The Sun.
London, England, 1850-09-16 00:00:00

DEATH OF LIEUTENANT GALE,
THE AERON AU r.

The Courrier de la Gironde of Wednesday gives
the following details of the death of Lieutenant Gele :
—" Mr. Gale, who ascended from Vincennes, at a
quarter past six, descended at a quarter past seven in
the commune of Cestas, on a narrow spot of ground
situated between the property of M. Palauque and that
of M. Balguerie. Seven or eight peasants, who were
at work in the neighbourhood, ran and laid hold of
the balloon, the grapnel of which had caught hold of
a fir tree. In a few moments the balloon was lying
quietly on the ground, and the horse was disengaged.
The legs of the poor animal were completely be-
numbed, and it immediately lay down. It soon
afterwards, however, recovered itself, and rising
up, began to eat the grass as if nothing had hap-
pened. At this moment the wind was blowing
rather fresh, and the balloon, which the efforts of
the peasants could scarcely restrain, having been'
freed from the weight of the horse, acquired a con-
siderable ascensional force. Mr. ale, who was very
quick in his movements and very impatient, gave di-
rections to the peasants which were but badly under-
stood by them as he spoke in English. The aeronaut
had quitted the car, and was engaged in fastening
some ropes of the balloon which had served to attach
the horse, when, from some order misunderstood by
the peasants, they let go the rope which held the
balloon. The balloon thus freed, ascended in a
perpendicular line, and the branch of the tree
to which the grapnel had fastened broke. At
this moment Mr. Gale, who was standing up, was
thrown down into the bottom of the car by the shock.
Thi3 fall, added to the escape of gas, caused by the
prodigious ascensional force, must have stunned and
suffocated the unfortunate man, for he was not seen
to rise afterwards, and he was no more visible to the
people assembled. The balloon, in this second ascen •
sion, went about two miles, but what took place
during this period no one can tell. A peasant of Cestas
pretends that, as the balloon was passing over a fir
grove, he distinguished the aeronaut lying down
in the car, his head hanging over the side with
the tongue protruding from the mouth, as if he
had been suffocated. If such be the case, a slight
shock would be sufficient to have thrown him out of
the car, and this account appears the more probable,
as a hole was made in the bottom of the car through
which Mr. Gale ascended when leaving the horse.
We must, for the sake of the truth, mention that, at
the moment of his first ascent, Mr. Gale was not per-
fectly sober ; he had taken more than his usual quan-
tity of spirituous liquor, and his state of excitement
was such that Mr. Clifford was alarmed, and proposed
to ascend in his stead. This proposition was, how-
ever, rejected, and Mr. Clifford expressed his appre-
hension to several persons present. At eight o'clock
the son-in-law of M. Lestange found in a field the
plume of white feathers with which the head of the
horse had been ornamented, and which Mr. Gale had
taken off it and stuck in his own cap. Oa receiving
this information, some persons, Mr. Clifford amongst the
number, went to the place where it was expected Mr.
Gale would have come down in the commune of Cestas,
and after a long search the balloon was found in a field be-
yond the Croix d'Hinx still half full of gas. It was not
torn, and everything was in its place, but no trace of the
aeronaut could be found during the evening. After
some investigations, and as the night was far ad.
vanced, Mr. Clifford proposed to empty the balloon
and to carry it back to Bordeaux, thinking that Mr.
Gale, not seeing any one near at the time of his de-
-con, left the balloon to go in search of assistance in
some of the houses near, and where he would stop for
the night. Inquiries were, however, in ide at some of
the houses, but no one had seen him. On the follow-
ing day, Monday, the searches for him were resumed,
but without avail. Yesterday the Procureur of the
Republic received a letter from M. Pelanque stating
that the body of the unfortunate man had been found
on his estate at Cestas. It appeared that at break of
day an inhabitant of the Commune in taking his cows
to their pasture saw one of the animals proceed to a
clump of ferns. and begin smelling at something lying
there. He went to the spot, when he was horrified
at seeing the body of a man, the face completely eaten
away by dogs and wild animals, and the limbs in a
broken and mutilated condition. The place where
the body was found was upwards of a mile from
where the balloon had been discovered. Information
was immediately given to the proper authorities,
and they proceed to the spot and drew up a proses
verbal of the affair, and the body was carefully re-
moved. At eight o'clock in the evening it was
taken to Vincennes preparatory to its being in-
terred."—The Memorial Bordelais of the same
day gives a somewhat different account of the
cause of the death of lir. Gale. It says :—" At
nightfall Mr. Ga!e effected his descent between
Pessac and Martignas. He hastened to release the
horse from the ropes which attached it to the car,
and by his expressive gestures (for he could not
speak French) he explained to the peasants who had
assembled that they were to keep fast hold of
the ropes which held the balloon. When he
supposed that his wishes were understood, Mr.
(kale ejain got into the car, in order to open the
valves and empty the balloon as promptly as possible.
Finding some part of the cordage impeded his move-
ments, he drew a long knife from his pocket to cut
it, when the peasants, not knowing the use he was
going to make of the weapon, and alarmed at his
excited manner, all at once let go their hold. The
balloon, relieved from the weight of the horse and a
portion of the ballast, then rose again with prodigious
rapidity, carrying with it the unfortunate aeronaut
suspended by his hands, which clutched one of the
ropes. The position was frightful. Only the energy
of despair could have prolonged it for a few instants.
Mr. Gale no doubt must have soon lost his hold and
fallen from a great height."

Tile following particulars are from other sources :
This was the first occasion the late Mr. Gale ever
ascended with a pony, and it was a little remarkable
that, prior to leaving England, he expressed himself
in terms strongly disapproving of the absurdity of
the thing. When the French aeronaut, Poitevin,
went up on a horse's back, and more especially when
Mr. Green ascended with his Lilliputia❑ nag, he was
recommended to try the same draw. He, however,
objected, urging as his reason fordeclining, that there
was nothing novel in the experiment, as it had been
done years ago, and, furthermore, that much pain
must necessarily be occasioned to the brute that went
up. With such a strong objection, therefore, it was
thought that he could never have bsen induced to
make what is termed an
.equestrian ascent
Accompanied by Mr. Goulstone (who has a large
share in the balloon), and Mr. Gaulstone, jun., the
deceased aeronaut lest London a few weeks since to
make a series of ascents from Paris, Bordeaux, and in
Spain, at the rate of 901. an ascent. We are informed
that the conditions did not impose upon him the ascend-
ing with a pony; that is thought to have been a new
stipulation. No trifling inducement probably was
of him to make such an ascent; and money being
everything to the poor fellow, he overcame his ob-
jections, and lust his life. Although he was nut a very
old aeronaut in practice, he was a very hazardous one;
and by introducing that perilous feat of descending
from an upper car to a lower one, and discharging
a battery of maroons, he obtained considerable
notoriety.

The Allowing is an extract from a letter received
from Mrs. Goulstone, the wife of Mr. James Goul-
stone, fl )orcloth manufacturer, of Marlborough-ter-
race, Old lif-!nt-road, and proprietor of the Royal
Cremorne Balloon, who, with his san, Mr. Arthur
Goulstone, accompanied the aeronaut on his Conti-
nental excursion :

"Bordeaux, Sept. 11.
"Poor Gale is no more The cause of his death
was as follows:—He made a❑ ascent on the Bth,
mounted on a horse. All went off quite safe ; and he
made a descant at a place called Auguilles, where the
people (all French) inform 113 they secured the hal-
lo ,n with ropes, taking off the horse, and requesting
Gale to get off; but, not undersanding what he said,
they endeavoured to pull him off by furce, but being
in a great rage, he made them let go the balloon by
taking out his knife to cut himself loose, when he
shot up with great force. He was afterwards found
quite dead. After our first day's search I offered
a reward for the dhcovery of his body; but I must
not now enlarge, as I will write all particulars after
his funeral, and you must use your best mode of in-
forming his wife and family of his death, so as to
prevent their being shocked by reading the accounts
of it in the English papers. Please inform Mrs.
Gale that I am getting the freemasons and the public
generally at Bordeaux, to raise a subscription for her
and her family's benefit, and intend making myself an
ascent in the balloon in two or three days. The
Mayor of Bordeaux, Monsieur A. Fleury, has pro-
mised to attend the funeral, at the Protestant burial-
ground."

The melancholy news reached Vauxhall Gardens on
Saturday evening, through the medium of Mr. Wie-
land, watch-maker, of the Walworth-road, and Mr.
Graham, the aeronaut, and Mr. Robert Wardell, the
lessee, with his usual kind feeliog, immediately of-
ft-red the "Royal Property" for a free benefit for
Mra. Gale ; Mr. Wardell's generous intentions were
communicated to Mra. Gale by Mr. T. R. Lewis and
Mr. James Ellis, late lessee of Cremorne Garden.,
at which a benefit is also advertised. Lieutenant
Gale was in his 59th year.
The life of the unfortunate deceased was not with-
out many peculiar incidents, two or three of which
may be read with painful interest at this moment.
Gale was a native of London, and early in life exhi-
bited much aptitude for the dramatic profession, in
which, while he continued to belong, he made a most
respectable progress, prfo-ming such parts at the
Victoria (then the Coburg), Astley's, and; the Sur-
rey theatres as were termed the juvenile characters,
with occasionally the tyrant in the Eastern spectacles.
He was remarkable for his skill in snaking up, as it is
technically termed. With the late Andrew Ducrow,

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
MANSION--HO USE.
On Saturday Cornelius Merritt, a well-dressed
boy, was charged with picking a lady's pocket of a
purse containing eleven sovereigns, a half-sovereign,
and some silver.
Mrs. Kent, of Princes -place, Kennington-road,
said, as she was passing near London-bridge on Fri-
day, at half-past five o'clock, a man touched her
shoulder and said, " You have been robbed, ma'am."
A boy had just pushed against her, and was passing
on. She put her hand to her pocket and missed her
purse, which was the one produced. The lady de-
scribed the money the purse was found to contain.
The prisoner—l never took the purse. I was pas-
sing along, and a big boy chucked down the purse.
I picked it up, and then they took me into custody as
though I bad stolen it. The lady can't say she saw
me steal it, does she?
Edward Williams, a labouring man, said—l was
coming up the steps at London-bridge, and saw the
prisoner and a man together. The boy raised up the
lady's gown with one hand_and whipt the lady's purse
out with the other.
The prisoner—Why, be said there were four of us
about it yesterday. I know I had nothing to de with
it whatever others might.
Spittle, the officer,lB 9:stiindthheeahcatdof the
apprehendedstealing
a pu
prisoner in July, 4
rse,
containing two sovereigns and some silver, and the
boy was then convicted and sentenced to three
months' imprisonment.
Alderman Gipps committed the prisoner for trials
and directed that the certificate of the former con-
viction should be produced at the trial.
GUILDHALL.
JaneTrzteman was placed at the bar on Saturday
before Alderman Challis, charged with stealing a
pocket-book containing two 1001. Bank of England
notes, one 20/. ditto, °Lie 101. ditto, and one Si. ditto,
a cheque for 3G/. 155., and 71. 10s. in gold, from the
person of Mr. John Winpenny, woollen manufac-
turer, at present residing at the Castle and Falcon
Aldergate-street.
John Winpenny said he was lodging at the Castle
and Falcon, and on Sunday night last, between ten
and eleven o'clock, he was passing down Aldersgate,
near the Post-office, when be was met by the pri-
soner, who accosted him in a very familiar manner
and commenced fumbling about his clothes. Directly
he stopped to speak with her she ran away, and a mi-
nute or two after he found that his pocket-book was
gone. He was certain that the pocket. book and money
were quite safe a few minutes before he saw the pri-
soner. He almost instantly called out to her, and finding
she quickened her pace immediately pursued her. She
coughed in a very significant way, and a man who
had been hanging about for some time near the pri-
soner crossed straight before prosecutor and en-
deavoured to trip him up. She got clear away, and
prosecutor went to the station-house, and gave in-
formation of the robbery with a description of the pri-
soner, by which she was afterwards apprehended in com-
pany with several other women of loose character in
the Southwark-bridge-road. On Friday afternoon the
police called upon him (prosecutor), and informed
him that they had a woman answering the description
in custody at the Smithfield police-station. He went
down to identify her. He, however, said he would
not swear positively that she was the party for five
tines the amount of money, but he believed she was.
There were two notes of 1001. each, one of 201., one
of 101, and one of 51., of all which he knew the
numbers. There was also a cheque fur about 371.
On being. cross-examined by Mr. Wontner, who ap•
peered on bshaif of the prisoner, he said he was not
sure that she had the same bonnet on when he
first saw her; the shawl he was also doubtful
about. Ha was not more than two minutes in
her company. He
wanted to get "shot" of her,
but she clung to him and followed him as far as the
hotel door. He went in and she pulled him back.
He thought he was a fool for letting her. She had
the same form and style, with her round face, black
hair, and blue eyes, and he considered she answered
the description "capitally." lie was requested to
see the prisoner twice at the station-house, in order
that he might be better able to identify her. On
looking at the prisoner again he could identify her
more fully in consequence of a remark he had made to
her that she was in the family-way, to which she re-
plied that she was not aware of it. lie "guessed"
he was quite sober at the time.
Henry Barry, 455 A, attached to the M
said that about half-past three on Friday afternoon
he met the prisoner in the Southwark-bridge-road,
and told her he wanted her on a charge of robbing a
gentleman of about 2501. in notes and gold, in Alders-
gate-street, on Sunday night last. She said that she
would go with him, but she knew nothing of the
robbery. He took her to the station house, and she
was searched, and 7s. 7i, 1. was found upon her; but
no trace of the notes or the checque was d:scoverel
Oa the prosecutor declaring that she was the party
who had robbed him, she said she knew nothing what-
ever of him, and that he was charging an innocent
person. She gave her right name and address, and
witness searched her lodgiegs, but found nothing of
a suspicious nature.
Several officers of' the City detective force, who hap-
pened to be in court at the time, identified the pri-
soner as being in the habit of frequenting that part of