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Letter from John Wise.
  Post Master SUTTON has recently received a letter from Mr. WISE, the celebrated Æronaut, making inquiries as to the size of the Balloon with which Mr. WINCHESTER ascended from this place in October last; also, "what it was made of, its shape, what coated with, how much ballast he carried, how full his balloon when he started," &c.  The letter has been answered; but the reply to the different queries may not have been sufficiently explicit for Mr. WISE'S purposes.  In that case, we would refer him to Mr. THURSTON, an æronaut of considerable celebrity, who was present and superintended the inflation of the "air ship" for Mr. WINCHESTER'S successful trip from Milan, as well as the supposed disastrous one from Norwalk.
  Mr. WISE'S letter narrates a circumstance which leads us again to hope that Mr. WINCHESTER may be safe.  As we are permitted to make extracts, we give the circumstance in Mr. WISE'S own language:

      "LANCASTER, PA, Jan. 16, 1856.

  "DEAR SIR:—Would you be kind enough to inform me whether anything has ever been heard of Mr. WINCHESTER or his Balloon?  If he came down in any of the Lakes, something no doubt would have been found of his ærial apparatus.  In 1852, a Mr. ARBAN ascended with his Balloon from Barcelona[[.]] in Spain, and as he went over the sea it was suppose that he was lost; but a few weeks ago a friend of mine in Europe, who is engaged n the investigation of æronautics, sent me the following slip cut from a newspaper, viz: 'Two years ago, the French æronaut, M. ARBAN, made an ascent from Barcelona, and was not again heard of till the other day, when he made his appearance once more. His Balloon had gone to Africa; he had been seized and made a slave, and but recently effected his escape.'  Now if nothing has been found of Mr. WINCHESTER'S Balloon, this throws out a faint glimmer of hope that he may yet be alive" * * *

Yours, respectfully,
JOHN WISE.


COMMUNICATIONS.
MR. FORNEY:—Of late I have frequently been interrogated in regard to the plausibility of Mr. Green's intimation of an ærial voyage from the United States to England[[.  ]] To person unacquainted with[[]]

NEW ARTICLE CUTTING (referred to as a 'slip cut' then)

[[]]the short space of an hour and twenty minutes.
  The general impression of Mr. Green's new mode of inflation, arises from his preference to the carbonated hydrogen, which, owing to its superior density, is not so volatile and permeable to the envelope that composes the balloon.  To use this gas, it requires a balloon so much larger, as it is heavier than the pure hydrogen, to carry a given weight. The escape of the heavy gas, is only about one-third as fast as the pure hydrogen, through the same interstices, and since the loss of 100 cubic feet of carbon hydrogen is equal to the loss of 60 feet pure hydrogen, it shows the great advantage of the former over the latter in making long voyages.  A balloon 35 feet in diameter inflated with carbonated hydrogen would be sufficiently large to carry two passengers with all necessary accompaniments to Liverpool and back again.
  I have opened a correspondence with Mr. Greene, of London, and flatter myself, at an early day in conjunction with that experienced æronaut, to make the long wished for excursion.
  I am now constructing a balloon on the most approved principles, and intend early in the spring, to make some preparatory experiments for the ultimate consummation of a trip across the Atlantic.

Very respectfully,
Your obedient friend,
JOHN WISE
Lancaster, Feb. 12, 1840.

[new slip-cut]

THE FATE OF THURSTON.
_____

Through the kindness of G. C. WISE, we are permitted to publish a letter from his brother, the distinguished Aeronaut, JOHN WISE, giving his opinion of Thurston's fate.— It will be of interest to most of our readers:

LANCASTER, (Pa.) Oct. 3d, 1858.
[[*]]DEAR BROTHER:—Yours of the 30th Sept., came duly to hand—the paper has not yet come[[rest cut off]]
  My opinion is that Thurston fell within 15 miles from where the balloon took him up.
  I have latterly so strengthened the balloon around the valve [[dise?]], or valve ring, as the case may be, that it can not be toru [sic] out by the weight of four men.
  As regards the case of the two children, there was really little danger, except in the moment of striking the earth in the descent.— It was fortunate that the balloon came crashing dowa [sic] into an umbrageous tree.  I will, however, describe this case theoretically, and in accordance with the accounts I got of it.
  When the balloon slipped from the hands of the person holding it, the two children which it contained added to its weight, may have left it to an ascensive power of from forty to sixty pounds.  This would allow the vessel to rise rapidly.  The ascent happened at sunset, the balloon would soon reach a height at which the sun would shine fairly upon it, and expand the gas.  This would increase its ascensive power, and it would rise to a height at which it would become completely distended and then blow off gas spontaneously at the safety valve, (i.e. the neck,) this would soon arrest its ascension,and once arrested, it would commence a slow descent, and when descended low enough to loose the rays of sun by the intervention of the horizon, the cool shades of night would condense the gas, contract the bulk of the balloon, and a rapid descent would now easue.  Now the danger would be from the sudden concussion, for, if at the moment of lighting a breez was blowing, it would turn the car on its side, and one of the children might be thrown out, and thus place the remaining one into a second and greater peril than the first.  But, providentially, the balloon came down and into the top of a tree, the car no doubt, became involved in the broken limbs, and thus securely fastened until it was found in the morning.
  There are many things stated in regard to this children's æronautic flight that can have no foundation, in fact, and superfluity is also uncalled for, inasmuch as truth is stranger than fiction, only that truth bears analysis and fiction does not.
     Your affectionate brother.

NEW SLIP-CUT ARTICLE

The Caledonian
EXTRA.
ST. JOHNSBURY, SEPT. 27, 1856.

MR. WISE RETURNED.
-- 
The anxiety of our citizens in regard to Mr. WISE, the Aeronaut, who left the Fair Ground in this place at half past 3, P. M., on Thursday last, was relieved by the appearance here of Mr. WISE himself last evening at about 6 o'clock.  He made a landing with his balloon in the town of Stratford, N. H., distant forty-five miles from St. Johnsbury, at 5 o'clock, or an hour and a half after his ascent.  At a meeting of our citizens, suddenly called together at UNION HALL, on Friday evening, Mr. Wise recounted the incidents of his voyage,and described the scenery over which he passed.  The account was interesting in the extreme, and the large audience of eight hundred persons, got together in half an hour's notice, were highly gratified with the events related.

Mr. Wise started for St. Johnsbury at 12 o'clock Thursday night, reaching this place as before stated at about 6 o'clock Friday evening, when he was enthusiastically received by the people.

THE CALEDONIAN of next week will con-[[article cut off at this point]]