The Sun.
London, England, 1864-10-06 00:00:00

4, 2 ,
,-;---
. ,
//L
._ellZ/",_
,
r Bib atti:
..--,........
.4 : '''''..
- THE BROTHEig-'DSIT -
iF -, .:*--, r.,.,- ..__, ~..-„,
. .t ..
-...1. ' ;---.f"' •
i 4,,-,- :.- - ir• --
--
....
~.----.............,
.I).'^ ''',•';'-c.c=,4,,, „can* • A i' /
...
,i.
.' N •
(From the for 144. -' ---:'
,112,;,,, - , 1---- ,
-,•••tAak, • ' co-
~,, el. :Aldsilikt, ( 7l
.5.,. ~.,
....,
•
riit„,, -•,..... - • 1-1,;; 44 t) - ~,i .
‘A -
?A gt .• .-- :; --:'--,•,. ..-
,---,
..: Mr Anderson, the IVizar otairtl, • .4/ Tor-
.., 4.6.• Bisque, a gentleman who desdCilbegila„, imsKs .• . •stkligi-
__.r., '::,
, D .41111$1111.• ._,,....; .Eqs SPi144174"44"111111117, -1-16:' - •
-11:1sN.::;itl
-0/P74.. .:. '.4IIIIEN 'A aWN\ . _ ..
'C.,......' t .tor 1 &
..-- , ,V \
—...,...e..-- _ . ...
'ateur," having both asserted tiat th an oduce, by

simple conjuring, the results and manifestations described
as performed by the:Brothers Devenport and Mr Fay. a
challenge hasbeen sent onbehalf of the Americans to Messrs
Anderson and Tolmaque. It is proposed that a committee
of gentlemen—consisting of persons whose admittedly high
character will be a sufficient guarantee to the public of their
good faith—shall be nominated to act as referees and judges,
and that the Americans shall in the first instance give a
seance, in the course of which the results already described
in the newspapers shall be presented, and that at the con-
clusion Messrs Anderson and Tolmaque will be invited to
produce similar results. The operators are to be tied by
the judges, and the conditions are to he in all respects the
same. With regard to Mr Tolmaque, it may be stated that
—although he produces the certificate of Dr Frank Buck-
land,who attests having secured him in a chair in the most
complicated manner he could devise—aarknes, or at least
concealment, is an essential condition of the ne,nif..stetien.
If, therefore, Mr Tolmaque asserts that he unbinds himself
by sleight of hand, or a feat of strength, he ought to explain
to the referees (who would, of course, regard the explena-
lion as private) the mo6lus operandi r accomkei.thieg 50
extraordinary a feat. Moreover, neither Mr Tolmeque him:
self nor Dr Buckland asserts that the operator, so to speak,
again tied himself up, which is one of the most remarkable
feats of the Devenport Brothers. Admitting, therefore, that
both results are achieved by whet is termed legerdemain,
that accomplished by the Davenport Brothers, is far more
remarkable than that effected by Mr Tolmaque. Since
the publication of the description of what occurred at the
seance on the 28th ult., several persons have offered to do
similar things. One gentleman (an officer in the army) has
offered to take off his waistcoat without taking off his coat;
but on finding that his hands and arms were to be tied dur-
ing the operation, he declined to make the experiment.
Another gentleman, connected with the medical profession,
has offered to untie himself in a minute and a half, but re-
fuses the other half of the condition—namely, that he shall
retie himself within a similar period. Those who believe
in the capacity of the Devenports as passive agents in the
matter have offered 100 guineas to the gentleman who says
he can untie himself in a minute and a half, but as yet the
challenge has not been accepted. The theory of the Ameri-
cans is that by whatever agency they are untied they them-
selves are passive agents in the matter, and that their own
hands in no way contribute to their release. Au ingenious
test was applied a few evenings since at a seance which took
place at the Queen's Concert Rooms, Hanever-square, to
prove the value of the assertion. To show that the uncord-
ing was not effected by the hands of Americans, some flour
was procured, and after the process of pinioning had been
accomplished to the satisfaction of all present, the fingers
of the brothers were covered with the substance, and they
were required to hold a quantity of it firmly in their hands,
clasped and locked the one in the other. They were at the
time dressed in ordinary evening costume, and it would have
been impossible for them to have untied the ropes, and sub-
sequently tied them again without being covered with flour.
The result was as the Americans predicted it would be.
When the doors of the cabinet were thrown open they were
found with their limbs untied, and in precisely the same
positions in which they had been left, but with no portion
of the flour on their clothes. The doors of the cabinet were
subsequently closed, and after an interval of two or three
minutes were thrown open, when the brothers were found
tightly pinioned hand and foot, and clutching the flour as
before.

PRICE ...... ...4d.
STAMPED:....Sd.

the American railway authorities was the difference
of guage. The Americans said to them " You limit
your usefulness by your guage being's feet 6 inches,
while the American gusge is 4 feet 6 inches, so that
you shut yourself out from all the American traffic,
unless you incur great expense." lie proposed the'
the American railways should put down a line them-
selves so as to obviate the break of guage, but the
reply was that the American railways bad subscribed
£BOO,OOO to the Great Western on the express
understanding that it should bo constructed on the
American guage. That statement had been looked
into by Mr Swinyard, and the result of
his inquiry had been the suggestion of mea
sures by which the difficulty could be ob-
viated. Turning to another matter, ho had to
state that Mr. Faulconer and himself had several
long interviews with the president of the Commer-
cial Bank and the cashier. The bank was about
to appeal to the Privy Council here against a judg-
ment which had been given in Canada. They would
remember that that judgment was to the effect that,
the Great Western of Canada was not liable to pay
more than their shareholders invested—namely,
£250,000, and that any further claim was to be
made against the Detroit and Milwaukie Railway,
for whose benefit the remainder was expended. He
had great hopes that the interview would lead to a
settlement of the affair on this basis, and if it could
be arrived at he thought it would be satisfactory to
all parties. 'With respect to the Detroit and
Milwaukie Railway itself, he had an oppor-
tunity with his colleague of going over the
whole line in company with the directors and
officers, and he was much gratified by its appear-
ance. The wharves were in perfect order, the line
was well kept up, the traffic was increasing, and he
had no doubt that what might have been some three
or four years ago considered a property of no value
would become very valuable, and this company
would get some interest for the money they had
lent them. The surplus revenue for the half-year
ending December, 1863, was 133,415 dole., and for
the hall-year ending July, 1864, it was 186,104
dole., and after paying all preferential and the cost
of renewals and new stations there was a net re-
venue of 66,291 dole., and this was before the rates
were increased. Since then the receipts in eleven
weeks had increased 55 per cent., and there was,
therefore, every reason to hope that the Detroit
and Milwaukie would be able to pay its debts, and
be a profitable adjunct to their own line, He would
only say, in conclusion, that they had a noble pro-
perty. He had gone over it carefully in the com-
pany of his friend and colleague, Mr. Faulconer,
and they were much gratified by the marks of in•
telligence and activity everywhere observable. He
begged to m Ate that the report and statement of
accounts be received and adopted.
Mr. GODFREY complained that so large a sum
had been left in an American bank without interest,
while they were neglecting their natural ally the
Grand Trunk Railway, with which they were un-
naturally at war. He was disposed to move that
no more money be carried to capital account till
every shareholder shall have received at least 5 per
cent.

The gentleman who writes the London correspondence
for the Belfast News-Letter was, it seems, one of the party
present at the seance of the 28th ult., of which he gives the
following description with regard to the locus in quo and
th' personnel of the party :
" As I happened to be one of the small party invited to

the private:seance which took place on Wednesday evening
last in the front drawing-room of a house near Portland-
place, so graphically described in the Morning Post of the
following day, I may perhaps, be entitled to say a word or
two on the subject, although I am wholly at a loss to dis-
cover the mysterious agency by which the manifestations
were produced. The writer in the Morning Post does not
identity the precise locale, nor does he give the name of any
of the persons invited to be present on the occasion. I may
state, however, that his version of what passed is not only
substantially but critically accurate, and that I can add
nothing to it save a few details as to the personnel of the
party. The house in which the manifestation was displayed
is the residence of Mr and Mrs Dion Boucicault ; and one of
the ladies present was the original and inimitable repre-
sentative of the 'Colleen Bawn.' All who have the happiness
and privilege of knowing this gifted and amiable lady are
persuaded that she would be the last person in the world to
allow anything in the shape of a fraudulent deception to be
practised under her roof or in her presence. Among the
ether persons present were some shrewd observers of men
and manners, all intent upon discovering, if possible, the
occult agency by which the manifestations were pro-.
duced. The Messrs. Devenport are short of stature, slim
iu figure, alau p featured, iutelltent-loOktg persons.

Mr. FILDER expressed his pleasure at hearing
the statement as.to the Detroit and Milvvaukte line,
but at the same time he must Fay that he by no
means approved of the proceedings and policy of
the board.

Mr. Evers said that the New York Railway,
which was at one end of their line, paid 10 per
cent., and the Michigan and Detroit, which was at
the other, paid 10 per cent. Their line was
squeezed between the two. He thought they might
find another outlet, and make their line saleable.
lie thought they ought not to lay do ein a third
line of railB ; if they did it wou:d be £140,000
thrown away, and he moved that ►he eleventh
paragraph of the report be omilted.
Mr GODFREY withdrew his amendment in favour
of that of Mr Evans.

They are very like each other, and would be taken at once
to be brothers. They have also about them that sharp

Yankee expression of "cuteness ' which we are in
the habit of associating with cur Transatlantic cousins. Mr
Fay, on the contrary, is a rather heavy-looking young man.
His complexion is light, his frame of rather solid make, and
his expression composed, if not apathetic. lie is said to
be of German descent, but I am informed that the name is
unequivocally Hibernian. Mr H. D. Palmer, who Barnums
the party, is a young man with round face, light moustache,
and prepossessing appearance. He looks and speaks like an
Englishman, and might readily pass for one. He declares
(and I believe wit'a sincerity) that he knows no more of the

After some further discussion, the chairman put
the amendment, when there appeared—for it 35
against it 38.
Mr FILDER demanded a poll.

ne CHAIRMAN said it would be necessary to take
a poll on the election of directors, and it would be
better t,) take both polls at once, and he theretore
moved that the list of gentlemen in the hands of the
proprietors be adopted as that of the directors of
the company.
Mr FILDEIt moved, in addition to the directors'
list, the names of Mr Robert Gill, and Mr Weir, of

means by which the manifestations are produced than any
of the persons who witness them. Dr Ferguson, the gentle-
man who explains what is about to take place, is a tall,
solemn-looking individual, about CO years of age, with a
somewhat saturnine expression of face, and a certain twang
running through his pronunciation which at once reveals
his origin. He wears his collar (an old-fashioned one that
ought to stand up) turned down, and a long black frock coat.
In speaking of the Messrs Devenport and Fay, he describes
them as these young men.' The latter are, I should say,
apparently well informed and modest, but unequivocally
addicted to the use of tobacco. There is no affectation of
mystery about them. They converse about the power which
they possess with the utmost frankness, and answer every
question put to them on the subject with perfect candour;
They mention having done many things in America even
more incomprehensible than aay which have been realised
on this side of the Atlantic, but express their perfect wil-
lingness to try the experiments again. They describe the
process as exhaustive to the constitution, and explain the
conditions under which' the power,' whatever it be, has the
greatest potency. Unlike Mr Home, whose ability to per-
form is uncertain and transient, the Devenports are always
in force, and can always command a certain amount of
force, whatever it may be. They state their conviction that
the power which they possess is a foreign power, governed
to a great extent by the will, but which they consider to be
in a very elementary stage."

Glasgow,
Mr VANCE seconded the motion.

The meeting was then adjourned for an hour, and
on reassembling the scrutineers reported that the
result of the poll gave 11,477 votes for the amends
ment, and 36,369 against it, and that there was also
a large majority in favour of the list proposed by
the directors.
Mr GODFREY moved a vote of thanks to the
chairman and directors, which was supported by
Mr EVANs, and unanimously agreed to.
On the motion of Mr HARTRIDGE, seconded by
Mr J. G. BURTON, a special vote of thanks was
given to Mr Alderman Dakin and Mr Faulconer
for the zeal and energy they had shown in under.
taking a journey to America for the express pur-
pose of promoting the interests of the company.
Mr Alderman DAKIN acknowledged the compli-
ment for himself and colleague, and the proceedings,
which lasted nearly four hours, then terminated.

ROBSON.—I am looking over an old sketchbook
of mine : not one of your ambitious sketching
tablets—your solid slabs, upon which I occasionally aspire,
with melancholy result, to portray the tints of the forest
and the mountain; nor yet one of your large-leaved draw-
ing-books in which I adventure upon the caricature or
graver cartoon; but a little book, some seven inches by
four, originally designed, I apprehend, for the keeping of
accounts, but by me used for setting down figures of a
totally different sort. It is an old pocket sketch-book,
solely devoted to drawing in the theatres, and I now turn
over its pages with melancholy interest. 0 register
hieroglyphic of happy hours gone boy, how many friends
whom I have never known, how many objects who have
never dreamed of my passionate attachment, do thy pages
set before mo I Here I see the inimitable Box, and no less
inimitable Cox. Here I see Herbert of the sunny hair and
graceful form, whom I loved as one loves his favourite cou-
sin ; and here the time-defying Stirling, for whom I enter-
tained an affection half filial and half fraternal. Here is
Charles, the second of his name, the merry monarch of high
comedy. He was the first of the great actors that I saw :
from him I first learned that nature and great art are twin
sisters. And now, as I turn the page, I seem to catch a
faint odour of dead rose leaves, a stronger one of orange-
peel ; visions of love in a cottage and passion in a pit rise be-
fore me, visions of maids and magpies, Kenilworth Castle and
Court Favour. Oh I Marie, Marie—ah, well I I never told
my love. And what have we here ? A little crouching figure,
peering cunningly into the face of a man in the costume of
an abbe. Who can this be ? This is he again—the same
figure, but in different guise. A Jaw now, [an eager,
grasping Israelite truly, but so collie withal—so irresistibly
comic. He holds a knifs and a pair of scales—Can this be
Shylock ? If so, bare thy breast, Antonio, without fear.
If he slay thee at all it will be with laughter. Again, but
this time a deformed dwarf, he sits aloft in an orange-tree,
and holds sarcastic colloquy with an apparently terrified
queen. And hero an old white-haired man, pinched and
sour-tempered, he crouches in an agony of desperation
against the wall at the head of a staircase. A taller man
in a riding dress looks at him in astonishment. Another
page, and I see him again, this time in the dress of an
ostler, leaning, in most impudent fashion, against a table
at whi 1 two gentlemen aro lunching, Ho pays not the
least attention to one of them who is addressing him, but
regards a glass of beer, which he holds in his hands, with
the glance of a connoisseur. And can this be he?--this
woman in the ample robe, who, with one chili in her arms
and another holding to her garment, is de.cending that
mountain path ? Once more, and I see a little old porter,in
knee-breeches and a short blouse,
wheeling a heavily-laden
barrow. He is evidently very poor ; he does not look as if
he had enough to eat : he is not sq-ong enough to wheel that
heavy load; his face looks as if he nul suffered, were still
suffering, ff " from some great trouble, yet he manfully
struggles on with his labour, and tries to whistle. I shut
the book—l will look no more—Robson is dead.—London
'Society,

THE ROYAL SOVEREIGN,—Ia justification of the
extraordinary determination taken by the Lords of
the Admiralty in regard to this ship, we are informed that
the Royal Sovereign was never intended for a sea-going
ship. She is a floating battery for harbour deface, capable
of being sent to any port in the Channel; but not adapted
to cruise with a squadron. She has no masts, and her
decks are too low for a sea-going ship of her tonnage. To
try her, therefore, with the ships of the Channel Squadron
would have been of no practical use. She was sent to Port-
land as a convenient place for trying her turrets and guns
and her behaviour in a moderate seaway. After these trials
had been fn progress for some time the destruction of her
hawse-pipe by an accidental shot left her with only one
anchor, and for the safety of the ship it was necessary to
bring her back to a dockyard. Captain Osborne then sent
up a list of defects and alterations, which were ordered to
be carefully examined, and, as they would require a consi-
derable time to make good, no advantage would be gained
by keeping the ship in commission with a large number of
efficers and men, with the winter approaching. It was
therefore determined to attach the ship to the Excellent as
a tender, keeping Captain Osborne, the First Lieutenant,
and a sufficient number of men on board to carry on the
further experiments with the turrets and guns that might
be desirable, and also to have the assistance of Captain Key
and the officers and men of the Excellent in carrying out
those experiments.--Times.
FATAL BURNING IN LIVERPOOL.,--At an early
hour on Tuesday morning a married woman named
Mary Beddew, who lived with her children at 32, Rol-
ford-street, Everton, was burned to death under circum-
stances which are at present mysterious. The policeman
on the beat heard screaming, and saw smoke issuing
from the house. He broke open the door, and found
the poor woman standing in the passage enveloped in
flames. He succeeded in putting out the fire, and had
her removed at once to the Royal Infirmary -but she died
very shortly afterwards. The room above, in which the
children slept, was found on fire, but the children were got
out before the flames reached them.
FRENCH RECOGNITION OF SERVICES TO AGRI-
CULTURE.—The Emperor of the French has conferred
the order of the Legion of Honour on F. H. de la
Trehonnais, Esq., of Bickley Park, Kent, for his
services to the cause of agricultural progress in France.
Prcbably, however, the French farmers are more indebted
to an English resident in that country for such services—
Mr Thackeray, a relative of our late great novelist, who has
laboured unweariedly in the cause of agriculture in Prance.
He first made known in' that country the advantages of
drainage, and imported at Ws own expense in 1846 6,009
drainage pipes, which he had laid down near Monterean
with great success, Since then he imported Ainslie's tile
making machine, and was awarded a medal by the jury at
the Agricultural Exhibition of 1849. Tho gentleman was
one of the jurors appointed by the Minister of Agriculture
at the late international competition of steam ploughs at
Roanne, and it seems probable that no very long period will
elapse without some public recognition of his Belvieu being
made.