GRACE DARLING

Evening Star, Issue 22990, 22 June 1938, Page 2

GRACE DARLING

HEROHtE OF THE SEA Have clothes an influence, on character? asks Margaret Newell in a Scottish paper. Do girls, for instance, feel more courageous when clad jn male attire? In these days, , when , shorts and trousers are becoming So general as not to excite comment, it is amusing to think of a girl who .performed a marvellous feat of courage which required great physical effort—dressed in a gingham gown;, her curls covered by, a straw bonnet. Yes—-curls, forsooth—and long ones, which needed the hid of papers or other assistance every night.The name of the girl was Grace Horsley Darling. She lived pn the Longstone lighthouse with her parents, and 99 years ago, on September 7, 1938, she set out with her father, William Darling, to rescue nine people who were clinging to the wrecked steamer Forfarshire, which was stranded on the rocks. , She did it—curls and gingham gown and all—a little plaid shawl around her shoulders, which shows that even then —nearly a hundred years ago—girls were daring and brave, iti spite of their feminine appearance. The story is. old, but will bear repeating, as tales of heroism always will, SOMEONE MUST GO. . It was on September 5, 1838, that the: ■ steamer Forfarshire, 300 tons burthen,' sailed from Hull to Dundee with 60 persons on board. A leak developed in her boilers, her engines became : useless, and she refused to answer to her helm. She struck the Haueker Rocks on Friday morning, September 7. A number of the passengers escaped in the boats, but nine were left on • the. stranded wreck. ,' ’ Grace Darling, the daughter -of .the lighthousekeeper on the Long Stone, saw the wreck from her bedroom window as she was - going to bed. It was 4 o’clock in. the morning, and she had, had a strenuous night, helping her father to lash their' coble-more firmly! to its. supports, a,n4 bring in some-of their: household, goods; bn account., of the exceptionally, high tide and -rough sea. Tired and wet, she still felt that someone must go to the help of tho - unfortunate (people. .She roused her father, and, as her, brother, was on the mainland, she was the only person left to help him to launch the coble and go to their rescue. This she did. They had to pull a mile in ;a raging sea .against a strong south-east wind bn account of thb position of. the vessel—no mean feat, since their boat'.’was meant for four rowers, and not" two. The old lady who told the tale to me again, with pride, is the widow of, I think, the last of the direct descendants of Grace Darling. He was William Darling, her nephew. He died some 15 years ago. He had been a lighthouse keeper all his, life, as were all the Darlings.

“ THE RELICS." The portrait of Groce Darling looks down at me from the wall of the sitting room as the, old lady Sets' out “the relics" on the centre table for me to see. In this portrait she is wearing the bonnet which was presented to her by “ The Journeymen Hatters.. of . Berwick,’ 1 when presents were rained upon her after her famous deed. It is of beaver, aud black. Her eyes look-out from its shadows, dark, and serious. It is hardly a feminine face—the jaw; is very strong. . Looking from the array silver things set on the table and. glittering in the sun, one- seems to understand just what manner of girl she was—quiet and determined, though slight arid rather small—five feet and a few; inches—and then only 22 years of age. There are six silver teaspoons with! the initials “ G.H.D.,” a silver .tankard, presented to her father, a silver cream jug inscribed “To the mother of Grace Darling.”. One can imagine with what pride that mother handled it—nearly a hundred years ago. A tiny frame contains a curl, of Grace’s hair —bright - brown _ hair, and quite unfaded, and a small piece of material, a sort of gingham, bluish-green; in colour, with a narrow yellow line.This is a cutting from the dress which Grace wore that memorable day.. It looks frail stuff for a gown in, which! to brave the sea, but it.was the dress she usually wore, and she had no time to change it before setting out on her thrilling rescue. It was made with the full skirt of the time, when women wore voluminous petticoats.. It had ai tight bodice, double sleeves, and a little shoulder caps. _ The small room is full of trophies of the Fames—.pictures of the lighthouse*, cases of stuffed birds, gulls and eider ducks. The father of Grace was a skilled taxidex-mist. On. the top of one case of birds is an old violin. This also belonged to him, and he used td play it to his children to , amuse then! in the lonely lighthouse. An old brown 1 violin, it has been passed on and on* and is in a wonderful state of pro* serration. UNSPOILT BY ADULATION. There is a gold medal lying beside the silver spoons; the inscription reads; “ From a few gentlemen of Arbroath.” It shows how the fame of Grace Darling spread. Surely if she had not been gifted with , a large amount of commonsense she would bay® been spoiled by the adulation she received. . But no—she remained til. the lighthouse, doing her usual duties, till illness attacked her. She died on October 20, 1842, when only 26 years old.Her grave is in the churchyard of St. Aidan. at Hamburgh. Her monument fares the North .Sea which she loved so well.