fellow. I was hurt a good deal, and could
feel the blood trickling down my neck,
inside my cravat; but I never found the man
that I was afraid to grapple, and I did not
care for losing a little blood. I knew I
should master him: but I took time in order
to tire him out first. When I felt him
getting weaker, I grasped both his wrists,
and pressed my chin into his chest, till I
brought him down upon his back. He swore
at me awfully, like a great bully as he was:
I knew him by his voice.

"' You don't escape me this time, Jem
Bater,' said I.

"I kept my knees firm upon him, and when
I felt him beginning to struggle, I pressed
heavily, and grasped his throat, till he hallooed
for mercy. We had kicked over my lantern
in the struggle, and it was hardly within
reach; but I leaned forward, and snatched
it up, before he could throw me. He strove
hard to prevent my lighting my port-fire;
but I managed it, at last; and up went
its bright balls of fire into the air, making
everything look blue around us, and as
distinct as by day, for a moment. It was
a full quarter-of-an-hour before the men
who had seen my signal arrived there;
and all that time I was kneeling still in
the dark on that scoundrel, and struggling
with him every now and then. I heard the
man approaching, and I hallooed to him; and
soon after another man came up, from the
other side. Jem Bater never spoke a word
after that. We handcuffed him, and took
him to the nearest station. I felt very weak,
and the next day I had a fever, and was laid
up for six weeks."

"And the man?" said I.

"Oh, he was tried at Bury, and sent on a
trip to Botany Bay for seven years. That's
my story, as concerns this mark upon my
head. Now I hope you won't go to laugh at
my smuggling stories again."

We had some bad weather soon after that,
which put a stop to all open-air amusements.
My uncle had no books that I cared to read;
but there were a few at the watchhouse for
the use of the men, which were more to my
liking. Old Martin began to pitch what he
called his summer-house, which was the
remains of an old boat, set upright, and half
buried in the ground. Beside this, he always
planted in the spring some scarlet beans,which
ran up and covered it, and gradually extending
over two projecting poles in front, formed a
kind of arbour to which the rotten old boat
served for a back. Here he would sit, and
smoke, and contemplate his cabbages and
onions, when he had time. I offered to put
on a pair of tarpauling overhauls and help
him with his work, one day; but, although
covering everything with pitch or tar was his
mania, he did not care for any help. Nothing
seemed to my landlubberly understanding
more easy than to keep smearing and daubing
a piece of wood; but the old man persisted
that " there was a knack in it;" and that I
"couldn't do it as it ought to be done." We
had strong gales blowing on shore, about
this time; and some vessels got aground.
Our people saved the whole crew of a Dutch
"billy boy " one night, by means of Captain
Manby's line and rocket: and another time
Martin and some others (I don't choose to
mention names) went off in the life-boat, and
rescued several of the crew of a coal-brig,
that went to pieces in the bay; but several
were drowned and their bodies washed ashore
on various points of the beach.

One day I told old Martin that I had read
through all the books at the watchhouse; and
desired him, after the fashion of my Lord Tom
Noddy (who wasn't known then), to tell me
true, what an indolent man could find to
do. Martin, with the oracular brevity of an
"answer to correspondents," replied
immediately, " Send and ask the Inspecting
Commander to lend you a book." This was the
very thing. Captain Bland had always been
very friendly with me; and now I recollected
his offering once to lend me Gardner's History
of Dunwich, which I did not send for at the
time, being entirely devoted to out-door
sports at that period; and so I had forgotten
all about it.

"But how am I to get a book sent here
from a place seven miles away? " said I.

"How? Easy enough. You send a
letter to him by the first man whose beat
lies that way. He'll meet the next man, and
give it to him; and so on: and the book 'll
come back the same way."

"So I will, Martin," said I. " If ever I am.
in a dilemma, and don't come to ask your
advice, may I never get out of it!"

"You do many a more foolish thing than
that, Mister John," said the old man, slyly.

Old Martin's plan was, as he said, " Easy
enough." Each boatman had a beat of about
a mile-and-a-half (I think) along the shore—
generally on the sands, but sometimes where
the beach was bad walking, or when the
water was high—upon the cliff, just above.
The men whose beats joined were bound by
the regulations to meet each other at certain
hours during the night—the first who arrived
at the boundary mark having to wait for the
other. By this means, therefore, it was
possible to send a parcel round the whole
kingdom, if necessary. I wrote a note to
Captain Bland that night, reminding him of
his promise, and begging him to forward the
book by the means I have mentioned. Captain
Bland complied at once with my request;
offering me at the same time the loan of any
books in his library; an offer of which I at
once began to avail myself. Thus a regular
book post was established between our house
and the principal station for that part.

One wintry afternoon, meeting old Martin
about an hour before dark going to his duty—
which was, this time, at a spot about half way
between us and the inspecting commander's