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

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THE BROTHERS !g:
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(From the iliorning"Toski
Mr Anderson, the Wizard of the No , ari*Mr 01.
naaque, a gentleman who describes himself as a " prestidigi-
tateur," having both asserted that they can produce, by
simple conjuring, the results and manifestations described
as performed by the:Brothera Davenport and Mr Fay. a
challenge has been sent on behalf 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 Americins shall in the first instance give a
adance, 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 be 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—darknes., or at least
concealment, is an essential condition of the manifestation.
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 explana-
tion as private) the modus operandi fur accomplishing so
extraordinary a feat. Moreover, neither Mr Tolmaque him-
self nor Dr Buckland asserts that the operator, so to speak,
again tied himself up, which is one of the most remarkable
teats of the Devenportt Brothers. Admitting,stherefore, 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 ei 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 asTassiv_o agents in the
• matter have offered 100 guineas-biihe-gentleinan 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. An 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 untiedthe 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.
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 patty invited to

Lilo 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 en 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 preche 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 Boucicanit ; 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
in figure, sharp-featured, intelligent-looleng persons.
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 rathsr heavy-looking young man.
His complexion is light, his frame of rather solid make, and
his expression composed, if not apathetic, Ile is said to
be of German descent, but I am informed that the name is
unequivocally Hibernian. Mr 11. D. Palmer. who Barnums

the party, is a young man with round face, lighlM;;;;,
and prepossessing appearance. He looks and speaks like an
Englishman, and might readily pass for one. He declares
(and I believe with sincerity) that he knows no more of the
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 50 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 earldom:
They mention having done many things in America evert
more incomprehensible than any 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."

THE ROIAL SOVEREIGN.—In 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 defence, 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 Kilt 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 in progress for some time the destruction of her

hawse-pipe by an accidental shot left hor 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
bg carefully examined, and, as they would require a consi-
derable time to make good, no advantage would be gained 3't
by keeping the ship in commission with a large number of
officers and men, with the winter approaching. It wilts

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 Beddow, who lived with her children at 32, Hol-
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 Jtoyal 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 bofore 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. It. de la
Trehonnais, Esq., of Bickley Park, Kent, for his
services to the cause of agricultural progress in France.
Probably, 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 France.
Ho first made known in that country the advantages of
drainage, and imparted at h's own expense in 184 G 6,000
drainage pipes, which he had laid down near Montereau
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. The gentleman was
one of the jurors appointed by the Minister of Agriculture
at the late international competition of steam ploughs at
Roane, and it seems probable that no very long period will
elapse without some public recognition of his services being
made.

MR. ALFRED MELLON'S CONCERTS.
LAST NIGHT BUT TWO.
ROYAL ITALIAN OPERA HOUSE, COVENT-GARDEN.
THIS EVENING (Thursday;, a BEETHOVEN NIGHT;
To-morrow(Friday), the Concert will be Miscellaneous. And
on Saturday, positive y the last night of the Concerts, for
the Benefit of Mr. Alfred Melon.
Conductor—Mr. ALFRED MELLON
Promenade, Amphitheatre Stalls, and Amphitheatre, One
Shilling; Dress Circle, 2s. Hci. ; Private Boxes, £1 is. and
10s. 6d.