A MONSTER RECORDING POSTER IN FLEET STREET.

Woodville Examiner, Volume XXVIII, Issue 4627, 14 May 1915, Page 2 (Supplement)

A MONSTER RECORDING POSTER IN FLEET STREET.

ish territory. The Prussian fleet was then in its infancy, and in order to protect the mouths of the Elbe and Weser and prevent a blockade an Austrian fleet sailed at full speed from the Mediterranean and established itself at Cuxhaven. A day or two after its arrival the Danes appeared upon the scene, and the opposing squadrons met in the near neighbourhood of Heligoland. Admiral Suenson had only three ships with him—• ■ tlie “Xiels duel,” 44 guns: the “dyllaud,” 42 guns; and the ‘‘Hiemdal,” 17 guns. The German fleet, which was under the command of Commodore Togothoff, consisted of three Prussian gunboats and two Austrian men-of-war, the “ Schwarthenhurg,” 5(1 guns, and the “ Radctsky,” 3fl guns, the combined tonnage of which was less than 5,000. They were ironclad wooden screw frigates, all of them, for it was a period of transition in naval architecture, owing to the increasing power of the gun, iron men of war being only just now beginning to he built. BRITISH SPECTATORS. The weather was clear and bright, •for it was the month of May, and the sea was calm. Close by, her docks and rigging .swarming with men eager to see the engagernc-Mi, was TI.M.S. “Aurora,” Captain Sir Leopold M’Clintock (five, an interested spectator from the mainyears hack from Polar Seas), who was topmast head. It was a fight well worth watching, as it teas one of the first on record which was fought under steam in which shed was use;!. He had brought ihe “ Aurora” out three miles from Heligoland -so as to mark the limit of neutral waters. The ha I tie was soon over. For an hour the two squadrons steamed round and round in a circle of a diameter oi about one thousand yards, at the end of v.hich time the “ Schwartzenhurg ” emerged from the .smoke on fire, the “Radctsky” also badly damaged, and the gunboats followed and steamed towards the island. The Danes steered across their .stern arid tired again into them, and as site came near the “ Aurora” the fore topmast of the “Schwartzenburg,” winch was burning, broke short off. The " Radctsky” had a shot through her steam pine and many shotholes on her port side. Nothing could have saved them from complete disaster hod there not been sanctuary at hand. It is interesting at this moment to note that, very fortunately for them, Admiral Suenson rigidly upheld the principle of neutral waters, and refrained from following up the success he had gained by pursuing them beyond the throe-mile limit. Had he done so he could easily have sunk them. Then, of coarse, an international question would have arisen. So he desisted and returned to Copenhagen with his victorious ships. It was hard on him, for he had fought a most brilliant action. Indeed, when two years later, Tcgcthoff covered himself with glory at Lissa he is reported to have said that lie had learnt his art at Heligoland from the Danes. From soaring to the height of being a factor in international politics, He’.i goland, on the other band, has descended to the lowest depths of insignificance. During the time it wa.s a Danish possession the island was more than once held in pawn, hypothecated that is, to the merchants of Hamburg in pledge for the assistance they bad rendered the Danisli Government in loans. It is doubtful, however, whether either the one or the other greatly affected the spirits of the Heligolanders, who prob ablv know little about polities, and eared less. A bold, bard, fearless Dice, they were pilots and fishermen by profession, and wreckers from choice and inclination. According to their laws anything cast up on their shores was'regarded as a gift to them from the sea. In the immediate vicinity of the island are reefs, shoals and sandbanks innumerable, while currents run strong. For long the spot was the despair of insurance companies and shipowners, and much favoured by masters who wished to get rid of their vessels. The gentle Heligolanders openly and admittedly plundered every vessel that suffered shipwreck if they could by any possibility gain access to it. There was one official who was publicly appointed to saw through the beams and timbers of a stranded vessel in order that nothing should escape them. In their church on Sunday morning the Lutheran pastor offered up a petition to Almighty God for such winds as would cause the sens to, rise and bring plenty of vessels to their coast; and should news ever be \

brought during Divine service that a ship was on the rocks, devotions were immediately suspended, and the whole congregation would rush to the shore, the worthy pastor himself following his flock armed with a mighty hatchet-like pike, which was always hanging near his pulpit ready for any such occasion. THE CRAVING FOR COPPER. The late Lady Brassey tells a story of a visit she once paid to Heligoland in the “Sunbeam,” which we can appreciate just now. It was, of course, long after the days of wrecking, and when the island was well-equipped with lifeboats and all life-saving appliances. Still, there may be something in heredity after all, and.those on board could not help noticing the critical looks cast on the yacht by the islanders who were allowed to inspect it, and one wag made an opportunity to ask one of the men in a confidential moment what there was on it which was most worth salving. A half regretful gleam came into the bright blue eyes ns the man, almost off his guard, replied “I hardly know, sir; but there’s a deal of copper about, ’ looking longingly at the ventilator and other fittings as he spoke. History, indeed, has a strange knack of repeating itself.