Evening star., 1901-10-04
THE CHANNEL TUNNEL
DESCRIPTION OF THE ABANDONED
WORKS AT sANGATTE, FRANCE.
The south Shaft of the Way That Was
to Connect Dover and
Calais.
Correspondence of the Lordon Chronicle.

lave you seen ze ole in re shannel!"
said our biack-eyed iandlady. We had just
hired tinkling little French bicycles. and
were discussing a ride suitable for cou-
pie of young women. 1T is beautiful ride
and re great ole, oh! fifty miles long"
This sounded exciting. Our landlady per-
sisted in talking what she called the Eng
lish; but, in spite of this. we discovered
she meant the channel tunnel works at
Sangatte. We had just heard that some
one was proposing to spend ten millions on
tunnel between Scotland and Ireland SO
we thought We would like to see what
progress was being made with the scheme
we had heard of first from our earliest
French governess.
On breezy afternoon We started off for
the pretty little village of Sangatte, nine
kilometers from Calais. As the road wound
upwards had caught glimpse OF tan
chimney which suggested works.; hut at
Sangatte nothing of the sort could be seen.
The village drowsed in the sunshine. and
not a living thing was in sight. Even the
hotel was fast asleep. We propped our
bicycles against a fence, and sat on
doorstep. Presently stout Frenchman
toiled slowly down the sloping road toward
US. There is a warning in my French cen
versation book to this effect: Ladies should
be far more careful in speaking to men
abroad than in England, as what may be
nothing but ordinary social intercourse in
England is often misconstrued into en-
couragement to gallantry abroad"
The Channel Works.
But there was no one else to ask; and
knew / could run faster than the stout
Frenchman. SO risked it. Were the chan
mel tunnel works anywhere about?' He did
not misconstrue. He told us politely to go
along the road we had just come;
about a kilometer higher I'D we should find
the works We mounted again and rode
up a gentle hill with a beautiful view of
the channel on our right. In few min
utes l saw the top of my tall chimney
again. and then group of solid red-brick
buildings on the edge of the cliff. The in
closing fence was broken, but at the first
glance they presented an appearance of
solid prosperity. AS we came near we saw
that most of the windows were broken.
Here and there lay heaps of iron pipes end
boilers, rusting in the neglected grass.
Half oblterated notice boards said the
usual things about people who, had no
business there However, a broken gate
swung on one hinge and propped open with
a piece Of boiler gave US admittance.
Amid deathly silence we went round to
the front of the main building which faces
the sea, with long row of double glass
doors opening on to stone terrace. Here a
large black half-bred Great Dane was
chained to a stone. He barked furiousiy
and leaped On his chain; no other living
thing was to be seen. We placed our BIZ
cycles against the wall and waited. Surely
II any human beings were inside these fu-
rious sounds would bring them out. No
one came. We peered through the glass
doors and at last, in an inner room which
showed symptoms of furniture, saw very
old woman. In answer to our rappings she
at length came and half opened one of the
doors. She was very feeble and bent, with
one huge yellow tooth left exactly in the
front. "Yes. these were the works, and
we could look at anything We liked-only
keep away from the dogs neighborhood,
as he had long chain"
Ruin on All Sides.
1t was sixteen years since any work had
been done there; she had a cold, and there
was no one else. She closed the door upon
her solitude, and we started to explore
AT that moment the boarhound's leaps
pulled his chain off the stone, and he made
for US. 1t was rather a shock, but we
stood firm, saying automatically Lie
down" Fortunately release from restraint
turned him in a moment into docile ami
NAL, with friendly wagging tail. and.
anxious for company, he escorted us to-
ward tumble-down shed over a large cir
cular brick wall. about two feet high.
This. he seemed to say, is the show
place. Creeping under a mass Of rot
ten planks and mating, which had
been a shed, and looked as If touch
would bring 1t down, we knelt on the
ground and cautiously peeped over the edge.
A black circular chasm stretched away
wooden ladder hung part Of the way down,
mixed up with some of the roof of the
shed, which had fallen partly in Far down
in the gloom something seemed to glimmer
faintly-was it water?
We threw a piece Of brick, and after ten
minutcs-well, it seemed ten minutes in
that awful silence-there was faint, sullen
splash. 1t was shuddersome place; the
afternoon sun was blazing six feet away,
a brisk breeze was rustling the long grasses
almost at our feet, but just here. under
the rotting roof Of this gloomy shed, 1t was
dark, cold. STILL What a place to conceal
the body I'M" said my companion. You
bring it over from England in small boat,
haul 1t up to the top of the cliff by rope
round that convenient post just by the
edge. pop 1t down this tube, and no one
| would ever hear of 1t again. Why have
we never had that at Drury Lane?' Come
away" said, "I shall dream of this awful
hole" and we went out with sighs of re-
lief into the blessed sunshine. Across the
sparkling channel the cliffs Of England
| were shining, looking as If one need not
be Holbein to swim that 'streak Of silver
sea-" We said goodbye to the boarhound
mounted our bicycles, and rode away,
agreeing that there was a serious hitch
somewhere in the progress Of the channel