St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1877-10-05
Our New York Letter.


not and who is consequently one of the
most wretched of mankind. Now the
point of all this is just here, we have in
New York, and have had for some time,
sort of harmless lunatic, originally
named Jones, believe, but who now
by virtue by the alleged act of some
European sovereign, invariably speaks
of and signs himself George, the Count
JOannes." Those of your readers who
see the New York papers will doubtless
recognize this knighlly cognomen for
the Count rushes into print, either about
some point in connection with the code
of chivalry, to which he is fully as de-
voted as Don Quixote himself, or else
to refute some story about himself,
started by the wags for the very pur
pose of provoking one of his grandilO-
quent replies, and is heard from on an
average several times week. The
Count is nominally IA lawyer, bat sell
dom hear of his appearance in court
excepting on the not infrequent occa-
sions when he goes there for redress for
some imaginary grievance of his own.
He is also an actor of the most intense
ly tragic variety, and once in while
gets up Shakesperian play to give
himself a chance to show this benighye ed
city how Hamlet or Macbeth should be
rendered. On such occasions the un-
fortunate nObleman gets well laughed
at for his pains; a fact which awakes
no suspicion in his chivalrous breast
that there is anything the matter with
his acting; but only excites his pity for
community in which dramatic appre-
citation is so utterly lacking.
Now when Sotheln came out as the
Crushed Tragedian, his ''make up" and
acting had, in order that he might truly
personate the supposed character, to
resemble those of the Count to such "a
degree that the erratic nObleman got it
into his head that a caricatuae of him
self was intended, and after nursing his
indignation up to the proper heat, has
now sued for an injunction restraining
Mr.. SOthern from exposing him to ridi-
cule in this manner, and also for $50,
600 damaties for what he has already
DONE
The Brooklyn Bridge Commissioners,
although they have got their huge piers
and anchOrages about finished and the
spinning of the big cables fairly under
way, find themselves just at the be-
ginning of the real troubles of their un-
dertaking. To build the long APP
proaches to the bridge at either end,
land has got to be taken and buildings
torn down to the value of several mil
lions of dollars. OF course some of the
owners of property hereabOuts will
''kick" at having their property demol-
ished for the damages that may be
awarded them and no end of trouble
will result. In fact the trouble has al
ready commenced, in connection with
one of the largest structures affected.
The owner of this has Just refused the
bridge company's offer of $4,000 for
the privilege of slicing off thirty-six
feet of the building on Cliff street, aud
ten feet on Jacob street. He declares
that the sum is not more than two.
thirds the cost of erection in 1857, when
he was forced to sink 5000 piles to
support the foundation of that portion
of the walls. The bridge company has
taken the matter into court, and the
case will be argued at the General Term
next week. This is sample of what
we may expect for the next two years.
l suppose the rage for low priced
popular literature will be satisfied some
time, but as yet it is rather on the in
| h.. II
pers, cheap editions of books, whole
two-volume novels for ten cents are
what the people demand nowadays, and
the New York publishers, whose hands
are never removed from the popular
pulse are working night and day to
supply them. know one man alone
who is keeping hundred and fifty
printers busy setting up English and
non-cOpyright novels in this cheap shape
and there are dozen others doing the
|, same business on lesser scale. How
completely this general lowering OF
prices has affected periodicals may be
seen from an offer which | noticed day
or two ago, by the old publishing house
of Dewitt, to furnish their "Home Fire
side," large and really handsome fam
lily paper, at fifty cents a year, and even
to send copy free to any one writing
for it. 1t hardly seems as though this
would pay for the white paper used
but Mr.. Dewitt has reputation fol
never going into a losing enterprise and
so l presume there must be money il
this. At all events no one can plead
poverty as an excuse for not reading in
these days.
In spite of the peculiarly practical
character of this AEGEAN age which has
done away with Romulus and Remus
reduced William Tell to the condition
of a myth, and is liable any day t.
+ abolish George Washington himself fo
all we KNOWN spite of all this, say
. there seems to exist an unaccountabl,
and increased amount of credulity re
garding the sea-serpent. Now why mel
who scott at Mr.. Tells apple-shootiD,
!. exploit Especially after the Creedmoo
f targets of a couple of weeks since
should stand up for the existence ant
!. identity of the "sarpint" is a mystery
But still they do do it and have heart
q no less than five different accounts thi
: summer of the appearance of thi
o ubiquitous monster in different quarter
of the globe. The very latest is tn
: yarn spun by one of the officers of al
0 ocean steamer just arrived here from
: Liverpool about seeing the veritable oil,
+ ''crittern disporting himself about tn
!, banks of Newfoundland with his hea,
twenty feet above water and the rest O
him stretching off a distance which
d hardly like to tell about. Several @
s the ships company back up the mate
statement and altogether it looks a
y fhnnnh 1nnhIn oil Of