I Filled with joy by this , I cared little for the way in which some of those townsmen , who were supposed to have the best means of knowing the opinions of the smugglers , shook their heads at me when we met . I cared even less for the threatening letters which now began to arrive at my house . Ugly pieces of paper they were , too ; badly spelt and badly written ; but their contents filled Lucy with sadness and fear . I almost wish I had kept one or two that I might show the public a copy . It can , however , be easily imagined what kind of threats would suggest themselves to rough fellows , as wild as the waves on which they followed their unlawful trade . I took no notice of these threats , but went on with my work as before .