The Sun.
London, England, 1842-10-15 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE Mm.

SIR,—It is often asked,' what is in a name ? But,
it would appear, to Use an Americanism, "a good deal."
Wool happens to be soft, and the name of the un-
fortunate dupe, in the recent diabolical Bristol con-
spiracy, happens to •be %Irma:LEY. I apprehend
rather strong presumptive evidence • of the fallacy of
the notion am, Sir, your admirer;• •
Oct. 13, 1842. ANTI...HUMBUG.

,INGULAR, PHENOAIENONL-Mr, Glashier, of the
Cambridge Observatory, reports• the following remark-
able aPpearanee on the 4th intant :—" At midnight
the sky had _become perfectly
lelNevaar; and the air frosty.
szartled by
At 21 minutes after twelve
what seemed to be a vivid flash of Wuheit-in'
a brightg
tii sttreal k
turning to discover its direction, I savf,but on
of light in Orion," about 20 degrees in length
moment of its discovery. Its centre was asgbri at
ttasie
Jupiter, and the light plainly emanated from it in
quick flickering waves on each side simultaneously
and at each wave the length and brightness decreased'.
This part of the Phenomenon lasted ten seconds. I
therefore had time to recover my surprise, and per-
ceive the working of it. When the waving ceased
there appeared to be a bright-star in the place where
I had seen the centre light of the streak, bur whilst
considering what star it could be,. that I . might note
with accuracy the plaie Of the phenomenon, I per-
ceived that it gradually faded,-and in the course of
about two minutes it completely disappeared, haying,
like the . generality 'of 'meteors, maintained the same
position all this time. TII6 line 'of direction a the
streak 'Made with Orion's belt to:lithe S.E. an angle of
about 40 degrees;.the centre light being three degrees
north of the, upper star.' of thd heft' and in the same
straight line with'the three starsin it. I hope thiS very
singular meteor 1-nay 'have Been obserVed by others,
that this account -of 'it may be verified.'--1-Bury Post.
AN. kscArE.'—On Monday night Richard Allen,
one of the Duke of*BuCkinghaia's Wotton Underwood
under-gamekeepers, , had a providential 'escape from
death. . fie was on duty: on Risdalpark Farm, Brill,
.and obserVed a person searching about, as if fbr ganle ;
it was dusk, and he laid himself down in a furrow to
awtaiteli the man's moyetrients i while, there' a man shot
.I,.iin, wounded iiiin, and he becatn
vs follows :---44 I was.e insepsible. The
per ,on who shot at him was a...lahOnrer named Coggins,
a rabbit; while
tli).lsr.oki;ewhic'h
is the employ of Mr. Bond. llls version, of the. affair
-,1 took:to
shoot. sent byh my" master to. ty to
ibnebaearraciobi9t, It
at
ashahwu.tsomethingyards
1 ta e. 1 fired inv gun;
• it to be Allen, be on my gOing.up I found'
he said be 'Ni.' shut. stunned ; on coining to himself
What I took to te the rabbit
was Allen's black cap;'
time moan's head. someli•:- -.lThe cap was, blown ' from
shot,; a few only enteraeldLlsi''' and was perforated with
a is person. . ,
Ye.itelalay mornin,,
.Deacon, in the employ, of 3.114711 g. man named Robert
, -Town, priptev, was brOught i•iitGoolod.sweL'of Camden
with one, of; his hand;, sO
lardlesex lloSpital,
dreadfully crushed • •
having•been drawn in between'two Of 1 . - !)31. its
tit t le-•,rollers ola
, printing' machine, that
,amputation'the wrist as
tbund to,le,immerliately necessary.,
i, IVi..-, regret . t 9, ,learn .that Sir William C
i-eordinY: to -accounts received iii iiiwil, • • -!eia.r.r. ac-
c mitwitos 'IL"
alarming state. • --- . ..:1„, v. L,J.7.).

'LITERATURE. .
ANNALS OF CHYMISTRY AND PRACTICAL
PHARMACY. Nos. 1 and 2. Longman and. Co.
The want of some periodical, published at
short intervals, and devoted exclusively to che-
mistry, has long been felt by all persons engaged
in the cultivation:of that science. This want, the
periodical before us is well calculated to supply.
Published at intervals of only one week, it will
form a valuable,becauSe speedy, mediUM of corn-.
munication between persons engaged in the cub:
tivation of chemistry in different parts of the
country, and thus tend gi.eatly to the progress
of science. The editors are evidently persons of
high scientific attainments, and well calculated
for the execution of the task they have under-
taken. Froth 'an article on French and English
Druggists, we extract the following very judi-
cious observations on the attempts at present
making by certain English aggists to procurt.'
for thmselves, by means 'of an Act of Parlia-
tnent, a monopoly of the retail drug business :
We will quote another late incident in France,
which is peculiarly a propos to the present agitation
for a charter by English druggists. It may teach
them not to press the example of their continental
brethren too eagerly on the Legislature, lest their pe-
titions should be answered by restrictions similar to
those which hamper the pharntaciens of France. .It
is eesy to conceive that too anxious a desire to obtain
a charter might blind them to the painful conditions
by which it was embittered.
Theodore Boubee is a regularly educated phar-
macien, rivalling M. Beral in the preparation of citrete
of iron, and established at Auch (Gers). • -
Ambitious to deserve well of his country, M0n5.13.,
in an evil-hour, contrived a syrup intended to banish
gout from la belle France; he affixed his name to it,
and, as time wore on, it was very naturally sold in
several shops at-Paris. The citrate of iron went '.on
well.--In Ferro est aliquid divinunt, says Boerhave--"--
not so.the syrup, which turned out rs uncomfortable
as the disease which it professed to cure. Eminent
men, even on, this side of the water, are subject to fits
of forgetfulness.; some have forgotten to pay their
debts, and. others- have forgotten themselves alto-
gether ; M. Boubee forgot to register the exact corn-
, positlon of his sedative solution.
This fit of oblivion,- or distraction, at once turned
the syrup into a secret remedy -or nostrum ; and
having violated the laws to which he hed subscribed,
he was forth With cited before " Le Tribunalde Pre-
' miere Instance, iieme Chambre," to answer for the
high crime and 'misdemeanor which 'had been im-
puted to him—viz., the adcertisemeat and tale of
secret remedies. Not appearing, the unfortunate
'Almaden is condemned, in delimit, to ten months'
imprisonment, and a; fate of .600f.=-- 24/,
When the English druggist hears of the large profits
made in 'sloine, eon;lnentul towns, where one or two
Pthermaciens enjoy a monopoly of the trade, he thinks
that it must be delightful to occupy such a, position,
sheltered, •by the authority of the. State; from. the.
depressing proxhnity of competition. But, alas !no
rose is without a thorh ; it eVen the rich inono-
poly orthe,"Continental pharinacien. would: be too
dearly hought by the jealous restrictions of a conti-
nental code, what 611 be said in-favour of an Act of
Parliament which would exclude but few competitors,
yet might impose many restraints ? The dreamy inac-
tivity of King' Log. was surely far . more agreeable
,than the unsparing, severity-of King .Stork;
ThelifotltnvingleCount -of the:etfects produced.
on a:49g by the administration of arsenic,is•niost
important, and well worthy the attention,' not
only. of;:lielniSti: and. medital men, but of all :who
niay lie calla' upon either as jutlp;es, counsel,
witnespet,zorjurymen,tu take a pail hi
tuinistvaton oVjustice
lite dog was a small animal, usually freqUenting•
the parlour,: and hadbeeorne old and atilicted.w.ith the
mange, besides being disagreeable in other respects,
and colisecitithStl&' the .owner to,lhave it de-
stroyed. dOse I ptit •in •paper myself, ar.d
gave di; redtions -for it ttebe administered,in such a )I:ay
that 'aye *Nile' bf' it shiatilcl be taken' (Weighing more
than tWoiliiiclitii9,"eveYy perticid OtWhich was Swat-
lowed' and abotit half an lider c.6lent purging and
vomiting tOok,pkce, butleavito• behind no tJapleasnitt
Lg.
•effects : on the contrary, the exhibited. a greater
degree of sptightliness'and vivacity-Alian it had done
for mouths betbre. In. the .course, of a few days an-,
other dose 'was' administeredof an increased streng ;-
hut the same effects of. puiging,with not quita.-! so much.
vomiting, 'Werefirddited. The iliird'dose was smaller
(about half n drachm in vieiglit); 'and' which also had
the effect the tiro JOrmer, though in a much' more
moderlde-degree ; the whole tending to the' establish-
ment of the life and health of the dog. About a
drachm of thernedkcinalhydrocyanie acid was some
time after made use
.of, which quickly destroyed life.
It would tteefn by the 'foregoing ,partici.tlars, that the
poisonous .properties of arsenic, with regard to, its
action on. animal frame;-is greater when given in
small quantities.than when larger dose's are applied.
only regret that a dose-of about ten grains had not
been given to the animal.
These N unibers contain several other articles of
a high practical and scientific value. 'We would
more partieularly,direct attention 'to Dr. Wag-
ner's. proposals for remedying the scarcity of
leeches, translated •front the Allgenteine
Anzeitier der .Deutsche,,, and inserted in
the two Numbers of the " By
country practitioners, more especially,
the information contained in this papas Will
be found of great .value.: We cannot-..close
this notice without protesting against ,the
use, • in such a work as this, of *s.yrribols
to express the composition of bodies. The argu-
ments of Berzelius, the 'inventor of the,se sym-
bols, in their favour, strike us as. very incon-
clusive. His objects appears to be to forat*.A 41,11
of universal chemical shOrt-hand, Ivy aPopting
the initial letters of the Latin notnencltithre as
symbols of simple bodies, and varying and-com-
bining them to express Compound bodies.
This object is clearly unattainable. Already has
a French 'chemist, while, adopting. Berzelius'
system, altered every one of his symbols, and
there will soon be as many' systems of chemical
symbols as there are of stenography.. Eve.l the
editOr of the "Annals &Chemistry,' whO Stands
up stoutly for Berzelius' system, haS', been
obliged to alter certain of the symbols, because
no type-founder in 'England has. matrices' for the
signs. Under such
,circumstances,- the' of
these symbols in n. popular periodical Sifonrs
somewhat of Pedantry, and we think the 'editors
would best cons Ult, not Only. their own interest;
but the interest of chemical science, by usilig a.
language that all English chemists can u.nder-
stand. .