The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-04-10 00:00:00

TOUGHENED GLASS.

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glass no impression wasmade by thesame weight, falling pipe towards the river, where a small United States
from heights ranging from 2to 10 feet, the weight flag surmounted a gaily painted buoy, "its this yer
simply rebounding from off the glass. An Boz. iron American diver who is going for to dive across to
weight tried at 2 and 4 feet respectively gave France and the Queen wants to see urn start. lt's to
' similar results. Upon the height being increased be at eleven o'clock; she is always punctival."
to six feet, however, the glass broke. But Upon the Alberta's decks ladies and gentlemen
here another singular result was produced ; instead began to gather shortly before this hour, persons who,
of breaking into about a dozen pieces, as did the EIS every Cows man and woman knew, belonged to the
ordinary glass, it was literary smashed to atoms. Royal household. And lo! in their midst, having
The largest fragments measured about half an inch emerged from the Alberta's " 'tween decks," stood a
In length and breadth, and these were easily reduced towering figure in a slaty grey suit, and at a distance
by the fingers to atoms varying in size from that of resembling the personations, as we see them on the
a pin's point to
_that of a large pin's
,head The stage, of some fully mailed crusader. Soon, simul-
aes of fractures in the fragments presented to the taneously, what appeared to be small canisters were
eye the appearance of irregular lace work, and these run up at each of the Alberta's masts, and also at the
lines were, moreover, apparent to the touch' but more flag pole on the Trinity-green ; the initiated—
palpably so on one side_of the glass than the other. and we are all bunting-wise at Cowes—knew they
Which of the two sides was the one that received were neat', folded flags emblematic of the pre-
the first impact of the blow we were not able to Bence of Royalty, as soon as they were displayed
letermine. Another peculiarity is that the edges of to view. 'the Queen, as the gossiper had declared,
the fractures are by no means so sharp, and there• was punctual; she drove in an open waggonette with
fore capable of causing incised wounds, as are those Princess B eatrice and Prince Leopold, into the
of ordinary glass. It would seem that-the toughened I Trinity Wharf enclosui eon the stroke of eleven, and
glass possesses enormous cohesive power, but that if the Royal Standard immediately flaunted out its
the equilibrium of the mass is disturbed at any one richly coloured folds. As she stepped on board the
point the disturbance or disintegration instantly Alberta the flags, in such case made and provided,
extends throughout the whole piece, the atoms no opened like blossoms from the bud, at fore, main, and
longer possessing the power of cohesion,' mizzen trucks. The crusader-looking figure, armed
Of the practical nature of M. de la Bastie's now with a double-bladed paddle, and self proclaimed
unique discovery there can be np question whatever, therefore a4i Captain Boyton, was, without loss of
nor can there be any doubt of its value in the arts, time, escorted to the quarter deck, where he bowed
sciences, and manufactures. The , applications low to the Queen, and the salutation having been
which suggest themselves are innumerable, and responded to, the amphibious gentleman walked
above and beyond the usefulness of the process with down the Alberta's gangway and plumped 'forth-
regard to articles of domestic use come important con- with into the rapidly rolling river. Rayal yachtsmen,
siderations affecting the applied sciences, especially in who had previously assisted him in `'Exing " his ap-
connexion with chymical manufacturers and similar naratus, now attenaed upon him in boats, handed him
industries, where a material, alike uninfluenced by his various properties, and generally made themselves
the action of heat or acids, has been so long and so useful according as the American citizen required.
vainly sought for—notably in connexion with vitriol Captain Blton, flying the English colours from the
chambers in the manufacture of sulphuric acid, and foot socket, first paddled to the buoy in the tideway,
for piping in chymical works. For the present there unshipped his American flag, and opened that
remains one purpose to which toughened glass can- apparently inexhaustible locker. Affixing a small
not be so easily applied, and that is to window square sail to his feet, he ran back before the wind to
glazing in odd sizes, inasmuch as it cannot be cut the Royal yacht at a prodigious rate ; then he returned
by a diamond or other ordinary means. Our glaziers to the inexhaustible buoy and took out a carrier pigeon,
will therefore have a respite, but we cannot give which he despatched to show one of the uses to which
them much hope that it will prove a long one, as the apparatus may be applied. Hammer and axe
experiments of considerable promise are being con- were next brought to light, and, proceeding with these
ducted with the view of solving this problem. More- to three or fonisplanks and balks of wood floating a
over, the glass can be cut to the proper sizes before little beyoad his buoy, the performer chopped and
toughening if desirable. The glass, however, is readily hammered and lashed until a serviceable raft was corn-
engraved either by fluoric acid in the usual way, or by pleted. At this stage of the programme the stars and
Mr. Tilshman's elegant sand-blast process. It can be stripes got adrift, and betrayed an unkind haste to find
easily polished, and it can also be cut by the wheel, as the middle of the Solent, whereupon a crew of the
for lustre work and the like. It only remains to con- Alberta's men went in pursuit, rescued the Republican
gratulate M. de la Bastie on the useful and valuable banner, and tenderly shook the briny wave from
discovery he has made, and to add that he is now its texture. Returning now to his floating store-
erecting works in France to carry out in practice his house, Captaia Boyton secured knife and fork
ingenious process. and eating and drinking utensils, certifying by
adroitly using the raft that there are other eligible
dinner tables than those made of orthodox Spanish
mahogany. A coxswain in one the boats passed
him a fishing-rod, and somehow—the romantic history
of a certain Roman generaland dusky Queen natu-
rally -Tosses the mind—in `l3- surprisingly short space
of time the floating angler hauled out a fish, which
looked alive and even kicking. Then came discharges
of rockets and Roman candles, and finally Captain
Boyton kindled his cigar, hoisted his opened umbrella,
and read the morning's newspaper, battling all the
while against a heavy current which, as we spectators
on the western shore could see, had teased him through-
out.
All the feats were most successfully performed, and
the Queen and Princess, leaning during the greatest
portion of the half-hour over the bulwarks of the yacht,
watched them with every manifestation of pleasure
and interest. When Captain Boyton, streaming wet,
ascended the steps, he hurried below, got out of his
artificial skin, and came upon the quarter-deck to re-
ceive the Queen's congratulations ; with them he also
received an order for the Boyton suit, to be made
henceforth an essential feature of the yacht's
equipment, and a request that a telegram
announcing the result of his proposed trial
across the Channel 'should be despatched at the
earliest moment to Osborne. Afterwards the Royal
party sent a second time for him, to inspect the dress
and have its principles explained to them. Her
Majesty, everybody was delighted to perceive, looked
in the best of health, and wore her usual black, with
white fur round the neck. The Princess was well
wrapped up against the cold wind, which even a
bright sun could not deprive of a very biting hamour.
Prince Leopold appeared to be not wholly recovered
from his recent illness. The Royal party, having been
afloat nearly forty minutes, drove back to Os-
borne. . . .

At- I lin,

In a letter to the Daily News, under date the sth
inst., Captain Boyton, in speaking of his motives in
crossing the Channel from Dover to Boulogne, says :
_ _

I shall leave Dover on Friday night at ten o'clock, thereby
taking advantage of every possible combination of tides and
currents that may favour my attempt to reach Boulogne. I
leave the English shore at night, in order to reach the French
shore during daylight. If I were to leave Dover
during the day, my arrival on the other side would
necessarily be at night; and it is a matter of great
importance to the success of my undertaking that I
should be able to reach the strong current off Cape Grisnez
during the ebb and in daylight. The Soci6te Humaine et des
NaufragZs of Boulogne, under whose auspices I cross the
Channel, have very generously placed their boats and ser-
vices at my disposal ; and the municipal authorities have
signified their intention of giving me a public reception at
the Etablissement des Bains on Monday evening, April 12
A couple of pilot boats carrying a special committee
and a Press representation, to see that everything is
carried out fully and fairly, will be in my vicinity
from the moment I leave the pier at Dover until I
set foot on the sands between Cape Grisnez and
Boulogne. If I may use phraseology more expressive than
eloquent, I desire to place on record the fact that it is my
earnest wish that this whole business shall be fair, square,
and above-board. I would like to emphasize the point that
I am in no way pecuniarily interested in this adventure, and
have nothing whatever to do with any excursion or excursions
that private enterprise may connect therewith. Neither am
I in a position to extend to any one the hospitalities which
have been BO liberally tendered to myself; and I trust this
pu.blic statement will in a measure satisfy the numerous
applications that are daily pouring in upon me, to which I
find it a matter of impossibility to attend. All things con-
sidered, I see before me a crucial test of human endurance
—a distance of 40 miles to accomplish through varying
currents and temperatures of water and the probability of 16
to 17 hours of hard paddling and exposure. To this task,
however, I am nerved by the prospect of a success ultimately
beneficial to all mankind, and an accomplishment that will
britg maritime nations to a consciousness that there are
means and possibilities of science within their reach where-
by they may doubly ensure the safety of those countless
toilers on the great highway of commerce, to whose efforts
they owe much that has made them great and powerfuL I
know it is not in mortal to command success," but I assure
all whose sympathies are with the purposes of my mission
that nothing shall be wanting, as far as in me lies, to deserve