The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1885-02-17 00:00:00

I 1MN4161.

NR.S. PLYtON ON THE ISLE OP PURBECK.

To vie Not.loar.

Sir,—The following letter is being sent to your
rode ,poraries, aud perhaps you would oblige us
with A space in your valuable paper, which I. freely
circulated in Swanage, &c. It is with regard to an
article wntten by Sirs. J. E. Pardon in Hai-pc , a
IC on the Isle of Purbeck. We intended to
hoe treated the said article with the contempt it
il,•-ervel, but the friends of Swanage in London and
other places have written us saying that if such mos-
representations were not coutradicted by some
reodent, they would take it upon themselves to write
to the editor of Ha per's Ale/a:one and the London
pipers .n the subject J./I.l'. did,, I rehab an "old
lishabitant,' who told her the truth respecting the
elay cutters of Corfu Castle. But what about the
,„ist qqautity of people that come by the steamers to
Swanage Inns Bournemouth and other liLacs., the
yof whom use con...yam:es to Cork. the
nuilitsr of large yachts which are constantly in
swanage Bey, the owners of which, with •.hvir wives
suil families, nearly always visit Corte C stle. The
Crown l'nucess of Germany. Baron Pollock, and other
unable* too nuusereus to mention, have visited this
castle, and yet J.E I'. says no strangers foot is o'er
set there. The good lady also believes she knows
all about Swanage and the quarrymen. She says
tuterniarriagee are so frequent that often during the
year three or four of the unfortunates are taken away
to the County Asylum, bet 1 am pleased to say, sir,
that such is not the case, in looking at the statistics
the peat ten years, there have only been two taken
to the County Asylum, one through an injury to the
head, the other was a man employed at the brewery.
She goes on to say that nothing will induce the
quarners of Swanage to allow a stranger to work
among them. But that is false, for at the present
tone there are men who are entire strangers to the
trade who are working among them, and their names
could lie goon if necessary. There are men getting
out stone, and have others working for them. Att.,
there are other instances in which strangers have n
led, supplied with tools, and allowed to work for a
mouth together by these quarrymen. Du you think,
sr, that these men will endure J.E l' .'s statements?
"The parades of the free boys at Candlemas Day,
and kissing a .y woman they chance to meet,: was
about the tune when "Old Harry and the Isle of
Wight ' were connected. Wes the good lady
remember it ! Again she says it's a sleepy little town,
about 100 miles trom the influences of the present day,
and that it must wake up and do away with the oriel
of stoue that lie all along the shore, making the
beautiful bay resemble a very big and over-crowded
churchyard, when in reality it is only 316 yards.
Susely the good lady could have Dever seen them for
IP well, but must have listened to the story of some
person who has wonderful powers of imagination.—
Hop lir that the it .teuient of these few facts will do
away est% this bad impression of Swanage produced
by .I.E I', s article in the above magazine, I AIN sir,
yours tr y,
Oss or rue Csowo.