Another act of bravery, which will ever be green in the memories of Exonians, was the gallant rescue some years since of two children in the Exeter canal, by an unassuming young fellow named Stone—then a student at the Exeter Training College. In thie case the children had been left in a baker's trap on the banks of the canal, into which the horse backed and sank with the trap and children. Stone was walking along the bank, dived into the water, took each child from the trap in succession, and brought both safely to the surface. For this he was publicly presented with a medal from the Exeter Swimming Club, and we believe a vellum from the Humane Society.
It should be a matter for congratulation by Englishmen that the records of our own Royal Humane Society teem with instances of gallant deeds accomplished in the midst of extraordinary difficulties. We are utterly unable to deal with this subject fully, for volume after volume could be filled with the exploits of those who have gained the proud honour of being entitled to wear the coveted medal. But from the list we extract a few which we think will specially appeal to swimmers. The name of Captain Webb is a household one, more on account of his great Channel swim, and his sad death in the Niagara Rapids, than his gallant attempt to rescue a drowning man who had fallen overboard in mid-Atlantic. Mr. Robert Watson, who contributed A Reminiscence of Captain Webb ' to the Swimming Notes and Record' of 1884, says of this feat : Remembering vividly his fate, and knowing how happily he lived throughout his tempestuous roving career on the broad At lantic, and in many lands, I have scores of times thought whether it would not have been even better for poor Webb if the mighty waves had engulfed him when he plunged from the Russia' in his courageous attempt to effect what, despite his Channel swim, was the noblest work of his whole life.
At the centenary dinner of the Royal Humane Society in 1874, at which H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh presided, the first Stanhope Medal was awarded, the recipient being Captain' Matthew Webb. His Royal Highness, in making the presentation, said : I have great pleasure in announcing to you that the recipient is here present, standing next to me (cheers). This fine fellow will be the first recipient of this medal, which is to commemorate an officer who was himself a very gallant medal holder of this Society, and I cannot do better than read to you the particulars of the act of bravery for which he not only receives the first Stanhope golf' medal, but also one of the ordinary silver medals of the Society, of which about eight per annum are given to the most meritorious cases On the 22nd of April, 1873, as the steamship " Russia" was proceeding on her voyage from New York to Liverpool, with a stiff breeze blowing and the ship cutting through the water at the rate of fourteen and a half knots an hour, a seaman named Michael Reines, who was up in the rigging in performance of his duty, fell overboard. Immediately on this being perceived, a shipmate,
named Matthew Webb, jumped overboard and swam to the place where the poor fellow had disappeared. He was too late, however, to recover him, seeing nothing but the man's cap, which he brought on board. The steamer was stopped, a boat was lowered and sent to the rescue, and after cruising about for half an hour, returned to the ship with Webb, who was found swimming nearly a mile astern of the ship, not at all exhausted, though suffering somewhat from the cold.' I am sure it will afford you all great gratification, as it certainly does me, to see so gallant a man receive these two distinctions for his brave conduct. (Cheers.) I have the greatest pleasure, Webb (His Royal Highness, as he presented the medals, shook him warmly by the hand), at being the medium of placing them in your possession.
The following cases have been selected from the long list of gallant deeds which have from time to time been registered by the Royal Humane Society.
On September to, 1874, at 9,3o P.M., at Lowestoft, James Dorling fell overboard from the yacht Dart,' while she was making for the inner harbour in a strong half-Rood tideway. The night was very dark, and it was blowing and raining hard. Lieutenant J. de Hoghton, loth Foot, jumped overboard, swam to Dorling, and supported him in the water for about a quarter of an hour in the tideway between narrow high pilework, with out cross beams nr side chains to lay hold of, the head of the pilework being twelve or fifteen feet above the water. The yacht was carried away into the inner harbour, and no other vessel or boat was in the gateway to render assistance. The darkness prevented immediate help from the shore, but eventually both rescuer and rescued were drawn up the pilework by ropes from the shore. The gateway is about 35o yards long, fifteen to twenty yards wide, and nearly fifteen feet deep.