of such men.
 W1nsted.-J. R. Benjamin of Winsted
 contemplates a change to new store not
 many months hence, and informs us he
 shall astonish folks with the low prices at
 which he shall sell his immense stock of
 frst-class jewelry, watches and silverware.
 MT. B. certainly has very large stock of
 choice goods, and is bound to clear it out if
 extremely low prices will do it. Of course
 his stock of pianos and organs is large, and
 in these he docs not propose to be under
 sold. While there the other day, he seem-
 ed inclined to smile at our remarks concern
 ing the superb Wheelock piano we saw at
 MT. Forbes music store in the west village
 some time since, and perhaps to change our opinions somewhat in that respect, showed
 us Guild, Church, Boston piano, and that
 the merits of the instrument might be prop
 erly observed, invited Prof. Stillman, who
 happened to be in the store giving music
 lessons at the time, to play upon it, and we
 were convinced at once that-that-Prof
 StilIman is one of the best players Tn the country. Anyway, we hate to own nr beat, and we are inclined to think we shall } not. We shook our editorial head with doubt for some time on the question, but on
 our way to the depot in West Winsted we dropped in again at MT. Forbes ; and al though the proprietor was out, were kindly permitted by the gentleman in charge tc bang out few notes on "that Wheelock. and we now want to say to Friend BeDja. min, you caaat do it! The Whee'ock is al of 1.-two lengths ahead"
 MT. Oakley's Lecture. .-MR. EDITOR Be pleased to allow brief space in you
 columns for sketch of the very interest ing lecture given by the Rev. J. G.. Oak ley of Lake7ille, in the Methodist churcl in this place last Friday evening. To un- dertake a minute description would prove : frultess endeavor; so will only speal
 of points in general. It was a beautiful morning in July, 1875, when the speake took the railway tram at Paris, for jour ney of over l 1000 miles through one of th' most noted and picturesque sections of thu East. His course was southeast from thu
 capital, through France, across the Rhone , to the Alpine glaciers, along the railroad 1 which hangs on the slope of the Alps, ,whe1 ] at times he was permitted to look down = ward almost perpendicularly,. the distance z of 2,OOO feet, causing ''the hair of hls heaC : to stand on end' while above him the lof- t ty mountains rose 1000 feet. The mos = noted of the fifty tunnels he passed througl ] was the so-called Mt. Cenis, although il g reality more that sixteen miles from tn, 0 mountain of that name. It IS eight mile 8 in extent, and cost the sum of $15 ,0O0, ,OO0 = and sacrifice of over 1000 human lives Il 0 It's construction. The speakers route wa T through Turin of North Italy, and Bologn' e just here he stopped long enough t' s speak of sausages, so popular among th Q Americans and hastened on, to the beau e tiful city of Florence, the residence of Gal e ileo and Michael Angelo; thence rapldl, n through the plains of Campania, to tn J. home of Caesar, Cicero and Virgll-th h once proud capital and center of the world ] Rome. Time and space forbid an extende l. description of this ancient and renowne
 city. The inhabitants and narrow street
 were mentioned: the public buildings-es peciallY the Pantheon with it's granite wall nineteen feet thick, within which is tn '' tomb of Raphel, and so recently has bee 10 added the remains of Victor manuel, lat e King of Italy. The Colosseum, the larges U ampitheatre ever built, with seating ca pacity of 80, 900 people. A cross has bee 'A erected in the centre of the arena, thereb forbidding any relics taken from the ruins y thus it is s'to be saved by the cross." Tn 'i lecturer gave clear and extended accour T. of St, Peter's Cathedral, built at cost C J. $5s, ,OOO, ,OOo; the length 700 feet, or abor u one-thlrd of mile. Tne Vatican, the Ps 'S pal palace, so richly adorned with th 'e paintings of those most renowned artists At Raphel and Angelo, viz :-the "Transfg ,o uration," "Creation," ''I4ast Judgment, v etc., ID the description of which the speal n CT rose to high strains of oratory, holdln