The Sun.
London, England, 1857-09-07 00:00:00

ADVENTURES OF A CILCULATINGt

Pll EIV OMENON.

At the Marlborough-street police-court on Satorlay
a half blind young S xi.4s presented hiiwelf to Mr.
Beadon, to thank him for the assistance he hal given
a few days ago. This young man was found by a ser-
geant of the police wandering about the streets in a eta'
of bewilderment and destitu'ion ; and as the readiest
means of getting at his story, the sergeant brought him
to Mr. Albert, the interpreter of this court, who, having
questioned him, immediately brought him before Mr.
Beadon, who elicited these facts :

The young foreigner's name is Jacques Wincliler, of
Zuricb. He arrived in this country about a fortnight
ago, with the view of giving-public specimens of his
calculating powers. He had 'met with a person who
induced him to believe he could carry out his views ;
but that person robbed him of all his property, his little
stock of clothes and money, and what was of more con-
sequence, of a packet of letters to persons of scientific
eminence here, of the addresses of whom he retained no
recollection. Being utterly without means to procure a
bed, he had wandered about the streets at night for
more than a week, and must have perished from actual
want because unable to make his condition properly
known, had he not met with the police-sergeant
proposed to give immediate proof
of his powers. Sums of multiplication—eight, ten, twelve
The young foreigner
figures, by four, six, and eight figures, were calculated
mentally with unfailing accuracy ; cube roots, six places
of whole numbers, and as many places of decimals. were
extracted with facility ; and such appeared to be his aste-
nishing power of mental calculation and mnemonic
satisfied tenacity, that whenever a doubt about the correctness of
any solution was hinted, he instantly repeated the whole
ed ohn y ,
this hav
younging
inan were sories of figures, and went over the calculations again.
Mr.
himselfeofnothoaotoituaheoopowers
possessed order,
directed ss. to be given him from the poor-box for his
present necessities.

On Saturday the young man stated he had not been
able to discover the addresses of aoy of the parties to
whom had received letters of introduction ; his hopet,,
therefore, of interesting some influential person to patro-
nise hun so far as to enable him to give public specimen
of pis powers of mental calculation were complete!),
blighted.
In, the course of conversation, the young foreigner
said he became blind some years ago from over study,
and wh le blind he cultivated his calcalating powers to
their present extent. He had now,ever, very lin-
Iperfectly, recovered his vision. His chief inducement for
coming to England was the kiud notice which had been
taken of his case and powers by Mr. Charles Dickens in
the Household Words.
Mr. Beadon gave the young foreigner 5 .. more, and
advised him to make application to the directors of the
Polytechnic, or some other popular and scientific
institu-
ti. —

ELECTION EXPENSES IN ESSEX.—The election auditor
for Maldon has just returned the expenses of Mr. T.
Sutton Western, M.P. (who is about to be entertained
by his constituents at a public dinner), at 4221. 123. SJ. ;
those of Mr. Bramley-Moire, M.P., at 4201. 103. 9d.
se
and those of Mr. Peacocke, at 4141. 193. 9d. The
sums must have been very agreeable to the 5,888 inhabi-
tants of the borough. In North Essex, where there was
no contest, Mr. Beresford, M.P., expended 631. es.,
and
Mr. Du Cane, M.P., 901. is.