book uncle had brought with him from London.
I know I must have read a long time, for I got
tired of reading and laughing, and wished uncle
would come back. Then I walked about and
strained my eyes to catch sight of him, but to
no purpose, and if I hadn't been sure he could
swim to America if he wished, I should have
been frightened for him. At last I saw a speck
upon the water at a great distance, and I knew
it must be uncle's head; and it came nearer and
nearer, until finally there were two specks—a
big one and a little one. Then I ran to the
highest ground I could find, and watched him,
as the French say, "with all my eyes,'' and I
got excited and wondered who was swimming
with him, and whether his head was the big
speck or the little one. Both of them came
nearer and nearer, and I undressed myself again
and plunged in to go and meet them. I was so
excited that I think I could have swum ten
miles, and in a short time I neared the blue
water, and discovered that the little speck was
uncle's head, and the big one I had seen first
a great cask covered all over with barnacles.
Uncle was angry at my venturing out so far,
but I told him I thought he was bringing somebody
to land with him, and that he must forgive
me as I did not feel at all tired. I asked him
what the great thing was he wias pushing in
front of him, and he said it appeared to be a
hogshead of French brandy. I helped him as
well as I could to propel it through the surf,
and after some considerable trouble we rolled
it safely upon the beach.

Wasn't this a funny kind of fish to be swimming
in the sea? But we do pick up funny
things all along the Cornish coast. I have
heard of bottles of wine by the dozen, floating
ashore, and silks and satins, and shawls and
laces, and gold watches and jewellery, and
tobacco and clocks. When I asked uncle how it
was such things came there, he told me it was
all due to the tariff and customs. I am sure I
was obliged to them for their kindness to
Cornwall.

We did not leave our hogshead. Oh no!
We pushed far up the sands, out of reach of the
sea, and dressed ourselves, and uncle said he
would go and fetch a cart from the town. Four
or five persons ran down to the beach, and there
was great excitement about uncle's capture,
until who should arrive but the exciseman. I
never could like that man. He was a fussy
little fellow, with a large head, and talked so
much about one thing called the revenue, that
everybody in the neighbourhood hated him. He
came running to us, saying "Hi, hi! what have
we got here?" as though it was any of his business.
Uncle told him that he had found the hogshead
floating in the sea, about three or four
miles from shore, and that he was going to cart
it to his house, when the exciseman stated that
he had equal claims upon it, and that uncle
must resign it to his care and keeping. Then he
sent off for a cart, and we all accompanied the
hogshead into town, uncle and the exciseman
chatting amicably by the way. The news spread
like wildfire, and very shortly there appeared a
third claimant, in the person of Lawyer Tregarthen,
the steward of the lord of the manor. I
was very glad when we got the hogshead safely
under cover in the exciseman's store, for I was
afraid there would shortly be so many claimants
that uncle, who had done all the work, would
get little or nothing for his pains. The exciseman
tapped the cask and handed a glass of the
contents to uncle and Lawyer Tregarthen, both
of whom said it was very fine claret. It was
then agreed that the hogshead should remain
under lock and key until the following morning,
when they would all three repair to the magistrates
and request their opinion as to the ownership
of the prize.

There was a good deal of excitement in the
town when we went before the magistrates next
day. Everybody said the hogshead belonged to
uncle, because he alone had captured it; but
there were other reasons for the townspeople
being in his favour. They all liked him and
disliked the other claimants. Lawyer Tregarthen
was particularly obnoxious to many of them;
on "court" days, when the tenantry came to
pay their rents, he never admitted any excuse,
merely offering them one alternative—"Payment
or penalty: receipts, gentlemen, for your
money, or writs for the want of it." Need I
say Lawyer Tregarthen was not popular? As
for the exciseman, the poorer townspeople
positively hated him, for many of them had received
his attentions in the shape of fines and
imprisonments, merely for picking up a few articles of
foreign manufacture on the coast. Uncle Sam
was their idol, their tribune. His advice was
asked and followed in every emergency, and his
giant arm and well-filled purse were ever ready
to succour the unfortunate. I don't think he
had an enemy; if he had, the individual didn't
like to show himself, out of fear of the townsfolk.

The three claimants walked together to the
court-house, followed by a crowd of persons, all
anxious to see how the case would be decided.
Uncle, who was accommodated with a chair near
the magistrates, stated how the hogshead came
into his possession, adding, that he should have
removed it to his house, had not two other claimants
appeared whose rights seemed apparently
coequal with his own. They all three had agreed
to submit their claims in an amicable manner to
their worships, and he therefore, on behalf of
himself and friends, requested their advice in
this strange case of disputed ownership.

I noticed Lawyer Tregarthen nodded to uncle
when he had finished his speech, but the exciseman
thought he could still further ventilate the
affair, and having cleared his throat with an
explosion which startled several persons, me among
the rest, he began as follows: "Yer wushups,
there's a good deal of the genteel in what the
squire has told yer, but I appears here for
the revenue——" when the senior magistrate
stopped him, observing, "Their worships are
perfectly advised of all the facts bearing upon
the point at issue." There was a general laugh