DANGERS OF THE HOVELLER'S LIFE. 249 



come/ And so we did; and terrible work it was. As the waves caine we slackened the 

 ropes and went away a little with them; and as they passed, half smothered as we were, 

 hauled ourselves back to the rigging and held on a bit; and then, when the next wave 

 came, we let go, and were all adrift in the wash again ; our hands were almost torn to 

 pieces with the strain on the ropes and grasping at the side of the vessel. . . . You 

 see, too, how our clothes were nearly dragged off us : it was indeed an awful time ! " One 

 man grew tei'ribly excited as they told the dismal story. His limbs and features worked, 

 and as the waves dashed over the life-boat he fancied himself being washed off the wreck, 

 and his reason quite gave way for the time. He shouted out, " Let me drown myself ! 

 Let me drown myself ! I can stand it no longer ! " and was with the greatest difficulty held 

 back by three men, who would not relinquish their hold till they got safe into harbour. 



The hoveller's life is necessarily full of danger, for his services are usually only required 

 in the very worst weather ; and if he can save anything from a wreck, it will generally be 

 done under circumstances of great difficulty. Gilmore cites an example where some of these 

 men were endeavouring to save the rigging of a wrecked vessel, when a squall came on, 

 with driving snow and hail. The men in the rigging were somewhat interested in their 

 work, and were at first inclined to risk the weather, but the gale increased so rapidly that 

 it became evident that they must leave in their boat at once. Away for their lives the 

 men pull, the little boat seethes through the troubled waters, and they soon near the 

 edge of the sand, and are making for deep water, when they suddenly hear the noise of 

 the surf beating on the shallows immediately ahead of them. They pull ahead a little, 

 and can see the huge waves rolling in out of the deep water, mounting up, curling over, 

 and breaking, meeting other breakers, foaming up against them in fact, a sea of raging 

 waters surrounding the sands in which their little boat would be swamped at once. As 

 they mount on a wave they can see the lugger riding safely just outside the surf, only 

 a quarter of a mile off, but that quarter of a mile it is impossible for them to pass, and 

 equally impossible for the lugger to get any nearer to them. The seas break over them 

 constantly, and for a while they return to the dangerous shelter of the wreck. 



"The Goodwin Sands are about nine miles long; in the middle of them there is, at 

 low water, a large lake, which is called on the chart ' Trinity Bay,' but which is known 

 to the boatmen as the ' In- Sand/ The men row in the direction of the lake, and row over 

 the sandbanks which surround it, as soon as the tide has flowed sufficiently to enable 

 them to do so. Now they find themselves in completely smooth water, and are safe; but 

 for how long? a short hour or so, for the hungry waves are following them up fast. Still 

 higher and higher comes the tide, and a furious surf begins to rage over the banks that 

 for a time protect the lake." Well do the men know how short must be their period 

 of rest. 



Soon the heavy rollers come in and threaten to swamp them ; the boat is nearly full 

 of water. At this juncture the steersman, who has been steering and baling the boat for 

 about four hours, suddenly lets the bowl with which he is baling fly from his hand; 

 he gives a cry of horror, and the men cannot help repeating it, for may not this appa- 

 rently small accident be fatal to them ? To keep the boat afloat without baling is impos- 

 sible ; the surf breaks into her continually, and that bowl is indispensable to their safety, 

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