The Sun.
London, England, 1871-01-11 00:00:00

A BALLOON OVER LONDON.

A large concourse of persons assembled yesterday in the
neighbourhood of the Elephant and Castle, watching the
appearance of a balloon which was drifting from West to
East at a rapid rate. The altitude must have been very
considerable, as the balloon seemed at first nJ bigger than
a man's hand. For a few minutes, however, it began to
descend, until its shape was clearly discernible. It almost
as suddenly again ascended, and drifting eastwards, was
soon out of sight.

ALLEGED BREACH OF PROMISE.
A ROMANTIC CASE.
The Northern Ensign publishes some correspondence on
which it is said that an action for breach of promise has
been founded, the plaintiff being a girl a little more
than 13 years of age, who sues by her father, the de-
fendant being a lieutenant in the Royal Navy. Damages
are laid at £2,000. The defendant wholly denies any
engagement to manly. It is believed that the trial will
take place in Scotland early this spring. The action is
brought by Miss Maria Amelia Lloyd, daughter of
Mathew Pennefather Lloyd, of Rockcliffe Terrace, Black-
rock-road, county of Cork, Ireland, late Major in Her
Majesty's 59th Regiment, with the consent and concur-
rence of the said Mathew Pennefather Lloyd, her father
and administrator-in-law, and William Milne, solicitor
Supreme Courts of Scotland, Edinburgh, their mandatory
—plaintiff ; against John Bruce, lieutenant in the Royal
Navy, in command of Her Majesty's ship Jackall, pre-
sently stationed at Rothesay. The defendant, is about
32 years of age, highly connected, and has, it is alleged,
an income of £4OO or £5OO a year as a commander in Her
Majesty's service, and is also possessed of landed property
abroad. His grandfather is represented by him to have
an income of £27,000:a year, to a great part of which the
defendant gave out that he was certain to succeed. In
1857, the plaintiff, then a baby, returned from Hong
Kong with her parents in the North Fleet. The defendant
who was then a midshipman, sailed in the same ship with
her and her parents to this country, and he amused him-
self with, and spent much of his time, it is said, in the com-
pany of the plaintiff, and her parents during the voyage.
The plaintiff was only (between two and three months
old when the North Fleet reached England. The plaintiff
and her parents heard nothing more of the defendant till
in or about January, 1870, when the plaintiff's mother
received a letter from him in the following terms :
" 30, Grosvenor-square, January 16, 1870.
"My dear Mrs. Lloyd,—You will be surprised to
hear of me, but you asked me to let you or
your family know if ever I should come in
your part of the world. lam now appointed to the com-
mand of the Bruiser,' stationed at Cork, and I hope to
have the pleasure of seeing you and the little babe I used
to nurse coming home from China in the North Fleet in
1857.—With kind remembrances, I remain yours very
truly, " JOHN BRUCE.'
The parties afterwards met, and at Cork, it is alleged,
defendant called the girl in his letters his " own dear
little wife," and treated her as if she was to be so. In
April, 1870, the plaintiff received several letters from the
defendant, wherein he called her his own, urged her to
study hard, as he should like his darling little
wife to be looked up to. In May also, the
plaintiff and her mother received many letters
from the defendant; and in a letter to the plaintiff, dated
9th May, 1870, he told her that the people about
Ardrishaig had selected a house for him and his
wife to live in. The correspondence continued
during the months of May and June, and
during these months he repeatedly. expressed his
intention, it was alleged, of marrying the plaintiff,
giving as a reason to the plaintiff's mother for wishing so
young a wife that he was anxious to secure her first love
and he also gave her several presents. Subsequently he
married a Miss Boyce, daughter of the Rev. Gorge
Boyce, a Banffshire clergyman.

THE BALANCE OP PARTIES.— The Globe says
there is a net gain of three seats for the Conservative
Party in all the elections since the general election in
1868.

A. donation of 50 guineas has been presented by
,he Worshipful Company of Clothworkers to the Re-
Ugees' Benevolent Fund.

A Conservative demonstration will be held at
Clitheroe on Friday, at which the Lancashire members,
Messrs. Starkie, Holt, Hornby, Feilden, and Assheton,
will speak.

in
The

It is understood at Greenwich that Mr. Gladstone
will stand for the City next time in place of Baron Roths-
child, who will retire, and that Sir David Salomons, the
senior member, will not contest the seat again.
In times gone by, when the linen trade of Ulster
had many difficulties to overcome, and required so much
the assistance of men of power and position, those of the
local nobility and other gentry who took pride in the
national industry, were ever ready to further its interests
at home and abroad. During the long period of Lord
Moira's residence at Montalto, he gave all possible encbu-
ragement to his tenants in stimulating the growth of flax.
In a similar spirit, the Earl of Hillsborough—at that time
a leading statesman—readily exercised his senatorial in-
fluence, as well as his baronial power, for the advantage
of the manufacture. Lord Hertford was also very friendly
in every instance where his aid could be of advantage. In
1765, when he held the office of Irish Viceroy, he obtained
from the Linen Board many concessions in favour of the
Northern merchants ; and his influence at Court was suc-
cessfully used to obtain royal patronage for the Lisburn
Damask Works. George the -Third—then a very young
monarch—cared little for Ireland, and still less for its
people ; but the Lord Lieutenant so well represented to his
Majesty the superiority of Coulson's table linen that an
order was sent to Lisburn for a large quantity, which
was to be especially got up for the royal household.
This kingly patronage gave additional eclat to the damask
factory • and when the cloths and napkins were delivered
at St. James's, they gave such satisfaction that a highly
complimentary letter was sent to the manufacturer,
stating how much Queen Charlotte was pleased with their
design and workmanship. The fame of Coulson
and Co.'s damask rapidly rose, and not only the leading
peers of Great Britain, but several of the continental po-
tentates were found among his patrons. When any of
those eminent personages visited the North of Ireland,
one of the special objects of their curiosity was the Lis-
burn Damask Works. Long since this mark of approba-
tion, high attention has been directed by JamesCoulson and Co. to the London depot, 11, Pall-mall
East, where the system established a century ago
is still adhered to. Damask weaving of the
• superior order of work—demands a class of ability
as much above what is required to produce an
ordinary linen Web as the genius of the mechanic rises
beyond that of the common labourer. But supply well
fails to follow in the wake of demand, and the ample
wages earned in the Lisburn factory soon gathered into
the concern some of the finest hands in the kingdom;
and, once there, the course of education went on progress
-
ing in every instance where the student sought improve
ment. It is well known that in the early days of geld'
finding in Australia, there' were numbers of miners that
had never enjoyed even the advantages of studying the
the
First Book of Lessons" under the presidency of a hedge
schoolmaster, but whp, by keen observation and exlo-
rience of the auriferous lands, became far more expert iq
discovering the hidden wealth than the most learned or
the geologists sent over to explore the riches of the far
South. So it was in the times alluded to as the great_
epoch of improvement in the make of damask. Want of
education could not be considered any barrier to success
at the loom ; on the contrary, many weavers, unable either
to read or write, but at the same time possessed of gra .t
natural intelligence, were schooled in mechanical artfull'
through their daily toil amid the wonders of the full
mounted loom. They witnessed that marvellous machine
producing fabrics on which appeared a whole series of aria
morial bearings, heraldic emblems, and naval
of a_ll a
military devices, perfect as if created by the hand
painter. Under such an involuntary course of tuition
s
those operatives be- came learned in the textile arms, as,
though the factory in which they worked had been
collegiate institution.—.2lforning Post.
OS t
KINAHAN'S LL WHISKY.—This celebrated and Irish
delicious old mellow spirit is the very cream of Irlsi!
' Whiskies, in quality unrivalled, perfectly pure, and more
wholesome than the finest Cognac Brandy. Note the
red seal, pink label, and cork branded " Kinahan's_l.
Whisky." New Wholesole Depot, 6A, Great Titchttela
street, Oxford-street, W.