From The Rise and Fall of the Mustache, and other “Hawk-eyetems,” by Robert J. Burdette, illustrated by R. W. Wallis; Burlington Publishing Company, Burlington, Iowa; 1877; pp. 94-95.
BURLINGTON rejoices in a mathematical prodigy. Indeed it is a perfect wonder, and our educational men and teachers used to find a great deal of instruction and some pleasure in interviewing the child, a bright boy of nine years. His name is Alfred J. Talbot, and his parents live at No. 1223 North Main Street. The boy’s health is rather delicate, so that he has not been sent to school a great deal; but he can perform arithmetical feats that remind one of the stories told about Zerah Colburn. He was always bright, and possesses a remarkable memory. In company with two or three members of the school board, we went to the home of the prodigy for an interview. He was marvelously ready with answers to every question. Our easy starters, such as, “Add 6 and 3, and 7 and 8, and 2 and 9 and 5,” were answered like a flash and correctly every time. Then when we got the little fellow at his ease, one of the Directors took him in hand. He said:
“Three times 11, plus 9, minus 17, divided by 3, plus 1, multiplied by 3, add 7, is how many?”
“Nine,” shouted the boy, almost before the last word was spoken; and the School Inspectors and the newspaper man looked at each other in blank amazement. Then the other Inspector tried it:
“Multiply 5 by 13, add 19; subtract 39, divide by 2, add 7, multiply by 9, add 15, divide by 7, add 8, multiply by 3, less 13, add 9, multiply by 7, divide by 9, add 13, divide by 11 — how many?”
“Ninety-six!” fairly yelled the delighted boy, clapping 95 his hands with merriment at the amazement which crowned the countenances of his interviewers, and the Inspectors turned to the paper man and said, “Take him, Mr. Hawkeye.”
Then we did our best to throw the boy. As fast as we could speak, and without punctuation, we rattled off this:
“Add 24 to 17½ multiply by 9½ divide by ½ add 33 per cent, multiply by 16 extract square root add 9 divide by 3-5 of 7-8 add 119 divide by 77½ times 44¾ square the quotient and multiply by 17⅔ add 77 and divide by 33 how ma——”
But before we could say the last syllable the boy fairly screamed,
“127⅞! Ask me a hard one!”
We had seen enough, and with feelings amounting almost to awe we left this wonderful boy. We talked about his marvelous powers all the way down. Finally it happened to occur to one of the Inspectors to ask the other Inspecter,
“Did you follow my example through to notice whether the boy answered it correctly?”
The tone of amazement gradually passed away from the Inspector’s face, as he faintly gasped,
“N - n - no, not exactly, did you?”
Then the first Inspector ceased to look mystified and began to look very much like Mr. Skinner did when he got the Nebraska fruit, and they both turned to the gentleman who represented the literary department of the expedition and said lugubriously,
“Did you?”
But he only said:
“The Burlington and Northwester narrow-gauge railroad will be owned, not by eastern capitalists, but by the people through whose country it passes.”