Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1883-01-05
EVENTS OF THE OLD YEAR.

Well might this have been sung of the year
1882, as it passed away with the midnight
ringing of the bells 1t died in the night
1t has been sad, dark year for the world.
lis neurology alone was enough to cast a
shadow over the page Of its history. AS one
has said "Truly, the old race of men is
gone, and we who are left are children"
The fatality of the year has been remark
able. Aside from those, the great and good
who have passed away IN the fullness of
days and Of honor, the world mourns count
less multitude, snatched from the little circle
which knew the II, by disease, and accident, and
that terrible d, lusion of insanity which leads
men to take that hottest thing, not their own
life The Cd Year has not carried his
scy,hc on his shoullcr-as the artists vii
have him-but low down before him to thel
bitter end.
Disaster from the clements heads the list,
in de.tructivtncss Of human life. Floods,
storms and earthquakes have visited the earth
with their terrors. In our own land, the
Mississippi and Cumberland valley floods
will .ong be remembered, for the less of life
and dosttution which they caused. Many
were browne i,or died of exposure, and nine
ty-fve thousand people were made homeless
In England and France, IN Germany, Hol-
land, Italy, there have been floods and
storms destructive Of human life.
Those that 60 down TO the sta IN ships
have suffered from the rage of the elements
to an unusual extent And on inland waters,
especially those Of our own country, the list
of collisions, boiler explosions and fires has
beer appalling. In something like the same
category might he placed the fatal cruise of
the Jeanette, and all the horrors attendant
upon her loss.
Cyclones and hurricanes have ragged with
unparalleled frequency aud severity during
the year. Our readers will remember dis
tincly the details of the destruction OF the
town of Grinnell, in Iowa, by cyclone and
the terrible loss Of lite incident Thereto.
Spain and Cuba have also been visit
ed with terrible hurricanes, in the harbor
OF Manila alone more than hundred
sailors having been drownodin SINGLE storm
There have btcn earthquakes in those parts
OF tho world subject to those vistations; the
most destructive in China, where two hun
drcd ard fifty persons lost their lives.
The loss # lie from railroad accidents has
been considerable, and the unusual suilerin.s
Hat lad in N
with will burn these ca,astrophc' deep in
the memories Of all. The horrors OF the
Spuytcn Duyvil disaster will pass into his
tor. In Russia one hundred and seventy
eight persons were killed by 81 ng'c acct
dent, and at Freiburg, in Germany, one hun
dred persisted.
In destruction of property, the fire element
is first, though the loss Of life from this
cause has not been as great as usual. The
burning of the World building in New YORK,
with its attendant loss of life, is perhaps The
most mem. rablc occurrence of its kind, dur
ing the year, in our own country; the most
novel and peculiar being the recent dcsliuc-
ton of the large gun-shop of John L. Lowell
& Sons, in Boston with its fusiladc OF car
tridges, and the extreme danger of the fire
men in removing the powder from the build
ing aud checking the fire. Here at home,
the burning of the Pioneer shops will be long
as one OF the most destructive
that ever occurred in the vi
cinity.
The war IN Egypt and the distress
in Ireland, have been two dark clouds in the
sky and the hanging of Guitcau and at
tempted assassination of Queen Victoria
have not tended to lend silver lining to the
va or of gloom hanging over the death of the
old year. In nome politics, the recent re-
vcr,al Of power between the two great politi
raj parties is not an event calculated TO diff
fus bright and rosy light over the body of
the Nation.
And yet with all its gloom, the old year
like every year which Las pre-
coded it, does not and cannot
leave record wholly dark. We haye not
been looking upon the bright side of the year
but upon the side emphasized by the sad fact
of its departure. Always and ever there is a
bright side-a side brighter than the dark
side is dark There will be comparative de-
yrees Of darkness some years will be less
disastrous than others; but the bright side is
always positive. This blessed decree of Pro.
violence always prevails-to the greatest num-
Der the greatest good.