S6 ALONGSHORE i 



Is nowadays!) has foretold a gale, — men go along 

 the sea-wall looking down at the beach, questioning 

 if the boats are high enough up, or if, in order 

 to avoid night-watching, they ought to be hauled 

 up-over the sea-wall itself, out the way of the 

 surf. Then, for once, the old boats receive 

 attention, and some one says, 'Why don't So-and-so 

 take a sledge-hammer to thiccy ol' craft o' his? 

 'Tis only labour wasted, I reckon, to haul thic 

 thing up-over the wall. Better her'd wash away 

 an' be done with. Her's fit for firewood, nort 

 else. Hej- won't never put to sea no more.' 

 Nevertheless, the same man refuses to scrap his 

 own old boats, and that old boat, when the time 

 for hauling up comes, will not be left behind. 

 Though her weight strain men to pieces, though 

 laughter and derision greet her, up she comes. 

 Only, be careful in hauling; don't jerk; steady 

 does it; for the cut-rope [painter] of an old boat 

 Is apt to be very rotten; and while she is balanced 

 on the edge of the wall, with her broad bows high 

 In the air and one more pull needed to bring her 

 home, the hauling crew, as likely as not, will find 

 themselves suddenly on their backs, legs waving, 

 heads and elbows bruised, and a slack rope's end In 

 their hands. Back bumps the stern of the old boat 



