ENGLISH AQUATICS ON THE CONTINENT. {From the Times, October 8.)

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XVI, Issue 1207, 21 January 1859, Page 1 (Supplement)

ENGLISH AQUATICS ON THE CONTINENT. {From the Times, October 8.)

We have been requested to publish the following account of an aquatic excursion through France and Belgium :— "Six English gentlemen have just completed a boating tour from Paris to Antwerp through the interior naTigations of France and Belgium.

•'Their boat, alight four-oared gig (built by King, of Oxford), named the Firefly, had been previously sent to Asnieres, on the Seine. They started thence, rowing through Paris up the Seine to the junction with the Marne near Charenton ; here they commenced ascending the Marne, and soon encountered the first of the numerous vreirs built for purposes of navigation across the river. The gate of this happened to be open, and they attempted to pull through, but were borne back by the rush of water, native spectators derisively shouting. They prepared for a second attempt. 'Get ready, said the coxswain, 'Go !' Twenty strokes brought them to the fall, and after three minutes* struggle in the turmoil the Firefly was steadily proceeding on her upward way. "The first town of consequence on the Marne is Meaux. Ascending thence the country becomes more interesting, and the river winds among the vineyard covered hills of the departments of Seine, Marne, and Aisne. Next comes Chateau Thierry, then Epernay, the intervals being thickly studded with pretty villages. At Epernay the Firefly was forsaken for a day for a visit to Reims. On starting the crew took the Canal Parallele du Marne to Chalons. # "There the boat being housed the crew wound their way up the town to the hotel, puzzling, as usual, the staring inhabitants. On shore they were generally taken for shipwrecked mariners of some kind ; and i afloat, sometimes for engineers surveying the rivers with a view to establish an English steamboat company; or oftener for two 'Milors,' rowed by four unhappy domestiques, rejoicing in the position ot galley slaves. "On approacking the larger towns they generally rowed a 'spurt' up to the bridge or principal quay, one of the party playing on his cornet the national anthem, or 'Rule Britannia' ; yet sometimes good taste overcame patriotism, and, while they astonished the native eyes by the shape and speed of their boat, they propitiated the native ears with the notes of 'Partant pour la Syrie.' "From Chalons they proceeded to Bar-le-Duc, and thence by the Canal du Marne au Rhin, passing upwards of 100 locks and a tunnel two miles and a-half long, to Void, near which the Meuse passes under the canal. A native gentleman whom they met here told them that the river was too small, and that shallows and weeds would prevent their progress. They thanked him for this cheerful information, saying they should nevertheless make the attempt, and requested the pleasure of his company for a lew miles to see how they got on. At 6 next morning he met them at the boat, and placing the lightest ot the crew in front of the bow seat gare the place of honour to the Frenchman. They pulled 'all they knew' for five miles along the canal, and on reaching the aqueduct carried the boat down to what Murray speaks of as the infant Meuse; for 150 yards there was good water, then a shallow over which the water just trickled. 'I told you so, said he. 'Wait,' said they, as jumping overboard they halt dragged halflifted the boat, impromptu aquatic and all, into the deep water beyond. Next came a dense forest of tall rushes like an American prairie ; all turned out again and wandered among the reeds, till one of the crew found four inches of water, so making for that spot they hauled the Firefly and the Frenchman through, emerging on a goodly reach of two miles ; next came a stone weir all but dry, with a repetition of obstacles beyond. They all disembarked, carried the boat down ready to start "again, and retreated to lunch, and here the Frenchman was their equal. As they descended the stream the various impediments occasioned endless amusement; the rapids, winding and studded with snags, were however more exciting than pleasant ; frequently mills arrested their progress, but at each receiving courteous assistance from the 'Miller and his men' the difficulty of carrying round was little felt. They visited Commercy, went on to St. Mithiel, the scenery improving, and the water becoming more plentiful as each village was passed. "On arriving at the strongly fortified town of Verdun they found that the canal joining the river above with the river below the town was closed, so following the stream till it disappeared under the barred low archway of the fortifications they were obliged to row back to a cottage, where they left the boat and obtained a guide through the winding earthworks to the city gate. A native very kindly lent them a waggon in the morning to convey the Firefly round the town* In a rapid between Verdun and Dun the bow caught a snag. In a moment she swings broadside to the rush— if there is not 36 feet of water clear of the snags utter grief must be her inevitable and immediate doom ; the crew, helplessly spinning, await the result. She clears safely through, and stern foremost they are hurried to the calmer water below. "As the river approaches the forest of the Ardennes the scenery becomes extraordinarily beautiful, and the distance between Dun and Namur is a succession of magnifieent views, varying as each fresh bend of the river opens out, and resembles the most beautiful parts of the Rhine. "The party then halted at Montherme, in the centre of the forest, for one night. The next stages included the highly curious fortified towns of Sedan and Mezieres, and pretty Givet, the French frontier fortress. At some shallow spots the water is concentrated into a narrow channel by long artificial embankments, through which the stream rapidly rushes. In passing one of these under repair the coxswain suddenly saw a huge heavy plank left as a foot bridge across the river. 'Stop her hard all !' cried he ; but the stream was too quick and shallow, the crew could not hold her ; 10 seconds and she must dash bow on to the beam ; but No 3 has jumped overboard, and with an activity well known in the Kent 'eleven' has rushed on and lifts the plank one second before the Firefly shoots under. He has saved the boat. "They shortly after crossed the frontier into Belgium. The Belgian Ministor in London had most courteously given them a letter to the Custom-house authorities, and instructions had also been forwarded from headquarters to allow ' them to pass at once, without any examination of luggage or duty for the boat ; the douanier only therefore politoly wished them a pleasant voyage. They arrived at the picturesque Belgian town of Dinant, then at Namur. The scenery of this part is well known to travellers, and though vastly inferior to that above is very well worth visiting. Huy was their next halting-place, then Liege, and finally, passing the Dutch frontier, with equal ease, through the kind intervention of the Dutch Minister, who had forwarded like orders in their favour, they arrived at Maestricht, in Holland. "Starting next along the canal for Antwerp they airived at Bree, engaged here a man with a horse to start at 3 next morning and tow them till breakfast time. Now, towing required great care, for the horse when flogged started off with a rush, and one of the crew had to let out line, or a broken towing poll, or a capsize must have resulted ; it w»s like the run of a fine sal-

raon. They breakfasted at a village, rowed hard and fast all the hot day, reaching Herinthals at 8 o'clock ; here they dined, and then had to decide whether to push on at once for Antwerp and gain a day, or sleep where they were. It was put to the vote, the comet offered an additional attraction to the novelty of nocturnal boating, and they determined to proceed. "They secured a post horse and postillion, and started at 10 o'clock. The various lock keepers were aroused from diverse intensity of slumber. At 2 o'clock in the morning it began to rain hard, the first interruption to the glorious weather they had hitherty enjoyed, and at 7, wet and weary with 26 hours' uninterrupted boating, they arrived at Antwerp. The boat was at once carted through the town to the steamer for London, and thus this delightful four weeks* tour was concluded. Though it might be wanting, perhaps, in the excitement of a voyage across the Atlantic in a cockle shell, yet it was interesting and amusing in the highest degree throughout, most healthful and invigorating, not too trying to the purse, and confidently to be recommended to others as a first-rate mode of spending a vacation. "At breakfast at the hotel the crew, not without inward individual tendencies to the 'blues,' dissolved itself, for the voyage of the Firefly had become a passed dream."