You drunken rascal, I'll report you as soon as we get on board." "How the divil can I pull, your honour, when there's that fellow Jones breaking the very back o' me with his oar, and he never touching the water all the while ?" "You lie," cried Jones; "I'm pulling the boat by myself against the whole of the larbard oars." "He's rowing _dry_, your honour--only making bilave." "Do you call this rowing dry ?" cried another, as a sea swept over the boat, fore and aft, wetting everybody to the skin.
"Now, your honour, just look and see if I ain't pulling the very arms off me ?" cried Sullivan.
"Is there water enough to cross the bridge, Swinburne ?" said I to the coxswain.
"Plenty, Mr Simple; it is but quarter ebb, and the sooner we are on board the better." We were now past Devil's Point, and the sea was very heavy: the boat plunged in the trough, so that I was afraid that she would break her back.

She was soon half full of water, and the two after-oars were laid in for the men to bale.

"Plase your honour, hadn't I better cut free the legs of them ducks and geese, and allow them to swim for their lives ?" cried Sullivan, resting on his oar; "the poor birds will be drowned else in their own _iliment_." "No, no--pull away as hard as you can." By this time the drunken men in the bottom of the boat began to be very uneasy, from the quantity of water which washed about them, and made several staggering attempts to get on their legs.

They fell down again upon the ducks and geese, the major part of which were saved from being drowned by being suffocated.

The sea on the bridge was very heavy; and although the tide swept us out, we were nearly swamped.