Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1882-04-21

Row JOuS Bell LOST L~xDoN.
A little brochure, significantly bound
in tricoior cover. has just been pub
lished in London. 1t is called How
John Boil Lost London: or, Tho Cap
ture Of the Channel Tunnel. After
some introduction 1t says:
On the evening Of bright day in Nav
there arrived By the Channel Tunnel At
Dover, a large number of French ho.i-
day makers. The Allied Brothers of
the Amity Lodge OF Frsemasons.- 90
tue newspapers Of Paris stated, had de-
tcrminsd to hold fe.e in England. and
three special trains had brought the hol-
iday makers through. They had snyae-
ed beds everywhere. the Lord Warden
and all the other hotels were crowded to
excess; but nobody thought anything of
| that, for there had been several such
| feies. on somewhat smaller scale il il
true, but still fetes of similar kind, be-
| fore. 1t was known, though not spa
ciaiiy noted at the time, however. that
Just at that precise date . couple of
French army corps were carrying ont a
series OF peace maneuyers in the neigh
borhood of Amieus. Nobody troubled
about what the French did: they were
England's firm allies. II il true there
had been little Observation-Disclosures
about the right of France to menace
the Egyptians with Az armed force
should they not hasten TO confer GER
tain concessions upon various great
French financial companies, and true,
moreover. that Tripoii, having sometime
since been annexed to funis, had been
| matter of some contention between the
Governments Of London and Paris; but
these We're small matters which diplom-
acy would smooth over; nobody gave
them more than passing thought
When. then on that fine May evening
the tourists arrived. nobody though.
anything of their visit, nor was it con-
sioered at all suspicious: nor when, Ia
ter on. by an hour or two, two French
steamers, which might have been loaded
With apples or arms, drew up near the
Admiralty pier, and sent word ashore
that they would DO examined by the
customs officer In the morning. 1t was
all so nataral. Dover that night slept
TRANQUILITY. 1t had not a large garrison,
for troubles in ireland and reduced
army system had not left many men IN
the lines above town. But it knew it
wis secure; none bat the good and
friendly French were near. and they
were only tourists. Only tourists,
THE SEIZURE.
The clock had only just struck mid
night when all of a sudden these tour
is.s might have boon saen hurrying to-
wards the tunnel station, while coming
from tho French steamers were many
men bearing in their arms bundles of
rifles. There was n sound as of n scuffle
and shot or two fired, but it only drew
the attention of very few. The
tourists had all disappeared. But an
alarm had been given, and the police
had been sent Gown to the TUNE, mouth:
and thsn, the alarm continuing, a party
OF soldiers had been sent. What could
it all mean? Only this, that the tourists
were rapidly esconcing themselves be-
hind the railway material and the mouth
of the tunnel, throwing mp earthworks
and cutting trenches and quickly con-
verting the position they had taken up
into a military intrenchmcnt. Alarm
came. What troops there were in Dover
were sent in good earnest now to attack
tho stranger, for it was clear that they
had got the tunnel in their hands, and If
thsy could hold it for six hours no one
could dislodgs them. But tho attack
was by no means the easy job that it
had looked. 1t was night time and the
men, hidden behind earth and railway
track, could not he seen. In vain the
musketry ratified IN the direction of the
tunnel, but the defenders of the from
tier wore safely under shelter and in
an impragnable position. Artillery must
be brought up and tho tunnel DESTROYED,
that was clear: tho order was given.
But the artillery was ineffective, and it
was now found that the electric wire
provided for blowing up the tunnel and
the apparatus for sluicing it had all
been seizsd and cut; tho tunnel mouth
must be retaksn by hand-to hand fight
ing. kilograms were forthwith dis |
patched to London and the Dover gar
rison led up the fight. II numbered, |
however, not many more than the III !
vadsrs, and these had the immense adj |
vantage of being under cover. There |
was many an English soldier bit the
dust that night.
IN LONDON.
Lot it not be supposed that in London
the government on getting information
Of what was transporting at Dover was
snpine: on the contrary, it acted with
praiseworthy energy. The Secretary
for War was at a reception of the wife
Of the Foreign Minister when the start
ling news arrived, and his first impulse
was to rush up to his colleague to de-
mand what it all meant. II am wholly
at loss to KNOWN" was the reply, "ex-
cept that this evening the French Am
bassador did certainly say to mo that
his government viewed our protest with
regard to Egypt more seriously than he
wished, and that he trusted the situa-
tionsmight not become strained. But l
t3ok him to be joking" Joking"
roarsd the War Minister. do You
know that the French have come
through the tunnel and taken Dover
since midnight, three hours agoY To
say that both the Ministers were thun-
dcrstruck hardly describes their condi-
ton. But they acted-the ono leaving
the company Immediately. and driving
round ito seek an explanation from the
French Ambassador, whom he, curious
ly enough, did not find at home; the
other TO the War Office, whittier he
summoned everybody attached to the
stat. = News from Dover au-
nounced that the French force there
had increased TO an army corps and
was being augmented every hour. While
il was certain that If the various do
tnchments coming from different parts
of tho country essayed TO attack Dover
they would be cut of in detail, there
must be an order given for . concentra-
ton upon various points. Dover had
gone aud co1ld not hc rstaken for the
present, and the whole available army
must be concentrated on tho Surrey |
y -.