The Sun.
London, England, 1862-11-13 00:00:00

.EXTRAORDINARY ATTEMP7 Al

ABDUCTION.

On Saturday morning the village of Kinlough, cou my
Limerick, was thrown into a state of great excitement, in
consequence of a number of young men (ten in all) being
escorted, handcuffed, on cars into thelvillage, and conducted
to the barrack by two parties of police from Kinlough and
Tawley police-stations, on two distinct charges of at-
tempted abduction and burglary on the preceding night.
It appears that on Friday night (All Hallow Eve), a party
of ten young men assembled at the house of Mr. Robert
Likely, the celebrated old sportsman of Gurteen, Ballin-
trilliek, and after being plentifully supplied with good cheer,
all preliminaries for the abduction of a certain young
woman were arranged. The entire party, consisting of
James Likely, the would-be bridegroom, his brother
Henry, and the boy Roger, together with the accomplices,
all being ' well armed, set off on cars at about eight
o'clock p.m., and never halted until they arrived at the
village of Boiney, situated on the north
nl.o, in
-western side of
Lough Melvin, and about four miles from
iough
th,i county Leitrim. On their arrival at this village (at
about ten p.m.) all the party alighted, left the horses and
cars to the care of a few of their number, while
of xt
the rest
proceeded in the direction ,of the residence
or fourr
John Coulter ; but on their way thither
of the party, who were strangers that locality, went into
three
for the purpose
a house, occupied by Mr. Coulter's
herd,
of lighting their pipes, where they observed a knot of
girls seated round the fire burning nuts, oneofwhom
Young woman that
no less a personage than the
the Pau
;ypaburty,
.fortunately for
Likely and his gang were in searvehetrhyo
t Some of the
her, she was not recognised byyhat purpose they were to
young women, on learning
prraol
el ieeedd
et
dh e
directly
roenotheiry
to
o
be found in that part of theflocroftu7natoryd,
gallantry, upon which theyavie
fig
easily gained admittance,
Mr. Coulter's house, and, h
make fast the doors, placing some
they first commenced
guard,to
white the rest searched the house,
of their party on bout that came in their way, but all
knocking everything
waas evident that Miss Coulter was not
to no purpose. I:vete any of the family, except Mr. Conl-
in the house, nor
who was in bed at the time—so the party were
obliged himself, object of their pure
without finding the e
obliged
With one
were engaged in their.
they
Whilstsearch, young
suit.
named John Coulter, son oi Coulter,
lad,
servant boys, got out of the
of the house by a back
window, hastened down to the shore, took a boat and
rowed away to the opposite side of the lake ,
proceeded to the barrack at Kinlough,
and gave
information to Constable Monson, who despatched
his men (the others being out on patrol) with young Coul-
ter to the police barrack at Tawley, and acquainted the
constable there of what took place, when that officer, with
three of his party, went in pursuit, and had n'it proceeded
far when they encountered the whole
party
in their retreat, all apparently much the of lady-hunters
They were ordered to halt, with guns
loaded
dorsae for liquor.
and bayonets
fixed, upon which all the party of 13 (except three who were
on foot, who got clear off) were captured, manacled, and
brought to the police barrack at Tawley. Here they were
overtaken by a man •
his hand, running in all haste, with a tongs in
and only partially dressed, who gave information
to the police that the same party were
after breaking the
door and windows of his house, and threatening to beat
him, for no other reason than his refusing to allow them to
light their pipes and divide the whisky they had in a jar
amongst their party. Next morning the whole party were
brought into Kinlough, when informations were sworn
against them, and they were bound to stand their trial at the
next quartereessim t4t ganorharniltoni—Nigo indePeniline.

Letters have beet, received at Plymouth from the
gunvessel Lee, 5, Commander E. C. Symons, dated
W hydah, Oct. 10, when all were well on board.
It is reported at Plymouth that the crew of the
screw steam frigate Emerald, 35, Capt. A. Cum-
ming, now at Osborne, are daily expecting orders
to be paid off either at Portsmouth or Plymouth.
She was put in commission in May, 1859.
The cause of the leakage in the screw steam cor-
vette Barossa, 21, Capt. W. M'Dowell, referred to
the The Sun of Saturday last, continues a mystery.
After being thoroughly overhauled she was taken
out of dock at Dcvonport on. Saturday, and in all
other respects will be ready for sea to-day, but the
leakage continues. A commission of officers coa-
n coed with the steam reserve met on board on Tues-
day. It is now stated that while in ordinary at
Sheerness she made an inch an hour. Some of the
seamen say that when off Ushant she rolled heavily,
bat the shipwrights recently employed on her have
not observed any signs of straining. Her armament
consists of 16 8 inch guns, 4 Arlnstrongs, and one
100 pounder pivot ditto. lie'e engines cause much
vibration. The defect is still attributed to some-
thing wrong in the Ki-dgston valves.

711 E ARMY.

A notification, signed by Major-General Sir E.
Lugard, K.C.8., Under Secretary of State for War,
has been received at Chatham garrison from the
War-office, announcing that the payment of £3 3s
to men re-enlisting in the infantry, and of £6 12s to
men re-enlisting in the cavalry, as commutation in
lieu of a free knit, will in future be discontinued,
and the following will be the sums to be paid to
men re-enlisting after the expiration of their first
period of service, and who are provided with a com-
plete kit at the public expense :—Heavy cavalry,
£3 12s 6d ; Hussars, £3 9s ; Lancers,
£3 12s 6d; Artillery, mounted, £3lls; Engineers,
mounted, £3 12s; Military Train, £3 48 ; Foot Ar-
tillery, £3 3s; Engineers, £3 2s 6d; Infantry of
the Line, Rifle, and colonial regiments, excepting
West India regiments, £2 ; Highland regiments
wearing trews, £1 12s; Highland regiments wear-
ing kilts, £2 9s; Commissariat Staff Corps, £2 18s ;
West India regiments, £2.
The War Department having decided on the
erection of a reading room, library, and concert
room, for the use of the non-commissioned officers
and men of the Ist division of the Depot Brigade,
Royal Artillery, the building has been commenced
by Messrs. Naylar and Son, the Government con-
, tractors.

Yesterday afternoon Major-General C. C. Hay,
Inspector-General of Musketry, commenced his pe -
riodical inspection of the corps undergoing their
course of musketry instruction at Chatham garri-
son- The inspection will be continued to-day.

DE QUINCEY, THE OPIUM-EATER.

Mrs. Gordon, in her life of her father, Professor 'Wilson,
gives the following sketch cf that singular man, Thomas de
Quincey :—" I remember his coming to Gloucester.place one
stormy night. He remained hour after hour in vain expecta-
tion that the waters would assuage and the hurly-burlycease.
There was nothing for it but that our visitor should remain
all night. The Professorordered a room to be prepared for
him; and they feund each other such good company that
this accidental detention was prolonged, without further
difficulty, for the greater part or a year. During this visit
some of his eccentricities did not escape observation. For
example, he rarely appeared at the family meals, preferring
to dine in his own room• at his own hour, not unfrequently
turning night into day. His tastes veers very simple, though
a little troublesome, at least to the servant who prepared
bis repast. Coffee, boiled rice and milk, and a piece of mut-
ton from the loin, were the materials that invariably formed
his diet. The cook, who had an audience with him daily
received her instructions in silent awe, quite overpowered
by his manner, for had he been addressing a duchess ha
could scarcely have spoken with more deference. He would
couch his request in such terms as these 0
wing to
dyspepsia afflicting
my system, and the possibility of any
additional disarrangement of the stomach taking place, con-
sequences incalculably distressing would arise, so much so,
indeed, as to increase nervous irritation, and prevent me
from attending to matters of overwhelming importance, if
you do not remember to cut the mutton in a diagonal rather
than in a longitudinal form.' The cook—a Scotchwoman—
had great reverence for Mr.De Quincey as a man of genius ;
but, after one of those interviews her patience was pretty
well exhausted, and she would say, ' Neel I never hard the
like o' that in a my days; the bodie has an awfu' sicht o'
words. Hit had been my ain master that was wanting his
dinner, he would ha' ordered a bale tabletu' wi' little mak
than a wauff o' his haun ; and here's a' this clever aboot a
bit of mutton nae bigger than a prin. Mr. De Quincey
would make a gran' preacher, though I'm thinking, a
hantie o' the folk wouldna ken what he was driving at.'
But these little meals were net the only indulgences that,
when not properly attended to, brought trouble to Mr. De
Quincey. Regularity in doses of opium was even ofgreater
consequence. An ounce of laudanum per diem prostrated
animal life in the early part of the day.
Itwas no unfre-
upon the rug in
quent sight to find him in his room lyi
front of the fire, his head resting upon ng
abk, with his
arms crossed over his breast,
lie inplunged in profound slumber.
For several hours he wouldthis state, until the (diects
of the torpor had passed
away
towards the early morning
.ay The time when ha was
most brilliant was g
thanera once, in order to show him off,
my father arranged
hours; and then, n_lof
his supper.
parties so that, sitting till
morning, he brought Mr. De Quincey
whit charm andof
to the point at w- power conversation he
in
wthasreemootnar foury in the h
wonder