to forty
men, on this south coast alone. If it wasn't for these idle rascals of
smugglers, these men might be manning England's fleets, or navigating
her merchantmen to bring back to her shores the wealth which makes her
great and powerful. People talk of the Government paying for all this.
Silly dolts that they are! It is not the Government pays; it is they
who pay out of their own pockets; and when they encourage smugglers,
which they too often do, they are just increasing the amount of their
own taxes; and if they don't feel the increase much themselves, they are
cheating their neighbours, though they have the impudence to call
themselves honest men. I have no patience with those who encourage
smugglers, and would transport every smuggler who is caught to Botany
Bay, and still think the fate too good for him."

Having thus delivered himself, our worthy nautical instructor strode out
to meet our fresh tute.

We took the news to Clump and Juno, who received it in mingled terror
and amazement; and then we ran to find Drake and Alf, and pour it out to
them.

Well, we had frequently heard about the doings of smugglers, but to have
them burrowing on our cape, and be in a plot for their overthrow, were
better than volumes of "Flying Dutchmen," "Pirates of the Gulf,"
"Gulliver's Travels," "Roderick Randoms," or even possibly of "Robinson
Crusoes," and all other such made-up stories. Here they were fresh; we
had watched their boat the night before; we had just come from their
cave; and there was plenty ahead to imagine.

"Hurrah for our cape!" said Harry; "was there ever a jollier place for
fun?"

Those days were palmy times for smugglers. High duties, in order to
raise a revenue for carrying on the wars in which England had been
engaged, had been placed on nearly all foreign articles. Wines,
spirits, tobacco, silks, laces, ribbons, and indeed a vast number of
other manufactures, were taxed more than cent per cent on their value,
and some, if I recollect rightly, two or three hundred per cent. In
fact, the high duties acted as an encouragement to smugglers, foreigners
as well as Englishmen, and the whole coast swarmed with their luggers
and other craft. Sometimes large armed cutters were employed, and their
bold crews did not hesitate to defend themselves if attacked by revenue
vessels, and sometimes came off the victors. The most disgraceful
circumstance connected with these transactions was, that there were