The Sun.
London, England, 1825-09-07 00:00:00

FLAX TRADE.

The following. letter was received at the Bal-
tic Coffee-house, yesterday.
Russian Consulate, London, Sept. 6.
SIR-I beg to inform you that I have received an official
communication from my Government, which I think may not
be uninteresting to the Baltic merchants, and others, namely ;
—that several merchants in Revel have united to establish a
Flax Trade, in order to augment as much as possible the ex-
portation of that article. They have, for this purpose, engaged
an expert person, well acquainted with sorting the different
qualities of flax, and purpose shortly to send different qualities
of Esthonian flax to the different places and countries that trade
in that commodity.
I remain, sir, your obedient humble Servant
L. A. DE DUBATCHEFSKY.

To William Wilson, Esq.
Secretary to the Committee of the Baltic Coffee-house.

NEW CAT•BLOCE.—Yesterday a newly invented cat-block I
intended for the Druid frigate, fitting at this port, was tried on
.1
board of his Majesty's ship Britannia, to prove its strength '
before sending to sea, and the result being perfectly satisfactory,
it has been delivered over for sea-service, in order to ascertain
the merits of the invention. This improved block, we un-
derstand, is the invention of Mr. Bothway, gunner of his
Majesty's ship Bellisle. It has been got up in the dock- '
yard here, by order of the Honburable Commissioners of 1
the Navy Board, under the superintendance of the inventor, '
and should it be found to answer, of which there can be little
doubt, its general adoption will be of great convenience to the
service. The chief merits of the invention consist in the de-
creased weight of this hitherto cumbersome article (the present
block only weighing about two-thirds of that usually employed)
and in the very great facility with which it may be booked to the
anchor, in consequence of the alterations in its construction. It
is rather remarkable that there had hitherto been no improve-
ment
in the form of this machine within the oldest memory.
We may remind our readers that Mr. Bothway is also the in-
ventor of the excellent machines for raising and supporting in-
valids in bed, now introduced into the public hospitals and
medical establishments, with the high approval of the faculty.
(Devonport Telegraph, Sept. 3.)
The following is copied from a SNUFF..BOX,
made from part of one of the beams of the Glasgow Cathedral,
the only building of the kind in Scotland that was saved from
destruction at the Reformation :—" Respect me for what I have
been. Once I was a young and hopeful plant of nature : in
the course of years I became tall, the birds of the air were
happy under my shadow, and returned me their sweetest notes
for the protection ; by the hand of man I was cut down, and
stripped of nature's robes ; I afterwards became an arch in
the Cathedral of Glasgow, and for upwards of 700 years have
been a cover to the teachers in 'that sanctuary; 1 have screened
alike the saint and sinner from the stormy blast ; but now I
am an OUTCAST from the house of God, become a gazing-
stock in the hands of Man, and a part of my remains made a
snuff-box.-1824."
SAGACITY OF A NEWFOUNDLAND DOG.—SOIDe
time ago a child was walking out with the maid-servant in
George's-square, Edinburgh. The child was throwing a ball
before it, whch happened to run into the middle of the street,
and the child followed it. The servant just then happened to
meet some one, with whom she stopped to converse, and at that
moment a carriage came quickly round the corner of the square
towards the child. A large Newfoundland dog, which was
lying upon the pavement, darted forward, seized the child by
the clothes, and laid it safely down at the feet of the servant.—
(Edinburgh Paper.)
A discovery has lately been made in York-
shire of an immense cavern, situated in the
Se-
condary Lime-stone, described by geologists as
the grandest continuation of caverns hitherto ex-
plored. The access to and through it is perfecfitnlye
easy, and after traversing various windings (
cave scenery), you arrive at a beautiful archway,
from which a passage is made through to
day-
light, where the subterraneous visitors arriveat
an elevated terrace, nearly on the summit
mmaanndtiien
.est ohuarDiii:voroa--
I mountain in which the cavern is situated,ofcotmhe-
gsctehneefir;
I • shire Cavern. It has obfeetahenleiegri