Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1893-10-25
Ne,ssy Notes.

The virginia SYNOD VIII meet neAe 0~'
in Danville.
Elkins, the home of Hons. II. & Davis
and S. B. Elkins, is agitating the Question
of public water works.
Thirty or more new cases of yellow fever
at Brunswick, Georgia, are reported every
day-about one third whites.
Hon. B. F. Martin has been ill for several
months. He left home few days ago, says
the Grafton Leader, for Wheeling for medl-
cal treatment.
One of the columns of the old Mary
Washington monument was stolen Saturday
night from the monument grounds at Fred
ericksburg, Va.
Mr.. J. T. Odell las resigned as general
manager of the Baltimore and Ohio Rail
road Company to become assistant in Chi
cage to President Mayer.
At Grafton thieves effected an entrance
to the postofice, blew open the safe and
riAed it of its contents, securing s4lS.7l in
stamps, 500 in money and "a registered
packages. Five suspicious characters have
been lodged in Jail to await examination.
During the terrific storm on the 18th in
slant, Miss May Coaroth, of near Romney,
and her little niece, Edith, daughter of
Hon. A. II. Cofftoth, of Somerset, Pa, tried
to cross the Little Cacapon river in buggy,
which was overturned and both were
drowned.
The dwelling Of William Wsggy, about
three miles from Weston, was totally de-
stroyed by fire Thursday night. His daugh-
tiers we're curling their bangs and by some
means the lace curtain became ignited, and
on account Of the scarcity Of water it be
came unmanageable.
Doc Taylor, the murderer OF the Null
Inns family, was allowed to preach in the
court. house at GladevilIe, Va, Sunday, un-
der a strong guard. He parlook of the sac
ramcnt, Of which be talked much. He de
sires to preach his own funeral sermon be-
fore he is hanged next Friday.
Harry Nelson, Of near Capon Bridge,
Hampshire county, committed suicide by
shooting himself through the head Friday
with a rifle ball. He had been acting
strangely for some time and his parents had
watched him carefully, but he succeeded in
taking his life. His father is a well-to-do
farmer.
J. II. Miller, perhaps the Oldest postmas-
ter in the United States, died at Gsuley
Sunday night. He was eighty eight years
old, was appointed in 1892 by President
Jackson, and has been postmaster at Gauley
continuously since. He was an unchanging
Democrat, and was appointed by every
President since Jackson.
The infant child of Mr.. Lewis Wolford,
living at Spring Mills, Berkeley county,
came near meeting with horrible death
last Friday. Her mother left her alone in
a room where a lot of shavings had been
left to kndle fire. In some way they be-
came gnited and the little one was badly
burned before the fire was put oat.
Six thousand Smiths gathered on Wednes-
day a, the farm of the late Peter z. Smith,
who organized the reunions eighteen years
ago, at Penpack, n. Y. Among the deco
rations was picture of the ship that was said
to have brought the first Smiths over to this
country in the 18th century. The Worlds
Fair managers are guilty of great over
sight in not having appointed Smiths day.
The custom of having no seats or pews
in church still continues in Spain. Each
person has a rush bottomed sort of priedeu
chair, called in Spain a reclinatorio. The
name of the owner is painted on the back,
and all the chairs are kept in the sacristy
or stacked in a corner of the church. Most
heads of families send their servants on Sat.
urday evening to arrange the chairs for
Sunday morning.
1t will probably be matter of surprise
to the general readers to learn that the pet
ticoat was first worn exclusively by man.
In the reign of King Henry VII the dress of
the English was so fantastic and absurd that
it was difficult to distinguish one sex from
the other. In the inventory of Henry V.
appears ''petticoat of red damask, with
open sleeves" There is no mention of
woman's petticoat before the Tudor period.
In some parts of England queer custom
is still in vogue, which is repeated whenever
a death occurs. It is called the bite of sin,
and whenever some one in the house dies a
piece Of bread is laid on the breast of the
corpse, which some strollerb by is persuaded
to eat for a good sum of money. In this
way it is believed that the sins of the dead
are transferred to the living, who in turn
can shove them oil, together with his own,
by similar ceremony when his life comes
to an end.
as the hen that lays the egg or the hen
that matches it mother of the chicken ~
This is a question that has puzzled many
debating society, aud it has of late puzzled
Mr.. Walter Muir, of North Dakota. But