The Sun.
London, England, 1865-08-05 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUNd.

_
Sir,--Mr. Glaisher, of the Royal Observatory,
brought this morning the following important letter
from the Astronomer-Royal in relation to the
stoppage of the signals from the Great Eastern.
Mr. Glaisher also laid before the directors the
photograph sheets of the Magnetic Observatory,
showing a magnetic storm greater in force than has
occurred for many years commenced at noon on
Wednesday, the 2d inst., that being the time almost
to an instant at which the signals from the Great
Eastern became unintelligible.
Mr. Glaisher thinks it probable that the storm,
though very much abated, has not yet so ceased as
to allow the feeble current used in signalling
through the cable to be manifest at Valentia.--
Yours truly,

GEo. SAWARD, Secretary and General
Superintendent.
Atlantic Telegraph Company, 12, St. Helen's-place,
Bishopsgate-street Within, E.C., Aug. 4.

"Royal Observatory, Greenwich, Aug. 4.

" Dear Sir,—ln reference to the reported inter-
ruption of communication through the Atlantic
telegraph,—
" On Wednesday, Aug. 2, at noon, as is shown
by our photographic records, a magnetic storm com-
menced, which rose to great violence in the course
of Wednesday night, and was at its height from 5
a.m. on the morning of Thursday, Aug. 3, to noon
of Thursday. It declined slowly to 11 pan. on
Thursday night and more rapidly to 7 a.m. this
morning, Friday, Aug. 4. At present, about 11
a.m., the storm has generally ceased.
" The magnetic storm has been one of the most
violent—in some respects the most violent—that I
have ever known.
" Throughout the storm the spontaneous earth
currents have been very strong, and changing most
rapidly. The actions of the earth current galva-
nometers have, in consequence, been so rapid that
in general they have left no trace on the photograph
sheets. From Wednesday, Aug. 2, at noon, to 2
a.m. this morning, Friday, Aug. 4, the record from
our Croydon wire is, in consequence of this rapid
motion, entirely lost. The record from our Dart-
ford wire is lost generally, but occasionally some
traces are visible.
If the magnetic currents in tho Atlantic are at
all comparable in violence to those in England, it is
impossible that any record can have been made by
the Atlantic cable, though it be in perfect order.
" Perhaps you will have the goodness instantly
to communicate or publish this in the quarters in
which you think it will be most useful.
" I am, dear sir, faithfully yours,
" G. B. AIRY."

-45/1
410 u A./4A% •
_ F

HER MAJESTY.

OSBORNE, Aug. 4.
The Queen drove out in the grounds with Princess
Helena.

Princess Louise rode on horseback, attended by
the Hon. Florence Seymour.
His Royal Highness Prince Arthur arrived at
Cowes at three o'clock yesterday afternoon in the
royal yacht Victoria and Albert, from Milford
llaven, attended by Colonel the Hon. Sir C. B.
Phipps and Major Elphinstone. The Prince and
suite landed immediately and drove to Osborne.

- -

Foreign Courts.

PARIS, August 4.
His Majesty, a Plombieres letter states, gave a
grand dinner three days back at Feuillee Dorothee,
a picturesque chalet in the neighbourhood, to about
30 of the guests taking the waters. The band of
the casino was ordered to attend, and in the even-
ing dancing took place on the grass. The guests
returned to Plombieres at nine in the evening, and
finished a pleasant day by a ball in the bath-house
saloons. A curious incident occurred in the per-
formance of sleight of hand given by M. de Caston
before the Emperor. The exhibitor offered a pack
of cards for General de Beville to select one. Every
one probably knows what is meant by a "recom-
mended" card ; the speculator appears to choose
one freely, and yet only takes the card which the
conjuror intends, and which he afterwards
names. " General," said the Emperor, laughing,
" I have no confidence in you ; you are perhaps a
confederate." "If your Majesty would deign to
choose one," proposed M. de Caston. The Emperor
took one at hazard. " The Emperor could only
have taken C2sar," said the magician, showing the
card. It was the King of Hearts, which in the
French packs is always represented by the Roman
Emperor.
Count de Goltz, Prussian ambassador at Paris,
has returned from a visit paid to his sovereign in
Germany.

COPENHAGEN, July 31.

King Christian, accompanied by Prince Frede-
rick, returned here to-day from an interview with
the King of Sweden, in the province of Schonen.
King Christian visited the Industrial Exhibition,
opened a few days ago at Malmoe, and was enthu-
siastically received by the Danish exhibitors. King
Charles XV. of Sweden drove several miles on the
road from the summer palace at Beckuskog to Mal-
moe to meet his royal guest. It is not known
whether this visit had any political object. The
Minister of Finance, Herr David, will return here
next week from Carlsbad, and the Government will
then come to some resolution respecting the convo-
cation of the representatives to discuss the question
of the constitution.

The Duchess Dowager of Norfolk has taken the
late Countess of Glengall's residence in Grosvenor-square
for the remainder of the lease.

The Duke of Devonshire and Lady Louisa Caven-
dish leave town to-day for Chatsworth, Derbyshire.
The Duchess of Roxburghe arrived at Floors
Castle a few days since to inspect the preparations making
for the expected visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales
in October.

The Marquis and Marchioness of Ailesbury are
entertaining a select circle of friends at Savornake, Wilts.
The Marquis and Marchioness of Waterford have
loft town for Curraghmore, county Waterford, Ireland.
The festivities attendant on the celebration of the coming
of age of the Earl of Tyrone will commence in the last week
of September, and will last five days.

The Marquis of Normanby has left Thomas's
Hotel, Berkeley-square, for Mulgrave Castle, Yorkshire.
The Earl and Countess of Chesterfield have left
their residence in Grosvenor-street, during the last few
days, for Bretby Park, Derbyshire.

The Earl and Countess Somershave left Thomas's

Hotel, Berkeley-square; for Eastnor Castle, Ledbury,
Herefordshire.

The Earl and Countess of Seafield and Lord
Beidhaven have left the Claleudon Hotel for Cullen House,
Banffshire.

Lord and Lady Chesham and the Hon. Misses
Cavendish have left Parrance's Hotel for Latimer, Bucks.
The Hon. Misses Heathcote have arrived at the
Queen's Hotel, Upper Norwood.

Sir Willoughby and Lady Jones have left Brown's
:otel.

THE ADELPHI THEATRE.—The next novelty hero
will be a new version of " Rip Van Winkle," dramatised
by Mr. Dion Boucicault, and which will make the London
public acquainted with Mr. Jefferson, an actor who has
obtained a high reputation in America and Australia. Mr.
Boucicault will personally superintend its rehearsal upon
the Adelphi stage.—Era.

SIGNOR ARDITI.—It is said that Signor Arditi is
to bo the conductor at M. Bagier's Italian opera in Paris
next Winter.

MADLLE. ADELINA PATTI.—The Paris press has
been betrothing Madlle. Adelina Patti to a young Milanese
merchant. Her brother-in-law, M. 8 trakosch, writes to a
journal to say that the story is wholly untrue.
WHOLESALE DESTRUCTION OF LETTERS BY A
POSTMAN.—A young man who was employed as
temporary messenger or postman at Aldershot has been sent
for trial on a charge of secreting or destroying 300 letters
entrusted to him for delivery. The landlord of a beer-
house in which prisoner lodged noticed that he had a
number of undelivered letters about him, and on examining
his room found a large number there. Prisoner was occa-
sionally drunk, and on one occasion the landlord had sent
a_ young man out with him to see that the letters were
properly delivered. After seeing the letters in prisoner's
room he gave information to the postmaster for Aldershot,
Mr. H. Allen, and a search was at once instituted, which
resulted in about 300 letters being discovered. Some of
these had been in the prisoner's possession for seven days
previous to his arrest, this having taken place on the 23d
ult. Among others found under his bed was a registered
letter containing two £lO notes. A witness lodging in the
same house as the prisoner stated that he had seen him
throw five or six letters into the fire, and when remon-
strated with, ho said, " Oh, it's nothing ; I mado away
with 50 more this week." All the letters found on the
prisoner and in his room had been delivered to him the
same day, the 23d July.

WOMAN'S RIGIITS.—A young woman named
Harris, who was courted by a man named Burroughs, and
who killed the latter when, without informing her of his
intention, he married another, has just been acquitted at
Washington, after a trial which lasted several days and
filled dozens of columns in the papers. The result of the
trial prompts the New York Times to make tho following
reflections " The verdict only furnishes a new illustration
of what mustbe regarded as a settled principle in American
law—that any woman who considers herself aggrieved in
any way by a member of the other sex may kill him with
impunity and with an assured immunity from the prescribed
penalties of law. The man may really have been guilty
neither of crimes against her person, an assault upon her
honour, nor an offence against her feelings ; if she is seized
by a fancy that his course of conduct towards her is not
such as she had anticipated from his addresses, she may kill
him upon notice or withoutnotico. If a man is murdered by
a member of the opposite sex in any of the cases supposed,
or in almost any supposable case whatever, she is almost
certain to escape not only the extreme penalty of the law,
but any penalty whatever. It were useless to find fault with
this state of things. It is peculiar to America, and people

in general aro decidedly proud of it. There is no reason in
the nature of things why criminals of one sex should be
treated with such exceptional and dubious honour, but who
shall argue with the feelings of a jury, backed up by public
sentiment and custom ? It is well enough, however, that
every man should always bear the fact in mind, so that he
may on all occasions so comport himself in the presence of
the sex as never to give any of them either a real or fanci-
ful pretext for taking him off untimely."
SEVERAL MEN STRUCK BY LIGHTNING AT MoNI-
FIETH.—On Tuesday afternoon, says the Dundee
Advertiser, the district around Monifieth was visited with
a perfect deluge of hail and rain for a short time, accom-
panied with vivid flashes of lightning and loud peals of
thunder. During this time, while a number of the work-
men employed at Mr. Gordon's buildings were taking
shelter from the violent rain in the newly-erected stables,
the electric fluid struck the east end of the erection,
knocked a hole right through the roof, split and torn one
of the wooden wings, and knocked down eight or nine of
the workmen. None of them were seriously injured, and
they were all able to walk home and to resume their work
next morning, although a number of them were still feeling
its effects.
THE FATAL ACCIDENT AT MISS BURDETT COUTTS'
MODEL LODGING-HOUSE.---An inquest was held last even-,
ing by Mr. Humphreys, the coroner, as to the death of
Wm. Morrison, aged 41, who fell a distance of 50ft. from a
scaffold erected in front of the new model lodging-houses, h
Crabtree-walk, Hackney-road, Bethnal-green, whereby °
sustained a compound fracture of the skull, causing
diate death. The deceased has loft a wife and five
dren uhprovided for. Verdict--" .4.coidental death."