A VISIT TO HELIGOLAND.

BY MRS. FORRESTER, AUTHOR OF "FAIR WOMEN," "MY HERO," &c.

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ELIGOLAND! The name falls with a sort of vague familiarity upon British ears. Two ideas are connected with it by the general public-"It belongs to us, and the Germans want it," or "It is an island somewhere in the middle of the sea that is being gradually undermined by rabbits; there were letters in the Times about it." But after all there is not a rabbit in the island-at least, I never saw or heard of one. Of Germany coveting it I will say a little more by-and-by. Meantime, as very few people really know where Heligoland is, I may mention that it is in the North Sea, about three hours from the mouths of the Elbe and Weser, six hours by steamer from Hamburg, and five from Bremen, or rather Bremenhafen.

I left London on a broiling August day, and my destination was Heligoland, whither I was going on a visit to the Governor. At the last moment I abandoned my intention of travelling overland via Brussels, Cologne, Hanover, and Bremen, for the thought of railway journeys and continental towns in such heat was unbearable, more particularly when the awful word "cholera" was in every one's mouth. So having taken my cabin on the previous night, I found myself this fierce August morning on board a fine steamer bound for Bremenhafen, which is two hours by rail distant from the free city of Bremen. Two of the most delightful days imaginable I spent on board the Sperber. As we steamed down the Thames a gentle breeze sprang up, the sun seemed to lose its heat and fierceness now our backs were turned upon it, and the cool air fanned our faces. We worked our way down to the sea slowly but surely, the river widening, widening, until the banks were but indistinctly visible on either side. "Is this the sea?" I asked the pilot at last, for never a ripple stirred the smooth waters. "Yes, mum, this is sea sure enough, and you'll have it much the same all the way now I reckon." And I blessed that Ancient Mariner for his jolly, hearty assurance (I am not the best sailor in the world), and was sorry when a boat picked him up off Harwich and conveyed him to the shore to find his way back to London and wait until another Lloyd's North German steamer wanted piloting down old Father Thames. On we steamed past

I wrapped wrapper had Then to bed

light-houses and light-ships—a gallant Trinity boat shot past and past again, going from one to another on a tour of inspection. At last the sun went down like a ball of fire, the stars came out, and as our good ship sped onwards she left behind a long track of silver, though there was no moon. This was the Meerleuchten-or, as we call it, phosphoric lights. The air was getting quite cool. myself up in a fur cloak; fur! when on shore a muslin seemed unbearable, and I pitied the dwellers on land. in my tiny crib, where I really slept till morning. Another heavenly day greeted me-blue sky, unruffled sea, delicious air-and at 8 p.m. we anchored in sight of Heligoland, with its beacon glittering brightly in the distance. "Oh!" I thought, "if the Governor only knew I was here and would send off his boat for me!" but I was not discontented at the idea of spending another night at sea. We were at the mouth of the Weser; the captain, a cautious individual, thought it not well to venture up the river in the dark without a pilot, so there we remained until 3 a.m., when, with a noise as though every plank of the good ship were parting asunder, the anchor was drawn in and we steamed up the Weser. At six the ruthless steward disturbed our slumbers-we 66 were in," we were there "--which was not quite the case; but up we scrambled, partook of breakfast (by courtesy), and then really and truly we were in. I must par parenthèse mention that the cuisine on board was inconceivably bad-cheap enough, ten shillings a head for the whole voyage; but if you had given fifty pounds you could have obtained no better fare. That was the only drawback to my otherwise charming voyage. I could get nothing to eat. On shore-oh, irony of Fate!-I had been surrounded with every delicacy, but without appetite to enjoy it. Now I was ravenously hungry, and all offered me was raw sausage, raw herrings, cold potato salad, and Spiegeleier, otherwise fried eggs, which do not suit my digestion. We arrived in Bremenhafen at 7 a.m. The moment the ship stopped we found the heat unbearable; then landing, we took a carriage and drove to another part of the harbour to find the Heligoland boat.

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We were the first passengers on board, and had our choice of seats. Presently the train came in, and the boat was flooded from end to end with the new arrivals, for it was Saturday, and the Bremen folk take their trip to Heligoland from Saturday until Monday as Cockneys go to Margate or Brighton. Besides these were groups of Badegäster or bathing guests, with a good deal of luggage, going for a fortnight or three weeks, to whom Heligoland is a kind of Scarborough on a small scale. The moment we were under way every one sought

distraction by breakfasting. A swift-footed little waiter, with a junior satellite, hurried to and fro, bearing cutlets, biftecks, beer, wine, and coffee with unflagging zeal, until he seemed fain to melt with fervent heat. I thought by the quantity of provisions I saw disposed of every passenger must have breakfasted twice over, but lo! at one o'clock tables were laid the whole length of the deck-the little waiter and his Ganymede rushed about more frantically than ever, and it was evident that a large majority were contemplating the serious business of the day. About this time there was an eager looking out ahead. Then came the announcement-Heligoland was in sight, and everybody became intensely excited and flocked to the spot whence the best view was to be obtained. "Ach Gott! the little island, how clear! how pretty, how lovely!" There could be no doubt about one thing-Heligoland was very dear to the German heart, and I felt myself swelling with a certain pride of possession as being the only "Britisher" on board. I ascended the little staircase to the summit of the paddle-box-the captain lent me his glass. Far away through a thin white mist of heat something red and shining rose out of the sea. Fairy-like it looked in the distance, far away across the green unrippled sea, and as we came nearer and nearer I thought it one of the prettiest pictures I had ever seen in nature's sketch book. This little island! how tiny it looked rising out of the vast expanse of water to think that within an hour I should be landed and living everyday life on this rock, surrounded on all sides by the great waste of waters. There was a certain awe in the first thought of being cut off from the rest of the world-of being hemmed in by the arms of our great fair mother the Sea," so placid and friendly now, .but in a few hours perhaps to be lashed into wild, fierce storm.

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Nearer we come to the red rocks flooded with sunshine, and now little white specks are visible, and then the green, grass-covered summit. Gradually the island grows larger-we distinguish the lighthouse, the church, the houses, the boats, even the expectant crowd on the shore. A gun booms through the air, presently another, and at the third salute we come to anchor, and everything is distinctly visible. After all now we are there it does not look at all strange. I am reminded a little of Scarborough by the red-tiled houses of the lower town, and the row of white houses above on the cliff, similarly situated to the Crown Hotel and Crescent. There is no pier, so boats put off to land the passengers, and there is a good deal of crowding to get off first, for this is the height of the Heligoland season, and it is a matter of importance to be first to secure good apartments. Thank heaven! these cares do not assail me. I am taken on board

the Governor's boat, landed, and escorted to Government House, where I am not expected quite so soon, as the letter and telegram stating my change of plans only arrive by the same boat as myself.

It is 2.30 on a day only fit for a salamander; but hot or cold, alive or dead, one must mount the two hundred steps that lead to the Oberland with one's own legs, for no quadrupeds but cows, sheep, dogs, and cats are known on the island; many an islander has never set eyes on a horse, and unless indeed you had one that had been in the habit of walking up stairs from a circus, I do not know what use it could be put to, for the Oberland is the cliff that rises sheer above the little town built on the sea-shore, and is reached by four flights of fifty steps each. Wooden are they and easy, and partly shaded by trees; at intervals you take the opportunity of benches to "rest and be thankful." Nolens volens, your motto must be Excelsior, for having planted your foot on the two hundredth step, there is still a gentle rise in the ground all the way to Government House. Once there, you are amply repaid for your exertions; the fresh breeze, pure, unbreathed before, meets you, and you look down over the little town below on the blue waters and picturesque Sandy Island a mile out in the sea. Heaven be praised that the broiling sun has driven every one indoors save a few Heligoland boatmen, for it is the usual custom of the visitors, numbering some hundreds, to take up their station on either side of the ropes drawn to keep them from pressing too closely on the new arrivals, and stare, with a relentless curiosity, too often bursting into shouts of derisive laughter at the appearance of some woe-begone face that bears evident traces of the "sad sea waves." I should here comment with much severity on "ye manners and customs" of foreigners had I not a vague remembrance that such scenes have been witnessed on our own shores ere now. Happily to-day we have had a fair passage, and there are but few curious eyes to take stock of us; so I follow the gallant tar who is my cicerone unabashed up the principal street towards the steps. A large restauration on either side commences Regent Street (as we used laughingly to call it) from the sea-side; then a few little shops, principally devoted to views of Heligoland on paper, wood, china, glass, &c., and collections of shells; then the Conversazions House, a large building, similar to the Etablissement at Boulogne, (where until this year gambling tables seduced the Badegäster. Now more innocent recreations have superseded roulette and rouge-et-noir; the visitors go there to read the news, to dine, to flirt, to dance, to hear concerts; for life in Heligoland is very much the same as at any other watering place: to bathe, to far niente, to make love is the order of things, the

latter conducted with great warmth and ardour. The technical term for it in German is "freien," and as one of the coastguard's wives informed my maid, "there was nothing but fryin' going on all over the place."

But before proceeding any further, I will pause for a moment to say a few words about the Heligoland of old times, for the antiquity of the island is not its smallest boast. Adam of Bremen in the eleventh century wrote an account of it, describing it very much as it is now, with the exception of the Bädegaster; he surmises its name to have been originally Heiligland, for it was held in great estimation by all sailors, and more particularly by pirates, who had a superstition against robbing it, believing that the smallest booty stolen from the island would infallibly entail shipwreck or death upon them. Writings from the seventh century have also been found relating to Heligoland, and some keen historians have endeavoured to prove that it was mentioned by Pliny. Many are the legends connected with it; in one we find that St. Ursula landed here with her 11,000 virgins, but met with such godless treatment at the hands of the Heligolanders that to punish them Heaven caused the greater part of the island to be swallowed up by the sea. Certainly it must have diminished considerably since it was big enough to accommodate 11,000 visitors, for now, at the height of the season, only 1,000 guests can be received in addition to the population of 2,000. Many are the legendary tales of the origin of Heligoland as a name; the most romantic and interesting, perhaps the most probable, is the following.

In the sixteenth century King Helgo landed on the Saxon coast in the dominions of the haughty and war-loving Princess Olufa, and demanded her hand in marriage. This flattering proposal was couched in such terms as made it evident the suitor had no idea of being refused, and, a little intimidated by threats of the consequences of a rejection, the proud Princess consented. But on the happy day that was to unite her to King Helgo, she caused him to be drugged, had his head shaven, tarred and feathered him, and in this plight had him conveyed on board his own ship. It may be imagined that his sensations on waking were none of the pleasantest, but as he was thundering for revenge the Princess appeared on the shore with such a host that he had no choice but to defer his vengeance until a more favourable opportunity. Burning with fury, he put off to sea, but not long afterwards appeared again on the coast. This time he had recourse to stratagem. In the forest, not far from Olufa's Castle, he hid some treasure, and bribed one of her servants to confide to her its hiding place as a great secret. The bait took-haughty Olufa went