by their numerous coadjutors on
shore, and the revenue officers. If the lives of any of the revenue
officers were lost during these encounters, the smugglers who were seen
to have fired, when captured, were hung, while the less criminal in the
eye of the law were transported, or imprisoned, or sent to serve on
board men-of-war. It is scarcely too much to say that a large portion
of the coast population of England was engaged in this illicit traffic.
It bred also a great amount of ill-feeling between them and the coast
guard, whom they endeavoured to mislead, annoy, and injure by every
means in their power. Our worthy salt tutor had friends among the
revenue officers, with whom he sided strongly; indeed, his natural good
sense and right feeling would have prevented him from supporting a class
of men who were so clearly acting against the laws of the country and
all rules of right and justice.

Our tutors that evening held a consultation on board the brig, and
decided that it was their duty to go over the next morning to inform the
commander of the coast guard of the discovery Harry and I had made, and
to let him take the steps which he might consider necessary. We two, of
course, for the time became perfect heroes of romance, and could talk of
nothing else during the evening but of smugglers and smuggling
adventures. Captain Mugford possessed a large amount of lore on that
subject, some of which he produced, much to our edification. He gave us
an account of the fight between the _Peggy_ smuggling lugger and the
_Bramble_ King's cutter. Three men were killed and five wounded on
board the revenue cruiser, and a still greater number of smugglers lost
their lives, though the lugger escaped on that occasion. She was,
however, afterwards fallen in with by the very same cutter, when the
smugglers showed fight at first; but so fiercely were they attacked by
the brave commander of the cutter, that, their consciences making
cowards of them, they yielded after a short struggle. It would have
been difficult to convict the crew then on board of the murder of the
cutter's people on the previous occasion, had not one of their number
turned king's evidence. The captain and mate and two other men were
accordingly hung, and the rest transported; but this summary mode of
proceeding in no way put a stop to smuggling. The profits were too
large, the temptations too great, to allow even the risk of being hung
or transported to int