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for three or four miles farther, where, on the top of a high hill, I seated myself on a mile-stone, and, turning my head back, took a final farewell of the town of Lynn, which I had so many reasons to remember, and where I had met with such a wonderful variety of adventures.

But it is not my intention to relate every little incident of the remainder of my journey, which passed without any material interruption. I arrived at the neat market-town of Fakenham about six o'clock in the evening. I had walked leisurely along, occasionally stopping and refreshing myself, or I might have got there much sooner. Having found out a retired spot, about a mile beyond the place, I took up my abode for the night in a stable, and endeavoured to make myself as comfortable as I could -not forgetting, as may be supposed, my provisions and brandy bottle. The next morning at sunrise, or a little after, I started on my last day's journey; for I had now, as my map informed me, only twenty-five miles farther to go, and in the track originally pointed out for me. My intention was to get to the part of the coast I was bound to before dark, and to regulate my proceedings afterwards as might seem most advisable. A thousand fears now began to haunt me, that something or other might interfere and blast all my hopes at the very moment of their completion. Sometimes I thought the man I was directed to might betray me, or refuse to assist me or he might be dead, or out of the way; in the last instance (and which, indeed, was very probable to be the case), I had nothing left to guide me but my own discretion. These, with many other reflections of a like nature, threw a damp upon my thoughts, which I could not at first shake off; but as the day advanced, I felt a renewed confidence in my own powers, strengthened not a little by the good luck which had hitherto befriended me, and which I trusted would not forsake me; and I continued my journey in tolerable spirits accordingly.

Without meeting any circumstance worth relating, after travelling for some hours over long and dreary sandy heaths, apparently barren and worthless, but abounding in game and rabbits, and occasionally pursuing my way through a finely-cultivated country, interspersed with some handsome seats of the nobility and gentry, I came at noon, though not without some little difficulty in finding my way, to Langham, a well-built, interesting village, the houses of which, from the neatness, not to say elegance, of their structure, and conveniences of their farm-yards and offices, gave a very flattering picture of the condition of English farmers as contrasted with those of other nations. Here it was, in passing through the place, I again, and unexpectedly, came in sight of the German Ocean, a few miles below me. It burst upon my view at once, and so suddenly, as almost to overpower my feelings. Several fine ships, with their topsails set, were in the offing; and the fishing-smacks

and other vessels were tacking about in various directions. 1 stood for some minutes contemplating this sublime scene, marking the billows as they rolled along, curling with foam, and, as it were, chasing each other to the shore; and listening to the hollow and lengthened roar of the waves breaking over a bar forming the entrance of a harbour about two or three miles distant. I was always fond of the sea, and my emotions now were undoubtedly heightened by a perfect recollection of the coastthe same we passed in our voyage as prisoners to Lynn.

Being arrived within a few miles of my destination, my hopes and fears again returned. I continued my journey slowly and thoughtfully, revolving in my mind everything I was directed to do and say. I had a pass-word for the person I was to commit myself to, with a full description of his house, and indeed of every particular likely to be of service. I was also assured I might confide in him with safety; nevertheless it was with a beating heart that I once more arrived in view of the ocean, which, from the direction the road took, I had for a few miles lost sight of. I was on the brow of a high cliff, which towered over a few fishermen's cottages on the beach; amongst which, but standing more by itself, at the entrance of a small creek, to which a boat was moored, stood the ultimate object of my hopes at present; namely, the house I was to go to. I knew it immediately, from the description I had of it, and could not be mistaken; but how to arrive at it was a subject of some deliberation; for I could see no road, and nothing but a sea-mew or gull could get to it by the cliffs.

I continued, therefore, my walk for nearly half a mile, keeping close to the edge of the cliffs, and had absolutely begun to despair of finding a way, when, on a sudden, to my left appeared a small opening, as if part of the cliff had fallen in, carrying with it an immense body of earth and sand, in gradual slope till it reached the beach; and such, indeed, there is no doubt had been the original formation of the road, which I now began to descend, and which I immediately saw was the one I wanted. The road, if such it could be called, was not more than five feet wide, of a fine white sand, in which I sank over the ankles every step I took. In some parts it was extremely steep and dangerous, and the high banks on each side being shadowed with stunted bramble and alder bushes, mingled with furze and ling, which almost met over my head, gave a sombre appearance to the whole, heightened as it was by the dusk of evening-congenial, perhaps, to the feelings of a Salvator Rosa, but certainly not to mine. After proceeding about half-way down-for the road, from its windings, must have been a quarter of a mile at least I began to perceive signs of approaching habitations. The sand on each side was scooped into little caverns, and betrayed where children had been at play; and a half-starved ass, which I had some difficulty in making get out of my way, was picking a scanty meal

from the short grass which here and there peeped out from the sides of the bank. I remember all these little occurrences well, and they helped to connect in my memory others of more importance. From a small projecting eminence at a turn of the road, I discovered immediately below me the place I was looking for. It was merely a collection of a few scattered houses, or rather buts, to the number of five or six, inhabited by fishermen, and partly built at the foot of the cliffs, a little above high-water mark. At a small distance from these houses, more to the right, stood the one I was in search of. It was situated on the edge of a creek, about four yards from the cliff, which here was quite perpendicular, and between which and the house was a vacant space where the road passed. A shrimp-net was hung on posts before the door, and a coble was moored within a few yards of it, as I had observed on first approaching the cliff; and this struck me as a fortunate circumstance, and led me to hope the owner was at home. The house, though of much the same size as the others, had a cleaner and better appearance, and was evidently occupied by a different sort of inhabitant. This also was, I thought, another circumstance in my favour; and I waited very patiently, concealed behind a projecting part of the cliff, till dark. I had as yet been seen by no one; nor indeed, as far as I could judge, was I likely to be disturbed, for all seemed still and quiet. I kept my eyes fixed upon the window of the house, from which I was not far distant, till I saw a candle lighted and the shutter closed; and it being now quite dark, with a palpitating heart and high expectations, but allayed, as may be supposed, by corresponding fears, I approached the door. The well-remembered sign of three oyster-shells over the window assured me I was correct as to the house; and a mark over the door, of which I had been particularly cautioned to take heed, told me the master was at home. Indeed, had not this mark appeared, I was to have turned away, and waited for a more propitious opportunity. Encouraged by all these signs in my favour, I lifted the latch, and, as I was instructed, stepped boldly in, and closed the door after me. A man in sailor's dress, with a hair cap on his head, and huge boots turned over his knees, was sitting at a small round table smoking his pipe, with a can of grog before him. A woman, apparently superannuated by age and infirmity, was spinning flax with a spindle by the fire; and close by her, on a stool, half-asleep, sat an arch-looking boy, about twelve years of age, also in a sailor's jacket and trousers, and cap. I threw a hasty glance over them all, and, fixing my eyes on the man, was convinced all was right as to him; for he had a scar, as I had been previously informed, reaching from right to left, deeply imprinted on his forehead; and he also wore a silver ring on his thumb, through some superstitious notion prevalent among seafaring people. As to the other inmates, I was not quite so certain. On my entrance,

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he eyed me very suspiciously from head to foot. I approached the table, and holding up two fingers of my left hand over my head, made a sign, clearly seen and understood by him to whom it was addressed, though unperceived by his companions. He immediately gave me the countersign, and said, All's right." I replied boldly in words I had been taught, and which I had conned over so often as to have completely by rote. He understood me perfectly well, and told me in French, which he spoke very fluently, to sit down and make myself easy. He then went to the door and window, which he bolted with strong bars of iron. "There now," says he, "we are safe from all disturbance; yet it's as well to be secure. Cant that into your hold," continued he, pouring me out a glass of excellent Hollands as he spoke, whilst I get something for the bread-room. Ah," added he, with a knowing wink, as I took his advice, and drank off the very acceptable gift, "it's genuine, I warrant it." He then placed on the table some beef and bread, and other eatables, and seating himself by me, filled a fresh pipe, and bade me "tell him all about it." I told him, in as few words as I could, the heads of my story, and that I would reward him with any sum to furnish me with the means, as I was well aware he had done for others, of escaping to Holland. He heard me very patiently to the end-during which time I think he smoked half-a-dozen pipes of tobacco, and drank as many glasses of grog-never speaking or interrupting me the whole time; but evinced the interest he took in my tale by sending forth from his mouth a denser column of smoke, according as the various incidents excited his feelings. After I had concluded, he shook me heartily by the hand, and told me again "All was right. He would do what he could; but that we must act with caution, as 'hawks were abroad.'

My host, whom I shall call Jack, a name he was usually designated by amongst his comrades, was about forty-five years of age; and, notwithstanding the scar across his forehead-which, by the by, he told me he had received from one of my own countrymen-might be called a fine-looking fellow. His complexion was deeply embrowned by the service he had seen, and the winds and weathers he had encountered, as he had been, he said, a sailor from the time he was no higher than a "marlinspike." I need not say he was a smuggler; but he carried on the "free trade," as he called it, in a manner peculiar to himself, and never ran a cargo within a certain distance of his home. He was, he informed me, the sole agent of a house in Holland, connected with certain people in England, who placed implicit trust in him. While telling me this, he was tossing off glasses of grog one after another. The dose was repeated so often, that I began to find it was high time to go to rest. With some demur, on account of my refusing to take "just another drop," Jack showed me to my apartment-a curious concealed place, which had defied

discovery on divers occasions. Pointing out a strong iron bar, he directed me how to place it across the door, and which, for my further security, he told me not to open without a password. At the same time he showed me a small and almost imperceptible hole in the wall, by which I could reconnoitre every comer. Next morning he was with me betimes, and we entered into conversation about our future proceedings. He bade me remain in my room all day, and not show myself at the window, which faced the ocean, lest I should be seen from the beach; and to be sure to close the shutter as soon as evening fell, so that no light might be seen from without. At night, if I wished it, I might join them below, but I was not by any means to go out of the house. He assured me that these precautions were all necessary, both for his and my own security. The old woman, he said, was always on the watch to give notice of the least alarm; and that, under the appearance of being half-crazed and superannuated, she concealed the greatest cunning and vigour of mind; at the same time he showed me another small aperture, through which I could see whatever passed in the room below. For the last assurance of your safety," said he, 66 see this;" and, as he spoke, he discovered to me a recess in the wall, so artfully contrived as to elude the closest inspection. "If need be," continued he, "conceal yourself there. One of your generals knows its dimensions well, for he was in it when every house in the hamlet was filled with red coats in search of him. They were within two inches of him," added he, laughing heartily as he spoke," and the old woman held the candle; but they might as well have been on the top of Cromer lighthouse." He then left me. I remained in my hiding-place several days. Notwithstanding every attention was paid to my wants, and even wishes, by the whole household, my time passed very heavily. I had no books, nor anything to divert my thoughts by day, and I would sit for hours contemplating that ocean on which all my hopes were now centred. At night, indeed, I generally joined the party below, or my friend would come and spend it with me. During these times he would amuse me by relating several tales of daring hardihood, and of extraordinary escapes, in which he had been a party; and of the incredible subtlety and invention with which he and his companions had circumvented the officers of the English customs. These last stories he always told with great glee, as if the very remembrance of them diverted him.

At length the period of departure arrived. It was about twelve o'clock, on a fine star-light night, that, looking out of my window previously to undressing and going to bed, I saw a boat approaching the shore. I knew it in a moment to be the coble usually moored at the creek. Two men and a boy were in it. The boy, whose face was towards me, was steering, and I immediately. knew him, notwithstanding the distance, to be my host's son. They approached with great precaution and silence, and I scarcely

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