The Sun.
London, England, 1854-10-24 00:00:00

I FRIZNCII SPECULATOR.

We extract the following from a letter received this
morning from Paris ;--A. story is told of one nervous
speculator, whose existence since what may be called
the first taking of Sebastopol has been one of uninter-
rupted torture, and the tale is not improbable under the
circumstances. The person in question has speculated
on a fall, and puzzled in common with the public at
large by the extraordinary and oftentimes unintelligible
accounts brought by the telegraph, be made a bold
effort to arrive at the truth amid the doubt and darkness
which encompassed it. With that object ho went to
consult one of those female somnambulists who, for the
small fee of a franc per consultation, will disclose all
that passes at the moment she speaks, from the North
Polo to the Antarctic, or from Hindostan to the back
woods of America. The stockjobber timidly put his
questions to the sleeping sorceress—" What are the
Allied Armies deing at this moment ?" (The consultation
took place the day before yesterday.) " They are en-
camped near Sebastopol." " What have they done t"
" They have burnt the Russian fleet—not a vessel
saved ; tiey have bombarded Sebastopol, which has
surrendered
Nrreon.:,lered„ ;Wkhilylednohtuln”dre,d, sr.,
eacnadusbeeratoerntat heed°
Russians
in all directions." " Are the Allies iu Sebastos;olal7" I
the city, nwhtiheheirisfiirae
and Fort St. Nicholas are still standing,
gehikoff comeb up to the
prevents them from occtmipyelilisi
Allies ?" " Yes, butpseehe,aslb,,ceeenh
ruins !" " Has Prince
again eaten, and his
Perokop !"
mitt followedlo st ,by,larefse
~,
army cut to pieces.
horsemen flying towards
Rus-
sians are beaten, and the Crimeal
6.f_theliorst,(the French "Then the
NThenlilpaeln
is more emphatic), and 1 shall
rallying ...”
I "None whatever."
expression employed
day !", was the wild exclaniatibone executed
ecthuetedboluierxsiterseattsliz
snatched up his hat and rushed from the apartment.
Since then he has been' the most miserable man in Paris,
as he firmly believes in the truth of the somnambulist.

To THE EDITOR DY THE KIN.
Sire—,The recent loss of the Arctic having drawn the
attention of the public to the necessity of. adoptingsome
improved modes of giving warning to vessels during a
fog, allow me to submit to your notice a plan I deeigned
a few years ago on the occasion of. the collision between
the steriener Europa and an ernieeaut vessel.
• The two methods in common use are by means of a
gun or a bell. The gun cline!, without doubt, is the
most powerful one we can have, but as the firing must
be repeated at short intervals, it becomes a source of
great &elegance to paesengere, as well as considerable
labour to the crew, to say nothing of the Injurious:effect
of the flash on the eyesight of the lookouts. The bell
signal has little power, and in a moderate breeze can
; scarcely be heard to windward. Steam whistles have
been used in some few eases, bat have not been advan-
tageously placed. I propose that a large steam whistle,
as mi-ical as .possible, be placed near the top of the
smoke funnel, the steam pipe being carried inside the
funnel to prevent condensatiolt, the stopouck to be fixed
in connection with either the main shaft or some other
moving portion of the engine, se that the whistle may
blow f7,r a certain reenter of revolutions of the engine,
and then be silent for a certain number more, thus giving
a periodical wariline, wide:, experience has proved to be
the best description of signal. By this arrangement the
whistle will be sufficiently removed from the deck not
to effect the bearing of the watch. The elevation will
extend the range of sound, and the intervals will enable
the watch to detect the whistle of any other steamer near
at hand.
This is the plan in its simplest form. However, to
car/ y it aut further, I propose that the duration of the
whistle- and the length of the interval shall indicate the
course the vessel is steering, or, at least, an approxinia-
tion—ia this way
• e evneele blowing. secnte Course ileered.
10 • , so
15
•
Revolutions of 1 25
engines. j 30 30 S..
135 25
40 .
45 ..... 15 ... -NAV.
Now, although steamers do not make the same num
her of revolutions per minute for any great length of time
nor the same number as one another, it would be easy
by means of the second hand of a watch,- to-note the time
occupied by any two of these intervals, and thus tell the
course steered by an approaching steamer. But, lastly,
to make the signals quite perfect, I propose that the
ster in be admitted to the whistle by means of a small regu-
lating donkey-engine, making exactly 60 revolutions per
minute. this the whistle would still sound during
such periods that the engines might be slacked or re-
versed to avoid collision. The details for working such
a whistle will be obvious to any engineer, and as they
would vary according to the plan adopted, and also to
the description of engines in the vessel, it is needless to
do scribe them here. Suffice it to say, that in all cases the
steam-cock, del also the arrangements fir indicating the
course steered, should be under tile control of the watch
on deck. In conclusion, although lam aware that there
is always great difficulty in getting plans of this sort into
general use, still, as some of your readers may consider it
to their interest to attempt tunic means of preventing the
sacrifice of life and property, I shall be sufficiently re-
, warded if it is the means of saving one vessel, and causing
collisions at sea to be as rare as unfortunately they are
at present frequent.
I remain, Sir, your obedient servant, •
F. CHI.3IITON; Engineer, Southampton.

IttLEATZE ROYAL, ILAYNA.P.ICET.
Ceder the management at Mr. Prekstene.

TS/f4 EVENING, OCT. 24,

Will be performed THE IRISH AMBASSADOR. Characters
by Messrs. HadAon, Chippendale, hews, Rogers, and Callsir:ord ;
bilas Reynolds and Mrs. Buckingham.

To be followed by THE SPIT ILFIELDS WEAVER. Princi-
pal haracter by Air.
Atter which, the First Part of the Ballet of THE STAB OF
♦NDALUSIA ,
To which will be added DEAF AS A POST.
To conclude with the FLOWER or TUE PORT.

HOYAL PRINCESS'S THEATRE, OXFORD-STREET.
Under the Management of Mr. Carats KEAN.
THIS EVENING. Oar. 24.
Will be performed the highly popular comedietts, entitled LIVING
TOO FAST.
To be followed by THE RIVALS. Principal characters by Messrs.
W. 141c7. Harley, Meadows, J. Vining, H. Mellon, Addison, and
Everett ; Mrs. Wlnstan ey, Mrs. W. Lacy, and =ages Heath and C.
Leclercq.
To concinde with THE II iLT OF TILE. BALLET.

THEATRE ROYAL ADELPHI.
Proprietor, Mr. R. srebster.--Directres*, Madame Celeste.

THIS EVIASINa, Cer.

Will le performed. an original Drama In Four Acts, called THE
with new scenery, dreuses, api ointments, &

Attei whie.)„ A MOVING TALE.

To cuttel'ada With the screaralng liarlesque of NOUL%..

ROYAL, OLYMPIC TIIEtTP.E
Lessee and Manager, Mr. A. Wigan.

TUB EVENING. OCT. 24,
Wlll be perf,rmed T FIE TRC•ITEE. Charletora bylies,rs. A.
Wigan r. V.ning. Emery, and Leone; Maakel , and Miss
neph.lis.
To be followed by a Farce, called A BLIGETED BEING, In
which Mr. Robson will appear.
To coneltde with TO OBLIGE BENSON.

STRAND THEATRE.
Sole Lessee Mr. F. W. Alleroft.

THIS EVENING, Oar. 244
WM be perform., SUNSET AT SEA.
After which, THE NNW WAGS OP WINDSOR.
To conclude with DON GIOVANNI.
Stallsy 45.; Boxes, 2s. 6d. • Pit, Is.; Gallery, 6d.; Private Boxes
Al le., to be had of Mr. All Croft, IS, New Bond-street.

ASTLEY'S ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE.
Lessee and Manager, Mr. William Cooke.
Trirnendons sacceSs of the new WAR SPECTACLE! which has
been received with the most enthusiastic expression of admiration,
and accompanied by tumultuous applause.