The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-09-20
ENGLISH HOLIDAYS.
A Vacation at Triton Lake, Near the German
0cean-Tragedy and Comedy of Life.

given TOT tn'S lnconseQuentlal klnu Oh letter III
it has a suggestion of holiday in it shall. Those
who have had vacations may some reflections
of their own chaotic thoughts in it. Those who
have had no vacations at all may catch some
hint of rest in it Perhaps some of my readers
who nave not seen England may envy me my
Fritson lake. certainly envy vacation travel.
ers who sailing on American rivers or climb
Ing American mountains. But may also be
enried my wanderings in Norfolk by my cousins
on the other side of the Atlantic The country
in these English latitudes Is great, wide land
OF homesteads windmills, browsing cattle, sleepy
rivers, and landlocked lakes. There are way
side inns here that are fac siIne OF the old inns
you viii see in pictures of your own New Eng
land that illustrate the old colonial days The
antiquated signs hang out in the same oldfash-
1oued way; there are ingle-nooks, ancient oak
furniture, pewter pots, diamond-paned windows,
and in the smoking-roo English farmers with
long clay pipes and foaming tankards OF home
brewed ale If you elect TO stay at one OF these
old inns you find the walls are as thick as for
tress, that the food is of the best, the milk
creamy, the ham better than we could get even
at Delmonico's, the eggs of the freshest. the
and that your bill would be moderate and rem
dered with cordial civility. You would soon
find yourself ceasing to pity the sturdy old fell
lows who, after their days farming, fishing or
riding. sit in the ingie-nooks and smoke
their pipes and discuss the local incidents of the
time. / suppose you would at last banker after
London, or New York, or Chicago. or Philadel
pria, or whatever your favorite city may be- and
that presently you would turn your back on the
English wayside inn, but you would never for
get it.
folk inn would enable you to realize an incident
of local life that the Rev. Richard Lubbock met
with some years ago in these parts They call
their lakes ''broads" in these parts, and Mr..
Lubbock says when first he visited the breads he
found here and there squatter on the verge of
pool who relied almost entirely on fishing and
shooting for the support of himself and family.
One of these men whom he mentions regarded
che broad on which he lived as his microcosm-
MS worid-and Its opposite extremity his Ultima
Thule. His thoughts never got hey oud the lake
lin America you would call it pondl except
once when he informed Mr.. Lubbock, with
donbting air. that he had sent his wife and his
two eldest children to fair at a country village
two miles off, "that their ideas might expand by
travel" as they had never before been away
from ''our broad" This mans life pre-
scented no vicssitudes. 1t was an alienation
of local employment In winter, after his reed
for the flight of fowl or padding after them on
the open water. With the lst of February, he
launched his trimmers for pike and sold the fish
to itinerant dealers, who sold them in the Nor
witch market When the pike were out of sea-
son. eels came in. and there were lapwings eggs
to hunt for. At the end of April he shot riffs
On the little island the middle of the lake.
Later he would be watching the shoals of tench
that came to spawn. Then would come summer,
and he moved the marsh In August would
come teal and snipe, giving him good shooting
and an easy market for his birds. By the end of
September the snipe shooting would be very good,
and he would make little money by plotting
other gunners in search of sport. Within few
miles were the cities of Norwich and Yarmouth;
yet he had seen neither since he was a boy;
he had been married at the little church,
sour broad, and had reared a family, apd for
years his only mental trouble was the doubt
whether he had acted wisely in letting his wife
and his two eldest children go away from the
broad for n few hours to village two miles
away. Had | not and conversed with the
old man at Triton l could hardly have realized
this life long retirement outside the world.
Moreover the coast was not far away, with ships
at sea going to foreign lands and coming back
again; and at Norwich there was the great ca
shedral, and FIVE miles away railway trains from
london. Ten years ago came upon two fish
ermen, at the Lands End, who had never seen
an illustrated newspaper nor had read any other
Journal except the local newspaper of Penzance;
and yet they lived within stones throw of the
There is always something strange, and new
and exciting going at seaport. am only
few miles from the German ocean, where l am
watching the reflections in Triton lake One
day this week | was fishing for whiting and
garnet off CHARLESTON pier 1.-THE mouth of Var
mouth harbor), when fishing smack came in
towing what looked like strong and easy swim
mer. saw through my glass that the man was
dressed, even wearing his jack boots; his arms
and legs rose and fell the waves, his hands
he m al w is hpad
lying steadily backwards, but l noticed that his
face and hands were white marble. 1t was
dead man. Zone of the Caster men," said the
skipper. tits five weeks since the Zephyr come
to grief and we'd hardly expected to pick up
another on EN-. Me and my mate was scared
like in the moonlight, seeing this I'm. Never
see mon dead or alive swim strange dead,
never; just as if he were having fun, tossing
his arms and legs, and lifting of his head now
and then that queer like. as if he was looking to
see If we see him: but at daylight we took him
in tow" And CHASTITY sight it was the body
of one of the famous beachmen of this stormy
coast The story of his death is tragic. A yes
sci struck in the Scroby sands; This poor fellow
and fifteen others manned their yawl and went
out to.her. They saved some of the ship wrecked
crew, and in going out to the vessel the second
time had their yawl stove in by sunKen wreck.
Eight were saved, seven drowned. and the fatal
Buuken wreck was the remains of vessel from
which these seven had few years previously
taken of a drowning crew. These men all left
wives and children, and Yarmouth is giving con-
certs and other entertainments for their benefit
The history of Scroby sands upon which the vessel
towhich the beachmen went ont is bit of comedy.
Life is au alienation of tragedy and comedy.
Here is the comedy of the Scroby sands which
shall supply ''the laughter that follows tears"
In the sixteenth century part of Scroby sands
became dry and grass grew upon it. Wild fowl
came there and gave Yarmouth sport The peo
pie sailed over ON summer days and had a good
time If there were clans in England they
would probably have had clambakes. Imagine
the ignorance of people that neither knew
CLANS nor clambakes The bailifs of the town
of Yarmouth took formal possession of this new
island 1t was valuable for the reason that the
currents of the sea thereabouts often deposited
goods and costly wreckage upon it, Sir Edward
Glare. the lord of the manor therefore.
claimed it, as lords of the manor will
Indeed, he went SO far rs to partly fence it
in. The Yarmouth people objected and com.