January, 1906 j 



KNOWLEDGE & SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



341 



iishore, had to be crossed at one of the points arranged 

 for the purpose at stated intervals. " Heaving to " 

 for a time, the party were able to watch one of the 

 races, which were well seen, too, for the whole length 

 of the course by the hundreds of spectators comfort- 

 ably seated about on the slopes of the rising river bank. 

 How preferable to the crowded towing paths of the old 

 Thames on such occasions ! 



This wide portion of the river had been so con- 

 structed in conformity with one of the stipulations of 

 the Government, influenced bv a deputation from the 

 combined sailing and rowing clubs. Lower down the 

 rising hills involved large and expensive cuttings, and 

 there, consequently, the river was narrower. 



Having taken a turn among the mass of boats full of 

 onlookers, and past some of the launches lying av\ay 

 while their occupants consumed their champagne and 

 ices, the little family party decided on taking a trip 

 further down the river; further from the " madding 

 crowd." The Water Witch soon sailed in under the lee 

 of the great cutting and was almost becalmed, drifting 

 slowly along with the current. Steering now being un- 

 necessary, if not impossible, Cornelius left the tiller, 

 and making fast the main sheet to prevent the boom 

 swinging over, reclined at his ease close to w-here his 

 wife and daughter were sitting. This was truly bliss ! 

 What need to quarrel with one's fellow creatures when 

 one's time could be spent drifting thus leisurely in the 

 quiet summer evening so far from all worries and 

 troubles, and even able to avoid the inquisitive and 

 sometimes scornful gaze of passers-by. 



Everj'thing seemed peaceful and still. Other boats 

 were being sailed and rowed about, but none were near 

 enough to disturb the repose of the occupants of the 

 yacht. 



All of a sudden the wind freshened. They had drifted 

 on beyond the bluff to where a valley ran down towards 

 the river. Before the party realised their position a 

 strong squall caught the sail now tightly fixed by the 

 main sheet. The boat gently heeled over more and 

 more. Cornelius sprang to the helm, but in his hurry 

 tripped and fell sprawling to the lee side. This extra 

 weigh! suddenly thrown on the beam was the finishing 

 touch, the gunwale sank under the water, the vessel 

 r.ipidly filled, and turned on its side, the mast and sail 

 sinking under. All the occupants were thrown into 

 the river. Libertia, an expert swimmer, had seized 

 her fath'i'r as she saw him rolling into the water, and 

 now held him with one hand, as she clung to the half- 

 submerged boat with the other. In vain thev struggled 

 to right it. Cornelius was no swimmer and could assist 

 but little, and for some moments w-as so involved in 

 gasping for breath and getting a firmer hold of the 

 boat that he did not notice the absence of his wife. 

 " Alma," he gasped, " Alma, are you safe? " But no 

 response came. No response beyond the agonizing 

 cry of Libertia, who plunged under water in the vain 

 hope of seeing her mother. But nc\cr again was that 

 fair form seen alive. Held down beneath the sail her 

 last breath must have been soon drawn, and ere the 

 witnesses of the disaster, who hurried their boats to 

 the spot, had rescued the immersed couple, her bodv 

 must ha\e sunk beneath the depths of water which, 

 but for her husband, would, perhaps, never ha\e 

 covered that spot. Poor .Mma ! That sweet accom- 

 plished, faithful v\ ife and mother, whose life had alwavs 

 iDeen such as any woman might envy; upright, seif- 

 sacrilicing, and true, was gone forever. 



Manv hours had passed before the bodv with its 

 beautiful white face, calm and serene, was dragged 

 from the river and laid on the bank while endeavours 

 ■were vainly made to restore animation. 



A few days more and all that was left of his beloved 

 wife had been laid in their last resting place, not far 

 from the banks of that treacherous stream, and 

 Cornelius took his heart-broken daughter back to their 

 own mother-country, bidding farewell, as he said, for 

 ever, to this land of spite and thanklessness. 



CHAPTER X. 



Setti.ng the Thames on Fire. 



It was in the early hours of the morning on the day 

 following Tush's departure for America, when all the 

 tow n w as hushed in silence, or as near approaching that 

 state as it ever is, one of the watchmen at the " World's 

 Emporium " was going his rounds when he detected a 

 smell of burning, and passing through the building to 

 the department whence he thought it emanated, found 

 the place full of smoke. He then suddenly noticed one 

 of his mates lying on the floor apparently insensible. 

 .\s a matter of fact, he felt somewhat suspicious at 

 the time as he did not consider the smoke so thick at 

 that spot as to cause asphyxiation, and he very easily 

 aroused the watchman to consciousness. It was then 

 discovered that a very extensive fire was raging, also 

 that the " automatic sprinklers," which should have 

 at once sent a deluge of water on the spot, had ceased 

 to act, as though the water had been turned off. The 

 alarm was quickly given, and in a very short space of 

 time the fire brigade was busily at work subduing the 

 flames. One after another motor fire engines came 

 dashing along the empty streets, and drew up before 

 the burning building. Hoses were soon got out and 

 attached to the hydrants, and before long tons of w ater 

 were being poured on the flames. 



But whilst this was going on, a policeman on duty 

 bv the Canal near Southwark, noticed smoke issuing 

 from a large new warehouse, and soon a second great 

 conflagration was in progress. Urgent calls were 

 issued to outlying stations, and the fire brigade had its 

 hands full. .A third fire was then reported down near 

 the new Docks, and hardly had this been taken in hand 

 than it was found that the upper floors of the Thames 

 Hotel were ablaze. .AH this was a tremendous strain 

 on the brigade, and it would have become a very seri- 

 ous matter, indeed, had it not been for two facts. 

 Firstly all the houses had been constructed in conformity 

 with stringent rules issued by the London County 

 Council regarding various details for the prevention of 

 fire. .Such would have been impossil)Ie to apply to 

 existing buildings, but these had been introduced alter 

 receiving the most careful attention when first it had 

 become certain that a large number of new- buildings 

 were to be erected. It was then decided that this 

 would be a great opportunity for intrt)ducing new 

 regulations with regard to the construction of all edi- 

 fices. .All were to be fitted with automatic alarms 

 (though in each of the present cases these had, for some 

 unaccountable reason, failed to act). .Among other de- 

 tails all were furnished with hydrants and stand pipes 

 to suppv a copious amount of water under considerable 

 pressure, \arious means of escape, too, had to be 

 provided, and fire-proof materials entered into the con- 

 struction and fittings. 



The second reason for the comparative ease of being 

 able to subdue the flames was the ample water suppiv 

 flowing from these hydrants. Great mains had 

 been laid in the old river bed whence an inexhaustible 

 volume of water came direct from the Thames. This 

 arr.ingement proved to be of the greatest use for fire 

 extinction, as a mass of water, almost to be com- 

 parable to a river itself, could be poured on the flames. 



The fire raging at the hotel presented a most exciting 



