e might make his next plunge through
the combing crest; and he managed to make his rope fast and save the
people. Southward of Shields a ship got into a still more awkward place
than the one last mentioned. She was carried in by a terrific sea, and
jammed on the stones at the foot of a cliff. The captain's wife and
child were lashed to the mast, and the captain himself was made fast
somewhere; all the other poor souls were washed overboard. No boat could
live in the breakers; no rocket was handy. But a sailor called Matthews
got some friends to lower him down the face of the scarp. The wind
knocked him against jutting points; the rope twirled and spun him about;
but he got foothold on the deck and managed to hang on. By working
cautiously he dodged up to the mast and fastened the little child in a
comfortable bight of the rope; then he sent the woman aloft; then he
sent the captain, and was hauled up safely himself. Matthews had no
reward for this piece of work, and is now a poor pitman.

There is no end to the bravery of these amateur life-savers. Only a very
little while ago a ship came on shore. The sea was like a huge pouring
cataract, and the wind pressed like a solid body. The dandy new
lifeboats were beaten back; the men on board tugged and strained till
they were exhausted. The oars were double-manned, but nothing would
avail; and all the time the cry of the men on the wrecked vessel sounded
through the storming of the gale. At last one man said, "Let's have the
old 'Tyne.'" The "Tyne" is a superannuated lifeboat which is kept under
lock and key. The key was refused, and the men who demanded it were
implored not to tempt Providence. Thereupon they coolly formed
themselves into a phalanx, rushed against the door, burst it in, hauled
the old "Tyne" down, and saved eight lives.

KEELMEN.

The keel is a strange kind of barge which is only seen on three of our
northern rivers. She is sharp at both ends, and her lines are extremely
fine. When loaded her deck is flush with the water; yet, under sail, her
speed is very great, and she is as handy as a skiff. These boats are
principally used for carrying coals to and from vessels that lie out in
the river; but they are often employed in conveying various sorts of
goods from town to town. In the old times, when the Tyne was very
shallow, the colliers were loaded from keels, and the river then swarmed
with the low black craft. The keelmen formed a little commonwea