The Sun.
London, England, 1868-08-14 00:00:00

REMARKs.

A region of low atmospherical pressure exists this morning in the
S.W. of Ireland, where a diminution has taken place since yesterday.
quarter of an inch in the
3t'ioans there has been a general
nßoarrtohmoeft
arne add. ibnugts
at southern
also less s
increase in pressure of nearly two-tenths. Readings at Weymouth
and in the South of France exceed that at Roche's Point by more
than half an inch. Temperature hai risen in Scotland : on the S.W.
coasts a fall is shewn. Since last evening high south-westerly winds
have prevailed on the Channel coast, and in the S. of Ireland the wind
was strong from the N., but it has now moderated generally. At
the entrance of the Channel. however, a :Aron^ southerly wind is
blowing. Ra
n these islands is general n ['
dof heavy mount in Scotland.
The weather
agenerally fine, but on the west coast
in has been
of France it is raining.
irEniagnene ,

The New York papers record the death of Pro-
feFsor John Millington, an English chemist and practical
miner, at the age of 89. He was born at Hammersmith,
near London, and was in early life connected with
Mac Adam, the celebrated English road maker.

A gentleman in Albany was arrested lately for
following a lady in the street. He claimed that a
man had a right to admire a handsome woman, let
him meet her where he might. The court and the
lady herself agreed to this, and the gentleman was
dischtrged.

Another disastrous explosion at the Oaks Colliery
has been narrowly averted. The mine is still heavily charged
with gas, and a few days ago a hurrier named Peak was
detected so tampering with a safety lamp as to render an
explosion highly probable. At the instigation of his fellow-
workmen he was prosecuted, and the magistrates at Barn-
sley on Wednesday sentenced him to three months' imprison-
ment.

At the Chapter-house of Exeter Cathedral on Wed-
aesday a charge of breach of the Church Discipline Act was
preferred against the Rev. R. T. Taylor, recto' of St. Mewan,
Cornwall. The Commissioners of Inquiry appointed by the
bishop of the diocese were—Rev. Chancellor Phillpotts, Rev.
Canon Lee, and Rev. W. F .Gray. Mr. Rhodes, of Chancery-
lane, London, defended. Mr. J. B. Daniell, of Camborne,
prosecuted, on behalf of James Coad, shoemaker, who alleged
that the defendant had refused to bury his two children
because they had not been baptised by a clergyman of the
Church of England, but by a Wesleyan minister. In sup
port of the charge evidence was given by Revs. Robert
Dillon and B, ujirnin Brown, Wesleyan ministers. The
Commissioners found a prima facie case against the do.
fendant.

SUPPOSED WATERSPOUT IN CORNWALL. A
phenomenon such as is rarely witnessed on the coast of
this country took place on Sunday morning last near
Fowey. A number of people were standing on the town
quay, at about nine o'clock a.m., when they noticed what
appeared to be a dense column, not unlike in colour the
smoke from a steamer, broad at the top and tapering
downwards, and scudding over the hills opposite, appa-
rently making for the sea in a south-easterly direction.
It swiftly passed away seaward, and ultimately burst
on the Pencarrow Rocks, between Polruen and Polperro.
It was pronounced by several old mariners to be similar
to the waterspouts which frequently take place in the
Mediterranean Sea, but arc hardly ever seen in this
country.

GYMNASTICS IN SCHOOLS. —There is even in this
country a growing tendency just rlow to make of gym-
nastics in schools a fatiguing, tedious, and monotonous
study, instead of their being an agreeable, diversified, and
most invigorating recreation. We invite attention to the
recent memoir of Dr. Gallard on this subject. The fol-
lowing are his conclusions. He proposes to proscribe for
young people the exercises of the bar and the trapeze,
and the monotonous use of " clubs" and dumb-bells ; and
to replace the factitious exercising in the gymnastic school
by free and natural exertion in such games as football,
cricket, tennis, &c., in which the masters can take part
with their pupils. Long walks may replace other fatiguing
exercises; and for boys the rifle drill may be introduced
after the age of 14, Swimming and horn-riding are in-
'valuable gymnastics ; and deprivation of exercise should
be li:wished from *144 9f ktiniann el*
- r
44/. fc 1
iltroiah

LITERATURE.

The Popular Science Review. Published Quarterly.
No. 28. Robert Harthvicke, 192, Piccadilly.

Of the many publications which profess to amuse
or to instruct the lovers of education, there is none
of more real value than the Popular Science Review,
and the number for the present quarter bids fair to
eclipse its rivals for this year at least. Among
several papers of merit it contains one of singular
interest, descriptive of the remarkable event of this
month, being the great eclipse of August 17, 1868,
by Richard A. Proctor, 8.A., F.R.A.S., author of
" Saturn and its System," " llalf-hours with the
Telescope," Sze., with plates illustrating the
path of the moon's shadow across the earth's
disc. The moon is supposed to be removed
from obscuration, so that the spectator has a full
view of the earth as seen by the sun. These
plates are explained by very lucid descriptions.
Taking on an average of any very great number
of lunations there are for every 21,600 conjunc-
tions of the sun and moon 4,072 at which the sun
is eclipsed; and yet, notwithstanding this number,
it is clear that an eclipse of the extent of the pre-
sent cannot happen once in many thousand years,
nor can one happen often which approaches even
pretty closely to the conditions required by the cal-
culations deduced from illustration3(fig. 4) in one
of these plates. Indeed one is lost in wonderment
while contemplating this mysterious movement of
worlds beyond worlds—the vast incomprehensible
—to the very limited pen of mortality. Well might
Young exclaim in his " Night Thoughts,"

"An undevout astronomer is mad."
According to Mr. Proctor, the region traversed by
the eclipse could hardly have been better suited
than it actually is for the purposes of observation.
Had it occupied any other part of the tropics, as
the Pacific Ocean, the South American Continent,
or Africa, it would not have been easy to supply
skilled European observers in sufficient number, nor
instruments of adequate power. If it had falleen
much further north or south again (still
lying within the tropics) the difficulties of
observation would have been largely increased. As
it is, there are many points along the line of
central eclipse whic'l are conveni.sutly accessible.
It passes eluse to Aden, and nearly coincides with
the track followed by our steamers between Aden
and Bombay. By a singular coincidence, two mail
steamers, one from Aden for B )mbay, and the other
from Bombay for Aden, will pass through the black
shadow. A third steamer, from Bombay, August
18, will be starting nearly at the time of total
eclipse. But the most important part of the shadow's
path is that which traverses the the Indian penin-
sula. Major Tennant's account of this portion
of the line of central eclipse will be very interest-
ing. The central line enters on the west coast of
India in latitude 16 deg. 35 min., passing near
Milian' and Guntoor, and a little north of Masuli-
patam. The shadow is about 143 broad. The
northern limit passes close to the town of Shola-
poor (which is accessible by rail from Bombay),
abcut 12 miles north of Rajamundi, at the head of
the Godavery. The southern limit lies eight miles
north of Goa, and goes on across the Malay penin-
sula to the island of Borneo. The duration of
totality at points along the line of central eclipse will
be sm. to sm. 50s. on the western and eastern coasts.
The eclipse of 1860 on the coast of Spain had no
more than 3i minutes to observe the phenomena,
which are presented during the total eclipse. It is
obvious that in the middle of the totality the ob-
scurity will be far greater than in that of 1860. It
is satisfactory to learn that two expeditions, well-
provided with instruments, one a new one, the
spectroscope, have proceeded from England to
, India for the purpose of observing the great
eclipse, headed by Major Tennant and Lieut. John
Herschell, a son of Sir John Herschel' ; and another
from France, headed by M. Jansen. Prussia has
also sent an observing party to Aden, and the Pope
has :sent out the .Jesuit priest and astronomer,
Father Secchi. Let us hope that the weather may
prove favourable, and that all may go well and
prosper, for much is expected from this pheno-
menon, which thousands of years ago puzzled the
wise seers of Chaldca, to whom astronomy is in-
debted for first unfolding this one grand mystery of
Creation.