River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1883-08-30
Personal Points.

Stuart Cum erland, the English mind
reader who appeared in this country
last winter, has recently given an ex-
hibition at the Ocean House, Newport.
The most notable performance was to
tell the date of coin which f. w. Van
derbit took from his pocket. Mr.. Cum
berland fixed piece of paper on the
wall and asked the holder of the coin to
concentrate his mind firmly on the date,
and then Dir. Cumberland traced out
the date on the blank sheet of paper,
and it was correct.
In private letter, addressed to the
editor of a Paris newspaper, Nine de
la Grange, the well-known instructor in
singing, makes this mention of that an
fortunate young American, the late Miss
Marie Litta ''She was favorite pupil of
mine, and always so studious and atten-
tive, and so anxious to develop her great
musical talent, that most brilliant
future was certainly before her. / set
her up as model for all young ladies
to copy from, and were she still among
us, and in full enjoyment of health, she
would now be one OF the brightest orna-
ments of the lyric stage"
Simon Ferguson, an illiterate negro
coal miner at the Campbell Creek mines,
West Virginia, told a Mrs. Williams that
she was possessed of devils and that he
was the only man in the country who
could cast them out. As she had been
''daunsy" for some time, she believed
him. He then prescribed pokeroot,
smart weed, and ironweed, to which he
added grasshoppeTs, angle worm ans, grub
worms, flies, and other insects. This,
being mixed, was placed in a quart bot
tie, set in hot water, and stepped for
some time. The quantity taken was
wineglassful every four hours. She was
to have teaspoonful of tobacco snuff
blown up her nose with a pipe three
times day, while her diet was to be
nothing but raw salt mackerel fresh
from the brine and unwashed. She
took several doses of the mixture, which
stirred the devils up to such an extent
that she had TO send for another doctor
to settle them.
1t was the old story at Americas. Ga,
of beautiful daughter infatuated with
Young drunkard, who wanted to marry
her for drink money. They met near a
graveyard few nights and were arrang-
ing an elopement. Suddenly, while the
fellow was in the midst of an eloquent
plea, a hollow groan came from among
the graves, and a white figure moved
slowly toward them, the eyes blazed and
glistening bones clanking as it advanced
fBegone," it warned the youth; ''you
would ruin this girls happiness after
getting her money" The trembling
wretch knelt, prayed for mercy and then
ran away. Meanwhile the girl had
tainted. Her father, throwing aside
sheet rubbed with Phosphorus and
some cow-bones. carried his daughter
home. where she remains as quiet as
dove. He never told her his masquer-
ade and she has never mentioned her
fright.
Tom Thumb died comparatively young
for dwarf Richard Gibson. miniature
painter and court dwarf to Charles l.,
lived to be seventy-fve, and his dwarf
wife, Ann She pard, 10 be elghty-dve.
Sir Geoffery Hudson dwarf and di-
plomatist to Charles H., expired at sixty
three, and the little gentleman's span OF
life was shortened by his incarceration
on suspicion of connivance in the Popish>
plot, in the gate-house at Westminster
where he died. The arfamed Polish
dwarf, Count Borulawski, for whom
George ", provided, died also at an adj
vanced age. Dwarfs are better consti7
tuted than giants, both mentally and
physically.
Justice Bowen, who accompanies the
Lord Chief justice of England, now en-
route for America, is the youngest Judge
on the English Bench. He was educa-
ted at the Blackheath proprietary school
where he rose to the top of the sixth
form. From Blackheath he went to
L. - a.,
mathematics and in football. There
were two brothers, "Big Bowen" (the
judge and "Bahy" Bowen, his brother,
who afterward went into the church.
Their only sister died early and was bu-
ried in Lee Churchyard. Both the judge
and his brother owe much Of their sue
cess in life to the careful training they
received from their father, IN evangel-
zeal clergyman of high character.