The Sun.
London, England, 1841-05-28 00:00:00

REMARKS UT CAPTAIN WIXOM_

Captain Almeida appeared to be an intelligent man,
and willing to give every information in his power. I
implored of him to state nothing but what was positive
truth, and he assured me that all he had said was fact ;
and he deeply regretted that he knew nothing; of the
President steamer being missing, or he would have
spoken the steamer he saw. On my rigidly examining
him, he declared that the steamer alluded to was as large
as a frigate.
After the most serious and mature deliberation, my
own opinion is, that there are good grounds to suppose
it was the President, and the probable reason for their
not communicating may have been that they had pre-
viously fallen in with some vessel homeward or outward
bound, and transferred their passengers and received sup-
plies from her and that they were making the best of
their way to the nearest port in the Western Islands.
Whether the President had a square maintopsail or
not when she left New York I don't know ; hut that is
no reason that they should not have fitted one when their
engines, wheels, or boilers, became disabled, and they
were lett to depend on their canvass alone.
It will be necessary to ascertain where her Majesty's
steamer Dee was on the 23d and 24th days of April, as I
was informed at Lisbon that Vessel was on her passage
home ffem the West Indies. When ascertained that it
could not have been that vessel, then I am firmly of
opinion it must have been the President ; and as they
-were then in the parallel of latitude where the trade
winds commence, it may be many weeks, from the date
they were seen, till they arrive at any port.
At the date they were seen their nearest port was in
th e Island of Fayal, one of the Azores or Western
Is lands, bearing from them per compass, E.N.E. 708 miles.

The French Government should be written to •to
ascertain whether they had any large steamers that were
lilzely to be in the parallel of latitude and longitude
where this vessel was seen, going out to or returning
home from any foreign porti all this would greatly tend
to.eomilk; to a conclusion who the stranger was.
The Portrianiese brig Conde de Palma must have passed
pretty close to the steamer during the night of tho 23d
of April, and not having seen her can only be accounted
for by the haziness of the night, and there being no
ro.ooldigkt ; for when the Captain saw her again in the
corning, bafore it became very clear, she was broad on
the lee bow, and he told me she looked like an Indiaman
under jury masts ; but as it bjcame clearer he most dis-
tinctly recognised her to be the same strange steamer
they had seen the previous day, now bearing N.N.W. five
or six miles, and under the same sail and circumstances
in, every respect.
Captain Almeida had been in Lisbon several days,
whet-. a friend who was dining With him was deploring
the supposed loss of the President steamer, when Capt.
I.lmeilil immediately exclaimed, "I must have seen her,
for we passed a krge steamer about ten days before we
arrive(74 under canvass, withoat any smoke coining from
her flianel or wheels in motion, and it is noted in the log-
look :" the log was sent to:, and it clearly proved to
have been 4hserted ; and this fact was corroborated by
iLe passengers, one of whom, an officer Of engineers,
named Frietas Germanes, told Mr. Vanzeller that he had
made a memorandum of it, which I was most anxious to
ttaba, and called on him for that purpose, but he was
a nfortunately absent, and I did not get it. We sailed the
ttafne afternoon for England, Monday the 17th of May,
&et day Capt. Almeida made the previous declaration.

EXTRAORDINARY CASE OF

CHILD STEALING.

On Monday, the 17th of May, a Highland woman,
earned Kirsty Ross, called at the house of Peter M‘Lach-
inr, sailor, Ann-s;:reet, Port Dundas, and requested
lodgings. Mrs. M'Laehlan, observing she was a stranger,
and unable almost to speak a word of English, bade her
come in, and said -he could not give her lodgings her-
self, but-she would send a girl with her to a house in the
neighbourhood, where she would be a3commodated.
Next morning Ross returned, affecting to thank Mrs.
-NI-Lachlan for this kindness, and asked if she might
have breakfastp which being granted, she took the child,
a boy four months old, and, fondling it for some time,
said that sho would take a walk down to the house where
she had passed the night, and pay her way, and get her
umbrella—taking the infant along with her. Mrs.
41•Lachlan could not suspect any danger to her baby,
by such-a proposal, and the woman was allowed to go.
Tne time appearing long before she returned to break-
fast, a girl was sent down to the lodging-house,
where she ,vas informed that the woman and child had
loft gime time since. Surprised a little at this intelli-
gence, Mrs. M‘Lachlan thought she must have mistaken
ner why back, and went out in search of her ; but soon
all hope frain this cause forsook her, and she gave way
to the most poignant grief for the false confidence which
mbe placed in the base woman who had robbed her of
her child. The whole of Port Dundas and Cowcaddens
wore soon informed of the fact—but still it was believed
that the child would be restored before nightfall. But no;
nothing transpired to unravel this mysterious affair
Next morning, a gentleman who lives on Garnet-hill,
having heard of the lamentable occurrence, called on the
bereaved family, and caused bills to be printed, and made
a minute investigation into the circumstances. lie was
informed that a Highland woman, who lives in the
neighbourhood, had said that she thought she knew the
thief of the child, and attempted to assuage the mother's
grief, by assuring her that no injury would be sustained
by the infant, for as soon as the woman's purpose was
serVed it would be restored. This person he subjected to a
most rigid examination, and elicited from her, with much,
difficulty, some traces of the flight of the heartless fugi-
tive. He learned from the keeper of the Round Toll, at
Black Quarry, that a Highland woman, with an infant
ocrapped in a tartan shawl, had inquired, on Wednes-
ela.y afternoon, for the Aberfoyle carrier, and on learn-
ing he was not past, walked forward on the road, As
fills was in the direction where she had formerly been a
servant, Ewan Kennedy, a Highland man, was imme-
diately despatched after the carts ; but, being five hours
behind them in starting, it was not expected that he
would overtake them before they reached Aberfoyle, a
distance of thirty miles. From inquiries, however, which
ho..made on the road, he did not find the Round Toll-
man's story corroborated. No woman had been seen on
the Abarfoyle carts, and, as it was excessively wet, he was
shout to lodge for the night in Strathblane. From some
information which he obtained there, however, he was in-
duced to pursue his journey by way of Drummond, and
on arriving there matters began to brighten. The story
of the capture was there before him, and the whole town
turned out to assist him in the pursuit. The woman was
known there ; her name was Kirsty Ross, and had left
th-place a few months ago, pretending to be with child
to a shepherd of the name of M'Neil. In the direction
of the farm where M'Neil was employed in the capa-
city of a serva:.t, rill bent their way, and there theculprit
v% as found feeding the child with a spoon. No language
can express the astonishment of the shepherd when this
discovery of the treachery of his quondam sweetheart
was revealed to his wondering eyes. The woman herself
was by no means so much affected, and as for the poor
iiifant, every eye was directed to it to see how it had fared
during its long journey ; and, to tell the truth, there
did not appear to be much wrong with it. It had now
been throe days absent from its mother, and subjected to
spoon meat, which it had never tasted before ; but it ap-
peared what it wanted in its mother's milk was made up
to it by the pure air of the Highland hills. Before the
arrival of the party who apprehended the culprit, she had
I)%len to the ruling elder of the parish, and said that the
child waB ApNeirs, and requested to be subjected to
Church censure in order that she might have the privi-
lege of baptism on the approaching Sabbath. It is pro-
lxmt-la„Nleeu, he ra_.ias object in all this was to drive a marriage with
she seemed to be pretty expert in doing
business, it is not
unlikely
this
might have' been consum-
mated, had her detection
been a little longer delayed.-
-Glasgow Post.