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September 13,1856.] THE LEADER. 885
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THE ASTCIENT SOLAR SYSTEM. The Lost Sola...
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The Epidemic at Boulogne.—Several corres...
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THE REOPENINTGS. Sablek's "Wei-i,s comme...
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We believe it will not be disputed that ...
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IFROM THE LONDON GAZETTE. Tuesday, Septe...
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BIRTHS, MARRIAGES, AND DEATHS. BIltTHS. ...
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Transcript
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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September 13,1856.] The Leader. 885
September 13 , 1856 . ] THE LEADER . 885
The Astcient Solar System. The Lost Sola...
THE ASTCIENT SOLAR SYSTEM . The Lost Solar System of the Ancients Discovered . By John Wilson . 2 vols . - Xongman and Co . This book deserves respectful treatment . " We cannot read it all , but we could not have written any of it . It is the monument of maibematics ^ -probably the work of a life . —and can only have been published in the spirit of a devotee . Such , a display of algebra , geometry , and diagrams we have never before seen . Alt the inscriptions of Egypt and Assyria would not confer on two volumes an aspect of more abstruse solemnity than these two volumes of Mr . Wilson ' s calculations . The ' discovery' has not teen made very clear , because Mr . Wilson , "without an introductory-word , begins in his first paragraph to measure velocities , and the proportions of obelisks . At the end of the book he presents no summary of his ideas , but disappears , like a sorcerer in the midst of his incantations , muttering of Ninus , Belus , and the Chinese law of numbers . Therefore , we have to filter his theory through dense formations of algebra , overlying ; as dense a mass of history connected with ancient architecture , mythology , and science . If , then , we misrepresent Mr . Wilson , it is unwillingly . He seems to he convinced that every antique monument was typical of a natural law , that pyramids represented the theory of gravity , that the obelisk , dumb to us , indicated to the Egyptian the laws by which the universe is governed , that the magnitude of the earth was described by a stone in the pyramid of Cheops , the magnitude of the moon by another stone , the magnitude of the sun by the contents of the whole pyramid together . Its terraced gradation denoted , according to a principle which . Mr . Wilson expounds with scarcely human patience , the time of descent from the sun to the earth . His ideas derive some credit from the remark of Maclaurin , that the fondness of the Pythagoreans and Platonists misled them , as it probably misled others , by inducing them to derive the mysteries of nature from such analogies of figures and numbers as are not unintelligible to us , but in some cases seem not capable of any just explication . But might not this observation be applied to the book before us ? We dare not ! argue with Mr . Wilson , because he is no doubt prepared with irrefutable calculations , and could confound us logarithmically . It is impossible to question the accuracy of his cubes , spheres , and pyramids , though it may be suggested that the height of Cheops being uncertain , calculations upon the height must be uncertain also . Herodotus probably measured the slope , Niebuhr the direct altitude . Various other measurements have been taken from the shif ting level of the desert , which at times has hidden a considerable portion of the base . M > . Wilson seems to ha-ve overlooked Vyse ' s measurement , which was trigonometrical . When , moreover , assuming in behalf of the ancients a perfect knowledge of the laws of light and velocity , he ' proves' that the distance of a star was represented by the length of the -walls of Babylon , and affirms that ? ' monumental distances are the roots of celestial distances , " we are inclined to hand him over to some one who , as enthusiastic as himself will follow him closely over the same ground , and test his tabular logic . It should be added that the work contains notices of the principal ancient buildings of simple construction , and of the greatest ruins of Asia and America . With all these Mr . Wilson connects his singular theory , -which , however , we do not pretend to have explained , for only one or two points are indicated in the foregoing slight exposition . We find it difficult to do more . Appreciating heartily Mr . Wilson ' s earnest and erudite labours , we
must admit ourselves unable to distinguish more than a faint and irregular outline of his theory . Students of curious hypotheses , possessed of the necessary knowledge , will interest themselves , in the book , which may , or may not , indicate a real discovery . To us , the views presented are too obscure for precise characterization .
The Epidemic At Boulogne.—Several Corres...
The Epidemic at Boulogne . —Several correspondents of the Tines have been calling attention to the scarlet fever now prevalent at Boulogne , and which has carried off several persons , English and French , among 1 the former of whom was Mr . A'Beckett , the magistrate and author , "whoso death we chronicled last week . Some of the medical men of the town have contradicted the alleged unhealthinese ; hut their testimony seems to be overborne by a weight of evidence on the other side . The Late Mysterious Death at Brighton . —The inquest on the body of Richard " Watts , wlio died last week under circumstances which excited considerable suspicion , and ¦ which , was adjourned in order that an analysis of the contents of the deceased ' s stomach , & c . might be made , was resumed on Thursday week , when Mr . HL . Phillips and Mr . Schweitzer , the gentlemen who made the analysis , were examined , and deposed that neither the stomach , liver , nor intestines , presented any Indications of poison having' been administered to the deceased . The jury accordingly returned an open verdict . . . American Bookselling Adulteration . —Mr . A . Spiers has written to the Times complaining that in an American edition of General French and ^ English Dictionary , the name of another gentleman ia coupled with his ovn on the title-page . This is an example of booksellers' adulteration in America , and Mr . Spiers would be perfectly justified in carrying out his suggestion of " The Life and Exploits of John Sadleir and D- Appleton , " seeing that D . Appleton had ns much to do with the Sadleir scheme as Mr . Spiers with the alluded to . YavxiiajAj Gardens . —This once 'favourite place of amusement , which , for the last two hundred years has been the resort of the gay and the pleasure-loving , and whero , in the days of Queen Anno , Sir Roger de Covorloy walked and meditated with ' tlie Spectator —is about to be sold to a gentleman who does not contemplate continuing the old state of things . Vauxhall Gardens , therefore , will cease to bo , after the close of nine gala nights , the first of which was on last Monday . Shade of Simpson ! ( not lie of Cromorno , but ho of " the Royal Property" ) what dost thou say to this ? Secession fhobi the Church ov England . —The Rov . J . Littleboy , B . A ., curates of Shcarsby , near Luttorworth , has resigned his connexion with the Church of England , for tho purpose of joining the Romish communion .
Health of London . —Eleven hundred deaths were registered in London , in the week that ended last Saturday . The deaths of males were 552 , those of females 548 . The rate of mortality which now rules approximates to the average rate at this season . As the births registered last week were 1634 , the excess of births over deaths was 534 . Diarrhoea continuously decreases : the deaths from it in the week were 124 , which is less than half of the number caused by this complaint about three weeks ago . Four deaths are referred to cholera : 3 of these occurred to infants . " With reference to the house in which , a young man died of diarrhoea , the medical attendant remarks : — - " There is a cesspool apparently under the kitchen , with an untrapped drain in the court , which emit very offensive effluvia , and the whole of tho family , with one exception , have suffered from the complaint during tho past month . " A child died of tetanus , apparently idiopathic . Two women died at the ago of 92 years , two at 93 , and a woman of more extraordinary longevity is stated to have attained the age of 106 years . She died in the Marylebone workhouse on the 31 st August , and Mr . Joseph , who registered her death , was informed that she had been there 34 years , and that her son is now living , who is 84 years old . She had been formerly cook in a nobleman ' s family . Last week , the births of 827 boys and 807 girls , in all 1634 , children , were registered in London . In tho ten corresponding weeks of tho ycaTS 1846—55 , tho average number was 1451 . —From the Registrar General ' s Weekly Return . Quarantine in the Black Sea . —Official intelligence has been received that the Russian Government has abolished for tlio time being all tho quarantine restrictions now in force in Bessarabia , tho Black Sea , and the Sea of Azoff . This new regulation is to remain in force until tho navigation is closed for tho present year .
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The Reopenintgs. Sablek's "Wei-I,S Comme...
THE REOPENINTGS . Sablek ' s " Wei-i , s commenced its ' . -winter season' ( alas ! how chilly and foreboding the words sound , though September yefc lies green and golden around us , and the harvest is not yet over , and the leaves are not yet brown ) on Saturdaynight , with a reproduction of Macbeth . Mr . Piieups was enthusiastically hailed , as he deserved to be , by an audience which has frequented his house now for so many years as to greet him almost as a personal friend . His rendering of the character of Macbeth is not one of his happiest achievements , there being , a 3 we conceive , a want in his acting-of the highest perception of purely ideal poetry ; but the performance is thoroughly intelligent , painstaking , and unvuJgar ; and , recollecting how subtle and fine he is in other parts , we do not wonder at an audience expressing its gratitude to an actor who is not a buffoon , and to a manager who is something "better than a showman . Monday evening saw the commencement of the dramatic season at the Surrey Theatre , and the production of a drama called The Half Caste , ia which Mr . Ceeswick performs the part of a Guadaloupe slave , of semi-negro blood , bearing the romantic name of Maximus 3 farol , who heads an insurrection of slaves against his master and oppressor , at that time in Paris , and-who , having afterwards gone to Paris himself , is there discovered , though in disguise , hunted down , and finally driven to poisoning himself at a grand masquerade in his own house , -where he dies in nvuch agony , to the infiuite delight of the heholders . The piece is from the French , and was received with much approval . The Lyceum opens under the nevr management on Monday * with Beljahegor .
We Believe It Will Not Be Disputed That ...
We believe it will not be disputed that the rearing of flowers , ' fruits , and shrubs is an art , though Shaksfeabe says " the art itself is Nature . " It might , indeed , form a pretty little text for a piece of subtle reasoning , to try and ascertain where art begins and Nature ends in these matters . But , when a single flower is converted into a double flower—when new tints , at the bidding of the gardener , flush the cheeks of unsophisticated wild buds , and when the mystery of grafting produces from the tart aboriginal crab the elegant ribstone pippin , and out of the rustic simplicity of the unadorned plum brings forth the green and golden and purple varieties that go by that name—something must be conceded to art . Therefore ( which , to be candid , is our object in making these discursive remarks ) , we conceive ourselves justified in notifying , under the general head of ' The Arts , ' that a grand display of flowers , fruits , and plants took place at the Cbystal Pa £ , ace on Wednesday—the last exhibition of the kind this season . It would require the pen of a poet to describe the pomp and splendour of the vision ( whereto the variegated , bonnets of the ladies not a little contributed ) - —the blushing , odorous , etherial beauty of the flowers , the innocent epicurism of the fruits , with cheeks like childhood , and abundantly tempting to childhood , and the more sober glories of the ferns , heaths , and . flowering shrubs . However , not being poets , hut only journalists , we can simply exhort the reader to draw upon his own imagination . On this occasion , prizes , fifty in number , from 10 / . downwards , were for the first time offered to cottagers and amateurs for the best specimens of the produce of the kitchen garden . Forty-six of the exhibitors were working men . . ' ¦ ' ¦ .
Ifrom The London Gazette. Tuesday, Septe...
IFROM THE LONDON GAZETTE . Tuesday , Septemhnr 9 . BANKRUPTS . —David llAnciAY , RiebnriUon-streot . nnd Long-lano , Bermondsoy , lcathor manufacturer—JonN Puro , and Joiiw Bryan , Dacrc-streot , 'Westminster , and clsowhcro , army coiitractora- ^ ALPK . EU Hoxxb , LudKntc-hill , umbrolla manufacturer— Samiiei . Grove , IJrierly-nill , Staffordshire , corn dealer—Qusta-Vus Heniiv AnoiPitus Mertkns , and Thomab Johnson , Bradford . Yorkshire , dyers—JonN Andeiiton , Halifax , grocer—James Hknky MrronEix . KiiiKstoii-upon-Hull , bootmaker — Edward Primiiose , Sholllold , ivory dealer— James CattSrai . Leach , Liverpool , provision merchant—WiiiiiAM JD . bsii . va . Liverpool ,
chronometer-maker — John M'CLUttE , Liverpool , grocer — Robert ZBakwick , late of Sunderlavid , shipowner . SCOTCH SEQUESTRATIONS . —G . Mebeett , Stirling , railway contractor—R . Fobbes , Glasgow , ironmonger—A . Cbteistiv Glasgow , manufacturing chemist . Friday , Septetiiher 12 . BANKRUPTCY ANNULLED- — Axexandeb Exmsiie Thomson , Cullum-streot , wine merchant . BANKRUPTS . —Henby Jewem ,, High-street , Shadwoll , clothier—Edward Fenton , ITork , rag-morcnant—John Evans , Liverpool , tailor—John Dillon , Lowestoffo , book seller—James Ling , launton , Somersetshire , musio seller—Aw ? nED John Prankxin , Clapham , Surrey , ironmonger—James Tayxob , Hclmshore . Lancashire , drugget manufacturer—James Cattaeaii Leach , Liverpool , provision morchant—JjLmes Miixs , Hey wood , Lancashire , cotton-spinner —James Henry Haukjeeaves , Leeds , sharobrokor—John Scaife Hodge , Pocklington , Yorkshire , miller .
Births, Marriages, And Deaths. Biltths. ...
BIRTHS , MARRIAGES , AND DEATHS . BIltTHS . CRANLEY .-On the 5 th inst ., at Ashridgo , Herts , the "Viscountess Cranlcy -. si daughter . ' DOWNE—On tho Oth . inst .. at Hookham-grovo , tho Viscountess Downo : a . daughter . WJ . GAN . —On tho 5 th iriat ., at Under BAvor , near Sovcnoaks , tho wife of tho Rov . Alfred Wigan : a son . MARRIAGES . FITZGERALD—TAXBOT . —On tho 10 th inst ., at St . Jolni ' swood , Luoius H . ITitzGerald , Esq ., barrister-at-law , to Mary Katharine , youngest daughter of tho lato Admiral tho Hon . Sir John Talbot , G . C . B . LAPSLIU— NORGATE . —On tho 4 th inst ,, at the parish churcb , Strcatham . William Forstor , youngest son of tho lato Liout .-Colonol Lapslio , H . TVI . 39 th Regiment , to Maria Katharine , only surviving daughter of thoItcv . BurrouKhes Thoa . rforgato , M . A ., and niece of Miss Norgato , of Park Lodge , Streatliam . STEELE — FITZGERALD . — On tho Oth inst .. at St . George ' s , Hanovor-nqxiarc , Colonel Tliomas M . Stccle , CM ., Coldstream Cluards , oldest son of tlio Into Mn or-General and Lady Elizabeth Stcolo , to Isabella Charlotte , only daughter of Edward FitzGcrald , Esq . DEATHS . AUBREY . —At Ovinps House , Bucks , in his 74 th year , Sir Thomas Digby Aubroy , Bart . CORNWALL . —On tlio fitli inst ., at his Grace tho Duko of Bucoleuch's Villu , lUchmond , Surrey , Louisa Grace , rolicb of Major-General "William Henry Cornwall , and second ( laughtor of tho Into Gonoral Lord Robert Korr , fourth sou of William John , fifth Marquis of Lothian . DENT . —On tho Oth inut ., suddenly , at Ronding . Mr . KB . Dent , ohronomotor maker , of London , aged ! 17 . READ . —On tho Oth inst ., after a severe Unless . Mary , tho beloved and affectionate wifo of lticbard Road , of 35 Regent-circus , Piccadilly , aged CO .
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 13, 1856, page 21, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_13091856/page/21/
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