278 EXTRACTS FROM NOTE-BOOKS. CH. XXXVII. 



the east coast into which the boats can run if 

 caught in a storm and driven away from the safer 

 parts of the coast. If a heavily laden herring-boat 

 is overtaken by rough weather, it is very difficult 

 to get rid of the cargo quickly enough to escape 

 being swamped. In fact the throwing them over- 

 board is a long operation ; and sometimes, when 

 they have a lucky haul, they load until the gun- 

 wale of the boat is but a few inches above the 

 water. In this case the shipping of a single wave 

 is sufficient to swamp them. A cargo of large 

 fish, such as cod or skate, may be thrown over- 

 board with some degree of quickness — not so a 

 cargo of herrings. 



Although the months of July and August 

 generally pass over without any very dangerous 

 weather, September is frequently a season of 

 sudden squalls and storms on our coasts. 



This year, 1848, one of these sudden storms 

 came on towards the end of the fishing season. 

 It reached from the north coast to near Sunderland, 

 beyond which place the wind was comparatively 

 light. The boats had gone out with a gentle 

 breeze, nor had there been any warning of bad 

 weather ; but before morning, on the east coast 

 alone, more than a hundred fishermen were drowned, 

 and the loss of boats, nets, etc., was immense. 

 Nothing could be more melancholily significant of 



