The Sun.
London, England, 1844-07-29 00:00:00


I was awakened, last night, by a violent storm of
dreamingthunder and
as lightning, and wind and rain. Hard
had sense enough left to feel
something moving in the bed, and by the light from
thmy unspeakable horror I saw,
mattress, a cobra de capello. He
narflawaslhinogf loigvehrtntihneg,
reared his head when he came to my body, and
slowly crawled on to my legs; and, as there was
nothing over me but a thin cotton sheet, I could
distinctly feel the cold, clammrbody of the venemous
reptile through the sheet. the heat of my body
seemed agreeable to the monster, as he coiled himself
up there. I lay dead still; I knew my life depended
upon my remaining motionless ; for, had I moved
a leg or an arm, he- would instantly have bitten
me, after which I could not have lived many
minutes. A cold sweat ran in a stream
down my back; I was in an agony of terror.
Home and friends, and all that was dear to me,
rushed to the memory ; my whole life passed in re-
view before me. I saw no way of escape, and I con-
sidered my doom sealed; every flash of lightning
showed me my new bedfellow, in all his loathsome-
ness. Well; there the reptile lay, but how long
heaven knows ; to me the time appeared inter-
minable. When I had lain in one position about
three hours, my legs became sore and stiff,
from having been kept so long motionless ; and
at this time, I gave an involuntary shudder, which at-
tracted the notice of the reptile. He raised his head
about a foot high, thrust out his forked tongue, and
looked around him, as if for some living object to prey
upon. I now thought it was all over with me. I prayed
mentally (for I dared not move my lips for fear of at-
tracting notice) for the forgiveness of my sins, when_
Heaven be praised !—the reptile unfolded his coils,
and crawled slowly away from off my limos, on to the
bed, down by the bed-post tolthe floor, and then left
me. It has been said, that poverty makes a man
acquainted with strange bedfellows; it might b
added, so does wandering in foreign climes.—From
Journal of a Wanderer.

---- --- -- --- -
THE IfAuvEsT.—Owing to the great number of
agriculturists from all parts of the two western coun-
ties, who have, during the last few days, embarked at
this place for Southampton to attend the meeting
of the Royal Ag,riCultural Society, we have been
able to make very extensive inquiries relative to
the harvest. " One and all" are exhilarated by
the Fine prospects which are presented. The white
crops 1,‘ ill all be good, hut wheat especially ; which will
be far beyond the average in straw as well as grain
while eve n the green crop:, which it was thought were
damaged, and in some instances destroyed, by the lung
draught, have been surprisingly
rains. This invigorated by the late
is good news AS. the poor and the country
at large.— West of Englund Ca4sei ea tire.
BRISTOL SUGAR MARKET, jULY 2G.—The
during the w eek, and
de-
mand cominues , ti ady, but . not active ; nearly 700
tierces lye:st
.India, are reported to have bet!' 8,1d
prices are unaltered. Bengals
and Mauritius are flat, and but little business has been
done in these descriptions during the week. Rum con,
tinues in very good demand, and the offices4tIve been
cleared of *amplee at extreme prices,—Brietcafercuw,

CAPT. WARNER'S EXPERIMENT.
In answer to a question as to the recent experi-
ment, Lord Ingestre said—
" It was notorious that an experiment had been tried,
on Saturday last, upon a large ship, which had been
shattered and sunk by the force of certain projectiles,
the invention of Captain Warner. He was not at liberty
to disclose either the materials by which this destruction
was effected, nor the manner in which it was done—
(Hear, hear)—but perhaps it would afford some pleasure
and satisfaction to the public if he real e &cement tr,
the House which had been drawn up entirely with re-
ference to the subject.—(Hear, hear.) The Noble Lord
then read the following certificate :—
" July 21.
" We, the undersigned, hereby certify that the ope-
rations against the John o'Gaunt, of 300 tons, conducted
by Captain Warner, off Brighton, on Saturday the 20th
inst., were under our management and oontrol. We
further certify that the explosion did not take place from
any combustible matter either on board or alongside the
ship, but was caused by Captain Warner, who was on
bard the William Wallace steamer, having the ship in
tow at a distance of about 300 yards, and that the ex-
plosion took place in consequence of a signal made by us
from the shore, the time of whieh was not previously
known to Captain Warner.
" We further declare our belief that Captain Warner
has never been on board the ship since she left Gravesend.
" INGESTRE, Captain, R.N., C.B.
" T. DICKENSON, Captain, R.N.
" W. H. HENDERSON, Captain, RN., C.B.'"
A person who vouches so confidently as Lord
Ingestre does, should be rather more accurate in his
statements. It is not, as he says, notorious that the
bark was " shattered and sunk by the force of cer-
tain projectiles." Whether she was destroyed by
projectiles, or by some other means, such as a tor-
pedo attached to her bottoni, or drifted against her, is
as yet purely a matter of conjecture. Nay, the ex-
periment has been so conducted, that there is no cer-
tainty that the explosion was not from combustibles
concealed in her. We do not think it all probable
that there has been any such trick in the matter, but
in an experiment of this sort, it is not enough to look
to probabilities and tair presumptions—possibilities
of foul play should be guarded against.
The ship supplied by a friend for the experiment
should have been overhauled and thoroughly searched,
and kept under the charge of persons in no way con-
nected with the experimentalist, or interested in his
success.
Lord Ingestre certifies that the explosion was not
from any combustible matter on board or alongside,
but he does not acquaint the House what measures he
took to satisfy himself on these two points ; and his
voucher that the vessel was not destroyed in that way
perhaps rests on no better grounds of proof than the
assertion that she was sunk by projectiles.
Captain Warner's invention may be all that•he re-
presents it, but the experiment to prove it so has not
been fairly tried. To have conducted it satisfactorily
there should have been no communication between
Captain Warner and the vesiel to be destroyed.
She should have been placed out of the hands of the
persons interested in the success of the experiment.
She should have been brought to her station, and the
experimentalist, without any opportunity of commu-
nication, should ha‘e proceeded to prove the power of
his invention.
Instead of this, what was done ? The barque which
came from the eastw and was towed to the westward
of Brighton, to Shoreham roads. Why was she not
brought up in Brighton roads, or, if it was preferred
to bring her up off a port (why, in fine summer
weather, we cannot comprelielei), the most natural
course was to have brought up off miiver), and
with the ebb (which was against her, as matters
were arranged) she would have come off Brighton in
a couple of hours.
We advert to these points because things were so
Managed as to make it necessary to take the barque
in tow, Captain Warner being on board the towing
steamer, and having the vessel he was to °prate
against snugly at his disposal under his stern. It is
not thus that enemies are blown up. When Captain
Warner has an enemy in tow, he will take good care
not to blow her up. It may be excellent to catch
birds by putting salt on their tails, but when you
have caught your bird you spare your salt.
With a vessel in tow it is obviously easy to drift
anything against her side, or to have other means of
communication beside that of the tow-line.
Why, then, was there the towing so liable to sus-
picion? As we have before remarked, the barque
might as well have been anchored off Brighton as
taken past to Shoreham to be towed back again. Or
even when off Shoreham, she might have been got
under weigh on the flood tide, so as to have come to
her station in due time at Brighton. liut no, they
waited for the contrary tide (keeping the public
waiting too, long after the appointed time), as if
expressly to make the necessity for the towing. We
do not wonder at the impatience of Lord Brougham,
at these dilatory manoeuvres. It is flippantly re-
marked that he could not make allowance for the
adverse tide, but why did they take care to• wait till
the tide was contrary ?
Enough has been done, however, to warrant, nay,
to demand, an experiment at any necessary cost, con-
ducted in a different way, so as to be clear of all the
suspicions which attach to the recent trial.
Let the Admiralty devote one of their many worth-
less old ships to this useful purpose, and in the mere
destruction of some of them there would be a benefit
to the service ; let well-selected officers, not partial
advocates of the alleged invention, have the custody
of the vessel up to the time that she is brought to her
station, and let Captain Warner, without any towing,
show what he can do against a ship favouring his ex-
periment more than enough in being helplessly adrift,
and not manoeuvring as an enemy would be, to avoid
or baffle his operations.
As for the ex: losion, it seems to have been very
complete, and as a mere coup de theatre nothing could
be more successful. But the main point is not the,
explosion, but the means of effecting it.
There is not a doubt, that with access to St. Paul's
for the skilful employment of combustibles, it might
be blown into the air in the twinkling of an eye; but
the question would be, whether this could be done by
an engineer who did not approach within half-a-mile
of the building.
Besides the mode of settling the question of Captain
Warner's invention by another and fairer experiment,
there is only one other course, namely that of getting
the secret from Alexis in a state of clairvoyance.—
Examiner.

ANTWERP, JULY, 25.—The concourse of English
hasfo
rme been
rsegasroeants, re
ow thaning
probably we
families towards this city, on their way to the Upper Rhine,
during
ever
to the increased facilities for speedy travelling which, the
new line of railway to Cologne affords. The following are
i
amongst the most distinguished of the Nobility and
recollectt the
et
last
to havefevr beenwee weeks,ko
Gentry :—Lords Walsingham and Stuart de Decies, the
Countess De Salis and family, the Duc de Melfort ; Sir R.
H. Inglis, M.P., and family ; H. Floyd, Esq ; R. Frankland
Russell; Joseph Bailey, Esq., M.P., and family.
THE LATE FATAL ACCIDENT AT EASTHAM.—The
body of the late Mr. William Brown, who was drowped
at the late Eastham Regatta, was found on ince Bar.k,
near Runcorn, on Tuesday morning last. An inquest
was held on the body on the same day, before H. Chur-
ton, Esq., and one of the crew of the boat, Mr. John
Mould, gave a clear and succinct account of the unfor-
tunate occurrence. It appeared that when the boat
(the Amphitrite) was struck by the first wave, Mr.
Mould directed the deceased to steer the boat
to shore. Immediately afterwards a second wave
struck the boat, and half filled her with water.
"The deceased called out, " Oh, God ! bring the
Princess, we are sinking ;" and immediately the boat
filled with water and swamped. We give the remainder
in Mr. Mould's own words :—" I directed the crew to
hold hard to the boat ; for a moment I was underneath
the boat, and afterwards gained the surface of the
water ; I saw the deceased struggling in the water.
The boat turned with her keel upwards, and I suc-
ceeded in dragging the deceased on the boat. I remained
astride on the boat for some time ; a wave again struck
the boat, and rolled her over. I recovered myself, and
again succeeded in getting on the boat. At this time I
missed the deceased, and several minutes elapsed before I
again saw him ; I afterwards saw him floating near the boat,
and I pulled him partly on the boat. Deceased clung to me
till one of the steamers came to our assistance. The
steamer came in contact with the Amphitrite, and the
concussion again threw me off the boat. From this time
I saw nothing more of the deceased, and I eventually
was pulled into a boat belonging to the steamer. I
should think about a quarter of an hour elapsed from the
time of the accident to the time I was picked up. The
nearest boat which could in any way render assistance
was the steamer which came up, but which was
stationed about three quarters of a mile off when
the Amphitrite swamped." The Coroner recapitulated
the evidence to the jury, and expressed a hope that
boats of so light a construction—only fit for such
rivers as the Dee—would not again venture in con-
tests on the Mersey, for which they were totally unfit ;
and he also expressed his regret that the steamer had
not been stationed -so far from the shore, and that there
were no boats placed in the course the prize boats had
to row, in order to give assistance in case of any acci-
dent. The jury found the following verdict :—" That
the deceased was accidentally drowned by the upsetting.
of the boat Amphitrite ; met they wished, also, to re-
cord their thanks to Mr. Mould, for his praiseworthy
efforts in endeavouring is save the life of the deceased
at
nLtistoonh:oviopeEt ithtibota.—oedhtseo4,Aittnemi:cg:mieanb(th,
eyntidlsea,, mciishiastisiinsttzeh,er:ni,
itaaceonmincid(ileee,ladriigipo:bei rermdsailotanit-11,
at the peril of his own." The remains were interred on
and
cost.; for the expense of a marriage
Thursday morning at St. Bride's Church, Chester.
allow
ettl;o:
01Arin: ,:damoBat
nbipil. e
nuptial
nuteTedepsi,drtai
'rained Lawler, who, on the eve of marriage, refused to
g
of the former persuasion. The big-ted swain lost his
bri'te and his ir oney, fur OR, lady refused to
" half measures."

LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAF.—OB Wect,esdav morn-
ing a fine young ,annip, weighing between 8lb. and 91h., was
gambolling lit the ;Severn, a little above the English bridge,
in this b.wn, and happerdrig to indulge in an extra flourish
Without first ascertaining *here he *as, he WI pluoiri into a
boat which was moored near Mr. tilecliley's timber-yard
And, After several violent efforts to regain his native elenietit
he hecArne a passive captive in the hando of a labourer.—
Arovs4ry- roxkle,