Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1880-09-17
NO. 3S.
IN EN- ERAL.

The life OF the Prince of Wales is in
sured for forty thousand pounds, for which
he pays an annual premium of eight hundred
| pounds, in order that his family may not be
| left destitute.
At Manchester, Eng. a widow with Eve
children has received S22, 800 compensation
from railroad company for her husbands
death.
The forest fires in Canada have caused
| great deal of misery and sorrow, 80 families
in the French country" having lost their
homes
"A large spring near Rico, Col. has a
singular flow and ebb. The basin is about
twenty-five feet in diameter, and in the morn
| ing is always full of water, but in the evening
it is perfectly dry and empty.
The Empress Eugenie is much changed
| She has not, indeed, lost the lovely contour
Of her face, but it is sadly lined and Wrnkled
She suffered much from fever during her
| journey from the Cape.
A company has been experimenting in
| Florida with palmetto for making paper with
such gratifying success that they will build
20 paper mills in various parts Of the State,
where palmetto trees grow in abundance and
the transportation facilities are good.
William Roberts, coal-passer, was
drowned in the North River at New York, the
u
| atterward a cable dispatch announced that he
had fallen heir to a fortune of $l7, 900 in Eng
| land.
Jack Everman, bank burglar, left
$4,000 at his death. in Philadelphia. He
made no will, and his natural heirs refused
| to touch the money, because it is the pro-
ceeds of robberies. The legal question arises
whether there being heirs, the State can
take the property.
1t is a curious fact writes a missionary
| from China, that tobacco, sweet potatoes and
Indian corn have all been introduced from
| America and are now thoroughly domesticat-
ed here. As to the first, so cordially has it
| been welcomed that out of 10 adult Chinese
males smoke it. They do not chew.
Dakota, which is aboutthe size of Califor-
mia, is twice as large as the kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland. 1t is larger than France
with its 3S, 600, 900 of inhabitants, and with a
| population as tlIckly settled as those of Bel
| gium and Holland, it would have room for
| 20, 0OO 600 of people.
A Philadelphia inventor has taken a step
forward in the warfare against sewer gas
which promises to be valuable. He has add
ed a mercury seal to the ordinary water trap
connected with drain pipes of all kinds The
outlet pipe has a trough around it charged
| with quick silver cap fits snugly over the
into the mercury, and thus form Il tight seal.
Petroleum is now the fourth of the ex-
| port commodities of the United States, al
though the first artificial well was sunk only
| 2l years ago. The annual production is now
| fifteen million barrels and the average value
of the refined illuminating has fallen from
73 cents gallon in 1865 to IL in 1879. Pc
| troeum has crowded out of the market nearly
all kinds of animal oils even replacing large
ly those used for lubricating purposes.
"A Wisconsin peddler assured each pur-
chaser of cake of soap that on using it un-
| til the center was reached, a SO note would
be found therein. The buyers cut the cakes
| open, and found no money. The swindler
was arrested. He argued that the complain
| ants, by cutting into the soap instead of using
it in the ordinary way, had violated the terms
of the sale, and therefore could not legally
proceed against him. The justice ruled that
the defense was sound, and discharged the
prisoner.
Seventeen families who lived on the side
of the mountain, lost their lives by the erup-
tion of the volcano of Fuego, in Guatemala,
on the 29th of June, being smothered by the
ashes, which fell in great quantities. The
eruption began with loud explosion and a
great column of fire rose 500 feet in the air,
while the surrounding villages were quickly
enveloped in cloud of sulphurous smoke and
hot ashes. The villages of Masaqua, Mistern
and Latoura were covered by thick coating
of ashes.
Ole Bull the Swedish violinist, who has
recently died, was one of the strongest men
in the world. Many years ago he was on a
Mississippi boat, when two Western Anaks
fanccd that they might while away the ted-
um of the voyage by annoying him. For
some time he bore this patiently, but as his
request to be left alone was not listened to-
he seized upon the pair by the necks, and af-
ter holding them over the water and knock
ing their heads together, replaced them on
the deck After this display of strength he
was subjected to no further annoyance.
When Garfield was President of hiram
College he presided one day over q college
exhibition in large tent. Among the large
audience there were some rough fellows who
proceeded to cut the guy ropes. Garfield
was summoned and demonstrated. They de-
fed him. An old student says he never shall
forget what followed. The president paused
a moment and then approached two of tho
rufians, who were sx-footers, seized them by
their collars and fairly lifted and dragged
them from the grounds, when the rest took
to their heels in dismay. The president then
retired to the tent as composedly as if moth
ing had happened, but amid the cheers and
laughter of his pupils.
"A peasant in the vicinity of Madrid, who
went to the city every day with donkey load
of milk, which he distributed to regular GUS
toners, was one day taken sick, whereupon
his wife suggested that the ass should be
sent on his customary journey alone The
panniers were accordingly filled with cans of
milk, and paper was attached to the head
STALL requesting the customers to help them
selves and put back the cans into the pannier.
OF started the donkey, and returned in due
course with the cans empty and with every
thing in order. The master found upon in
quiry that the trusty messenger had called at
the right doors without missing one, and also
that in some instances he had pulled the bell
with his teeth when kept waiting. From that
day forward the donkey has gone his rounds
alone.
The revision of the New Testament,
which has been under way in the hands of
the most eminent English and American
Protestant divines, has been completed,
and copies of the new book, from
the hands of the Queens printer, Mcmillan,
who alone is authorized to print the Bible or
any portion of it in England, are expected to
reach this country in a very short time How
laborious this work must have been is shown
by the fact that in the New Testament alone
10000 minor and 1000 important changes
have been made. A very small portion
of the substance of the Scripture is
changed but obsolete words give place to
modern ones, omissions from the present
text are made and the artificial classification
of the present text into chapters and verses is
done away with.
"A Boston paper gives an account of re-
markable woman born in Wellheet, Massa-
chusetts, and now ninety three years old.
When she was but twenty -four years old, hav-
ing two young children, her husband was
brought home to her from his wrecked YES
sci an invalid for life. He saw nothing but
destitution staring him and his family in the
face. Then it was that her wonderful energy
was equal to the occasion. She started
store, very small at first, but its profits grad
ually increased, and she says that many day
she has taken in over a hundred dollars. For