The Sun.
London, England, 1870-04-26 00:00:00

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.

Morning. Evening
TUESDAY 40 min past 11 0 min past 12
WEDNESDAY 10 min past 12 35 min past 12
THURSDAY......... 56 miu past 12 18 min past 1
FRIDAY ... „ 35 mill past 1 ........52 min past 3.

(CAPTURED AND MURDERED BY

BRIGANDS.

The capture of the English travellers by Greek bri'
Bands has had a horrible ending. Intelligence, which 35
beyond doubt, announces that the three Englishmen and
the Italian Secretary of Legation, have been murdered in
cold blood. It will be recollected that Lord and Lady
Muncaster, Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd and their little girl,
Mr. Vyner (Lady de Grey's brother), Mr. Herbert,
of the British Legation (cousin of Lord Carnarvon),
and Mr. Bach, of the Italian Legation, were seized
on the 11th instant., when returning from a visit
to the field of Marathon, that the ladies were at once re.•
leased, and that Lord Muncaster was subsequently per:
mitted to return to Athens on his parole to arrange for
the payment of the ransom and the granting of the
amnesty which the brigands demanded as the conditions
of surrendering their captives. The Pall Mall Gazette
understands that, enormous as was the sum de"
manded £25,000 —it was guaranteed by Lord
Carnarvon, Lady Mary Vyner, Mr. Charles Ranasden,
and others, the Italian Government undertaking,
to pay £5,000 of the amount. Indeed, the mono,
had actually been sent out by Messrs. Drummond and
Co., and was at Athens ready to be paid over as soon 05
the Qreek Government consented to the free pardon
which was also stipulated for. It was supposed that
everything had been arranged between Lord Muncaster, •
the English Minister, and the Government, and that his
lordship had started on his return to the hills. At the
last moment, however, the Greek Government seem to have
changed their mind. They declared that a free pardon
could be granted only to political offenders. Our own
Government, seeing the desperate danger of the situation,
even went so far as to offer that a ship should be sent toconvey from the Greek shore both the captives air
the brigands. To that offer the Greeks chief
no official objections ; but the brigand chiel
still stood out for a complete amnesty, an
this was obstinately refused. The next step •takeLl
by King George's Ministry was to surround wit'
troops Oropo, on the Euripus, where the captives were
detained, and to threaten the land of robbers with A
military force. The result of this proceeding was that
on Friday afternoon last a skirmish took place, in which
five brigands and one chief were killed. About this tune
it would appear that Mr. Herbert and the Italian Seer&
tary were shot, and that the remainder of the troop, car-
rymg with them Mr. Vyner and Mr. Lloyd, cut their
way through their opponents, and retreated towards Thebes.
It is surmised, from the tone of the telegrams which have
been received, that the captives must have had some difg"
culty in keeping up with the brigands, and that Mr.
Lloyd, being the first exhausted, was shot on the way
V yner, being probably more active, got as far se
Thebes. where be. ton. fell a victim.
The Times publishes a circumstantial account of the
capture, and of some of the events which followed it. it
is derived chiefly from a letter from Lord Muncaster
On Saturday, the 9th of April, Lord Muncaster, who, Nvith
Lady Muncaster and a friend, Mr. Frederick Vyner,
younger brother of. Lady de Grey and Ripon, was travelling
in the East, applied, through the British Legation at Athens;
for information as to the safety of visiting the plains °I
Marathon, and if an escort was necessary and could be
furnished to enable them to do so. The reply was to the
effect that the road was safe; that there were no brigands
in Attica, but that an escort would be pr )vided. Accord-
ingly, on Monday, the 11th of April, at 6.30 a.m., the
party, consisting of Lord and Lady Muncaster,,
Frederick Vyner, Mr. Herbert, one of the Secretaries to
her Majesty's Legation, Count de Boyl, Secretary to the
Italian Legation, and Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd, Withtheir young chlld, five years of age, left Athens
in two carriages under the escort of four mounted gen;
dames for Marathon, accompanied by a Suliote named
Alexandros, the most experienced and intelligent drag°"
man in Greece. On traversing the plain, they found 5
small detachment of six infantry soldiers, and afterwarde
%larger one of 25, apparently patrolling the road. After
exploring the scene of one of the most interesting events
in history, , they started to return to .Athees•
The detachment of 25 men appears to have end es'
voured to keep company with them, • but we°
unable to do so, and they again passed the smaller
party of six men, who succeeded in keeping tolerably close
in their rear. At 4.30 p.m., entering a thickly-wooded
part of the road near the bridge of Pikerneas, twemounted
gendarmes riding one on either side of the carriages, and
two in front, a volley was suddenly fired into thou,
killing one of the gendarmes, and mortally wounding
another. The road was immediately filled wl,`,,
brigands„ who forced the occupants out of
carriages, using much violence, striking, thong
;
not severely, Lady Muncaster, and tearing off bel
watch and lockets, and menacing with knives the lives 0:
all. They hurried their captives up the sides of Mount
Pentelicus, but had scarcely got fifty yards from the road
when the six infantry soldiers came up and at once COnr
meneed firing into the brigands, who returned the fire',
The soldiers, finding themselves overmatched (the briganes
being upwards of twenty in number), happily discontinue,
the engagement, which would have been probably discontinue
to the captives, who were collected in a body in their
mida. 'the brigands then hurried their prisoners 'JP
the slopes of Pentelicus, and after two hours' walking theY
put the ladies on the horses of the dismounted gendarmes'
and, with one 6ervant, let them go to Athens. After the
ladies had gone the five gentlemen' and Alexandros were
compelled to walk with them up and down wooded ravines,
sometimes resting for half an hour, till about 2 p.m. 012
Tuesday, the 12th of April, when they stopped in a dry
watercourse to kill and roast three lambs, making their
captives sit round the fire, and pressing upon then
the insides of the animals. Weariness and !le-
pression of spirits had deprived them of
even if the food had been more attractive, and they
took of nothing except some black bread and water, N"'
was all the nourishment they
.had for upwards of fortyeight (?) hours. Resuming their march, they halted again
about daybreak, and all Tuesday lay under some bushes,
luckily it was fine, so they did not suffer much. Duril
that day they consulted as to what was to be done, and it
was agreed to ask for one of their number to be allowed '-
go to Athens to arrange for payment of the ransom the
t
demanded, and an amnesty. After several hours tetwe
between Alexandros and the captain of the band,. tPf
terms of ransom were settled so far as that the captain- Oc
the brigands reduced the enormous sum demanded,
£50,000, to the still enormous and extravagant stun Of
£25,000. He would not, however, suffer any further
discussion, but, growing impatient, said enlPl3„ /
tically, ' Finish quickly.' The captives then arranged
that Lord Muncaster should be the person to gi
in and make the arrangements necessary for his On
and companions' release—a promise being exact%
by the brigands that, failing in his mission, Pa
was to return, and that the lives of the others depenu,e4
on his success. They promised to let Lord Muncaster
go that night, but did not do so, as they could g.e,_
no guide, and none of the brigands dared to be seen wi,ttv`
one of their captives. On Tuesday, throughout the nigh
they walked over boggy plains, and up and down bails'
wet through from heavy rain, in which they lay dolt
for three hours, till six in the morning, when they star"-,
again, and then stopped for the day in a ravine, where
shepherd was found and a small cart obtained, in which
Lord Muncaster proceeded to Athens. He, of course,'
made immediate arrangements for sending food
clothing to his unfortunate friends, and for obtaining °LI
money, which was promptly and generously placed at 11";
disposal by a merchant in Athens. The only difficulty
l
ay in the transport of so large a sum in gold.
La Greee throws the blame of the capture upon kh.,B
Government, and especially on the Minister of War, W,;
had, it is said, refused a military escort, on the plea of "A-
non-existence of brigandage in the country, but afterwar""
ordered four gendarmes to accompany the ParY;
This journal denies the responsibility of
Government of Greece, and reasons against the
payment of the ransom, which it states ~h
vow.-
now raised to a demand of £50,000, coupled ~,„0
a threat that if the amount is not paid with a ratificelo
of the other conditions of the brigands, the lives of held
captives will be sacrificed ; and this is the menace be.e.
over the Government if they dare to send troops t°
tempt the rescue of the party. The King, who had beeci
absent for some days, has now returned to his
.palace, AIM
it is expected a call of the Chamber of W 1
be immediately made, and there may arise a controv!Pot
disastrous to the Ministry if not to the Government
I the country.

-THE ENGLISH AND GREEK CHUBCHES.--111°
Levant Herald says that the Archbishop Lycurgus of SY''ri
has visited the oecumenical patriarch, and has transreiltt°
i.
to him the greetings of Lord Stratford de Redcliffe,
Gladstone, and of the English prelates and clergy The
desire the union of the Greek and English Churches.
patriarch expressed the liveliest satifaction, and said til ot"t
the two Churches must learn 'to know each a
better if that end were to be attained. He was conviec"it
the visit of the Archbishop would assist in bringing aP°.
that desirable result-
NOVA st
SCOTIA.—In the Legislative Assembly ea
Halifax numerously-signed petitions have been preseoto
praying the British Government to release Nova Sco..,
from the Confederation. Mr. Pickle moved his resoltela
tions against the Dominion's national policy, and urfie.
the importance of an American market for Nova Se°""ect
He quoted statistics to shew that trade had decree'o
since the abrogation of the Reciprocity TreatY, for
charged the Dominion with neglecting to make efforts
ore
reciprocity. He said that the new tariff would take 0 e.
from Nova Scotia than was given by the home arraa
went.
THE IDEA OF THE PLEBISCITE.—We
ceived the following curious story from a source erl,b;deP,
to respect :—According to our informant, the firsb.g,,
of the Pldbiscite originated neither in the mind °' tof
011ivier nor in that of the Emperor, nor even in ths Up
M. Rouher. The Emperor, it is asserted, has kept„Tifi•
since his residence in England very intimate and..c- be
dential relations with a certain person whose fidviceios
has been in the habit of taking in all difficult cases(l°:,to
his reign. In the late crisis, disquieted at the
ci
taken by domestic politics, lie is stated to have 1r; tbie
course once again to his private confidant, and it is
person's suggestion that the Imperial decision mr3s
to appeal directly to the French people. The re9' eas
which debar us from writing the name which is °ll
lips may be readily comprehended.—Le Gaulois.
Five of the factory women who survived tihoe
injuries which they received by the late boiler exPilejs,
at the St. Gilles Linen Company's works in Bruslttal
are now in a fair way of recovery, the fever and
re-iulting from the fearful burns they received
disappeared.
Two men have been apprehended on the• c1017,t
of setting on fire twenty-eight acres of plantati9}ol.o
Coursett. They were seen near the plantation just Del
the fire..