264 Lights and Shadows of London Life*. 



more utter loneliness than that which these men follow cannot be 

 imagined ; and to the gloom which attaches to it by day, is added 

 that of great peril during those hours when darkness and tempest 

 destroy all trace of the faint, ill-defined track which marks the line 

 of their walk close to the edge of the cliff. To reduce, if not obviate, 

 the danger of this precarious path, small heaps of lime are placed 

 at intervals along it, which, thrown into relief by the dark green 

 sward, serve as signals to guide the wayfarer of the night. Not- 

 withstanding this precaution, no winter passes without contributing 

 its victim to the ghastly mutilated catalogue that this hazardous 

 service annually furnishes. It is during the moonless nights of winter 

 that the smuggler exercises with double boldness and activity hrs 

 daring traffic. At such a season, when the snow obliterates all exist- 

 ence of those marks, and the obscurity of the grave clothes the scene 

 of his watch, the danger to which the coast-guard man is exposed is 

 fearful. His wily foe is fully aware of the odds thus thrown in his 

 favour ; the consequences often involving a fate that humanity recoils 

 from. 



A strong breeze tossed the breakers in snow heaps at the foot of 

 the cliffs along which Chalcroft pursued his morning ramble. Perhaps 

 there is no condition of human nature so desperate, in which it be- 

 comes utterly insensible to all external influences. He who now 

 breasted the glad wind, and cast his eyes over the billows dancing in 

 sun-light and glory, felt his spirit acknowledge the power that thus 

 cheered and exhilarated all creation. How lately, with a throbbing 

 temple and sickness of heart, had he risen from a couch whose 

 slumbers were scared by many a bitter recollection, to mingle with 

 an universe of gladness, in which all the sons of God are singing for 

 joy! How beautiful and how true is the strain of the minstrel of the 

 harp of Sion, who telleth that " heaviness may endure for a night, but 

 joy cometh with the morning !" 



It was already some hours in the night before he turned to retrace 

 his way homewards from the little village at which his solitary dinner 

 had been eaten. The day which had begun in brightness had closed 

 with sleet and storm ; it was a wild way that led to the point he 

 sought, whatever path he might select, and it was a welcome sight 

 the first glimpse that told his humble roof was at length before him. 

 It was late, as, tempest-worn and drenched with rain and sleet, he 

 entered his little parlour ; a cheerful fire blazed in the hearth, all its 

 appendages bespoke comfort, he felt for the first time for years the 

 most affecting of all sensibilities, the heart's fondliest cherished 

 emotion, the greeting of home ! All was still within, the mirth and 

 festivity to which the day had been devoted had yielded to silence 

 and repose : not a sound was heard save the wind which howled and 

 raged without. As he stood for a moment listening to the elemental 

 strife, he thought he distinguished something strike the door of his 

 apartment. He listened, and the sound was repeated : it was of 

 some one seeking admission, and presently the door opened. The 

 intruder of so unseasonable an hour bore a small salver, upon which 

 was a glass containing some description of liqueur; this she placed 

 upon the table, and as she passed again towards the door, said, in a 



