take him to Barton. "But,"
said my father, "there is no water," when the Member of Parliament said,
"Won't money make the boat swim?" "I'm afraid not," was my father's
reply. At that time, however, there was a ballast lighter at Cliffe, and
my father and I went to see if we could borrow the lighter's boat; we
succeeded, and as it was a great distance from the water (the tide being
low), my father asked the Cliffe men to help in launching it, when about
thirty of them came to his assistance. Mr. Burton left a guinea to be
spent in drink for the men. We then started in the boat, and took Mr.
Burton to Barrow, there being no _usable_ jetty at Barton. I was to run
to Barton for a post-chaise, but before we got to the shore the boat ran
aground, so out of the boat I jumped, and away I ran, until I came to a
pool of water, about twelve feet deep. Almost mad with excitement, I
sprang into it, and small as I was, soon crossed it and was ashore. Mr.
Burton saw me in the water, and he was afraid I should be drowned, and
when I returned with the chaise he gave me a sovereign, the first I ever
had, so you may be sure I was mightily pleased. I found my father and
the men drunk, and they gave me some rum. On being asked, "What Mr.
Burton had given me," I evaded the question by saying "A shilling," for
I was of opinion that if my father had known I had got so much as I had,
he would have taken most of it to spend in drink. So I hastened home and
gave the sovereign to my mother, and we were both highly delighted to
possess so large a sum of money.

'The following amusing circumstance took place in 1836-7, when I
belonged to the Barton and Hessle packet. One day we had put on board
the "tow boat" a great number of fat beasts, belonging, if I remember
rightly, to Mr. Wood, of South Dalton. The "tow boat" was attached to
the steamer by a large thick rope. We had not got far from Barton when
the boat capsized, and we were in an awful mess. The boat soon filled
with water; some of the beasts swam one way and some another, while
several got entangled in the rails attached to the boat's side, and were
every moment in danger of breaking their legs. So seizing an axe I
jumped into the water and cut away the rails, and then went in pursuit
of the oxen, heading them round in the water and causing them, by shouts
and gestures, to swim for the land. Most of them were driven back to
Barton and landed safely, others swam across the Humber and were lan