Transcriber's Note: Illustrations did not have captions; those provided here are for the benefit of the text-file reader. [Illustration: Open boat surrounded by fishermen in rain storm] THE CORNISH FISHERMEN'S WATCH-NIGHT, AND OTHER STORIES. THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY: 56, Paternoster Row; 65, St. Paul's Churchyard; and 164, Piccadilly. TABLE OF CONTENTS I. THE CORNISH FISHERMEN'S WATCH-NIGHT. II. THE BOOK THAT BROUGHT BAGS OF GOLD. III. THE MAN THAT EVERYTHING WENT AGAINST. IV. ABOUT SCOLDING. V. THE FOOL AND THE BARON. VI. THE TAILOR'S SPEECH. VII. NOT A BIT AFRAID. VIII. TOLD AT A TUNNEL'S MOUTH. IX. HARVEST HOME. I. THE CORNISH FISHERMEN'S WATCH-NIGHT. The old year was drawing to a close, indeed, it had not many hours to run, for the thirty-first of December had dawned upon the lonely Cornish village of Penwhinnock. It was a pouring wet day, and the wind was blowing so fiercely that the billows rolled and tossed as if some evil spirit, which could not rest, had taken possession of them. Penwhinnock overlooked the sea, being built upon a rocky promontory which commanded a splendid view of the Channel, and of any craft which might be nearing that part of the coast. The fishermen of the village were hardy, brave, stout, and strong; but whispers went abroad that they loved wrecking. It was said that battered and shipwrecked vessels had small chance if caught in the fearful gales which sometimes rose off that coast, and tempted the mariners to run for shelter to the bay, which proved after all a deceitful haven; and ugly tales were told of dead sailors, and of drowning men hurled back into the waters, on the principle that "dead men tell no tales," forgetting that, in the judgment to come, these would rise in swift witness against their murderers. Ostensibly the villagers of Penwhinnock gained their livelihood by fishing; but many a home contained valuables and wealth which had been obtained by this same practice of wrecking. Tourists and visitors looked askance at the Penwhinnock folk, and avoided their houses as if they had contained the plague, so that few strangers ever came among them or conversed with them.