The Sun.
London, England, 1828-11-19 00:00:00

THE WITCHES OF KINTYRE.

Once upon a time, " whereof the memory of
man mimed' not to the contrary," a weary tra-
veller was benighted among the wilds of Kintyre.
He looked long and anxiously en all sides for
the shelter of some cottage, and at length espied
a light issuing from a bothy at no great distance.
He instantly repaired to the. spot, lifted the latch
and entered; but contrary to the laws of hospi-
tality then so religiously observed in the district,
all shelter there was peremptorily denied him.
The traveller, however, like Bailie Nicol Jarvie,
waxed valiant in the Highlands, and insisted
upon remaining with his reluctant hostess, who
was alone in the house. During the altercation,
another female made her appearance, but she
joined her neighbour gossip, and was equally
determined that the stranger should be ex-
cluded.—A third next " hove in sight," and
also voted against the Sassenach ; but the tra-
veller was not to be daunted, and seeing that all
remonstrances were in vain, the defeated trio sat
down and composed themselves. They pro-
Ceeded leisurely to dress as if for a journey, each
pulling out a mutat or cap, which she carefully
adjusted at a small mirror indented in the wall.
NV hen this important operation was concluded the
first cried out " Off for London" and away she
darted as fast as the witches that sallied out after
poor Tam o' Shanter. The second followed in
like manner, but as the third was about to attire
herself in her precious head-gear, our traveller,
who, as we have already hinted, was a man of
mettle, snatched the cap out of the hands of the
virago, clapt -it on his cranium, and roaring out
" Off for London," soon rose far beyond the
inhospitable dwelling and the wilds of Kintyre:
" A change.came • o'er the spirit of his dream.,
In sober prose, the traveller was wholly uncon-
scious of the duration of his flight, and en-
countered nothing till be found himself sitting
" cheek by jowl" with his former companions of
the cottage, in a spacious wine cellar of London.
Each of the witches (for so on earth call we
them) sat jollily on a cask, quaffing the juice of
Burgundy, and discoursing about their " cum-
mers 'of the glen. Our traveller, nothing loth,
set to after the same fashion, and speedily forgot
all his hardships and mishaps in copious libations
of the generous liquid. At length, the ladies
having gratified their hearts' desires, once more
mounted their caps, and exclaiming " Off for
Kintyre," disappeared in a twinkling. The tra-
veller went to follow their example, but alas ! his
cap was nowhere to be found. He looked about
him in all directions, fumbled in his pockets,
searched'every where,but all to no effect. He fell
asleep, morning came, and with it came the master
of the wine
vaults. What could our poor friend
say for himself ? Large quantities of wine had
been abstracted (for the witches could carry as
condemned. well as drink) and here evidently was one of the
felonious Bacchanals, caught in the, very fact.
He
i w
as
committed
rajfu
ttod(ite unfortunately
dhla:rdal nicorettivlbl enilleacet„iy tried,
It di,s4aatd
mdm His no
believer .
thew Hale) and no hope was held out to the
unlucky man of the mountains. At length the
thenfal t
motley,
leayda7ycersoca awiindl
dsalleys e ,
toco .d orf
witnessi. tlz the drizzling, e
,
ii
egi,titailsilredonv‘t
oogfrug! their
At, and
this critical juncture, our traveller happened to
pull'Out his handkerchief, when lo ! the magical
cap also appeared. He said nothing, but when
that celebrated personage Jack Ketch was crawl-
ing about him like a huge, spider inteni upon his
duty, he modestly requested to die with his own
cap on. Assent was instantly given,•when the
culprit, duly accoutred, roared out " off for Kin-
tyre,"—and away he went, gallows and elk:over
the uplifted heads of the wondering Cockneys!.
hether this last chapter be. found in the New-
gate' Calendar, we knew net ; all we can, say
that it is firmly believed in Kintyre,—ktver-
ltelS Courier.,

We have thou /gilt it would be gratifying, to
our readers to collect a few historical anecdotes
respecting this palladium of the Mussulmans.
It is an article of faith with the Turks, to
believe that the Sandschaki-sherif was borne by
the victorious hands of Muhatned (Alahomet)
himself, by the Caliphs, his first successors, who
transmitted it to the dynasty of the Ommjades,
at-Mamas, in the 661st year of the Hegira, and
afterwards to the Abbasides at Bagdad and
Cairo, in the 750th year of the same era..
When &lint I. conquered Egypt in 1517,
and overturned the Caliphat, this standard went
into the pos9ession of the line of the Osmanlis,
since which time it has been considered an ark of
safety to the state. At first the Sandschaki was
placed under the care of the Pacha of Dames,
as being chief conductor of the caravan of pil-
grims who went every year to Mecca. In 1595
it was"carriedielEurope under the responsibility
of the Grand 'Vizier, Sinan Paella, and dis-
played in the war of Hungary, as the talisman
destined to revive the courage of the Mussul-
mans, and restore to their ranks the discipline
which had been entirely destroyed.
MahOmet 111. confided this holy banner to the
custody of three hundred Emirs,_and it remained
under their care from 1505 to 1603, under the
superintendence of their chief Naki- bol-iZsehrof
and at present 40 ensign-bearers are chosen from
the porters of the Seraglio, whose duty it is to
bear it by turns, while its safety is confided to the
care of all the .Mussulmans armed. The four
divisions of caValry, distinguished by the name
of Buluki Erbaa (as we might call them, the
Royal Body Guard), are especially appointed fur
the defence of this sacred banner.

- The word Saudschaki-sherif signifies " stand-
ard of green silk," such as the governors of pro-
vinces usually bear.
The sacred standard of the Prophet is enve-
loped in forty
_covering to
,nf green taffeta, and is
enclosed in a case of green cloth, which also
contains a small Koran (the Book of the Law),
Written by the hand of the Caliph Ornar him-
self, and the silver keys of the Kaaba, which
Selim L received from the. Sherif of Mecca. The
standard is 12 feet high, and the golden orna-
ment (a closed hand) which surmounts it con-
tains another copy of the Koran, written by the
Caliph Osman 111., the successor of Mahomet.
In time of peace this precious standard is guarded
in the hall of the " Noble Vestment ;" thus is
styled the dress worn by the Prophet. In the
same hall in which this tunic hangs are also pre-
served the other venerated relics of the empire ;
the sacred teeth, the holy beard, the sacred stir-
rup, the sabre and the bow of Mahomet, and the
arms and armour of the first Caliphs.
In war a magnificent tent is erected fur re-
ceiving the. sacred standard, which is attached by
silver rings to a lance of ebony. This custom
brings to recollection the little temple, in which
was deposited the Eagle of the Roman Legions,
! as related by Dionysius Cassius.
At the end of every campaign, the sacred
piece of green silk which forms the standard is
replaced with great solemnity in a richly orna-
mented chest.

Down to the present epoch this standard hat;
always been a real talisman to the Turks, and
has served to rally the defenders of Islanfistn,
and to inflame their courage in battle against the
Christians.

Li 1648 ,iiiaeat
titisl,Cieaeon accessionidstclhltal
tk
the throne, the Grand Vizier had only to plant
the Sandschaki to attract to his interest the corps
of Janissaries. Recently, in 1826, the present
Sultan Mahmoud had displayed it to destroy that
ehdi sesxaccerpetd
in banner, a ntiiime re,
oi !i!olif,i_fos however, never dis 7
formidable corps.
mitt'. It is the signal fpl'hso'leirareraii
plaTy
every effort to save the empire. Every Chris-
riih.c:ahitrt:etridie7lyl6aaAn9setx
eexrttiri;
tian is prohibited from stopping before, or wen
casting a profane look on, this sacred pledge of
fisidAan,i esfcteilel,tirtlyrnan.fryueeidicnOlii°:ai * declared Molal i aat wara highagai against
rate, I {
inu s soi'lau•
view the ceremony ; and finding another apart-
ment that suited 1 •
nrn better, he removed to it.
To be avenged of him, the Mollah informed the
Emirs and the Janissaries of the Ambassador's
curiosity. The latter hastened with a fanatic rage
to the house, where the imprudent diplomatist and
his family were concealed behind thick Venetian
window blinds. They broke open the door ; and
though they did not
.venture to lay hands on the
person of the Minister, wh® represented the
Emperor Joseph 11. their brutality did not re-
pect rank, age, and sex. They cruelly tnal-
treated the wife and daughters of the Internun-
cio, M. de Brognart, and they massacred in
the streets a great number of Christians entirely
innocent of this act of indiscretion. The Divan
endeavoured, by rich presents, to repair this ag-
gression, snd the Cabinet of Vienna recalled its
Plenipotentiary.
Nothing of this has recently taken place. Na.
Frank showed himself in the streets on the de-
parture of the Sultan, but malevolence might
have surprised more than one profane eye in-
trenched behind the P • ersian window-curtains of
certain houses. order
ept Austrian
i andr
tat when
o,
_,

Upon the whole, times are greatly changed.

A large grampus, measuring nearly seven feet
in length, was taken last week near Southend, in the river .
Thames, and was exhibited in our market en Friday.—
Essex Herald.
A Mexican paper states, that two English-
men, EXETER and WiLsoN, have succeeded in obtaining
the exclusive privilege of hunting the otter, beaver, buffalo,
and other wild animals, throughout the territories of New
ta,:;:rielbd.ipsrtpeaEarrYtlicuStial:rihlifnTrgileind
Mexico and the Californias. The conditions annexed to
whoseit
is
said
this valuable concession are the seine as those aecoried in
wanasunnoosttennitadateiou:novilsvnit. to
The
1625 to the Coral ....anpany.—New
YoßrkecithenrnEtlxyincegSp,i,Cr"
gallant hero of Acre is now in his 63d year, and he is
country.hi
s residence
mentioned as being in the possession of good health and
general
dnethraatl
excellent spirits; and he rendered himself good company
by the frank details into which he entered of some of the
most interesting and conspicuons events of his occasionally
resideenscideei:oi:
in England
gplaani(dl
romantic life. His memorable escape from France is well
known: During Sir STDREY'S short,stay in this eoontry
he was an occasional visitant at Kensington. He is known
to be a goOd schemer; and it is mentioned that be is Niti
fielent about the praCticability of a ennui communication
between the Red'Sea and the Mediterranean, by fines and
Cairo.—ifort.inr-Paper•