Year: 1878

Te1ephones.--HallO there {! Here's an item that has been crowded out for coup le of weeks by the murder trial and rush of other matters.

 Telegraph Operator Marvin of this sta tion brought into our office short time since pair of telephones, just to see if the concerns would work on our private wire connecting our office with our home. Con- versation was easily and readily conducted, songs were sung and the music of an organ distinctly heard, all of which was very en tertaining and altogether satisfactory Whether these wonderful instruments will come into general use will depend upon whether they are to be sold or rented at a lower price. As it is at present, they can. not be bought. but pair IS rented at $2O per year. and in order to make them practi- cal, pair of call bells must be bought, costing from 1925 to $35. Of course at these prices they will be very extensively used by large manufacturing companies, connecting factories with the offices of pro- prietors and managers, but to bring into very general use; to connect offices and places of business with the residences etc. of the mass of the people, the cost must be brought down to much lower figure, as we have no doubt will be cone before many years, when the full benefits of the wonder ful invention well be obtained. Anyway we are under obligations to Friend Charlie and to Manager Hunt of the Western Un- ion Telegraph Company in West Winsted, who has the agency for thelr lease, for the pleasure afforded by their use on our wires. Sheffield. The inhabitants of this quiet place came very near having quite an excit- ing time on Sunday last. MT. John Benia- min and family went on visit to an ad. joining town, and started between g aLd 10 o'clock a. m., and at l2 o'clock smoke was smelled in the vicinity. but nothing was seen urtil o'clock, when some one went into the house and found it full of smoke. Help was called and the fire was found to l have started in bed in a room over the dining room. The bed and bedstead were

 

 | floor the size of the bed, SO that the burnt l straw, Sc., went through into the dining room. There had been no blaze as the doors of the room were closed and the fire was smothered partially, or the whole would have been consumed. There is a great mystery as to how the fire could have originated, and by many it is thought to be the work of an lncendiary, but still it is as strange how anyone could have entered a house Tn the village in the daytime and not have been seen.............C. K. Brown has got the stone store nearly completed, and it has the handsomest front of any building in the place. is considerable out of town business done here of late. Three ex- tra meat wagons, two fish and oyster ped | dlers, one grocer and two bakers carts, among them all taking good deal of mon- l ey out of the town that should be kept by home trade. If there was ambition enough here to do it, it would be good thing for a few peddlers to start from here and visit all the houses in the adjoining towns, and at a low price supplying them with groceries, eSc. c.........The Methodist strawberry festival was success, and on Wednesday of this week the Congregationalists are to try their success. The prospect is now that the wea- | ther will be favorable and good attend ance hoped for. G, School Meet1ng.-A meeting of the citi- zens of this school district was held at the new school house in this place last Saturday evening, and the committee for the ensuing year elected, which wassimply re election of the old committee, with Mir. J. l.. Bragg in the place of the late Austin Adams, who was one of last years committee. The committee as it now stands is as follows: Messrs. John B. Reed, Henry Williams and J. l.. Bragg. A meeting will be held next Saturday evening at the same place to see what the district will do in relation to the third and highest schooI, and to provide for raising funds for the same. The schools in this district during the past year have been highly satisfactory to all not word of complaint have we heard from any one of the three apartments, and the progress of the scholars has certainly been exceedingly gratifying. The mode of government is d. so to be commended, for It is such that the best of order is maintained without that an- cient and barbarous mode of fogging, for scarcely has this ''remedy" been resorted to since the schools have been in session in the So oG what is the purpose of the committee ln re- gard to teachers for the coming year, but the desire seems to be universal that all three apartments should be occupied, and that the same three teachers who have done such admirable work the past year should be secured, if indeed they can be, for the ensuing year. It is always safe to retain such excellent teachers, and to introduce a change engenders risk of getting those that will not be so satisfactory but we have no doubt the honorable commit, @ will act wisely whatever course they pur- sue, and we only allude to the matter be- cause our schools have been what all have been proud of, and we desire shall continue to have reason to be proud of.

 Falls Village.-Amy Stones troupe came to climax here. The orchestra re- fused to play on account of non payment of wages by H. F. Stone, and the conse- quence was the whole organization disband- ed the next day. and left for New York. The members of the orchestra assembled in the Dudley House parlors after the en- 1ertalnment and regaled fortunate few with some fine music..Dr. Averill WAC