EXCITING SCENE AT BOULOGNE.

Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 604, 30 November 1869, Page 4

EXCITING SCENE AT BOULOGNE.

[daiiv telegraph's correspondent.] BoutoojfE StJR Mer, Aug. 10. This morning I went down to the north »hore of this favorite wateringplace to have a dip in the aea, and was the involuntary witness of a most exciting misadventure amongst the bathers. About the time of high water there is always a great assemblage of visitors, French and English, who outbid each other in tempting bribes to the bathing women for precedence in the use of the machines. Such was the case this morning; and. those who managed to secure the machines were drawn out amongst the waves, to the envy of those left behind on the beach. The returning, however, was quite another affair. When there were about threescore vehicles in the water, the tide suddenly rose, and waves of prodigious siue rolled on shore. The ladies and gentlemen who had outstripped their friends to go down into the mighty waters were in an instant placed in imminent peril. Those on shore did not at first appreciate the danger which threatened ; and the primary phase of the disaster was, I must confess, irre» sistibly comic. The bathing women went round the nearest vans and entreated the occupants to come out at once of they would be washed away. And they did come out with alacrity. Ladies and gen^ tlemen and children waded ashore in their clothes, Ab the exodus proceeded, and the danger of those farther out was appreciated, the utmost excitement prevailed ; (some women fainted, others shrieked in frantic excitement, and there was much running to and fro among the men to summon help. Bathing entirely ceased, and the ahoae and jetty, as the news of the misadventure spread in the town, became crowded with spectators, Two men on horseback had for some time been working most energetically, drawing all the occupied vanß to land ; but some of ike vehicles were go far out in the sea as to be beyond the help of man and horse, Three, I noticed, contained ladies, who from the windows waved handkerchiefs and made the wildest gesticulations for help. The first sense of real danger appreciated by those on shore was aroused by the sight of some half-dozen men, with two horses, endeavoring to drag the most distant machine ashore, Wave after wave j rolled over them in succession, and, sweeping forward, hid them now and then from sight, X was standing on a machine in the water, and saw that one horse was chained to the van ; but he was out of his depth, and after plunging about for a time, he got released from the harness and swam to land. The second horse had with difficulty been kept near the spot, but was perfectly unmanageable, and his rider reluctantly allowed him also to swim away to land. Those who were in the machine, wfth their heads thrust out of the windows, watched the struggle made to rescue them with nervous anxiety ; and when they saw that they were abandoned by the men and horses, their gesticulations were of the most frenzied character. They were too. far off for their cries to be heard, At this juncture two or three other vans were discovered to be in great peril, and a lady was seen at the window of each. I heard that five ladies in all were thus imprisoned. Fortunately there was help at hand. A Humane Society connected with the town always keeps a number of men promenading the beach while bathing is going on. Each man wears a cork jacket, and from his §houlders there hangs a large ball of stronj cord, One of these men now appeared upon the scene, He soon unloosened his ball, which, was taken up by some bathing women and carried ashore, There it was quickly unwound and grasped by gentlemen and ladies, all anxious to render some slight assistance to their imperilled friends. I could not help admiring the coolness with which this man swam to qne of the vans. He JRUQgßeded in. reaching it, and quickly reappeared, bearing a lady in his arms. The man struggled with his burden through the waves, the people oh shore drawing in the line ; but it was easy to see that his load was almost too much for him. At this moment an English gentleman, divested of some of his clothes, plunged in, After a short struggle he reached the brave Frenchman, and helped him to bear his unconscious burden safely to her friends. The man' returned, and a second time appeared in the waves with another lady, who was safely landed. In the meantime two more men, furnished with cork jacket? and jines, went together to a machine which was farther in the sea than the other. Their task was most difficult. They had to swim to the place, ftnd the waves frequently hid t^ern from the sight of the spectators. When they were seen on the steps of the machine, a )bud shout of rejoicing was raised by those On the beach, but this was succeeded by a period of the most intense anxiety when the men, with the lady between them, entered the sea to return. T^hey were |pst to, sight fp£ a minute, wjien the machine rolled aver, and was tossed about by the waves like a toy. A shout was raised, " They're lost !" Men and women screamed and wrung their hands in the agony of the moment, and eyes scanned the hollows of the wayes ; but the men and the lady were nowhere to be, seen. At this moment the lifeboat, which had peen brought down in a carriage, was Jau^ched ; but it upset almost as. soon as \t touched 'th£ ''-sftter, apid-fairf; at that instant an enormous wave rolled in from the sea., and washed three more machines over. If.theb^patb^d. gone out it ..could hardly have escaped injury from the huge vehicles which were tossing about. I was looking at the lifeboat for a moment, when I heard another loud shout, and, turning my head, I saw the two men with the lady struggling in the sea. The machine, which turned over, had fallen, clear of them^ but had hid them frpjn sight. They

slowly neared the shore ; an Englishman swam towards them, and, up to their shoulders in water, they unwound their cords from about the lady, and surren* de^ed her to his care. She was an elderly French matron, and was borne to land utterly exhausted, The beach waa crowded with spectators, but the gentleman to whom 1 1 have alluded was the only one who ventured after the men of the Humane Society, and rendered them efficient help in the time of their greatest need. As soon as the men delivered up their charge, they again returned into the sea, swam out to one of the floating vans, and Bcanned the water in eveFy direction to see if there was any other person in sight ; but all were safely on land and danger of losing life had ceased, At low water I saw three of the machines on the aands broken to pieces. From subsequent inquiry I learned that the tide had risen with unexpected rapidity, and the waves, driven by a strong southwesterly wind, rolled with unusual fury on the shore. This, lam told, is the first disaster of any note which has taken place during the season, and it was happily unattended with loss of life.