The Sun.
London, England, 1847-10-08 00:00:00

EVENING, OCTOBER 8, 1847.

tians who do think it right to make laws for their
fellow-creatures, are bound by their profession to
make those laws as much in agreement tis possible
with the genius, the spirit, and the requirements of
Divine revelation. (I would not for all the honours
and emoluments in the world have the future respon-
sibility of those law-makers, who are about to kill a
poor woman next week, by hanging her up with a
cord round her neck at Newgate.)
But, Sir, as to the immediate subject of this letter,
if legislators found that a Statute of Limitations
would not apply to crime, surely an equity court
ought to decide on the merits of each case of long
standing, and not visit the penitent, the reformed, the
now respectable, useful, and honourable man with the
same punishment as would be awarded to him who on
trial is found to have continued in his depraved and
vicious career.

How inefficient and inconsistent are all man's at-
tempts to govern ! How beautiful and benevolent are
the requirements of Heaven !—" Do justly, love
mercy, and walk humbly with thy God."
In haste, yours, &c.,
Gloucestershire, Oct. 6, 1847. DALETH.

THE ECLIPSE TO-MORROW.

_ .
The eclipse which takes place with to-morrow's rising
sun will be the largest that has happened in England
for 83 years, in many respects exceeding the famous
one on April the Ist, 1764, nor will any such occur
again until March 15, 1858. Astronomers are look-
ing forward to the event with peculiar interest, inas•
much as they expect that it will either verify or dis-
prove a statement that during the eclipse in 1842, as
seen at Pavia, in Italy, there were observed some
tinted protuberances, like the pyramidal cogs of a
wheel, to emerge from under the dark border of the
moon. Mr. Baily, who went to that place expressly
for the purpose of observing the phenomenon, says—
" I at first looked out very narrowly for the black
lines w hich were seen in the annular eclipse of 1836,
as they would probably precede the string of beads.
These lines, however, did not make their appearance;
or at least they were not seen by me. But the beads
were distinctly visible, and, on their first appearance,
I had noted down on paper the time of my chrono-
meter, and was in the act of counting the seconds, in
order to ascertain the time of their duration, when
I was astounded by a tremendous burst of applause
from the streets below, and at the same moment was
electrified at the sight of one of the most brilliant and
splendid phenomena that can well be imagined; for,
at that instant, the dark body of the moon was sud-
denly surrounded with a corona, or kind of bright
glory, similar in shape and magnitude to that which
painters draw round the heads of saints, and which by
the French is designated an aureole. Pavia contains
many thousand inhabitants, the major part of whom
were, at this early hour, walking about the streets
and squares, or looking out of windows, in order to
witness this long talked-of phenomenon; and when
the total obscuration took place, which was instanta-
neous, there was a universal shout from every ob-
server, which made the welkin ring,' and for the
moment drew my attention from the object with
which I was immediately occupied. I had, indeed,
anticipated the appearance of a luminous circle round
the moon during the time of total obscurity ; but I
did not expect, from any of the accounts of preceding
eclipses that I had read, to witness so magnificent an
exhibition as that which took place." Mr. Baily then
proceeds to say that the most remarkable circum-
stance attending this phenomenon was the appearance
of three large protuberances, apparently emanating
from the circumference of the moon, and he remarks
that his attention was so constantly taken up by the
remarkable and unexpected appearance, that he
omitted to watch for the re-appearances of the beads,
and therefore he could not add his testimony to the
recurrence of that phenomenon.
The eclipse begins at sunrise, 14 minutes 12 seconds
past six o'clock (Greenwich); at Torbay the sun rises
eclipsed at 14 minutes past six, and there and at Ply-
mouth, &c., it will be central and annular, or ring-
like, a white ray of uniform width being all round
the edge of the moon, which opaque body (the moon),
of course, is not large enough to obscure the whole
of the sun's disc. Let a person take a map of Eng-
land and Wales, and draw a line from Cardigan on the
left hand, through Gloucester, Oxford, and a few
miles south of Margate; to all the places below or on
the south of that line, the eclipse will present this
annular appearance; but at Hereford, being to the
north, the ring will not be quite complete.
If the moon were at a constant distance from the
earth, and the earth at a constant distance from the
sun, a central eclipse of the sun would always pre-
sent the same features to an inhabitant of the
earth ; but such is not the case : the earth is about
three millions of miles nearer to the sun in December
than in June, on account of her being at that end
of her elliptical orbit which is nearer to the sun ;
consequently the sun appears larger, or subtends a
larger angle, at the former period than at the latter-
Again, the moon's orbit round the earth is likewise
elliptical; and although we are accustomed to say
that the moon is about 240,000 miles distant from
the earth, yet when we wish to determine the dis-
tance at different times, it is found that the moon's
greatest distance from the earth is about 251,000
miles, and her least about 227,000. Now, if the
moon were in perigee (that part of her orbit nearest
to the earth), and the earth were in aphelion (that
part of her orbit furthest from the sun) at the time of
a central solar eclipse, the eclipse would be total, be-
cause the apparent diameter of the moon, as seen from
the earth, would be greater thanlthat of the sun. But

if the reverse were the case; if the moon were at her
greatest, and the sun at his least distance from the
earth, at the time of a central eclipse, then the eclipse
would be annular, that is, a ring of the sun's light
would seem to surround the dark body of the moon,
in consequence of the sun having at that time a
larger apparent diameter than the moon. These
differences would not occur were it not that the ap-
parent dimensions of the sun and moon, as seen from
the earth, are so nearly equal.
As, after the ring 1;1:0 appearance commences, it
will only last about three minutes, and the eclipse
itself commences so early, parties must prepare their
smoked glass or telescopes the night before, and be
stirring betimes. The interesting phenomenon will
terminate at about half-past eight, and will be visible
not only to European nations, but to several parts of
Asia and Africa.

Perhaps there is no better medium of observing

the eclipse than through two pieces of glass, of con:
venient size, first smoked over a candle, the smoked
sides placed together, and the pieces then fastened to
each other at the ends with flaxen thread. The
blackening should be denser towards one end than
the other, in order to suit the eye as occasion may
require.
It is recorded that during the total eclipse of the
sun in 1820 the day became so dark that some birds
actually went to roost, and the thermometer fell seve-
ral degrees, and there was a prematnre appearance of
night-tall, after which the cocks crew.

to tell Mr. Berwick the name of his father, saying
I that if his father were written to he would take no
notice of him. He was brought up at the Borough
Court on Monday and remanded till Thursday, in
order that inquiries may be made about him. The
prisoner was brought up yesterday for further exami-
nation, when it was stated thas he was not, as he had
represented, an officer of the Hussars, but had for-
merly been a private in the Marines on board her
Majesty's ship Victoria, whence he had deserted, and
enlisted into another regiment, from which he had
again become a deserter. On Thursday last, it ap-
pears he had gone to Plymouth, where he had intro-
duced himself to the officers of the garrison as the
Hon. J. C. Clare, and had succeeded in borrowing
91., after which he went and obtained a gold
mounted whip from a tradesman. He: had also
attempted on false representations, to obtain about
1001. worth of haberdashery, but had failed, as in his
attempt here.
The MAGISTRATES committed him for trial at the
next borough sessions, for obtaining the whip and
spurs from Mr. Hamilton, of Manchester.

DREADFUL DEATH OF A MAR-
RIED WOMAN BY BURNING.
On Wednesday morning, at eleven o'clock, Mr. C.
J. Carttar, and a Jury of seventeen respectable trades-
men, assembled at the Fishing Smack public-house,
Old King-street, Deptford, to inquire into the cir-
cumstances attending the death of Mrs. Elizabeth
Bryan, aged 44, the wife of Mr. Thomas Bryan, the
foreman of the boiler-makers' department in the
factory of Sir John Rennie and Co., engineers, near
the Royal Dockyard, Deptford. The jury having
been sworn, proceeded with the Coroner to view the
body, which presented a most frightful appearance,
the whole of her wearing apparel having been burnt
to a cinder with the exception of her stays, and the
entire of her person from her head being charred like
burnt wood.
The first witness called was Mary Ann Bryan,
aged 18, the daughter of the deceased. She deposed
that she went to bed on Sunday night last at about
twenty minutes to ten o'clock, leaving her mother
and Mrs. Barnes, a neighbour, together in the back
parlour. Her sister remained up. Heard them
laughing in the parlour when in bed. Some time
afterwards heard her sister cry out that the
house was on fire. Got up and went down stairs.
Saw father there scraping the fire off mother and
calling, " Children, assist." Her mother was lying
on the floor. The flames were then extinguished,
but her clothes were burning, and there was a great
deal of smoke. It was then about ten minutes
to twelve o'clock. A blanket was called for, and her
mother was removed up stairs to bed. Witness sub-
sequently asked her mother how it happened, and at
first she said she did not know. About half an hour
afterwards deceased said, "Take the loaditones off
me, and cut the strings you have tied my hands with."
Several surgeons were sent for, when Mr. Fulcher,
his assistant, and Dr. Downing, the police surgeon,
attended. Her mother expired at eight o'clock on
Monday morning. Deceased said she called out twice
while on fire.
Thomas Newson, assistant-surgeon to Mr. Fulcher,
deposed that he was sent for. It was then half-past
eleven on Sunday night. The deceased's head, arms,
chest, thighs, and legs were nearly reduced to a
cinder; brandy was administered, and a quantity of
flower dredged over deceased. Witness asked how it
happened, but received no answer. Witness after-
wards heard deceased say in her husband's presence,
addressed to him, " It is your wickedness ; you know,
you villain, you did it." Bryan then went to the bed
side, and asked if she caught fire at the cupboard.
Deceased replied, " You know, you villain, you did
it." Bryan made no reply, but turned away. The
police were in attendance, during which time de-
ceased's daughter was present. Deceased was
grumbling and groaning severely for two hours. At
five o'clock, in answer to Mrs. Barnes, deceased said
that her husband had done it with a lighted torch.
Witness left at a quarter to five.
Mrs. Barnes—She did not tell how it was done.
Did not hear deceased say it was her husband's
wickedness, &c., had done it. Was up all night in
the room. Never heard a word of a lighted torch
used by deceased's husband to destroy her.
Mary Ann Bryan, deceased's daughter, recalled—
Was in the room when the assistant-surgeon asked
questions of deceased. Did not hear her (deceased)
say her husband's wickedness had done it ; nor did
she call him a villain, murderer, &c., nor say a lighted
torch bad been put between the legs of the table. Did
not hear her father charged by her mother with mur-
der. She only said the stones hurt her, and said
" Look at them."
George Brasor, sergeant 22 R, went to the house
at twenty-five minutes to twelve. Found deceased
in bed groaning. Remained until three o'clock, and
often heard deceased questioned by her daughter how
it happened. Deceased said it was her cruel father,
he knows all about it, and again, that it was his
wickedness. Asked her if she caught fire after letting
out Mrs. Barnes, as she was the last person that
night. Deceased said no. Did the sparks catch her
dress ? She replied no. If done by reaching over
the mantel. piece ? She answered no. Asked how it
did happen then ? Gave no answer to the last ques-
tion. Considered deceased was perfectly sensible.
Deceased's daughter and Mrs. Barnes were present.
lie questioned her again. After this deceased called
Bryan, and she said, " Let me put my hand in yours."
A number of other witnesses were called, but their
evidence was of a similar contradictory nature.
The assistant surgeon (Newson) said great part of
the male witnesses were down stairs drinking and
smoking in the parlour most of the night.
Thomas Bryan, the husband of the deceased, was
called in, when the Coroner explained to him the na-
ture of the evidence adduced, and that he was prepared
to hear any voluntary statement he was desirous of
making, and if he declined to do so it would not pre-
judice him hereafter.
Bryan said he was desirous of saying all he knew.
The greater part of the statements made were false
as to his wife's alleged imputations. She had not
done so. He then described how he was awoke by
the smell of smoke, and that he ran down stairs, call-
ing upon his children to follow, and what means he
adopted to extinguish the fire, &c. He understood
that she did it herself.
At ten o'clock at night the CORONER proceeded to
sum up the evidenc.,, on which he commented, and
observed that there was great difficulty in coming to
a satisfactory conclusion, the evidence being conflict-
ing, owing to the confusion in a crowded room. The
Coroner then remarked on the law of the case, and at
11 o'clock left it for the consideration of the jury.
The room was then cleared, and at 15 minutes
before twelve o'clock the Coroner was sent for, and after
a few explanations to the jury, they returned an open
verdict, thirteen of them declaring that there was not
sufficient evidence to come to any other conclusion,
and the remaining jurors that there was evidence to
send the case before another jury.
The CORONER told Bryan that he might leave the
court ; but that if other evidence should be obtained,
he would be liable to be taken before a police magis-
trate and undergo an examination upon the capital
charge.
An immense number of persons attended, both
within and outside the house, to learn the result of
he inquiry.