The Sun.
London, England, 1847-08-24 00:00:00

1 ' HER MAJESTY'S VISIT TO THE
BIG HLANDS
FoarwiLLIAM, AuG 20 .—Yesterday
o'clock the Royal Squadron• *1 esterday at eight I
ofeft Loch Crenan, and The u
CASE OF ABDUCTION AT MALTA.
after visiting the Ba gentlemen of the longrobe" at Malta hays
Sound of Mull to Staffs3r and Oban,passed through the
lona,iarboorerturAniang at night I been busily engaged in a case which, from its rovelty
to anchor -in Tobermory I the route i and the distress which it is likely to occasion to the
er-
thus folloa-ed by her Majesty lay among n
already injured father of the young lady, and the se-
markable not only for their natural att racstcion scenes
bute rious worldly prejudice to this latter, has created
• also for their great historic associations and the rich very consieerable sensation. The case was tried in
I mine of traditional lore which among them invites the the Civil Court, before Judge Grunge, on the 11th
1 researches cef the curious and the learned, I propose of August. Dr. Adriano Dingle, advocate, with Mr.
1 adopting the same plan with regard to them as I did WI illiam John Stevens, solicitor, appearing for the
Ls ain.tiffs, Misses Sophia and Sarah Anna Cannon,
in my last communication with reference to the
Augostino-eeping a school at Valetta, and the Advocate Dr.
coast further south, and giving a brief outline of the i
ettof Spiteri, and Mr. William Stevens, soli-
families and races whose fortunes in remote periods ,
wife,ofoGrethe de'endent, Mrs. Emma, the divorced
determined the present circumstances of those dis-
, trios. It is needless, with so large a field for specu- I Devon, theorge Savage Curtis, Esq., of Teignmouth,
cited, Miss Ellen Curtis. Both
' lation in the imperfect records of less fabulous ages, ' young, lady rathera
bdu and mother respectively of the
I p-halaiiitittigffasahnt,adtdoeft'etnriieanndt.iappeared in Court, the former
to go back to those times when the Vickingrs held
sway among the Western Islands, and whsn the
l piratical galleys of the Fingals and the Duhhgall
R. Y.,
were observed
Captains Rich and IVilmtnew
Bishop, the Her. Mr. Ilare
swarmed in the lochs and sounds of the Ilebri less ec. ;it lainthe Rev. Sir Cecil
The names of Magnus Barefoot and Malcolm Can- Commander
Mends,
R.N ,
tien
itiev jtoihthne force.),
more (Malcolm with the large Head), sufficiently in- (chaplain to Government), arid Dr. F.F. Sankeseißettilt dicate the primeval barbarism of the tribes over whom From the opening address of the counsel for th.e''plaine their rule extended. During the close of the 13th and the tiffs, it appeared that Mr. Curtis, a gentleman of for-
beginning of the 14'h centuries the history of the tune, and having five daughters, had at the close of last
Western Islands first begins to assume the form of a year been constrained to seek, arid actually obtained,
connected narrative. It was at this period that, a legislative Act for the revocation and annulment
through the wise munificence of King Robert Bruce, „t his marriage with &rims, the daughter of Sir
the M‘Donalds of the Isles began contemporaneously William Curtis, Bart. ; that soon after he deemed it
with their rivals, the Campbells of Argyleshire, to advisable to remove his three youngest daughters to
rise into power. The policy of Robert demanded Malta, and before leaving for Lisbon, placed them in
t iat antagonists should be raised up to crush the the highly -respectable- eeholirstic establishment of thIS
MeDougells of Lorn, his hereditary foes; aid to rifest Nlisstes Cannon. That the Misses Canuou had ri•
this object, when Lorn was forfeited, he made great ceived strict jejune-Lions from tti? Tither 'to allow of
,rants of land not only to Sir Neil Campbell of iei intercourse, even by letter, betweetethe young
Lochavve, but also to Angus Org MsDonald, whose ladies and their mother, or any oths>rs, tfirough
son John, in addition to his paternal inheritance, de- whom it was supposed she might seek to corgis
rived through his wife possession of the North Isles, p
' with them; in reference to which, injunelitih the
,rid assumed fir the first time the title of Dominus de father had ad lressed a letter to his children froßtiether
Insults, or Lord of the Isles. By the marriage of Tagus, calling upon them to give a virittensprotniee
his descendant Donald to Mary Leslie, the Earldom that they would strictly rand inviolable; 'Vibes' the
of Ross was added to that lordship, and thus tt'e great a4-ne, which he peirited out to them as affecting their
family of the MeDonalds acquired an amount of power tuture welfare and happiness beyond what thee could
which, taken in connexion with their previous claims imagine, which promise was signed by the three
to sovereign dignity and the turbulent spirit of tie sisters, and duly forearded to the father. Matters
times, proved most formidable to the authority of the remained in this state until the evening of Friday,
Scottish throne, and in the end disastrous to them- the 6th of August, when one of the plaintiffs, in
selves and all connected with their house and tor- errs-ing with the three Misses Curti, and three other
tunes. After a lengthened contest and many deter- Young ladies, their rupi's, from Valetta to Slistna,
mined struggles for supremacy—after holding Par- in a terry boat, manned by two men, to take their
liaments of their own, and negotiating independent accustomed daily exercise, were about mid-channel
treaties with England—after repeated, and some- passed by a roan-of-war's gig, pulled by several
times successful, attacks on the royal castles aid hands, steered by a naval officer (whom they subses
armies, the Lords of the Isles towards the close of the quently ascertained to be Lieutenant Baker, corn-
15th century yielded to the sagacious policy of James mending her Majesty's steam packet Ardent), and
IV. ; their wide possessions were forfeited, their titles having in the stern-sheets two females in mourn-
attached to the Crown, and the subsequent represen- ing, which, shooting a-head, landed the parties
tatives of their ancient state ceased to exercise any a few minutes before Miss Cannon and her pupils.
paramount influence in the Highlands, holding •he That on coming up to them Miss Charlotte Curtis
rank of baron in the peerage by an Irish title. Yet recognised her mother and maid, as the two females
as the tree does not fall without leaving on the ground who had landed with Lieutenant Baker, whereupon
the seeds of future vegetation, so the Lords of the Miss Cannon, until then unaware of the fact of Mrs.
Isles were not stripped of their territories and power Curtis being in Malta, hurriedly retraced her steps
without leaving behind 0-ern the evident signs of their with her pupils, and embarking in the same ferry boat
rule. From them, in direct descent, sprang the from which they had just previously landed, desired
M‘Donalds of Lochalsh—the clan Huistein of Sleet the waterman to pull quickly to Valetta. Lieutenant
—the clan lan Vor of Isla—the clan Ranald-bane of Baker, with. Mrs. Curtis and her maid, followed their
Largie—the clan Ranald Of Lochaber—Seol Gorrie motions, and the gig pulled hard in pursuit, over-
of Uist—the clan Ranald of Moydert Morar Knoy - taking them about mini-channel, when Lieutenant
dirt and Glengarry—the Al'Donalds of Glenco and Baker hiiled—" Miss Cannon ! I have in my boat
Ardnamurchan, and the clan Allaster of Kintyre. the mother of the Misses Curtis," and one of the
Besides these formidable tribes,. the following great gig's crew putting out a boat-hook, forcibly detained
families, either from the influences of vassalage or rhe ferry boat, when Lieutenant Baker demanded, in
affinity, retained for a long period the traditional the name of Mrs. Curtis, the delivery up of the three
politics of the Lordship of the Isles, and many of them Misses Curtis, with which demand Miss Cannon
were only finally dismembered by the events of " the refused to comply, protesting that they had been
45 ;" these were the Macleans of Dowext, Lochbury, confided to her charge and protection by Mr. Curtis,
Cole, and Ardgour—the Macleods of Lewis and Harris whose authority alone, and no other, could she
—the Camerons of Locheil—the Macneils of Barra acknowledge. Lieutenant Baker offered to assume
and Gigha—the Mackinnons—the Macquarries of all the responsibility, and, aided by the maid servant,
Ulva—the Macfies of Colonsay—the Maccacherns of strongly urged Miss Ellen Curtis to pass over into the
Kilelan—and the Afackays of Nvadale in Kintyre. gig, whereupon Miss Cannon again protested against
Several of the races here enumerated have disap- such a step, reminding the young lady of her recent
peered or been swept from the land, and over all of written promis to her father, which she was in duty
them a mighty change has passed„transforming their bound to maintain. Lieut. Baker and the maid, on the
habits, character, and manners, but yet can he tract d other hand, s night to imp .e,s upon the young lady
among them the expiring embers of theedery past ; that her duty wit: to obey her mother's wishes ; and
for the Highlander still, though The labouNi iiiilitie-- oe Miss Cannon's remonstriting, Lieutenant Biker
rently, makes a brave soldier, still the love of country m ide may rude remarks, in dis etragement of Miss
:mil kin is a ruling passion of his heart, and still each Cannel', authority, and tieally proc e ed, with the
locality pres?rves, more or less tenaciously, the na i e mist ince of the maid, to raise Miss Ellen Curtis
•X tee clan which fortinirle possessed it. :rinn her seat, when st a appealed te
_Miss Cennoti in
or k'nsc--lilenici chior; -5.0 WCPIrthrITUV dll ~-.1,-, ~..,... into %, mere nee tamer nail inousto peeper Li) place
along many a winding bay and tar-extended headland err. Eveetually, however, Mi-s Eeen Curtis stepped
stretches, ,V. r into the gig, not-vvith:tataling• the reason-trances
.6 Wh,r, the Atlantic's wa,e pours o'er the stormy if Miss Cannon, I,ienteriarit linker asserting that he
Hebrides." had in his pocket documents to justify the course he
Passing from Loch Crenan up to Ohan, the .qua- was pursuing. An attempt was then made to induce
Iron left the whirlpool of Cori-yen-ken on the left, Miss Ch.ll,tte Curtis to 1;,11,iw her si-ter s example,
and crossing the " Derust-mere," or Great Door, hut she held out ; and on Miss Cannon asking the
a point at whice the tides of the ocean meet, young lady to declere whether she vves to understand
steered on round the stormy shore of Easdale. That she (Miss E;len Curtis) was a willing aed con-
dere the prospect opened up was surpassinelv eating party to what WA., going on. she gave for
wild. Nloving along a cast indented with lochs answer that she wish-al
her;
_to see heri,moth_er,
gio sexyv,n
ci, with
Nliierir;(,:;:i:irthisarittn:.(i ui,,hi,..u.h;eat!'atr)rt
and studded with rugeedi and inhospitable tittle an I not to
islands, the stye extended westward over the broad looking at 1
ise.
Elea should he returned
, xpense of the open ocean, and mtoing thence south- Baker pro nt d
Cannon
NU-5
in the course of three hours
w•irds rested upon Colonsay and Jura. To the westi to the
MissesNi Cannon threatened to report the matter
liy the green hills of Argy'eshire, and on the north i time.
fermi !able array stretched the massive and iron-bound to the i fficercs saitniiii.sterinu the government, a threat
h-adlands of Mull, prolonged into the Atlantic, and which was met by eet\7t;e:iiint Baker with an order
backing up against the fury of its waters the defeece- to the crew to pull for
less and wave- worn lona. The squadron rested in was immediately made to eth e the 'lice, the acting in-
Oban
t t ['Arbour. Application
Oben lite' for a few minutes, that the royal party specter of which repaired to police, the
at which Mrs.
• ht survey this beautiful and picturesque harbour, c.
,night
round which wood•crowned heights of exquisite out- had been only a few days,
line form in a semicircle, the mouth of the harbour Ripon, front Southampton, on the 31st of July, on
having landed from the
hying closed in by the island of Kerrera, and the hoard of which vessel her passage was taken under
ancient
seat of the M'Dougals of Lorn, Dunolly the assumed name of Mrs. Charles, and under which
Castle, towering from a rock on the upp: r name she was reported to the marine police on land-
extremityof the bay. From Oban the royal ing. But the endeavours of the MissesdCafntenroo_.
squadron sailed northwards past the point of regain their charge proved fruitie ; anmetaiding go
Lismore, and through the Sound of Mull. On cially reporting to the Rear-Admiral
no
Tther alterna-
either shore, as the fleet steered up the Sound, oh- conduct of Lieut. Bakei.e.tiheuriet
wasfor the delivering up
iscts of great historical interest and the highest gran- .ive thin to institute ahechoe.ns
a minor. On the part
deur presented themselves to the view. Far off to of the young lady, s
the south and east stretched the mountains of Appin of the defendantho exceptionsei Kg,ere taken : first, that the
wishes should be consulted, must
and Lochabar, flanked by Ben Cruiachan at the one young lady,
wthesesuit ; secondly, that she was deter.
extremity, and Ben Nevis on the other. On the be a party
west lay the stately Ben More, and eastward Norven
and, fourthly, that though an
mined tto raet°mmaiinnowrlth her mother ; thirdly, that she
—the country where Fingal fought and Ossian‘i
hsearsngon; was
gr not
had been entered into, owing chiefly to
or where, to use more guarded language, le
smoothacp as irregularitiesae in the conduct of Mr. Curtis, for him
said they did so. The sea, which af-eaastuar
se
of the ad- and Mrs. Curtis to live apart, still this was no
glass, reflected on its surface every
l on either side, DO divorce; and that this latter lost not in conse-
jacent heights, a.nd at short interim 4,
quence the right or control over her children. In
the ruins of ancient strongholds rise on the sea side,
their grim and solitary aspect calling back the mind support of the case, two of the pupils, who were in
to times of
teed up the Sound, Doward Castle, once the the plaintiffs, and they deposed to the main facts of
strongholda3tri of Maclean of Deward, appeared on the the case. The strong injunction of the father that
left, and on the right the ancient fortresses of Ard- the daughters should not corresp aid with theire
torinsh and Mingary. The former belonged in re- mother, aril the fact of the written promise wasrmatd_ e
mote periods to the Lords of the Isles, and the latter out hj a letter from the father to his daughter
Dire.
to the Maclens of Ardnamarchan. In one or both of
plaintiff,
them James IV. and' V. resided when visiting the proof of the divorce existed in a nottoe
the plaintiff,
A
Curtis had thought proper to addreiss
The age of the
Highlands to compel the submission of the refractory in which
her sister, Amelia
chiefs; nor have these.. wild shores and deserted . was proved-on oat
d the
young lady pelt hirthdaY, an
promontories been since ' visited by the Sovereign note it was fully admhitbte
years
the civil law appli-
until yesterday her Majesty surveyed them from ths countel for the plaintiffsne gland showing- that the will
Curtis, to he severateen
quarter-deck of the Victoria and Albert. The changes esiee t, the point a
which have been wrought on that coast in the inter- .
val ase striking eneugle, for- few can help recognizing tertained.i
eeaniined, for the defendant was
of Miss Ellen Curtist issue,
not for u moment be en-
y witness
the distinction between the peaceful objects of Quern .
the drift of vaiose evidence was to
Victoria and the mission of her predecessors ; or ob-t the see
hselitsh'that the young lady hail 'aft the boat spon-
servin, that lands which, in the 16th century trust
establish
and of her own free will, without permute
bade produced a numerous. hardy, and vast maid,
pasture. Baker took no active part in the matter she (the
race of mountaineers, now support ltittetladedtoveelsne than stion or force bring use.l, and that whilst Lieutenant
black-faced sheep, and are entirely devoted
the Sound of witness) had only held out a helping hand to assist
isteeopf that island, ens,: Ellen in stepping from one boat into the other.
As the royal squadron cleared out m
ty
Mull, and round the northern.texttrhee
and barren The Court gave judgmetit its favour of the plain•
tiffs, condemning Mrs. Curia to d. liver up to thenl
a noble prospect lay
' headlands of Ardnamarchan left the precipitous cliffs the voting lady, to he by them re-conducted to their
before
stretching
away
the right, on thed into the
Atlantic on n embosomed in the dwelling, there to remain under their charge until
t and far away a
of the Mull cogs ,
d varied forme of the adjacent such time as Mr. Curtis, the father, might think
ocean, the fantastic an
ward the north was a good deal proper to give other directions, or make other provis
islands. The horizon to
notwithstanding, Skye was &s.,
dby haze, but, no sion in the matter. From this decision an appeal
obscure
Having steamed round the point of was immediately lodged by the defendant, who also
tingly visible.
11 omposed the greater part
where Campbell c
~ entered an action to suspend the execution ofthe Den.
Calluch,
of Hope, the fleet at length tence pending the appeal • but on the part of the
appea ,
of his "Pleasures
island
of Staffs, and her Ma-been
stopped the lonely
off • •plaintiffs, every possible judicial measure has. .
rowed to the furthest et- - Athe •the island
her barge was
jesty inresorted to to impeee carrying off from . ~
great cave. The construction and m-pai-
tremity of the of the abducted party ; to strengthen which I F .
ce of this wonderful natural temple have • • authorities',
appearance merit, the military, naval, and executive
been so often described that it is unnecessary to at- have lent every p f
ossible aid and assist:aring on the e.
'he
tempt giving any account of it here, yet the The case in the appeal was fixed o
circumstances of yesterday's visit to the cave were so 1 16th of Augus!:..._...______
striking and novel as to impress most powerfully the
—A market-gardener, named
minds of those who witnessed the scene. The de- DARING R 01113,!
tirgairv.esend. was last week robbed of
sorted and solitary aspect of the island was brought Amos, t's !
livitgat% 50/. undrr the following circumstanc,-5:
out with strange and startling effect by the presence le ,t w eena4fGew
days previous two well dressed men had
of so many steamers ; and as her Majesty's
--t-it c; at his shop under various pretences, and. on the
barge with the royal standard floated into c,
day of the robbery, they looked in in his absence, and
the cave, the crew dipping their oars
begged toe a. be atil°av'edtnwardi t.eoinainletttehr. Mrs. Amos
with the greatest precision, nothing could showed them parlouroed & short Le. g
Juste asitting-room,sheyeiers
be more animated and grand than the p
ain riaveineg the:servant told her mistress the drawer in the
pearance which the vast basaltic entrance, so solemn
.ro_
)d
room was open. Mrs. Amos, knowing thst to be the _
its proportions, presented. lons, which the V. ;I_ll ,
po...___ of e
ivory the cash, ran to the room and found te
proceeded to on leaving Staffs, is also foroomb
mutu:n "
t hunch of skeleton keys, with which her tore had nil.
poses of description beyond the limits of
athe Duke o locked the drawer, and of course the cash had vanishd._
cation like the present. Prince Albert. _
visited
it,
The thieves, who are supposed to be the seine
,partieee-
Clarke
Norfolk, Earl Grey, snd Sir James ,
their. resetsrOes 44414(2,14> asekergeskuusessf money fro .
m the: Ship abd'
aft?
'lntim:doubt' .sati;fied thiin.selyA V ... 4-hen tic ,Le ter.
..6 public- bellie in the neighbourhood, got
eLeessetes was true
that the language of Dr. --- • • - .. ' 0i1i4111940 the yolipe were iistaatly 04 UP *Pot