The Sun.
London, England, 1841-08-04 00:00:00

DOST MAHOMMED KHAN AT CALCUTTA.

—The Government-house party last night, in honour of
her Majesty's entrance upon her 23d year, went off with
great eclat, and, considering the strong nor-wester, with
something more than the sound of abundance of rain,
was in full force from half-past eight to nine P.X., the
fireworks went off very well too. The ex-Ameer, Post
Mahommed Khan, was of course the grand lion of the
evening. What would my Lady Jersey or my Lady
Londonderry have given for such a lion ? and he bore
the starings and gazings of the multitude with very laud-
able patience and complacency. He sate for some time
with Lord Auckland, in the full enjoyment of the rich
conversational exuberance for which that Nobleman is
celebrated, and afterwards seated himself to a quiet
game of chess with the Honourable Miss Eden. His
gallantry would not permit him to win the first game,
but he checkmated the lady in the second, after a few
moves. He said that be would have checkmated
old Sale too, out in the Kohistan, if Sekunder Burnes
had not been so active with his money-bags. When
he took Miss Eden's second knight, he observed, with a
smile, that the horsemen of the British were always soon
cleared off the board. " Yes," said Miss Eden, smiling, and
suiting the action to the word, "but we know how to take
your castles." " Ah 1" rejoined the Post good humouredly,
" but if the father had been there instead of the son you
would have heard less about your Ghuznee victory."
The conversation that passed between the ex-Ameer
and the Governor- General was highly interesting. It
related chiefly to the social customs of the British. The
Dost was very eager to know what the gentlemen said
to their partners between the figures of the dance, and
Captain Nicholson was accordingly ordered to interpret,
sotto voce, what was passing between Mr. and
Miss —, who happened to be near the l)ost, but the
ex-Ameer soon stopped him, observing, " You blame us
Moslems for saying that our women have no souls, and
yet you British talk to your women as though you were
fully convinced of the fact."—Hurkaru, May 25.
GIGANTIC JEOLIA N.—Captain Hans, of
Basle, thus designates an apparatus which, of itself, emits
a variety of tones on a change of weather. Since the
year 1787, he has stretched in his garden fifteen iron
strings, or wires, 320 feet long, at a distance of two
inches one from the other. The largest is two lines in
diameter, the smallest one line, and the intermediate
strings a line and a half. They are placed to the
south, and inclined from 20 to 30 degrees. Their ten-
sion is effected by an apparatus prepared for the occasion.
At every change of weather these resound very forcibly.
Sometimes th sound resembles that of water when
in a state of ebullition ; sometimes that of the Har-
monica ; and at others that of distant chimes, or of
an organ. The invention of this curious machine is
due to Mr. Ventan, provost at Burkill, near Basle.
The following was the occasion of its discovery.
He sometimes amused himself by shooting with a
cross-bow, at a target opposite to his window and
in order to withdraw at will the arrow discharged, he.
fixed thereto an iron string. He more than once re-
marked, that the string sounded exactly the octave of its
whole length ; and he also found, that all the iron
strings, strung in a direction paralled to the sound, gave •
this intonation at each change of the weather. A cop-
per string produced no sound, nor did iron wire when
strung from east to west. M. Dobereiner, of Jena, con-
ceives that the phenomenon just described is the effect
of an electro-magnetic action, and proposes to try if a
copper string might not be rendered sonorous, by placing
its extremities in communication with a powerful elec-
trometer. As a very curious and scientific experiment,.
we recommend the trial to such of our readers as have
access to the needful apparatus, as any discovery rela-
tive to the philosophy of sound must be valuable to musi-
cians, considering the very imperfect data they possess
on the subject.—Musical World
On Monday afternoon a daring robbery was
committed on a Russian gentleman of the name of Kolli-
koff, while passing along Cheapside. The gentleman was
standing at the corner of Friday-street, where several
persons had collected till a cart had passed, when two of
the swell mob managed to rob him of a steel purse, con-
taining 5/. 10s. in gold, and 13s. 4d. in silver. The
thieves were about to decamp with their booty, whena
person, named Crofton, who witnessed the robbery, .In-
formed the gentleman of it, when one of the thieves seeing
asieewirg
they were followed, threw away the purse, Iv.
picked up by Mr. Crofton, and the fellows ‘;'7_iven into.
_
the custody of police constables Webb and Pearson, i!ita
took them to the station-house. As the gentleman could
not speak one word of En
him to the Russian Consul,
stated that he lodged at the
li,,shh,erthe ehpeoltoiceomk aann woaetnht with
the property was
Tim CHINE"' R -at which the Lord
a meeting
ryas held Hotel de Commerce,hisr:
a t and_eral rooA Leicester-square.
fewo ,ayago
ent
easilsrpfor thseevepruarlpoyseearosf
in
nreccehivininz
gave an interestingse in
and affecting account of the -wadi-.
several particulars, and more es-
ne
deplorable destitution of medical know- •
pedal): of their
consequence of which the ravages of disease
ledge, in
re most terrific ; anhedescribed d
Ho
a which they sought, and the gratitude with which they
PParorlytnera,t
.sps lreioslded:
received,the advice and assistance of physicians and
tion of dill nCht Chinese
surghoenfaefriolmitießsrmitahiinenanmd,ereAtmhnesricaffa.ordleide
foarlscoompominutedni-
out t
suchca t communi-
cating ga
as concerns
otnhceemr n s otherthei
their
speciesm or
lofankndowspleicytue,alanwdeelfsapreoie.
A.
society has been formed in Canton of British and Ame-
rican residents for procuring for them medical aid and-
religious instruction ; and a Committee was appointed
to co-operate with that Society.—Correspondent of the
Edinburgh Courant.
LONDON AND BIRMINGHAM RAILWAY.—
We are glad tohear that the London and Birmingham
Railway Company have at last effected the object we
pressed upon them some time ago—namely, the purchase
of a piece of . ground contiguous to the Euston-square
terminus, so as to provide a hackney-stand within the
limits of their own station. An almost inconceivable
nuisance will thus be removed from Seymour-street, and
the company, having the selection of the coaches and
cabs who ply for fares from the up-trains, will be able to
secure their passengers, on arrival, something like decent
accommodation for reaching their destination in town,'both
as regards the comfort of the vehicles and the civility of
the drivers. It may be remembered that we suggested
to the Directors of the Company, in order to prevent
the extortion at present so grossly practised by hackney-
coachmen and cabmen on the luckless victims they pick
up from the railliay, that their servants should inform
every passenger who calls a hackney-carriage of the
amount of fare he has to pay ; but we have heard a still
better plan proposed—namely, that a competent officer
should be posted at the exit gate of the station to per-
form this duty. By the by, when the hackney-coach
stand no longer infests Seymour-street, we trust that the
Duke of Bedford will allow it to become a thoroughfare
ptoretsheen
tm therer northern
northoeornutlseutbtourbtsheomf
frothem themet Nropoelwitro
exceptad,
up woarpds o
edesftritawnos, betweenhundred lii
ministers
n ' s-cros
of
Ding's-cross and
rTeliotgion
ten-
ham-court-road.—Morning Paper.
have engaged to attend the Conference at Manchester, on
the 17th of August, on the subject of the Corn-laws.