Mr. Darling's sons attended the light from midnight to daybreak, and in the morning they saw, to their horror, what appeared to be a human being crawling along the Naestone Rock. In a few moments they had launched the large coble, and in company with their father were tossing on the waves, bound to the rescue. It was a wild morning-so wild that nothing but a well-grounded hope of saving human life would have justified the most stout-hearted in putting out to sea. As they neared the rock they saw two men upon it, one watching their movements in a frenzy of expectation, and the other lying as though benumbed and senseless. Just as they were about to bring the boat near, a wave broke in upon them with great fury and drove them away; undaunted, they made another struggle, but this time a gigantic billow broke two of their oars. As the wave receded Robert jumped out of the boat, and the next moment it was carried away! While the two men remaining in the boat were using the most strenuous exertions to regain the rock, Robert had ascertained that one of the men was dead and the other was faint from exhaustion. No time was to be lost; in half an hour the rock would be covered by the rising tide; and Robert plunged, therefore, through the waves in order to regain the boat, and lend the aid of his strong arm to manage it. At last a rope was thrown to the survivor on the rock, who succeeded in making a strong effort to lash himself to it securely, and then they dragged him through the water to the boat, which he reached in a state of utter prostration. It was with great difficulty they regained the lighthouse, for two of their oars being broken, as we have seen, their small sail was of little use in such a sea, the wind was dead against them, and they were already worn out with their exertions. But they stuck to their work with noble determination, strengthened for the task by the moaning of the poor fellow who lay in the boat, and whose life they feared would ebb away for want of proper restoratives, until eventually they reached the lighthouse in safety, where they were met by Mrs. Darling and Grace. For many weeks James Logan, the rescued man, lay at death's door, but by the kindness and skill of the inmates of the lighthouse he at length regained health.

One day during the next year William Darling saw a large vessel attempting to pass through a dangerous channel between the islands. It was a shallow, rock-bound passage; in an hour there would be no water to float the vessel, and she would be stranded on the rocks. Quick as thought he launched his boat, and was on board the vessel urging the captain to alter his course without a moment's delay. The captain, with an oath, told Darling that he was an impostor, and had come there for the sake of gain, and ordered him off the vessel. William Darling was a high-spirited man, but he would rather bear abuse than see a fine ship wrecked and life perhaps sacrificed, so he brooked the affront, and telling the captain he was mistaken in his man, urged him to look at his chart and take soundings. The captain yielded to the request, and found to his consternation the dangerous position he was in; then, apologising for his behaviour, entrusted the command of the ship to the man he had abused, and Darling safely piloted it into the proper channel. It is noteworthy, as showing the noble spirit of the man, that although the cargo and ship were reported to be worth £100,000, and the captain insultingly offered him half-acrown for his services, Darling, although duly entering the particulars of the case in his official journal, made no comment on the abuse he had received or the meanness of the

WRECK OF THE

"FORFARSHIRE."

15

captain. them.

It is an heroic spirit that can quietly forgive injuries and take no note of

Such were some of the events in the life of the obscure inmates of the Longstone Lighthouse; and did our space permit, we should not find it a difficult task to collect incidents in the lives of other lighthouse keepers all round our coast to prove that many a humble hero spends his life in similar obscurity, but doing noble deeds.

A time came when the Darling family became known to every dweller in the land, and Grace Darling was the object of universal regard.

On the night of the 5th September, 1838, a storm of unusual violence was raging; the wind howled as it passed, and the waves dashed with mighty thuds against the rocks, sending the vibration through the lighthouse. Accustomed as Grace Darling was to the sight and sound of fearful storms, she was greatly impressed with the violence of the tempest then raging around them, and before retiring to rest expressed to her father her fears for any poor creatures who might be near the coast on such a night. Before daylight she was awakened by a strange and awful sound. Above the moaning of the wind and the roaring of the waters she heard, or fancied she heard, the shrieks of agonised human voices.

While the storm was raging on that fearful night, the Forfarshire, a steamer of about 300 tons, under the command of Mr. John Humble, bound from Hull to Dundee, was battling with the billows off St. Abbs Head. She had on board a valuable cargo, and carried twenty cabin and nineteen steerage passengers, besides a crew of twenty-four men, equal to sixty-three persons in all. The boilers of the vessel were out of repair when she started from Hull, and had fallen into a worse state during the voyage, so that when she was caught in the storm the engines became utterly useless, and the vessel drifted, unmanageable, at the mercy of the winds and waves, until the cry of "Breakers to leeward!" was raised. At the same time the Farne lights were seen, and the doom of all seemed sealed, notwithstanding that the captain made desperate efforts to run the ship between the islands and the mainland. His efforts failed, and at about three o'clock in the morning the Forfarshire struck violently, bow foremost, on the rugged rock which descends at that spot a hundred fathoms deep. Wild was the terrible excitement and loud the shrieks of the despairing passengers, but there were brave men on board who remained calm and cool and ready for action. One of the boats was lowered, and into it nine of the terror-stricken passengers managed to get safely, while two or three perished in the attempt. By great exertion they pushed off clear of the wreck, succeeded in weathering the fearful storm, and were picked up in the morning by a Montrose sloop. For those who remained on the steamer there was nothing now but to select for themselves what they considered the safest place in which to remain; some chose the bow, while others remained in the after-part. It was well for those who went forward, for soon a tremendous billow lifted up the vessel and dashed her down on the sharp-edged rock, literally cutting her in twain. The afterpart was swept away by the tremendous current always running between the islands, and every one who had remained there, including the captain and his wife, perished, while the other half of the steamer stuck fast upon the rock. The position of the survivors was terrible in the extreme. All through that pitiless night eight or nine of the passengers

clung to the windlass, while one poor woman, named Sarah Dawson, held to her bosom two helpless little children, and battled with the waves which dashed over the wreck and threatened to sweep them all away. But they held on till the day broke, and then eagerly they strained their aching eyes to scan the desolate horizon. Nothing was to be seen but the iron rocks, the surging waves, and the dim outline of the lighthouse; and then the long loud shriek of the agonised people went forth as a wail of despair and utter hopelessness. As the dawn brightened, however, their sorrow was turned into joy, for they beheld a sight which filled every bosom with indescribable emotion-it was a boat coming to their rescue, bounding over the crested waves, and rowed by a man and a fair young girl!

When Grace Darling awoke that morning, startled by the distant cry of human voices. borne upon the storm, she dressed hastily, and running at once to her father, told him her fears. They were confirmed by him; and soon it became evident beyond a doubt that shipwrecked fellow-creatures were crying out in the agony of despair only a short distance from the island.

Grace urged her father to attempt a rescue, but he refused. There was no other man in the lighthouse; it was not possible that he, single-handed, could battle with such a tempest, and he doubted whether any boat could live in that raging sea, which still lashed madly against the iron rocks. William Darling was, as we have seen, no coward; on the contrary, he was a bold, brave, heroic man—a man, too, of high Christian principle, who looked upon human life as a sacred thing, and saving it as a sacred duty. It was with no little sorrow, therefore, that he felt himself compelled to refuse the appeal of his daughter.

But the heart of Grace Darling was set upon saving those perishing ones, whose bitter ery still rang in her ears. Again and again she entreated, "Father, we must not let them perish. I will go with you in the boat, and God will give us success." And again William Darling urged that a little boat in so wild a sea must surely be swamped; that her weak arm could not put forth the strength needed at the oar, and that the passage from the Longstone to the wreck could be accomplished only with the ebb-tide; and even then, if the survivors should be too exhausted to render assistance, they would be unable to pull back to the lighthouse.

And still Grace entreated until, although the judgment of her father was as much against the project as ever, he yielded to her persistent appeals, and together they went out into the tempest to launch the boat. But Mrs. Darling with tears begged them to desist from their purpose, warning them that their lives would be added to the number of those doomed to perish. It was a hard case for her, to be left in that lighthouse alone, to watch the fearful conflict, and perchance to be left there a widow and childless. The trial was sharp, too, for Grace, yet she steeled her resolution and overcame the fears of her mother, who at last yielded, and nobly helped them to launch the boat. Her heart failed her when her husband and child pushed off, and as the wave receded from the rock on which she stood trembling, she cried, with tears, "Oh, Grace, if your father be lost I'll blame a' you for this morning's work!”

Into the surf dashed the boat, the waves churning and hissing, the mist hanging over the dangerous rocks; and still came the cry of the sufferers, nerving the courage of the brave girl, and inspiring her with strength for the task she had set herself.

To the Prev. S Burton

Dear Sir Free

لو

rec, yours

use

of your advice,

you

needed no

weak Christian.

Dated 9th Ins + for which I begy to return my sincere thanks for the good advice contained in the same May the Almighty who alone Enabled us to do what we did Enable me to make good Apology for your letter for I asure you it was very welcome; athough I am but a ve 3 yet hope to be found in that fold whose Sheepherd is Jesus Christ our Lord & Saviour I can say that I rejoice. in every thing that I think tends to the advance of his Kingdom, I am at a loss to Explain my self better but my parents learned to read & wright the Church of England Catechism and the General Assemblies Short Catechism which I'admire as a butiful little Book I am well Provided with a good Bible and if it tease God to open them to me I may be Enabled Through the asistance of the Heby spirit to gain the pearl of great Price. I am Dear Sir with sincere respect and good wishes to a Minister of Jesus Christ

Longstone Light

me

Your most Ob + Servant

March 22 1839

G. H. Darling

We are indebted to Mr. Charles Wood, of Bideford, for the loan of the document from which this copy
has been made.

Onward they sped, now rising on the crest of a wave, now deep down in the valley of waters, while the blinding spray dashed into their faces and the mist swept by in thick clouds. But their labour was not in vain; soon they could see the sufferers clinging to the rock, and they could hear the wail of their sorrow changing into the cry of joy as their approach was discovered.

It was dangerous and desperate work to bring the boat up to the rock, but it was accomplished in safety, and William Darling sprang ashore, leaving Grace to manage the boat. It required all the fortitude of her strong heroic spirit now; any failure in strength or courage meant certain death, for if the angry waves caught up the frail boat and flung it on the rock, in a moment it would be dashed to pieces. The instant her father sprang on the rock Grace pulled back into the seething abyss of waters, to wait until such time as he could arrange with the strongest of the survivors for the means of getting into the boat. This was the most critical period of that eventful episode, and the work of Grace Darling was now most arduous, requiring not only the greatest presence of mind, but the utmost skill. At length, on a signal from her father, she brought the boat again to the rock, and then one by one the sufferers were got into it. Amongst them was Sarah Dawson, still living, although nearly sinking with exhaustion, and still clasping to her bosom her two little ones, whose spirits God had called home.

The perilous journey back to the lighthouse was made in safety, and the warmth of the welcome that Mrs. Darling gave to her husband and Grace can be realised only by those who can conceive her agitation during that time of dreadful suspense when left alone in the lighthouse, now praying to God for safety to her dear ones, and now mourning them as already dead.

When the story of Grace Darling's heroic courage became known, every heart in England was stirred, and the quiet Farne Islands were besieged by poets who sang of her, painters who transferred the scene of her bravery to canvas, sculptors who wrought out her memorial in marble. Congratulations flowed in from high and low, rich and poor; every newspaper and magazine extolled the deed; every warm heart exulted in having so brave a countrywoman. A public subscription was raised, and £700 were presented to her; the Royal Humane Society sent a vote of thanks and a silver tea-pot; public societies. voted her flattering thanks; the Queen and her nobles sent her presents. Never before, perhaps, was any girl called from such intense obscurity to such world-wide popularity, yet she bore it without detriment to the beautiful simplicity of her character.

Four years after she had thus won the homage of the world by her courageous act, Grace Darling, who had never been robust, passed away from earth, at the age of twentyseven, and was buried in the graveyard of the ancient church of Bamborough in October, 1842, where also, in 1848, her mother was laid to rest, and in 1865 the brave old man, William Darling, at the age of seventy-nine years.