Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1878-06-21

A most singular affair recently happened
near Lynchburg, Va. While Col. A. H. Full
kerson was riding erhis farm he was attacked
by about 100 swallows, who assailed him with
great chatteringa and pecked away Justify at his
face and clothing. He was at first amused at the
puny assaults, but the wounds which they
soon inflicted upon his face and neck CON
vinced him that he had nothing to laugh at,
and he barely escaped with his life 1t is
feared that he will lose the sight of both eyes,
and his nose is so badly mutilated that in all
probability it will have to be amputated.
Mr.. Edison is forced to defend his claim
to his inventions against English pretenders
who have stolen his ideas, and has telegraphed
to President Sir William Thomson of the Brit
ish association warning against one Prof.
Hughes, who has appropriated his ideas in the
microphone, an instrument for hearing mi
mute sounds at great distance and in the
thermopile, or heat-measurer, which applies
principle discovered by Edison in perfecting
his new carbon telephone, by which he could
detect one fifty-thousandth of degree
Fahrenheit. The marvels of the Edison dis
coveries have evidently but just begun.
New York is agitating the question wheth-
er the big Brooklyn bridge isn't going to be
failure. When it was projected it was TO be
completed in five years at cost of $1,000
900, but nine years of time and So 900, 900 of
money have only sufficed to erect grand
skeleton and prepare the way for the eXpen-
diture of no end of additional millions before
the bridge is completed Experienced engin-
GERS say that the bridge will not be able to
sustain itself and the weight which will be
placed upon it without the erection of sup
porting pier midway in the channel, and that
will of course largely increase the cost and al
so increase the interference with shipping. 1t
is also loudly whispered that the whole man
agement of the thing has been under control
of ring which has made the construction of the
bridge bonanza" lOr lining their own pock-
cts
A very daring robbery occurred in New
York last week Monday night, five roughs
armed with revolvers boarding Sd avenue
car and getting away with $50 Mr. Lafetra,
as was his daily custom, had collected this
money at the Harlem depot, the days fares
received by conductors of the Sd avenue and
crosstown lines, and was carrying it to the
main depot at the corner of Goth street and Sd
avenue The car carried n noisy excursion
party of 40 ON their way home, and Mr..
Lafetra sat in the rear end, where he was sud
denly assaulted by three fellows while the
conductor was collecting fares in the forward
part of the car, two others standing guard at
the door. The rufiians beat Mr.. LAfetm
senseless with the butts of their pistols and
snatched away his money, and when the con-
ductOr had forced his way to the rear plat
form through the screaming women who
hemmed his passage, two pistols warned him
to raise no alarm. The five then mounted
wagon in which they had been following the car
and dashedOf, havingdone their work so quiet
ly that the driver did not know of the robbery
till the bell told him to stop his horses.