see the Society's men at work should go to the parks when the ice only just bears, and watch the movements of the men when the cry of "Man in!" rings through the frosty air. How eagerly yet cautiously they bear down to the man, who, perchance, has his arms stretched over the piece of ice on which his life depends; how, as they bear the life-belt and the long ice-ladder on wheels with the air-barrels at one end of it and a drag fastened to the side, the rotten ice yields and the would-be rescuer is floundering in a hole; how he struggles to gain a hold on more solid ice, and, at last succeeding, pushes the ladder on the ice and crawls slowly along it, soaked through with the freezing water, until at last he is able to snatch from the hand of death the victim of a too great temerity, who is just relaxing his grasp, the water in the hole sucking at him and drawing his benumbed fingers away from their hold. Then the senseless man is taken to the Receiving-house, stripped of his wet clothes, and placed in a warm bath, and soon, it may be, there come back the colour to the lips and cheeks, and the smile of gratitude for the timely rescue.

It is impossible to particularise cases in which every-day heroes in this special department of labour have distinguished themselves. Enough to say that at the 360 stations there are brave, fearless men ready at any moment to risk their own lives. to save the lives of the perishing; that there are branch stations in most of the principal seaport and other towns in the United Kingdom, and that in every department of the work there are to be found records of usefulness. Nor must the valuable aid rendered by Dr. Sieveking, Mr. Blackett, Mr. Norton, Dr. Bond, and other medical men, whose gratuitous services have been so long given to this noble cause, be forgotten; nor the great promptitude and ability with which they have laboured so successfully and well.

In the report to which we have referred, cases are cited for which the medals of the Society have been awarded; and the impossibility of doing justice in these pages to the gallant rescuers of the drowning will be better understood when we inform the reader that the medallion cases alone number 20,235, of which the two following will furnish some idea of the nature of the services for which the medal is awarded, and the wide range of the services of which the Society takes cognisance :

"Case 20,195. Extract from case: On the 15th of April, 1877, Lieutenants Deane and Mansell attempted to swim across a branch of the Ganges, at Baghalpur, Bengal, in all their clothes, when Lieutenant Deane became faint. Lieutenant Mansell did all he could to sustain him in the water, but through being clasped round the neck by Lieutenant Deane would have been drowned with him had not Lieutenant G. S. Eyre, of the Bengal Staff Corps, with great promptitude come to their assistance. The moment he saw them in difficulties he had on all his clothes-heavy shootingboots, &c.-but he swam some eighty or ninety yards, and succeeded in separating Mr. Mansell from the grasp of Mr. Deane, and then brought the insensible body of the latter to the shore. A strong stream was running, and the bottom was very muddy; also the bank was steep. The risk was very great."" "Case 20,278. Extract from case:- A native stockman brought the alarm that there was a wreck some miles down the coast, and on ascending a hill near their house at

Wallscliffe, West Australia, they could make out a vessel among the rocks and breakers about seven miles down the coast.

Miss Grace Vernon Bussell then took her father's

horse (an exceptionally good one) and galloped off with the stockman to the place. Upon arriving there she found the sea breaking heavily over the stranded ship, which lay about seventy yards from the beach; and in endeavouring to land a number of the passengers in the only remaining boat, it was overturned in the sweep, just as Miss Bussell and her attendant reached the top of the steep cliff opposite. Without a moment's hesitation.

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"Without a moment's hesitation she dashed with her noble steed down the cliff and into the raging waters, closely followed by the stockman, and reached the boat, dragging many of the passengers ashore (p. 201).

"

she dashed with her noble steed down the cliff and into the raging waters, closely followed by the stockman, and reached the boat, dragging many of the passengers ashore.

This was repeated many times until all were safely landed. Miss Bussell then galloped home for more assistance. She ran great risk, as when her horse was swimming ashore it caught its legs in a rope and nearly turned over, at the time some women and children were clinging to her saddle. The stockman, Samuel Isaacs, swam his horse in and saved the last man.'"