THE WRECKERS OF ST. AGNES. 3()t 



of which appeared a blazing fire, beneath a chimney-porch of a most 

 ancient and approved formation. On one side of the room, a door 

 opened into a small parlour, and in the corner was a little bar, for the 

 host to dispense to his customers their various potations from his smug- 

 gled treasures. For, although it was not a trifle of Schidam or Cogniac 

 that would satisfy these congregated worthies, I question whether the 

 king could afford to pay the salaries of the commissioners of excise, if 

 the greater portion of his lieges were not more considerate customers 

 than our friends of the ' Red Dragon/ 



The arrival of Captain Thomas was hailed with marked satisfaction. 

 We were soon seated, and in a twinkling a large tumbler of hot brandy- 

 and- water was placed before me, and a pipe thrust into my hand. The 

 conversation, which was rather loud when we entered, was now sud- 

 denly hushed, and intelligent glances were quickly interchanged, which 

 I saw related to myself. Thomas understood it, and said, " You need 

 not be afraid; that gentleman is a particular friend of mine, and a great 

 patron of the mining arts." 



I then begged to assure the company of my veneration for miners and 

 mines, and all connected with them. There was a visible brightening 

 up at this declaration, and doubtless at that moment various were the 

 plans of swindling and rascality which shot through the stolid brains 

 of that pleasant coterie to put my devotedness to the proof. 



" A likely night this, Captain Thomas," said a beetle-browed, shock- 

 headed, short, muscular man, whose small dark eyes peered from beneath 

 a brow of peculiar ferocity. 



" Uncommon likely !" returned the other, " and if we should have a 

 bit of luck to-night, it would not be a bad beginning this winter." 



" Ah !" said the former, who answered to the name of Knox, " my 

 wife says she thinks Providence has deserted our coast ; we haven't had 

 a godsend worth telling about these two years. I've seen the time when 

 we've had a matter of a dozen wracks in a season/' 



" Well, never mind, Master Knox/' said a pert-looking, snub-nosed 

 fellow, named Roberts, who I at first glance took for an attorney, but 

 afterwards found he was a mining-agent. From his more constant inter- 

 course with Truro, he was rather better dressed than some of his com- 

 panions; but his town breeding gave him no other advantage than a 

 conceited saucy air. " Never mind, Master Knox," said he, jingling a 

 bunch of seals which peeped from beneath the waistcoat of that worthy, 

 " you have made the most of your luck, and if you don't get any more 

 you won't harm." 



" Why, yes," said the fellow, drawing out a handsome gold watch, 

 which accorded curiously with his coarse attire, " I don't complain of 

 the past ; and yet I had a narrow escape with this ; if it hadn't been for 

 my boy Jem, I should have lost it." 



cc He's a 'cute child, that boy of yours," remarked one. 



" There never was a 'cuter. " I'll tell you, sir/' said he, addressing 

 me. " It's two years ago come December, on a Sunday, when we were 

 all in church, that we had news of a wrack. Well, off we all started 

 you may be sure, and the parson not the last, to see what it had pleased 

 God to send us We found on coming up, that it was a French India- 

 man. She had gone to pieces off the rocks, and the goods were 

 floating about like dirt. I wasn't long in making the most of it ; and 

 Jem was just going off for the cart, when I 'spied, half-covered with 



