e Three Cutters

Chapter I

CUTTER THE FIRST

Reader, have you ever been at Plymouth? If you have, your eye must have
dwelt with ecstasy upon the beautiful property of the Earl of Mount
Edgcumbe: if you have not been at Plymouth, the sooner that you go
there, the better. At Mount Edgcumbe you will behold the finest timber
in existence, towering up to the summits of the hills, and feathering
down to the shingle on the beach. And from this lovely spot you will
witness one of the most splendid panoramas in the world. You will see--I
hardly know what you will not see--you will see Ram Head, and Cawsand
Bay; and then you will see the Breakwater, and Drake's Island, and the
Devil's Bridge below you; and the town of Plymouth and its
fortifications, and the Hoe; and then you will come to the Devil's
Point, round which the tide runs devilish strong; and then you will see
the New Victualling Office,--about which Sir James Gordon used to stump
all day, and take a pinch of snuff from every man who carried a box,
which all were delighted to give, and he was delighted to receive,
proving how much pleasure may be communicated merely by a pinch of
snuff--and then you will see Mount Wise and Mutton Cove; the town of
Devonport, with its magnificent dockyard and arsenals, North Corner, and
the way which leads to Saltash. And you will see ships building and
ships in ordinary; and ships repairing and ships fitting; and hulks and
convict ships, and the guardship; ships ready to sail and ships under
sail; besides lighters, men-of-war's boats, dockyard-boats, bumboats,
and shore-boats. In short, there is a great deal to see at Plymouth
besides the sea itself: but what I particularly wish now, is, that you
will stand at the battery of Mount Edgecumbe and look into Barn Pool
below you, and there you will see, lying at single anchor, a cutter; and
you may also see, by her pendant and ensign, that she is a yacht.

Of all the amusements entered into by the nobility and gentry of our
island there is not one so manly, so exciting, so patriotic, or so
national, as yacht-sailing. It is peculiar to England, not only from our
insular position and our fine harbours, but because it requires a
certain degree of energy and a certain amount of income rarely to be
found elsewhere. It has been wisely fostered by our sovereigns, who have
felt that the security of the kingdom is increased by every man being
more or less a sailor, or connected with the