and opening upon the Downs above, by a sort of spout or chimney, behind the sister pinnacles of the Charleses ; secondly, Birling Gap, a road cut through the cliff from the bottom of a valley near the village of East Dean, used for the purpose of dragging up wrecked goods, drift timber, or sea-weed for manure ; and, thirdly, Crow Link Gap, a difficult path leading from the beach, by steps cut or worn into the chalk, towards a solitary farm-house near Friston Church, a spot so celebrated for landing contraband cargoes, that for years the spirit shops in London were accustomed to advertise their stock of Hollands as being genuine Crow Link; nor did the title fall into disuse till upon application made by Captain M'Culloch, founder of the Blockade service, a watch-house was erected in the pass, and a party of preventive officers and men permanently stationed there.
"It may probably be imagined that upon a part of the coast so guarded by nature, it would require little precaution to prevent illicit importation, yet it soon became doubtful whether there were not greater facilities for smuggling in this precipitous region than even on the sandy shores of Bognor, or the shingly deserts of Dungeness. As the sea at high water reached the base of the cliff, it was, of course, necessary to withdraw the sentinels from the beach at such periods, in order to station them along the summit ; but the gap-ways being so far apart, this change occu-
