The Sun.
London, England, 1842-04-01 00:00:00

• " Stand a little on, one side, Hinton. 'Where Ishe ?
Ah ! quite right: Kneel down, sir; kneel down,'! say!"
These words, addressed to Corny, producvd nf ) other
inovernent in him than a slight change in his attitude, to
enable him to extend his-expanded hand above_ Mis eyes,
and take a clearer view of the Duke.
" Does he hear me, Hinton ? Do you hear 'me, sir?"
" Do you hear his Grace?" said I, endeavo- cuing with
a sharp kick of my foot to assist his perceptiol is.
"To be sure I hear him," said Corny; " r would'nt
I hear him."
" Kneel down, then," said I.
" Devil a bit of me'll kneel down. Don't I k now what
he's after well enough? Ach ma bocklish I Sorrow else
he ever does nor make fun of' people."
" Kneel down, sir," said his Grace, in an accent there
was no refusing to obey. " What is your name?"
" 0 murther! 0 heavenly Joseph!" cried Corny, as I
hurled him down upon his knees, " that I'd ever lived to
see the day!"
"'What is his d—d name?" said the Duke passionately.
" Corny, your Grace, Corny Delany."
" Th.-me, that'll do," as with a hearty slap of the
sword, not on his shoulder, but on his bullet head, he
cried out, " Rise, Sir Corny Delany !"
" Och, the devil a one of me will ever get up out of
this same spot. 0 wirra, wirra ! how will I ever show
myself again after this disgrace ?"
Liming Corny to his lamentations, the Duke walked
towards the door. Here above a hundred people were
now assembled, their curiosity excited in no small de-
gree by a picket of light dragoons, who occupied the
middle of the street, and were lying upon the ground, or
leaning on their saddles, in all the wearied attitudes of a
night-watch. In fact, the Duke had forgotten to dis-
miss his guard of honour, who had accompanied him to
the theatre, and who thus had spent the dark hours of
the night keeping watch and ward over the proud dwel-
ling of the Rooneys. A dark frown settled on the Duke's
features as he perceived the mistake, and muttered be-
tween his teeth, " How they will talk of this in Eng-
land !" The next moment, bursting into.a hearty fit of
laughter, he stepped into the carriage, and, amid a loud
cheer from the mob, by whom lie was recognised, drove
rapidly away.

COLBURIV'S UNITED SERVICE
MAGAZINE.
The account given by an officer of the Nemesis, of
" Naval Operations in the China Seas," will be found
interesting. Some of the details have already appeared
in the newspapers, but they are not so complete and
graphic as those given by an eye-witness, who was
present at the capture of Amoy, Chusan, the city of
Tinghae, and the entry of the British forces into
Ningpoo. At the latter place he visited a temple of
Confucius, with a good roof, carved and decorated in
the Chinese taste, with representations of English
landscapes. In some of the shops weavers were at
work on small carpets and rugs. They had looms,
but no shuttles, and appeared to make very slow pro-
gress. Neither at this place, nor Amoy, did the
English experience the slightest annoyance from the
inhabitants. In the latter town the streets are paved
with flags of granite in a rough state ; the houses are
only one story high, and open in front, with a kind of
cobbler's stall projecting towards the street. From all
accounts, the people took no interest in the skirmishes
between the British and Chinese forces ; and with the
exception of certain symptoms of anxiety for the safety
of their persons and property, seemed to look upon
the invaders with perfect indifference. We regret
that the editor, or some of his numerous military cor-
respondents, has not furnished any conjectures as to
the state of our troops in Affghanistan, as the opi-
nions of experienced Indian officers might have
thrown some light on the mysterious and contradic-
tory accounts received by the last Overland I\l6l. All
we learn is, that the accounts remain without con-
firmation, and that there is nothing of despondency in
the conclusions he is disposed to draw with regard to
affairs in India. In allusion to the increase of the
army, he says, about 6,000 men will
.be required by
recruitment, and that the greatest activity prevails in
the office of the Secretary of War.o
ROYAL POLYTECHNIC INSTI-
TUTION.
This delightful exhibition, which so pre-
eminently combines the instructive with the
agreeable, re-opened on Easter Monday, after
having undergone several improvements and
repairs—the number of ladies ,and gentlemen,
who have honoured the Institution with a visit
since its opening, fully proving the high estima-
tion in which it is held as a place of recreation
and instruction.
Amongst the additions which, have been made
to the exhibition since its close, by far the most
important, and consequently the most deserving of
notice, is the colossal electrical' machine which is
indeed an instrument of vast power. This machine
is shown in the morning at half-past 12, and
in the evening at half-past 7, and the exhibition
is always accompanied by an excellent lecture,
suited to the capacities of the audience, from the
accomplished Professor Bachoffner.
The machine, which was constructed by Messrs.
Clarke and Collins, consists of a glass plate, 7
feet in diameter, which is put in motion by a
steam-engine of horse-power. The prime con-
ductor is an immense sphere, 5 feet in diameter,
and is of such a weight as to require a railroad
for it to traverse on. The battery consists of
twenty-four Leyden jars, presenting a sur-
face of 140 square feet of glass. Last evening,
when we visited this exhibition, the lecturer
commenced by referring to a very common error
which prevailed relative to the production of the
electricity. Many people, he said, supposed
that it came from the machine, or glass ; such,
however, was not the fact—on the contrary, all
the electricity proceeded from the earth, and the
machine merely acted as a pump, as it were, to
draw up the electricity from the reservoir of
the earth by means of the friction of the glass
against the rubbers. The Professor went on
to say that many people were curious to know
what was the cause of electricity ; he would at
once calmly and dispassionately tell them that
no one knew anything at all about the cause, for
the more they studied it, the snore bewildered
did they become. He then proceeded to exhibit
several expernnents; the first consisted in expo-
sing strips of gold and silver paper to the action
of the electric fluid in which cases the gold and
silver were completely destroyed, and nothing
remained but the oxyde of the metals which
might be observed attached to the paper. The
most beautiful experiment was that of electricity
in vacuo, which exhibited so perfect a simi-
litude to the aurora borealis, or northern lights,
as to leave no doubt that those beautiful pheno-
mena of nature are owing to the agency of elec-
tricity in the higher regions. The delight expe-
rienced by the visitors in the course of the lec-
ture and the illusirations was frequently expressed
by loud clapping of hands. All the other attrac-
tions, including the diving bell, &c., which were
here previous to the close of the exhibition, are
here still, and the institution contains an excel-
lent band, which is engaged during nearly the
whole of the evening in playingseleclions from the
most popular airs and operas. The only other no-
velty to which we shall direct the attention of our
readers, is the addition which has been made to
the dissolving views. These are very excellent,
and are eight in number, viz.:—The Facade of
the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem—
The entrance to the tomb of the Kings, near the
Gate of Damascus—The Mosque of Omar—The
Blisworth cutting on the Birmingham Railway
by daylight, by moonlight, and by sunrise—The
Viaduct on the same line by daylight, and in a
storm : these are both very beautiful, and the
'ichanges from sunrise to moonlight, &c.,
elicited the most unqualified applause. The
three following, also new ones, are very
beautiful: Saint Mark's Place, 'Venice—The
Doge's Palace Venice and the Council
Chamber in the Doge's Palace. In viewing this
very beautiful exhibition, we would recommend
visitors not to approach to near to the curtain, as
the effect produced, when viewed from a little
distance, is much better than when seen from a
nearer spot. The Institution was crowded to in-
convenience last night, which is the best proof that
it is a favourite with the public, and we would
respectfully recommend our country cousins who
visit the Metropolis to see the Lions, not to omit a
e-
I visit to the Polytechnic.
•

On the 23d instant, about one in the morning, as a
postillion was returning gaily home with his horses to
the post -house at Evreux, singing the burden of the ditty
of his celebrated progenitor of Longjumeau, his.mirth
was suddenly checked, and turned into terror by a man in
the middle of the road laying hold of his horse's bridle,
and politely asking him the hour of the night, dis-
playing at the same time a pistol The terrified pos-
tillion having declared that he was not the owner of
a watch, his accoster asked him for a small sum
of money. The postillion replied that he had so little
about him, that he was ashamed to offer it. The sup-
plicant, however, was so urgent, that the postillion re-
luctantly drew out his purse, and delivered it over.
During the colloquy, the postillion had been invited to
dismount, and the footpad having found 9 f. 10 sous in
the purse, and satisfied himself that it was all the other
had to wive him, not only permitted him to remount, but
even held the stirrup for him. Our postillion was on the
point of trotting off, when the courteous thief called after
him, and returned him the leather purse in which the
money was contained, saying, he did not wish to keep
what was of no use to him.
A Madrid journal gives a horrible account of two
recent murders at Valencia. They were excited by
some of the provincial militia, whose duty it was to pre-
serve the public peace, but who a fortnight before had
been accused of killing a man of the republican party.
A body of these provincials, without any officer, went to
a public-house near one of the gates, called out two per-
sons, and, marching them to a distance of not more than
200 paces, shot them in the face of a crowd rendered
mute by surprise.
The Fribourg Gazette announces the death, aged
68, of the Archbishop Ignatius, Grand Cross of the order
of the Lion of Zechringuia, and Commander of the Legion
of Honour,