They carried cargoes of their own, contrary to regulations; they stole, they smuggled, they mutinied—but we cannot go through the whole decalogue. On the other hand, they were real sailormen, and the rule that a packet was to put to sea from Falmouth immediately on receiving the mails, whatever the wind might be, provided only she could carry a double-reefed topsail, was maintained. The regularity of their voyages was the nearest thing to the running of a modern steamship. In 1798 there were sixteen packet ships to keep up the Falmouth to West Indies service, and “on the quiet” captains, officers and crews would take out quantities of cheese, potatoes, boots, shoes and so on, sell them on commission for English merchants, and then bring back such goods as wines, lace, tobacco, brandy, which would be smuggled ashore and then sold all over the country by special men. This went on until 1810, when the Lisbon and West Indian packets were strictly forbidden to carry on these trades. The order brought the crews up with a round turn, and a terrible moan went about in disgust. Their wages were certainly too low, and this was the means of remunerating themselves. Anger and indignation finally culminated in a mutiny. And yet the captains used to make no meagre living, even reckoned in the money of the nineteenth century. They were paid £8 a month during war-time and £5 in peace; but besides this they received large sums in respect of the fares of passengers. One captain alone was making £1000 a year by this means, and then there were the fees for carrying bullion, to say nothing of their commission for selling goods, both exports and imports. For instance, they were paid thirty-five guineas by every passenger who proceeded from Falmouth to Gibraltar. By the year 1808 there were thirty-nine packets at Falmouth—quite a fine fleet for any one port in those days. Every week one sailed for Lisbon, one for San Sebastian or other part of the north Spanish coast, whence communication with the British Army in the Peninsula was maintained. Each week, too, one packet sailed for the West Indies, whilst others at longer intervals set forth towards the Mediterranean, Brazil, Surinam, Halifax and New York. People were beginning to travel, and between 2000 and 3000 passengers thus passed through Falmouth to and from these ships yearly. It was a very encouraging factor for the Mercantile Marine, especially as the Falmouth packets alone kept 1200 men permanently employed afloat.