The Sun.
London, England, 1849-04-23 00:00:00

NEW MUSIC.

MULTUM" IN PAR VO. A Complete Instructor
for the Pianoforte. A New Edition, Revised. By
J. A Hamilton.

As in walinnatics, so in music, tla re is no royal
road ; but the road may be made smooth, and plain,
and easy, and pleasant, and the author of this little
work is the Mac-Adam of the road to music. This
" 21ultum in Parvo" answers its name. It is the best
and the most easily understandable of first books for
the pianoforte that has ever come under our notice.

THE LOUIS NAPOLEON POLKA.
By Miss E. L. Glascock.
This talented young lady has published a new
Polka, with the above title, which we recommend all
dancers and musicians to obtain. We had the satis-
faction of noticing a Polka by the same fair composer
a short time back, entitled the " Sea Serpent Polka,"
which has become a universal favourite with all
who have heard it. The " Louis Napoleon Polka"
is, if possible, better than the other, displaying great
taste and musical capacity, and deserves the patronage
of all those inveterate dancers who are fond of a
" fast" Polka.

LOCOMOTIVE WONDER—NE W
MOTIVE POWER.
Count de Werdinsky has communicated to the
Mining Journal a discovery which he believes he has
made, by which a convenient, inexpensive, and highly
effective motive power can be obtained from xyloidine,
or gun cotton. He crowns this discovery by another,
which he declares he made in the course of experi-
ments for rendering the first efficacious—nothing less
than a miraculous principle by which rapid locomo-
tion is obtained without any sort of propulsion.
These are his words :
" I have been engaged in constructing an engine
and locomotive, to be worked on the common roads
by xyloidine, on the following plan :—Small quan-
tities of xyloidine are exploded successively into a
copper recipient of a spheroidal form of 13 in. dia-
meter, and k in. strong in metal. Each separate explo-
sion is adequate to produce, by means of double cylin-
ders, a complete revolution of the crank. The object of
the copper recipient is merely to allow the intense
gases thrown into it room enough to expand, and
thus to change their percussive intensity into a more
gentle dynamic power, without in any way losing
any of the quantity of that power. I can, therefore,
let out from that copper recipient as much of the gases,
through a stop-cock, as would produce a pressure of
from 30 to 60, or 1201bs. upon the square inch
of the piston; moreover, by the very heat accumu-
lated in the metal of the recipient, the gases are kept
up to their original strength, so that, the longer the
engine continues to work, the greater the compara-
tive economy of xyloidine, on account of the heat of
the recipient and of the machinery, which serve to
keep up great expansion, and consequently great
power in the gases.
" My experiments with a steam-engine of about
2i-horse power, on the above principle, answered
admirably; but while these experiments were going
on I made a further discovery, and this last one is
verging almost on a miracle. The most prominent
features of my last discovery are—that the
propulsion of carriages on railroads, and on common
roads, will be now effected without engines, steam,
water, magnetism, air, or animal power, and pro-
pelling of ships without either of the above means,
sails, or paddles, or any propellers whatever."

A NARROW ESCAPE.—On Sunday morning two
young gentlemen, who have been in the habit of bath-
ing all winter, betook themselves to the point of the
Chain-pier to enjoy their favourite recreation, and
having, in heir usual style precipitated themselves
from the top of the pier, they immediately, as is
necessary in this cold weather, made for the landing-
place, but what was their horror and distress to find that
the late storm had washed the staircase entirely
away, and lett them apparently no chance but to make
for the shore, which, at this cold season, would have been
fatal, the distance being considerable. They, however,
succeeded in climbing up among the piles, till they, with
the utmost difficulty, reached a landing- place. Both
gentlemen were very much cut and lacerated in their
efforts to preserve their lives, and were about half an
hour in effecting their purpose.—Edinburgh Register.
SOUTD-EASTERN.—The storm on Thursday has
proved most disastrous to the posts and wires of the
electric telegraph on this line. From Ashford to Westen-
hanger especially has the machinery of the telegraph
been demolished. On nearly the whole of this space
the posts have been prostrated by the gale, and the wires
smashed, and, as they had fallen inwards, the passage of
the mail train, which left London at half-past eight on
the night in question, and was due at Dover at eleven,
did not reach Dover till nearly one o'clock on the fol-
lowing morning. The delay was occasioned by the train
coming in contact with the broken fragments of the
wires and posts. The guards had to get down every
now and then,.to clear the rails of these impediments,
by which ono carriage door was knocked completely
off. It would appear the gale had blown one portion of
the posts and wires down, and that the swinging of
this portion, almost as quickly as the electrid fluid
itself, tore down the others. The pecuniary loss to the
Company, by the untoward accident, must have been
extensive, not to mention the serious interruption it
must cause to the working of the telegraph.—Dora-
Chronicle.
FIVE PERSONS DROWNED AT SMEEDS.---011 Satur-
day a melanchely accident oceurred on the river near
South Shields, by which five persons met with a pre-
mature death. It appears that a vessel called the He.
Tering has been recently launched from the building_
yard of Messrs. M'Leod, generally known as the Middle
Dock, and that several carpenters had been employed in
the vessel as she lay in the river, a short distance from
the dock. The workmen, to the number of 14, were re-
turning after dinner to the vessel in a small sculler boat,
and, when at a short distance from her, some of the men
on board commenced, in sport, to fling chips of wood at
the boat, which, causing some of the party to swerve to
one side, the boat upset, and the men were precipitated
into the water. Every assistance was rendered as speedily
as possible, and by dint of great exertion ten of the party,
including the scullerman, were rescued; but it is painful
to add that five were drowned. One of the five, it is
said, succeeded in reaching the vessel, and, laying hold
of a chain, he nearly reached the bulwarks, but being
either overcome with fear, or exhausted with his exer-
tions, ho lost his hold and fell into the water, and was
taken up shortly after dead. The whole of the bodies
have since been found, and the following are their
names:—William Keldie, John Annison, John Yougins,
John Wade, and John Kent. The two latter were mar-
ried, and Kent has left a wife and one child. On Mon-
day an inquest was held on the bodies, at the house of
Mr. John Hall, Wheat-sheaf Inn, Green. street, when a
verdict was returned of "Drowned by the boat swamp-
ing in the Tyne."—Newcastle Guardian.
CHEAP LAW.—WILLITON.—In the County Court
held in this town on Tuesday last, it was decided
that a plaintiff wilfully perjuring herself for the purpose
of damaging the defence was, nevertheless, entitled to
costs of attendance ! ! So much for County Court mo-
rality. It was also decided contrary to the recorded
judgment of Lord Chief Justice Denman and other
judges, that a servant may break open her master's pri-
vate letters, and pry into his secrets, and provided she
manages to get herself dismissed for something else be-
fore he discovers it, be has no right, if sued for excessive
wages, to plead this base misconduct as evidence of the
general character and behaviour !! ! So much for the
law and equity of the County Court.—Somerset County
Herald.

OPENING OF THE NEW DOCK AT GLOUCESTER:
GLOUCESTER, APRIL 18.—This morning the vessels in
the old dock were decorated with their flags. At twelve
o'clock, the Torrance Rowe, of Wexford, from Constan-
tinople, entered the new dock, with her yards manned
and colours flying, guns firing, and cheers from an im-
mense concourse of persons assembled for the occasion.
She was followed by English, French, Prussian, Aus-
trian, Hanoverian, and Dutch vessels, some of which
immediately commenced discarging their cargoes into
trucks on the railway, which were in readiness. The
persons employed at the basin were afterwards enter-
tained at the joint expense of the Canal Company and
Mr. Guest, the contractor. The new basin nearly dou-
bles the quay-side accommodation, and there are two
additional cranes, each capable of lifting upwards of 20
tons. At present the basin will be appropriated to the
discharge of cargoes sent by rail, which accommodation
was much required. At the general meeting of the
Canal Company, held this day, it was determined to op-
pose the Severn Navigation Bill,
the second reading on Monday next.
is
d,
situated.
It
to
o e wit_iihalieeah in comes on for
KING'S COLLEGE HOSIMAL.-0/1 Friday the 10th
hospitale
r, referring to heed, from
which
was
issued,
wataietihstictshemahy bs
the extent gf sickness/slid disease in the metropolis,
annual report of this
howe
v
greatly popu-
pimar teoecrdies ee lsyl9 districte
ct
hieais4a .'
me as ln
h
appears that in the course of 1848 there were 1,253
lapa-
tients admitted into the wards or e establishment, being
during the previous year. The out-. patients numbered 19,383
inclnc uding 419 poor married
women, who were attended at their own homes
during confinement. The
total number of out-door
recipients treated since the opening of the hospital, in
1839, amounts to •
considerably upwards of 117,000,
while the resident patients have very nearly reached
tu
several interesting
10,500. The report further states that the deficiency of
income during the past three years has left the charity,
at the end of 1840, in debt to the extent of 3801.; but
little doubt, however, is expressed that the efforts of the
governors and friends will speedily remove so small a
pecuniary embarrassment.

PORTLARD.—We are happy to observe that within
this past week, the Breakwater begins to show itself, so
that from the road leading to Portland it now forms a
conspicuous object. The " navvies" are putting their
best leg foremost; in fact all bands are putting their
shoulder to the wheel in good earnest.—Somersd Ewald.
DEAN. By FIRE.--On Saturday Mr. H. M. Walt-
ley, deputy coroner, held an inquest at the Middlesex
Hospital, on the body of Miss Elizabeth Pettit, aged 51.
Mr. Petitt, gas fitter, St. Martin's• lane, said that on
Thursday evening week he had returned home to his
residence, Brooks-street, New-road, and in a few minutes
he heard the screams of the deceased, who was his cousin,
in the drawing room. He hastened there, when he found
her enveloped in flames, which he extinguished, but not
before her clothes were nearly burnt off her body. She
was taken to the above institution, where she died the
following Sunday. She was drying her stays by the
tire, when they caught, and the flames communicated to
her dross. Verdict, " Accidental death."