The Sun.
London, England, 1870-09-15 00:00:00

11:11 h SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY, SEPTO I BER 15, 1870.

JOHN GOSNE.LL and CO.'S CHERRY
TOOTH PASTE is greatly superior to any tooth powder;
gives the teeth a pearl whiteness, protects the enamel from riemy,
and imparts a pleasant fragrance to the breath. Price lb. 6d
Eted Bull Wharf, 93, Upper Thames street, London.

Ult

things in great abundance, if it is exposed to
ordinary air; while no such development takes
place, if the air with which it is in contact is
mechanically freed from" the solid particles which
ordinarily float in it and which may be made visible
by appropriate means; 2nd, that the great
majority of these particles are destructible by heat,
and that some of them are germs, or living
particles, capable of giving rise to the same
forms of life as those which appear when
the fluid is exposed to unpurified air. 3rd. That
inoculation of the experimental fluid with a drop of
liquid known to contain living particles, gives rise to
the same phenomena as exposure to unpurified air. 4th.
That these living particles are so minute that the
assumption of their suspension in ordinary air pre-
sents not the slightest difficulty. On the contrary,
considering their lightness and the wide diffusion of
the organisms which produce them, it is impossible
to conceive that they should not be suspended in the
atmosphere in myriads.
These conclusions may appear to be of value only
to Savants. Yet in them is comprised the whole
rationale of disease. In the three years 1863, '64, and
'69 the total number of deaths from scarlet fever
alone in this country was 90,000. This, be it re-
membered, is the returnof the killed alone; the maimed
and the wounded in this war of pestilence—those whose
health has:been ruined, whose life will be shortened—
are not included. How are we to save this great
army of sufferers ? Only by studying the causes
of disease, only by tracing out the germs
of that life which is death. At present
the people perish for lack of knowledge ;
but patient investigation, "the diligent, loving study
of all the multitudinous aspects of Nature, the
results of which constitute exact knowledge or
science," will, we confidently trust, avail before very
long to save them.

Two months ago to-day war was declared by the
Duke of GRAMONT in the French Senate, and by M.
OLLIVIER in the Corps L6gislatif. Two months ago
.the French Premier entered "with a light heart "
upon a conflict which, however it might end, was
certain to be one of the most bloody and desperate in
all history. Two months ago—only two months—the
Paris mob was shouting " Viva la Guerre !" and
" A Berlin !" Where is the Duke of GRAMONT now ?
A refugee on British shores. here is M. OLLIVIER
No one knows for certain. Where is the Paris mob,
and where are the journalists who excited them by
constant stimulants into a war fever ? I\l. EMILE
GIRARDIN, the most inveterate of them, the man who
when everyone was content to have peace,:
continued to scream for war—this man so brave with
the pen has no stomach for a sword, and has fled,
leaving hi. readers to be shot down by the Prussian
needlegun, to be torn to pieces by Prussian shell.
Only two months ! It seems scarcely possible to
believe it. Into those 62 days the events of a cen-
tury have been compressed. And now the " To Ber-
lin" of July 1.5 has given place to the
order that on and after September 15 no one
will be allowed to enter or leave Paris.
The world contains no parallel to a change so stu-
pendous. Will the nations learn the lesson ?

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Lion have a life-saving fleet of 226 boats, which '
contributes yearly to the saving of many human
beings; at some places&An a scarcely less cieditable
manner than off the shores of Cornwall. It is at this
point, however, that daring and courage on the part
of the crews is probably at all times of shipwreck most
required. In the interesting history of Cornish wrecks
furnished, the reader cannot fail to be struck with
the singular bravery with which sailors seem ready
to meet death at moments when it seems but too
nel,r io them. In a case of rescue by the rocket
apparatus, in a very terrible sea on a winter's night,
we are told that the master of the ship from the
troubled waves encouraged file workers on shore by
his cheery cries of " Ay, ay," almost as . much
'as the landsmen who were most anxious to see
this man and his crew saved. The following
extract from the letter in the limes
will explain better what we mean :—" Brown again
! cries, Ay, ay,' and is submerged by the next
breaker. The captain and his mate are clinging to
the masthead. Have you the line ?' is shouted.
Cheerily, but yet more faint, Ay, ay,' reaches our
straining ears. The block is fixed. The hawser is
hauled out ; a few more anxious moments, and
Brown is lifted over the cliff. We feel, for we can-
not see, the dripping, battered, cheery little fellow,
who, after shaking like, an old Newfoundland dog,
' rushes to the cliff edge, to help in hauling np his
mate Joe, of Clovelly.