nd also to the stock, the whole length of the spar was
crossed at right angles by capstan bars, to the ends of which as many
handspikes as there was room for were lashed also at right angles. In
this way, every cooly of the party could obtain a good hold, and exert
his strength to the greatest purpose. I forget how many natives were
applied to this service; but in the course of a very few minutes,
their preparations being completed, the ponderous anchor was lifted a
few inches from the ground, to the wonder and admiration of the
British seamen, who cheered the black fellows, and patted them on the
back as they trotted along the wharf with their load, which appeared
to oppress them no more than if it had been the jolly boat's grapnel!

CHAPTER XXI.

THE SURF AT MADRAS.

From Ceylon we proceeded after a time to Madras roads, where we soon
became well acquainted with all the outs and ins of the celebrated
surf of that place. This surf, after all, is not really higher than
many which one meets with in other countries; but certainly it is the
highest and most troublesome which exists as a permanent obstruction
in front of a great commercial city. The ingenuity and perseverance of
man, however, have gone far to surmount this difficulty; and now the
passage to and from the beach at Madras offers hardly any serious
interruption to the intercourse. Still, it is by no means an agreeable
operation to pass through the surf under any circumstances; and
occasionally, during the north-east monsoon, it is attended with some
danger. For the first two or three times, I remember thinking it very
good sport to cross the surf, and sympathised but little with the
anxious expressions of some older hands who accompanied me. The boat,
the boatmen, their curious oars, the strange noises they made, and the
attendant catamarans to pick up the passengers if the boat upsets,
being all new to my eyes, and particularly odd in themselves, so
strongly engaged my attention, that I had no leisure to think of the
danger till the boat was cast violently on the beach. The very first
time I landed, the whole party were pitched out heels over head on the
shore. I thought it a mighty odd way of landing; but supposing it to
be all regular and proper, I scrambled up the wet sand, and merely
muttered,--"What the devil will the fellows do next?"

The surf at Madras consists of two distinct lines of breakers on the
beach, running parallel to each other a