American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1876-07-29
A CoAsrGUARD STORY.


One November evening last yea
found me, an elderly London lawyer
standing at the end of one of the two
long piers which form the entrance b
an important packet port on the soutl
coast. While was peering intently
into the darkness Q man came up anC
stood beside me and booked out to sea
At the same instant one of those sudden
squalls which are SO common at that
time of year came racing past us, and
the binding rain beat upon our faces.
"Yd1had better come into our watch.
house fDr asbit, SIR" said my friend
sits close by. I'm a Custom-hous
oficerst And walking rapidly on he
brought me to a neat-looking small
house, built just where the pier began
to branch off from the harbor into the
sea. Opening the door he showed me
into good-sized room lighted with gas,
and with . capital fire blazing in the
CRATE. On benches round the fire were
three or four men dressed in uniform
Hke my friend, and in bed-berth hard
~ smother man was snoring away in
happy peacefulness, recruiting himself
for his turn of night duty.
"a fine night for smuggling, should
fansy2lsI suggested.
ssWell, sir, insld times it would have
been," said one IS but there's no smug-
Cling AcV-a-days 10 speak of-just q
little trumpery bit of baccy now and
then, hardly worth taking-is there,
Frank an addressing the man opposite.
frank, with infinite disgust, agreed
You see, sir" he went on to me,
"these Liberals go on cutting down the
tariff SO that there's nothing left now
just cigars and spirits, and SO on. Not
but wh4t the ladies do their little bits of
smuggling still, and dearly they love it,
too. Why, sir, to this day they're won
derful clever in concealing lace and
French gloves, although there's been
no duty on them for years. We often,
when we're examining the ladies'
trunks, find two or three pair of gloves
in an old boot, or some lace, perhaps
sewed up inside q petticoat. We never
says nothing, and they go home and tell
their friends how clever they've been
and done the Custom-house."
" STILL" said another man, who had
been silent until now, tive do bit of
business now and then. Last year, sir,
twelve casks Of pitch came over in. one
of our steamers with heap of other
goods. They pour the pitch hot into
the casks, and when it cools it's as hard
IS stone almost. Well, there was no
examining this pitch except you took a
pickax and broke 1.-THE whole cask up.
But the Collector invented a kind of
auger that. with little oil, went right
through the pitch in no time. We tried
these said casks with this, and in the
center of every one of them was q tin
case with thirty pounds of good cigars
in it-three hundredweight altogether
IA very pretty haul for us.''
"Thnt was better than your drawing
room furniture, Jack" said q young
officer to one much older, who sat on
bench near me.
Never mind that, >" growled the old
man.
sWhat Is that?'' saidI 1.
swell, sir. it'srather hard upon Jack
there to tell it; but you see, sir, he was
at large port in the North, and a gem
tleman comes down to the office and
says that he was expecting what he
called sweet of drawing-room furni-
ture-beautiful walnut wood, he said
'and all for wedding present for his
sister, who was going to get married.
Would they take great care of it? He'd
be 80 much obliged. and any expense
They told him they'd look after it, but
they weren't allowed to take any thing.
The next steamer, sure enough, the fur
niture came, and q lovely set it was
such touches and easy chairs and sofys!
Well, sir, our men took the greatest
care Of it, and saw it all packed safely
in the railway truck and sent away, and
We shouldn't have heard any thing
moro about it, only, at one of them
large railway functions where luggage
trains often have to wait for q long
time there was q policeman who'd
served his time to q cabinet-maker, and
he got wind Of this furniture, and must
get slook at it to zee what sort of work
them foreigners turned out. So he got
to the truck and took up bit of tarpau-
lin and examined the couch, which |
happened to be at the top. sPretty |
work. said to himself; sbut, my word, |
what seatl they do stuff well over
there. It's . queer feel, though 1 won
der what they stuffs WITH Well, sir,
his curiosity got over him, and he looks
out to see If any one was coming,whips
out his knffs, and cuts littls slit where
it wouldn't be seen, and pulls out, to
his great wonder, ,baccyi Every bit of |
it was brimful of excellent baccy. So |
they seized the whole lot; but, lor',
what wipe it was for our men-Jack
there, and his matesi''
"I'se told you over and over again
that I had nothing to do with it," said
the man. sngrily.
well, You were there, at any rate,',
the other
They're clever fellows sometimes,
SIR said another man, and it isn't =
disgrace to be taken in by them. D'you