Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1879-02-21

TERRUARY's FEsTIvITIEs-THE CATTLE PLAGUE
BURNING OF SEVENTY HoRsES-TREATNANr
OF FIREMEN-ANNA DICKINSON AND TIE
PULPIT-THE BILLIARD TOURNAMENT.
Nr,- Vovr Fob l1th 1879

est Of the year." The grand charity ball
has come and gone, like mcthodieal an
nual comet. 81 has the famous French
Cooks ball, where were music and dancing
and above all maryels OF beauty and skilled
handiwork in sugar and pastry and lard, In
accordance with time-honored custom 80,
too, has the walters ball, where, as in form
or seasons, the merrimen' took on "ean-
canical," and, fear Brother Talmage
would say. an unorthodcx form The Lied
erkranz ball, too, perhaps the most famous
of the periodical revels Of the metropolis
transpired on Valentine Eve at the Academy
of Music, amid blaze OF lights, the blare OF
mammoth orchestras, banks upon banks oil
two flowers, a vast whirl of beautiful and gro
tesque costumes, masks, djminOcs, and all the
other paraphernalia Of the reckless but
aristocratic rout. St. Valentine himself
moreover. has passed over our heads, drop
ping upon them in his flight some millions
of sentimental missiyes, not to mention ton
or 50 of the monstrous caricaturcS win
which this sportive saint is wont to lire the
plebeian heart And besides all these gay
cites, this little understood month still holds
in reserve for US Washinston's Birthday, and
the inevitable Martha Washington Reception,
which comes in to crown this career OF dis
sipation, and prepare us through sheer OK
haustion to welcome the austerities OF Lent.
For the last three years, the exporting oil
live cattle and meat to Great Britain has
been one of the heaviest and most rapidly
growing items of our foreign business. Con-
siderable CONSERVATION was therefore
the natural consequence OF recent
cablegram to the effect tina. the British
Government had decided to forbid the I'M
portation of American cattle, on account
of the alleged existence of plague among
our animals. This report was at hrst
secuted on this side of the water but an
investigation Of the subject was undertaken,
and sure enough serious amount oil dis
case has been discovered in this city, and on
both sides Of Long Island Sound. Stringent
measures have been adopted to prevent the
spread OF the pest, which has been decided
to be pleuro-pneumonia. On Long Island
where the trouble is most severe. all DIS
eased cattle are to be slaughtered, all In
fected ones quarantined. and all stables in
spected and disinfectcd. Ten thousand
dollars has been appropriated by the State
Legislature to prosecute the war upon the
plague, and there is little cause for alarm
that it will spread from this point.
In some respects, the most deplorable OF
the many fires which have recently afflicted
this island, was that which, on Thursday
NIGHT last DESTROYED the New York latter
sails LARGE up-town boarding stable
.,lIed oe,er tho fsmous London establish
ment If that name Nearly ninety horses
were domiciled in the building, less than
twenty of which were rescued, Seventy of
the noble animals, most of them booded
stock and very valuable were Dufheu OF
sufocated. The loss which Is perhaps most
to be regretted, is that ola pair oil Norwe-
gian ponies, owned and recently imported
by Mr.. Theodore Havemeyer. They were
the only snec;mens Of this beautiful breed
in the country, and were valued at Si,5OO.
A number OF fremen were more or less
injured in the work OF extinguishing this
conhagration, one or two of whom will
probably die. The mortality among these
brave fellows during the performance oil
their duty has been 50 heavy this winter,
that one would think there would be diff
Guilty in keeping the ranks full, especially
in view of the late discussions in
our noble city government, some
members oil which are 50 jealous III
the cause oil retrenchment that' Whiie
they do not think 1t would De exponent &c