The Sun.
London, England, 1868-08-25 00:00:00

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In a communication addressed to the Academy
Sciences, M. Flammarioi gives an account pf the he
nomena nomena he observed during a late scientific ascenl in an
air-balloon. As regards sound, he states that its intensity
is propagated to a considerable height in the atmosphere,
Thus, he heard the whistle of a steam-engine at an altitude
of 3,000 metres ; the noise of a railway train passing, at
2,500 metres ; the barking of dogs at 1,800 metres ; the
report of a gun, the same ; the cries of a large crowd, the
crowing of cocks, and the noise of bells at 1,600 metres ;
the sound of drums and the music of an orchestra at 1,400
metres; the rumbling of carriages on a stone pavement at
1,200 metres; the human voice at 1,000 metres (Bths of a
mile) ; the croaking of frogs at 900 ; and the chirping of
a cricket at 800 metres. It is not so in the case of a
descending sound ; for the •voice of an aeronaut at an
altitude' of 106 metres cannot make itself distinctly heard.
The clouds offer no impediment to an ascending sound.
The average velocity per second in the latter case is about
340 metres. The quiet waters of the lake echo the sound
best upwards. While the balloon moves in obedience to
the current, its shadow sweeps either the earth or the
clouds. It is generally black, but it sometimes happens
that, falling upon a darker spot than itself on the country,
it assumes rather a luminous appearance. In this case,
examined through a telescope, it is found to consist of
a dark central nucleus surrounded by luminous
penumbra. On the green trees of a forest it appears yellow.
On the clouds, when they are white, and at the moment
of issuing again into the pure sky with the sun shining,
the air balloon is minutely depicted with all its details;
and of a greyish hue. When it has reached an altitude of
3,300 metres, the sky appears dark and impenetrable, in
proportion as there is a diminution of moisture. The light
of the rising sun appears to penetrate through every ter-
restrial object, while that of the moon, which is always
red, seems only to glide over them.

LAW AND POLICE.

EXCESS OF DUTY EY POLICEMEN.—At the Worship.
street Police-court Thomas Myers was charged with
assaulting two policemen of the H division. One of the
constables deposed that on Saturday evening, about half--

past six, while on duty in Old Montagu-street, Mile-end
New Town, the prisoner wilfully jostled against him, and
on being remonstrated with called him by a foul epithet,
and struck him two blows in the face and one in the breaat
breaking the glass of a watch he wore. He also tore the
buttonhole off his uniform coat, on witness seizing him to
take him into custody. Prisoner also kicked him
in the thigh. It was proved that the corn.
plainant knocked against the defendant and struck him,
and on being remonstrated with apprehended him. The
accused was discharged.

THE ALLEGED PROMOTION OF BUBBLE COMPANIES.—
At the Guildhall, Edward Yelland, of 26, New Bridge.%
street, Blackfriars, and 25, Westbourne-road Villst%
Westbourne Park, surrendered to his recognis' ances to
answer the charge of having defrauded several persons of
divers sums of money by means of false pretences. No
person appeared to prosecute, and consequently the charge
was dismissed.—Alderman Finnis said that was a case in
which the public were very much interested, because there
was an attempt to get up a bubble company, and obtain
money by false pretences. He was in hopes that the
whole of it would have been exposed. There was
Mr. Yelland going about the country appointing agents
everywhere, and the poor people who had been for
years saving were induced to send up their money
for policies which only defrauded them of their savings. If
the case had gone on he would certainly have sent it for
trial, and had the whole proceedings thoroughly exposed.
It was a very cruel fraud, that practice of getting up in-
surance companies and taking poor people's money, and
when there was a case of death there were no funds to pay
the policy. He felt that court had been made a very im-
proper use of in effecting a compromise of the charge. It
was clear the witnesses bad got their money back, and thee
were satisfied, but the public were not.
ATTEMPT TO DROWN A FRIEND.—At the Clerkenweil
Police court, Alfred Miles, an engine-driver, was charged
with stealing a pair of boots, the property of Frank
Barnes, an apprentice. The boots were missed, and on
the prisoner's house being searched the stolen property
was discovered there. On this being found out, the other
apprentices seized hold of the prisoner, threw him
into the Regent's Canal, and pelted him with stones, and,
according to his own statement, nearly drowned him.
The accused was committed for three months.

A STORY OF SPIRITS.

In a report just made by Dr. Chapin, the resident
physician of a lunatic asylum in the United States—the
King's County Asylum, at Flatbush—a narrative is given
of the case of Mrs. H. K., a Wisconsin lady of strong
sense and considerable intellectual power, who set herself
to the work of exposing the imposture of spiritualism.
Puzzled, however, by what she saw and heard, and morti-
fied at failing to find the clue to what she had believed
was susceptible of rational solution, her mind became
agitated and unsettled. She was in great anxiety about
her son, who had gone to California and ceased to write
to her ; and in an attack of nervous or irritable fever
sbe suddenly discovered that she was herself " a
medium," and learnt from the spirits who communicated
with her that she must visit her son forthwith. Keeping
the disclosure a secret, she obtained money from her hus.
band under pretence of going to see her married daughter
in Michigan, who was not in prosperous circumstances,
and might need some aid. She determined to go first to
New York, where she calculated on being able to find a
gentleman whom she had known, and to get directions for
taking her journey. It was quite dark when she reached
Jersey city, and, prompted by her unseen monitors, she left
her luggage (retaining the check), and with her satchel in
her band, followed, as she was directed to do, a lady and
gentleman who sat in front of her. She went after
them by the ferryboat and into the New York street car,
and got out when they got out. In a few minutes they
ascended some steps, and disappeared from her sight. For
a moment she stood in doubt, but was directed to walk on.
At the corners of the streets she stopped occasionally to
consult the spirits, and turned to the right or to the left,
in accordance with their dictation. Believing that alone
and at night she would not be admitted to a first-class hotel,
and afraid to enter one of a less respectable character lest
she might be robbed, after much seemingly purposeless
wandering her weary steps were guided to a restaurant.
Here she remained until admonished that it was time to
close. Asking to see the proprietor, she requested of him to
be allowed to remain sitting where she was until morning.
He was surprised at the request, but his wife, after a little
conversation, kindly offered to make her as comfortable
for the night as the limited apartments which she occu-
pied over the restaurant would allow. In the morning
the keeper of the restaurant obtained accommodation for
her at a respectable hotel in the neighbourhood. She
now began to look for her friend, in which vain search she
exhausted two most fatiguing days. Persons upon whom
she called to make inquiries usually treated her kindly, but
occasionally, when she chanced to allude to her being in
communion with spirits, she was derisively advised t> ask
them to direct her to the house of her friend. Since she
lay on her sick bed at home the communi, ations of the
spirits to her had not been generally oral, but by touching
some part of her person they would indicate to her if the
thought or project that was occupying her mind at that
precise moment was the proper one to be acted on. When
in doubt—if walking, fur instance, or if questioned—she
would stop a moment, until her true course or reply
should be thus made known to her. During her
wanderings about the streets of New York she was
several times accosted by ladies who kindly offered
their services, but being invariably touched at the
thought she could do without them, she so expressed her-
self, and, thanking them;passed on. Unable to find the
gentleman she sought, she was directed to call upon a dis-
tinguished clergyman in Brooklyn. His residence she
readily found, but he was not at home when she called.
Hoping to find him early in the morning, she returned to
take lodgings at an hotel in that city. During the evening,
meeting some ladies and gentlemen in the parlour of the
hotel, who seemed interested in the subject of spiritualism,
she entertained them with a recital of her experience, and
the purpose for which, under the guidance of the spirits,
she came hither. The next morning, to her surprise, the
proprietor of the hotel introduced her to a gentleman
whom he called by the name of the clergyman already
alluded to. Though he bore not the slightest resemblance
to his photographic likenesses, which everyone has seen,
yet, as he had not a moment to spare, she did not stop to
consider this, but accepted at once his kind offer to escort
her to his mansion. At the door of the hotel she was pre-
sented to two gentlemen, who said they came to call upon
her and to talk with her upon the subject of spiritualism
and kindred topics, with which they had been in.
formed she was familiar ; but they said they would
not detain the party, and so they all walked
on together, conversing as they went. But
the pretended clergyman was a police-detective, his man-
' sion a house of detention, and the two gentlemen in
search of information were physicians sent to test her
sanity. Before noon she was conveyed to the lunatic asy-
lum. At first she was in a very dejected state, and with
difficulty could be induced to take any food ; but as soon
as her innate inclination for argument revived, she began
to recover, and then all belief in these supernatural com-
munications completely vanished. At the end of a month
she was well. Her son's silence had been caused by his
being ill and wishing his mother not to be "worrying
herself " about him. The news of ~1424,11
much W.clO siz yith ter speerecoveryi