Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1882-05-26
IN GEN ERAL.

Queen Victoria on ordinary occasions looks
very like an ordinary woman, but on grand
occasions, such as the recent wedding she
looks every inch queen, with peculiar dig
nifty which it would be hard to initiate. She
has grown very gray of late.
That was a wise little theologian on the Pa
cifc coast, who voiced the bitter cry of hu-
manity in her evening prayer the other night.
After the 'Now l lsy me down TO Sleep" she
added in a most fervent tone the petition,
land now, o God, if you can, please catch
the devil and kill him."
The Insurance Chronicle gives some very
complete figures respecting the losses by fire
in this country during recent years. 1t finds
the total destruction between 1876 and 1881,
both inclusive, to be $3.50, $40, 800, or a sum
nearly equal to that invested in national bank
ing throughout the United States. The great
est loss in any one year was $81, $50, 800 in
1881.
An iron bridge is being built between Ra-
venswood, L. l., and Blackwelrs Island,
which, with its approaches will be 1908
feet long. Its spans will be respectively 734
and 6lS feet long, and will have a clear height
above the water, at mean tide, of 154 feet.
Two central railroad tracks each IA feet wide,
two carriage-ways each nine feet wide, and
two sidewalks each five feet wide in the clear,
all on the same level, form the roadway of
the bridge, which will be seventy-s feet
wide. The total cost of the bridge, including
real estate, is estimated at Sc, 0O0, 600. The
abutment foundations rest on solid rock. It
is estimated that it will be completed in about
two and half years, which probably means
about five years.
The noble bequest of $500, 900 left by Mr..
Thos. Wilson of Baltimore to afford the sick
poor children of that city a breath of country
air has blossomed into one of the grandest
and most widespread charities The trustees
of the bequest have purchased 1GO acres of
land, 600 feet above tide-water, within half
| hours ride by rail from the heart of the city,
and established the Wilson santarium. 1t is
proposed to deal principally with children less
than two years old, taking the mother and her
| infant, and perhaps one or two other children,
if they are too young to be left at home; to
keep them till restored to health, and then re-
| turn them TO their homes. The sanitarium
will only be open about 10 weeks during sum-
mer, the diseases treated being those incident
to hot weather, not chronic cases. The insti-
tuition is for the poorer classes only, and will
be free.
It seems that the faculty of the Minnesota
State University, at Minneapolis, indulge in
the amusement of cunning for students. On
Monday night the two debating societies of
the institution had an arduous session, at the
close of which some festive students, among
them one Paine. started on gate-stesling eK-
pedition, and proceeded toward the residence
of the president of the institution, President
Folwell. Two professors, Messrs. Moore and
Pike, were on the watch for the rioters, whom
| they chased SO hotly that Paine, whose athletic
education would seem to have been neglected,
saw escape was impossible for him unless he
could frighten his pursuers of his track. He
drew a revolver and commanded Prof. Moore
to halt, but Prof Pike also had a weapon,
aud he fred upon the belligerent student,
bringing him down with bullet in his thigh.
The wounded youth was taken to President
Folwells residence, but has since been re-
moved to his own home. The next act in the
scholastic drama was the arrest of President
Fowell, Prof. Pike and Prof. Moore. The
question naturally arises whether or not 1t ia
customary for Minnesota students and their
instructors to carry revolvers in their pockets.
II so, the old saying about teaching the
young idea how 10 shoot receives new point.