The Sun.
London, England, 1841-02-04 00:00:00

FORTIFICATIONS OF PARIS.

It is a curious fact, that whilst M. Thiers is attempt-
ipg to show that Paris, with his system of fortification,
would be impregnable, experiments have recently been
modc, in presence of the Duke d'Aurnale and several
engineer officers, with a new means of destruction,
which, the projectors say, rould render it. easy for a
besieging array to burn Paris, however fortifieth I was
present, at one of these experiments this morning, and
was much struck with its success. A ball of the
s'ze of a 24-pounder, with a crust or covering just
sufficient to keep it together until it fell, was thrown
at a -temporary construction, previously smeared
over with what is called an incombustible mixture.
The ball, which was merely thrown by hand-, burst
when it fell, and an enormous mass of fire issued
rrom it, and continued to burn for 20 minutes, Tho
intensity and extent of the fl ime was so great that in
five minutes the incombustible mixture lost all its
effect, and the construction took fire and was rapid,y
destroyed. The ball 'did not weigh more than five or
six pounds, but I was informed by the inventor that if
attached to a congreve rocket a ball weighing 20
pounds might be thrown upon any building, and that
substances might be mixed with it which would per-
forate the strongest roof; and thus permit the lire
to run over all parts of the building. • Now, if only
one of the detached forts were to fall into the hands
of the enemy, it would be easy, I. think, by send-
ing a few hundred balls of this kind upon the
wall of enclosure, to compel its defenders to
quit their posts ; but according to the Bill now before

the Chamber the fire of most of these fotfs would
reach the centre of Paris, and therefore if any of thrill
were to fall into the bands of the enemy the destruc-
tion of Paris might be hastened by the adoption of this
system. It is not pretended that the French would he
able to keep this discovery to themselves ; for the prin-
ciple having been once entertained, the secret of manu-
facture would' not long be a secret to foreign Powers.
It appears, also, that a besieging army would have an
e..lvantyge over the besieged as to the rapidity and con-
venience of manufacture. I mention this circumstance
merely to show you that French engineers themselves
see the folly' of a system of fortification which rests
upon cooping up troops in a large capital, where the
inhabitants would be sure to rise upon the Government
if they were to see their property burning.—Corres-
vandcnt of a London Paper.

THE BISHOP tiF EUMELAND.

CONFESSION OF THE MURDERER.

It appears from the accounts of Kuhnapfet's cxami.
nations in the German Papers, that his obstinacy, in
denying all knowledge of the murder and robbery, was
not overcome until the arrival at Freuenburgh of the
Counsellor of Police, Pankar, who was sent from Berlin
to inquire into the facts of the case. This officer sue-
c..-eded, on. the 10th, after having had the prisoner under
examination for six hours, in drawing from him a conies-
siln of his guilt. The following is, in substance, wLit
ho stated :—For four weeks he had resolved in his mind
to rob the Bishop, and also to kill hire, if that should be
necessary to secure his own safety. He could not, how-
ever, bring him Self to any positive determination as to
the day on which he should commit the crime. On the
morning of the 3d he thought he would carry his pur-
pose into effect that evening. \\Then the evening came
he put a hatchet under his coat, and proceeded to the
parish church to look for the Bishop's servants. He
saw the domestics, so often alluded to, enter, but he
hesitated ; he was not certain, he said, that the day
was a lucky one for him. He said to himself—“ Take
care. If I meet a woman I will not go the Bishop's
this evening, for women are unlucky ; but if I meet a
man I will go." While going cut at the church doer
he encountered a woman, but he thought, " This is no
meeting, forr-I am not yet out of the church." In the
street he met three men, one after the other, which he
considered a good augury, and he ijnmediately directed
his steps to the hill on which the episcopal palace is
built. Still as be went along he felt his mind uneasy,
on account of having' mot a woman at the church door.

He therefore resolved to rely on a new augury. "If
before the clock strikes six I shall see the moon thrice
covered with clouds, I shall go to the Bishop's ; if not,
1 shali defer the business tiil another day." He then
walked about a short while in the expectation of this
sign, and saw clouds pass four times over the face of the
moon. He v: as now satisfied that ever thing favoured
his project. He put on a mask, which he had brought
in his pocket, and proceeded Aithouti delay to the
fatal spot. Oa arriving at the Bisbep's he knocked,
and the old housekeeper answered the door. Seeing
a man masked she was agitated, and he kisocked her
down with the back of his hatchet. She was, bow-
ever, to rise, and he asked her for money. She
assured him she had none, and then he insisted that she
should go and get some from her master. She pro-
mised to de so, and he assisted her up stairs to the
Bishop's bed-room. Ile stopped at tire door, and hoard
the Bishop bid her to bring the man in to him, and lie
would give tie man something. On his entrance, the
Bishop, being greatly alarmed, drew out his pur;e, and
gave it to him. Kuimapfel said that was not enough.
" Well, you shall have more," said the Bahop, and
opened a commode, out of which he gave him a gold
snuff-box and a gold watch. The wretch still demanded
more, and in the mean time the housekeeper slipped
out of the apartment. Kuhnapfel ran after her, and
dealt a blow at her, which was this time given with the
edge of the hatchet, and she fell on the floor. All this
occurred so rapidly, that the Bishop, who was in the
further corner of his bed-chamber, opening the draw-rs
of the commode, had no ilea of what had hap-
pened. The Prelate gave him first a purse had,
of
Prussian dollars, and then another purse with gold.
He afterwards handed him certificates of state debt
to the amount of forty thousand dollars, remarking that
he had nothing more to give. Ktilinapfel then ordered
the Bishop to light him down stairs, as he did act know
his way. The Bishop tried to light a wax taper, but
he was so terrified and trembled SJ much that he could
not. " Give it to me," said Kubnapfel, and, taking the
taper, he lighted it, and gave it to the Bishop to carry.
In this way the murderer was shown down into the
hall, where the housekeeper lay. They heard her
groans, and saw her hit her head covered with blood.

Again the murderer raised his hatchet and gave her
some blows, in doing which, his mask having got de-
ranged, he pulled it off and threw it on the floor.
The Bishop fell on his knees, exclaiming, " Oh,
my God !" Icstigatad by an irresistible desire to shed
blood (such were his words), Kuhnapfel lifted his
hatchet and fractured the skull of the prelate, who fell
prostrate at his feet. He continued to strike his victim,
and he could not tell how often he had struck him. He
then left the house, determined to kill whoever he might
meet either within its walls or in the court. After this
confession he acknowledged that he had been guilty of
many other crimes.

VICTORIA THEATRE.—THE INCREDIBLES
ON PARIS —Considerable excitement took
place yesterday
at the stags_door of the Victoria Theatre, and numbers of
persons thronged round it to catch a glimpse of those ex-
traordinary and wonderful tnen, M. Laroche and M. Noel,
surnamed by their countrymen " The Incredibles of Paris."
Laroche is a fine hardseme man, of immense muscular
power, and in appearance a perfect Ajax. Noel is
slishter built, but cot the less good.looking ; he is very
dark, and much resembles Ahdallah, the Bedouin Arab. ,
The " Incredibles" have an interpreter in attendance with
them, 1..'h0, of course, materially assists in giving directions
for the necessary machinery being fixed. The first re-
Learsal took place yesterday to the evident satisfaction
of all
persons connected with this improying establishment.
A discussion on tha merits of the American
colony for free men of colour on the shores of Africa has
been proceeding during three cvenirgs of the last
between Mr. Scoble, the advocate of the anti_ week
Society and the Rev. Mr. Gurley of wash. Slavery
. n to their scats a nu-
. Ington United
Iloo)ri cce
fourhald'ili IlYio. tt rsl:llcwhe'cr : conf i ntl:e.
Of the &We, nud the :etnarkabic oratorical he animation
eSGtnatl
merousbeas: alatttisti:ibecanti: cbg:d°ll:ttri ia't niugeHii aallthrees'
The adjournment is to to-morrow
_..c v. Ilumphrey
The admission is gratis. r,, • . ev"ing eglit o'clock.
W tte e regret -to hear that 1 I?
on a shooting excursion in (S
of Ring's C )11ege, has been killed , ‘illil.,t
e "6')lka by the ac•7i;l:ntal :dis-
c" the' party.