114 THE SMUGGLER. 



He was not a drunken man himself, for the passive participle 

 of the verb to "drink 1 ' was not often actually applicable to his 

 condition. Nevertheless, there was a great consumption of 

 Hollands in the house during the next week ; and, if it was a 

 wet funeral that followed, it was not with water, salt or fresh. 



There are compensations for all things; and if Ramley had 

 lost his wife, and his children a mother, they all lost also a 

 great number of very good beatings, for sad to say, he who 

 could thrash all the country round, submitted very often to be 

 thrashed by his better half, or at all events underwent the 

 process of either having his head made closely acquainted with 

 a candlestick, or rendered the means of breaking a platter. 

 After that period the two boys grew up into as fine, tall, hand- 

 some, dissolute blackguards as one could wish to look upon ; 

 and for the two girls, no term can perhaps be found in the 

 classical authors of our language ; but the vernacular supplies 

 an epithet particularly applicable, which we must venture to 

 use. They were two strapping ivenches, nearly as tall as their 

 brothers, full, rounded, and well-formed in person, fine and 

 straight cut in features, with large black shining eyes, a well- 

 turned foot and ancle, and, as was generally supposed, the 

 invincible arm of their mother. 



We are not here going to investigate or dwell upon the in- 

 dividual morality of the two young ladies. It is generally said 

 to have been better in some respects than either their ordinary 

 habits, their education, or their language would have led one 

 to expect; and perhaps being very full of the stronger pas- 

 sions, the softer ones had no great dominion over them. 



There, however, they sat at breakfast on the morning of 

 which we have spoken, in the kitchen of the farm-house, with 

 their father seated at the head of the table. He was still a 

 great tall, raw-boned man, with a somewhat ogreish expres- 

 sion of countenance, and hair more white than grey. But 

 there were four other men at the table besides himself, two 

 being servants of the farm, and two acknowledged lovers of 

 the young ladies, very bold fellows as may well be supposed ; 

 for to marry a she lion or a demoiselle bear would have been 

 a light undertaking compared to wedding one of the Miss 

 Ramleys. They seemed to be upon very intimate terms with 

 those fair personages, however, and perhaps possessed as much 

 of their affection as could possibly be obtained; but still the 



