we have already explained. In its application, however, it was
unique and original. At half-past six on this morning a
fore-and-aft-rigged vessel was observed to be sailing into Chichester
harbour. When first discovered, she was about a mile from Hayling
Island. She was boarded, as smuggled goods were supposed to have been
taken by her from a raft at sea. Manned by a master and a crew of two,
all English, she was well known in that neighbourhood. She was
registered at Portsmouth as the _Rival_.

Her cargo was found to consist of a few oysters and thirteen tubs of
spirits, but these were attached to the stern in a most ingenious
manner. By her stern-post was an iron pipe, and through this pipe ran
a chain, one end of which was secured at the top, close to the tiller,
the other end running right down into the water below the ship.
Attached to the chain in the water were thirteen tubs wrapped in
canvas. The theory was this. As the vessel sailed along, the chain
would be hauled as tight as it would go, so that the casks were kept
under the vessel's stern and below water. Now, having arrived in
Chichester harbour, the helmsman had suddenly let go the chain, but
the latter had unhappily jammed in the pipe, and the tubs were thus
dragged with a large scope of chain. The coastguard in coming
alongside used his boat-hook underneath, and thus caught hold of the
chain and tubs. The vessel was now soon laid ashore, and when her
bottom was examined, the whole device was discovered. It had only
quite recently been added, but the crew were notorious smugglers, so
they got themselves into trouble in spite of their ingenuity.

[Illustration: The _Rival's_ Ingenious Device (see text).]

And now let us bring this list of smuggling adventures to an end with
the activities of a very ubiquitous French sloop named the _Georges_,
which came into prominent notice in the year 1850. Her port of
departure was Cherbourg, and she was wont to run her goods across to
the south coast of England with the greatest impudence. In piecing
together this narrative of her adventures, it has been no easy task to
follow her movements, for she appeared and disappeared, then was seen
somewhere else perhaps a hundred miles away in a very short time.

It appears that on April 19 the _Georges_, whose master's name was
Gosselin, cleared from Cherbourg, and two days later was sighted by
the commander of the Revenue cutter _Cameleon_ off Bembridge Ledge,
about one o