r outside the
entrance, it was found that the trend of the tide was always to bring
them into that corner. But, you will instantly say, wouldn't the
Coastguard in the smuggling days have seen the barrels as they came
along the top of the water?

The answer is certainly in the affirmative. But the smugglers used to
do in the "scientific" period as follows, and this I have found in a
document dated 1833, at which time the device was quite new, at least
to the Customs officials. Let us suppose that the vessel had made a
safe passage from France, Holland, or wherever she had obtained the
tubs of spirits. She had eluded the cruisers and arrived off the
harbour entrance at night just as the flood tide was making. Overboard
go her tubs, and away she herself goes to get out of the sphere of
suspicion. These tubs numbered say sixty-three, and were firmly lashed
together in a shape very similar to a pile of shot--pyramid fashion.
The tops of the tubs were all painted white, but the raft was green.
Below this pyramid of tubs were attached two grapnel anchors, and the
whole contrivance could float in anything above seven feet of water.
It was so designed that the whole of the tubs came in on the tide
below water, only three being partially visible, and their white
colour made them difficult to be seen among the little waves. But as
soon as they came to the spot where there were only seven feet of
water the two grapnels came into action and held the tubs moored like
a ship. And as the tide rose, so it completely obliterated them. Some
one was of course on the look-out for his spirits, and when the tide
had dropped it was easy enough to wade out and bring the tubs ashore,
or else "sweep" them ashore with a long rope that dragged along the
bottom of the harbour.

During the year 1834 smuggling was again on the increase, especially
on the south and east coasts, and it took time for the officers to
learn all these new-fangled tricks which were so frequently employed.
Scarcely had the intricacies of one device been learnt than the
smugglers had given up that idea and taken to something more ingenious
still. Some time back we called attention to the way in which the Deal
boatmen used to walk ashore with smuggled tea. About the year 1834 a
popular method of smuggling tea, lace, and such convenient goods was
to wear a waistcoat or stays which contained eighteen rows well
stuffed with 8 lbs. weight of tea. The same man would also wear a pa