The Sun.
London, England, 1846-01-03 00:00:00

THE NEW PLANET.

Since the discovery of the exultra-zodiacal planet Ceres,
on the Ist January, 1801 (soon after followed by the
discovery of Juno, Pallas, and Vesta), no occurrence
has, perhaps, excited so much interest in the scientific
world, as the newly-discovered member of our planetary
family, Astrea. '1 he observations of one of the greatest
living authorities on the law of Bode, of whose sagacious
arid far-sighted conjecture the recent discovery would
seem to afford an additional confirmation, will doubtless
be peculiarly acceptable to those who hare not Sir John
Herschel's work immediab-ly at hand. The concluding
sentence is, however, remarkably curious, and shows that
even the highest authorities may at times, from extreme
caution, prove at fault:— _ _

" The planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter,
and Saturn, have been known from the earliest ages in
which astronomy has been cultivated. Uranus was dis-
covered by Sir W. Herschel in 1781, March 13, in the
course of a review of the heavens, in which every star
visible in a telescope of a certain power was brought
under close examination, when the new planet was im-
mediately detect( d by its disc under a high magnifying
power. It has since been ascertained to have been ob-
served on many previous occasions with tele•copes of
insufficient power to show its disc, and even entered
as a star, and some of the observations which
have been so recorded have been used to improve
and extend our knowledge of its orbit. The dis-
covery of the ultra-zodiacal planets dates from the
Ist day of 1801, when Ceres was discovered by
Piazzi at Palermo ; a discovery speedily followed by
those of Juno by Professor Harding, of Gottingen ;
and of Pallas and Vesta by Dr. Olbers, of Bremen.
It is extremely remarkable that this important ad-
dition to our system had been in some sort surmised
as a thing not unlikely, on the ground that the intervals
between the planetary orbits go on doubling as we recede
from the sun, or nearly so. Thus the interval between
the orbits of the earth and Venus is nearly twice that
between those of Venus and Mercury ; that between the
orbits of Mars and the earth nearly twice that between
the earth and Venus ; and so on. The interval between
the orbits of Jupiter and Mars, however, is too great,
and would form an exception to this law, which
is, however, again resumed in the case of the three
remoter planets. It was, therefore, thrown out by the
late Professor Bode, of Berlin, as a possible sin wise,
that a planet might exist between Mars and Jupiter, and
it may easily then be imagined what was the astonish-
ment of astronomers to find four revolving in orbits
tolerably well corresponding with the law in question.
No account a priori, or from theory, can be given of
this singular progression, which is not, like Kephi's laws,
strictly exact in its numerical verification ; but the cir-
cumstances we have just mentioned lead to a strong be-
lief that it is something beyond a mere accidental co-
incidence, and belongs to the essential structure of the
system. It has been conjectured that the ultra-
zodiacal planets are fragments of some greater planet
which formerly circulated in that interval, but has
been blown to stems by an explosion, and that more
such fragments exist, and may be hereafter discovered.
This may serve as a specimen of the dreams in which
astronomers, like other speculators, occasionally and
harmlessly indu lee."

SUICIDE.-011 Thursday evening an inquest was
held at the Pickled Egg public-house, befor,r Mr. Wakley,
M.P., and a jury, on the body of Mr. John Cundale, of the
firm of Cundale and Morgan, Italian warehousemen, 42, Am-
well-street, Pentonville. On Tuesday last the inhabitants
of Holford-square, one of those new ranges of buildings
springing up so rapidly in the northern part of the metro-
polis, were alarmed by the sound of a pistol-shot. The square
is within a few perches of the Clerkenwell Police-court, and
Marryatt, police-constable 31 G. being on duty there, and
hearing the report, ran to the house, 34, in the square,
whence it proceeded. On entering the first floor front room
he was shocked at the spectacle before him. The floor and
one of the windows were besmeared with blood. The upper
pert of the head was quite blown off and the skull was quite
emptied of its contents. The weapon with which the un
fortunate man destroyed himself, an old horse-pistol, lay be-
side him. The ball passed through the window, one of the
panes of which was broken. The constable sent for Mr.
Mullard, a surgeon in Percy-street ; but it is needless to say
the man died instantly. Seven bullets, a card-case, and a
spy .glass were found in his pocket. The body was removed
to the workhouse. The house in which he committed the
rash act is not yet finished, and mechanics were at work in
the lower part of when the shot was fired. So bent was he
on suicide, that on leaving home in the morning he left his
watch behinu him, and divided one of the leaden bullets w.th
which lie loaded the pistol, that the work of destruction
might be more effectual. The inquest was adjourned. There
is no doubt of the deceased having died by his own hand,
but the jury, from the imperfect evidence, were not able to
say he was insane at the moment.
SUICIDE OF A YOUNG GENTLEMAN BY PRUSSIC
ACID.—On Wednesday, Mr. 'Wakley, M.P., Coroner, held
an inquest at the Six Bells public-house, Hammersmith, on
the body of Mr. George Hampton Trenchard, aged 19 years,
who committed suicide by prussic acid on the night of Sun-
day last. Mr. William impson deposed that he lived at
Bradmore House, Hammersmith, and isa surgeon. Deceased
st as witness's pupil, and was about 19 years of age. He was
a member of a highly respectable family. Deceased was
found dead by witness on the night of Sunday last, about
half-past eleven o'clock, in the green-house at the bottom of
witness's garden. He found the deceased lying or: the floor
on his side, and he appeared as a drunken man would. Mr.
Gatleff, another pupil. was with witness. Witness ue-
dia.ely felt deceased's pulse and found him to be quite dead
and cold. Deceased had been with witness about eighteen
months, fourteen of which he had been an articled pupil.
Had noticed no change in the conduct of the deceased pre-
vious to his death. Deceased was generally very good-
natured and steady. Witness judged that he was not quite
of sober habits from having missed a quantity of tincture of
cardimums, which had been afterwards watered From the
evidence of other witnesses, it appeared that a bottle of
prussic acid was found in the green•house, and a letter was
also found in the handwriting of the deceased, in which he
stated his intention of taking prussic acid, as his only re-
source of happiness. It further appeared that the cause of
his distress was an accusation made against him by his fel-
low-pupil, the truth of which he tulmitted, but bad received
forgiveness. The jury, after a short consultation, returned a
verdict—" That the deceased destroyed himself by taking i
prussic acid while in an unsound state of mind."
SUSSEX LAW --A labourer, named James Bishop,
was charged before the Lewes bench of magistrates on the
21st ult. with being on the Downs for the purpose of taking
game (rabbits). It did not appear whether the defendant
had work or not, but it did appear that he had not taken
bdutthweasconno-t
' hard
pleaded guilty," and he was sentenced to
considerablecentrfe;caen,
tuernitieasyto kee
labour, and at. the end of that term to tin sec .
elf
p
ob-
served egdamthea.t
itD wefasenadf
stepriloeuasdeodffe"ngeueitiotyw,"hiaenhddtehfeednbdeansnethhoabd
ach.
OMNIBUS ACCIDENT IN THE STRAND.—Thursday
The driver escaped
evening, as the Greenwich
andthe ptewaoc es
securities
(towardsi
nt
511.
e rabbits)
an fdo r
Blackheathomnibus,
hmise inlNoo/..
932, was passing the corner of 'Wellington-street North, in
dthuectSortrwen:Bl,
seriously injured. A
gentleman was thrown down with such
violence as to fracture his right re .
without the slightest injury.
THE LATE BISHOP OF JERUSALEM.—The will of
the Right Reverend Michael Solomon Alexander, D.D., the
first Bishop of the United Church of England and Ireland in
thrown t
he
Jerusalem, whose death we recently announced to have taken
x Ie
downtre e brokeitb
.thhe
place in November last, has just been proved in London ; the
personal effects in this country were sworn under 7,0001. It
appears to have been made just previous to his Lordship's de-
parture from this country for Egypt, and about a month after
his consecration to this foreign see, being dated Ist December,
1841. He has left to his executors and trustees, the Rev.
John Christian Reichardt, clerk, and C. 11. Corbett, Esq.,
both residents of London, the whole of his property, real
and personal, in trust for his wife, to receive the interest for
her life while unmarried, and at her death, or second mar-
riage, then to his children absolutely. (Signed) "M. S.
Angl, Ilierosol." The Right Reverend Prelate had only
presided for four years over this newly established Bishopric
in the Ottoman Empire, which embraces Syria, Chaldea,
Egypt, and Abyssinia. His death was sudden and unexpected.
having left his residence to attend a visitation of a part of his
diocese, and accompanied by his wife and daughter was
proceeding across the Desert from Syria, on his way to
Cairo in Egypt, when near Balbeis, and within a few hours of
reaching his intended destination, a sudden stroke of death
terminated his labours on the 23d November, 1845. His
remains were carried to Alexandria for interment,—Post.