Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1883-08-31
A NIGHT SWIM.
a Thrilling story of Adventure.

4 Thrilling story of Adventure.
SWIM" said grandmamma, as we sat
around the cracking billets one evening.
every boy and girl should learn to swim.
Why, could swim like duck when l
was girl. Dear me, dear me y
Grandmnmma sat bolt upright i'll her
high-backed chair, resting her elbows on
the arms and smiling across at grandpapa
who sat on the other side of the hearth
with conscious look in her bright old
eyes. Grandpapa, the general, pausing
i'll the act of raising the tumbler to his
lips, nodded and smiled back at grand
mamma.
When n many.vciced appeal for the
story broke from us, grandmamma hest
tated for moment ard shook her head,
then, looking across to grandpapa, who
nodded again, and after little pressing,
she thus began
You know, young people, that You are
of good family only on your grandfathers
side, and not on mine for he came OF an
old and honorable stock, while my father
was only ships bos'n. My father was
killed in n great sea fight when l was
only a child, and l was brought up by
grandfather, who was ostensibly boat
builder and fisherman, but in reality
smuggler. A successful smuggler, too.
In those days smuggling meant great
risks and enormous profits, for duties,
especially on foreign wines and spirits,
were exceedingly high. 1t was not only
profitable trade, but it was reputable in
peculiar sort Of way, for it required
great courage and great skill. England
was always at war in those days, and the
smuggler ran the risk of being snapped
up by an enemy's cruiser as well as of
falling into the clutches of revenue cut.
ter. In addition, there were the inevita-
BILE chances and dangers of the sea. So
that good smuggler had to be not only
man of great daring, but of great
knowledge of navigation. He had to
work into harbor on the darkest night,
for it was only on dark nights that he
could venture on "a rum" with the ut
most secrecy and dispatch. To do this he
must know every inch of his way, be
able to distinguish landmarks and buoys
where an Impractical eye would only see
indistinct blackness, and know to nicety
the time the tide turned, the twists Of the
sandbanks, and the position of the sunken
rocks.
My grandfather could neither read nor
write, and he had, rs think for that rea-
son, a wonderful memory. He was as
sisted in his work by my two uncles, both
illiterate men like himself, and the three
seemed to find their way, through long
practice and acute observation, as if by
instinct. There was only one channel
leading to the landing place. the mouth
OF the little river where we lived being
almost choked by sandbands which ran
out to some distance. 1t was necessary
to hit this channel n considerable way out
Mt sea, and small black buoy bobbed up
and down to indicate its commencement.
One side of the harbor was formed by
line OF rocks iutting out to some length
and shelving down gradually into the wa
ter, and the buoy was distant from the ex-
tremity of these rocks about three-q quar-
tiers OF mile. This headland was called
the Point.
The black buoy, mere speck on the
waters, was hard enough for any one to
fad in the broad day yet my grand
father never failed to find it in the dark
for, of course, it was only moonless
night that he could hope to run cargo.
The usual course of proceeding was thus
The lugger arrived off our coast ut night
fall, lay to until signal was flashed from
our friends on shore, and then found the
with the tide. 1t was necessary to be
careful in hitting off the channel at first
where the buoy was, or they might ulti-
mately run on the sunken rocks at the ex-
tremity of the poiut.
Grandfather and | lived in n pretty
cottage at one extremity Of the village. |
Our house was better than most of the |
others, for grandfather had money in the |
bank and was well-to-do. The cottage
was covered with honey-suckles and creep |
ers +; at the back was well. stocked kitch. |
EN- garden its front was grassy bank |
sloping down to the sand, at its junction |
with which stood our wooden boathouse. |
BY the boathouse lay three or four of our |
boats, broad, strong and unwicldy and |
opposite the boathouse were the mornings
OF the Littly Lady, our natty, fast sail |
ing, clever little lug9er.
L led very independent, irregular sort |
OF life. My grandfather was often away
for days Mt time, and the old woman who |
looked after the house-for grandmother |
was dead long since-would have had |
little time for securing and cleaning if |
she had tried to look after me. | got n |
little book learning from the old vicar,
but 1T was not enough to hurt me. No, |
my dears knew no Italian, no Latin,
no algebra, but my eyes were none the
less bright, my lungs none the less clear.
my color none the less blooming, that |
passed most of my days in the bright
sunshine and free, fresh air. / could run
couple of miles and jump gate
could pull an oar with the best. and
could swim like duck. was thorough
ly at home either on the water or in it.
The sea had no terrors or difficulties for