About midnight
The _ Nancy _ would go crashing into the bows of the _ Coquette _ , the bowsprit of the _ Rallier _ would stir up the cabin of the _ Truant _ , the tail of the _ Faith _ would get entangled with that of the _ Cherub _ , and both might hook on to the tail of the _ Playfellow _ ; in short , the awful result would be wreck and wretchedness on the North Sea , howling despair in the markets of Columbia and Billingsgate , and no fish for breakfast in the great metropolis . There is reason for most things -- specially good reason for the laws that regulate the fisheries of the North Sea , the fleets of which are over twelve in number , and the floating population over twelve thousand men and boys . For several hours this shoal of vessels , with full sails and twinkling lights , like a moving city on the deep , continued to tug and plunge along over the `` banks '' of the German ocean , to the satisfaction of the fishermen , and the surprise no doubt of the fish . About midnight the admiral again signalled , by rocket and flares , `` Haul up , '' and immediately , with capstan , bar , and steam , the obedient crews began to coil in their tails . It is not our intention to trouble the reader with a minute account of this process or the grand result , but , turning to a particular smack , we solicit attention to that . She is much like the others in size and rig . Her name is the _ Lively Poll _ .