from Nova Scotia to Florida.
It's like this," drawing his finger across the table in the
vain effort to map out the matter intelligibly to a landsman's
comprehension. "Here's the Jersey coast. You've got to hug it close
with your vessel to make New York harbor--there; and all along it,
from Sandy Hook to Cape May, runs the bar--so. Broken, but so much the
worse. A nor'-easter drives you on it, sure. I've known from sixteen
to twenty wracks in a winter on this coast before the companies or
government took up the matter."

[Footnote A: See the article entitled "The House on the Beach," in
_Lippincott's Magazine_ for January. Since the publication of that
paper a letter of distinction has been received by General Albert J.
Myer from the International Congress of Geographical Sciences, held
in Paris in 1875, which states that the United States signal service
appeared to the Congress to deserve an exceptional reward. "This
service, so remarkably organized, has been the cause of such progress
in meteorological science that the distinctions provided by the
regulations of the Congress would not be commensurate for it." The
letter of distinction was therefore sent as the highest award decreed
by the Congress.]

"That only argued bad seamanship," said one of his listeners. "When
every ship's captain knew the bar--"

"That's precisely what they didn't know. It alters with every year;
and on a dark night, with a driving sea and wind both against you,
there's small chance of clearing it. However, I don't mean to say
that all of them vessels were wracked fair and square. It got to be
customary with owners of wornout coast-schooners to send them out with
light cargoes and run them on the Jersey bar. The captain and crew
would time it so's they could get ashore, and the sea would soon break
up the vessel, and then up they goes to York for insurance on ship and
cargo. There was a good deal of that sort of work went on when I was
a boy, until the underwriters got wind of it and established the
wracking system."

"This building?--"

"No, no! Don't confound the two things. This is government work
altogether, and maintained solely for the saving of life. The crew
of the lifeboat here are not allowed to touch a pound of freight or
baggage on a wracked ship. The wracking-masters were appointed and
paid by the board of underwriters in New York. Old Captain Brown was
general agent on this beach. They took the coast in charge, as you
mi