Brixham

“ Down there is Brixham, perched with seeming precariousness along the steeply sloping sides of the hills overlooking the pool that forms its [145] crowded harbour. To those who have never seen the fisher towns of Cornwall it is an amazing place: those who know the Cornish coast realise that this is the first of the true West Country fishing harbours, and it seems to them to have strayed over into Devon by mistake. To speak by the card, the “Brixham” of modern speech is strictly “Brixham Quay,” and Higher Brixham, away up-along, on the high table-land, is the real original Brixham ”

“ But beware of believing what you read in the Brixham papers,—we have no voice to represent us in the press, and so these Brixham organs spread falsehoods about us in every corner of the globe. A pretty pretence, forsooth, that it is the steamers who plough up our crab-pots. Why, from Michaelmas to Christmas, when the trawlers are away, not a single pot is disturbed from its station, though the funnels smoke as usual in the eye of heaven. ”

“ There is a wide beach all the way along the whole sweep of the bay, except near Brixham, where the cliffs again rise, and extend to the southern point called Bury Head. Brixham is one of the largest fishing-villages on the coast. The inhabitants own a number of vessels. At few places is a greater quantity of shells to be picked up of all descriptions, of which we collected a number in a few minutes, when we pulled ashore. Some of the shells were four or five inches long. The occupant has the power of working itself rapidly into the soft sand, to get out of harm’s way. ”

“ Half-way between Dawlish and Teignmouth are two red sandstone pillars, the statelier with its top suggestive of a tumbled wig, the lower standing at a deferential tilt. In these are shut the sinful souls of an East Devon clergyman and his clerk, who longed too eagerly, in the hope of their own preferment, for the death of a Bishop of Exeter.
Further down the coast the health seekers and holiday folk are somewhat less in evidence. The old, cliff-climbing town of Brixham, where William of Orange landed, goes fishing for a livelihood. ”

“ The men in the leaking cutter, after being tossed and buffeted by the sea, drenched to the skin by the waves, and numbed by the bitter wind, were picked up by the Brixham fishing smack Providence about fifteen miles from Berry Head. ”

“ On the southern side of Tor Bay is Brixham, the fishing village selected by William of Orange as a landing-place when in 1688, at the request of the English Parliament, he brought over an army raised in Holland. It was from here, too, that he commenced his victorious march to London with thirteen thousand men—Exeter, Bristol, and other towns throwing open their gates to welcome the Prince of Orange. ”

“ From time immemorial Torbay had been a favourite landing-place both for friends and foes, and it was supposed that the Roman Emperors Vespasian, Titus, and Adrian, when on their way to the camp on Milber Downs, had each landed near the place where Brixham now stands. Brixham was the best landing-place in the Bay, and the nearest to the open sea. It was a fishing-place of some importance when Torquay, its neighbour, was little known, except perhaps as a rendezvous of smugglers and pirates. ”

“ Since I had lived at Brixham, I had broken off all connexion with Ashburton. I had no relation there but my poor brother, [D] who was yet too young for any kind of correspondence: and the conduct of my godfather towards me did not entitle him to any portion of my gratitude, or kind remembrance. I lived, therefore, in a sort of sullen independence on all I had formerly known, and thought without regret, of being abandoned by every one to my fate. ”

“ The intermediate, and most numerous class are “bumble-bees,” and the smallest are merely “hookers,” “hukers,” in the Devon inflection, of twenty-five tons. The cost of a “bumble-bee” is £450. It carries a crew of three men, who work according to the custom of the Brixham fishery, on rarely changing lines. Brixham, unlike the great fishing port of Grimsby, where steam-trawling and highly costly vessels owned by corporations are the rule, conducts its industry on more individual and joint-stock lines. ”

“ When fallen in with, the crew were without water to drink, and their vessel was labouring heavily in the trough of the sea. The Sunshine was taken in tow by the Inter-Nos, £250 being agreed upon for the service, and both vessels arrived at Brixham on the same night. The fishing ketch Gertrude arrived in Brixham on Thursday, having on her deck the boat of the Crusader, of Aberystwith, which she had picked up in the channel with eight hands on her, and landed at Falmouth on Friday. The ketch Annie also arrived, with sails blown away, and her ballast shifted. ”

“ S. of Exeter, on a branch of the Great Western railway. Pop. of urban district (1901) 8092. The town is irregularly built on the cliffs to the south of Torbay, and its harbour is sheltered by a breakwater. Early in the 19th century it was an important military post, with fortified barracks on Berry Head. It is the headquarters of the Devonshire sea-fisheries, having also a large coasting trade. Shipbuilding and the manufacture of ropes, paint and sails are industries. There is excellent bathing, and Brixham is in favour as a seaside resort. ”

“ Dunbar glanced through some papers—apparently reports—which lay upon the table, penciled comments upon two of them, and then, consulting his notebook once more in order to refresh his memory, started off for Forth Street, Brixton.
Forth Street, Brixton, is a depressing thoroughfare. It contains small, cheap flats, and a number of frowsy looking houses which give one the impression of having run to seed. A hostelry of sad aspect occupies a commanding position midway along the street, but inspires the traveler not with cheer, but with lugubrious reflections upon the horrors of inebriety. ”

“ These being exhibited, the woman added: 'Dearest husband, you may now take the oath in safety, and I will afterwards confirm, on the testimony of my conscience, the truth you have sworn by the ordeal of carrying hot iron in my naked hand, in the presence of all who desire to witness it, if you so command.' In short, Bricstan was sworn, he was then bound and carried in custody to London, where he was thrown into a gloomy dungeon. There, heavily ironed with chains of unusual weight, in a most cruel and outrageous manner, he suffered for some time the horrors of cold and hunger. ”

“ DID THEY MEET?"
"Bless my soul!" repeated Brackett. "What will Mesham say to that? He'll—gad, sir, if that doesn't force him to something! Here, I'll get a copy of that to hang up in the bar, Mr. Brixey. Publicity, eh, sir—you believe in it?"
Brixey laughed, and, without replying, strolled slowly down the street after the line of placard-bearers. The town was just then filling with the usual Saturday morning crowd, and within a few minutes every other person was thronging the edges of the sidewalks to read the staring red-and-black. ”

“ EDMUND. You've a good opinion of yourself, I notice, Mr. Metherell.
JACK. Blackton Rovers without me aren't a team at all. They're certain to be beaten.
AUSTIN. You say that as if you don't mind if they are.
JACK. I belong to Birchester now, Mr. Whitworth.
AUSTIN. Come, Metherell, you've belonged to Birchester for half a day. You belonged to Blackton for five years. This match can make no difference to Birchester. They're half way up the list. It's critical for Blackton. You've played all these years for Blackton and you've thought Blackton all your life. ”

“ Brixey himself!" he exclaimed. "Mr. Brixey——"
"What the devil have we to do with any Mr. Brixeys?" demanded Mesham. "We’ve told you what you wanted to know, and there’s an end of it! You go about your business, and leave us to ours!"
Brixey threw away his match and turned on the group.
"Businesses are apt to get a bit intermixed," he remarked. "What stage has this got to?"
The elder detective pointed at Letwige.
"He admits he’s John Letwige, Mr. Semmerby’s clerk from Selchester," he said. "He admits, too, that he’s in possession of Mrs. Byfield’s securities—certain of them, at any rate." ”

“ Brixey started forward. In his observations of the big sheet of water behind the Priory grounds he had noticed the small, thickly-wooded island of which the policeman spoke, and now a sudden light flashed field of mental vision. He clapped the inspector on the shoulder.
"Come on at once!" he exclaimed. "I've an idea what that means. Come! Bring more men. Get this man outside to show us the nearest way."
Ten minutes later at the head of half a dozen men, Brixey was standing on the edge of the black surface of the lake, striving to penetrate the gloom. ”

“ Brisket Bill is a low-sized, compact, thick witted brute in corduroys and heavy hob-nailed shoes, who has been probably "starring" in the provinces, and the Hackney Cove is a tall, well-made, fresh-faced-looking young fellow, who is quite lively on his feet, and seems to rather like the punishment which Brisket gives him every now and then in the chest and face. ”

“ Brixey left the train at Newhaven town station and walked up to the post office. He had to wait some little time before the clerk was found who had taken in the telegram about which he had called, but thereafter he had no difficulty in getting his first piece of information. The telegram had not been handed in over the counter at all, but telephoned from an hotel in the town.
"Man's voice or woman's?" asked Brixey. ”

“ People cross through the wood there to get outside the town into the country. There's a queer old place outside there that these antiquaries go to see—Mardene Mill."
"Ah, I was thinking of strolling that way myself," said Brixey. "Which way does one go? I'll chuck the Roman remains for this morning—see 'em another time, perhaps."
The young woman led him outside and pointed to the postern gate in the trees.
"Straight through," she said. Then, as Brixey showed signs of moving, she gave him a demure glance. "Coming back again sometime?" she asked. ”

“ LEO. You will speak to them for me, uncle? They'll listen to you. At least you come from London, where people are civilized.
EDMUND. Are they? In London I hold a brief for the culture of the provinces.
LEO. You took jolly good care to get away from the provinces, yourself. And you mustn't tell me you think Blackton is cultured.
EDMUND. I heard my first Max Reger sonata in Blackton long before London had found him.
LEO. Music's another matter.
EDMUND. Yes. Your father played it to me.
LEO. Well, there you are again. Music and football are the only things he cares about. ”

“ If Miss Georgina Byfield would give her consent, I'd engage to run up to town to-night and find a man who'd take it in hand and make an application to the court first thing to-morrow morning."
"That, means," said Brixey, slowly and thoughtfully, "that we should have to tell her all about it?"
"She's' an Intelligent young woman," answered Gaffkin, "Above the average, from what I've seen of her. ”

“ Brixey."
"Well, it's a fact!" assented Brixey. "Human nature—we're poor things. Now, can you think of anything more awful than the spectacle of a wife with, say, a hundred thousand pounds, and a husband with five pounds a week? Dreadful!"
"It depends how you look at it," remarked Georgina. "Some men who haven’t five shillings a week would be very thankful to get a wife who possessed a hundred thousand pounds!"
"Not men!" exclaimed Brixey. "Don’t call 'em men! They aren’t men, that sort! Call 'em parasites, leeches—anything but men. ”

“ Brixey, I suppose?" she said. "The Mr. Brixey whose name is on the posters? Yes, but is it—shall we be absolutely private?"
"I can assure you of that, ma'am," answered Brixey, "There's nobody at all in this part of the house; that door's closed; nobody will come, and we can talk in whispers. ”

“ But as Mrs Griffith said,—
'Of course, he's getting old. One can't expect to remain young for ever'—she was a woman who frequently said profound things—'and I've known all along he wasn't the sort of man to make old bones. He's never had the go in him that I have. Why, I'd make two of him.'
The Griffiths were not so well-to-do as before. As Blackstable became a more important health resort, a regular undertaker opened a shop there ”

“ Brixworth is an old, old place, truly “old arnshunt,” as the rustics say; but the latter-day discovery that it is profitable to work the ironstone beds situated here is just beginning to hustle the grey Roman and Saxon antiquity of it, with a fringe of red-brick cottages. Red brick in a country where building stone is of the plentifullest! ”

“ The government of the city is in the hands of a lord mayor, 22 aldermen and 66 councillors. The area in 1901 was 11,705 acres; but in 1904 it was increased to 17,004 acres.
History.—Bristol (Brigstow, Bristou, Bristow, Bristole) is one of the best examples of a town that has owed its greatness entirely to trade. It was never a shire town or the site of a great religious house, and it owed little to its position as the head of a feudal lordship, or as a military post. Though it is near both British and Roman camps, there is no evidence of a British or Roman settlement. ”

“ He was a servant to King James I. and Charles I. When Merchiston first published his Logarithms, Mr Briggs, then reader of the astronomy lectures at Gresham College in London, was so surprised with admiration of them, that he could have no quietness in himself until he had seen that noble person whose only invention they were. He acquaints John Marr therewith, who went in [to] Scotland before Mr Briggs, purposely to be there when these two so learned persons should meet. Mr Briggs appoints a certain day when to meet at Edinburgh; but failing thereof, Merchiston was fearful he would not come. ”