Yet here in the old time landed men who carved the shape of England; and here even in these lesser days, are landed uncommonly fine cod.
The difficulties of the feat are these: to get ashore soundly, and then to make it good; and after that to clinch the exploit by getting on land, which is yet a harder step.

Because the steep of the ground, like a staircase void of stairs, stands facing you, and the cliff upon either side juts up close, to forbid any flanking movement, and the scanty scarp denies fair start for a rush at the power of the hill front.

Yet here must the heavy boats beach themselves, and wallow and yaw in the shingly roar, while their cargo and crew get out of them, their gunwales swinging from side to side, in the manner of a porpoise rolling, and their stem and stern going up and down like a pair of lads at seesaw.
But after these heavy boats have endured all that, they have not found their rest yet without a crowning effort.

Up that gravelly and gliddery ascent, which changes every groove and run at every sudden shower, but never grows any the softer--up that the heavy boats must make clamber somehow, or not a single timber of their precious frames is safe.

A big rope from the capstan at the summit is made fast as soon as the tails of the jackasses (laden with three cwt.