St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1881-09-23
Our New York Letter.
New YORK, Sept. 10, 1881.


Two Rhode Island heroes have pass
ed away, both on the same day-Gen.
Burnside and Capt. Breese. Gotham
has almost as good a right to claim
them as Little Rhody itself, for both
were social heroes here, and no really
high toned party was considered com
plete without the presence of one or
the other or both. "Both were pretty
well fixed - the naval hero, who by
the way, was in command of the New
port Torpedo Station, more especially
so, and his Newport cottage was no
more the center of fashion i'll summer
than his Fifth avenue mansion here in
winter. Both did splendid service in
The rebel mean the late unpleas-
antness and both were as modest
about their services as they were bold
and unfinching in rendering them.
How time flies The old soldiers are
fast thinning out and will soon be as
rare as the dOdO.
People don't make so much noise
about CreedmOor and rifle shooting as
they did few years ago, and the re-
cent meeting passed off quietly enough
so far as the general public were con-
cerned. But it was a good one, well
conducted and gratifying in every way.
Gen. Hancock, who distributed the
prizes, made short and telling speech
in which he stated his firm conviction
of the great military value of such
steady cumulative work in the different
commands of the militia as well as of
the regulars.
The American Institute Fair has
opened for its usual fall exhibition-its
semi-centennial as it happens Won
derful improvement, according to
promise, on any previous show. Great
things have seldom risen to such i'm
portance from smaller beginnings. |
may have something to say i'll future
letter about some of the $500 different
ingenious and valuable exhibits which
President Ely assures us will be forth
coming.
Well, we've had rain at last, heaven
be thanked, little enough, but still
something to lay the dust, fill up cOun-
try cisterns, drown the caterpillars,
and give us a few more fresh vegeta-
bles before the cold weather sets in.
Garden truck has gone up to frightful
prices in Gotham and vicinity, and if
the drought had continued | suppose
an onion or a head of cabbage would
have been worth IA dollar by Christ
mas.
A new parlor and sleeping car has
been recently invented which is bound
to receive great deal of attention, not
only from railroad men but from the
general public. Its construction is
very simple, so much SO that its cost
over that of an ordinary passenger
coach is only about one thousand dol
lars. 1t combines number of advan-
tages over the Pullman or Wagner cars,
which have already made it many
friends among railroad men. In the
first place its weight is about seven OF
eight tons less than the Pullman OIL
Wagner car. One of the principal OBJ
jections to the Pullman and Wagner
cars from railroad men is the great
weight at the top of the car, which
gives so much of that swinging motion
so hard on the rolling stock and disa-
greeable to travellers. This is all Obvi-
ated in the new car, which is at the
top like an ordinary passenger car.
The upper berths in the Pullman and
Wagner are above the windows and
therefore poorly ventilated and dark,
except what air and light comes from
the windows in the top of the ear but
in the new car the window is divided
between the upper and lower berths
by its peculiar arrangement. In the
new car the two berths can be used
each independently of the other, and
each has its own enclosers. No cur
tains are used. which in the old cars
are always Tapping and shaking out
dust, but instead a sort of Enclosure OF
wooden Stats on end, which work like
the iron shutters to store windows
They are pulled out from behind the
seat and run on rollers working very
easily. Each berth has its key, and
each can be locked from the inside, af-
fording safety to passengers. Each stat
laps over the next, leaving IA small
open space for the circulation of air
A company called the American Palace
Sleeping Car Co., with exUnited
States Senator Cragin as president and
Isaiah S. Emery as secretary, has recent
liy been formed for the manufacture
and sale of these cars. RADIX.