ON THE COAST OF ARE AN 65 



is always some skill required in bringing the 

 great steamer and the small boat neatly 

 together; but on this occasion the difficulty 

 was much greater than is common. The stal- 

 wart boatmen stood up and pulled till the strong 

 oars were bent like bows, and the muscles 

 swelled and sloped over their bare brown arms 



As slopes a wild brook o'er a little stone, 

 Running too vehemently to break upon it. 



And then, when we got close under the steamer, 

 it was clear that a mistake had been made. We 

 were in front of the paddle-box instead of being 

 behind it. Either the captain of the steamer 

 had given a wrong order, or the boatmen, 

 distracted by the tumultuous sea and their own 

 heavy task, had lost their presence of mind and 

 thrown up the oars at the wrong time. What- 

 ever the cause, we were in the wrong place. In 

 an instant we were swept swiftly under the box 

 and against the wheel. There was a cry of 

 * Heads down ! ' and fortunately the order was 



F 



