Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1903-02-20

Vicomte de Chambrun has just been
appointed attache of the French EN-
bassy at Washington. He is the great
grandson of Lafayette, was represen
tatiye of the Lafayette family at the
Roch ambeau ceremony and is the broth
er Of the Marquis de Chambrun, MEM
Der OF the chamber of deputies, who is
the ranking representative of the fam
lily.
Presents are pouring in for Pope Leo
on the occasion of the 18th anniversary
of his election and coronation as pope,
which he celebrates from Feb. 20 to
March 3. Already 3,745 gifts, repre-
senting the value of 8, COO, 600, have
been received from all over the world.
Most important Of these is gold triple
crown from the faithful of the entire
church.
Father Edmund Goetz, S. j., a ia
nous South African astronomer, who
has spent the last II months comforting
with American scientists, has sailed
for France. He will go directly to
Paris, where he will procure the astro-
nomical magnetic and meteorological
instruments with which to begin work
in the first reliable observatory ever es-
tablished in South Africa. The new
observatory will be located at Bulu-
wayo, Rhodesia, South Africa.
King Edward, accompanied by Queen
Alexandra and surrounded by his court
and officers of state, opened parliament
at London Tuesday. Crowds wit
messed the royal procession on the way
to the house of peers. The king read
his speech from the steps of the throne.
He reioiced that the Venezuelan mat
ter is so near settlement and the block
ade raised that the Alaskan boundary
treaty has been signed and ratified /;
that progress of events in South Afrl-
ca has been satisfactory and that agri-
cultural and commercial prospects in
the Indian empire are more satisfac-
tory and encouraging than for some
time. Serious anxiety was expressed
over the condition OF the European
provinces of Turkey. The sultan and
his ministers have been warned Of the
urgent need of practical reform. He
trusted that proposals for reforms in
Austria and Russia will be such as TO
receive his support.
Lieutenant Boyd Alexander, who has
just returned from the island of Fer
nando Pc, in the Blight of Biafra,
Western Africa. gives an interesting
description of the various inhabitants
of the practically previously unexplored
interior of the island. These are known
as boobies. Very few of them have
ever seen a white man and they never
leave their primitive dwellings in the
rocks except on organized drinking
bouts. The race Is fast dying out from
the effects of rum and palm wine. The
natives are mostly quite naked, except
for curious straw bonnet. They paint
their bodies with colored mud, are IN
speakably filthy, for they never wash.
but occasionally use knife TO scrape
off the surface dirt, and create artitic-
ial deformities by tightly enwrapping
their limbs They are exceedingly tim
id and when sighted by the whites
bolted into the depths of the jungle.
where they set up fearsome walls. At
certain hours each day the villages are
quite deserted. everyone, including the
children. going off on carouse. The
lieutenant adds that although he
searched for them assiduously he could
find no traces of the burial places Of
the natives Of the island.