A hitch occurred at starting, owing to the uneven distribution of the "paupers" in the two boats. The _Sarah_ boasted of six of these, whereas the _Firefly_ only possessed one, who, when called upon to fulfil his part of the bargain and row the whole company up stream single-handed, showed an inclination to "rat." The crew of the _Firefly_ also began to be concerned as to the length of the voyage under such conditions, and clamoured for at least two of our "paupers"; a claim which Trimble and Langrish indignantly repudiated. At length, however, after a little judicious splashing and a threat to go off on a picnic of their own, the point was yielded, and two of our "paupers" were ignominiously ejected to make room for an equal number of passengers. This being done, the question arose as to whether we should row up stream or tow. It was decided to proceed by the latter method, at least until the towing-path became impracticable. Whereupon both bands of "paupers" were turned ashore and harnessed to the end of their respective rope, and the rest of us settled down to enjoy our well- earned leisure, and stimulate the exertions of our tugs with friendly exhortations. I regret to say that the philosophy of our galley-slaves failed to sustain them in their arduous efforts. They began well. The _Sarah_ led the way, the _Firefly_ following close in our wake. As long as the friendly emulation between the two teams endured, we made fair progress. But when it was discovered that the _Firefly_ had meanly hitched itself on to the stern of the _Sarah_, and was permitting our four "paupers" to pull the whole cavalcade, a difference of opinion arose. The _Firefly_ tugs, having nothing to do, amused themselves by peppering the inoffensive crew of the _Sarah_ with pebbles from the bank; while the outraged pullers of the _Sarah_, finding themselves tricked, struck work altogether, and alter pulling our head round into a bed of tall bulrushes, cast off the yoke and went for their fellow-"paupers." To add to the general confusion, a real barge, towed by a real horse, came down to meet us, threatening with its rope to decapitate the whole of our party, and, whether we liked it or not, to drag us back to Low Heath. In the midst of all this trouble, I, as president, was loudly and angrily appealed to to "look out" and "make them shut up," and "port the helm, you lout," as if it was all my fault! I tried to explain that it wasn't, but nobody would trouble to listen to me. How we avoided the peril of the barge I really cannot tell. It lumbered past us in a very bad temper, deluging us as it did so with the splashing from its suddenly slackened rope, and indulging in remarks on things in general, and schoolboys in particular, which were not pleasant to listen to, and quite impossible to repeat.