St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1881-02-04

mel, so as to convert any considerable
portion of the vast power into working
force, the inventor will rank among the
great benefactors of humanity. Emer-
son says somewhere, Hitch your wagon
to a star. A device for utilizing me-
chanically the free tides as they sweep
along our shores would come next to
that, since it would enable us, through
converters and carriers of electricity, to
hitch our wagons to the sun and moon.
i Scientific American.
The following is question in arith-
metic, which has awakened the interest
of number of people in this vicinity
recently: If 3 cats catch 3 rats in 3
minutes, how many rats will 100 cats
catch in 100 minutes Some of them
say the answer is 100, others 10000,
while an Amherst college senior proved
the other evening, to the satisfaction of
his friends, that only one rat would be
caught, adding that an algebraic sOlu-
ton reduced the number still lower and
gave him as the result. The above
do not include all the answers obtain
ed, but we will give our readers little
time in which to decide the question
for themselves, before rendering final
verdict.
A resident of Blaine, Me-, started the
other day for Houlton, and to keep
himself warm, wore four pairs of stock
| ings, pair of moccasins, two pairs OF
drawers, pair of thick pants, two I'M
deTshirts, three outside wooden shirts,
dress coat, vest, two OvercOats rubber
coat, a newspaper across bis lungs, two
scarfs and two pairs of mittens. We
think his head must have been cold.
When the prohibition amendment to
the Kansas state constitution lacked
one vote in the legislature, a little wO-
man walked down one of the aisles to
democratic member who had voted,
and urged him to change his vote from
nay to yea, pleading for her sake and
that of the children, and he changed his
vote and the bill was carried by one
majority.
Thomas Jefferson, the great Ameri-
can statesman, after many years of
public service, uttered these very for
chile words: "The habit of INDUCING
in ardent spirits by men in office has
Occasioned more injury to the public
than all other causes, and were | to
!
with the experience | now have the
first question 1 would ask respecting a
candidate would be, Does he use ardent
spirits ?"
A man formerly of considerable note
in the journalistic and literary world
whose renown has since been clOuded
by the notoriety of great scandal, was
at a crowded evening party in New
York some years ago, standing in an
upstairs corridor. To him lady, in q
magnificent dress and sparkling with
Jewels, came with great eagerness
Though she was unknown to him he
naturally supposed she recognized him
by the light of genius shining on his
Hyperion brow, or knew him by repu-
tatiOn. He was therefore prepared to
receive her with smiles. "Are you the
waiter ?" she demanded.
The annual report of the Burlington
Overseer of the poor for 1880, gives the
following figures Receipts, SIS, 1875
disbursements to 166 persons and fami-
ties outside the almshouse for prOvi-
siOns, etc, 81 ,66l.59; wood and coal tC
&c families, SAL 40; aid to 81 transient
persons, S47.57 expense removing in
sane poor to BrattlebOrO asylum, S56.-
20; expenses of poor house and farm
SlrS4l.52; salary of city physician,
5000; patients at insane asylum, S65.-
rs; salary of overseer, $500. Deduct
ing the value of wood and coal on hand
and the actual cost of the department
for the year was 81, 925.61. The appro-
priatiOn was $500. There are now in
the poor house IA persons, ranging in
age fIOm 43 to 90 years; and the city
is supporting two insane paupers at the
state asylum.-Free Press.
There are I42 prisoners in the state
prison, whose expenses the past two
years have been S28,939 and earnings
S23, $50, leaving a deficit of S5348
The labor of the convicts is let to {
Boston firm for making shoes. There
are at present three condemned muir
derers in the prison, Hayden, Carr anC
Almon Meaker, while Mrs. Meaker is il
the house of correction.