40 THE SMUGGLER. 



" Good night, Harding!" said Mr. Warde, as they came up 

 to the spot where he stood. "What a beautiful evening it is!" 



" Good night, sir I" answered the man, in a civil tone, and 

 with a voice of considerable melody. " It is indeed a beautiful 

 evening, though sometimes I like to see the cloudy sky, too." 



"And yet I dare say you enjoy a walk by the bright sea, 

 la t&e calm moonlight as much as I do," rejoined Mr. Warde. 



" Ay, that I do, sir," replied the smuggler. " That's what 

 "brought me out to-night, for there's nothing else doing; but I 

 should not rest quiet, I suppose, in my bed, if I did not take 

 my stroll along the downs or somewhere, and look over the 

 sea, while she lies panting in the moonbeams. She's a pretty 

 creature, and I love her dearly. I wonder how people can 

 live inland." 



"Oh! there are beautiful scenes enough inland," said 

 Osborn, joining in the conversation; "both wild and grand, 

 and calm and peaceful." 



" I know there are, sir, I know there are," answered the 

 smuggler, gazing at him attentively, " and if ever I were to 

 live away from the beach, I should say, give me the wild and 

 grand, for I have seen many a beautiful place inland, especially 

 in Wales; but still it always seems to me as if there was 

 something wanting when the sea is not there. I suppose it is 

 natural for an Englishman." 



"Perhaps it is," rejoined Osborn, "for certainly when 

 Nature rolled the ocean around us, she intended us for a mari- 

 time people. But to return to what you, were saying: if I 

 could choose my own abode, it should be amongst the calm 

 and peaceful scenes, of which the eye never tires, and amongst 

 which the mind rests in repose." 



"Ay, if it is repose one is seeking," replied the smuggler, 

 with a laugh, "well and good. Then a pleasant little valley, 

 with trees and a running stream, and a neat little church, and 

 the parsonage, may do well enough. But I dare say you and 

 I, sir, have led very different lives, and so have got different 

 likings. I have always been accustomed to the storm and the 

 gale, to a somewhat adventurous life, and to have that great 

 wide sea before my eyes for ever. You, I dare say, have been 

 going on quietly and peacefully all your days, perhaps in Lon- 

 don, or in some great town, knowing nothing of hardships or 

 of clangers, so that is the reason you love quiet places." 



