Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1877-10-22
LETTER FROM NEW YORK.
Special CORRESPONDENCE.
NEW YORK, Oct. 15, 1877

NEW 1ORK, Oct. 10, 1871.
The white whale of the Aquarium,
long the foremost curiosity of this city,
now has his nose put entirely out of
joint. A few days ago steamer from
St. Johns drew up to a dock in the
East River, and as its coming had been
previously heralded by telegram. it was
soon surrounded by curious crowd who
eagerly awaited developments. Their
curiosity, however got scant qualification,
for after the careful unloading of huge
cask something like sugar hogshead,
which was placed on truck and rapid
ly driven away, the audience grumbling
ly dispersed. The mysterious attraction
which this cask contained, and which
has dimmed the lustre of the white
whales pre-eminence as a curiosity, was
nothing less than monster octopus or
devil-fsh, member of the hideous FAM
lily which Victor Hugo has so graphical
described. This animal, which is so
improbably horrible and utterly night
marish in appearance that | wouldn't
believe in his existence any more than
of the sea serpent unless l had seen him
with my own eyes, got caught in the
rocks somewhere along the coast of New
foundland, and having struggled him.
self to death was secured by some
fishermen, who during his lifetime
wouldn't have risked themselves within
his reach, for all the gold of the Indies.
After exhibiting their CHASTITY prize for
a day or two they sold it to a naturalist,
who shipped it southwark for the pur-
pose, l believe, of placing it in the
Smithsonian Institute at Washington.
But our wide-awake Aquarium managers
got wind of the affair, and promptly
bought the thing by telegraph at an
enormous price, to the intense disgust
of the Smithsonian Institute.
Arrived at the Aquarium the devil
fish was spread out upon the floor for
examination and measurement, to which
formalities only chosen few were ad-
mitted. In appearance the creature is
unlike any other living thing under the
sum- but for the sake of having some
thing in mind with which to compare it,
l may say that its general plan is more
like that of an enormous spider than
any thing that l can think of. Its pulpy
body measured nine feet in length by
four in breadth and one in thickness.
From this misshapen carcass stretch ten
arms or tentacles, trailing, livid, snaky
affairs, two of which are over twenty
four feet, and the others about ten feet
in length. The eyes are the largest
possessed by any known creature, each
being fully eight inches in diameter
and said to wear, in life. most terrible
expression. To complete the horrors
of the thing its mouth is furnished with
thick curved beak like that of a par
rot, with which it tears in pieces what
ever prey its long waving arms encount-
er. These arms are furnished with
numerous orifces which, the moment
they touch any object, act like SO many
suckers and give the animal grasp
81 =, A. .aaseihla oeea nc
except by severing the arms from the
body. The dead monster will soon be
placed on public exhibition.
The annual trade book sale for 1877
the opening of which l noticed two
week ago closed with larger record thar
any of its predecessors. Altogether, ovel
million volumes were disposed of, In
GLIDING for the first time considerable
contributions from prominent European
publishers.
The largest demand for any one bool
was for Lee & Shepard's "That Husband
of Mine," the total sales of which al
ready foot up 100000. Just as "Hel
ems Babies" opened up new anC
apparently exhaustless vein of literature
THAT Husband of Mine" has PROVED
the pioneer in rich field of writing. l
has set style which everybody
following. though at considerabl
distance. THAT Wife of Nine" how
ever, which the same publishers ar
just bringing out, promises an equa
success. Another book just announces
promises to be an even greater bonanz
to them and to its author, and that
..They All Do IT, in which Bailey
the Danbury News man, demonstrate
; to the reader that he has lost none {
, the power that has kept the whole cour
J try holding its sides for the past fiS
T years. 10000 copies of this book wei
, sold in advance of publication.
| In fulfilment of the terms of his con
: promise with the city, Peter B. Sween
} auctioned his real estate two or thrt
4 days ago. The result was eloquer
, testimony as to the scale on which tt
9 Ring depredations were committee
e Sweeny only got small percentage
n the spoils, and yet this one item of rel
n estate just brought to the block realize'
a at ruinous sacrifice, almost 100000
; Tweed is continuing to tell tales o.
G of school in way that threatens d
e struction to about one half of all I'll