Litchfield enquirer., 1878-08-22
Litchfeld,

MiclraeI's church on Sunday last, morning and evening
 ". l. S.-ThcGa Party at Mrs. Bel Cen's. last week. was decided success every one present seeming to enjoy the occasion. The receipts amounted to $S1. The time for the dramatic entertainment will be an- nOunced in few days.
 The old Westover house (now owned by Mr AbI'Ot of Waterbury,, on the Lake road Is.low Bantam. was burnt on Sunday evening. IL WAS occupied by Mir. Sidney Glover, who was gone with his wife to church at the time of the fire. We hear that all his furniture was burnt with the house.
 Mir Edson Staples has taken down the old Baldwin Vessels, house just below the Lake View hotel, and has begun building new txosto:y residence in it's place. It will be great improvement and completes the line of nice new houses on the south side of lower West Street.
 Miss Julia \. Brigham, graduate of the Yale Business College, came to this place, ACW WGCAo catb~NS N~ - teacher of penmanshIp. Her teaching here has been entirely satisfactory, and she is now en- gagged to take charge of classes in several ad- joining towns.
 Mrs. Mary NJ. Smith will deliver another lecture on Saturday afternoon next at r. M. at ArmOry Hall. Subject, Scott and Dickens. The lecture will naturally be of somewhat more popular character than the former one, and we hope large number of people will avail themselves of the opportunity of hearing it.
 We notice that the property owners of South St. are laying wide concrete walk in front of their residences. This improvement, in connection with the heavy dressing of grav- el, from six inches to foot in thickness which they put on their roadways, last season, and the numerous street lamps which they maintain. will make the residences on that street as comfort able and convenient at all seasons, as they are bea utiful in summer.
 - Reference is made in an article on our second page, to the approaching Reunion of the survivors of the 18th Regiment and 2d Conn., Heavy Artillery, in this place, on the 11th Sept Since that article was in type, we notice that the badge of the glorious Sixth Corps. has been displayed from the flag staff. If our citizens will generally copy this flag, a rcd Greek cross on square white ground, and display it on the 11th, it would add much to the decoration of the village.
 Miss Frances E. Willard, of Chicago, wilde liver Temperance address under the auspices of our Woman's Union, at Armory Hall, on Monday evening next at 8 p. m. All who would wish to hear one of the finest woman lecturers in the country speak on subject of such mOmemtous importance to women should not fail to attend. The expense of former temperance lecturers has come SO heavily on a few people interested in the subject that it has been determined to charge the small admission fee of ten cents with view of raising part of the expenses of the lecture.
 West Street witnessed a collision few days since that has causes good deal of amusement in the lively narrative of on e of its participants. c. was driving pair of oxen down the hill when he heard a tremendous chatter behind and, turning saw buggy con- ing full tilt towards him. He slanted his direction to one side as quick as he could when the proprietor of the buggy, who had unac- cOuntably taken the same tack, came smash Ing into the linear" OK. Over went the buggy spilling out a boy or two, while the proprietor, after somersetting over the dashboard, occu- pied sitting position in the road, with cut lip and disIocated finger. Taking in the sit uation at a glance, he remarked to C.. who was looking on in speeches. indignation, ''Y' ought t be 'shamed self, haw-geein' round this way" IIereupon c. recovered speech faculty that never long deserts him-'"Sham- eI of myself, you internal, drunken" "Hor on, frien'. S'two 'pinions bout which of us 'sdrunkest ]" There was no convincing that man that he was in any way accountable for the disaster.
 -MR. EDToR.-Thc enquiries in your is- sue of the 18th inst, call to mind many re- Ihembrances connected with the history of our village. The Enquirer alludes to the time and extraordinary manner 0fits settlement. Now, within fifty years from the time when the first tree was felled by the hands of the white man, a large number of our finest houses, now stand ing and in good preservation, were erected among them four with the present fashionable mansard roof, two still intact, the other two (the United States and the Post Office), hav- ing been modernized. All these fine houses are over 100 years old, the lumber probably drawn over the hills from Hartford 30 miles by oxen.
 Whithin the same period we furnished a large quota of troops for the old Mexican War, and still larger for the defense of New York city in the Revolution, nearly 100 volunteers having been raised and on the march within one week after the alarm, our own distant and inland town being secure from invasion by the enemy. Here, too, was the famous eques- trian leaden statue of George TIL, brought from that city, and probably in pieces and on horseback, and run into bullets by our patri- Otic predecessors. Here, too, were the British Mayor of New York, and the Royalist Gov ernor of New Jersey (the only son of the pat riotic pr. Benjamin Franklin) held securely in custody of our Major Seymour, while New York was occupied by the enemy Now all these occurrences, in the infancy of the settle. ment of our town, while it's inhabitants were poor in purse, free from even the fear of at. tack, speak volumes in favor of the energy, self-abnegation and patriotism of it's early set. tiers.
 The invention of cut-nails, now so univer. sally used, is due to the ingenuity of Luther Bissell, native of this town. Before that in- yention all the nails used were made singly and by hand; and, to avoid splitting, required holes to be bored for the insertion of each one.