News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1889-03-14
SOMEWHAT STRANGE.
ACCIDENTS AND INCIDENTS OF
EVERYDAY LIFE.

/ EVERYDAY LIFE.
Queer Episodes and Thrilling Ad-
ventures Which Show That Truth
is Stranger Than Fiction.
THERE are ten or twelve half breed
Chinese children in New York who will
one of these days become people OF
wealth, if not influence, either in this
country or in China. There is custom
| among the Chinese, no matter where
found, of giving money to the young
children of friends upon sIlch occasions
as: First, upon the occasion of shaving
the head, or the mere ceremony of it,
| which occurs when the babe is Just thir-
ty days old. Tnis is also the regular
christening, and each guest is expe; ;ted
to donate not less than $5 in gold, while
the amounts frequently, even in New
York, run up as high as two twenty dol
lar gold pieces wrapped i'll red rice-pa-
per. This the guest hands to the father
Or mother who holds the infant for in
spection. The second occasion is on the
Chinese New Years, when the amounts
depend much upon the social stand ng
of the parents of the recipients, and also
upon the individual loveliness of the
child itself. These presents are frequent
" as low as a sil er twenty-five cent
piece, but occasionally among the best
friends of the parents the children will
get five dollar gold piece inside of his
OF her red rice-paper packet. No callers
who have any self respect would neglect
this little ceremony in the presence of
children on New Years Day. The third
occasion is on birthdays of the young
ones, when only members of the family
and Intimate friendsg give anything. The
presents thus received are legally the
property of the children, but occasionally
unprincipled parents appropriate them
Immediately afterwards.
A PRIVATE letter from Madrid received
here, dated February, says:
During the military manRuvres at
Madrid dramatic incident occurred in
which the American Minister, Mr.. Per-
ry Belmont, played commendable part.
The reviewing ground is about three
miles out Of the city. The Queen and
all the high Court officials were present,
and there was an immense concourse of
people. During one of the man9uvres
an artilleryman was thrown from his
horse, and before the onward rush could
be checked he was run over by the gun
carriage and badly hurt, his leg being
broken. The point at which this acci-
dent occurred was just opposite to where
the American Minister was looking on
from his carriage Mr. Belmont at
once alighted and had the injured man
put in his carriage and driven to the
hospital, some miles away. This humane
and graceful act was loudly cheered by
the crowd, and the Commander-in-Ch Chief
rode up and rendered Minister Belmont
his thanks in person.
JOSEPH H. IVES, florist of Danbury,
Conn, has greenhouse roof which prob
ably has no duplicate in this country.
Mr.. Ives found it necessary to replace
much of the glass in or. one of his is hot, .qta
photographers OF the place might have
the size he wanted, he purchased enough
negatives to replace the entire roof, and
now his plants are shaded by the faces
of old citizens, many of whom are now
dead. One group represents the old
graybeards who have long since gone TO
their rest. Next comes the men of mid
die age, who are now old and bent. The
women follow, and then the young men
and young women, who are to-day grand
fathers and grandmothers In one cor
ner, over the heliotrope bed, Mr.. Ives
has placed the lovers-those who were so
far gone in the days before they We're
married as to have their pictures taken
holding each other by the hand.
An extraordinary accident occurred
the other Gay on board the steamer
Riversdale while the vessel was coming
through the Inland sea ON the way up
from Nagasiki, Japan. 1t seems that
the captain was cleaning an express
rifle when ON the bridge, and through
some cause or other, the weapon, which
was loaded, went off The bullet then
pierced the bridge deck and struck the
cook on the shoulders, inhicting two
very serious wounds, for the missile ap-
parently split in passing through the
deck. On arrival in Kobe the unfor-
tunate man WAS at once removed to the
hospital, and now lies in a very pre-
carious condition, although hopes are
entertained of his recovery if the pieces
of bullet can be extracted. So far the
efforts of the medical attendant, who
was, we hear, aided by naval doctor,
have not been successful in finding the
fragments of lead.
A LAW requires that in one of the
rooms of the Tower of London there
shall be kept six horse shoes and sixty
one nails. The Sherifs of the city We're
formerly compelled, when they were
sworn in, to count these, as q proof of
their education; as in the time of Ed
ward IL, when this usage began, only
well-educated men could count to sixty
one! Sheriffs still go through the alb
surd form of counting these horse-shoes
and nails. Another requirement was
that in proof of strength the new Sheriff
should cut bundle of sticks, and the
same knife has always been used and is
still in existence, but in place of sticks
o bundle of matches is now made to an
swer the purpose.
THE relatives of Miss Catherine Peir-
son, an eccentric old maid, who has
Just died at Richmond, Mass, have
been surprised and made happy by the
discovery that she left personal estate
of $450,000 Among her effects were
found collection of fifty bonnets, of
all sorts and styles, dating back over
half a century; seventy shawls, many
of them rare and valuable an interest
ing accumulation of old-fashioned silk
and satin dresses, some of which are in
the latest mode, although over fifty
years old and many gloves and para
soils to match. Miss Peirson was very
fond of appearing at the annual county
cattle show in Pittsfield aIrayed in her
fnery.
APPLICATION for patent for an cleo
tric light method of instant photogra-
ply has been made by two gentlemen
of Dubuque, Ia. The application is de.
signed especially for the detection of
burglars. The apparatus can be so ar
ranged that burglar in entering n
bank, Office, or dwelling, will, in his OPP,
erations, touch something which will
cause II flash, and the result will be his