HEALTHFUL HOUSE é If

pelled, exploded, not by striking the object aimed at, but
at a distance of some hundreds of yards, its action on the
atmospheric strata was so great that every structure, either
detached fortress or man.of-war, within a space of ten
thousand square yards, must be annihilated. The principle
was the same as that of the ball projected by the Zaluski
pneumatic cannon, which had been already tested at that
period, but with results multiplied at least a hundred times.
If the invention of M. Roch really possessed this power,
then superiority, either offensive or defensive, was secured
to his country. Yet might not the inventor have ex-
aggerated, even though he had tested it against other
machines of well-established credit? Only experiments
could demonstrate it, and Thomas Roch refused to consent
to such trials until after payment of the millions at which
he valued his Fulgurator.

It is certain that his mind had already lost its balance.
He had no longer entire possession of his brain power, but
was on the path which would gradually lead to madness.
No government could condescend to treat with him under
the conditions he imposed.

The French commission had to break off all negotia-
tions, and the newspapers, even those of the Radical
opposition, were obliged to admit the difficulty of pro-
ceeding with the matter. The proposals of Thomas Roch
were rejected, and without any fear that another State
would consent to accept them.

With that excess of subjectivity which went on increasing
in the shaken mind of the inventor, it is not surprising