The Sun.
London, England, 1842-11-11 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 11, 1 142,

FLANDERS MAIL. •
BRUSSELS, Nov. 9.—The average price of wheat
last week was 20f. 50c., and that of rye 14f. 340.
In the sitting of the Chamber of Representatives
to day at neon (M: Pirson, the senior Member, act-
ing
as President ad interim), a letter was received I
from M. Fallon, to the President, in which the Hon.
Member says, that some of his colleagues hawing mani-
fested an intention of again placing him in the Presi-
dent's chair, he begs the President to have the kind-
ness to inform them officially that the state of his
health does not allow him to accept any functions, if
it should be conferred on him; that at the three pre-
ceeding sessions he had done his utmost to perform
the duties incumbent on him, but that the burden had
been too heavy for his health, :which was so much im-
paired that itmust inevitably' •):)e ruined if exposed to
further trials. At the same time he begs to thank the
Chamber for all marks of confidence and kindness
which he•has received.
The Senate has again chosen for its President M.
de Schiervel. After the transaction of some other
business, a Committee of four members was appointed
to drew up an address in answer to his Majesty's
speech on ori,ening- the session.
ESCAPE OF GENERAL V.KNDERSMISSEN.
The following is an account of the manner in which
General Vandersmi,sen effected his escape :
It seems that Madame Vandersmissen had obtained
permission to enter the. prison of the Petit Carmes at
ten o'clock in the morning, an to stop till four in the
afternoon. It is between these hours that the public
are admitted.

The General had for some days feigned sickness,
which afforded a pretext to his wife to prolong her
visits. On Sunday the General was in his room with
his wife and his two sons, when about eight o'clock
the turnkey saw the three latter pass, and let them
go out without suspicion. Soon afterwards, according
to his duty, IN hich he only half performed, he opened the
prisoner's door, and to be sure that the General was
within, he wished him a
good night. The General
did not answer, but the keeper heard some one cough ;
this satisfied him, whereas he ought to have convinced
himself with his own eyes that the General was there.
Our readers will, of course, understand that the per-
son who coughed was Madame Vandersuaissen, and
that the General, dressed in his wife's clothes, had left
the prison with his two sons.
The night passed, and the escape of the General
was unknown to everybody in the prison. In
the morning, Madame Vandersmissen was going
to leave the prison, when the turnkey said
to her, "It seems that you have passed
the night here." " Yes, I have obtained permission
to do so, ray husband being ill," on which the turnkey
opened the gate for her. At three o'clock, as the
General did not call for anything, the officers entered
his room and found that he was gunc. Notice was
immediately sent to the Attorney-General, and do-
miciliary visits were made to all the houses in which
it was thought probable that the General might have
passed the night. No trace of him has been found ;
and it is thought that he and his family had passed
the Dutch frontiers yesterday morning. It seems
unaccountable how the keepers could be deceived, the
General being a head taller than his wife.

-----
WINTER AT ST. PETERSBURGH.
Winter is more variable at St. Petersburgh than
at MoscoW—that is, the cold does not reign there
with such continued severity. Thus, for instance, it
is said not to be a rare circumstance at Moscow to find
a fruit peeling, or any other matter thrown by chance
from a window, catch on the balcony, and becoming
immediately frozen, remain there suspended for the
rest of the winter. Such a case could not occur at
St. Petersburgh, where, although the thermometer
often descends to 30 degrees of Reaumur below zero
(3l below zero of Fahrenheit), the neighbourhood
of the sea combats the icy winds of Siberia, and un-
expectedly brings on the most strange changes in the
temperature. It has never rained, in the memory of
man, at Moscow during the months of be-
cember and January. At St. Petersburgh,
on the contrary, rain frequently falls during
these two months, and at that period it has
been constantly the custom to replace carriages by
sledges. This latter kind of vehicle, which no person
gives up, becomes the most inconvenient in the world,
being driven in the midst of snow and mud. The
winter at St. Petersburgh, on account of these sudden
transitions, so unexpected, and so rapid, is far more
formidable than at Moscow, and to strangers who
have not experienced its effects is particularly serious.
To defend oneself from the weather the most constant
and minute precautions are required. In October the
Russians—and all who have been long in the coun-
try, assume fur clothes, acid keep them in continual
wear until the month of April, after the ice has
broken up on the Neva. Stoves are lit everywhere,
and each family lays in a stock of birch-wood, the
braise of which is more abundant than of any other
wood. There is a servant specially appointed to
attend to the stoves, and his duty is
to keep up as
much as possible an equal heat throughout the house.
The best stove-keepers, whose fame procures them
a high salary, are generally from Moscow. Twenty
degrees of cold do not appear astonishing to an inha-
bitant of St. Petersburgh, though he then
casts a cu-
rious look at the thermometer. At 23 or 24 degrees,
constant rounds are made during the night, to pre-
vent the police and sentinels from falling asleep on
their posts. Should the cold bring on drowsiness,
and the sufferer not be able to prevent himself from
yielding to its influence, be must perish, as he can
only wake from his sleep in the other world. At 25
degrees, the theatres are closed, and all those who are
obliged to go out on foot hurry along with their ut-
most speed, molt anxiously looping at the noses of all
those whom they meet in in the street. If a sudden
paleness—of which no intimation is
given by any
physical feeling—should appear on that part of the
face, the passer-by rushes forward, and commences
rubbing the afflicted feature of the alarmed pas-
senger with snow, to produce animation. The
same thing may occur to the operator himself be-
fore the hour is over. •At 30 degrees of cold, the
populace aloe go out of doors, entire families shut
themselves up, and not a single sledge of any appear-
ance of fashion is seen in the streets. Yet even then
the military reviews are not interrupted, and the
highest dignitaries, up to the Emperor himself, repair
to them without a cloak. It must be evident that,
with cold of such 'intensity, the sufferings of the poor
must be dreadful. Yet it may he affirmed without
exaggeration, that the lower classes, in winter, suffer
less in Russia than in France. There are placed in
the various quarters of every large town of the empire
public establishments, heated by large stoves, where
every person that pleases may take refuge. Dreadful
accidents undoubtedly mark the arrival of the severe
season, but they generally fall on the servants of
Russian noblemen, whose carelessness towards their
servants' comforts is akin to barb •
arity. It must not
be forgotten either, that the three-fourths of these
accidents are attributable to the abuse of spirituous
liquors. The passion of the People for brandy sets
at defiance every warning, and in winter it becomes
more than usually fatal.
---onstitutionne/.

SINGULAR DEATH.—On Thursday evening, the
27th ult. as John W o°-estw d
-, a cart driver, in the
employ Of Mr. J. Farrar, of this town, was on his
return home from Huddersfield, having lighted his
pipe in the public-house at Birchenelitfe, the night being
dark, he stumbled against the wall and broke the pipe in
several pieces in his mouth, as he supposed, without in-
flicting any serious internal injury. On his arrival at
the Mitre Tavern. in Halifax, after having attended to
his horses, he retired to his bed, where he remained
until Saturday evening, when he got up and went to
his father's house in Westgate. his mother, perceiv-
ing that he was greatly indisposed, inquired what
was the matter; he said he had got an attack of the
quinsey, and that his throat vas very much swollen.
He continued to grow worse until Tuesday evening,
when medical assistance was called in. About one
o'clock on Wednesday morning a violent discharge of
' blood took place from the extreme right angle of the
mouth, when it was discovered that he had pulled out
a piece of pipe two inches long, which, according to
medical opinion, had perforated. the jugular vein at the
period above mentioned, and prevented any previous
hemorrhage. He died at six o clock in
evening.
hTeh The
had man
dischargedeNer toldthe piece of p
any per sonoi
pipe
f the accident, until
from
his
throat.—

Alac kdiengnroene' s 0 f
Health of ,
Halifax Ggarilian.
TownsllEAirßirll of s
eTxociivtiNnsg.—a A
greaterir .
interest
amongst the Dissenting bodies generally j than any
measure that has been proposed for a. long time.
They do well to bestir themselves, for it is the most
insidious movement on the part of the clergy that has
been made for a long time. Although his name is
attached to it, it is whispered that Mr. Mackinnon is
not so much the. framer of the proposed Bill as the
Bishop, of London. Under pretence of improving the
health 'orthe public, provision is made for securing
to the clergymen of every parish, on every interment
which may take place, such amount of fees as the
Bishop of the diocese shall fa., and this whether or
no he perform the funeral service. He may decline
the duty, ' but he is still to secure the fee. In the
Hackney Church-rate case, the scale which rules that
parish 'was produced in evidence, and in giving. judg-
ment on the case, Dr. Lushington referred to the
above clause in the following terms :—" Why, that is
palpably illegal from the beginning to the end!" This
opinion of the Judge of their own Court should teach
the clergy and Mr. Mackinnon to use a moderate de-
gree of prudence in urging their pretensions.—Ad-
vertiser. .
The Duke and Duchess of Richmond and the
Ladies' Lennox are expected to leave Gordon Castle
for town at the close,of the ensuing week, on their way
to Goodwood Park,
:Sussex.
The report on •Ttiesday was, that Mr. Wood, the
present Dean of Faculty, would be appointed to the
gown vacant by the resignation of Lord Gillies.—
Edinburgh Witness. • . - -
.. „ .