The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-02-05 00:00:00

-
_
.

THE BREMERHAVEN EXPLOSION,

The New York papers state that public interest in
the Bremerhaven explosion has been revived by an ap-
plication being made through a friend by the widow of
Thomassen, at present residing at Dresden, to have a
trunk belonging to her husband, which was lying at
the Fifth Avenue Hotel, forwarded to her. The police
were informed of the circumstance, and a detective
went to the hotel with a view of examining the trunk
(which had been left there on the occa,ston of Thomas-
sen's last visit to New York), in order to ascertain if it
contained anything giving a clue to Thomassen's
nefarious calling. In appearance the trunk was one
such as is commonly used by the ordinary traveller.
Tkere were no extra fastenings upon it, and nothing
about it that would, in any way attract attention. It
was of mediumiisize, and had evidently seen service on
steamboats and railroads. The detective, not having
the key, broke the lock. The trunk's contents pre-
sented superficially a most innocent appearance. The -
trunk was a little more than half-filled apparently
with clothing. The first article removed was a coat
somewhat worn; the pockets were searched and
found to be empty. Next came other articles of outer
and under wear, which, after close examination, were
found, like the coat, to contain nothing suspicious
about them. As layer after layer of clothing was
piled on the floor, and nothing was discovered bearing
in any way upon the horror enacted at Bremerhaven,
the detective was becoming convinced that his visit
was fruitless, when suddenly he beheld coiled up in
the bottom of the trunk a strange and suspicious
article, In formation it resembled a piece of small
rope, about the diameter of an ordinary lead
pencil. Taking it out, the detective uncoiled it,
and found it to be a submarine fuse, ten feet in
length. It was made of brownish guttapercha, hollow
in the centre through its entire length, the hollow part
being filled with powder. It looked like a section of
insulated telegraph wire such as is frequently seen in
telegraph offices. Finding nothing else of a suspicious
character in the trunk, the officer took his departure
for the central office, taking with him the fuse, He
delivered the same to Superintendent Walling, and it
was examined by many curious eyes. The fuse now
remains locked up in the central office, awaiting any
further developments which may result from its find-
ing. The trunk and clothing were delivered to the
friend of Thomassen's widow.

A telegram from the American correspondent of
The Times says :—The German consul in New York
states that after thorough inquiry into the career of
Thomassen in this country with a special view of
ascert3ining whether he had any accomplices here no
satisfactory result has not yet been obtained. The
inquiry was instituted at the suggestion of the German
Government. Nothing has been found indicating that
Thomassen was the head of any conspiracy or was
connected with the loss of the steamer City of Boston.

A German correspondent writes :—Herr Fuchs, the
maker of the clockwork for Thomas, gives in Castan's
Panoptikon the following explanation of the pre-
matureness of the explosion. Thomas had insisted
chiefly that the clock should go at least ten days, and
differ but little in that time; that the iron lever should
come down with a force of at least twenty-five pounds;
and that it should be possible to fix the day on which
the lever was to come down by means of a disk. He
did not say that precautions were to be taken against
shocks and the like, and therefore none were em-
ployed. This oversight of Thomas was the only cause
that the lever of the clockwork was loosened so soon in
consequence of the shocks and shakin g,s which happened
when the box was brought on board, and that the
explosion happened at Bremerhaven. If the precau-
tions easily to be contrived against the prematura fall
of the lever bad been employed, the explosion
.would
have happened on the open sea, and the crime would
have remained secret for ever. •

- -
'
MR. THOMAS CARLYLEOBN-,ITEingACHING.
A correspondent sends to the irmham Daily
Proessts
othedmfaonl following wy
years
agolettebry Carlyle
, ch, he staoyas,v
ywya
oandg-
dman, then engaged in educational work, h who was bold
enough to ask his counsel. He has treasured
iits
iit s i since
with an ever-deepening sense of thes
wisdom
of
teach-
ing
etit s
and
whicho f he
promptedgr e at kindnesstbefirst
o f
ihnetaerllteao
tn do
freoaudryda y
he l
spo-
f
to respond to a lad who was a stranger to him. There
may n
is, perhaps, nothing in the letter which _
gathered from his published works; but to the tens of
thousands who listen to him with reverence all the
words of Carlyle are precious.' :
Chelsea, February, 1859.—Sir, I can give no advice or
precept about the matters you write of, except this one re-
mark :—The grand secret (worth all the others together,
and without which all the others are worth nothing or less)
for inculcating and teaching virtues and graces is, that a
man honestly, and with more and more of silent sincerity,
have them himself, lodged there in the silent deeps of his
visibleeb
ei
ryg
h;
botuhutreyo wt
undeniable
nd oa ty f
hianei oi shine whatevero n aj,
itiheorutossullyegdhatoadne
ady obre
tnood to oa
nn l
unconsciously,dy
find good means of teaching them. This is the grand indis-
upnsahle requisite ; this present, the rest is very certain to
follow ; th., rest is mere matter of detail, depending on spe-
rtallty of circumstance, which a raan's own co.ilmon sense, If
he is in earnest towards his aim, Will 1.,,er and better
instruct him in. The business, I am sorrowfully aware,
is often enough undertaken without this indispensable pre-
requisite ; nay, in general there is a dim notion abroad that
a man can teach such things by ..ierdy wishing to do it, and
without having them himself; blit the fatal result inevitably
Is, he teaches, can teach, nothing but hypocrisy and un-
blessed apery and mendacity. It is a kind of salvation to
his poor pupils if they, in a dim way, see through him, and
refuse to imbibe the slow poison of such teachingoa.ully;laftnaonddcoyl
manfully
yyouratr tobebset ainn
tinhgeenvuocoariatioynouwnhgicmhanh,asailmaninegn