But anybody making a collection here should be able to keep one eye upward and one down, or else in his pocket to have two things--a good watch and a trusty tide-table.
John and Deborah Popplewell were accustomed to water in small supplies, such as that of a well, or a road-side pond, or their own old noble tan-pits; but to understand the sea it was too late in life, though it pleased them, and gave them fine appetites now to go down when it was perfectly calm, and a sailor assured them that the tide was mild.

But even at such seasons they preferred to keep their distance, and called out frequently to one another.

They looked upon their niece, from all she told them, as a creature almost amphibious; but still they were often uneasy about her, and would gladly have kept her well inland.

She, however, laughed at any such idea; and their discipline was to let her have her own way.

But now a thing happened which proved forever how much better old heads are than young ones.
For Mary, being tired of the quiet places, and the strands where she knew every pebble, resolved to explore Goyle Bay at last, and she chose the worst possible time for it.