The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-03-20 00:00:00

tc 3tontirible Obstuber.

SATURDAY, MARCH 20, 1875.

THE DEEP AND ITS VOTARIES.

During the invasion of France by Germany,
nearly five years ago, when the conquering hosts
followed rapidly in the train of defeated armies,
a singular incident was recorded. A party of
LlDlaws, a force which seemed to be hero, there,
and everywhere, penetratei to Dieppe, so well
known to all Engii:4ll travellers who have crossed
the Channel by way of Newhaven. At Dieppe,
the German forces, who had all their lives been
accustomed to the vast ranges of their father-
land, had their first view of theses. Childhood
had ripened jut() uranhood had deepened into
maturity, and their knowledge of the world had
been confined to the town, and to the village, to
the plain, and to the glen. They had, perhaps
heard of a great world of waters afar off, or a
Stray sailor had occasionally come amongst them
telling of its dangers and of its mystery. But
now, as they stood upon the slopes overlooking
Dieppe, and saw the channel outspread before
them, stolid Germans though they were, they
could not represa erilAnaations of astonishment
and delight. Green near the shore, but gradu-
ally becoming blue the further the waves were
removed from the land, stretching away as far
as their vision carried them, and the whole of
the restless surface lit up the warm sunshine of
the autumnal day, the spectacle was one calcu-
lated to make a deep impression upon men ac-
customed throughout their existence to the ac-
cessories of an inland life. The white sails Of
the ships in the distance told them of other
lands beyond the apparently boundless expans3
of the sea upon which they were gazing, and of
countries protected by the rolling of the WaVeB
from military invasion and disaster such as had
befallen France.
It is scarcely possible to conceive people in
this island growing up to man's estate without
seeing swathing of the sea. Even the most in-
land of our counties awongst the widlands are
not removed by an impAssinle distance froh2
eight of the channel which never ceases to wish
our costs. Wages are so much better than t ley
once were, and railwasfacilities have so largely
increased, that a trip to the sea side is now
within the reach of most of those who some
years ago, would have been compelled to remain
at home. Look, for instance, at the advantages
offered to the people of the metropolis.. You
can never get away from huge advertisements
conveying the brief but explicit information—
"Brighton and back for three shillings I " A
ride of more than a hundred miles, a day of re.
lief from the smoke and bustle of the metropo'is
several hours amongst th& health-giving breezes
of the Sussex coast, a welcome break in the
monotony of Igo —all for three shillings I It
is urged by some objectors—" Oh ! it's not the
railway fare which is to be looked at, but what it
costs you at Brighton I " Of course, you can
make tha day a costly one if you like, but there
Is no necessity for doing so. You would have
to eat and drink if you remained at home and
you can but eat and drink if you go to Brighton.
Bat supposing the day does cost a few shillings
more than the fare there and back, the change
of scene brings an ample reward, and a visit to
the Aquarium alone is well worth the journey to

Brighion.
The facilities offered by the various railway
companies for spending a fel, hours at the sea-
side probably explain the interests which the
wig() of these islands take in maritime affiirs
The resorts upon the southern coasts ef Devon
upon the shores of Kent and of Sussex, of York-
shire and of Lancashire, are tolerable fatni.
liar now. The iieits of the Channel Fleet to
Our ports, and the way in which the huge iron.
clads are inspected by thousands of the popule-
tion, testify to the good effect of these migra-
tions. Let the fleet appear in the Clyde, or in
the Belfast Lough, and the admiral with his offi-
cers is at once invited to partake of civic hospi-
tality, and boats laden with innumerable pas-
sengers pat off to the big ships, whose huge halls
inwer above them like so many Tritons amongst
the minnows. Then the sailors good-hurnoured-
ly help the people on board, and they wander
over the poliaaed decks, watch curiously the
great guns, and look with awe upon the piles of
shot hard by. Who can doubt that after such
an outing, they read with more interest any dis-
cussion upon the strength of her majesty's navy,
and weigh what the papers say upon the debates
upon the naval estimates when these are before
Parliament? Perhaps they are also in a better
mood for paying the demands of the tax-gatherer
rhea next h • comes round. They have seen
something substantial for the money which they
are called upon to contribute towards the defo:-ce:
of the realm. There is another light in which
we may view the acquaintance of the public with
nautical questions as possessing an ildvautz.ge.
it 0101866 them to give their sympathy to such
movements as that initiated by Mr. Plimsoll.
We do not expect the ordinary.uewspaper reader
to go into the technicalities surrounding derk-
loads, and freeboards, and load lines, and per-
odical surveys. but we see that they can give
their hearty support to a geutleivau who endea-
vours to prevent that loss of life at sea which
anises so much of our wrfck-chart every year
to be colonred black. We like to see that the
sailor has one good friend in au assembly where
every other interest i so well represented. The
aristocracy, the middle clusscs, the capitalists,
the farmers, even the working men, find many
members devoted to their welfare, and that the
Army and Navy can take care of themselves, the
Parliamentary debates conclusively prove. Not
so with the merchan% sailur, who is most of his
time sailing the seas, and without whose service
we should fare very badly for some, if not most
of the comforts of life. The least we ran do for
him is to ascertain, trough the action of the
Legislature, that be i. ho:. allowed to go down
to the sea in a leaky sh p.. nor to do business on
the great waters in a ves,el which has not
evry
slice for the conti:J4eueies which so often
oiicur. The member for DA-by has a good
age where humanity
cause in hand, and in
gots so far us to provid • shelters for c;lb.nen
protect them from the Tv ather, it is not to much
to expect that a sailor dall be supplied with a
sound ship, for the Protection of his life.

•
Tanoar lattrrattox.—The thrust and windpipe a's
e.pecialty hah'.e to ir.flamtnatiou. causing soreness to d
dr)neva, bt klinq and irritation. inducing c wgh nod s'-
ont.ig the rotes- For tosses, imptorns u.e glycerine in
tne jJ,ion+.44,l,glycerine in these ireenb e
oot,f,cl-1.,,,5. ag in pioxio,,,y to th. Js tke
tuorLent :Ley are excled by the act of sucktug, becJmes
uy baling. t,nd ls. rsckets (by post Bor 15
atazop.), iatetled Is Co Horcceopathic
Clierianot. 48, Threadueeda Str. et, and 170, Piccadilly,
Linutou."