St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1879-06-27

coed at great cost, and the tables,
chairs, silver plate, &C., were all in
keeping with this visible magnificence,
most of which was obliterated by the
smoke and flames. The manager of
the hotel is out in card announcing
that within few weeks the hall will be
restored to more than its pristine
grandeur.
America is not to be outdone by an
effete monarch like England. We, too,
are to have an obelisk, to be sent to US
by special messenger with compliments
of the Khedive of Egypt. 1t is to be
planted in New York, where it will, no
doubt, arouse the envy of Boston and
fill the soul of Chicago with consterna-
ton. Our obelisk is said to be the gen
uine Cleopatra's Needle, the one used
by Cleopatra herself when she made
Marc Anthony's shirts with her own
fair hands. England, it is true, claims
that the only reliable Cleopatra's Nee
die is on the way to AlbiOn's shores,
but the Khedive gives ample assurance
that America alone will possess the
genuine article. have not had great
deal of experience in obelisks, nor in
the matter of deciphering hieroglyphics,
but have no doubt that my friend, ,
Mr.. Tilden, the great cyphering master,
will be able to throw light upon all the
misty inscriptions with which our ODE
lisk is covered. l understand that a
liberal citizen of New York has offered
an advantageous site for our Obelisk,
which will give us all an advantageous
sight of our Obelisk.
Notwithstanding this fact, 1 should
like to make a suggestion. Place our
Obelisk in the City Hall Park, where it
may rival the Tribune tall tower, and
let Messrs. Roster & Bal of the Tri-
bune building open lager beer saloon
it an object of interest to our citizens,
and will secure it the fatherly protec-
ton of our large and efficient police
force, who will assemble in immense
numbers in its vicinity. 1t will also
save our aldermen great many steps
every day. AS we are not particularly
interested in hieroglyphics, being alto
gether too practical, it will soon be
covered from the base to apex with ad-
vertisements of stove backing, porous
plasters, ETC., and the revenue from ad-
ve-tisers will repay our government for
the financial lean, which it will doubt
less be obliged to make the impover-
ished Khedive for his magnificent gift.
Quien sabe? After all, the hieroglyph-
les with which it is covered may be
merely advertisements of the backing,
and plasters of the time of the fair but
fragile Cleopatra, though learned men
may differ with me ON this point. But
original thinkers seldom receive credit
for their thoughts.
Our Cleopatra's Needle is said by
good judges to be about 4 900 years old,
and Mr.. Erasmus Wilson, writing about
it, says, "If | can induce my country
men to look upon the Egyptian obelisk
as view it, they will be better Christ
ians and better men," This idea of the
moral force of the Needle l consider
needless, although the melancholy
Jacques says something like it when he
speaks of ''sermOns in stones - New
Workers can have nothing that will
prove more effectively the truth of the
saying, "The way of the transgressor is
hard" than the marble building erected
by the late Tweed Ring in the City
Hall Park. RADIx.