quired, and could be repeatedly used for the same purpose, and
it was thought that the smuggling vessels, after coming across the
Channel and depositing their cargoes, would on a later voyage be given
back these pieces of lead to be affixed to other casks.

A clinker-built boat of about 26 tons burthen named the _St.
Francois_, the master of which was named Jean Baptiste La Motte, of
and from Gravelines, crossed the North Sea and passed through the
Forth and Clyde Canal in the year 1823 to Glasgow. Nominally she had a
cargo of apples and walnuts, her crew consisting of six men besides
the master. She was able to land part of her cargo of "apples" at
Whitby and the rest at Glasgow, and afterwards, repassing safely
through the canal again, returned to Gravelines. But some time after
her departure from Scotland it was discovered that she had brought no
fruit at all, but that what appeared to be apples were so many
portions of lace made up into small boxes of the size of apples and
ingeniously painted to resemble that fruit.

As showing that, even as late as the year 1824, the last of the armed
cutters had not been yet seen, we may call attention to the
information which was sent to the London Custom House through the
Dublin Customs. The news was to the effect that in February of that
year there was in the harbour of Flushing, getting ready for sea,
whither she would proceed in three or four days, a cutter laden with
tobacco, brandy, Hollands, and tea. She was called the _Zellow_, which
was a fictitious name, and was a vessel of 160 tons with a crew of
forty men, copper-bottomed and pierced for fourteen guns. She was
painted black, with white mouldings round the stern. Her boom also was
black, so were her gaff and masthead. The officers were warned to keep
a look-out for her, and informed that she had a large strengthening
fish on the upper side of the boom, twenty cloths in the head, and
twenty-eight in the foot of the mainsail. It was reported that she was
bound for Ballyherbert, Mountain Foot, and Clogher Head in Ireland,
but if prevented from landing there she was consigned to Ormsby of
Sligo and Burke of Connemara. In the event of her failing there also
she had on board two "spotsmen" or pilots for the coast of Kerry and
Cork. There was also a lugger at the same time about to proceed from
Flushing to Wexford. This vessel was of from 90 to 100 tons, was
painted black, with two white mouldings and a white counter. She