The Sun.
London, England, 1832-10-16 00:00:00

IRON STEAM-VESSEL.

We noticed some time ago the launching of an iron
steamboat, built for the East India Company, and in-
tended to be employed as a towing-vessel on the Ganges.
The first experiments of the powers of this vessel having,
we understand, realized the most sanguine expectations of
the gentleman (Lieutenant Johnston, R.N.) under whose
superintendence she was built, and of the Messrs. Manda-
lay, her builders, and given general satisfaction to the
scientific men who witnessed them, it was determined to
put them to a still stronger test, in a new series of experi-
ments to be made below bridge. Saturday last having
been fixed upon for that purpose, the Lord William Ben-
tine k (so the boat is called) was brought to the East India
wharf, Blackwell, where the chairman, and several other
members of the Court of Directors, accompanied by some
scientific men, embarked and proceeded down the river.
Before the vessi.l started, she was visited by Admiral Sir
Pulteney Malcolm, who, after a very minute examination,
expre,sed his opinion that she was in every way fitted for
the object for which she had been built. After Sir Pulte-
ney's departure, the boat proceeded down the river, when
the experiments commenced. The first was to ascertain
her draught, and from this it appeared that her draught
was exactly 22 inches, fore and aft. The next was to
ascertain the power of the helm. The result of this was
most satisfactory. The vessel answered the helm admirably
in coming round; she turned in her own length completely
round in 50 seconds. It was next intended to try the
working of the machinery, in "starting, stopping, and
reversing" them. An accident showed how complete the
vessel was in this respect : a small boat, which came
alongside, and incautiously attempted to make fast to the
fore part of the vessel on the weather side, while she was
under way, was very nearly brought under the paddle.
wheel, and would most certainly have been destrayed, with
probably the two men on board, had not the command to
" stop her" been promptly given awl as promptly obeyed.
The rapidity with which thia was done proved the perfect
working of the machinery. The next trial was that of
speed. She went a mile against tide in 8 minutes and 53
seconds. In a subsequent trial, she went the same
distance against tide in 8 rgizzv.tes and 21 seconds,
and with tide in 5 minutes and 47 seconds. It
was intended to have made several other experiments, as
to the vessel's power of towing. Tlins it was to have
taken one of the Company's large hcys in tow a mile with
and a mile against the tide, and next two boys the same
distance, but the state of the weather (it was blowing
quite fresh), and au accident which occurred when she got
to Longreach, rendered it advisable to defer those experi-
ments to some future day. As far, however, as she had
been tried, the vessel came quite up to all the expectations
that had been formed of her. The accident to which we
allude was occasioned by a large brig, which ran foul of
her, carrying away two of her chimney-stays, the whole
of the life rail on the after quarter, the tiller and rudder-
head, lifting the rudder, and straining and bending the
piutles. Though this accident prevented the other expe-
riments that were intended, it was not without its use, as
it showed the solidity and strength of the iron work in

(From the Elgin Courier of Friday.)
It is this day our duty to record some of the con-
sequences of a tremendous inundation which occur-
red in all the rivers and burns in this county, on
Monday evening and Tuesday morning last. The
exient of this inundation, with the exception of the
memorable Morayshire Floods of 1829, has never
been exceeded within the memory of man. In some
respects the present floods were attended with more
extraordinary circumstances than the inundation of
1829. That great flood was preceded by 48 hours
incessant rain; in the present case it did not rain
above 12 hours, and for nearly six of these the
showers seemed moderate. During the other six the
rains descended in perfect torrents, resembling rather
the bursting of a waterspout than an ordinary rain.
The wind blew with tremendous force, making it
altogether truly frightful to be exposed to the fury
of the elements. We have never seen a night
which more nearly approached to the idea which
one forms in reading Shakspear's King Lear, of the
terrible storm to which that unfortunate aged mo-
narch was exposed, than that of Monday last.
The river Lossie came down with a suddenness
which exceeds every thing on record. It resembled
a vast body of water having broken its embankments,
and sweeping everything before it, rather than of
a river which had only been swollen by rain.
Not having heard of any serious damage done far-
ther up the river, we commence our narrative at
Struan Grove. The Lossie broke her embank-
inents directly opposite the house, which, in a few
minutes after, was completely surrounded by water.
ft entered all the lower apartments, and in an incre-
dibly short space filled them to the depth of four
feet seven inches. The furniture, of course, was
floating about in every direction, but we are happy
to say that the most valuable articles, being in the
upper story, suffered no damage. The prudent pre-
caution of removing the children to Sir Alexander
Anderson's, was taken prior to the entrance of
the water. One pig was carried away, but another
which had been swept into the house by the water,
contrived to escape by clambering up stairs to the
parlour. The water rushed with such force to the
gate of Struan Grove as to cut a very large and
deep hole in the gravelly nalk. Mr. Forsyth's farm
of Haughland, which is next to Struan Grove,
was under water to a considerable depth, and
over a space of a great many acres. The embank-
ments were cut, and the fields overflowed in several
parts of both sides of the river in that neighbour-
hood. Large lochs still lie in the adjoining fields.
Advancing onwards a little, the Lossie broke over
her embankments at Burrow Brigs, and covered to
a considerable depth a large part of that farm. The
water was within a few yards of the English Chapel.
The whole of Lossie Green was of course covered,
and the water advanced as far up the Shambles
Wynd as the Red Gate. The lane which leads
along Bishopmill to the Bleachfield was covered
with water full two feet deep, and those who wished
to get to their houses in that quarter, had no alter-
native, in the absence of a boat, but to wade
through the depth of water. At this season of the
year, our readers will be prepared for the intimation
that the inundation carried away a great quantity of
corn which was lying along the banks of the river in
stooks. A number of articles of furniture, some of
them rather valuable, were also seen floating down
r he water. So much for the overflowing of the Lossie.
Most of the burns in the county were swollen much
more in proportion to their usual size. Indeed,
they were, so far as we can learn, without excep-
tion, much higher than during the terrible inunda-
tion of 1829. It may be mentioned in proof of this,
that a great many bridges over these burns, which
were quite uninjured by that flood, have been so
much damaged (in some cases destroyed) by this, as
to make them impassable. Two of the bridges ott
the new road leading from Sheriffston to the Sus-
pension Bridge at Orton, have been greatly injured,
arid a large field belonging to Wharton Duff, Esq.
has been, in great part, covered with sand from the
overflowing of the usually small rivulet that runs in
that quarter. The bridge of Birkenhill has been
also seriously injured. The Longbride burn rose to
uch a height, that it carried away a smithy, a kiln,
arid part of the mill of that village. The above are
i tie principal injuries, so far as we have heard done,
!iv the great flood of Monday and Tuesday last.
They are a mere nothing compared with the destruc-
tion of property in August 1829. The damage
then done in this part of the country was supposed
to be about 100,000/. Had the rain of Tuesday
morning only continued for a few hours longer, in
the same torrents in which it descended for a few
',ours previously, the present flood would certainly
lave exceeded that of 1829. The rain seems to
rave been principally confined on this occasion to
he lower district of Morayshire.

Several physicians, sent from Italy to Paris to
study the cholera, have, in the account published on their
return, declared their conviction that the disease in that
apital was contagious. It is remarkable that while the
prictitioners residing in towns where cholera prevails
have often been non-contagionists, an opposite view has
.linost invariably been taken by those having no local in-
-erests, but sent from a distance to watch the disease, for
,he guidance of those in places where it had not reached.
Medical Gazelle.

TALES OF THE EARLY AGEs.---The plan
of this work, from the pen of the author of " Brambletve
House," is entirely new, and likely, therefore, to excite even
mere interest thin some of the former works of this po-
pular author. Each of the narratives introduces some im-
portant historic event. In the first, the scene lies in the
Holy Land, at the epoch of the destruction of Jerusalem
!)y TITUS, and subsequently shifts tp Pompeii. In the
next, the progress of Christianity is denoted by the fate
,f two lovers, one of whom sacrifices his own passion
nd the happiness of his mistress to the austerity of the
new faith. The third presents a picture of Germany in
the third century, aad also of Persia at the same period,
under &twit. The fourth returns to Europe, and brings
p, to the times of the Council of Nice; and the fifth is
.id in Britain, atter its desertion by the Romans, and
when the conquering Saxon auxiliaries of the natives had
-ained their first victory over the Picts and Scots.

EMIGRATION.—SeveraI large vessels have
-ecently left the London and St. Katharine-docks, with re-
.pectable tradesmen and small capitalists and their families,
or Van Diemen's Land and New South 'Wales. Three
.hips sailed last week for those colonies, with as tinny
iundred passengers of both sexes, whose respectability is
!uaranteed by the high price of the passage money-1;om
151. to 30/. each person. The r
brig Ell n, uouno to
iydney, was hauled out of St. Katharine's-dock on Satur-
lay, and left the river yesterday, with about 120 pas-
.engers, amongst whom were several agriculturis s and
,heir families. We noticed a few accotrplisfed and hand-
.ourie young women on board, a valuable acquisition to
colony so destitute of the fair sex.