The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1881-12-17 00:00:00

Our l'onbon Coutspunbcnt.

(We teem it right to state hat we do not st all ftiwz.
*ifintify ourselves with our Correspondent's opinions.

For several days Messrs. Puttick & Simpson have
been offering for sale the well-known Sunderland
Library, ana this has attracted a large share of atten-
tion in the literary world. This was a very famous
collection, and was formed by the celebrated Lord
Sunderland. It has long been deposited in the Palace
of the Dukes of Marlborough at Blenheim, and is
said to have cost in its formation nearly £30,000.
On its becoming known that the collection was
for disposal, many private offers were made for
it, but all were de•lined. Agents employed for
American libraries offered £25,000, and a large dealer
in London was ready to give quite as much.
Although some have been disposed to regret the
dispersal of so world-famous a collection, others regard
the determination to put the library up to auction as a
wiss one. By scattering the volumes far and wide,
and sending them into many a learned man's study,
they will stand a better chance of being read than if
they were all under the same roof. diany of the
books, possessing no especial rarity, have been sold for
small amounts ; while others have brought prices far
bsyond those which their noble owner originally paid
for them.

For some of the contents of the Sunderland
Library the competition was exceedingly keen, and for
none more than for ancient and curious copies of the
Bible. For instance, there is one known as the
Vinegar Bible, so-called because in the running title
at Luke xx. the word " vinegar " is misprinted for
"vineyard," and this was sold for £255. A more
remarkable incident was the purchase of a copy of a
splendid edition of the Bible printed in Latin by Faust
and Schteffer in 1462, with recivable type. That was
sixteen years before William Caxton set up his print-
ing press in Westminster Abbey; and the way in
which this Bible was turned out of hand showed that
the printers of four centuries ago were thorough
masters of their art. The Bible was printed on
vellum in two volumes; these are 585 pages, and the
size of the book is about sixteen inehes bytwelve. The
headings, the numbers of the chapters, and the small
capitals are in red and blue, while the large initial
letters are brilliantly illuminated in different colours.
The competition for this remarkable work of early
art was very keen, and ended in its being knocked
down for £1,590. So that, although the print-
ers of 400 years ago must have bestowed a
vast amount of time upon the completeness of their
work, their labours are appreciated now by connois-
seurs of all that is beautiful in art no less than by
judges of that which is costly in material.

One satisfactory feature in relation to Christmas
and its associations is the enormous amount of in-
creased work which it provides for different classes of
the community. The Christmas numbers of various
publications is only one way in which this aug-
mented labour is represented. The preparation,
for example, of such a number as that of the Illus-
trated London News or the Graphic is anyth'ng
but an ephemeral affair, for it is the occupa-
tion of months. No sooner has one Christmas
issue been disposed of than brains have to be active
and minds busy in preparing for the next. The artist,
the author, the compositor, the pressman, all feel the
benefit of the extra engagements. Christmas is not,
therefore, merely a sentimental time of observance
of a solemn Christian festival. The modern style of
bidding it welcome is productive of a vast amount of
good, and this way of greeting it seems likely to
extend and to develop rather than to diminish.
Christmas appeals are now beginning to appear in
the papers, and all classes are asked to give accord-
ing to their means towards the support of benevolent
and charitable institutions during the next twelve
months. It is a time of the year when the
pleadings for such a cause should not fall upon
ears that are dull of hearing. The same journals
which contain these appeals often have to re-
cord tales of suffering which a little timely aid
would never have caused to be told; but it may
be safely assumed that for one such story that finds
publicity there are a score which never get into
print at all. The press of this country wields a power
which is possessed by that of no other nation in
Europe, probably in the world—a power which is as
irresistible as it is unpurchasable. Once a year, and
at a time when it is believed that the hearts of men
are peculiarly open to impressions of kindness and
generosity, this mighty engine is set in motion in the
interests of a noble cause, and it is hoped with
results corresponding to the influence of the agency
brought into force.
An announcement is made that a new Company
is about to be formed for taking over the powers,
rights, and obligations of the South Eastern Railway
Company in the matter of the Channel Tunnel, and
this would seem to indicate that the enterprise is
about to pass from the experimental to the practical
stage. Competent authorities declare that there can
be no question as to the encouraging nature of the
results hitherto attained, sad there is no doubt of the
determination of the Tunnel promoters to carry out
the work. Hitherto the stratum through which the
borings have been made is of a favourable nature, and
if this continues the same throughout the entire bed
of the Channel, the making of the Tunnel will pre-
sent no extraordinary difficulties. If at any moment
the borers should cOrne upon a rift it would destroy all
hope of success; the only chance of the undertaking
being carried out is that the bed of grey chalk is sound
and unbroken from shore to shove.

Athleticism at schools has for years been the sub-
ject alternately of satire and of protest, but a "sound
mind in a sound body" is a principle which finds a
large amount of favour amongst all classes of English-
men. The necessity for active, healthy, muscular
exercise has not at all times been recognised at our
public schools. Gray, the author of that beautiful
"Elegy in a Country Churchyard," which we all
know so well, has told us that when be was at school
the principal ammements of Eton boys were swim-
ming, bird-nesting, and trundling hoops. Cowper,
at Westminster, was accustomed to play cricket,
but the game was merely an interlude in school
life, and was not made a regular recreation as it
is to-day. In fact, there is not much to be gleaned
from literature about school games a century ago.
This is a remarkable contrast to the prominent place
given to athleticism in our own day. The University
Boat race is now an event of national importance, and
not only so, but across the Atlantic a considerable pro-
portion of the population is anxious to know whether
Oxford or Cambridgo has won the blue riband of the
Thames. Similarly, in days gone by, Harrow and
Eton were accustomed to play each year a private
match at cricket, which was watched by a few old
boys, and a dozen or so of enthusiastic outsiders,
parents, or cricketers. Now, as we all know, in each
.ucceeding month of June, the whole of faihioaable
L-mdon flocks to Lord's Cricket Ground, the aristocratic
trysting place of the north side of the metropolis, and
the newspaper columns are filled with the descriptions
of the match.

While the Admiralty is busily engaged in framing
its estimates for next year, and the doings of the
eighty•ton gun are followed with deep interest, a
iemand is made upon the authorities that our ord-
nance should be the best that can be produced by the
greatest naval Power in the world. It is pointed out
that England, as the home of manufacturing enter-
prise, owes it to itself not simply to match but to
surpass contemporary States in the mechanical ap-
pliances of arms. Continental Powers resort to Eng-
lish factories for the arming of their fleets, so that
while our own naval ordnance is cast at Woolwich, the
ordnance for our competitors and possible oppOnents
is cast at Sheffield or Newcastle. At the same time
there are some practical men who doubt the expedi-
ency of building guns of such enormous calibre as
those of the Italian ironclad Duilio, with its 100-ton
guns. Such unwieldly monsters take too long a time
to load in days when swift cruisers and light steel
corvettes are coming more into favour with naval
experts and with the public.

The absence of Cabinet Councils during the present
i
recess has been remarked upon and accounted for n
an obvious way. The first thing to be done when
Parliament meets will be to consider the Ministerial
propositions for the reform of the procedure in the
House of Commons, and until that has been decided,
nothing else will be attempted. For that we have had the
assurance of more than one Cabinet Minister, including
the Premier himself. Upon the principles which should
goverr.i, the changes the Cabinet agreed at the two
councils held in October and one in November, and
there are predictions that the contest over the
suggested alterations will last several weeks. And
inasmuch as the last Session was an Irish one, and
sufficient first-class measures were withdrawn by the
Government to occupy a Session by themselves the
Cabinet Ministers, in the absence of foreign complica-
tions, do not suspend their holidays to come up and
deliberate in the greyest and gloomiest of cities, and
at a time of the year when at noon-day a thick dark-
ness as of midnight settles down upon the capital, and
wraps it in a winding-sheet of Cimmerian gloom.
The London Mansion House has often been the
centre to which contributions have flowed for all sorts
of good purposes, and for the aid of distress in other
countries as well as in our own. Year after year
occasions have arisen in which large sums of money
have been sent to the Civic palace for the relief of
suffering in distant lands. In 1871 the vast sum
of 2200,000 was dispensed by the Lord Mayor of that
day, for it was the year in which the siege of Paris
came to an end, and an urgent appeal was made
on behalf of the starving population; and it was

also the year of one of thous great fires at Chicago
for which the city overlooking the waters of Lake
Michigan has of late years become so noticeable
Four or five years ago half a million sterling
was received at the Mansion House for the relief
of the distress caused by one of those periodically
recurring Indian famines which desolate that de.
pendency. The new Lord Mayor, Mr. Alderman
Ellis, has now opened a fund to relieve suffering
nearer home. A large number of ladies whose sole
means of Using depended on the rents which they re-
ceived from land in Ireland, have been rendered
penniless through the operation of the "No Rent"
agitation, and the chief magistrate has opened a fund
for their relief. The response which has thus far been
made shows a full appreciation of the necessities of
the case, and the Court of Common Council unani-
mously and without hesitation subscribed 200 guineas
to the fund.

EXTRAORDINARY BALLOON
ACCIDENT.
The Daily News of Monday gave the following :
"A Government balloon, believed to be the Saladin,
of Woolwich, in charge of Capt. James Templer, of
the Royal Engineers, who was accompanied by Mr.
Walter Powell, M.P. for Malmesbury, and Mr.
Gardner, son of the late member of Parliament for
Cheltenham, left Bath about midday on Saturday,
and, crossing over Somerset to Exeter, proceeded
thence to the neighbourhood of Bridport, Dorset.
The aeronauts continued their course till near
Eypesmouth, which is abotit one mile west
.of Brid-
port, and within half a mile of the sea, when,
finding they were rapidly drifting seaward, they
attempted to descend. The balloon came down with
great rapidity, and striking the ground with great
violence, Mr. Gardner and Captain Templer were both
thrown out of the car, the former sustaining a fracture
of the leg, and the latter being cut and bruised. Mr.
Powell remained in the car, and the balloon instantly
rose with him to a great height and went rapidly out
to sea. The accident occurred about five p.m. Grave
apprehensions are felt for Mr. Powell's safety. tA
steamer from Weymouth and boats from Bridport, as
well as the lifeboat from Lyme Regis, were sent in
pursuit, but they returned from their search witnout
meeting with success. There were no provisions in
the balloon.
"Mr. Powell, who has just completed his 39th ye;ir,
having been born in 1842, has sat in the Conservative
interest for Malmesbury, where he resides, since
December, 1868. He is a son of Mr. Thomas Powell,
of the Gaer, Newport, Monmouthshire, and was edu-
cated at Rugby. He is a magistrate for Wiltshire.
He is unmarried. For years past he has been an
enthusiastic aeronaut, and has made numerous
ascents, sometimes crossing St. George's Chanol
to Ireland, and on others going over to Frande.
Heretofore he has met with no serious mishap in con-
nection with his aerial excursions. When be started
from Bath on Saturday the weather was fine, with
light northerly breezes, which accounts for the straight
course through the atmosphere of his balloon, the
town of Bridpert lying as nearly as possible due south
from the place of starting. Up to the time of writink,
exact particulars as to the condition of the balloon
when it reascended at Bridport have not come to hand.
The hope is entertained, however, that as the wind
was still blowing from the north Mr. Powell may have
reached the island of Guernsey, where no doubt he
would have made an effort to descend. Guernsey, is
about 100 miles south of Bridport, and as the northerly
breezes were not strong at the time this place could
not be reached in less than five or six hours. Missing
Guernsey, the balloon would in all probability pass
over into France in a line not far from St. Malo. '
"It may be remembered that some four weeks ago
Mr. Powell crossed the Bristol Channel in a balloon,
descending successfully at Dingestow. He resumed
his journey intending to drop at Monmouth, but
altering his mind he went on to Hereford. The trip
was one of the most successful he had made for soMe
time.
"From another source we learn that Mr, Powell is
well known to be an enthusiastic amateur aeronaftt.
His experience, although somewhat extensive and
varied in aerial voyaging, is of recent date. About a
year ago he began to manifest a great interest in
aeronautic pursuits, both attending lectures on the
subject and taking part in practical experiments in
balloon voyaging and the manufacture and use of
parachutes. During the course of the year he made
ascents with the veteran aeronaut, Mr. Coxwell, as
well as with Mr. Wright, of the Crystal Palace, and
others. A fellow-traveller of Mr. Powell's strtes that
that gentleman was a trifle nervous when he made his
first ascent, but his fear quickly abated, and he gave
himself up to the full enjoyment of his position,
which he compared to that of a bird floating serenely
in mid-air, the exhilaration of spirits caused by the
situation being far beyond that felt by yachtsmen in a
stiff breeze, or huntsmen scouring across country.
Since then Mr. Powell has made ascents by night and
day, all of which have terminated successfully. About
three months ago he decided to have a balloon
specially made for his private use. The work was
at once entrusted to one of the best makers, and
in a very brief period of time one of the finest
balloons in the country was completed. It was
constructed at the Alexandra Palace, and was
made throughout of the finest Lyons silk, in
alternate bands of pink and yellow. Its cubic capa-
city was about 36,000 feet, and on account of the
strength and lightness of the material the balloon had
unusual lifting power. Its cost was over £l,OOO. He
subsequently had the nettingalso made out of silk, which
further added to its lifting power. With this ballobn
he has made several ascents from London as well as
from his residence near Newport Monmouth, where
he had gasworks built for inflating it. He has several
times crossed the Bristol Channel in this balloon."

With respect to the Saladin, it is a Government war
balloon, and has been used frequently in making
ascents from Woolwich Arsenal under the superin-
tendance of Captain Templer, of the Royal Engineers.
Captain Templer has had a great deal of experience
in war balloons, having made hundreds of ascents
alone and with other engineer officers. His services
in connection with aeronautical experiments are held
in high estimation by the War Department, whose
confidence he fully enjoys. The balloon in question
was made of calico, and was of about 30,000 cubic feet
capacity.

The Daily News of Tuesday said ;—"Up to the hour
of going to press nothing had been heard of the miss-
ing balloon or of Mr. Powell, M.P., its occupant when
it escaped near Bridpert. Our Weymouth Corres-
pondent, telegraphing last evening, says: Up . to
the present hour (six o'clock) the fate of Mr. Powell
is still involved in mystery. No trace can be
found of the missing balloon. At five o'clock
this morning the Commodore tug, which had
been engaged on Sunday in scouring the bay in
the neighbourhood of Bridport, again left the
harbour being provided with grapples for creeping
over the spot where the balloon is supposed to have
fallen, but up to this hour has not returned. It was
at first stated by those who saw the balloon go over
the bay that she pitched, but nothing definite is really
known. Captain Templar, although severely but
about, was out in the Commodore all day on Sunday,
engaged in searching for the balloon, and left for
Bridport this morning. The local manager of
the Weymouth and Portland Steampacket Com-
pany states that he has telegraphed to Guernsey,
Jersey and France, asking if the balloon has
been seen in that direction, but replies have been
received stating that nothing has been seen of it. The
worst fears are now apprehended as to the fate of Mr.
Powell. The Meteorological Society of London has
telegraphed to Paris with instruction to look out along
the coast for the missing balloon."
Captain Templer has made to Mr. Sc,,tt, secretary of the
Meteorological Office, the following report of the accident
and the efforts made to discover the missing balloon and Mr.
Powell :
" Sir,—l regret to report that on Saturday, the 10th
of December, I ascended at Bath, accompanied by Mr.
Walter Powell and Air. A gg Gardner, at 1.55 On.,
for the purpose of taking the temperature of the air,
and the amount of snow in the air, for the Meteoro•
logical Office. I cleared the snow clouds at 4,000 ft.
altitude ; the temperature of these clouds was 28deg.,
and the wet-bulb thermometer read 26deg. At
4,2eoft. we passed over Wells, the time being
2h. 50m. At this height I worked over Glaston-
bury ; the temperature now rose to 41 deg., and the
sky was perfectly clear. I passed then between
Somerton and Langport, and I here found that I was
in a N. W. current. I asked Mr. Powell to send
the balloon up to 6,0001 t. to ascertain the temperature
of a small bank of cirrus. I found this temperature
to be 31 deg., and then I asked him to place me at
2,000 ft. altitude, to regain the N. W. current, and
we then came in view of Crewkerne. I now kept
at a low altitude until I reached Beaminster. Mr.
Powell here observed that we were going at thirty
miles an hour, and here we first heard the roar of
the sea. The balloon suddenly rose to 4,000 ft. ; at
this time I said to Mr. Powell, 'Go down to within
100 ft. of the earth and ascertain our exact position.'
We coasted along close to the ground until we reached
Symondsbury. I there called to a man and asked
him how far the distance was to BPidport, and he
said about a rnile. I asked Mr. Powell to prepare to
'take in,' our pace now increasing to 35 miles an hour.
To avoid the little village of Neape, • Mr. Powell
threw out some ballast. This took us to 1,5001 t.
elevation, and we had still two miles to get in. I
opened the valve and descended about 150 yards short
of the cliff. The balloon, on touching the ground,
drag6ed a few feet, and I rolled out of the car with
the valve line in my hand. This caused the balloon to
ascend about Bft., when Mr. Gardener dropped off
and unfortunately broke his leg. I found that the rope
was being pulled through my hands, and I called to Mr.
Powell, who was standing in the car, to come down the
line. He took hold of the line, andin a few more seconds
the line was torn through my hands. The balloon rose
rapidly. Mr. Powell waved his hands to me and I
took his compass bearings, and found that he was
gang in a S. E. direction. Some men coming up, I
nlaced Mr. Gardner in their charge, and sent word to
ihe Coastguard and Bridport Harbourmaster to keep
a good look out and to go out with boats. I then pro-
ceeded to Brid port and telegraphed to the Command-
ing Officer of Royal Engineers, Weymouth, to have a
steamer in readiness for me to go in search. I pro-
ceeded to Weymouth and found the steamship Com-
modore with steam up. I here received a telegram from
the Bridport Harbourmaster,saying that the balloon had
been seen to drop in the sea south of Bridport. I at once
pdensiceekdedtakosienag, and searched the alleged place of his
descent, m
due allowance for the wind and
current. This proving unsuccessful, I crossed the
Channel till we sighted the Casquets Light, and then
returned in a N.W. direction, ultimately reaching
Weymouth about 5 a.m. on Sunday morning, and
have organised further search. I am of opinion that
what was seen to fall into the sea, was not the
balloon, but part of the gear, thrown out to lighten

the balloon, as the balloon could not have fallen so
close to the shore to be visible about 5 p.m.—l have
the honour to be your obedient servant,
"JAMES TEMPLER, Captain Ist Battalion
King's Royal Rifle Collis.
"To Mr. R. H. Scott, F.R.S., Secretary,
•
Meteorological Office. . _

The Meteorological Society's experimental tripe
with the Saladtn have been made from various parts
of the country under the direction of Captain
Tern pier. This gentleman's last ascent from the
Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, was made a few months
hack in the presence of the King of the Sandwich
Islands.

Mr. Powell, M.P., who was frequently Captain
Templer's companion, was noted for his fearlessness and
enthusiasm in the art and practice of ballooning. Mr.
Wright, an old practitioner, who has made at the
Crystal Palace alone more than 200 ascents has
been acting as professional assistant to the Military
Balloon Committee, and to him Mr. Powell has
several times expressed a• fixed determination to cross
the Atlantic in a balloon to America, stating that
neither the dimensions of the balloon, the cost, nor the
danger should deter him from the attempt. The
Saladin is a comparatively new balloon, having been
constructed by the committee at the Royal Arsenal
about three years since, and it is the largest the War
Department has, its cubical contents being 38,000 ft.
Several others were built about the same time, including
the Saracen, the Talisman, and the Crusader. Captain
Templq, who is the senior captain of the 7th Batta-
lion King's Royal Rifle Corps, formerly the 2nd
Middlesex Militia, was attached to the Balloon Com-
mittee on account of his practical knowledge of
ballooning and the skill he had displayed in taking
advantage of varying wind currents to sail in specified
directions. The remainder of the committee, as at
present composed, are Colonel Nugent, Royal En-
gineers (president) ; Colonel Noble, Royal Engineers,
Inspector of Works, Royal Arsenal, Woolwich; and
Professor Abel, C. 8., chemist to the War Department.
Several other officers of the Royal Engineers have been
working members of the committee, and have acquired
a thorough acquaintance with the uses to which balloons
may be put in times of war. The balloon wagons and
equipment are still at Woolwich, as the head-quarters
of the committee, but for a year past the experi-
ments have been transferred to Aldershot for in-
structional purposes, and they are intended to be
resumed next spring at Chatham. It should be men-
tioned that the Saladin is not composed of silk, as
the fashion was, but of strong calico, dressed inside
and out with oil and colouring matter which rendered
it quite impervious to the air and moisture. Inflated
with hydrogen gas, it has lifted as much as 701 b. per
1,000 cubic feet, and with coal gas 401 b. per I,ouo.
Such an envelope, in good condition and only half
full of common gas, would be capable of supporting
the weight of the car and one man for several days.

It is stated that there was sufficient gas in the
balloon to carry it to the Continent unless adverse
curents prevented it. The injured gentlebnen do not
think the balloon sustained material damage from
its collision with the ground. It was rumoured on
Monday night at Weymouth, after the arrival of the
steamer from Jersey, that the balloon had descended
with Mr. Powell in Brittany.

A Bath telegram states that great sympathy is felt
there for the relatives of Mr. W. Powell, M.P. The
hon. member made two successful ascents from the
local gas works, and had at considerable expense made
arrangements for inflating the balloon by erecting a
wooden enclosure to screen it from the wind.

The Times of Wednesday gave the following :
" The Commodore, steamtug, which has been since
Sunday engaged in searching for tne missing balloon
off Bridport, in the English Channel, gave up the
task last evening. The search, however, will still
be carried on by fishing boats. The captain of the
tug proceeds to Guernsey to scour the coast all
round the Channel Islands in case the balloon
should have been drifted across the Channel
and become entangled in the rocks. Yesterday
search by the steamtug was very carefully conducted.
Supplied with additional creeping appliances, she was
despatched for at least twenty miles into the Channel
in the direction which the balloon is supposed to have
taken. Poles and flags were displayed in fields in
which the balloon fell to enable the captain to obtain
the true direction in which it drifted. A reward of
£5O has been offered to fishermen along the coast for
the recovery of the body or for such information as
will lead to its recovery.
"Evidence continues to come to hand which tends
to prove that the balloon did not pitch in the sea, at
all events, not within sight of land ; but a gentleman
at Bridport Harbour stands to his statement that it
was not a toy balloon, but a full-sized one, with a car
attached, which he saw splashing in the water. Lord
Tenterden, of the Foreign Office, together with the
Meteorological Sociaty, are using every possible effort
to ascertain along the coast of France if anything
has been seen. Captain Cosens, commanding
the tug above mentioned, reports that during
Saturday night the wind veered round to the eastward
in the Channel. This would have the effect of carry-
ing the balloon clear of France into the Bay of Biscay.
The only vestige of hope now entertained is that the
Sedadtn fell near the course of some outward-bound
ship in the Channel, and that Mr. Powell was rescued
in that way. The Meteorological So Aety has invoked
the aid of the Naval Department of the French
Government, who have an excellent semaphore system
all along the shores of the Channel.
"Yesterday many letters, containing inquiries and
suggestions relative to the missing balloon and Mr.
Powell, were received at the Royal Aisenal, Wool-
wich. The car of the balloon, being of wicker work,
would, if empty, float, but would be barely visible on
the surface of the water. It was probably, however,
weighted to some extent by the grapnel anchor,
which weighs 661 b., and the small stores usually carried
with a balloon, such as fieldglasses, wind gauge,
thermometer, &c., which would weigh in the aggre-
gate about 401 b. The colour of the envelope would
assist in concealing it from discovery, being green and
orange, and it is conjectured that when free from gas
it would soon sink. The balloon itself weighs :3701b.,
the cordage about 501 b., the valve at the top 191b.,*and
the hoop 191 b. more. The weight of the car was 801 b.,
and it usually carried with three passengers about
5001 b. of ballast. The total liftit.g power of the balloon
was about 1,5001 b.

"The career of the Saladin, although short, has
been a remarkable one. Soon after its completion, and
when it was filled for the first time with a highly
buoyant hydrogen gas, Captain Elsdale, Royal
Engineers, essayed a captive ascent from the Royal
Arsenal, and was forced from roof to roof of the ad-
jacent buildings in the struggles of the balloon to
escape from its moorings. The same officer subsequently
in a free ascent journeyed over London, and was within
a few feet of a collision with the top of St. Paul's Cathe-
dral, the Saladin just clearing the cross. Upon another
occasion Captain Templar was preparing to ascend with
Captain Lee, of the Royal Engineers, from the gas
works in the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, when the
Salaain broke away, caught some projection and jerked
Captain Lee upon a gasometer, and thus relieved of
his weight shot high into the air with Captain
Templer. The latter was almost insensible from a
blow on the head, but recovered in the cold atmo-
sphere, and pulled the valve line. A short time
afterwards some experiments were attempted in
the presence of the Inspector-General of Forti-
fications and other distinguished officers, when
Captain Lee ascended in the Saladin, held cap-
tive, and was placed in great peril by a
sudden squall sringing up. The workpeople were
summoned from the factories to haul down the balloon,
which was accomplished with great difficulty on ac-
connt of its great size and the gale of wind. One
other instance may be recorded. An experiment
was being made to ascertain the feasibility of taking
the Saladin inflated out to sea, and with Captain
Elsdale in the car it was towed by a tug from Dun-
geness. Its behaviour, however, was most alarming,
and Captain Elsdale, being unable to reach the vessel
by the tow rope, let out a line and slid down it 1001 t.,
into a boat. Its great unwieldliness, due to its enor-
mous capacity, has rendered it unusually liable to
accidents of all kinds. It was between 60ft. and 70ft.
high, and 30ft. in diameter. The name Saladin. was
painted both on the envelope and car."

The following police notice has been sent by the
authorities at Scotland-yard to all ports in the United
Kingdom :—" Re balloon carried southward on Satur-
day, containing Mr. Powell, M.P.—Please notify at
once all outgoing vessels, pilots, ship-masters, and
others that £5O xeward will be paid by the family for
information leading to recapture, £lOO to the first
finder of balloon, and £2O for the recovery of the
body, or ample compensation for assistance rendered
to Mr. Powell if alive."

The Daily News of Wednesday said :—" A Hartle-
pool correspondent telegraphs that a huge balloon was
seen yesterday morning passing on a northerly course
over Hartlepool from the sea. It was only observed
for a few moments through the fog, and was at a con-
siderable altitude. It was travelling very rapidly.
and appeared to be under no control. If it continued
on the same course it would travel overland, and if
under control it might come down on land."

In connection with the above disaster, it may be
remembered that a few years since a captive balloon
escaped at Calais, carrying out to sea the aeronaut and
his wife. They were blown a gonsielerable distance
towards the north, and were finally sighted by some
fishing craft, the balloon then scudding along the
surface of the water, dragging the car through the
surf. The aeronauts were rescued with some difficulty,
and landed at Grimsby by fishermen.

The Standard, in a leader, points out that under
any circumstances ballooning is a pursuit extremely
hazardous. All attempts to guide or regulate the
course of a balloon have proved futile; and the most
that aeronauts can boast up to the present moment
is that they ascend in comparative ease and cpmfort,
and descend again with fewer casualties than so dan-
gerous a pastime would lead one to believe were inevit-
able. A balloon drifts at the mercy of the wind as hope-
lessly as does a soap-bubble in a light breeze. And
although the future possibilities of aeronautics are
almost infinite, it must be admitted that at present the
balloon is an instrument of flotation alone, and in no
sense whatever a machine for aerial navigation.
Skilled aeronauts have no doubt done much to miti-
g4e its dangers. They know exactly how t 3 econo-
mize their ballast, when to use the grapnel, and when
to throw out the drag-rope. But all their skill will
not save them from being blown out to sea, and a
voyage in a balloon through a strong current of wind is
as hazardous as an attempt to cross a swollen river in
a fragile coracle without either sail or paddle. '

Glucose ought to be sat down on.—Philadelphia
Times. It very frequently is--at picnics; and nine times
out of ten the unfortunate sitter has on a new pair of white
trousers.

French journals state that Mr. Barnaby, naval
constructor c.f Portsmouth D.,ckyard, is about to isit the
dockyards of Toulon, Cherbourg, Brest, Lorient, and Roche-
fort. The Ministry of Marine, it is further stated, has given
orders that the dockyards shall be open to him; and that the
utmcst facilities should be given to him for the purpose of
the examination which he is desirous of making.

THE OUTRAGE AT DUNECHT.

The Times of Monday published the following from an
Aberdeen correspondent :

"An examination of the vault on Saturday shows
that it must have been an easy task after gaining
admittance to the tomb to rifle the coffin, and that
the robbers could have remained in the place for
days if necessary without the least chance of detection,
provided that they had taken the precaution to have
an accomplice outside who would lower the slab at the
entrance and raise it again when they required to
come out, concealing himself in the interval in the
adjoining copse. From the shelf on which the coffin
had been laid two large pieces have been broken off
in the act of drawing the coffin forward by means of
crowbars. Mr. Alsop, the 41,ondon solicitor of Lord
Crawford, is now here, and -of opinion that the re-
mains are concealed in the district. He is at a loss
to understand the motive which prompted the robbers,
and he believes that if gain had been their object they
would not have allowed such a long interval to
elapse before making that obj 3ct known. If, how-
ever, money was their motive they will assuredly be
disappointed, as it is the fixed intention of the family
that no ransom whatever should be granted."

The search in the policies was continued on Satur-
day, and the sleuth hound Morgan was again at work,
but the state of the ground, owing to the intense
frost, prevented any trail being established. . The
searchers, however, are confident that if the robbery
had been discovered sooner the dog would have been
successful in finding the body, as its powers of scent
are marvellous. On Saturday it was allowed to smell
a small quantity of the sawdust in which the body
had been enveloped, and on being let loose it made
its way into the tomb, aind after going round it three
times leaped on to the shelf on which the coffin had
lain. There is a belief that when the open weather
comes Morgan may still be successful. To-day (Sunday)
the wells and tanks in the neighbourhood were ex-
amined with "creepers," without any result.

Lord Crawford and Balcarres has issued a notice to
the public to the effect that any communication in
reference to the above outrage, if addressed to Mr. J.
A. Alsop, his lordship's solicitor, at Dunecht, will be
gratefully received if properly authenticated, and will
in any case be regarded as entirely confidential.

The Queen has informed Lord Crawford that she
has requested the Home Secetary to spare no effort or
expense to recover the body of the late Earl, and
punish the authors of an outrage which has caused
her Majesty much concern.