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LONDON
DOCKS
THE
resident’s office, where he obtained his first knowledge of civil
engineering in a practical form, was situated in a narrow lane adjoining
Ratcliffe Highway, :n the parish of Wapping, where the new
apprentice found as junior members of the engineering staff, Messrs. George
Parker Bidder, the celebrated calculating boy, father of the late eminent
Parliamentary Counsel of the same name, Wickstead, afterwards a well-known
waterworks engineer, Peter Barlow, and for a short time his brother William,
subsequently engineer for the Tay Bridge, sons of the late Astronomer Royal,
all of whom attained positions of eminence in the engftieerng profession,
several reaching the Presidency. The home during this period was in
Hermitage Street, Wapping, near
“
Wapping Old Stairs ” and “ Execution Dock,” and he used to recount his
remembrance of seeing a surging crowd on the foreshore of the river between
high and low water mark, with the ghastly figures of two unfortunate sailors
who had mutinied at sea, and so come under the category of “ pirates,”
suspended in their midst. To this scene his father, George Abernethy, who
held some honorary parish appointment, had been summoned on the coroner’s
jury, and had, with great reluctance, finally decided to comply.
An entry
in his diary, September 8th, 1831, briefly records an amusing ‘ncident, the
scene being Charing Cross, and the occasion, King William the Fourth’s
Coronation Procession. The entry reads:
“Went to
see the Coronation, climbed up on the roof of a house, squall with a
butcher. Returned home at eight o’clock.” The particulars of this squall
were these,—Some buildings near the old Golden Cross Inn were being
demolished in order to clear the space now occupied by a portion of
Trafalgar Square, and noticing some lads climbing a piece of projecting
brickwork at the end of a wall of one of the partly pulled down houses on to
the adjoining slate roof, he followed their example, and succeeded iii
perching among them. ' Suddenly through a trap door in the roof appeared a
burly fellow in a butcher’s blouse with a stick n his hand, who summarily
ordered all and sundry to quit, and as compliance with the order was
somewhat slow, he climbed on to the roof, and selecting a negro as the most
suitable individual for chastisement, pulled him down by the legs, and
commenced striking him with the stick. But he had happened on the wrong man.
Sambo assumed a scientific pugilistic attitude, and struck his assailant
many awkward blows, whereupon the latter called out for help, and a general
scrimmage ensued, which reached its climax when the entire struggling
company disappeared through the floor, amid a cloud of dust into the room
below. My father managed to escape unhurt, and watched from a safe distance
the guardians of the peace marching off a selection of the party to limbo,
Sambo included, who looked eminently pleased with himself. A few moments
later the Royal Procession came along and vociferous cheers were raised for
His Majesty as he passed.
Sights of
a very different and debasing character offered at that time to the public
at the Old Bailey, where executions took place :n front of the ‘ Debtors ’
Door’ of Newgate prison, and which induced grown-up citizens, who lacked
better judgment to repair to such scenes of morbid excitement and take their
youthful friends with them, did not fail to leave their ghastly impressions
on his mind.
HERNE BAY
WITHIN
the short
space of twelve months, however, after entering upon the apprenticeship, the
London Docks were finished, and George Abernethy and his son then undertook
the construction of a pier at Herne Bay, a company having been formed in
London to supply the necessary capital, but the duties there as far as the
son was concerned were (on his own admission) light, and the scene of the
few incidents which he could recall during a year of residence at the then
small fishing hamlet, centre principally around Reculvers and the adjoining
marshes, where with a single barrelled flint-lock gun, he used to spend a
large portion of his time in shooting, repainng for refreshment to the small
inn close by the ruins of St. Mary’s Church, kept by a landlady named Mary
Brown, or “Molly Brown,” as she was known to her neighbours. He frequently
in later life made reference to this woman, his recollection of her having
been rendered the more indelible by what for some time seemed to him to be
an unaccountable trait in the character of an innkeeper—namely, a distinct
refusal to accept any money in payment for what he had ordered. After this
eccentric behaviour had been displayed as he thought for a sufficiently long
period, he enquired of her the reason for not accepting any money, and her
reply was equally well remembered, “ You’re just the very image of my only
son who was drowned at sea, and. it’s quite enough for me to look at your
face.”
Molly had
won popularity in the neighbourhood by her accomplishment as a smuggler, the
secret of a successful career in this “nefarious practice,” up to that date,
lying in the accurate timing of her transactions together with a coolness in
seeing them through, and an equal capacity for correctly forestalling other
people’s movements at any given time. One winter evening, at about eight
o’clock, she tapped at the window of his lodgings at Herne Bay, and upon his
opening the door she deposited in the passage a large untidy bundle,
suspended on her back, calculated to pass as “washing,” but inside was a
neat little keg of brandy which she begged lrm to receive as a Christmas
present, and as soon as :it was accepted, she hoisted the remains
of “ the washing ” over her shoulder and disappeared in the direction of the
Reculvers, some four miles distant, as composedly as she had arrived.
Frequently during the later period of his life he expressed an intention of
“going over to the Reculvers some day” with the object of ascertaining
whether she was still alive, but put off his visit till 1875, which proved
to be too late, for a tombstone in Herne Churchyard records the fact of her
interment beneath it in 1868.
An
acquaintance at Herne Bay at this time following a different vocation in
life was a Mr. Charles, proprietor of the solitary windmill, who had lived
for a long time in town, and still retained his urbanity of manner, and who
never lost an opportunity 'n conversation of referring to former
aristocratic friends, of whom from the frequent mention of his name the
Prince Regent was presumably
facile ftrinceps.
On Sundays he would walk to Herne Church dressed in a bright blue surtout
with gilt buttons, a buff waistcoat, a shirt with conspicuous frills, knee
breeches, black silk stockings, buckles on his shoes, and m his hand a
gold-headed csne, which was at intervals tucked under his arm to admit of
opening a very neat snuff box. In winter time a radical change of costume
was effected, among which; the buckled shoes gave place to Wellington boots.
He always occupied the same pew—a square, high one—and on a particular
Sunday had removed the last named personal incumbrances during service.
Towards the close of the sermon he proceeded to re-boot himself, and the tag
attached to one of them suddenly failing under the severe test to which it
was subjected, his head came into violent contact with his pew, an accident
which made it desirable in the interest of all present to close the sermon
as expeditiously as possible.
SWEDEN.
1553-34
IN
1833, while engaged in the building of the pier - at Herne Bay, he accepted
the invitation of a friend, Mr. Elder, to come and assist in laying out
roads to a manganese mine, which that gentleman had recently purchased at
Spexeryd, a small village distant some sixteen miles from Jonkoping, in
Sweden, and sailed on the 30th of June, in the
Anna Bella,
a Scotch schooner plying between London and Gothenburg, on a voyage to the
latter port. This visit to Sweden was, n fact, almost exclusively on
pleasure bent and constituted the longest holiday enjoyed during his long
busy life, but as it was undertaken on the pretext of laying out roads, and
in point of time, comes in the early part of his calling as an engineer, it
is here treated in this connection, although entirely
pro forma.
From a letter, written shortly after arrival to his
brother Robert, it is plain that his experience in crossing the North Sea in
this craft was far from being an agreeable one. The sea was rough, the cabin
accommodation small, and to say the very least of it, unclean. Its
unpleasant condition, however, had been fully realized before reaching
Gravesend, at which point the schooner anchored for a time, in order to
despatch a shore boat to secure some provisions, and a fellow voyager, who
shared the same cabin, utilised the opportunity of landing to the extent of
procuring some chloride of lime, with which, upon his return, he mixed a
certain modicum erf water, and freely washed out the cabin berths, greatly
to the annoyance of the good captain, and sundry venerable blackbeetles,
which had long been quartered there unmolested.
From the
date of embarkation he kept a diary of his daily experience as “A stranger
in a strange land,” and illustrated its pages with various Swedish scenes,
several of which will be found reproduced in subsequent pages, and upon his
return to England he presented the manuscript to an old lady friend, Mrs.
Luxmore, who resided at Plymouth, and who, after a lapse of forty years,
returned it through the late Mr. Alexander Lang Elder, of Campden House,
Kensington, with the following request:—
“Headi.and, Plymouth,
“June
25th,
1877.
“After my
letter was written I was minded of my intention
to send through you, if you will kindly take the
trouble, to Mr.
Abernethy, a journal of a visit to Sweden he made in 1833 and which he
presented to me many years ago. Will j-ou say that in preparing for what is
sure to happen, I thought it best that the manuscript should be in his own
possession, and no doubt in reading it over again his early happy days will
recur to him.
I will
endeavour to give in the present chapter hom the journal now before me a
description of the voyage to Sweden, and residence there, from the entries
contained in :ts numerous pages, arranging them in a consecutive
narrative.
From
Gravesend downwards, the river was crowded with shipping, outward bound for
various parts of the world, and all slowly and in company, made their way as
far as the Nore, at which point they separated Irom one another, and (to use
his own expression), “shot off like the rays of the sun in all directions.”
“These,” he wrote, “are the rays of Britain’s star, which, by the agency of
these oaken messengers, has spread the light of intelligence over the
Earth.’’ . . . “What a restless creature man is: not content with flitting
about like a ‘ Will of the Wisp ’ himself, he causes a sober stately oak,
which has stood in the selfsame spot, fanned by the breezes of a hundred
summers, to dash over the ocean, and ‘ Walk the waters like a thing of
life.’ ”
On the
morning of the fourth day of the voyage the
Anna Bella
hove in sight of the Naze of Norway, and approacl .ng the coast of Jutland
at the Skaw, she thence stood over towards Sweden, reaching Marslrand late
on the 25th, and at daybreak on the 26th dropped anchor off the Castle of
Elfsborg, where she was duly searched, and her bill of health examined,
before being permitted to proceed up the River Gotha to Gothenburg.
The wind
having fallen to a calm and there being, consequently but little prospect of
the schooner reaching her destination that day, he engaged a small rowing
boat, and proceeded up the river, passing en route the Government Dockyards,
in which lay a number of schooner-rigged gunboats, well adapted by their
light draught for the difficult navigation of the Baltic. A little nearer
the town were the merchant ships of various nations,among which the American
flag seemed at that time to predominate.
Upon
reaching the suburb of Klippa, he landed, and after reporting his arrival at
the Custom House, proceeded on foot to Gothenburg by a fine broad road,
planted on either side with trees, and frequented by the elite of the town
in summer as a fashionable promenade. His steps as a traveller were
naturally directed in search of an hotel, and, upon enquiry, he was directed
to a large, shabby looking building of coarse red brickwork, over the
doorway of which, on a small wooden tablet about one foot square, was
painted "Tod’s Hotel.”
A Swedish
girl opened the door, and conducted him into a clean and comfortable room,
in which, upon the floor, in place of a carpet, were strewn small branches
of spruce, a supply of which was kept in a box in the corner of the room.
Instead of a fireplace there was a glazed earthenware stove, the bottom of
which contained burning wood, the smoke ascending the hollow stove and
thence passing into the chimney. When the wood has been reduced to glowing
embers a flue at the top is closed, and the heat thus retained in the stove.
The fair
conductor, however, was almost wholly unacquainted with the English
language, and the guest being no better qualified for opening any
conversation in her mother tongue, all attempts to represent the fact that
he wanted breakfast and lodging for a few days seemed destined to be futile.
At this
juncture, however, the guest apparently to some extent lost his temper, in
so far that he was heard to mutter d-m-n. “Eh Englesman,” said the damsel,
smiling, and disappearing for a few moments, returned, bringing with her the
landlord, one George Tod, who, it subsequently transpired, had emigrated
from Fifeshire, some twenty years before, and upon the advent of this
personage, materials for a hearty breakfast were soon forthconrng. The meal
being ended and a bedroom duly allotted to him, the newly arrived
“Englesman” walked along the main street until he reached a high rock, upon
which he climbed, and from its summit obtained a bird’s-eye view of the
town, which enabled him to write the following description of Gothenburg :—
“Immediately beneath me was the main street, intersected by a wide canal,
which is crossed at intervals by draw-bridges, and dotted with numerous
boats. Several other streets are intersected by a canal, and some of them
bordered with trees. The town has not a very imposing appearance, being
built on a plain, and the only prominent edifices are its two churches on
the outskirts. The streets are quite straight, and generally cross each
other at right angles; they are wide and clean, but badly paved, and there
are no causeways for foot passengers. The Gotha meanders in an easterly
direction until it vanishes arnong the distant hills: westward lies the
crowd of shipping: while on the north and south are high precipitous rocks,
studded with trees and houses. The distant rocky hills are but scantily
clothed with pines, among which, here and there, peep the country seats of
the merchants. The town is built for the most part along the river, and is
nearly surrounded by rocks.” A closer inspection of the town, subsequently,
enabled him to give a more detailed description. “ The shops are scarcely to
be distinguished from private houses, except for the fact of the former
having a small wooden board over the door, on which is painted the name of
the occupant, together with a sign illustrative of the craft pursued within.
Thus, tailors exhibit a small pair of scissors. They are all independent
fellows, and seem to regard their customers as the parties obliged by any
transaction.
“The town
is lighted by oil lamps, which are suspended from an iron chain stretched
across the street, one end being made fast to the wall, and the other passed
through a pulley, and thence downwards to a wooden box placed at a
convenient height where it is secured by a pin.
“About
half-way along the main street is a large square, in which are situated the
handsome Town Hall and the Market Place. In this space were drawn up a
regiment of horse artillery, a fine body of men, but their movements struck
me as being slow compared with those of the English.
“The
Swedish artillery is reported to be excellent, as they bestow great
attention upon it; but I should suppose it is not quite as they rather
confidently affirm, ‘the best in the world.’ ”
While
residing a few days in Gothenburg he was a guest at a certain dinner party
given by Mr. Caralin, an eminent chemist, who lived some two miles out of
the town, at a house called, in English interpretation, ‘Jacob’s Hall,’ and
in a letter of July 12th, 1833, addressed to his parents at Herne Bay, he
gave this detailed account of the hospitality he received,— “Accompanied by
my host, we walked up a broad gravel path which led to the mansion. A
numerous company were assembled at the door, to all of whom we
(i.e.,
Mr. Elder and himself) were introduced: first, to a little jolly-looking
fellow, in a blue surtout, and Hessian boots, and wearing a gold watch-chain
on which hung a cross, and a silver star on his breast. This was the bishop
of the district. Among the rest was Baron Berzelius, the celebrated
scientific chemist. Several of the gentlemen wore orders. Upon entering the
house, we were ushered into the drawing-room, where we found the table laid
out with schnaps, bread, butter, and cheese, and each of the company took a
morsel, and a glass of liqueur. We then entered the dining-room, and while
grace was being said each person stood behind his chair; after which, all
bowed to the host, and then to the ladies, and these preliminaries over,
seated themselves and prepared for action.
“The
dinner, of about a dozen courses, was excellent. The meats were carved by
the servants, and the guests handed the plates from one to another—a decided
improvement on the old English system. I must confess I ate a great deal too
much, for I had a complaisant Frenchman for a neighbour, who would have me
eat of every dish that came round, but still I cut but a poor figure beside
the rest of the company. Some of the dishes were nauseous to my palate —raw
salmon, beef swimming in oil, etc. All the wine was consumed during dinner,
towards the end of which a large bowl was introduced, into which some
bottles of claret was poured, together with a quantity of sugar, and some
bitter oranges. This was emptied to the health of all present. Mr. Caralin
proposed the health of the Englishmen at the table—four ri number—in reply
to which, at a signal from our host, all rose, bowed to each other, and,
after a concluding grace had been said, dispersed. The gentlemen then
conducted the ladies to the drawing-room, after doing which they went into
the garden, or to the smoking-room, each being at liberty to do as best
pleased him. Coffee, tea, ices, etc., were handed round by the servants to
the scattered company. For my part, I walked to a small summerhouse which
commanded an extensive view of the town of Gothenburg, and made a sketch of
it. About 9 p.m., all again entered the house to sup,, after which the
guests took leave. I regretted, exceedingly that 1 did not understand the
Swedish language, as I lost all the conversation which was going on between
Berzelius and others of the company.”
But
festivities at Gothenburg were only of short duration, for on July 4th, the
journey to Jonkoping, which was distant 112 English miles, had to be
GOTHENBURG, FROM MR. CARALIN’S GARDEN.
undertaken in order to reach the manganese mine at Spexeryd, a small village
some 15 miles beyond that town. Accordingly, having secured a “jagtvan,” a
vehicle like a small waggon, and in size not much larger than those drawn by
dogs through the London streets at that date, fitted with a cross seat
suspended at either end by leather straps which somewhat lessened the
jolting over the numerous loose stones, the journey was commenced about
noon. Having proceeded about eight miles from the town, the travellers came
to a narrow ravine, at the foot of which ran a stream ; on the bank
adjoining some large cotton mills were at the time ;n course of
construction. Following the road, which in its turn followed the line of the
bank, the vehicle at length turned a sharp angle in the road and a large
lake came into view, its bright waters contrasting prettily with the sombre
pines which skirted the margin. Continuing the journey through a pine wood
the road emerged close to another lake adorned with little islands. On the
summit of the rock, which rose abruptly from this lake, was a chateau, with
a red painted roof, steeply pitched to guard against the lodgment of snow in
the winter, while several picturesque smaller buildings were discernible
among the pines. A little later the first post-house was reached and a
considerable time occupied in finding and catching the horses which were
required to relieve the tired ones. At last the route was continued through
an undulating country, the natural features of which were a series of lakes,
pine forests, and rock, until the small town of Alingsas was reached, and
quarters obtained for the night.
An early
start was effected the following morning and they proceeded on their journey
through country of a different nature. The grand scenery which accompanied
the previous day’s travel was changed to wild barren moorland, with huge
boulders of rock strewed over its surface, and broken only occasionally by
the glimpse of a small cultivated patch, and a miserable wooden cabin
appendant to ;t, illustrative of the extreme poverty of the
peasantry in the district. At mid-day, the ‘‘jagtvan” entered an extensive
forest of birch trees, through which they travelled for some hours, but upon
approaching Jon-koping these were again replaced by a series of pine
forests. The pines, which had grown very straight, and to a great height,
were evidently very old. Some of them had their lowest boughs at least
twenty feet from the ground. Not a single soul, nor a habitation were seen
for hours, and a solemn silence reigned supreme until Jonkoping was reached
towards midnight, but the halt there was of brief duration, and a fresh
relay of horses being procured, the travellers pressed on towards the
village of Spexcryd, a distance of fifteen miles, through a continuation ot
the gloomy pine forests. When six miles distant from Spexeryd, the road
became so rough that it was almost impossible to proceed in the darkness
which had set in, and the driver, Schuss Bonde, declined to follow the path
further until daylight. Thereupon, the travellers alighted and continued on
foot by a narrow track, of which they eventually lost all trace, and found
themselves in a bog, sinking over their knees. Having extricated themselves
from this, they wisely determined to remain where they were till daylight;
for a few hours they were subjected to a weird experience listening to the
wind sighing through the dark funereal pines overhead, while a great horned
owl was occasionally heard uttering his melancholy cry. At length daylight
broke and they were enabled to regain the “jagtvan” and to reach the cottage
at Spexeryd, where they were received with a hearty welcome from the two
Englishmen already quartered there. One of these was Mr. Alexander, a
mechanical engineer, who had erected an unworkable water-mill for Mr. Elder,
and the other “ a young scapegoat, who had been invited over from England,
to keep him out of mischief at home, but who managed to get into the same
even in this out of the way spot, whenever any slight opportunity offered
itself.”
The
cottage at Spexeryd was situated on a terrace, near the brow of a hill.
Immediately in front rose a rock to a height of about forty feet,
beautifully draped with velvet moss, and graced wit-h several elegant
specimens of the weeping birch, while above the rock serving as a background
was the outskirt of a large pine wood. At the back of the cottage the ground
fell abruptly, and the road by which it was approached, wound in a spiral
manner to the foot of the hill, where it crossed over a brook by a rustic
bridge. Cockspur and wild geranium were the two principal flowers of the
hillside, and of forest trees, the spruce, Scotch fir, birch, aspen, and
hazel were all to be seen mingling their foliage in charming variety.
The
duties in superintending the making of roads were somewhat intermittent and
not of an arduous nature, and a good deal of time during the day, as well as
in the evenings, was passed in making experiments with manganese, with the
aid of a chemical handbook, in a workshop adjoining the cottage. One
successful result was a powder, which served as a pigment for sketching, and
which the accompanying illustration of the little church close by, and
others which will be found on subsequent pages, proves to have been of a
permanent quality, for they have faded little, if at all, during the
sixty-three, years since the preparation was used.
The
manganese mine in the
vicinity of Spexeryd,
which had
already been worked to a depth of 100 feet at the time of making a roadway
to join the high road to Jonkoping, yielded a considerable amount of ore,
and frequent journeys on horseback had to be made to that town, where there
was a wharf for its shipment, via Lake Wenner and the Gotha Canal, to
Gothenburg, For these trips he engaged the services of a black horse, named
“Beelzebub,” in consequence of his behaviour to his former master, who,
after many uncomfortable experiences on his back, had finally been thrown,
with the result that the horse had been pronounced a vicious beast, and as
such sentenced to be shot. Beelzebub, however, obtained a reprieve upon the
offer of a small Norwegian pony, Leila, in exchange. The pony was accepted,
and Beelzebub handed over with the parting words, “go and break your necks
together then.” By a course of kind treatment, however, and ministration
of small rye cakes on occasions of marked improvement in behaviour,
Beelzebub soon became quiet and gentle, neighed upon his new master entering
the stable, and carried him safely for the remainder of his stay at Spexeryd.
The road
by which he used to travel to Jonkoping entered that town through a large
gateway, over which, inscribed on the frieze, were the words “Carl Johan rex.”
The town then consisted of one long street, which was badly paved, the
houses on either side being built of wood, and painted red. Near the centre
stood the wooden theatre and court house, while the last named and the
church were the only two stone buildings in the town. Being the judicial
centre of the province of Smaland, a large proportion of the population of
four thousand were lawyers, who wore a uniform of their own.
Frequently it was necessary to stay at Jonkoping for the night, and he has
given an account of a stay on one occasion at a “Wardhus” (hotel), where “in
the evening several Swedish gentlemen joined the party and remained til)
midnight. Instead of singing songs, as is the custom in England, the Swedes,
on these occasions, relate anecdotes, and he is regarded as the most
agreeable fellow, who possesses the greatest stock. Each displayed great
eagerness to deliver his story, and the moment one of them paused in his
narrative another rilled up the interval with a few words of his own, so
that by the time the first speaker had finished, the other had made
considerable progress with what he wanted to say. On the following day there
was a fair, and the market place was crowded with bonders, or peasants,
dressed in very varied, but becoming costumes. Among them were many
Dalcartians, whom he thus describes: “The men are dressed in white flannel
coats, knee breeches, broad brimmed hats, and a leather belt round their
middle, while
the women
wear short dresses, red stockings, and high heeled shoes. The Dalcartians
seem to be a distinct race, with dark eyes and hair, and to bear about the
same relationship to the Swedish peasantry, as our Scotch Highlanders do to
the Lowlanders, They are noted for their tenacity in upholding old customs,
and the aversion they show to all that is foreign. These people wander
southwards in the summer as far as Germany, and engage themselves in making
and selling clocks, as well as rings, crosses, and various trinkets of
plaited horse hair.”
There
were also several “Tartars” or gipsies, who appeared to resemble their
brethren in England in their appearance and habits.
The
bonders for the most part wear coarse blue cloth round hats and silk
handkerchiefs round their necks, while the women dress in scarlet jackets,
short blue petticoats reaching to the knees, a white handkerchief wrapped
loosely round their heads, and the feet are devoid of boots.
Rides
from Spexeryd to Jonkoping during the winter months were apparently at times
attended by some elements of danger as the following unpleasant experience
will show:—Late one evening he noticed some important papers lying on the
sitting-room table, accidently left behind by Mr. Elder, who had ridden to
Jonkoping in the afternoon, with the intention of remaining there ior the
night. Knowing that the particular business could not be transacted until
the papers were to hand, he saddled Beelzebub with all despatch and started
off for the town. The route from Spexeryd to the high road was by a bridle
path through a pine forest, and while making his way along the track, the
horse suddenly snorted and set off at full gallop, and all efforts to pull
him up were unavailing. In order to avoid being unseated by coming into
contact with the fir boughs which overhung the path, the rider had to stoop,
and hold on to the animal’s neck, and in this manner he was borne through
the pine forest, and for a considerable way down the high road until he came
near to a posting house, where Beelzebub slackened his pace. The rider
dismounted, and once more the animal’s life was in the balance in
consequence of his unmanageable conduct. The posting-house keeper, however,
explained that the master, instead of abusing the animal, should on the
contrary, feel much indebted to his ileetness, as some wolves had been seen
that day in the neighbourhood, and most probably it was they which had
scared and followed in pursuit of Beelzebub. After this adventure, the horse
and his owner became sworn friends.
Many
pleasant days were spent in hunting and shooting in the neighbourhood, and a
few anecdotes
connected
with both, may be of interest to the reader. Hearing, upon one occasion, of
some wolves having attacked and destroyed a couple of cows on the previous
evening, which were depastured at a short distance from where he was
living—he procured a portion of one of the carcases, and in the company of a
Swede, carried it next morning to a spot ir the forest supposed to be
frequented by wolves. Here he set to work to build a hut of pine branches,
and made preparations for watching during the coming night. All being in
readiness he went home, and at about nine o’clock, returned to the appointed
station, armed with a gun and axe, the Swede bringing the same selection of
weapons. He confesses to have experienced a sensation of 'creepiness' while
stationed in the gloominess of the pine forest, watching for the expected
vr’sitors. There was very little undergrowth around, save here and there a
juniper bush, but the ground was covered with moss, and its even surface
broken at intervals with numerous large ant hills. The night, however, was
very dark, and the bait placed on the trunk of a tree, some twenty yards
distant, was barely visible. The hours passed slowly by, and a deep silence
reigned around the hut, broken only by an occasional doleful mope of an
honied owl, as he flitted overhead. Neither of the hunters spoke, but
crouched, with their eyes fixed towards the bait. Near midnight, faint
sounds as of an animal panting were detected, and a few seconds later, a
figure, the outline of which resembled a wolf, was espied some thirty yards
distant, standing quite motionless beside the b;ut. The Swede took a long
aim and discharged his gun, and a loud cry followed the report. Both darted
through the smoke with their axes to give the
coup do grace,
but there was no trace of the animal. A few days after, a farmer complained
to him that his large sheep-dog had been peppered with shot in the hind
quarters by some unknown person, which caused the sportsmen to shrewdly
suspect that it was the farmer’s dog they had fired at.
The
appearance of wolves in the neighbourhood had, however, caused sufficient
excitement among the peasantry to induce them to hold a “skall” at the end
of the week, and in the diary of the 12th July an account is given of the
organised wolf hunt. Yesterday, what is called a ‘skall’ took place for
destroying the wolves, at which about two hundred persons were present. The
custom here is, that a person whose cattle have been injured or killed by
wolves, after having given due notice of the fact to the jagtmastre (hunting
master) of the district, can call upon all males in the parish over twenty
years of age to attend the meet, each armed with a gun or bludgeon. On this
occasion the company formed themselves into a circle of about half a mile in
diameter, each at a short distance apart. At a given signal from the
huntsman, all moved forward in silence, gradually contracting the circle,
until it was only some three hundred yards in diameter. Two wolves had been
surrounded, but though several shots were fired they broke through the ring.
One of them, however, was severely wounded, and could not run very fast. The
‘skall ’ forthwith broke up, every one starting off in pursuit of the
wounded animal, which was soon run down and killed. It was an old male, but
being summer time he was of a dirty brown colour.”
One more
experience with “vargs”
is recorded :—
“While
walking home I caught sight of a wolf sitting on its haunches in a cleared
piece of the wood at a little distance off, intently watching some cattle
feeding. They seemed to be fully a ive to their danger, for they were
standing in line with their heads lowered, when suddenly one of the oxen
separated from the rest and made a determined dash at the wolf, who seemed
rather intimidated, and inclined to move off. At this moment I discharged
the contents of my piece after him, though doubtless it had no other effect
than that of accelerating his pace.”
Caperca:llie
(tyedars) were to be found, though not plentifully, in the pine forests in
the vicinity of Spexeryd, and the various methods of stalking these fine
birds practised by the Swedes are described. Sometimes they would take a
small dog with them to detract the birds’ attention while they were
approached, and at others place a decoy bird made of cloth on a tree and
imitate the chuckling note of the tyedar, resembling ‘pelr, peur,’ which
attracts the hen birds particularly. A third method is to enter the woods at
night with a torch, again imitating the birds’ call, the torch being
employed to interest the bird, and divert attention from the gunner in the
same way as the small dog in the day time, but in each method the end for
which these means are devised, is the same, viz., to ‘pot’ the bird
sitting;”
Towards the autumn of 1833 he
accepted an invitation to stay at the house of a Swedish nobleman named
Captain Quickfeldt, who lived in a chateau called Werisjoo, some eight miles
from Jonkoping, and upon the termination of his visit, he wrote a detailed
account of the domestic life there. “The wooden house has a lofty, red-tiled
roof, with numerous out-buildings of a like description, which are used as
rooms for the servants, and perhaps some guests if there is a large party,
which is often the case in winter. A cracked bell on a pole, and a walled
garden; complete the establishment. There is no lawn or gravel paths as in
England. These noblemen keep a good stable of horses, and many servants who
cost but little, and are necessary, for the nobles farm their own estates,
buy and sell cattle, and even distil whisky to sell. The interior of the
house consists of a number of large carpetless rooms, barely furnished, and
the little furniture there is of the plainest material. One portion is
sacred to the ladies, and the gentlemen seldom enter there. Their apartments
are often carpeted and handsomely furnished; indeed it would not do to
carpet the apartments of the men, as they are all great smokers, and spit
about in every direction.”
“We
generally rose at seven o’clock and partook of coffee, after which we read
or amused ourselves somehow till ten, when we breakfasted on beef steak,
potatoes, etc., drinking with them porter or wine. We then rode or walked
till two, and returned and dressed for dinner, at which meal the ladies made
their appearance for the first time. The dinner consisted usually of a great
variety of dishes, but the Swedish cooking is not at all agreeable to an
English palate, the meat swimming in grease, and the vegetables, such as
cabbage and lettuce, being served up with sugar. The Swedes are great
eaters, and take little exercise, and keep a high temperature in their rooms
by means of their earthenware stoves. Consequently they have .sallow
complexions, and seldom attain a great age.
“After
dinner we enjoyed the society of the ladies playing chess, cards, etc., with
music on the harp and piano; several of the gentlemen played well on the
flute. The music is slow and pathetic, some of it exceedingly fine. At ten
o’clock we had supper, and then retired to bed. Occasionally in the winter,
especially on Sundays, the evenings were enlivened by a ball, which was
always a gay sight, owing to the variety of military and other un’fcrms
worn. In the square dances, the ladies and gentlemen keep at opposite ends
of the room. The favourite dance is a sort of quadrille, which they term ‘a
la Franfaise,’ but it is a sorry imitation, and they finish every figure by
jumping as high as they can. The waltzing is still worse: they take very
long steps and spin round the room like two cockroaches on one pin.
“Most of
the nobles keep a ‘carrosse,’ a heavy lumbering vehicle, 'ike the
old-fashioned London hackney coach. Their sledges, for winter travelling,
are very handsome. Bells are attached to various parts of the harness, for
as they drive very fast, and in narrow roads, accidents would often occur
were it not for this precaution.”
Another
and somewhat more facetious description is given of the quiet life typiuai
of the Swedish nobility.
“His
chateau is placed on the most exposed part of his estate, so that he can
have his cornfield before him ; such a scene being in his estimation far
beyond either the picturesque or romantic. He rises about seven, and having
dressed, lights his pipe, and smokes with great solemnity till about nine,
when he breakfasts. He then again lights his pipe and stalks forth into the
open air, where he may be seen puffing out volumes of smoke and gazing
intently on the above-mentioned field of corn, his mind occupied in an
abstruse calculation as to how much meal the said field will produce when
ground, and the number of loaves he will be enabled to make from it. In this
manner he amuses himself till the cracked bell of his wooden chateau tolls
for dinner, at which he gorges himself and takes a siesta.”
Of the
boors or peasantry this additional description, culled from the pages of his
diary, may be given : —
“The men
are dressed in jackets, knee-breeches and Hessian boots, and broad-brimmed
hats: on Sundays and holidays they are all dressed precisely alike, and they
then substitute a surtout for the jacket, and each carries a silver-mounted
staff in his hand. They wear their hair long and hanging over their
shoulders, possibly to keep the snow in winter from going down their necks
.... They have generally a good house, and are independent fellows, and when
sober, quiec and obliging, paying great deference to their superiors, but
quite vice versd
when drunk, which :s too often the case, and is not to be
wondered at considering they possess a small still, and are at liberty to
distil what quantity of whiskey they please—they are not, however, allowed
to sell any, ... Their life is very laborious for so barren is the lard
that, if he (i.e.
a bonder) possesses an estate of one or two hundred acres, he can do no more
than procure a subsistence, for the greater part of the country is pine
forest, and the proportion of permanently cleared land, small . . . while in
the valleys are bogs, which grow a long coarse grass, affording food for the
cattle.”
Occasionally, what are termed temporary clearings, are made in the pine
forests in Sweden. A certain batch of trees are felled early in the spring
and allowed to lie till autumn to dry. Afterwards they are burnt and the
charcoal spread for manure. The cleared ground is then sown with rye, after
which, it is perhaps, left untouched for years. One day upon returning from
a long ride in the woods, he came upon one of these open spaces, in the
middle of which were three upright poles, and upon them were suspended the
ghastly remains of a young man who had recently been executed there, the
head and right hand had been severed and placed on the outside posts, while
the body hung on the centre one. *
Towards
the end of the year 1835, the sojourn in Sweden came to an end and he was
recalled to England, to again assist his father in the construction of the
Start Point Lighthouse, in Devonshire, under Mr. James Walker, of London.
His diary bears record that he quitted Spexeryd with much regret, for
towards the end there was the following pathetic entry:—“I shall always look
back to the time when I dwelt in the secluded Scandinavian pine forest with
regret, as I think I shall have few such happy periods of life between me
and the grave.’’
This
suggests the lines of Lord Byron :—
“My
pensive memory lingers on
Those scenes to be enjoy’d no more,
Those scenes regretted ever:
The measure of our youth is full,
Life’s evening dream is dark and dull,
And we may meet, ah I
never.”
START
POINT.
JAMES
ABERNETHY had completed his twenty-first year when he received the letter
from his father asking him to return to England and assist in building the
Lighthouse at the Start Point. Very soon after arriving at that lonely
headland in Devonshire which was to be the scene of operations during the
ensuing twelve months, he was despatched to the small island of Herm,
situated some two miles from the Port of St. Pierre, in Guernsey, to
superintend the quarrying and dressing of the granite, of which material the
Lighthouse was to be built. In a letter to his friend, Mr. Luxmore, he
refers to his insular position in these terms:—This little sea-g;rt
isle is about four miles in circumference, and the ’’nhabitants, some three
hundred in number, are all connected with the quarries. I am literally the
Deputy Governor, for all here are under my control, and no man can leave the
island without an order from my superior or myself.” The house in which he
stayed belonged to a Colonel Lindsey, but apparently he resided there at
that time alone, for he continues:—“I have no society, and not even a friend
to talk to, and a sense of loneliness comes over me at times, and I feel so
dejected that I could almost throw myself into the sea. It is plain I am not
intended by nature for a Robinson Crusoe.”
The short
period of residence at the Start, to which he returned when the work of
building the lighthouse was in progress, was equally monotonous and
uncongenial to his taste. An active, energetic man by nature he felt he had
a poor sphere in which to display his energy and ability. “I have longed for
a letter,” he wrote to a friend when the lighthouse was but half built,
“communicating the agreeable intelligence that you had procured for me
another situation, but I know this is no easy matter in these times. I
should feel ever grateful to anyone who would put me in the way of escaping
from this miserable place. You no doubt think me very Impatient to repi le
in this manner, but really I cannot help it, living the listless life which
I do, and surrounded by perhaps the most uneducated people in England.”
The way
of escape was shortly afterwards opened, by his father recommending him to
Mr. George Leather, of Leeds, for the position of resident Engineer, under
that gentleman, in the construction of the Docks at Goole, with the somewhat
characteristic rider as to his qualification, “I would not recommend him
although he is my own son it I did not think him capable of taking the
situation,” but before concluding the allusion to his residence at the
Start, two episodes connected with the smuggling then practised are worth
mentioning.
One
morning the coastguard officer, stationed there, and whom he knew well,
called at the farm-house where he lodged in a great state of excitement, and
stated that he had found the man on duty near the lighthouse gagged and
bound, early that morning, and minus his pistol and cutlass. The statement
of the last named, when his gag was removed, was to the effect that he had
been suddenly pounced upon during the night by several men, who had quickly
reduced him to the condition in which he had been discovered, and he felt
sure some of them were men employed in building the lighthouse, as he
perceived, during the struggle, that they smelt of mortar. Subsequent
investigation, however, never led to any more specific identification than
that, but the suspicion ever remained in the officer’s mind that the navvies
had done it, as this second incident will prove.
Through
the headland ran a natural tunnel, along which my father was in the habit of
swimming, and on one occasion in doing so, struck his knees against a hard
object beneath the surface of the water, and, on feeling with his hand,
discovered that he had come in contact with one of a number of kegs. After
he had concluded his swim and dressed, he saw a man watching bim from the
rocks above, and on passing him, the latter said, with a smile,
“I
know you are a gentleman and will not say anything.”
“About
what,” he enquired, “Oh,” observed the man, “you did not swim through the
tunnel as usual.” “No,”
he replied, “I found obstacles in the way, but it’s all right, you may trust
me.”
On the
following night a small packet was left at the farm house, containing a
bottle of very fine brandy, and on the next occasion of the officer paying a
visit there a glass of it, in the form of hot grog, was offered to him.
“Hulloa!”
he exclaimed, “where did you get this stuff from? one of your ‘mortary
friends I should think,” and ended with a hearty laugh.
GOOLE.
THE
removal to Goole in 1836, to act as assistant engineer under Mr. George
Leather, marks the commencement of his experience in the special branch of
civil engineering, viz : The construction of harbours and docks, In which he
was subsequently to hold the highest posiiion in the profession, and be
termed the father of marine engineering. Some of the more important of his
works will be alluded to in the pages which follow, but it would be tedious
reading were an attempt made to give the engineering details of each of them
respectively. The fact that they all remain in a satisfactory condition
after, in the majority of cases, many years of trial by wind and wave,
speaks sufficiently, perhaps, for the skilfulness of their design, their
practicability of execution, and efficiency when completed. Towards their
ultimate efficiency and success all who co-operated contributed, but during
progress and until completion he, as engineer, was individually looked to as
the responsible comptroller, and it would be true to say that in his own
conscience he continued to hold himself responsible for their lasting
stability throughout his professional career, a retrospect of which, when
nearing its close, afforded him the happy consolation that it was unmarred
by any failure.
As yet,
however, we must regard him as a young assistant engineer, under Mr. George
Leather, at Goole, engaged in the construction of the docks at that town,
the contractor for the work being Mr. Hugh McIntosh, of Bloomsbury Square, a
successful and practical man of business, although at that time totally
blind. In spite of this infirmity he was always enabled by putting a series
of apt questions to understand the exact condition and progress of the work.
Several small accidents, however, occurred to retard operations from time to
time, but strangely enough the last of the series, in which the young
engineer nearly lost his life, had the effect of accelerating matters by
informally opening the lock. This was brought about by the sudden failure of
the cofferdam when the lock was all but finished. The timbering had shown
some signs of giving way, and while standing one morning on the bottom of
the lock inside the cofferdam directing a gang of navvies how to shore up
the timbering, it suddenly cracked, and the dam gave way from end to end,
filling the lock, and nearly drowning all who were in it.
Upon the
completion of the docks at Goole in the following year, he obtained a
similar situation on the Aire and Calder Canal Works, between Wakefield and
Methley, and a few months later the North Midland Railway enlisted his
services to assist In the construction of their line of railway between
Wakefield and Leeds. While engaged by this Company he took a house at
Normanton, and in the same year, 1838, married Ann, the eldest daughter of
John Neill, Esq., of Wakefield and Leeds, who lived to prove herself one of
the most devoted of wives and one of the best of mothers through a period of
fifty-eight years.
The
residence at Normanton was an old manor house, on the walls of which hung
portraits of numerous former tenants. Several quaint old houses of a similar
description were to be found at the village of Alltofts, one of which had
formerly been the home of Admiral Frobisher. The admiral's portrait and
sword were still to be seen, but the sons of the widow, a Mrs. Denison, who
lived in the house, had defaced the former, and converted the blade of the
latter into a weapon bearing some resemblance to a cross bow. After some
eighteen months service in the employ of the North Midland Railway Company,
he applied for the post of Resident Engineer to the Aberdeen Harbour
Trustees, and having the good fortune to be the successful candidate,
returned in 1840 to his native city, where shortly afterwards he undertook
the first of his more important works as a dock engineer.
NORMANTON CHURCH. |
