^4 
 
 LIFE IN NORMANDY. 
 
PrititedbyR. Clark 
 
 FOR 
 
 EDMONSTON AND DOUGLAS, EDINBURGH. 
 
 LONDON . . . HAMILTON, ADAMS, AND CO. 
 
 CAMBRIDGE . . MACMILLAN AND CO. 
 
 DUBLIN . . . M'gLASHAN AND GILL. 
 
 GLASGOW . JAMES MACLEHOSE. 
 
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 LIFE IN NORMANDY 
 
 SKETCHES OF FRENCH FISHING 
 FARMING, COOKING, NATURAL HISTORY 
 AND POLITICS 
 ' DRAWN FROM 
 
 EDINBURGH : EDMONSTON & DOUGLAS 
 
 MDCCCLXV 
 

 GIFT OF 
 
 PfiOFES^OS CM. K0F3fD 
 
rwG- 
 
 PREFACE TO THIED EDITION. 
 
 The book for which this preface was written in 1862 was 
 favourably received by the press and by the public. The 
 Publishers have now decided on printing a third edition in 
 a cheaper form ; and the Editor is anxious to cany out the 
 Author's intention by making his work more accessible to 
 those for whom it was chiefly meant. It was meant for 
 people who catch or earn their food, and who cannot afford 
 cooks : classes who may take a hint from French house- 
 wives, who feed their families well on very small means. 
 The book itself has been reprinted, because it seemed 
 beyond an Editor's province to alter a work which has been 
 well received. With the exception of a few short inter- 
 polations, and some changes in the casting of sentences 
 here and there, the original manuscript was published at 
 first. With a view to cheapness, lithographs from sketches 
 made by the Author's son, and by his wife, are omitted, 
 and a portrait of the Author is substituted. It is a copy of a 
 pencil-sketch made by Saunders more than thirty years ago. 
 In some respects the work has been misunderstood.^ 
 A few friends at home and abroad have vainly sought 
 for Hope, Cross, and the ^larquis, and for some record of 
 
 -, «-^r-».--. 
 
VI PKEFACE TO THIED EDITION. 
 
 the ^meuto at Granville. The natural history is fact ; the 
 framework, fiction founded on fact. Hope and Cross are 
 creatures of the Author's imagination ; so are the French 
 men and women with whom they converse ; but those who 
 knew the Author of " Life in Normandy" know that Hope 
 and Cross think his thoughts and narrate many of his 
 adventures ; while those who know the fisher-folk of Gran- 
 ville, Norman gentlemen, farmers, and tradesmen, also know 
 the originals of these pictures of real life. The adventure 
 on the quicksand never happened as described, but many 
 similar adventures occurred there ; and the Author de- 
 scribes his own sensations when he paints those of puppets 
 on his stage. 
 
 Many years ago, while shooting seals in the West 
 Hierlilands on a strand which rivals the Greve in size 
 and danger, the Author of " Life in Normandy" was sur- 
 prised by a rising tide. He ran for his life : the firm 
 sand began to move as the tide rose, feet sank, and 
 the footstep filled as the foot rose : to use his own ex- 
 pression, he ran to the river in the middle of the sand, 
 because drowning was a cleaner death than smothering. 
 It was a case of real peril, the peril so well described in the 
 book ; a peril which the Editor understands, for he too has 
 felt that Highland quicksand sucking him in, A boat which 
 chanced to pass rescued the sportsman, and by his special 
 desire no guest of his ever went seal-shooting on that strand 
 without having a boat on the channel which runs through 
 it. In spite of the boat the feeling of sinking into a hole, 
 which fills with heavy sand and holds fast, is one which 
 could only be described from experience, and it is truly 
 described in this book. 
 
 The episode of the refugee is founded on the narratives 
 
PREFACE TO THIRD EDITION, vii 
 
 of real men. Atrocities which were perpetrated in 1848 
 are unfit for publication ; many of them never were pub- 
 lished ; but they were narrated at A-\Tanches by men who 
 marched to Paris and who returned triumphant as described. 
 One, in particular, spoke of shooting " Eeds sitting" in their 
 lairs ill a wood ; and his reason for so doing was, that he 
 had seen pockets stuffed with the eyes of his dead comrades. 
 
 Exception has been taken to hunting eels with a dog and 
 a pickaxe. Those who object would probably shake their 
 heads at the notion of truffle dogs, but truffle dogs and eel dogs 
 are authentic as pointer dogs, though not so common. 
 
 A returned sailor once entertained his mother with his 
 adventures, at her special desire, " Mother," he said, " I 
 have been to the West Indies, and there I saw sugar 
 mountains and rivers of rum." " Ay, Jock, that's the place 
 that we get a' our sugar and rum from, I ken that w^eel 
 eueuch." " Well, mother," said he, " we came round by the 
 Eed Sea, and one morning when we pulled up the anchor 
 we found a wheel fast on it." " Ay," said the mother, " I 
 have read a' aboot Pharaoh and his host, nae doot it was a 
 wheel aff a chariot." " Well, mother," said Jock, " I 
 have seen fish flying in the air like birds." " Jock," said 
 she, "baud yer whisht, and diuna tell lees to yer auld 
 mither." 
 
 With this old story I leave this edition of " Life in 
 Normandy'' to those who can distinguish a mosaic from a 
 gilt frame — a framework of fiction from facts which give 
 value to an amusing story. 
 
 J. F. CAMPBELL. 
 
 LoNDOX, April 1865 
 
PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION. 
 
 The following pages were written for pastime in 1848, by a 
 Highland gentleman resident in Normandy, at tlie suggestion of 
 an honoured friend, who named the subjects of French Cookery, 
 Fishing, Natural History, Farming, Gardening, and Politics. It 
 Avas suggested that ingenious foreign devices and engines for en- 
 snaring, growing, and gathering food, and for making it eatable, 
 might be so described as to benefit the poor at home, whose 
 single dish of potatoes might easily be varied at small cost. It 
 was argued that a good cheap dinner at home would tempt a 
 poor man from bad dear drink abroad, and that a poor Scotch- 
 man's wife might be taught to do that which poor wives do else- 
 where. And, as even salmon, when raw, are nasty, while well- 
 cooked marrots, cuttle-fish, limpets, frogs, snails, and maggots, 
 are eaten and relished, so instruction might be seasoned and 
 made agreeable with sketches from life in Normandy, such as it 
 then was. 
 
 The suggestions were taken, the papers were written and 
 sent, and they are now published, — though both the author and 
 his friend have passed away, — because it was their wish, and in 
 the hope that the object which they aimed at may be attained. 
 
 " There are as good fish in the sea as ever came out of it ; " 
 and many a barren Scotch strand might yield a good harvest if 
 men only knew how to reap it and use it. 
 
 In Hope and Cross, and their conversations about France and 
 
PEEFACE TO FIKST EDITION. ix 
 
 tLe French Revolution, it is easy to recognise the mind of the ex- 
 perienced, liberal, clear-sighted politician, who knew the meaning 
 of political gratitude ; who tolerated all forms of religious worship, 
 though he steadfastly adhered to his own, at home and abroad ; 
 who could foresee that communism, disorder, and a French 
 republic would lead to well-defined rights of property, stricter 
 order, and something like despotism ; and who held that the 
 rigid system of protection which placed a custom-house at the 
 gate of every petty town, levied dues on every basket of eggs, 
 and even planted sentries over sea-water, to guard the salt 
 monopoly, must give way to more liberal measures. The empire 
 and the tariff of our day now prove the sagacity which predicted 
 a change in the direction of monarchy and free trade. 
 
 Those who knew the writer need not be told his name. 
 They will recognise the generosity whose chief luxury was to 
 give pleasure to others, and the chivalry of the gentleman who 
 was courteous to a bare-footed fisher-girl as to the highest in 
 the land. 
 
 Those who knew provincial France some fourteen years ago 
 will recognise the country gentleman of old Norman and Breton 
 type, who has so much in common with his j^orse and British 
 relations. They will know the warm, adventurous, hospitable, 
 polite nature that still delights in love and war, danger and hard- 
 ship ; in riding, sailing, shooting, fishing, country life, good liv- 
 ing, and good fellowship ; and which in the olden time made 
 vildngs and gallant knights, hospitable chiefs, good soldiers, and 
 minstrels, of Xorseman and Norman, Celt and Saxon. 
 
 They will also recognise some characteristics of other classes. 
 
 If there be a shade of caricature, it is evenly applied to 
 friend and foreigner, and there is no gaU in the ink. " The 
 Marqms" cooked a dinner; — but it was for his friends, and 
 if he ate his full share, he earned it by wading for it like a 
 man. 
 
 Men, and their mamiers and customs, are lightly sketched, 
 but from nature, and on the spot : — the habits of animals are 
 
X PKEFACE TO FIRST EDITION. 
 
 described from close observation by one wlio always delighted to 
 watch tliem and catch them, without caring much for their long 
 book names or for learned theories. 
 
 The lithographs in the first edition are copied from rough 
 sketches made on the spot ; and if the volumes do no more, they 
 may at least serve to amuse the reader, and perhaps remind him 
 of an old friend. 
 
 Edinburgh, December 1862. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER 1. 
 
 FETE-DIEU, JUNE 1848. 
 
 'Dreadful News" — A Scotch Gentleman in Normandy — Frangois 
 — Mr. Thomas — Foundling Hospitals and Foimdlings — An 
 Emeute in Paris — News in the Provinces — A Short Sennon 
 and a Restless Congregation — The Country moves on Paris — 
 A Start — The Fete-Dieu — A Rough Penitent — A Socur de 
 Charite — A Contrast — The Reposoirs — Decorations prepared 
 by the Young Girls — News of the Fight — The Battle ended — 
 Return of the Volunteers — The Place Valhuhert — The Recep- 
 tion — French and Engli.^h Cheering contrasted — Tlie Garde 
 Mohile of Paris — A PuhUc Ceremony — The Friends of Order 
 — A Funeral Mass — Procession — Congregation — Drums — Mili- 
 tary Chiu'ch Music — French or Italians — Church-Goers — The 
 ]\Iarket Place — Women's Caps — The Stalls — A New Arrival 
 from Paris — ]\Ir. Hope — Fishing in Normandy — Cosmopolite 
 Fishermen — Oysters in June — Gite de Maree — Marketing — 
 How to buy Fish — An Englishman in France — House-Hunt- 
 ing ..... Pages 1-24 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 FRESH FROM PARIS. 
 
 Ltrocities in Paris in 1848 — Friends of Disorder — Horrors — 
 Tastes of a Country Gentleman — Salmon in Normandy — 
 Salmon Fry — Change of Colour in Salmon — Colours of Fish 
 and Flesh — rDistinguishing Marks of Salmon Fry — Fine Scales 
 
XU CONTENTS. 
 
 — Grilse and Salmon — A Thunderstorm — A Walk after the 
 Storm — Norman Street Cleansing — A Day's Fishing — Difficul- 
 ties — How to thrash a Gamin — Norman Boys — Sea-Louse on 
 Salmon — Kiver-Louse — Do Salmon eat? — Singular Habits of 
 the Solan Goose — A Salmon caught in the West Highlands 
 disgorging Herring-Fry — Enraged Fisherman — Eed Eepubli- 
 ' cans — A Kingfisher — Kingfisher's Nest in Northamptonshire 
 — Eton — Out of Bounds — The Fate of Pets — The Structure of 
 the Nest — Italian Bird-Catchers — Water-Ouzels and King- 
 fishers — Netting Birds — A Kingfisher's Nest in Italy — Habits 
 of the Kingfisher — The Nest — Eggs — A Theory — Knowing 
 Old Birds — A Pair in the Western Isles — Netting Woodcocks 
 near Ostia — Netting Wood-Pigeons and Turtle-Doves at Florence 
 — Quails at Naples — Their Pugnacity — The Net — Migration of 
 Quails — Stag-Beetles fighting — The Hill-top — Tlie Soothing 
 System — French Rose Gardens — Beetles eat Roses — Ducks 
 eat Beetles — Men eat the Ducks — A Fisherman's Troubles — 
 Waterguards and Blackguards — A Peaceable Fisherman — 
 French Ti'out-Fishing — Digging for the Kingfisher — Beat once 
 more ..... Patres 25-58 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 A TRIP TO CAROLLES. 
 
 Preparations — The Commissariat — Fishing-Tackle — A Country 
 Cabriolet — Packing — Norman Horses — Norman Roads — 
 Norman Driving — The Great Wave — A Spate in the Findhorn 
 — An Escape — Country View of Politics — The Conservative 
 Party — Farm Proprietors — Farming — Gardening — A Country 
 Road — A Highland Road — A Norman Sportsman — Road- 
 mending — A Market Cart — Going to Market — A Sporting 
 Farmer — Racing — Granvillaise — St. Jean de Thomas — Bathing 
 Dress — The best House in the Village — C'est la Mode du Pays 
 — The Interior — Cabbage Soup — The Fire-place — Charcoal 
 Stoves — Four de Campagne — Bed-room — Shooting — A Castle 
 of the Montgomeries — Tlie Hoopoe — Orioles and Hoopoes — 
 Natural History .... 59-84 
 
CONTENTS. Xlll 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 STRAND FISHING, ETC. 
 
 he Shore — Food for Game — Siberi — Amateur Fishermen — Nor- 
 man Sportsmen — An Introduction — The Marquis and his 
 Friends — Bouquets and Chevrettes — Hand-Nets — Fisher Gii-ls 
 — Crab-Hunters — Cockle-Pickers — The Strand — The Baron's 
 Xet — The Marquis at AVork — ^The Rocks — Catching a Crab — 
 The Bay of Cancale— Tlie First Haiil— Falling Tide— Lan9ons 
 and Lugw^orms — Digging for Sand-Eels — Old Fisherwomen — 
 Marie — Fine Names of the Granvillaise — ^Bargaining — Bass — 
 Bait — The Tree-mell — Nets and Lines — A Gran\-illaise Fish- 
 wife — Bar and Biill — Bargaining — A Husband broken in — 
 Cuttle-fish Bait — GranviUe — Beauty of the "Women — The 
 Wives — The Husbands — Straw Anchors . Pages 85-110 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 AN ESCAPE. 
 
 he Rocks on the Shore — Crab-Hunting — Sj)ider-Crabs — How to 
 dress them — Partan Pie — A good Bargain — Sepias — The Ways 
 of Cuttle-fish — Netting Sepias — Sniggling Lobsters — A dear 
 Bargain — Sniggling Pra^\Tis — Eels — How the Sniggle is 
 Worked — Limpet Gatherers — The Value of Limpets — A Noble 
 Gastronomic Artist — Limpets " allow themselves to be eaten" 
 — An Old Woman and her Dog — Trompette the Eel-Hound — 
 Conger-Hunting — La Famille Trompette — ^Eel Ground — Pipe- 
 Makers — Sand- Worms — Rock-making Insects — ^The Rising , 
 Tide — Surrounded — Here it Comes — The Wave — A Gallant 
 Child — The Second Wave — ^A Run for Life — The Rocks are 
 reached — A Girl's Wish — Angela's Oysters — A Supper on the < 
 Rocks — ^The GrauAiUaise Purse — It is a Tei-rible High Tide — 
 The Tide has turned 111-137 
 
 CHAPTER VL 
 
 THE EBB TIDE AND A LATE DINNER. 
 
 . Cold Position — Marie de Coutances — Fish Market and Fish 
 Coupers — A Guest to Supper — The Ways of Spider-Crabs — 
 
XIV CONTENTS. 
 
 A Sujjper for Crabs — Cross's Stories — A Story about Eels — 
 Set him again — Matilde waiting for the Ebb — Help — Madame 
 le Moine — How she received her Little Daughter — Angela — 
 Tlae Return Home — The Marquis's Welcome — The Dining- 
 room and Kitchen — The Bed-room — A Foot Bath — The Mar- 
 quis in all his Glory — Fisherman, Artiste, and Gentleman 
 — His Dinner, Roast Mutton and Melon, Fish after Roast, Bass 
 and Shrimp-sauce, Cuttle-fish Stewed and Fried — On the Art of 
 Frying — An Interruption by Matilde and her Friends — Cdte- 
 lettes, Duck and Olives, A Quail in a Greatcoat of Bacon, 
 Dressed Vegetables and Salad, etc.. Sweets and Champagne, 
 Dressed Crab and Prawns, The Cure's Claret, Coffee and the 
 little Glass — To Bed — One Good Turn deserves Another — 
 Hope and Cross's Plans — Matilde a Proprietor — The Luxiuy 
 of giving Pleasure — A Norman Innkeeper — A Trap for Wheat- 
 ears — Curlews on the Rocks in Brittany — Migratory Birds — 
 Brent Geese — Bathers — Tlie Landlord's Pointer — A Chien de 
 Chasse — Quails — Catching Wheatears — Italian Bird-Catching 
 — Generosity understood . . . Pages 138-166 
 
 CHAPTER VIL 
 
 STONEWALL PISHING. 
 
 A French Breakfast — Its Disadvantages — Its Advantages — Short 
 Allowance of Linen and Forks — Tlie Landlord's Chasse — Ma- 
 dame le Moine's Fishery — Partition of Property — Origin of the 
 Right— The Fishery— The Top of the Dyke — Frederic, An- 
 gela's " Pretender" — Love on tlie Strand — IMackerel — Preserv- 
 ing the Sea — Salt Monopoly — Pi:'otection and Revolution — 
 Gar-fish — Demoiselles — Seath and Lythe — The Minaur's Work 
 — The Trois-Mailles — Mullet — Bonillabaise — Netting Sand- 
 Eels — Skill better than Strength — Langons and Sardines — 
 Growth of Fish — The Minaur's Den — Drawing a Minaur — 
 The Kill— The Ugly Beast— The Ways of a Cuttle— A Rock 
 Pool — How a Cuttle was attached to a Girl — A Development 
 Theory — Madame le Moine on Cuttle-fish — The Kraken — 
 Net-fishing 167-199 
 
CONTENTS. ^y 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 AN EVENIXG AT MON.SIECR PIXEL'S. 
 
 rhe Marquis— Second Dinner— BouiUabaise or Water Zoutchee— 
 Bacon dres.sed according to a Receipt of the Marquis— Fieschi 
 —The Infernal Machine— The Victims and the Bystander- 
 Louis Philippe's Demeanour— The Guillotine— Popular Vie^v.s 
 of Pontics- State Economy— The Marquis presents himself at 
 Church— The Ruling Motive— Bouillahaise— An Insurgent- 
 A Good Samaritan— The Larder— A Carnivorous SnaH- 
 Snails in General— Slug Soup— Widow Scudder in Kent- 
 Salted Snails— Periwinkles rersv.s Slugs— Vendean Diet— Con- 
 sumption Ciu-ed— How to cook SnaQs— A Story of the Revo- 
 lution—Jules—Red RepubUcans— A Recruit— Commimistes 
 —The Outbreak— The Prisoners— The Rn-suit — Xoctumal 
 Cock-croA^-ing- Garrulous Bipeds— Cure of Consumption— 
 ^^"^^^'^S^t Pages 200-222 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 A NORMAX BREAKFAST AND A STROLL. 
 
 3gs at Home and Abroad— Fishmg in Fog— A Poacher's Wrinkle 
 —"You owes me Half-a-Cro^xii"— Fishing and Poaching— 
 The May-Fly— The Insurgent— Gurnet— Decapitation of Gur- 
 nets— Marrots— How to prepare a Salmi of Marrots— How to 
 cook Sea-Birds— Gurnets' Head Torches used by Highland 
 Poachers— Leister and Blaze— The Spawning of Salmon- 
 Leistering Salmon— Blackfishers— Kipper— Marrots and Gur- 
 nets— Himting Lisurgents— Jules— A Lesson in Cooker^-— 
 The Marquis on Snails— How to choose them— A Martinique 
 Dish— A Rival Ai-tht— Lobster a la Broche— Cochonxerie ' 
 —Uncle and Nephew- The Comte— A Man of Peace— Doi^t 
 MouiUe— A True Story— Captives of the Old Revolution- 
 Peace Restored— Marrots and Gurnets— Dragon-Flies and 
 Salmon Spawn— Larv* of the Dragon-Fly— Salmon Spawn— 
 KiU every Dragon-Fly you see— Protection from Midges— From 
 Mosquitos— Dktilling Tar— Rosin-gathering in France 
 
 223-251 
 
XVI CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 LOST ON THE GREVE. 
 
 Cloud Scenery — A^ Fog-Bank — French and Scotch Fogs — Fogs and 
 Fog Theories — Quicksands — Danger — A Visit to Mont St. 
 Michel — The Guide — The Coachman impatient — Tlie Guide's 
 Stories — The Lost Man — The Governor and his Wife — A Ship 
 swallowed up — The Start — Out on the Greve — At Fault — 
 Breaking Sands — Sinking — Treacherous Ground — Courage — 
 The Guide superseded — Somebody's Toggery — Walking in a 
 Circle — The Guide's Cowardice — Eunning a Trail — Sharp Eyes 
 — Finding the Track — The Moan of the Tide — The Wave — A 
 Hole in the Blanket — Saved — A Revulsion of Feeling — In- 
 stances of Walking in a Circle — In a Scotch Mist — A Fog on 
 the Hill — A London Fog — Sluikes — Butcher-Bird — Hawking 
 with the Pie Grieche — Toodling Slirikes — Hard Work — Allies 
 wanted — Norman Farmhouse — A French Debate — Singeing a 
 Pig — Method of curing Bacon — Economy in Salt — The Pig 
 buried — Norman Hospitality — Bottled Cider — A Serious Fault 
 in Champagne — Norman Bacon — Norman Pigs — Norman 
 Cider and Norman Drinking-Cups . Pages 252-286 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 A STORY OF THE REVOLUTION OF 1848. 
 
 The Young Shrikes brought Home — Tlie Dinner — The Marqids — 
 The French Ca^Jtain's Contempt for Trade — The Captain's 
 Story of his Cousin — A Dinner at the Banker's — Tlie Cost of 
 a Money Bag — Payment in Spinach — Farewell to Trade — 
 Commerce — A Nation of Shopkeepers — French View of English 
 Politics — The League — The Insurgent — His Story — Too Tight 
 a Rein— WhHe there is Life there is Hope— The " Red" Cafe 
 — Sabroan — Recruiting for the Emeute — A Club — The Gaming 
 Table — A Leader of the "Reds" — A Successful Orator — The 
 Barricades — Flight — Chasse aux Rouges — Escajsed Game — 
 Browsing — Tlie Patrol — The Rubious Chateau — The Loft — 
 Wolves worry each other — The Hunters — Gone to Ground — 
 
CONTENTS. XVn 
 
 Hands at Fault — The Nest is Cold — Spies — The Grenier — 
 The Soldiers — A Soimd Sleep — A CouspLracy — Old Antago- 
 uists — Plans for Escape — Foraging — Revenge — Eiver Smug- 
 glers — A Smuggler's Eetreat — River Police — Tlae Refugee — 
 The Refuge— Good Night . . . Pages 287-318 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE MARE DE BOUILLON. 
 
 )reams — Norman Saddles — Monsieur Pinel — Fishing-Rods for One 
 — A Fine Fisherman — " Emptying" a Carriage — A Damaged 
 Aim — Advantages of a Rattle-Trap — Soyez Sage — Selfishness 
 — Love of Aj)probation — Bretons and Normans — Monsieur 
 Pinel's Rods — ^Every One for HimseK — Spinning — One Rod to 
 Thirty — Fishing a Match — Monsieur Pinel's Plans — The Best 
 Places — Pinel's Fair Play — Fishing for Bream — The " Pater- 
 noster " — Fishing in the West India Docks — ^Rival Fishermen 
 — Getting a Good Rise — The Worm in the Bream's Gills — 
 The Wliiting's Gills — Dragon-Fly Music — The Limcheon — Pinel 
 in Good Humour — Magpies in Normandy, in Norway, and in 
 the Highlands — Bird Augury — The Number Five — How to 
 catch Jays — Hit Him when He's down — Fish Barometer — 
 Indicates a Gale — Tench Skin — A Deadly Bait — Every Man 
 for himself — Share and Share — The River-side — Glow- Worm 
 — Lmninous Centipedes — To Granville — The Storm 319-348 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE MOLE AFTER A GALE. 
 
 The Coast in its Glory — Granville Washerwomen — The Harbour — 
 Fisliing-Boats — Herring Fishing, Scotland — Evening — Night 
 — The Pier-head — The Watchers — Lifeboat — One Boat Safe 
 — The Boats Outside — ^The Friends on Shore — Morning — ^The 
 Advantages of a Pot-lid — A North-countrj-man in Normandy 
 — James Allan — French and English Fishing — Trawling — The 
 Run of the Tide — French Trails and Boats — Decked versus 
 Open Boats — The End of the Mole — A Vessel in Danger — 
 
XVm CONTENTS. 
 
 Volunteers to the Rescue — The Square-sterued Boat — The 
 Pilot on Board — The Danger of Black Eyes — Swamped — The 
 Drowning Men — The Rocks — A Heroine — Granville Women 
 — Two Men Rescued — ^Angela and Frederic — The Stretchers 
 — " Keep up his Head" — Saved — A Street Row — Mob Reason 
 — Rene in Guard — Cured — A Battering-Rani — The Doctor — 
 "Fly for your Lives" — Enraged Fishwives — Monsieur Menard's 
 — Big Phrosyne — The Battering-Ram — The Soldiers — Free 
 Trade and Protection — A Merchant's Store — Lovers — A Sleep- 
 ing Draught — Rain saves Bloodshed — High Breeding and High 
 Birth — The Magi^ies — Augury — The Club — Swiriiming Ladies 
 — A Wedding Invitation — Manners, Customs, and Superstitions 
 — Celtic Races — A Change — Wedding Presents — The Red 
 Silk Umbrella — A Gift for a Bride — A Norman Wedding — 
 The Bride Pages 349-396 
 
 Notes 397 
 
 Index 403 
 
LIFE IN NORMANDY. 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 FilE-DIEU, JUNE 1848. 
 
 Dreadful News!" exclaimed FranQois, a Frencli lad atout 
 jventeen years of age, as he rushed into his master's room, 
 
 Mr. Gross, the said master, was a Scotch gentleman who had 
 ved for some years in France. He had originally come to the 
 )untry for the health of a sister, hut she having died at Mce, 
 e left the south, and since that time he had resided in various 
 orthern provinces ; latterly he had estahlished himself in Nor- 
 landy, where everything was cheap and everybody poor. A 
 oor man, therefore, could not he looked down upon for being 
 I the same position as his neighbours ; indeed, poverty in 
 ngland being wealth in Normandy, Mr. Cross, with a small in- 
 ependence, found himself the great man of the quiet little 
 )wn where he hved. 
 
 Frangois, his servant, had been taken, when a boy, from the 
 oundling Hospital ; he had served at first as the piper's man's 
 ee laddy used to serve in a Highland establishment — that is to 
 ly, he did everybody's work, both in the house and out of it, 
 5 Avell as his own, and thereby acquired a universal knowledge 
 f household operations. The cook made him learn and execute 
 .1 her duties, beginning by shelling peas, and ending by looking 
 fter her stews and cotelettes, while she flirted with the gardener, 
 r wasted her time by talking for ten ordinary women on market 
 ays. The hoiisemaid made him wax and frotter the floors, 
 
 B 
 
2 FEAXgOIS. 
 
 dust the rooms, and occasionally make the beds ; and if he ever 
 had a spare moment, the gardener was sure to find him employ- 
 ment in watering, weeding, or arranging the flowers. He had 
 heen engaged to assist Mr. Thomas, an old and faithful servant, 
 who had been many years the attendant both of Mr. Cross and 
 his father, ititngois' own duties were therefore to clean lamps, 
 shoes, and knives, and to carry water from the well ; water-pipes 
 and pumps being an unknown luxury in that part of France. 
 Thomas, though faithful, was old ; Frangois was young and 
 clever ; and he soon learnt to clean plate and brush clothes so 
 well, that the faithful Thomas, after a while, only watched to 
 see that his master's comforts and interests were not neglected 
 or injured by the mal-performance of his young assistant. Under 
 such schooling, it is not surprising that Frangois learnt to be a 
 good servant, with a very general knowledge of all the branches 
 of household work. The boy had the national gaiety of his 
 countrymen. Early broke in to hard and constant labour, he 
 avoided their great faults, idleness and frivolity ; taken from the 
 Foundling Hospital to this new routine of duty, constant em- 
 ployment was to him a change for the better ; for he was well 
 fed, well clothed, and had a comfortable bed to sleep on — com- 
 forts unknown before, and so much prized that he was always 
 cheerful. In passing through a French town, therefore, let no 
 one feel shocked at seeing a string of two or three hundred 
 children, all foundlings, marching through the streets ; let him 
 forget that the Foundling Hospital bears the stamp of giving 
 facility to immorality, and rather suppose that it is a useful 
 national seminary for providing good domestic servants for those 
 who may require them ; and in this he will not be disappointed, 
 provided he takes them young enough, before their spirits are 
 broken and soured by ill-treatment. Six months before the 
 time we mention, poor old Thomas had been gathered to his 
 fathers. Frangois, being promoted to his place, would no longer 
 submit to do the work of the whole household ; the consequence 
 of which was, that a meeting took place which obliged Mr. 
 
AX E:\IEUTE IX PARIS. 3 
 
 Cross to have a general clearance. After this he found that he 
 was better served by Frangois, one old woman, who was both 
 cook and housemaid, and a man once a week in the garden, than 
 when he had the larger establishment under old Thomas, who, 
 though honesty personified, was an Englishman, and therefore 
 no match for the clever roguery of the Xormans. J Such was the 
 state of ]\Ir. Cross's household, when Frangois burst into his 
 room, announcing that there was dreadful news from Paris ! 
 
 Mr. Cross sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes, not much 
 frightened by the intelligence. He was accustomed to hear the 
 superlative degree apphed to all sorts of news ; he had heard it 
 on the 23d of February, and in ^lay, when it was used in all the 
 extremes of horror ; and before either of these two eventful 
 months he had listened to the same amount of hyperbolical 
 exaltation, when the news of the capture of Abd-el-Kader had 
 arrived in France. It was therefore in a very quiet tone that he 
 inquired what was the matter. 
 
 " There is an emeute in Paris ! the streets are barricaded, the 
 troops and the people are fighting, and thousands of people and 
 soldiers have been killed ! is not that affreux?" exclaimed the lad. 
 
 " Bad enough," said his master, " if it be true. And where, 
 pray, did you hear this fine story?" 
 
 " I was going, as monsieur had ordered, to the tailor's, and 
 I met Philippe, who was with me in the hospital, and who is 
 now in the printing-office of the Gazette, and he told me that 
 he had seen the telegraphic despatch which was just sent in to be 
 printed. I heard the drum going through the streets as I re- 
 turned, so it must be true." 
 
 " It looks as if it were. So give me my clothes and hot 
 water : I will get up and go and see for myself." 
 
 The news was true enough, and for the next two days 
 rumours were afloat at every moment. The faces of the English 
 residents looked long, and flight was the universal theme of con- 
 versation. The third day was Sunday, and the little EngKsh chapel 
 was full : fear is a great promoter of devotion. The service was over. 
 
4 THE COUXTKY MOVES ON PAEIS. 
 
 and tlie clergyman had given out Ms text, wlien the loud sound 
 of drums beating the generale was heard below the windows. 
 The congregation became fidgety, the parson preached in vain ; 
 indeed, Cross afterwards declared that he saw him turn over two 
 pages of his sermon at a time, and no one found him out, nor 
 did he correct his mistake, for he, honest man, as well as his 
 non-hearers, was more taken up with the emeutes in the streets 
 than the pious emotions of the heart. His sermon was uncom- 
 monly short, and the rush from the chapel when he concluded 
 was so rapid as to be barely decent. Once at the door the 
 movements became more decorous, for as it rained servants were 
 in waiting with umbrellas, and from them it was learnt that a 
 number of the National Guards were about to march for Paris 
 to assist the Government in restoring order. Most of the ladies 
 walked quietly home, but many of the gentlemen went to the 
 Place Valhubert to see the muster. The crowd there was very 
 great ; almost all the IsTational Guards were under arms and 
 drawn up, although only a part had volunteered to march to Paris. 
 Among these were, however, almost all the principal gentlemen 
 of the place. They were a motley crew ; few had uniforms, 
 and the rest had dressed themselves in clothes to stand the 
 weather. Shooting-jackets preponderated, nevertheless they 
 were a serviceable-looking body of men, and they looked well 
 and gay. Under the eyes of men who valued them as protectors 
 of order, and of women who admired their courage, it would have 
 been impossible for a Frenchman even to look anxious. 
 
 Nothing can be done in France without a little theatrical 
 display. In France they have rather too much of it, in England 
 certainly too little. The French error is the best, for every man, 
 whether he allows it or not, loves in his heart to have his ser- 
 vices appreciated, and the bravest will not meet death less bravely 
 if fair faces and bright eyes have cheered him on his path, and 
 may weep for him if he falls. 
 
 Following the usual custom, the volunteers were marched 
 round the Place that every one might see them. Then they 
 
A STAET. ^ 5 
 
 formed a hollow square ; the tricolor was blessed and handed to 
 the officer ; speeches were made by the authorities, ending of 
 course with " be brave, be Frenchmen ; " and then they were 
 re-formed and marched off, the band plajing " ]\Iourir pour la 
 patrie." The whole Xational Guard followed, together with 
 half the inhabitants of the town, who marched the first mile 
 with them towards Paris, ordy leaving them when they mounted 
 into the long waggons which had been ordered to await them on 
 the road, " Soyez braves, soyez Francais," were the concluding 
 words which had been addressed to the soldiers by the autho- 
 rities ; " Soyez braves, soyez Frangais," were the first which 
 were apphed by the coachmen to their horses as they started at 
 a trot ; but the latter added, " Allez toujours, Br-r-r-igands," 
 with a dose of whip — which addition the French quadrupeds 
 bore in a manner that showed they were used to it. 
 
 The rain had ceased, and the sun was bursting forth as the 
 large escort turned to regain the town. "VNTien the concourse 
 reached the Place where the miHtary had so lately been mustered, 
 the scene was greatly changed, for the sunbeams glittered not 
 on musket barrels, but on the vestments of a procession of priests. 
 These vestments shone in all the splendour of gold and silver 
 brocade. In front were borne high in air the embroidered ban- 
 ners, long waxen torches, and the silver cross. A band of cho- 
 risters came next, marching on either side of the street, the 
 centre of which was filled by little girls dressed as angels, having 
 garlands on their heads and baskets of flowers in their hands. 
 The flowers they scattered from time to time in front of a canopy 
 which followed. The canopy was covered with embroidery and 
 silver lace ; it was carried by four priests in splendid dresses, 
 and beneath it walked an old man similarly dressed, and bearing 
 the consecrated Host in his hands. Immediately in front of the 
 canopy, and on either side, marched a number of boys waving 
 censers of incense. These were of silver, and they ghttered 
 brightly while they gave forth their fragrant smoke as they were 
 tossed in the air by their bearers. All were thus thrown at the 
 
6 THE FETE-DIEU. 
 
 same moment, time being kept by a man dressed in black and 
 Avhite robes, with, a high square cap on his head, who gave the 
 signal and the time to both, choristers and incense-boys, by open- 
 ing and shutting a box made in the form of a book. Every time it 
 shut it made a hollow soimd, which could be heard at a good 
 distance. More priests followed ; then a troop of Soeurs de 
 Charite and Bonne Soeurs, and behind them a crowd of women. 
 Among these could be seen a few old men, but not one young 
 one — devotion being decidedly not the fashion among the young 
 men in France. Still, on joining the procession, the crowd 
 paused and uncovered, to allow it to move on, but took advan- 
 tage of every cross street to escape to their homes. 
 
 On entering the streets, Cross saw that from one end to the 
 other they were hung mth white sheets. Here and there those 
 in front of a house might be seen with a broad black edging 
 sewn round, to mark that the inhabitants of that house had 
 lost a relative and were in mourning. 
 
 " "What ceremony is this 1 " asked Cross of an old man. 
 " Sacre heretique" was the only answer which the old rascal 
 condescended to give. Cross knew him to be a drunken vaga- 
 bond, Avho kept a cabaret and let out horses and carriages for 
 hire. He was somewhat astonished at hearing this burst of 
 CathoHc zeal from such a quarter, for he did not know that 
 about a month before, this venerable good-for-nothing had 
 been upset when returning home drunk, and had been nearly 
 killed. AVhen confined to his bed, his "oife had thought it a 
 good opportunity to administer a Kttle spiritual consolation. 
 Her priest was sent for, he had been properly lectured, and as 
 a sign of his reformation, he was ordered out to carry a candle 
 and march in the rear of the procession. 
 
 ' ' Tlie devil was sick, the devil a saint would be ; 
 The devil got well, the devil a saint was he " — 
 
 held good in this instance, for the same evening Cross saw his 
 pious friend sitting in front of his own door as drunk as a Nor- 
 man, and sweai'ing at his wife as loudh' as ever. 
 
A CO>'TEAST. 7 
 
 Though Cross could get no answer from this worthy, one of 
 the So3urs de Charite lifted her head and answered — 
 
 " It is one of the great ceremonies of oui- Church, my good 
 gentleman — to-day is the Fete-Dieu.'^ 
 
 Cross recognised in the soft voice and sweet expression ol 
 the Saur de Charite a person Avho had called on him some time 
 before to request a donation for the society to wliich she be- 
 longed. Kno-snng the great good which they did, admiring the 
 truly Christian feeling of these women, who are ready to nurse 
 all who are sick or in affliction, Cross had given her a handsome 
 donation. She answered his question sweetly and gently ; there 
 was no tone of rejDroof in her voice ; true to what she believed 
 to be right, she could still respect the belief of another. " AATiat 
 a difference," thought Cross, " exists between that drunken old 
 sinner and this mild Christian woman, — as great as the differ- 
 ence I have just seen between the two parties who have so 
 lately been on this spot. Prayers and hymns now sound here 
 instead of drums, trumpets, and rude oaths ; and the smeU of 
 incense fills the air in place of the sulphurous odour of gun- 
 powder that pervaded the atmosphere less than an hour ago." 
 
 Though Cross had been several years in France, it so hap- 
 pened that he had never witnessed the ceremony of the Fete- 
 Dieu. One year he had been ill himself; on another he had 
 been confined by the illness of his sister; on a third by her 
 death. He therefore resolved to follow the procession now ; 
 and respect for the Sisters of Charity made him do so with 
 less inclination to find fault with what seemed to him a mum- 
 mery. 
 
 On advancing into the town they came to a shop the front of 
 which had been taken out. The interior was dressed with an 
 altar, on wliich stood candelabras, numerous lights, and flowers 
 in quantities, both real and artificial, and a crucifix. The whole 
 interior of the room was adorned with moss, evergreens, and 
 garlands of flowers, arranged with great taste. 
 
 Here the procession stopped ; the priest lifted the canopy and 
 
8 THE FETE-DIEU. 
 
 entered the chapel, hearing in his hand the Host, and followed 
 by a numher of his brother clergy. Prayers were said and sung, 
 and then the large collection of nosegays lying before him was 
 blessed. One after another they were lifted from the altar, each 
 was pressed on the gilded case in which the sacrament was car- 
 ried, and then laid down again, to be claimed by the parties who 
 had left them there. 
 
 Cross looked at the Sisters of Charity. " The Lord forgive 
 me," he said to himself, " if I am nnjust ; but this is awful non- 
 sense. Can any rational being believe that this mummery gives 
 any value to these flowers 1 and yet what right have I to find 
 fault ■\vdth their absurdities, and forget that the same faith which 
 places value on withered flowers because they have been blessed 
 by a priest, leads these excellent women to sacrifice every hour 
 of their lives to works of love and charity ! " 
 
 The ceremony ended at this Eeposoir, the procession again 
 moved on for a couple of hundred yards, till they came to a place 
 where four streets met. Here a chapel was raised in the middle 
 of the open space. It was beautifully made of white linen, 
 moss, and evergreens, twisted into pillars, with a roof of laurel 
 leaves that looked hke scales. "Within again was an altar sur- 
 rounded with rare plants in pots, and covered, like the first, with 
 garlands, Kghts, bouquets, and a cross. The same ceremonies 
 took place — the only alteration being, that a number of pretty 
 little girls scattered flowers before the priest as he ascended the 
 steps of the altar, and two others held china vases in their hands, 
 from which a stream of fragrant smoke issued. These stood at 
 the bottom of the altar steps, and there remained while the ser- 
 vice was chanted. When this was ended. Cross thought he had 
 seen enough, and as the procession began to move, he sKpped 
 into one of the side streets to take his way homewards. "When, 
 however, he entered the main street that led towards his house, 
 he was surprised to see that a number of Eeposoirs had been 
 raised at short intervals along the whole length of the street. 
 He could not help stopping to examine and admire these struc- 
 
DECORATIONS. 9 
 
 tures, for the ingenuity and taste displayed in tlie arrangement of 
 very simple materials was quite extraordinary. A number of 
 young women and girls were employed in giving the finishing 
 touches to the works, and some stood with a lantern and taper 
 ready to light the candles at a moment's notice. Several young 
 men were looking on, hut doing nothing. 
 
 " By whom are all these made ?" asked Cross of a young 
 Frenchman whom he saw standing among the spectators. 
 
 " You may see," he answered ; " all the young girls in the 
 country have been at work preparing for to-day. They have 
 been employed for some weeks to make what will be seen for 
 only a few hours ; but they work with pleasure, for not one of 
 them fads to believe that, according to the work they do, so is 
 their prospect of getting a husband increased ; and if they do 
 not work, they are firmly convinced they have no chance of be- 
 ing married for a year." 
 
 " That explains what puzzled me much," said Cross ; " for 
 many a hand and many an hour must be required to arrange 
 those various-coloured mosses in such elegant patterns. But who 
 makes all the wood- work ? " 
 
 "That," replied the Frenchman, "is made once for all. 
 When taken do^vn this evening it T^iU be laid aside tiU next 
 year ; the boards and posts will be placed in the neighbouring 
 houses, and wiU be covered with some fresh device this time 
 twelve months." 
 
 Cross bowed, thanked his informant, and proceeded home. 
 In the evening, when he came out to stroU through the streets, 
 not a vestige remained of any of the chapels or altars. The 
 scene was again changed ; groups of men in blouses were walk- 
 ing ; some few singing the Marseillaise, but most of them look- 
 ing anxious ; gentlemen were standing at the corners of the 
 streets conversing, and a considerable crowd Avas collected watch- 
 ing the telegraph, whose arms were working, conveying and 
 recei\dng some fresh intelligence from Paris. Presently a shout 
 was heard from the end of the street, and all hastened to learn 
 
10 NEWS OF THE FIGHT. 
 
 tlie cause : it was a long line of waggons and carriages laden 
 with. National Guards, who were hastening to Paris from four of 
 the more southern towns to lend their aid to the cause of order. 
 Cross narrowly observed the faces and actions of the crowd 
 which was pouring iu from every side to see them pass, and the 
 examination was satisfactory, for the approbation and pleasure 
 displayed proved that communism was at a discount in 'Nov- 
 mandy, and that the discontented in one city, large though it 
 was, must yield to the wiU of the nation. 
 
 During the next two or three days, gi-eat anxiety was felt 
 and expressed regarding the volunteers who had marched for 
 Paris ; the telegraph, and such newspapers as were printed, 
 reported that order was restored, but private letters arrived from 
 Paris stating that several assassinations had taken place, and 
 that some of the National Guards from the country had been 
 shot while on duty. These anxieties, however, did not last long, 
 for most of those who had gone wrote to announce their safe 
 arrival. Many of these letters — those at least which were 
 written to male friends — were read aloud, and were found to 
 contain much more ample details of the ridiculous misadventures 
 of the writers and their companions, than of the horrors which 
 they had gone to witness and suppress ; but, by degrees, all 
 that had taken place was made known, either by the public 
 prints or private letters. Then people began to breathe more 
 freely, and to talk loudly in behalf of order and against the 
 domination of the refuse of France, who thought proper to ruin 
 their country by raising emeutes in the capital, Grapeshot, 
 gunpowder, and wholesale extermination of these miscreants, 
 poured from the mouths of all who had anything to lose ; and 
 not a few talked of the propriety of marching en masse to Paris 
 to destroy the hornets' nest by burning it to the ground, as the 
 only means of restoring peace to France. 
 
 A few days more passed, and matters became quieter, and 
 then the news arrived that the services of the National Guard 
 from the country could be dispensed with, and that the volun- 
 
RETUEN OF THE VOLUNTEERS. 11 
 
 teers -vvere to be dismissed and return to their homes. The 
 town was in great commotion on receipt of this mteUigence. 
 Their friends were to arrive the following day, and it was 
 unanimously resolved that they should have a public reception ; 
 accordingly, on the following morning all was bustle. At one 
 o'clock, the National Guard who had remained at home, the 
 artillery company with their guns, and the fire-brigade, mus- 
 tered in the Place Yalhubert, and from thence marched with 
 bands of music to Pont, to receive their friends on the spot 
 where they had taken leave of them so short a time before. 
 Short as that time had been, gi-eat was the change in the minds 
 of those who now went to welcome their townsmen. "When 
 they had gone to bid them adieu, depression and anxiety were 
 on the countenances of all, but now they bore a triumphant 
 look : the cause of order was in the ascendant ; their lives and 
 (what a Xorman values more) their Ikres were safe ; they con- 
 sidered the volunteers to be heroes, who had assisted in this 
 good work ; for they felt, and justly felt, that although few of 
 the country National Guards had actually been engaged, yet the 
 moral impression gaven by then' march to the capital had done 
 as much for the establishment of order as the more bloody 
 deeds of those who actually fought at the barricades. All eyes 
 were therefore bright, all hearts were gay, and the military 
 music sounded merrily as they marched down the hdl. And 
 on this hill was many a fair face, and many an aged form. The 
 young came to meet lover, brother, or husband ; the old to 
 catch the first glimpse of a son's form, and to contend with the 
 young for the fii'st glance of his eye. Mingled Avith the better 
 class were hundreds of the peasant women, dressed in their 
 high white caps and gaudy-coloured handkerchiefs. They gave 
 a striking effect to the edge of the steep hill on which they 
 were grouped ; and behind them were mustered masses of the 
 farmers and peasants, dressed in their blue blouses. No young 
 men of the upper classes were there, for they Avere in the ranks, 
 which had just left the town ; but a few old gentlemen stood 
 
12 A FRENCH CHEF.E. 
 
 near the ladies, like tlieiii watching for the return of a son or a 
 relative. 
 
 From the height where all were thus assemhled, the village 
 of Pont could be clearly seen. Every eye was turned in that 
 direction, and at length a universal buzz and clapping of hands 
 gave notice that the flag was hoisted, to intimate that the 
 comers were in sight at Pont. Two minutes after, a shout told 
 that they were in sight from the hill. The shout, for a French 
 one, was good ; but, after all, it was but a poor concern. There 
 is nothing that strikes the ear of an Englishman more forcibly 
 than the difference between the cheers of a British and a French 
 crowd. The cheer of the French is a sort of irregular roar, and 
 sounds tame in comparison with an English cheer ; but, to make 
 up for this deficiency, the French beat the English hollow in 
 their cries of anger. The shout of an angry British mob re- 
 sembles the roar of a bull, while that of a French one is like 
 the scream of demons let loose. ^Xo one was angry on this 
 occasion ; all were pleased and highly excited, for the cheers of 
 the men were imusually good, and the women pressed forward 
 to the very edge of the road, waving their handkerchiefs to the 
 still distant party. A quarter of an hour elapsed, which seemed 
 like an age to the watchers ; then came the waggons in which 
 the troops had travelled ; and the drivers, having no enemy to 
 beat, as a matter of course beat their horses. After the waggons 
 there was a pause for a minute, and then the band turned the 
 corner, playing right heartily ; but j;he sound of their instru- 
 ments was drowned in the roar of a salute from the cannon at 
 the top of the hill. In a few seconds the band had passed, and 
 then the heroes of the day were close to the anxious gazers. 
 First came sis of the Garde Mobile of Paris ; they were natives 
 •of the town, who had distinguished themselves in the contests 
 in the streets, and had received ten days' leave of absence to 
 conduct their townsmen to their homes. They were aU mere 
 lads, but they had fought, and fought welL One, iu particular, 
 had greatly distinguished himself. A year before, he had been 
 
A PUBLIC CEEEMOXY. 13 
 
 the ill-used apprentice of a hair-dresser, from whom he had run 
 away ; he was now returning, hailed as a hero, with a laurel 
 wreath hanging from his hayonet. All the muskets of the 
 Garde ]\Iobile were thus adorned with wreaths, while those of 
 the volunteers had a nosegay and a branch of laurel stuck in 
 their barrels. All these passed rapidly by, having barely time 
 to return a glance or a nod to the vivas and waving of handker- 
 chiefs of their fair friends. Behind them followed the rest of 
 the local troops, and then came the rush of the crowd to get a 
 place in the Place Valhubert, where the volunteers were to be 
 mustered and addressed before being dismissed. 
 
 Such an opportunity for a little theatrical display was not 
 likely to be lost by the officials. It was done, and well done ; 
 for there are no people in the world who do this better than 
 the French. The people Avere paraded and praised in a neatly- 
 turned speech by one ; they were re-praised and re-paraded by 
 a second ; and a third received back their flag, and gave them yet 
 another laudatory oration, and then they were dismissed ; and 
 though, to our colder natures, so much parade and praise may 
 look like braggadocio and nonsense, it is well judged in France ; 
 for, once dismissed, the embracing was endless. There was not 
 a gamin in the streets, when he saw the laurel wreaths, that did 
 not wish to enlist in the Garde Mobile ; nor a single National 
 Guard who was not ready to march to the devil, instead of to 
 Paris, in the hope of being so paraded, so praised, and so kissed 
 on his return. As for the Garde Mobile, their only difficulty 
 was how to meet the innumerable invitations that poured on 
 them from every side. Poor boys ! if they could march to Paris, 
 it was more than they could do to go to bed. Some slept where 
 they supped ; others were carried shoulder high to their quarters 
 by men not much more sober than themselves ; thus making 
 another escape for their lives, seeing that it is a question which 
 was the greater danger, a shot from an insurgent in Paris, or 
 a fall on the pavement from the shoulders of their friends at 
 home. 
 
14 A ftnt:eal ^uss. 
 
 The morning after their arrival came an order for a funeral 
 mass in all the churches in France, which was to be celebrated 
 in honoiir of those who had fallen in defence of the government. 
 This order was proclaimed through the streets by the drum. 
 The day following, Cross's servant brought him a scrap of paper, 
 which looked very like the little dirty butcher's bills which were 
 weekly laid on his table ; but on examination it proved to be an 
 invitation to attend the funeral procession and service ; the 
 parties to meet at the prefecture, and march in form to the 
 church of St. Gervais, where the ceremony of the funeral mass 
 was to be celebrated. Xever having seen anything of the sort. 
 Cross hastened to don a suit of black, stuck a sprig of cypress 
 in his button-hole, and walked off to the place of meeting. 
 
 At the door he was met by the dignitaries, dressed in black 
 and wearing scarfs of tricoloured silk either over the shoulder 
 or round the waist. It is wonderful what a number of office- 
 bearers there are in every French town; all were now mustered 
 in full fig, and to each a bow must be given. In the large 
 room another party of officials met him ; these were the pro- 
 fessors of the college, with gowns and sc[uare black caps. The 
 trencher caps of our own collegiate dignitaries are so odd in the 
 eyes of foreigners, that we have no right to laugh at similar 
 oddities on the heads of the learned in other lands. The inside 
 of the heads of these teachers of youth are so well garnished, 
 we presume, that the outside must be absurdly clothed to mark 
 the difference. More bows, of course, were made to each of 
 these, and it was no easy task to go through them, for, like the 
 civic officials, there seemed to be a preposterous number of pro- 
 fessors in proportion to the number of scholars to be taught. 
 Behind the professors were ranged the invited guests, but liberte 
 and egalite were evident, for there stood, side by side, tbe 
 ancient nobles of the land Avith the butchers, bakers, and grocers 
 of the town. More bows still, and when Cross's neck was half 
 broken by such constant bending, he at last drew up against the 
 wall to watch the arrival of any other guest. Punctuality is not 
 
PROCESSION. 15 
 
 a French, ^artue; if so, it was not now practised, for it was after 
 waiting a full hour past the appointed time that the sound of a 
 military band was heard. Immediately afterwards the IsTational 
 Guard marched into view and drew up in front of the door. 
 
 A roll of drums gave notice that all was ready. The offi- 
 cials marched off, beginning with the sous-prefet and ending 
 with a junior professor ; the guests followed as they could; the 
 band struck up " Mourir pour la patrie ;" the cortege moved off, 
 and Cross found himself, with two or three of his countrymen, 
 walking behind the butchers and bakers of the town. 
 
 " When we invite foreigners to attend our public ceremonies," 
 said an old general officer to Cross, " we always offer them some 
 place of distinction ; but I suppose they mean this as a compli- 
 ment, we have seen their backs in action and they are giving us 
 another sight of them." 
 
 Cross laughed ; he did think that, for a nation which pre- 
 tends to be the most polite in the world, it was somewhat odd 
 to allow strangers to be jostled by the riff-raff of the town. 
 
 The old General, having vented his spleen, recovered his good 
 humour and marched on, but his equanimity was again rather 
 disturbed when, on entering the church, he found that no seats 
 had been reserved. Every one was seated, except the half 
 dozen English gentlemen who had been invited. After a while 
 a lady made room in her pew for the General ; the rest of the 
 English were obliged to stand, and, as the church was tremend- 
 ously crowded, and the day intensely hot, this was no joke. 
 Cross was interested in watching the ceremony, and did not 
 therefore so much care for the fatigue, as by standing he had a 
 better opportunity of seeing what was going on. 
 
 The first entry into the church was striking to any one who 
 witnessed such a ceremony for the first time. Seats having been 
 reserved near the altar for the dignitaries, the band, and for all 
 the invited guests, except the English, every other corner of the 
 church was crammed with females, among whom might be re- 
 marked about a dozen of old men. The priests and choristers 
 
16 MILITARY CHURCH MUSIC, 
 
 stood in front, close round the altar, aU dressed in their glitter- 
 ing costumes ; a little further off were ranged the boys in white 
 and black dresses, each holding a silver incense-vessel in his 
 hand. The walls round the altar were hung with black festoons, 
 and on it burnt a number of tall wax tapers, and close to the 
 railing stood two highly-gilt antique reading-desks, with large 
 folios open upon them. 
 
 As the procession entered the church, the band ceased to 
 play, and the drums struck up a row-dow — row-dow-dow, all 
 striking at the same moment. The noise on entering the vaulted 
 roof of the church was deafening. They marched on, two and 
 two, opening out into single file as they passed the bier which 
 stood ill the centre of the aisle, and joining again when they 
 had passed it. On reaching the altar they filed off to the right 
 and left, and formed lines behind the incense boys, continuing 
 to beat the same row-dow — row-dow-dow, tiU the aisles were 
 completely filled by the National Guards. They then gave a 
 roll that made noise enough to bring down the roof of the 
 church, had it not been built of solid materials, and the service 
 began. The first part was impressive, for the beautiful music 
 of the Eoman Catholic service, with the sight of so many 
 women seemingly rapt in devotion, must strike every feeling 
 mind with serious thoughts, and Cross, though bred in a simpler 
 and very different form of worship, felt that just respect for 
 the belief of others, which he claimed for himself. As the 
 service advanced, however, two or three circumstances occurred 
 which rather shocked his Calvinistic ideas of propriety. At two 
 or three different periods during the service, the band struck up 
 in full chorus. At first they confined themselves to playing 
 bits from various operas, but afterwards they played waltzes and 
 polkas ; and during this most dancing music one priest was still 
 reading at the desk, two or three more were bowing low from 
 time to time and walking around and across the reader and the 
 altar. This struck him considerably, but he felt stiU more 
 astonished when the period arrived for the elevation of the 
 
FEENCH OR ITALIANS. 17 
 
 Host. The bell rang first, then resounded the voice of the 
 colonel giving the word of command ; all the soldiers presented 
 arms and knelt on one knee, while the drums struck up a most 
 deafening roll, AVhen the sacrament was taken the drums 
 seased, the voice of the colonel was again heard, and the soldiers 
 resumed their places. A great number of candles that sur- 
 rounded the bier were then lit, the priests approached, some 
 prayers were chanted, and the service was over. The dignitaries 
 left their places, and again led the way from the church as they 
 lad entered it, followed by the same guests. They re-formed in 
 }he front of the church, the sous-prefet at the head, to conclude 
 ;he ceremony by once more marching in procession through 
 ihe streets. 
 
 "Hang their humbug !" said the old General to Cross, "I 
 lave had enough of this ; suppose you and I fall out of the 
 •anks and cut them. Keep this side of the street ; we will pop 
 iown the first lane and be ofi"." 
 
 " With all my heart," answered Cross ; " for, to own the 
 ;ruth, I am nearly done up by standing so long in such awful 
 leat." 
 
 " You may say that," said the General ; " and if a young 
 "ellow like you feels it so much, you may judge how I would 
 lave suff'ered if that worthy lady had not made room for me. 
 But here is a fine narrow lane, so give me your arm, and we will 
 ;ut the concern." 
 
 Cross gave his arm, and they entered the narrow lane as the 
 jreneral had proposed ; it was in shade, and when once fairly 
 mtered on, they paused to enjoy the refreshing coolness. 
 
 " I say. Cross," said the General, " you have been in Italy as 
 veil as myself. These Frenchmen do not manage matters so 
 veil as the Italians. In Italy, though I thought them a set of 
 )lockheads to believe in saints and relics, yet I never went into 
 -heir churches that I did not feel a respect for them ; but faith, 
 lere, with, their drums and trumpets, I feel no respect for either 
 Driests or people ; and the young men seem to care as little for 
 
 C 
 
18 " CHUECH-GOEKS." 
 
 their priests as I do, for there was not one young fellow present 
 except those Avho were obliged to be there on duty." 
 
 " I agree with you, General, in thinking that there is far 
 greater solemnity and decorum in the church service as it is 
 performed in Italy ; but we have no right to judge by what we 
 have seen to-day ; neither you nor I have ever seen a public 
 military funeral in Italy, and therefore we cannot draw a com- 
 parison. As for your critique on the absence of young men, I 
 have made the same remark before. I have frequently gone 
 into the churches to hear the music at high mass, and have 
 always been struck by never seeing any of the young men of the 
 better class at church. You will see a number of the elderly 
 peasants and a small sprinkling of the young ones, but never 
 since I have been in this country have I seen a young man in 
 society at church. If they do go at all, it must be very early in 
 the morning, or late at night, for I have never seen them there." 
 
 Thus talking, they had resumed their walk. Strolling gently 
 down the lane, they had now reached the end where it opened 
 into the market-place. The sun was striking hot and bright into 
 the open space, and they paused again, dishking to face the heat. 
 In front of them sat a group of the peasant women in their high 
 caps ; before each was a table on which were spread fruits of 
 various sorts, and beside them were ranged baskets containing 
 vegetables. Each woman held over her head a large red umbrella, 
 which shaded herself and her goods from the force of the sun's 
 rays ; but the light passing through the umbrella gave colour to 
 the shade it afforded, tinting cap, table, fruit, and baskets, with 
 varied shades of red. 
 
 "That is very picturesque," said Cross; "I wish I was a 
 painter ! — what a picture might be made of what is now before 
 lis ! — ^the grouping is so good, and the colouring so rich, both 
 in brilliancy and shade." 
 
 " You don't surely call those caps pretty ] " exclaimed the 
 General. 
 
 " Xot pretty, certainly," replied Cross ; " but yet I think 
 
THE JIARKET-PLACE. 19 
 
 hem picturesque. Individually, I agree in thinking them 
 rightful, but in groups, those high white cones make beautiful 
 ines ; and ugly as we may consider them, they have stood a 
 cod long test, more especially in a country where the fashion 
 f dress is so often changed. You will see this same cap cut 
 n the oldest tombstones ; and we know that the wife and 
 idles of the court of "William the Conqueror were thus be- 
 ecked, and the Icelandic cap has much the same form as some 
 f these. But you need not fix your eyes entirely on the Xor- 
 lan cap : there is a group of prettier and quieter head-gears 
 ram other parts of the coimtry now crossing the market-place ; 
 nd if you look to the left, you may see that line of Granville 
 aps which the fish-women wear. The reflection of the red. 
 mbrellas on their white turban-like head-dresses is quite 
 riental ; they, at all events, have the double charm of being 
 idividually pretty and highly picturesque. And see, there is 
 ertainly a countryman of ours, who is admiring either the 
 romen or their wares, for he has been standing staring at them 
 ince we have been here. He is a new comer, I think — nay, 
 ow I am certain, for I see the mark by which to recognise a 
 :esh-arrived Johnny Bull ; don't you see he has a Murray under 
 is arm 1 Suppose we go and reconnoitre him, and, at the same 
 ime, see what fish remains unsold." 
 
 " By all means," said the General ; and they proceeded to- 
 rards that part of the market appropriated to the sale of fish, 
 "he stalls were almost cleared, but large slices of skate were 
 tiU hanging over the sides of small tubs ; a few fresh-water fish 
 nd some red gurnet were lying on the tables, and baskets of 
 ockles and oysters were standing on the ground, ^^'^len they 
 ame near the stall by which the stranger was standing, they 
 aw that on that table lay a salmon of about fourteen pounds 
 'eight, and the owner was undergoing a cross-examination from 
 lie Englishman as to where it was caught, and when. The 
 tranger turned when they were close to him ; Cross sprang 
 arward, and as he seized his hand, exclamations of recognition 
 
20 IHE. HOPE. 
 
 and pleasure at meeting "svere exchanged. Tlie General took Ids 
 leave ; tut before he went, Cross introduced the stranger as 
 "my old friend, Mr. Hope." "When the General was gone, a 
 volley of questions followed from Cross. 
 
 " I am so glad to see you, my dear fellow, and the pleasure 
 is so unexpected. "Wlien did you come 1 where did you come 
 from ? where axe you stajang 1 and what the deuce brought you 
 here?" 
 
 " I may return the compliment," answered Hope, " and say 
 truly, I am right glad to see you ; and then for your questions 
 — I will answer them seriatim. I came last night ; I come 
 from Paris ; I am staying at the inn hard by ; and I have come 
 here because I saw the name of this town on a large placard at 
 the Diligence Gifice, with an intimation that I could come here 
 in twenty-six hours, on payment of a certain number of francs ; 
 and here I am. Xow I must ask you one question in return : 
 Are you settled here ]" 
 
 Cross answered in the affirmative. 
 
 " Then that decides me," said Hope ; " I too will stay. The 
 sight of that salmon had nearly determined me to do so, but 
 now my mind is quite made up ; for it cannot be a bad place 
 where a man may catch a salmon now and then, and have an 
 old friend to talk to. However, we can talk of our friends and 
 ourselves by-and-by. In the meantime I must hear a little 
 more about this salmon, for I never expected to see such a short 
 thick fish in France. A fellow like that would give sport on a 
 line." 
 
 " This one I suspect had no such chance," replied Cross, 
 " but has been caught in the stake-nets. Salmon, however, are 
 often taken in the rivers with the fly. There are two streams 
 close to this town, but I have very seldom heard of the salmon 
 rising in the warm weather. Early in the season they take very 
 well. Just now you must content yourself with fishing for 
 smaller fry. Trout, large dace, chub, and bleak, may all be taken 
 with the fly a few miles up the river ; and if you choose to con- 
 
COSMOPOLITE FISHER]VIAN. 21 
 
 lescend to bait-fishing, you may lie on the grass and pull out 
 )y the dozen the finest gudgeons I ever saw." 
 
 " That will do for me," said Hope; "for I am quite contented 
 io catch any fish, and in any way. I have met men who were 
 such epicures in fishing, that they considered it a degradation 
 iO fish for anything but salmon. Tor my part, I can sit in a 
 3unt and rake for gudgeons when nothing better offers. The 
 )nly difference is, that when I take to a punt on the Thames I 
 ike to have a paper of sandwiches or a pie, with a bottle of 
 vine and some iced soda-water for companions. AVhen I fish 
 ■or salmon, I only insist on a small flask of whisky or brandy in 
 ny pocket to strengthen my inward man, and drink a pleasant 
 DoiHng to my captives." 
 
 " If that is your feeling," said Cross, " you may do very 
 sveU here, for you may have your creature comforts on the grass 
 IS well as in a punt, with this additional gratification, that you 
 jan drink your bottle of champagne for half-a-crown instead of 
 tialf-a-guinea, and if you are bent on higher game, half a day 
 ivill take you into Brittany, where the fishing is reaUy good, and 
 y'ou may drink your brandy and pay for it with sous instead of 
 shillings." 
 
 " Bravo !" answered Hope; " I always thought you a pleasant 
 fellow, but you have risen a hundred per cent in my estimation, 
 for, to teU you the truth, I was a little low. Driven out of 
 Paris, and too poor to live in London, I was thrown on my 
 back ; but you have set me on my legs so well, that when I 
 have eaten a bit of that salmon, Caesar will be himself again !" 
 
 " Well, then," said Cross, " you shall eat it with me. I will 
 buy the half of it, and shew you where and how I get on here, 
 and you, in return, shall tell me all your news. Fresh from 
 Paris ; you must have much to tell if you were there during all 
 these late horrors." 
 
 " In truth, you may well call them horrors. But I shall 
 require some dinner, and a glass of wine, before we speak of 
 them. Let us wfeick to salmon and fish just now ; we will not 
 
22 OYSTERS m JxrsY. 
 
 talk of Paris till tlie evening. First let us get a tit of this fish, 
 then you shall shew me your quarters, and help me to find some 
 for myself, for those I now inhabit are not very clean or com- 
 fortable, and I don't like bagmen, above all, French bagmen, 
 for my companions at table. Such a set of ruffians as I met 
 at the table-d'hote breakfast this morning, reminded me too 
 strongly of the fellows I saw grinning over the barricades, to be 
 pleasant." 
 
 " I shall be delighted to help you," said Cross. " I will 
 buy the fish, and we must have a few oysters and cockles for 
 sauce, as there is no chance of getting a lobster to-day." 
 
 "Oysters in June!" exclaimed Hope; "did any one ever 
 hear of such an idea ? Have they no close-time here ?" 
 
 " I don't think they have," said Cross, " for you always see 
 oysters every market-day throughout the year, and I eat them 
 as others do, and find them very good. I suspect that those 
 which are now sold are what are cast up by the tide. The 
 women call them Gite de maree, which I do not understand, 
 unless it is a corruption of Huitres de maree — oysters of the 
 tide. These may be fish that do not breed, and therefore re- 
 main good when others are out of season, for the fishermen do 
 not dredge for them during the summer months, yet the markets 
 are always well supplied with those which the girls collect at 
 low tide on the sands, and, as I tell you, I have always found 
 them very eatable." 
 
 " That is an advantage," said Hope, " they have here over 
 us in England, and I shall be glad to try them, for an oyster is 
 always a good thing. As you have invited me to dinner, you 
 must let me send you your dish of fish." 
 
 "'So, no, my good fellow," said Cross, "I am too good a 
 patriot to allow a new comer to buy anything in a Korman 
 market till he knows a little more of the people ; why, if you 
 were to try and deal with that old lady you would raise the 
 market for the next six weeks, by giving her what she asked, 
 and thus get yourself into a scrape with me and the rest of your 
 
MAEKETIXG. 23 
 
 countrymen. So, you must e'en condescend to eat your fish, as 
 well as the rest of your dinner, at my expense to-day." 
 
 " As you will," replied Hope ; " I remember you always 
 liked to have your own way, so I will not interfere. Pro^dded 
 I have a bit of that fish I shall not quarrel with the person who 
 procures it." 
 
 Cross had a wrangle with the fish- woman, which lasted some 
 five minutes ; bought the salmon and a few dozen of oysters, 
 sent them home to his house, and then took Hope's arm to fol- 
 low his purchase and show him the way. 
 
 " Do you often buy fish in the market 1 " asked Hope 
 laughing. " You seem to be pretty well up to the trade." 
 
 " I do now and then, for fun, take a turn through the 
 market," answered Cross, " and then I buy fish, fruit, or flowers, 
 if I see any that tempt me. I have not lungs to make a prac- 
 tice of it ; I keep a cook, however, who is a Xorman, and to 
 hear her speak you would think she was a daughter of Boreas. 
 She buys everything for the house, which is much the best way. 
 She cheats me of course, but in moderation, and allows no one 
 else to do so, which I consider being in a very comfortable 
 position. You remember the story of Lord Grey and his Greek 
 courier ? " 
 
 " No," said Hope, " I don't remember it." 
 
 " AVhy, he said he had found a treasure equal to the Pitt 
 diamond ; and when asked what it was, he answered that he 
 had foiind a courier who cheated him comfortably. That is 
 exactly my position with my cook, and if you fix yourself here, 
 I hope you may be equally fortunate. But here is my house, 
 to which let me bid you welcome." 
 
 The two friends entered the door. Hope examined the 
 house, furniture, and different arrangements, and declared that, 
 though not so gay and smart as a Paris lodging, he thought every- 
 thing fully as comfortable, and then he asked whether there was 
 any chance of finding the same accommodation for himsel£ 
 Cross explained that he could show him plenty of houses very 
 
^4 HOUSE-HUNTING. 
 
 like his own, wliich he could take with only the bare walls ; the 
 furnishing must be ari'anged with another party, who would put 
 in any quantity of furniture that might be required, charging 
 rent according to the number and quality of articles supplied. 
 Hope then inquired if, being a single man, he could not find 
 some family with whom he might board and lodge ; but Cross 
 recommended him not to try such a plan, as the loss of temper 
 he must endure would be but ill repaid by the saving of trouble. 
 " You may find," he said, " what you want ; but you would be 
 very uncomfortable in changing all your own habits to suit those 
 of your host or hostess. They think their own manners and 
 customs charming ; you would find them provincial, and think 
 them detestable. John Bull is a variety'of the genus homo that 
 has his own ways, and understands the word comfortahJe better 
 than any other being on earth ; he should therefore always have, 
 what I advise you to secure, a home of his own. A very short 
 time will suffice to get all you want in order, and in the mean- 
 while I can give you a room and something to eat, which, though 
 not very splendid, is, at all events, better than your inn. A kind 
 welcome must make up for deficiencies." 
 
 After some httle demur Hope accepted the offer ; and after 
 drinking a glass of wine and water they sallied forth in search of 
 a house. There was no difficulty in finding one, for the panic 
 caused by the Eevolution had driven away most of the English 
 families. Hope's arrival was therefore a godsend to the house- 
 holders and dealers in furniture. Before six o'clock all his 
 arrangements were made, on payment of a sum one-third less 
 than the rent which Cross paid for the same accommodation, 
 with a promise that everything should be in order in three days. 
 Hope instantly wrote for his servant to join him, with his plate 
 and Hnen ; and then sat down to Cross's snug little dinner, with, 
 as he said, a feeling of comfort and security which he had not 
 felt for months. 
 
CHAPTEE II. 
 
 FRESH FROM PARIS. 
 
 After dinner Cross began the conversation, being anxious to 
 hear, from an English eye-witness, what he had seen and 
 thought of late events in Paris. Hope was no longer unwilling 
 to speak. 
 
 " Tell me," said Cross, " what you felt durmg all these 
 events ; and if the reports are true which we have heard and 
 seen in the newspapers regardLug all the horrors which they 
 describe. Is it true, for instance, that the women showed such 
 brutal cruelty in the last outbreak ]" 
 
 " Strange to say," answered Hope, " in no newspaper have 
 I seen horrors mentioned such as I have witnessed with my own 
 eyes. I say strange, for, in general, the caterers for the public 
 rather exaggerate than mitigate such deeds. The French, of 
 course, do not like to publish the account of atrocities that are 
 disgraceful to their nation ; but I am surprised none of the 
 English newspapers have mentioned one which drove me out of 
 Paris. I was present when an old woman was seized who had 
 been seen actively engaged on one of the barricades. She was 
 searched to discover if she had any cartridges concealed on her 
 person, and from her pocket was taken a handkerchief saturated 
 with blood, which, when opened, was found to contain a number 
 of tongues, eyes, and other parts of the human body, which this 
 monster had cut off with her own hands, from the persons of 
 some unfortunate Gardes Mobile, who were taken at the barri- 
 cade where she was placed. I teU you. Cross, the expression of 
 that wretch's face, 'and the contents of her pocket, have never 
 
26 HOKROKS. 
 
 been absent from my mind, night or day, since I saw tbem. I 
 could not remain in the same town where such demons were 
 loose, for I heard, and I believe, that many other women had 
 acted ia the same brutal manner as this fiend. She boasted that 
 with her own hands she had mutilated all the unfortunate lads 
 of the Garde Mobile who were taken prisoners at the barricade 
 where she was stationed, and she had left them to bleed to 
 death. As a great many of their bodies were found thus 
 mangled, I believe the confession to be true. I stood the first 
 outbreak. I saw, it is true, men with the look of fiends ; men, 
 the like of whom I never saw before, and some of my friends 
 who have Hved in Paris all their lives knew not from whence 
 they came, though they stream iato view ia all great commotions 
 of that capital ; but these were men, not women. Their appear- 
 ance and their deeds of blood did not give that feeling of shud- 
 dering horror which that old ^\Tetch's pocket gave me. I saw 
 almost an infant shoot a man, and have his own brains blown 
 out for the act ; I heard of one poor devil being tied between 
 two planks, and then sawn in two. I have seen, with my own 
 eyes, hats full of poisoned bullets taken from the insurgents ; 
 indeed, I have got some dozen of these which I can show you. 
 All this I saw, and yet I was unwilling to leave Paris, and give 
 up the house which had cost me so much trouble and expense 
 to put in order. But this old fiend's look I cotdd not endure ; 
 I could not eat, I could not sleep ; the streets seemed to smell 
 Uke a slaughter-house, and the very moon and stars had a red 
 tinge in my eyes, I could bear it no longer, and I resolved to 
 be off ; the only question was, where 1 and this doubt, as I tell 
 you, was answered by my accidentally seeing a large placard 
 stuck up at the door of a dihgence office, stating that there was 
 such a place as this, which the expenditure of a few hours and 
 a few francs would enable me to reach. I went home, consulted 
 Murray, took my place, and ahghted here last night. The sight, 
 this morning, of a fresh-caught salmon cheered me up, for it 
 recalled the memory of young and happy days : and now, thanks 
 
TASTES OF A COUNTKY GENTLEIMAN. 27 
 
 to your pleasant company and good dinner, I am myself again, 
 and can think of killing fish, not men." 
 
 " And I," said Cross, " am truly glad if I have been of the 
 least use, or comfort, to such an old friend. The only thing 
 that astonishes me, is that you, who used to like the country 
 and country pursuits, should have set yourself down in a great 
 city like Paris ; you were a great lover of flowers, a dabbler in 
 natural history, as well as a sportsman, when I first knew you." 
 
 " All true, my dear fellow," answered Hope ; " but I am not 
 rich enough now to do all that I used to do. Sporting I Avas 
 fain to give up ; but flowers I could still enjoy in the greatest 
 perfection in Paris ; then, for natural history, or other branches 
 of science, if I could not possess the living objects, I could see 
 them preserved in the museum, and I could converse with men 
 who talk well on these subjects ; and, let me tell you, that a 
 clever Frenchman is a very agreeable companion. The most 
 able, and therefore to me the most agreeable, are to be found in 
 the capital. But since I am driven from thence, I shall resume 
 my old ways ; and Avith your help, I hope to be able again to 
 begin the practical, if I give up the theoretical study of birds, 
 beasts, fishes, and flowers." 
 
 " And here," said Cross, " you will have a tolerably good 
 field to practise upon, for, although the birds are not very 
 numerous, there are many different kinds. Animals are scarce, 
 but the variety of fish is considerable, and we are rich in plants 
 and insects." 
 
 " To begin with fish, then," said Hope ; " you must tell me 
 about the habits of the salmon here. Are they the same as with 
 us in the North 1 when do they begin to run 1 when do they 
 spawn 1 when does the fry come in 1 have you sea-trout and 
 finnocks in any quantity, and at what time do the grilse arrive 1 
 for if they are at all like what they are with us, I may yet get 
 a grilse or two this year, if not a salmon." 
 
 " You ask a number of questions," said Cross, " which I 
 will try to answer as best I may ; but in truth it is not easy to 
 
28 SALMON-FEY. 
 
 do so, for there is a considerable difference between the seasons 
 here and at home. In the first place, great quantities of the best 
 fish come into the rivers in December ; the largest shoals of fry, 
 it is true, arrive at the same time as with us, namely in April, 
 but they differ in appearance from ours. They have the same 
 bright silvery belly, but the back, instead of being a greenish 
 black, is here a dark straw colour, when fresh taken out of the 
 water, which darkens as they die. I cannot help thinking that 
 this is a beautiful provision of nature to protect them from their 
 enemies. The great shoal of fry hang about the foot of the 
 streams, and these have the light colour on their backs ; but 
 those that go higher up the river are exactly like ours at home. 
 Now here, the bottom of all the embouchures of the rivers is a 
 light-coloured sand, and I have asked myself if it be possible 
 that these fish, like moths, have the power of gaining the colour 
 of the bed on which they rest and feed. I should wish much 
 to know if such is the case at any of the English rivers. Gene- 
 rally speaking, in Scotland the mouths of the streams are 
 gravelly, or where there is sand it is dark in colour, and there 
 the salmon-fry have dark backs ; but here, the tide leaves miles 
 of river flowing through white sand, and here the salmon-fry 
 have yellow backs in spring. I say in spring, for, strange to 
 say, in this country there are two periods when the fry come 
 into the rivers : the greater quantity, as I have already told you, 
 arrive at the same time as with us in the North ; but there is a 
 second shoal, which comes in about the last week of October or 
 beginning of November. I took a considerable number last 
 November; they were undoubtedly salmon-fry, and they had 
 dark backs like our own." 
 
 " Fish often change colour," said Hope. " I once looked 
 into a newly -made pond in a public garden in Germany, where 
 the water was clear and the bottom of various shades. There 
 was dark mud in some places, and light gravel newly thrown in 
 at other spots. The pond was full of fish, and I noticed that 
 whenever one moved from one place to another, he showed 
 
COLOUES OF FISH AND FLESH. 29 
 
 dark or light, as the case miglit be, against the background, 
 and amongst his fellows ; but after he had rested a while he 
 assumed the shade of the ground on which he rested. 'Not 
 being a fish, I cannot say whether they did it on purpose or 
 not ; but I suspect the change of shade is in some way produced 
 by light. Dead trouts can have no will in the matter, and they 
 change colour in the most extraordinary way. Sometimes they 
 mark each other ; sometimes a leaf, or the basket, or anything 
 else, marks the skin with a pattern. The dry skin is of a dif- 
 ferent shade from the wet skin. In short, I suspect that fish 
 change colour for the same reason that men do, whatever that 
 may be. A miner has a pale complexion, a mountaineer has a 
 cheek as brown as his own hills. One is ' bleached,' and the 
 other ' sunburnt,' and men and women can blush and turn pale, 
 sometimes to very good purpose. They get red when they are 
 hot, and icy blue when they are cold, and it may be useful to 
 look blue on blue ice, but all this men generally do without any 
 exercise of their will. At all events, fish change colour, and to 
 very good purpose, for they are harder to see when they take the 
 shade of the bottom ; and so it may be a provision of nature for 
 tlieu' protection from the enemies who are provided for their 
 destruction, and who must, in their turn, look oiit for them- 
 selves, or make provision for some other. Think of that, Cross, 
 when you use your wits to tempt a trout with a fly, and then 
 devour him. There is a great deal to be learned before we can give 
 reasons for anything, even for a change of colour in man or fish." 
 
 " Did you count the rays on the fins ? " asked Hope. 
 
 " I did," replied Cross, " and found them quite correct. 
 They had also the black spot on the gill, and the mark, on 
 which I lay great stress, for ascertaining the difference between 
 the young of the salmon and that of the bull-trout. A practised 
 eye can distinguish a difference in the form, for the fry of the 
 salmon has one easy even swell in the belly, while the fry of the 
 bull-trout is more aldermanic in shape ; he is more pot-bellied, 
 and has a sort of notch under the gills, from which the swell of 
 
30 DISTINGUISHING MAKES OF SALM0N-FEY. 
 
 the belly springs. To observe this, however, requires, as I said, 
 a practised eye, and requires also that the fish should be examined 
 when fresh taken, for they lose this distinction when they have 
 been dead for any time. My mark is a much simpler, and, to 
 my mind, a much surer test ; it is this : The scale of the young 
 salmon is so tender, it is like the bloom on a plum, which you 
 cannot touch Avithout removing, while the scale on the trout is 
 much firmer. In taking a salmon-fry off your hook, your hand 
 is silvered over with a substance which is so fine you can hardly 
 see that it is composed of minute scales ; whereas, with a trout, 
 the scale, though it comes off, does so in. a much less degree, and 
 you can clearly distinguish that what sticks on your hand are 
 scales. Put both fish in the water when you have killed them, 
 and you will see the shape of your fingers clearly marked on 
 the salmon in a sort of blue colour, quite free from any shining 
 speck, while on the trout you will find that the scales are only 
 partly removed, and that many still remain adhering to the parts 
 which your fingers have pressed. I tell you I give great weight 
 to this test, and I tried it and every other I knew, on the fry 
 taken in N"ovember, which stood them all ; and therefore I feel 
 confident that they were salmon-fry, and that there are two 
 seasons in France, though but one in Britain, at which salmon 
 must spawn, and fry run. I do not like to speak positively on 
 this point, for fish are a difiicult study ; and it requires close 
 watching for years before being able to affirm decidedly about 
 them ; but now that you are here, we may observe them to- 
 gether, and come to a surer result — two heads being better than 
 one. As for grilse, I do not believe there is a man in the 
 country that knows the difference between a grilse and a salmon. 
 There are a good many grilse sold about this time of year, and 
 they are all called salmon. These are taken in the stake-nets, 
 for the salmon, or grilse, will not rise in the hot weather ; and the 
 river is so full of roots of trees that it cannot be fished with nets ; 
 which is fortunate, for, if it could, there would not be a fish left 
 in the water." 
 
A THUNDEESTOEM. 31 
 
 " Thank you," said Hope, " for your information ; I shall 
 be delighted to assist you in your researches ; but till then, I 
 should not quite -wish to leave the river alone. I have seen 
 fish rise well in hot weather if tried after sunset, or just as the 
 sun is rising, and perhaps one of my small gaudy flies might 
 tempt them." 
 
 " We may try, at all events," repKed Cross ; " but there 
 would really be no use in doing so tUl we have some rain ; the 
 rivers are too sleepy to afford sport without a fresh in. the water, 
 or a stiff breeze." 
 
 The friends contiuued to converse thus for an hour or tAvo, 
 discussiag birds, fish, and flowers, but never returning to the 
 paiuful scenes Hope had witnessed. He was tired and went 
 early to bed, it being arranged that they should try one of the 
 rivers after the first fall of raiu ; and that till then the}- sliould 
 make little excursions to see the country, and visit the difierent 
 nursery gardens, to examine the beautiful roses and carnations, 
 for which the place was famed. The weather was too sultry to 
 go far, and Hope wished to superintend the arrangements of his 
 house, so that the next four days were spent chiefly in lounging 
 about the nursery gardens. On the fifth, Hope was installed in 
 his new abode, his servant having arrived with his bacrsracre : 
 but, by way of welcome, a most tremendous thunderstorm and a 
 deluge of rain burst on the to^vn half an hour after he had taken 
 possession. 
 
 " That is an awful flash," said Hope, as a clap of thunder 
 resounded, shaking the house to the foundation. " I hope it 
 will not frighten the fish, for this rain will make a fresh in the 
 river, and we are to try what we can do to-morrow." 
 
 "Aye," answered Cross, as he looked out of the window; 
 " if the rivers are not too large and overflow their banks. '\Mien 
 it does rain here, it is no trifle ; we seldom see such torrents in 
 England, though often in Italy." 
 
 In the evening the storm ceased, and the two friends went 
 out to take a walk. Tlie town being placed upon a height, they 
 
32 ANGLING UNDEK DIFFICULTIES. 
 
 could see tliat the meadows below, on either side of the river, 
 were under water ; while, from heing thus situated on a hill, the 
 streets were scoured by the tremendous rain, so that the pave- 
 ment looked as clean washed as if it had been a Dutch instead 
 of a French town. Cross pointed this out to Hope, saying that 
 he ascribed the great healthiness of the place mainly to this 
 cause ; rain in Normandy not being unfrequent, and when it 
 did come, it came with such force that it proved a first-rate 
 scavenger, purifying in a wonderful manner the narrow dirty 
 streets of the older part of the town. 
 
 The next morning the day was clear and bright during the 
 early part, but the afternoon was cloudy, and as the river had 
 fallen to nearly its usual size, the two friends dined early, and 
 started, rod in hand, to begin a little above the village of Pont, 
 to fish from thence to the sea-line, and back again. One sea- 
 trout, two common trout, and a few chub were all that rewarded 
 their labours, when they reached a rapid, at the place where the 
 river entered the Greve, a gTeat sandy plain, which is covered 
 by the sea at spring tides, but through which the river continues 
 to wind for miles when the tide is out. On this plain, how- 
 ever, it is not safe to fish, for the sand is so quick in parts that 
 hundreds of people have been lost in attempting to cross it, and 
 never seen again. Here Hope began to fish with great care ; he 
 hooked and landed a large sea-trout, and had just raised a fine 
 grilse, when three or four lads, who were watching them from 
 the other side, began to throw handsfull of the white sand into 
 the water, splashing it, and making it white and dirty. Hope 
 remonstrated, and asked the lads to stop, but the only reply was 
 a shout of laughter, and a double quantitj^ of dirt thro"nTi. 
 Three men, who were filhng carts with the sand for manure, 
 joined the boys when they heard the noise thej' made. Hope 
 requested them very politely to stop the boys from doing that 
 which could be no amusement to them, but spoiled his fishing, 
 when one of the men, for answer, jumped into the river, and 
 kicked up the sand with Ms feet, making the water perfectly 
 
HOW TO THRASH A GAMIX. 33 
 
 white ; a second cheered on the boys, and a third struck up a 
 song, the chorus of which was — 
 
 " Siu- la France 1' Anglais 
 Ne regnera jamais " — 
 
 in which boys and men joined after the first couplet. 
 
 " Come away," said Cross, " we shall do no good now. I 
 know these fellows ; they are the leaders of all the blackguards 
 in the place." 
 
 " The French themselves make a bad job of ruling France. 
 I would like to break some of their heads before I go ! " ex- 
 claimed Hope. 
 
 " Xo doubt of it," replied Cross, " and so should I. You 
 and I could lick the whole boiling of them ; but if we knocked 
 one of them down the others would be witnesses against us, and 
 we should find ourselves to-morrow lodged at the expense of 
 the Eepubhc, and in quarters that Inspector Bill has never 
 examined. The Justice of Peace will make no allowance for 
 any provocation you may receive ; and if you strike a French- 
 man before witnesses you are quite sure to see the inside of a 
 prison. But if we could get them out of sight, and then break 
 their ribs, they would have no remedy, for no man can be a 
 witness in his own cause. This I know, for a young country^- 
 man of ours enticed a fellow who had been insolent to him into 
 a stable ; he shut the door and half killed him, and the French- 
 man could get no redress for his two black eyes and bloody nose, 
 because he had no witness. Just now, we know not how many 
 eyes are looking on, so we may as well go down to that dyke 
 where there is a deep hole and a bit of a stream." 
 
 Hope bit his lip but walked on, as Cross proposed. As they 
 reached the head of the stream they saw a fish rolling on the 
 shallow. Hope pulled out a good length of line and cast ; but 
 as his line fell on the water a stone plunged beside it. The 
 same boys were close behind them on the other side of the water. 
 Just as the stone fell, Hope and Cross saw a large fijsh cross the 
 shallow and dash into the deep pool. 
 
 D 
 
34 SEA LOUSE. 
 
 " The scoundrels !" exclaimed Hope, " if that would not try 
 the patience of Job, I do not know what would." 
 
 " I agree with you, and yet we must submit," said Cross, 
 " for if I knocked one of them on the head with this stone, 
 there are those three rascals standing by their carts to see what we 
 do, so we must just grin and bear it. Our only chance is to go 
 up the hill a little way ; there is a lane by which we may make 
 a short cut to the bridge ; and perhaj)s, now that the sun is low, 
 we may come better speed up the river than we did ia the after- 
 noon." 
 
 Hope absolutely ground his teeth, he was so angry ; but he 
 yielded to his younger companion, and left the river. 
 
 " Did you see that fish 1 " asked Cross, when they were fairly 
 in the lane and beyond the sound of the derisive cheers which 
 their persecutors gave on seeing them walk off. 
 
 " To be sure I did," replied Hope ; " and I think I had a 
 good chance of catching him, if those scoundrels had left us alone." 
 
 " "Well, if it is any comfort to you, I do not think you had 
 any chance," said Cross. " I suspect he was burning from the 
 lice ; did you not see the white mark on his tail as he passed us 1 " 
 
 " Yes, I saw it," said Hope, " and Icnew at once it was either 
 a wound or the louse mark ; but I have seen fish rise very well 
 when so marked. In some of the small rivers in the west of 
 Scotland, the fish, after a long term of dry weather, are often 
 marked in that way. They cannot get into these small rivers 
 without a speat, so they lie about the mouths till rain comes ; 
 if this is long delayed, the lice get so firmly fixed on them, that 
 they eat a hole on the dorsal fin. As these torments cannot live 
 in fresh water more than a few hours, they fall off as soon as the 
 fish is fairly in the river, and the spot where they have been 
 looks white in the water. I daresay it is not very comfortable 
 for the poor fish ; but still it does not prevent their rising, for I 
 have caught several so marked in the same day." 
 
 " What curious-looking creatures these sea lice are," said 
 Cross ; " did you ever look at them through a microscope V 
 
EIVEE LOUSE. 35 
 
 " Yes, once," replied Ho^je ; " but my instrument was bad. 
 Tliey look like tadpoles, "with tlie beads squeezed flat, and a 
 small bole in tbe centre of tbe flat part, just opposite tbe tail, 
 wbicb, I suppose, is tbe moutb. Tbese are tbe animals wbicb 
 drive tbe salmon out of tbe sea into tbe rivers ; tbere is another, 
 which fixes on them in the fresh water and drives them back 
 again into tbe sea. Did you ever examine tbese 1" 
 
 " Ko," said Cross, " I have not ; and though I have looked 
 at a good many kelts, I never saw any lice on them." 
 
 " Perhaps you did not look in the right place," returned 
 Hope. " The sea louse fixes on the outside of the fish, and 
 drives him to the river — the river louse, or rather leech, fixes on 
 the inside of the gills, and drives him back to the sea. I have 
 examined these last pretty accurately, and I know they do not 
 live an hour in salt water. The creature is a thin semi-transparent 
 leech, Avith small bright red rings, alternating with the trans- 
 parent portions for the whole length of the body. This is their 
 appearance when alive and fixed on the gills of the fish ; but 
 when you put a kelt into salt water, they fall off in a very short 
 time, and then they become of a dirty yellow colour. This fact 
 I know, for I once kept a kelt in a tub of salt water for about 
 three hours, and then turned him out. In pouring off the water, 
 some of these yellow creatures caught my eye ; I examined them, 
 and found that there were thousands of them in the tub. ]N"ot 
 feehng quite sure if they bad, or had not, been in the water 
 before I had put the fish in the tub, I repeated the experiment, 
 pouring the water through a sheet by way of filter, and then 
 placed another kelt in the water with the same result. This 
 fish was very sick, for I examined the gills before I put it in the 
 tub, and, I have no doubt, hurt it in so doing ; but the result 
 was the same. I saw myriads of tbese red and white animal- 
 cules on the fish at first, and I found them dead and dirty yellow 
 in the water aiter I let the fish go." 
 
 " These two creatures, then," said Cross, " act as flappers to 
 quicken the instinct of the salmon. The first tells him to go to 
 
36 DO SALMON EAT ? 
 
 the rivers to breed, the second sends him to recover his strength 
 and flesh by sea-bathing. How do you explain the assertion 
 that is made, that salmon do not eat in the sea, and that nothing 
 is ever found in their stomach when they are caught V 
 
 " JS'othing in the world more simple," said Hope. " A 
 salmon, like many other creatures, vomits when pursued or 
 frightened, on the principle, I suppose, of ' take my money and 
 spare my life.' Did you ever go on a rock where Solan geese 
 were breeding 1 It is a very absurd sight, and a case in poiut. 
 A Solan goose sits with one foot on her single egg. If you 
 approach her, she stands up, still holding her foot on the egg, 
 stretches out her neck, and disgorges the contents of her crop. 
 As soon as you move away, she recovers her property and swallows 
 what she has just put do^mi. A salmon, I know, goes through 
 the first process, for I have seen it done." 
 
 " How was that?" asked Cross. 
 
 " I was on the sea in a boat," answered Hope, " rowing, one 
 bright calm day, along some rocks near the mouth of a salmon 
 river, when I spied one of the poaching nets used by the High- 
 landers. To conceal these nets, they use bunches of the large 
 button sea ware instead of corks as floats ; but the water was 
 so clear that I saw not only the net, but everything at the bot- 
 tom of the sea, as clearly as if I had been in a room. AYe went 
 towards the net, and, in so doing, started a salmon, which dashed 
 into it. I saw the salmon strike and entangle itself, and in a 
 moment begia to vomit a number of tiny herring fry. I could 
 see them quite distinctly, for we were exactly over the fi^h. 
 I pulled up the net as fast as I could, and in a second the 
 salmon was in the boat. So quick was I, that there were 
 upwards of a dozen of the fry still in his mouth, although he 
 had been ejecting a shower of them as I drew him to the sur- 
 face. Of course there was nothing in his stomach ; but the 
 idea of saying that salmon do not eat is ridiculous. I have 
 myself caught scores with a worm, and thousands are so taken 
 every year, which sufficiently proves that they eat ; but when 
 
ENEAGED FISHEEMAIT. 37 
 
 they find themselves fast on a hook or in a net, they disgorge 
 like the Solan goose, or as the salmon did that I have just de- 
 scribed, and thus nothing is found ia their stomachs when they 
 are opened." 
 
 " Your theory, I allow, is good," said Cross, " and what you 
 tell me quite settles the question in my mind. ISTow, turn to 
 your left and you are at the river again, and as I hojje far from 
 our tormentors." 
 
 Hope turned, and they reached the river at a bend. He 
 took a few casts, hooked and landed a chub, and continued liis 
 way up the stream. 
 
 "Where can all these leaves and gxass come from?" he 
 asked ; " it is very annoying." 
 
 Cross pointed a few yards up the river ; there stood the 
 same boys, heaving the grass, leaves, and reeds that the flood of 
 the preceding day had left in various cracks in the bank into 
 the water. 
 
 " Confound them," exclaimed Hope ; " this is really past 
 endurance." He stooped and picked up a large stone. 
 
 " Ah-h-h, sacre-e goddam," shouted the boys. 
 
 " Take that, you confounded French frog," cried Hope, as he 
 launched the stone with all his force. 
 
 The leader put his hand to his shoulder and gave a howl, 
 which proved that both the direction and force had been good. 
 The rest of the boys ran away. 
 
 Cross was laughing heartily. " Come along," he said ; " we 
 must be off as fast as we can, or we shall have the whole vil- 
 lage on our backs. You have settled that fellow for a while." 
 
 Hope was quite satisfied with himself, and wound up his 
 line. 
 
 " That has done me a world of good," he said. " I do not 
 think I could have slept if I had not had a rap at one of those 
 vermin. My only wonder is that a young fellow like you can 
 bear their insolence." 
 
 " AYhy, to say the truth, I find it difficult," answered Cross. 
 
38 A KINGFISHER. 
 
 " I only resist l)ecause I know that just now these fellows would 
 have the best of it. It is dangerous at any time in this country 
 to strike a man ; at the present moment it would be folly. 
 ' WTien the pot boils, the scum is on the top/ is an old proverb 
 which is most true in France just now. Even here, in this 
 quiet place, where there are not many blackguards, the magis- 
 trates are so afraid of these few, that an Englishman has no 
 chance of justice or fair play should he get into a row with any 
 of them. So we had better step out, for the worst characters 
 in this part of the country are the carters who live in this vil- 
 lage, and if we remain we are sure to get into a scrape." 
 
 " Discretion is the better part of valour," said Hope ; " so 
 come along." 
 
 The two friends walked briskly forward for some distance 
 along the banks of the river, and were in the act of turning into 
 a little path that led towards the hill, when Hope suddenly 
 stopped. 
 
 " Come along," said Cross. " I see a crowd beginning to 
 gather on the bridge. I have no doubt they are looking after 
 us." 
 
 " I cannot help that," replied Hope ; " I saw a kingfisher 
 come out of a hole in that high bank, therefore I am sure she 
 has got a nest, and if I am obliged to fight half the town, I 
 must have a look at it." 
 
 " Mark the place," said Cross, " and we will come another 
 day ; we have got no spade, so we shall only get into a useless 
 row, and see nothing, if we wait now." 
 
 " I believe you are right," said Hope, reluctantly ; " as we 
 have no spade, we may as well move on, but it is very provok- 
 ing. I have been all my life hunting after kingfishers' nests, 
 and I have never found but three : one when I was a boy at 
 Eton, one in Northamptonshire, and one in Italy, in a small 
 stream running into the Lago Maggiore. Every one of these 
 nests was difi'erent, so that I am most anxious to find another, 
 to ascertain if they always differ in the form or not." 
 
KIXGFISHEES' KESTS. 39 
 
 " I hardly think you can prove this now," said Cross, " for 
 so late in the year you are not likely to find a nest, although 
 you may see a bird come out of a hole." 
 
 " There you are wrong," answered Hope, " for I found the 
 nest in Northamptonshire in the month of July, and it had five 
 eggs in it, I was fishing for perch with bait, and I saw a king- 
 fisher come out of a hole, as I did just now. I got a spade, dug 
 upwards of a yard into the bank, and found the eggs; for in this 
 instance there was no nest, but only a few very minute ^vhite 
 bones, mixed with the earth around them." 
 
 " And how did you find the other two nests ]" asked Cross, 
 " for you have been more fortunate than I have been. I have 
 seen thousands of kingfishers, and have shot dozens, yet I never 
 found a nest." 
 
 " And a great many naturalists are in the same position as 
 yourseK," answered Hope. " Some people say that the king- 
 fishers enter their nests below water, but this I doubt. They 
 may perhaps take possession of an old rat's hole, so near the 
 water's edge that in floods the entrance may be under water. 
 Thus the first brood may be sometimes destroyed, and the parent 
 birds may breed a second time, which will account for finding 
 nests with eggs so late in the season, and yet find young birds 
 ready to fly at a much earlier part of the year. If these birds 
 bred twice a year they would be much more numerous than they 
 are, but, being comparatively scarce, I am led to think that they 
 only breed a second time when their first nest is destroyed either 
 by rats or floods. Kow, the first nest I ever saw was in the 
 month of May. It was discovered quite by accident. Instead 
 of fishing, I was swimming in the Thames, when I observed one 
 of those beautiful little birds dart out of a hole close to me. I 
 told two of my schoolfellows of my discovery, so we provided 
 ourselves with a landing-net, and next day we went to try and 
 catch the bird as she flew out, but she escaped us then, for we 
 saw her fly away when we were some yards distant from the 
 bank. I suspect that they hear footsteps at a great distance 
 
40 ETON. 
 
 when any one approach.es their nest, and that they go at once, 
 which is the reason they are so seldom perceived coming out of 
 their holes. As I tell you, this lady escaped us that day, but as 
 we were resolved to obtain her, one of my companions proposed 
 that we should climb out of our dame's house at night, and at 
 all risks make sure of our prize. Though such an expedition 
 was a sort of high treason against the laws of Dr. Keat and Eton 
 College, the temptation overcame all fears of birch. "We agreed 
 to go, and having pro-\aded a boat, a landing-net, and a spade, as 
 soon as everybody was in bed we clambered over the garden 
 paling, took our way to the river, got into our boat, and dropped 
 gently down the stream till we came to the bank where the nest 
 was. There the boat was softly pushed to the shore, and the 
 bag of the landing-net was fixed over the mouth of the hole. 
 When this was completed, we no longer cared about keeping 
 silence ; we landed, and began to dig away the bank from above. 
 This work had not continued many minutes when we heard the 
 harsh disagreeable notes of the mother, who had darted from her 
 nest and was screaming in the net, in which she was fairly 
 entangled. The poor bird was soon placed in one of our hats, 
 over the top of which a handkerchief was tied, and she was then 
 deposited in the locker of the skiff, which operation was per- 
 formed by one of my companions, who got his fingers well bit 
 before it was accomplished. The mother being thus secured, we 
 resumed our digging, which took us so long that day was break- 
 ing before we arrived at the nest. We worked very carefully 
 for fear of injuring it, and well worthy was it of our trouble, for 
 when at last we reached it, we saw something that looked like 
 the carved ivory balls that are sent from China. One side only 
 was open, and within were three young birds nearly full fledged. 
 This prize was placed first in a pocket-handkerchief, and then in 
 a hat ; the boat was rowed back to its hiding-place, and we took 
 our way home across the fields, and re-entered our dame's house 
 without discovery ; but we were so delighted with our success, 
 that we were quite prepared to take a flogging without a murmur, 
 
THE FATE OF PETS. 41 
 
 had vre been missed. I ougM to mention, that before -sve came 
 away we saw in the faint light what we called the ' other old 
 one/ namely, the male kingfisher, flying backwards and forwards 
 before the place we had disturbed, which I remember now, for 
 it com*inces me that these birds are greatly attached to their 
 young. We did our best to make up to our captives for the loss 
 of parental care ; the father was not likely to come to them, and 
 the mother killed herself against the cage, before we were out of 
 school that morning, leaving her offspring to our sole care. 
 "Whether we took too much, or too little, I don't know, but the 
 whole of them were dead in three days, in spite of all the 
 minnows and prickle-backs that we crammed down their throats. 
 However, in death we did them every honour, for we clubbed 
 our money to pay a certain Mr. Joe Cannon for stuffing them ; 
 the young ones were then replaced in their nest, and the mother 
 was perched by their side, on a bit of root ; and as a mark of 
 maternal tenderness, she had a minnow fixed in her mouth. The 
 nest, in this instance, was very curious and beautiful ; when 
 cleared from the sand that adhered to it, it looked brilliantly 
 white, and, on close examination, it proved to be made of myriads 
 of small fish bones, glued together with a browner substance. 
 It was nearly circular, having only one side open ; the top, 
 bottom, and sides, were all composed of the same substance ; the 
 inside was covered with some of the light sandy soil which sur- 
 rounded it, and which adhered to the bottom ; the outside was 
 beautifully white, and looked, as I said before, like carved ivory 
 or lace. In the nest which I found in Northamptonshire, I have 
 abeady told you, there were only eggs ; they were deposited at 
 the end of a hole four feet deep, and were lying on sand, mixed 
 with a few smaU bones ; and I may mention, by the by, a 
 circumstance which I have never seen remarked by any natu- 
 ralist — namely, that the shell of these eggs was thinner and more 
 tender than that of any other which I ever saw. There were 
 five eggs in the nest when I found it ; but with all the care I 
 could take, two of them Avere broken before I reached home." 
 
42 ITALIAN BIED-CATCHERS. 
 
 "You said that you had found three nests," said Cross, 
 " -n-hat was the third like ]" 
 
 "That is just what I am going to tell you," replied Hope. 
 " ^Tien I was in Italy, I one day crossed the Lago Maggiore in 
 a boat to see the famous fig orchards. The season of the year 
 you may know by my telling you that the figs were colouring, 
 and had a bluish tint. As I was walking out of one of these 
 orchards, where the trees are said to be of great age, I saw two 
 men, one of whom was carrying a silk flue net without any 
 corks on it. The other had two long poles on liis shoulder. I 
 asked them where they were going to fish, and they answered 
 that they were going to catch birds, not fish. I proposed to go 
 with them, to which they agreed ; so I followed till we came to 
 a small river with rows of pollard trees and bushes lining either 
 side of it. Here the men stopped, and one of them crossed the 
 stream, taking one end of the net in his hand and di-awing it 
 after him. When across, he fastened it to one of the trees on 
 his side, and the man who remained with me did the same to 
 the other end which he had retained. The net thus remained 
 tightly stretched across the river, the bottom just touching the 
 water, the upper edge about four feet and a half above it. The 
 trees and bushes overhanging the stream threw a shade on the 
 spot, so that the net was hardly perceptible at a few yards' dis- 
 tance. "VNTien all was thus arranged, the man on my side bade 
 me lie down and hide myself where I could watch what took 
 place. I did so. First, they each took a pole and made a cir- 
 cuit, keeping a good distance from the water, and approaching 
 it again when they had gone about four hundred yards up the 
 stream ; then they began to shout and beat the bushes with the 
 poles, advancing rapidly towards me as they did so. Before 
 they had completed half the distance, I saw two or three king- 
 fishers dart past like bullets from a gun, and in the next moment 
 I heard the same harsh screaming notes that had struck my ear 
 on our night-excursion from Eton College. I raised myself and 
 saw the bright green colours of the birds fluttering in the net j 
 
WATEK-OUZELS AND KINGFISHEES. 43 
 
 the men still advanced, and then I saw, one after another, the 
 rapid flight, and black-and-white plumage of about six or seven 
 water-ouzels, which dashed past me and struck the net as if a 
 stone had been thrown against it. These gave but one scream, 
 and hung quietly in the sort of bag which they had made for 
 themselves. The kingfishers continued to struggle and cry till 
 the men came up, and then the noise of the poor birds was soon 
 hushed, for the net was loosened on one side and pulled to the 
 other, and each bird, as it came to hand, was seized, a spike was 
 stuck into the back of its head, and it was thrown on the ground, 
 to give one more flutter and die. The net was then spread on 
 the ground, each bird was cautiously taken out of the bag he had 
 made for himself, their ruffled feathers were smoothed, and they 
 were carefully laid out in a basket, I asked what use was 
 made of these birds, and was told that they were valued for 
 their skins, the kingfishers especially. The skins of the water- 
 ouzels were used to line muffs and cloaks, and their flesh was 
 eaten, but no one ate the kingfishers. When this first beat was 
 over, we went on for a quarter of a mile higher up the stream, 
 where the same process was gone through of hanging the net ; 
 the men went away as before, and I was again left to watch. It 
 was while I was thus lying waiting that I found the third nest. 
 Before me was a steep bank of red clay, out of which a number 
 of the roots of the trees were sticking. Suddenly I thought I 
 saw something move under one of these roots ; I kept my eye on 
 the spot, and a second time I felt sure I saw some object. When 
 the men began to advance and shout, I was so intent in watch- 
 ing the other bank, that I did not perceive a kingfisher fly past 
 me ; but I heard his scream when caught, and at the same 
 moment I saw the brilliant colour of another dart from under the 
 root, pass me like a flash, and join, its screams with those of the 
 first, for it too was caught in the same snare, I need not repeat 
 that the operation, before gone through, of spiking the heads of 
 the captives, and basketing them, followed ; no mercy was shewn, 
 and in two minutes after the men had come up, all was over with 
 
44 A KINGFISHEE'S nest in ITALY. 
 
 the birds tliat had been taken. But while tliis process was going 
 on I had slipped into the stream and had waded across, nearly 
 uj) to my middle ; and sure enough, when I reached the other 
 side, I saw a small round hole under the root from whence I had 
 seen the second kingfisher dart. Spade I had none, but the bank 
 was composed of a very soft, sandy clay. One of the men came 
 across to see what I was doing, and with his knife he made a 
 sort of spade out of a bit of wood, with which I dug away the 
 earth, and soon arrived at the nest, for the hole was barely a foot 
 deejD in this instance. When I reached the nest, I found four 
 young birds, not long hatched ; there was no use in leaving them, 
 for I had a certainty that the mother was no longer able to take 
 any further care of them, seeing that I knew she was safely de- 
 posited in my companions' basket ; I therefore dug the nest 
 carefully out. It was composed of similar materials to the one I 
 had found on the banks of the Thames, but the colour was of a 
 dirty yellow, instead of white, and the form was different, being 
 round Hke the nest of the hedge sparrow, except at the back, and 
 there it rose, with an irregular edge, about two inches higher 
 than the front. The bottom, front, and sides were quite hard, 
 but the part that rose behind was soft, and broke easily under 
 my fingers when I lifted it from the ground ; but on the next 
 morning, when I again examined it, I found that what had been 
 soft the day before was then dry and hard. I mention all these 
 circumstances rather at length," continued Hope, " wishing to 
 draw your attention to them, because from them I have formed 
 a theory as to the habits of kingfishers, which I believe to be 
 correct. Great difference of opinion has existed regarding these 
 birds, both amongst ancient and modern writers. The ancients 
 supposed that the nests were made of foam that would float on 
 the water. Modern writers say very little about them, but re- 
 late the diversity of formation that has been observed, without 
 assigning any reason for the difi'erence. Now, I believe that I 
 can explain this difference from the observations I have made on 
 the three nests just described. 
 
HABITS OF KINGFISHER. 45 
 
 " First, the tender quality of the eggs explains their being 
 laid on soft sand. Secondly, I am convmced that the nests are 
 entirely formed from the castings of the birds, for when care- 
 fidly examined, it will be seen that the whole mass is composed 
 of the bones of small fish ; the darker part may be the partially 
 digested scales that are ejected with the bones, and Avhich, when 
 dry, form the cement that glues the whole together. I have no 
 doubt these birds cast like hawks, for during the three days that 
 our young kingfishers lived at Eton, they did so, daily ejecting 
 quids of white, lumpy matter, which at the time, we, in our 
 ignorance, considered as a sign that they were not in good health. 
 We did not then know that hawks cast up the feathers and fur 
 which they swallow with more digestible food, and therefore we 
 did not reason, as I do now, that if hawks eject feathers and fur, 
 kingfishers may do the same by the bones they swallow. But 
 to go on : The nest which I found with eggs, was no nest at all. 
 Eewick, I think, describes one that he saw having six eggs, which 
 had a nest, but he does not say whether these eggs had been sat 
 upon, or were fresh laid. The eggs I found were perfectly fresh, 
 and there were only five of them ; now, if six is the number they 
 generally lay, my birds had not finished laying. If tlie eggs 
 referred to by Mr. Bewick had been sat upon, the theory I have 
 formed, and which I am going to tell you, remains correct. It 
 is this — that these birds take possession of a hole in which they 
 deposit their delicate eggs, and gradually raise a nest around 
 them by their castings. If I remember rightly, Bewick de- 
 scribes the nest he saw as being round and flat, like that of a 
 chaffinch ; noAV, if these eggs had been sat ^^pon, there would 
 have been from eighteen to twenty-one days, during which time 
 the castings of the parent birds might have accumulated suffi- 
 cient material to build such a nest as he describes. The nest I 
 saw in Italy was deeper than this of ]\Ir. Bewick's, and there 
 was the commencement of the wall at the back ; but then, be it 
 remembered, the birds were hatched, and must have been so for 
 some days. The diS'erence in the size of that nest may therefore 
 
46 A THEOEY, 
 
 be explained by the greater quantity of castings accumulated 
 during that time, not only from the parents, but also from the 
 young brood ; and this idea is confirmed by remembering what 
 I told you of the first nest which I saw on the banks of the 
 Thames. There the birds were nearly ready to fly, and there 
 the habitation was nearly round, which may be accounted for by 
 the building up of the great increase of castings which must 
 have been deposited during the time these older birds were 
 growing to maturity. Tell me now, what do you think of this 
 theory?" 
 
 " Why," replied Cross, " it seems to be a very probable 
 solution of a doubtful question, and it will certainly give a fresh 
 zest to my search for nests." 
 
 " You may be more fortunate in that respect than I have 
 been," said Hope, " if you take as much trouble ; but do you 
 know, it is upwards of twenty years since I found the last nest, 
 and I have never been near a river which kingfishers frequent 
 that I have not watched them for hours, both early and late, 
 and yet I have never been able to see any other go into a hole. 
 They have the cunning of Old Kick, and always contrive to 
 evade my sight. Indeed I cannot help thinking that they do 
 not always confine themselves to building on the banks of rivers, 
 for I watched for many days a pair that came to fish at a small 
 rapid. I saw these buxls catch their fish and fly away with 
 them in their mouths. Instead of following the river, they 
 always flew across a field. I observed that in their flight they 
 invariably passed close by a hollow ash tree, and after that I 
 lost sight of them. I hid mj'self in the hedge near this tree ; 
 the first day they came close by me ; I know not whether I was 
 seen or not, but they turned round the tree and flew straight 
 back to the river, and though I went there several times after- 
 wards, I never got another glimpse of them." 
 
 " You marked Avell the place whence the bhd came just now 1 " 
 asked Cross. 
 
 " Exactly," answered Hope. 
 
KINGFISHEES IN SCOTLAND. 47 
 
 " Well, to-morrow, or next day, we will dig it out," said 
 Cross ; " it will give me great pleasure to assist you in your 
 researches ; and if you require any further examples, we can 
 watch them in the river to the north of this ; they are more 
 numerous there, and the fishing is better there also, only the 
 people are more troublesome, and we have further to go. Have 
 you seen many of these birds in Scotland 1 " 
 
 " Xo," replied Hope, " not many ; but I have seen one or 
 two at a time in several places. I have seen them in the Tyne, 
 in the Findhorn, and in various parts of the West Highlands. 
 A pair, for two years, frequented a pond in a garden in one of 
 the Western Isles ; but, apparently, they never bred, for only 
 one pair were ever seen, and at the end of the second year they 
 vanished." 
 
 " I never," said Cross, " saw the nets used in the way you 
 describe, but I have seen something of the sort done for catch- 
 ing woodcocks. If our poachers knew the plan, they might 
 spoil many a good day's shooting. The way I saw it done was 
 this : A net, such as you describe, was hoisted up and suspended 
 between two trees, in a narrow ride in one of the large woods 
 near Ostia. Just as the sun was setting, one man remained 
 concealed at the foot of one of the trees, holding a line in his 
 hand by which he could hoist or lower the net at pleasure ; 
 two other men with dogs then went to a distance, and beat the 
 wood very quietly. This set all the woodcocks in motion, and 
 as it was flitting time, when once on the wing, they flew about, 
 dashing up one opening and darting down another. If they 
 chanced to enter the ride, where we were posted, they were sure 
 to be taken, for they seemed never to see the net, but went 
 headlong into it. "\Mienever they became entangled, they made 
 a great noise, which struck me as remarkable ; for when shot, 
 woodcocks die without a sound ; even when caught by a dog 
 they give no cry, but in the net they invariably did so. The 
 man who held the line always allowed them to scream and 
 strucrsle for a while before lowering the net to wrincr the birds' 
 
48 -WOOD-PIGEOXS AXD TUETLE-DOVES. 
 
 necks. I asked him his reason for so doing, and he told me 
 that these cries alarmed the other hirds, and prevented their 
 alighting to feed, and that, as they flew about to see where the 
 danger was, they were pretty sure to pass into the ride where he 
 was waiting for them. I can only say that the plan was very 
 successful, for I saw nine taken in the hour that I remained to 
 watch the process." 
 
 " I have heard," said Hope, " that pigeons are caught in this 
 way also, but I never had the luck to see how it was done. I 
 am sure, however, that great quantities of wood-pigeons might 
 be taken any night in autumn, in our woods, by merely hanging 
 a net across some of the openings or rides at sunset." 
 
 " I am sure they might," answered Cross ; " but it was not 
 wood-pigeons, but a sort of turtle-doves that I saw caught in 
 Italy. I was present on two occasions when an immense number 
 were killed. The method was much the same in both instances, 
 but the situation was different. The first was in a large wood 
 near Florence ; a net was hung across a road in the wood which 
 ran nearly north and south. In two high trees near this road 
 stages were raised from which the whole country could be com- 
 manded, and in these stages boys were hid, having with them 
 several stuffed imitations of birds with their wings out-spread. 
 These were made with a weight towards the head, and had a 
 string, about a yard long, fastened to the tail This string the 
 boy held in liis hand, and whenever a flock of pigeons was seen 
 in the distance, he whirled the lure round his head and cast it 
 towards the net ; the string acted like a sling, enabling the boy 
 to throw the lure to a great distance, the weight in the head 
 making it fly straight forward Hke a shuttlecock. If the lure 
 was seen by a flock of pigeons, they were sure to turn towards 
 it ; if they did not turn, it was because that the first cast had 
 not been seen, and the same boy threw a second or a third time 
 till the birds came towards them. The second boy always 
 remained still until the flock were quite close, then he also 
 threw a lure straight towards the net. The art consisted in 
 
XETTIXG BIEDS AT FLOEEXCE AXD NAPLES. 49 
 
 judging the proper moment when to throw, in throwing in the 
 right direction, and without heing seen himself ; for when this 
 was well done, the whole flock were sure to go headlong into the 
 trap. On the first occasion, I saw many hundreds taken ; on 
 the second, there was nearly a cart-load killed ; as I told you, 
 the method was different, in so far that the place chosen was a 
 narrow valley to the south of Xaples. There were several boys 
 and men employed in casting lures, who concealed themselves 
 in small huts built of turf. The head man threw the last lure 
 with great skill. The net was suspended between two rocks, 
 and I saw upwards of a hundred pigeons fluttering in it at the 
 same moment." 
 
 " I should like to see that for once," said Hope, " but it 
 must be sad butchery. These Italians are most ingenious in 
 their method of catching every sort of bird ; the quantity of 
 quails they take in the long nets which they set along the coast 
 is quite surprising." 
 
 " I never saw that done," said Cross, " but, on one occasion, 
 I saw the quails arriving, absolutely alighting in the town of 
 Xaples, so exhausted that they might have been knocked down 
 with a stick ; indeed I did catch two or three with my hat on 
 the rocks by the Castel dell'Ovo." 
 
 "They do not kill the quails as they catch them," said 
 Hope ; " they put them into long narrow boxes, and feed them 
 on hemp and other seeds till they are fat. They are such 
 pugnacious little rascals, that they give them no space to turn 
 or move ; as they fatten, they draw up a slide, giving an inch 
 or two at a time, to allow for the expansion of flesh, but no 
 more ; for if any one bird could turn, he would instantly kill 
 his neighbour. You know that the Chinese fight quails in the 
 same way that they used to fight game-cocks in England not 
 long ago." 
 
 " I am aware of that," replied Cross, " but I wished you 
 
 to tell me what sort of net was used for catching them in Italy." 
 
 " Simple enough," answered Hope. " The net is about a yard 
 
 E 
 
50 MIGRATION OF QITAILS. 
 
 deep, but of great lengtli ; the bottom of this is pegged to tlie 
 sand, close to the edge of the sea ; the top is hung on small 
 notches cut in sticks, about two feet and a half long, which are 
 stuck upright about a foot before the net, and about three yards 
 apart. When the net is set, it is thus made to stand up, being 
 suspended on these sticks ; but as the upper part rests only on 
 the notches, a very slight blow knocks it ofT, and then it falls 
 on the sand, covering with its meshes whatever chanced to 
 strike it. I remember once lying for hours among some sea- 
 ware, watching one of these snares ; at every moment I saw the 
 little jerk, and then a portion of the net fall ; but I never could 
 distinguish the birds, they flew so fast and so close to the water. 
 I never perceived one till I followed the proprietor and saw him 
 put his hand under the net at every place where it had fallen, 
 lift up a quail and deposit it in a large hollow gourd that he 
 carried instead of a basket, and then hang the net again on the 
 notch in the stick. The net of which I speak was more than 
 half a mile long, and the owner spent the whole day in walking 
 gently from one end of it to the other, gathering the bii-ds, and 
 as he reached each end he emptied his gourd into a number of 
 long narrow boxes with canvas tops and fronts, which were 
 ranged in readiness. All the boxes were provided with seed 
 and water-troughs, and the Padrone told me that if the canvas 
 front was shut down, so as to prevent the birds from looking 
 about, they were such bold little fellows, that they would eat 
 and drink freely ten minutes after they were taken." 
 
 " That method of snaring," said Cross, " is simple enough, 
 but it can only be practised where the bu'ds arrive in the gTcat 
 flights like those which alight on the Italian coast. There are 
 considerable flights in the southern coasts of France; but in 
 this part of the country there are only a few bevies. I have, 
 however, seen here some large flocks of pigeons that resemble 
 very closely those in Italy, only that they appear smaller. 
 They are called La Tourterelle. A great number of these breed 
 in England. They leave our shores about the end of August, 
 
THE HILL TOP. 51 
 
 but tliey remain much later here, for I saw several large flocks 
 going in a south-eastern direction in the last week of October. 
 
 " You mentioned just now that the Cliinese spent their 
 time and lost their money in fighting quails ; bere the little 
 blackguard boys gamble by fighting stag-beetles. These creatures 
 fight like fur_y, tearing each other to pieces ; and you need not 
 be surprised if some day you find one thrown on you by some 
 of the gamms : it has been done to myself and some others of 
 our country men and women. If a stag-beetle gives you a pinch, 
 it is no trifle, for I never saw such large ones as there are here, 
 and this year they are very numerous. You may see and hear 
 . scores of them whirring past you every evening. But here we 
 are at the road ; turn to your left ; we will go by the steep 
 path ; it is shorter, and we have less chance of meeting any of 
 the blackguards who may have followed us from Pont Gilbert." 
 
 " Shew the way," replied Hope, " and I will follow." 
 
 Cross turned into a narrow path that wound up the steep 
 face of the hill on which the town was built. Trees and shrubs 
 had fixed their roots in the crevices of the rock and shallow soil, 
 gaining sufficient nourishment to grow to such a size as to shade 
 the path and mask the view. They did not take many minutes 
 to reach the top, where, being free from shrubs and above the 
 trees, a most extensive prospect opened before them. Hope was 
 delighted with the scene, and not sorry to pause and admire it ; 
 for although the ascent had not been long, it was very steep, 
 and quite sufficient to make a pause agreeable to a gentleman 
 who had spent so many months in the idleness of a Paris life. 
 Once on the top, therefore, they paused to breathe and look 
 about them. 
 
 " It is a beautiful view," observed Hope, whenever he had 
 recovered breath enough to speak. 
 
 " It is indeed," said Cross ; " and I am not sorry that we are 
 now here to contemplate it, instead of being down there," and 
 he pointed to the river. 
 
 " I see," said Hope, and he counted seventeen men and four 
 
52 THE SOOTHING SYSTEM. 
 
 boys -who were returning towards the bridge ; " do you think 
 those fellows have been looking after us 1 " 
 
 " Xot a doubt of it," answered Cross ; " and before we go 
 down there again, we must make peace with those vagabonds. 
 I know two of them ; one is the postman, the other a shoemaker, 
 and as they are the strongest men and good-tempered fellows, 
 though great blackguards, I vrill give them a few fish-hooks and 
 a franc or two to make them keep the rest in order : till that is 
 done, we must not repeat our visit to the river." 
 
 " I have no patience with you," exclaimed Hope ; " knuck- 
 ling down to these scum of the earth is too revolting. I would 
 much rather get two or three of our countrymen, and see if they 
 dare touch us." 
 
 " Eevolting enough, undoubtedly," answered Cross ; " but 
 remember the good old proverb, ' It is better to flatter than fight 
 with a fool.' If Louis Philippe had followed this plan, he 
 would still have been on the throne of France : and supj)ose we 
 did lick these fellows, as I allow we might do, they would only 
 revenge themselves on the first of our countrymen or country- 
 women whom they found alone. Xo, no ; I am all for making 
 a friend of the shoemaker by getting him drimk, and leaving 
 him to settle with his companions. I tried the soothing system 
 at Ducey with great success, although they were all on fire 
 there against us, merely because an Englishman was present 
 when a nice, half-cracked young Irishman chose to fixe a pistol 
 at a set of scamps who were throwing leaves and dirt into the 
 river to spoil his fishing, just as they did to you to-day. I 
 believe they thought he was English, but he astonished them by 
 blazing right into the middle of his tormentors. They ran away, 
 but we got the blame, and no one could go near the place after- 
 wards without being robbed and insulted^ until I bethought me 
 to order some wine from a radical wine-seller, who was the 
 leader of all the rows ; and since then, I am pri\'ileged to go 
 there in peace, though the war still holds good agaiust Enghsh- 
 men in freneral." 
 
BEETLES EAT EOSES. 53 
 
 " Well, perhaps you are right," said Hope, " and I give you 
 credit for your judgment and temper ; so if this river is closed 
 against us for a while, you must shew me the other, and in- 
 troduce me to your friend. Just now, I may console myself for 
 being driven away from my sport by looking about me while 
 there is light enough to admire this view, which is certainly very 
 beautiful, with the purple tint falling on that immense extent 
 of rich wooded country ; and with this pretty garden which we 
 overlook as a foreground, the picture is really charming, "VMiat 
 thousands of roses they have ! I am not quite sure that I ad- 
 mire the square patches in Avhich they are planted, though thus 
 crowding them together enables you to compare the many 
 different colours and shades of colours that are mingled side by 
 side. I see a number of children moving about among the beds. 
 Are they gathering flowers for bouquets 1 " 
 
 Cross watched the children for a moment ; each carried a 
 bag, and they were carefully examining evexj separate flower, 
 and picking something from them which they put into these 
 bags. 
 
 " Xo, no," he replied. " They are not pulling the flowers ; 
 they are preserving them, and their occupation is rather a curious 
 one, for it serves a double purpose. These children are em- 
 ployed in at once sa^'ing these beautiful roses from destruction, 
 and preparing food for the ducks that they rear. There is here 
 a small beetle, not the rose-beetle of England, the Cetonia aurata, 
 but one of the cockchafer tribe, that attacks the roses and de- 
 vours them. At times they come in such quantities that they 
 would not leave a rose or a hollyhock untouched, these being 
 the two flowers they principally destroy. Ducks are very fond 
 of these insects and grow very fat and large by eating them. 
 Gardeners, therefore, generally rear a brood or two of ducks, 
 and their children collect the beetles to give to them. If a 
 gardener has no ducks of his o-svn, or no children, he allows any 
 whom he knows to be careful to come and gather them, and 
 there are always plenty anxious to avail themselves of that per- 
 
54 DTJCKS EAT BEETLES. 
 
 nussion. The children you see are thus employed. You may 
 see more boys shaking the trees and picking up something from 
 the ground ; they are collecting the common cockchafer, ■which 
 they use for the same purpose ; the ducks eat them most greedily, 
 and grow very fat on them ; but when fed on the common cock- 
 chafer, that food gives a strong smeU and disagreeable flavour to 
 their flesh ; so much so, that no one will buy the birds till they 
 have been kept for some time after on boiled buckwheat or 
 other grain, which purifies them. The smaller sort of beetles, 
 however, that these children are gathering from the roses, fatten 
 the ducks without giving them a bad smell or flavour, and there- 
 fore they are at a premium and eagerly sought for. Feeding 
 ducks on cockchafers is said to make them lay a great number 
 of eggs. It might be well, therefore, if the plan were introduced 
 into England for feeding the breeding birds of our cottagers. I 
 own I should not like to eat one fed on such nasty food, even 
 if it should not give a bad taste to the flesh ; but for breeding 
 birds, and to increase the supply of eggs, I think the system 
 woidd be highly advantageous to our poor. In the neighbour- 
 hood of Windsor, for instance, I have seen such quantities of 
 these insects that I could have tilled a large sack in an hour or 
 two. Here, the practice of seeking them is universal ; there is 
 not a garden or a public walk where children are allowed to go, 
 that you may not see them, bag in hand, shaking the trees, and 
 gathering the cockchafers as they fall." 
 
 " Your hint may class with the iitile, though not exactly with 
 the dulce," said Hope ; " therefore I shall remember it. But 
 look ; can you teU me what bird that is ? I thought at first it 
 was a robin of some strange variety ; but now I see it is not 
 one. The red on the breast is darker, and there is a yellowish 
 colour on the side ; the bird, too, is smaller and more slender in 
 the form, and there is a white line on the edge of the tail. See, 
 there are two ; and they have some young ones following." 
 
 " Ah !" answered Cross, " I am glad you have pointed it out, 
 and that I can repay you for your information regarding the 
 
A FISHEKMAl^'S TEOUBLES. 55 
 
 kingfishers. That little bird is very scarce in England, and not 
 very common here. I have seen it several times, however, in 
 this part of the country, and in great numbers in the south. 
 Bewick calls it the Dartford Warbler, and Buffon the Pittechou. 
 It has a very pretty note, and, like the robin, it gives the sign 
 of fine Aveather by sitting on the highest twig of a bush and 
 singing, when rain has ceased and the day is clearing up." 
 
 " They are very pretty birds," said Hope, " and I am afraid I 
 am barbarian enough to wish to kill a couple for the sake of their 
 skins, as I have never seen one of them before, either dead or 
 alive. But they are going to roost, and we may as well go home, 
 as the light is failing fast." 
 
 Cross assented to this proposition, so they bent their steps 
 towards the town. They had not gone far along the first street 
 when they heard the rattle of a carriage behind them. They 
 drew to one side to allow it to pass. When the conveyance 
 overtook them, the driver pulled up, and hailed Cross by his 
 name. Hope then saw that two of his countrymen occupied a 
 sort of half gig, haK cart, in which he observed some fishing- 
 rods and baskets. 
 
 " What sport 1 " asked the driver, whose tongue announced 
 him to be an Irishman, and whose breadth of shoulders marked 
 him as a most useful friend in a row. 
 
 " Yery little," answered Cross, " but it might have been 
 better ;" and he then, in a few words, related their adventure. 
 The Irishman burst out laughing. 
 
 " By the holy poker," he exclaimed, " we have had just such 
 another turn up with the blackguards. We went about four 
 miles above Ducey last night — we had good sport there — and 
 again this morning, and nobody disturbed us ; but this afternoon, 
 two chaps thought proper to molest me just when the trout 
 were rising. Well, one of them got hold of my rod and broke 
 it, for which I knocked him down, and threw his friend into 
 the river ; upon which they walked off, swearing like blue 
 blazes, and I set to work to splice my rod. It was rather a long 
 
56 WATEEGUAEDS AXD BLACKGUAKDS. 
 
 job, and I had hardly finished it when our landlord, an honest 
 fellow, came down to beg us to be off as fast as we could, for 
 the two blackguards were raising the country, and that we 
 should be murdered. Vie refused at first ; but then he changed 
 his tune, and declared that the people would burn his house for 
 giving us shelter, and he really seemed in such a fright that we 
 agreed to go. He had brought our gig and traps to the road, 
 hard by, so we forthwith put up our tackle and started, and faith, 
 none too soon, for we saw forty or fifty fellows, with pitch-forks 
 and scythes, coming down the road headed by our acquaintances. 
 "We met four or five more going to join them, who did not 
 venture to stop us, but contented themselves with sending a 
 volley of stones after us when we had passed. Fortunately 
 they were precious bad shots, for none of them touched ^^s. I 
 just gave them a bit of my mind and drove off, as I thought 
 fifty to two, without mentioning pitch-forks and scythes, was 
 rather too long odds to be pleasant." 
 
 ""Were you trespassing on those people's land, that they 
 molested you 1 " asked Hope. 
 
 " Their ground ! " exclaimed the Irishman ; " they never had 
 a shovelful of land among the whole boiling ! why, the river is 
 government property, and I have leave from every proprietor on 
 both sides of the stream. It is nothing but dirty jealousy ; the 
 blackg-uards cannot make or tlu'ow a fly themselves, and they 
 can't bear to see a man that can. If there was law or justice, 
 no man would be allowed to molest a gentleman when he is 
 amusing himseK with a quiet day's fishing, and hurting nobody. 
 If they had any civihty, they would not come fifty to one, on a 
 stranger, who had mastered two of them already." 
 
 "I am sorry for this," said Cross ; " for now it is quite im- 
 possible for us to see this river." 
 
 " Take some of our fish, then," said the Irishman ; " if you 
 cannot see the river, you may as well taste what comes out of it, 
 and we have far more than we can use ; we have nearly four 
 dozen of trout, besides dace and gudgeon." 
 
FRENCH TEOUT-FISHIXG. 57 
 
 Cross accepted the offer, for he was anxious that Hope 
 should see the sort of fish which the river afforded. A dozen 
 trout and as many gudgeons -were therefore put into his basket, 
 and the two parties separated. 
 
 The fish were produced at dinner ; they were well shaped 
 and handsome in appearance, but soft and not well flavoured. 
 
 " Well, it is a bore," said Hope, " being prevented from fish- 
 ing any of the rivers ; but in the eating way, we sufier no loss, 
 for I cannot say much for the quality of these trout for the 
 table." 
 
 " In the spring," said Cross, " they are excellent, and by 
 that time we must hope that something like order will be re- 
 stored to the country. In the meanwhile, we must go some 
 distance for a day's fishing, or find some other way of passing 
 our time." 
 
 "Is there no sea-fishing?" asked Hope; "I should like 
 much to know something of the coast, and the produce of the 
 sea hereabouts. We may find some other curiosity, besides 
 that of oysters being in season all the year round." 
 
 " I -will make inquiries," answered Cross ; " but for a few- 
 days we must content ourselves with looking at the country, or 
 •watching some of the birds or insects. If you care for ento- 
 mology, this part of France is tolerably rich in insects. Among 
 other things, there is a great variety of dragon-flies ; I killed 
 one the other day, that I never saw before, it had a death's 
 head, and a body as thick as my little finger." 
 
 The friends continued thus to converse on various subjects, 
 tiU it was time to retire to bed. Two days after their ad- 
 venture, armed with a spade, they returned to the river, 
 ■with the intention of digging out the kingfisher's nest. The 
 hole was situated very near the water, and had a high bank of 
 soft sand above. They commenced to try to undermine it, but 
 the sand was so soft, that after making a hole, less than a foot 
 deep, the bank from above roUed down, bringing several tons 
 weight of earth, which nearly fell upon them. jSTothing daunted, 
 
58 DIGGING FOR THE KINGFISHER. 
 
 they again resumed their exertions, but had not proceeded long, 
 when they heard the voice of a man remonstrating in no 
 measured terms. Cross turned at the sound and recognised a 
 small farmer, a dealer in butter, to whom the land belonged. 
 To him Cross explained the object of their labours, and the 
 farmer very good-humouredly rephed, that the search might be 
 extremely interesting to them, but ruinous to him, for he found 
 it difficult enough, as it was, to prevent the river from carrying 
 away his land, and that if they seconded its encroaches by con- 
 tinuing to dig, the first flood would cause him great damages. 
 The man spoke with so much good temper, that both Cross and 
 Hope at once felt the propriety of yielding to his remonstrance 
 by abandoning their work. 
 
 "It is a confounded bore !" said Hope, as he walked off. 
 " It seems as if there was a charm against my ever being able 
 to prove or disprove my theory regarding kingfishers' nests !" 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 A TRIP TO CAIIOLLES. 
 
 " TVhai say you to a trip to Carolles ?" said Cross, entering the 
 room where Hope was sitting. "AVe can find very good 
 quarters, as there is a tolerable cabaret, where they have a table- 
 d'hote, at which you may dine at two o'clock ; they will give 
 us a bit of dinner very comfortably at a later hour should we 
 prefer it, or if you would like to be still more quiet, there are 
 several houses wherein you may have rooms, and the mistress 
 will cook for us. The houses are not quite such as you would 
 expect to find in an English bathing-place, yet still, many of 
 the best French families go to Carolles and to the other fishing 
 villages along the coast, and rough it for a few weeks for the 
 benefit of sea-bathing. I mention Carolles in preference to any 
 other village, because it is within easy distance of the Mare 
 de Bouillon, where there is very fair trout-fishing, and as you 
 wish to learn the method of fishing on this coast, you will be 
 able to see the different modes of sea-fishing, and also get a few 
 days' whipping at the river, or on the lake." 
 
 " By all means let us go," said Hope ; " how shall we go, 
 and what things should we take with us 1 It is exactly what 
 I wished to see. You young fellows don't care for your 
 comforts, but I am old enough now to like to get a good bed 
 and a good dinner, as well as good sport, and by your description 
 I shall get all of these at Carolles. I am very anxious to see 
 the manners and customs of the population on this part of the 
 coast, so when shall we start, and how 1" 
 
 " AVhy, for the when, I say to-morrow, for it is full moon 
 
60 THE COMMISSAEIAT. 
 
 tlie day after, and there is little or no fishing here except at 
 spring tides ; if we start to-morro-w, you will be able to see the 
 coast fishing for three or four days, which should be ample time 
 to satisfy your curiosity ; and as to the how, I will secure a 
 covered cabriolet and a horse, with a lad to take care of the 
 beast and drive us. You can take with you all the clothes you 
 require, and as you like your comforts, there can be no harm in 
 taking a few bottles of wine and a pie. Good brandy you can 
 always get, and cider in these little villages is always better 
 than in the larger jDlaces, for they never put any water into it 
 in the country, which they always do in the towns. These 
 liquors satisfy me, but we may take a few bottles of good wine 
 for a treat. As for eating, there are ducks, chickens, and eggs 
 in every house, mutton, and of the best, is to be got now and 
 then, and they always have bacon, which, when new, is excellent, 
 though I allow it is rancid when kept for any length of time, 
 and at this season fruit and vegetables are so abundant and so 
 good that you may feast like an alderman, even without the fish 
 which we may catch or buy." 
 
 " Bravo ! that will do ; you shall be Commissary-General ; 
 and, let me tell you, I have always considered the commissariat 
 as a highly honourable portion of the military service, for judging 
 by myself, I am sure I should never fight well on short commons. 
 I shall therefore leave all to your guidance ; name your hour, 
 and I shall be ready to a moment." 
 
 "At eight, then, we shall start, for although we have not 
 far to go, the roads are execrable, and it is as well to have a 
 long day before us to ensure finding good quarters, and getting 
 everything in order before night ; and as we pass through St. Jean 
 de Thomas, we may as well spend an hour or two there, to see 
 that village and the country round it." 
 
 " I like your plan amazingly, so, while you make arrange- 
 ments for the journey, I will look over the tackle, and choose a 
 couple of rods ; but as there is no use in taking more than we 
 want, you must tell me what sort of flies to select." 
 
A COUXTEY CABRIOLET, 61 
 
 " "\Miy, for flies, I am as niucli in the dark as you are, for 
 the natives rarely use them, they almost always fish with worms 
 or maggots ; but you can never go far wrong in trusting to black 
 and red palmers. Of these you have a goodly stock of all sizes 
 in your trout book. By taking that book and a couple of 
 fifteen-feet rods, we shall be able to do something. I will take 
 a few small gaudy sea-trout flies, as I hear that a Frenchman 
 had a very good day's sport with them last week ; so now, good- 
 bye till dinner-time." 
 
 At dinner the two friends met again. Cross reported that 
 the conveyance was ordered and the supplies prepared ; and 
 Hope shewed his fishing-basket and rods properly packed, Asith 
 fly-hooks, reels, and hnes in the basket, and the prei:)aration he 
 seldom neglected for the creature comforts, namely, a flask with 
 a sliding cup, and a sandwich-box, which resembled and was 
 worn like a cartridge-box. 
 
 Upon the principle of victualling the garrison, a regular 
 Scotch breakfast was prepared, and next morning, at eight to a 
 minute, the carriage drove up to the door. It was a cabriolet 
 with a hood, with very long shafts, and very large wheels ; it 
 was dra^Tn by a Kttle black stallion, not above fourteen hands 
 high, and from the length of the shafts and the height of the 
 wheels, he looked much smaller than he really was ; the driver, 
 a sharp-looking boy of twelve years old, was seated on a bit 
 of board at the foot of the apron, with one foot resting on 
 each shaft. He came up to the door at a rattling trot, and sprung 
 from his seat as he pulled up, giving a familiar nod to the 
 gentlemen at the window. 
 
 The carpet-bags were tossed into a sort of case on the top 
 of the hood, and a leather cover buckled over them ; the bottles 
 and a large pie, with sundry smaller articles, were packed 
 below the seat, and the driver with another nod and grin 
 announced that all was ready, and summoned the party to take 
 their places. 
 
 When Hope came down to the door the diminutive appearance 
 
62 PACKING. 
 
 of tlie horse struck him more forcibly than when he had seen 
 it from the window. 
 
 " Surely," he said, " you don't mean to tell me that this 
 wretched little beast is able to take us over twelve miles of such 
 roads as you have been describing." 
 
 " 'No fear of him," answered Cross, " he would go three 
 times the distance without being tired, as you will see, and as 
 for bad roads he is accustomed to them, and will go through 
 places that would puzzle our fine English horses. You must be 
 quite aware that a Scotch Highland pony wiU carry you safely 
 through a moor in his native country, where an English blood 
 horse would be either stuck fast or smothered in the first ten 
 minutes. So it is with the horses in tliis country ; the main 
 roads are in general excellent, but the cross ones are disgraceful 
 to a civilized land. My little friend here is well accustomed to 
 them, not only here but also in Brittany, where they are even 
 worse than those we shall see to-day ; you can ask the boy 
 when we start, for a description of the roads in Brittany ; he is 
 an intelligent little fellow, and can give you a very tolerable 
 description of the country ; but don't let us waste time. 
 Jump in." 
 
 Hope clambered round the wheel into the cabriolet, the boy 
 holding down the end of the shaft and whistling to his horse. 
 Cross followed and seated himself by his friend's side, and then 
 the boy gave another whistle, and let go the end of the shaft, 
 which immediately rose up in a line with the horse's ears, and 
 the cabriolet was only prevented from falling back with its load 
 by the broad leather strap that passed under the horse's belly. 
 
 "This will never do," said Hope, "we shall be over in five 
 minutes, for if we get a jerk going up hill we shall Kft that 
 little brute off his legs." 
 
 "J^o fear," answered Cross ; "wait till the boy is up and you 
 will see that we make a splendid balance." 
 
 The boy sprang up, clawed up the reins, which were tied by 
 a leather thong to the apron, gave a sort of squeal and cracked 
 
NOK]MAN HOESES. 63 
 
 liis whiiD, and the little horse dashed off at good ten miles an 
 hour ; the cabriolet, when he was in his place, was so justly- 
 balanced, that a very few pounds' weight on the end of the 
 shaft would turn it either up or down. 
 
 " There," said Cross ; " didn't I tell you how it would be. 
 To do the French justice, there are no people in the world who 
 understand loading a pair of wheels as well as they do. Their 
 carriages in country places are abominable things to look at, but 
 the large wheels and the way they are hung enable them to 
 carry greater weights than we can contrive to stow on our 
 smarter conveyances. Their horses also are much better than 
 they look, but they are shamefully used, for, generally speaking, 
 the French are not good to their beasts ; often, indeed, they 
 treat them so brutally that I wish some French Martin of Gal- 
 way would spring up and bring in a bill for the prevention of 
 cruelty to animals ; even my little friend here, who is an ex- 
 ception to the general rule, and who really takes great care of 
 his horse, will, before the day is over, swear every oath and call 
 him every abusive name that you can find in the French 
 language." 
 
 As Cross said this, the lad turned down a narrow steep lane, 
 just wide enough to admit the wheels of the carriage, wretchedly 
 paved with round uneven stones, and with a gutter in the middle, 
 down which the horse skated at the same rapid pace. 
 
 " Where the deuce are you going 1 go gently," said Hope. 
 " Don't be afraid," said the boy ; " it's the shortest way, and 
 Xoir never falls." 
 
 Just as he spoke, the horse slid for a yard or two, but kept 
 liis legs like a cat ; the boy, however, to prove the truth of 
 ■what Cross had just said, immediately began a string of oaths, 
 iu which " sacre," " cochon," and " br-r-r-i-gand," were frequently 
 heard. This continued till they had reached the bottom of the 
 lane, making three very sharp turns before they regained the 
 broad highway. Once more on the smooth road, the boy began 
 to squeal and whistle to his beast, calling him by names of 
 
64 THE GEEAT WAVE. 
 
 affection ; then cracking liis whip, he turned and looked back 
 to his passengers, saying with a grin — 
 
 "Is he not a good beast my horse ?" 
 
 " He seems so," answered Hope ; " but you have a good Avay 
 to go, and you must not press him so hard." 
 
 "It is all down hill for the next mile, and we must make 
 the most of the good road while we have it," said the boy, as 
 he gave another crack mth his whip and whistle, while the little 
 horse trotted briskly down the hill ; the road was good, and he 
 went as firm as a rock without the slightest slip or stumble. 
 "V\'hen they reached the bridge at Pont Gilbert the boy pulled 
 up on the centre. The water looked white and was covered 
 with foam. 
 
 " Look," said the boy, " the tide is up ; we shall have it 
 very high to-morrow, since it is so high to-day. Did the gentle- 
 man ever see the tide come up 1 Strangers think it curious, 
 and the English often come here at spring tides to see the Great 
 Wave." 
 
 "What does he mean 1" asked Hope. 
 
 " Why, the rise and fall of the tide along the whole of this 
 coast is very great, being about forty-four feet at spring tides. 
 It comes in very rapidly, and there are banks on the Greve 
 which apparently retard the flow for a while, for all of a sudden 
 you may see a sort of wall of water pass over them, and this 
 rushes up iu a mass two or three feet high, and roars up under 
 the bridge. The mass of water as it rolls along gathers up the 
 white muddy soil over which it passes, and it is that which 
 makes it look so white, and the great force with which it comes 
 creates the foam with which you see it is now covered. The day 
 after fuU and change of the moon this wave comes up exactly 
 at nine o'clock, and many people make it an object for a walk 
 to come up here and see it pass." 
 
 " I daresay," said Hope, " it is well worth seeing if it is any- 
 thing like a wave I once saw in the river Findhorn. I was 
 fishing there. The day was cloudy, but we had no rain ; it 
 
A SPATE IX THE FIKDHOEN. 65 
 
 had, lio-^ever, rained very heavily in the hills. Fortunately I had 
 a man with me who knew the river, for on a sudden I heard a 
 sort of hollow roar of water, and I felt an increase of hreeze 
 coming down the river. ' Eun for your life, and up the rocks,' 
 roared my companion, and he dragged me away, not even allow- 
 ing me to pick up my fishing-hasket ; and as I saw him in such a 
 desperate hurry and fright the panic seized me also, and I made 
 the best use of both hands and feet in clambering up the steep 
 face of the rock. I had not got up many steps when I heard a 
 noise hke thunder behind me. I turned and saw a wall of 
 water tumbhng along. I got one glimpse of my poor fishing- 
 basket just as the wave reached it ; it was only a gHmpse, for 
 in the next moment the torrent was roaring six feet deep where 
 it was lying, and where I had been standing a minute before. 
 It was one of the grandest and most appalling sights I ever be- 
 held, and I thought for many a day after of what my companion 
 said when the red furious stream splashed against the rocks close 
 below our feet. ' Whaur wad ye hae been if I hadna made ye 
 rin 1 ' he said, as he pointed to a large rock that was rolling along 
 before the torrent. Ah ! where, indeed, thought I ; and it made 
 me think more seriously tban any half-dozen of the best sermons 
 I ever heard. This cannot be so grand a sight as that, but it 
 may recall it to my memory, and I shall make a point of coming 
 to see it before I leave the place. In the meantime, let us 
 go on." 
 
 Crack went the whip, and away they trotted, keeping the 
 same pace half-way up a long though not very steep hill. 
 
 " Go gently, my friend," said Cross, " we see your beast is 
 good, and in our country we say, never ride a willing horse too 
 hard." 
 
 " Ah, sir," said the boy, " is he not a good beast 1 and now 
 that there is no commerce, he keeps himself, my father, my 
 mother, and me." 
 
 " "What do you mean by no commerce, my friend V asked 
 . Hope. F 
 
66 COUXTEY VIEW OF POLITICS. 
 
 " Why, sir, my father kept a cabaret, and my mother and I 
 traded in fowls, ducks, pigeons, and game. I have a cart, very 
 light and very convenient, and, sometimes by myself, and some- 
 times with my mother, I went all over this country, and all 
 over Brittany, to purchase from the farmers and sportsmen their 
 poultry and game, and we sold it again at a good profit in the 
 town. But now nobody buys anything, and I don't know what 
 they live on ; so my commerce is gone. I am obliged to let 
 my horse to others, as I cannot use him for myself, and happily 
 they know he is good, and he is seldom idle, which is for- 
 tunate, for my father is very ill, and my mother does not like 
 selling cider to the people, for they talk so loud now, and make 
 so much noise, that it makes my father worse, and then she 
 scolds them, and they don't come to us as they used to do." 
 
 " How do you mean, my friend, that the people don't buy 
 anything now 1 surely people must eat now as well as for- 
 merly V said Hope. 
 
 " I suppose they must eat something, because they don't 
 die," replied the boy ; " but they don't eat poultry and game, un- 
 less they can get it for less than I pay for it, and that won't do, 
 you know. The farmers don't understand why the republic 
 that was to make them all so rich and happy should make them 
 sell their chickens and ducks for less money than they got when 
 Louis Philippe was here ; then they have more taxes to pay — 
 forty-five per cent more on the land — and (between us) they 
 are wishing to have a king back again ; only don't repeat it, for 
 they would send me to Mont St. Michel if they knew that. I 
 quite agree with them in thinking that if Louis Philippe was a 
 t}Tant, we have Henri Cinq, or even ISTapoleon's nephew, to 
 make a king of ; and I believe that if we had a king again, they 
 could sell their birds, and I could afi'ord to buy them." 
 
 "So you are a royalist, my little friend ?" said Hope ; " do 
 you find that many of the farmers are of your opinion ?" 
 
 " Everybody almost wants some change ; for since the re- 
 public every one is poorer than before. Some few wish to see 
 
THE COXSEEVATIYE PAETY. 67 
 
 a red republic, because tliey have notbing, and never bad any- 
 thing ; they say that they ought to have a share of other people's 
 property. I don't know much of these people, for they never 
 buy poultry or sell it, but I see them sometimes in the cabarets, 
 and I hear what they say. There are not many of them, and 
 everbody else is against them ; but still these are the people 
 that talk the loudest, and make the greatest noise ; this keeps 
 the proprietors in a state of alarm, and nobody buys anything, 
 and when they sell anything, they hide their money. I hear 
 that in England you have grand seigneurs who have thousands 
 and thousands of acres that belong to them, and they have 
 farmers to whom they let their land. This is not so here. We 
 have farmers like you, but not many, who pay rent. Almost 
 all our farmers have their own properties, which they cultivate, 
 and a great many people have only a house and garden ; but 
 this they do not wish to lose or even to divide with the com- 
 munists ; and when the friends of a red republic and the com- 
 munists talk so loud in the cabarets, they are frightened that 
 this division of property may take place, and they wish for a 
 king to protect them and act with firmness. Some, whose 
 fathers were soldiers, or who served under the emperor them- 
 selves, wish for Kapoleon's nephew ; others wish for Henri 
 Cinq, but none of these speak out, for they will not trust each 
 other ; they only complain, and say they wish for a change. I 
 cannot tell you what change they would like, but I should like 
 to have Henri for my king ; for the emperor was always 
 having conscriptions ; and perhaps his nephew might like fight- 
 ing, and making us fight all the world, as the great emperor 
 did. Glory is a very fine thing, but I like commerce better." 
 
 " Bravo ! my little friend," said Hope. " I think your 
 taste excellent, for it agrees with my own ; and if many of your 
 countrymen think like you, your country will soon exceed all its 
 former greatness." 
 
 " K'ot till they get a better mode of working their land," 
 said Cross, " and till they find out that time is money. Just 
 
68 FAKSnNG. 
 
 look at the crops on either side of the road — how bad they are ; 
 and yet, perhaps, there is no better land in Europe than that 
 through which W8 are passing. Look at the ploughs, which 
 only scratch and do not plough the land. Draining or deep 
 ploughing is never thought of, and the consequence is, that six- 
 teen or twenty bushels an acre is a large crop with the farmers 
 here, while with ordinary management the land would yield 
 forty ; they have little or no green crop, consequently they have 
 no manure ; their hay meadows are covered with rushes, and some 
 with stagnant water ; in short, nothing can be worse than the 
 agriculture of this country, and this is the more remarkable from 
 the fact that nothing can be better than the way in which they 
 work their smaU gardens, from which the produce is enormous. 
 Look, for instance, at this field, and at the garden taken off from it." 
 Cross pointed to a house built in the corner of a field by the 
 road-side, %vith a small garden behind and at one side of it. 
 The garden was surrounded by a row of pear and plum trees, 
 the branches of which were nearly breaking with the weight of 
 fruit. The garden itself was crammed with most luxuriant 
 vegetables, with French beans fourteen feet high, and loaded 
 with pods, and with various sorts of cabbages of different ages ; 
 the cottage walls were nearly hid by vines and apricot trees, 
 also laden Avith fruit. The field was divided into strips bearing 
 various crops, Hke run-rig in the Highlands of Scotland ; the 
 crops were wheat, oats, barley, buckwheat, and Siberian buck- 
 wheat, with two or three small patches of potatoes and beetroot, 
 and aU the crops were bad, and foul with weeds. The field 
 was ploughed into ridges about five feet wide ; no pains had 
 been taken to give a free run to the water, so that there was no 
 crop in the furrows, which made the field look as if it was laid 
 off with narrow paths at every five feet. 
 
 " Look at the difference," said Cross, " between that garden 
 and that field. The soil is the same ; the climate is the same ; 
 and yet how different is the result in crop. The garden, 
 luxuriant as it looks, is now bearing its second crop ; where 
 
A COUNTEY EOAD. 69 
 
 the cabbages are growing so well, it has alreadj'' produced beans 
 and early potatoes — in short, the produce from these little spots 
 is very great, while that from the field is comparatively nothing, 
 and all owing to the difference of management. The gardens 
 are thoroughly drained and trenched to a great depth, while the 
 rich land in the field is sour with water, scratched with a plough, 
 and never cleaned from weeds." 
 
 " The difference is very marked, certainly," said Hope ; 
 " but where the deuce is the boy going V 
 
 This remark was made as the carriage turned into a narrow 
 lane, the first fifty yards of which were tolerably smooth, and 
 then the little horse suddenly plunged up to the shoulders into 
 a hole, and drew the carriage after him, which sunk up to the 
 naves of the wheels. " Allons, march, cr-r-r-re- br-r-r-r-igand," 
 said the boy, as the poor little beast scrambled out on the other 
 side, and t\visted a little to one side in dragging the carriage 
 out again. 
 
 " Where the devil are you going 1" exclaimed Hope, who 
 had received a good thump on the back when they sank into 
 the hole. 
 
 " To Carolles, through St. Jean de Thomas," replied the boy, 
 with perfect naivete ; " was not that where monsieur Avished 
 to go." 
 
 " Certainly," said Hope, " but is there no other way but this ?" 
 
 " Yes, sir," answered the boy ; " there is another road, but 
 it is not so good as this, indeed it is hardly safe." 
 
 " And pray do you call this safe 1" said Hope, as one of the 
 wheels sank into another hole — the carriage leaning over as if 
 it never would again recover the perpendicular. 
 
 "Oh yes, sir, quite safe ; carriages are never 'emptied' on 
 this road, but they sometimes are on the other." 
 
 " Well, I'm only a passenger," said Hope, " but go gently 
 or I shall be pounded to a jelly." 
 
 " Don't be afraid," said the boy, and for the next quarter 
 of a mile they jogged along in silence, twisting about to avoid 
 
70 A HIGHLA2sD EOAD. 
 
 tlie worst holes, and sometimes making the horse wade up to 
 the shoulders through them, so as to allow the wheels to remain 
 on the firmer ground. 
 
 " Hope," said Cross, " this reminds me of a Highland road 
 in the West, where a friend of ours vowed that he once found 
 a muddy man sounding a hole with the butt end of a driving 
 w^hip. He asked him what he was doing, and he replied, * Sir, 
 I have found my hat, hut I have lost a horse and gig some- 
 where here.'" 
 
 "Ah," said Hope, "there is a post-road in the north High- 
 lands which runs for twenty miles along the bank of a lake. 
 A lad who carried the letters up or down every day for some 
 years was asked by a lowlander, who did not know the country, 
 whether he rode or drove. 'Eide!' said the lad, grinning; 
 ' there's pairts o't a man himsel' widl no be vary canny on ; ' 
 and it was true, for in some places the path was hardly fit for 
 anything but an active kid in good condition, and that 'road' 
 was then the only land communication between the east and 
 west of that part of Scotland, and the postman got small pay 
 for * travelling it.' " 
 
 "Do you see that chateau?" said the boy, turning round and 
 pointing to a large house at a short distance from the track (for 
 road we cannot call it). 
 
 Slush, slush went the two wheels into two holes, jerking 
 the passengers out of their seats. 
 
 " Mind where you are going," said Hope, with an exclamation. 
 " I wish you would look at the road and not at anything else ; 
 you have nearly bumped my inside out." 
 
 " Oh, by our Lady, yes !" said the boy ; " but it is nothing ; 
 there we are out again. I beg your pardon, but I could not 
 help asking you to look at that house, because it belongs to one 
 of my best customers ; but, poor gentleman, he cannot buy any 
 more partridges, for some of the people in Paris who held his 
 money are bankrupt, and they give him nothing, so he cannot 
 afford to go shooting and buying partridges." 
 
EOAD MENDING. 71 
 
 " He may not clioose to buy your birds if he is poor," said 
 Hope, " but wliy should he not shoot his own game if he likes 1 
 Powder and shot are not so dear as to prevent his taking a shot 
 if he wishes it." 
 
 " Ah, you don't understand," said the boy ; " monsieur is very 
 generous, but he is a bad shot ; every Sunday he went out 
 shooting, and sometimes twice a week, but as he killed very 
 little himself, and liked to make presents of his game, he always 
 sent word to me the day before, and I hid ten or twelve part- 
 ridges and a hare or two, in places we agreed upon, and he picked 
 them up. He paid me very well, and, to say the truth, he was 
 right to do so, for I always gave him fresh birds, although 
 sometimes I was obliged to go as far as Brittany to get them, 
 when he wanted to have a good day." 
 
 The quiet way in which this explanation was given tickled 
 Hope so much, that he quite forgot the badness of the road iu 
 the merry laugh it created. " Well," he said, after he had 
 finished his laugh, " that is the best account of French sporting 
 I ever heard — and is this the only way he can reach his house V 
 
 " Yes," said Cross, " this is his only road, and they are 
 certainly queer people. I once asked why he did not mend 
 some of these holes. Two days of a horse and cart, with four 
 men to fill and empty them, would make the road passable ; 
 but no — it was not his business — the commune were bound to 
 mend the roads, and he would rather run the risk of breaking 
 his carriage every day than mend the road for others." 
 
 " But why," said Hope, " does not some man of influence 
 get all the country round to turn out for a day and mend the 
 whole road 1 if this is the only way they have of going to 
 market, it would be worth their while to work for a month, in- 
 stead of a day, and they would gain the whole value of their 
 time." 
 
 " You are quite right," answered Cross ; " but yet you 
 cannot convince them of so plain a truth. Every farm, every 
 hamlet, every commune is jealous of the other, and they would 
 
72 GOING TO IVIAKKET. 
 
 rather suffer any inconvenience themselves than put their hand 
 to a work which would beneiit their neighbours. The govern- 
 ment of France have been shamefully negligent in attending to 
 the minutiffi of agriculture. Without the interference of govern- 
 ment these improvements never will take place, and they are 
 most short-sighted in not doing so, for nothing can be easier. 
 As they have an army of official men scattered in every corner, 
 they have only to issue an order to make these men call out 
 every man without exception to execute one or two days of 
 statute labour, and you would have all these cross-roads at least 
 in passable order, and gain millions a year to the country ; and 
 here comes a proof — draw into the ditch, boy, and let this 
 waggon pass." 
 
 The boy did as he was bid, and even then left barely room 
 for the coming cart to pass. It was one of the long carts 
 mounted on two enormous wheels, and drawn by two horses 
 and three bullocks ; a horse led, then came three bullocks, and 
 a second horse in the shafts. It came rolling and plunging 
 along the road like a boat in a heavy sea. Immediately behind 
 the cart rode four or five men, and a sack, about a quarter full, 
 was placed behind each rider. 
 
 " What a nice smell of fruit," said Hope. 
 
 " Yes," said Cross ; " the cart is laden with fruit, and the 
 half of it is mashed to a jeUy before it reaches GranvUle. I 
 hear the people have made a great deal of money this 3'ear by 
 their plums, and they would have made four times as much if 
 they had but a road to convey them along ; as it is, three- 
 quarters of the best of the fruit is mashed, and is sold for half 
 nothing to the pastry cooks to make into preserve." 
 
 " And those people behind," asked Hope, " what have they 
 got in their sacks ?" 
 
 ",0h, that is wheat or some other grain which they are 
 carrying either to market or to the miU ; they seldom take 
 more than two bushels at a time, which must cause a great deal 
 of trouble and also great loss of money by the waste of time in 
 
A SPOKTING FAKMEE. 73 
 
 taking so small a quantity to market every week, instead of 
 taking a ton or two in a waggon. But one of the greatest faults 
 they have in this country is, that they put their whole crop 
 into barns. You will not see a single hay or corn stack. The 
 inevitable consequence of which is, that unless the season is re- 
 markably fine, both hay and corn are apt to be musty, and the 
 expense of farm-buildings is enormously and uselessly increased." 
 
 The cart was now alongside. Hope learned that the terms 
 " sacre," " cochon," and " brigand," were common to both horses 
 and horned cattle, for the driver gave one of the bullocks a kick 
 with his heavy sabot that might have broken his ribs, and 
 applied these terms of affection to the unfortunate beast. The 
 smell of the fruit was very sweet, and the destruction was 
 evident, for the juice was running through the baskets to the 
 ground. These baskets were filled with apricots, green gages, 
 and large blue plums, and were piled one over the other in the 
 cart, which stopped as it came alongside the carriage. 
 
 " Will you sell some of your fruit to us 1" asked Cross, 
 making a bow to one of the men on horseback. He was dressed 
 in a black velvet hunting-cap, a blue blouse, coarse woollen 
 trousers, and sabots. 
 
 " The gentleman will do me much honour by taking as many 
 as he pleases," said the farmer, making a bow and waving his 
 hunting-cap, as if he were the master of the buck-hounds re- 
 ceiving the priace. A quantity of fruit was selected from the 
 different baskets and handed to the gentlemen ; no payment 
 would be accepted, the farmer declaring he was too much 
 honoured by seeing them eaten. 
 
 Hope asked him if it would not be a good thing to have the 
 road mended. 
 
 " Excellent," answered the farmer ; " and you will see in 
 our commune we are doing something ; but what is the use 1 
 for we have a league and a half to go through these holes, and 
 therefore we only lose our time, as in the winter this road is 
 quite impassable. To be sure this year we need not mind, for 
 
74 CtEANat:llaise. 
 
 we shall have no cider ; but, thanks to the Virgin, the 
 plums and pears are famous, and we can get something for them 
 before the bad weather comes on. I have the honour to wish 
 the gentlemen good morning." With another flourish of the 
 cap and a low bow he rode on, and the boy set his horse in 
 motion. 
 
 " How comes that old cock to wear a hunting- cap 1" asked 
 Hope ; "he looks for all the world like a whipper-in gone mad." 
 
 " Why," answered Cross, " an English gentleman some 
 years ago rode his horse over a district of this country for a 
 match; he wore a jockey cap. Since then there have been 
 races, at which, also, the riders were dressed as they are with 
 us ; so, by way of looking sporting, everybody who has a cart- 
 horse to trot a match considers it right to wear a hunting-cap ; 
 and many who have no horse at all think it knowing to pretend 
 that they have, and find it cheaper to buy a cap than a horse. 
 That old fellow is very well off", and really has horses, and good 
 ones, for he generally wins the farmers' stake for trotting, and 
 though he wears sabots and a blouse, he marks his love for the 
 turf by sporting his hunting-cap on all occasions." 
 
 Use makes us accustomed to almost everything ; Hope, who 
 was far from comfortable at first, got reconciled to his shaking 
 when he saw that it was quite possible to go with one wheel 
 up to the nave in a hole, and the other on the bank, without 
 being upset, or "emptying" the carriage, as the boy expressed 
 the process. So they jogged along, admiring the rich country, 
 and bemoaning the ignorance of the people in not makmg more 
 of it. They passed a small stream, on the banks of which a 
 dozen very handsome women were washing clothes by hammer- 
 ing them on a stone with a wooden beetle. 
 
 " Hilloa," said Hope, " we have got into the land of beauty. 
 I have not seen a good-looking woman since I have been in 
 Kormandy, and here we have a regular covey of beauties." 
 
 " Ah," answered Cross, " we are getting near St. Jean de 
 Thomas, and these must have Granville blood in their veins. 
 
ST. JEAX DE THOMAS. 75 
 
 All the women there are handsome, although I agree with you 
 in thinking that ]N'ormans in general are not famed for good 
 looks. They tell me the Granville people are of Spanish origin ; 
 and their black eyes and graceful carriage confirm the supposition." 
 
 Five minutes more brought them to the top of a hill, and 
 before them they saw the straggHng village of St. Jean de Thomas 
 buried in orchards, with a low well-wooded hill to the north, 
 and a promontory stretching to the westward, which completely 
 sheltered it from all winds but the south and the south-west. 
 In the last direction stood Mont St. Michel, rising from its 
 sandy bed and forming a marked and picturesque object in the 
 distance. 
 
 " Faith," said Hope, " what a snug little place to spend the 
 •uinter in ! it must be so warm ! and being so near the sea, and 
 so well sheltered, I should say it must be a capital place for 
 delicate lungs." 
 
 " I am afraid not," answered Cross, " for, from the want of 
 draining, the flats to the south are a perfect marsh during 
 winter, and I hear there are often agues in consequence ; besides 
 which there is not a decent house in the village. You may see 
 the best, and judge if anEnghsh famUy would put up with such 
 accommodation in a place which is inaccessible in the winter. 
 Such a spot in England, with such shelter and so much beauty, 
 would be converted into a httle paradise ; but we must wait a 
 while before we see the capital expended here which would be 
 necessary to drain the bottom and build houses fit for English 
 Christians to live in. Some of our countrymen, and many 
 rich French people, do come here and rough it for a few weeks, 
 for the sake of sea-bathing, and almost every house has its 
 lodgers," 
 
 They were now crawling into the village ; the road allowed 
 no faster pace. The houses stood detached from each other in 
 their- gardens, where the trees were loaded with fruit of all 
 sorts, and they looked gay and pretty as the bright sun shone 
 on the many colours which the fruit-trees and house-leeks gave 
 
76 BATHING-DEESS. 
 
 to their fronts and roofs. All the houses "were either thatched 
 or covered with shingle ; there was not a slate in the whole 
 place. 
 
 " The ladies are coming in from bathing," said the hoy, 
 " so the tide must be a good way out." 
 
 " How do you know V asked Hope ; the boy had spoken to 
 no one. 
 
 The boy pointed with his whip to the various doors as they 
 passed, and at each there hung at least one pair of blue trousers 
 and a short blue blouse. They swung in the gentle breeze, being 
 suspended by a string, and having a stick stuck into the waist- 
 band to keep them open. 
 
 " "WTiatever they do in the rest of France," said Hope, " I 
 see the ladies wear the breeches here." 
 
 " Yes," answered Cross ; " there are no bathing-macliines, so 
 the ladies, both here and at all these small bathing-places, walk 
 down in the dresses you see, and put them off when wet, either 
 in small sheds or on the open beacL The dress has a great 
 advantage over the bathing-gown of England, for it allows the 
 ladies to swim, which many of them do very well." 
 
 After passing through the greater part of the village, the 
 carriage was puUed up at the entrance to a yard, and the two 
 friends aKghted. 
 
 " As we must rest the horse here for a Kttle, you may as 
 well look at the house," said Cross ; " you will see the sort of 
 way in which people Hve here. An English family have hired 
 this one, which is one of the best in the place, and are to be here 
 in a day or two ; but as it is empty at present we can see every- 
 thing without interfering with any one." He led the way, and 
 Hope followed, into a dirty court-yard. The house stood before 
 them, covered, like all those they had passed, with vines and 
 apricot trees. Over the door was a branch of the apricot loaded 
 with its rich yellow fruit, and round all the windows hung 
 numberless bunches of grapes, still smaU and green ; the roof 
 was partly of thatch, partly shingle, but all covered with 
 
THE BEST HOUSE IN THE VILLAGE. 77 
 
 parasitical plants, the varied colours of which, with the festoon- 
 ing of the vines, gave a very picturesque look to the build- 
 ing. Two sides of the court were surrounded with offices, the 
 lower storeys of which were used as drinking-places, or as stables 
 and cow-byres ; the upper were used as barns, and many of them 
 were now filled with hay. In the centre of this yard rose a 
 mound from which grew a beautiful walnut tree that gave 
 promise of a most abundant crop, and its rich green foliage 
 might have afforded a delicious shade to the inhabitants of the 
 house could they have approached it dryshod ; but this was out 
 of the question, for all the dirty water from the houses, and the 
 drippings from a spring, ran into the hoUow space between it 
 and the buildings, causing a mass of dirty and unsavoury mud, 
 M'hich spread so near the house that there was only a narrow 
 path left between it and the mud. This mud, unsavoury as it 
 was, was useless even for manure, for the spring running into 
 it washed away whatever might be valuable for enriching the 
 farm, and the road into the yard was the drain along which this 
 filthy stream found a vent. Behind, and to the right of the 
 house, was the garden, shewing the same extraordinary luxu- 
 riance of vegetation, both in fruit and vegetables, which was 
 remarked of aU the gardens they had passed. While they 
 were looking at what we have just described, a woman came 
 out of the house bearing two large brass pans, which she filled 
 at the spring, the overflow from which, as we have before 
 described, ran through the yard. As this spring rose con- 
 siderably above the level of the house, twenty feet of pipe would 
 have brought an abundant supply of water to the kitchen, and 
 the same length of drain would have carried off the superabun- 
 dant water, thus saving constant labour to the servants, and 
 rendering the place clean, tidy, and wholesome. 
 
 " Talk of French civilisation," said Hope ; " I wiU be 
 hanged if this does not beat Celtic indolence. You may see 
 the same sort of carelessness among the lowest orders of 
 Welsh, Irish, and Scottish Highlanders, but not amoug the 
 
78 THE INTEKIOE. 
 
 better class. The proprietor of this place, you told me, is rich, 
 is in the employment of the government, and considers himself 
 enough of a gentleman to call me out, if I told him what I think 
 of his dirt and ignorance." 
 
 " C'est la mode du pays," answered Cross ; " and as we are 
 not their schoolmasters, we must take theui as we find them ; 
 but now for the house." 
 
 The kitchen had two doors, entering directly from the yard, 
 without any porch ; it formed the whole lower part of the house, 
 being about thirty-five feet long by thh'ty wide. In front of the 
 door by which they entered were two beds, beautifully clean, with 
 gay patch-work quilts spread over them. These beds were 
 sunk into the wall, and had a large cupboard between them, 
 which served as a sort of pantry for containing provisions. On 
 the left were two -s^dndows, and between them a rack filled with 
 plates and dishes, with a long table below nearly as long as the 
 room ; another long table stood in the centre of the kitchen, and 
 at this a woman was employed in shredding the leaves of some 
 cabbages for making soup. As she cut them she pulled a string 
 which ran through a small pulley on the ceiling, the other end 
 of the string being fixed to a basket in the shape of a flat bee- 
 hive, neatly made of very close wicker-work. Wlien the string 
 was pulled it raised this basket, and within, or rather below it, 
 stood one of the large brass pans she had just filled at the 
 spring. Into this pan she threw the cabbage leaves as they 
 were cut, a quantity of other vegetables being already there ; it 
 looked very clean and bright. There were two other baskets 
 exactly of the same form and similarly arranged, standing at 
 equal distances on the table. 
 
 " What is the use of these baskets "?" asked Hope, 
 
 "Don't you see?" answered Cross; "they serve as dish- 
 covers to keep off the flies and dust, which they do admirably ; 
 and the same plan would be of great use in our best kitchens, for 
 it is very handy and highly effective. The dinner as it is pre- 
 pared is left under these baskets till it is time to place it on the 
 
THE FIEE-PLACE. 79 
 
 fire, and when it is dished it is again put there till served on the 
 table, by which means no flies or dust can ever touch the food." 
 " "Well," said Hope, " it is always more agreeable to praise 
 than censure, and as I have been abusing the dirty yard, I am 
 delighted to be able to praise what I now see, for it certainly 
 gives an air of great cleanliness. And this cabbage soup — is it 
 good 1 I have heard much of it, but never have tasted it." 
 
 " Its goodness is a matter of taste," replied Cross. " I like 
 it myself, and it must be very nutritious, for many a strong fel- 
 low eats nothing else but this soup and bread. It is very much 
 the same as that which Soyer has been making for the Irish. 
 After the cabbage has been boiled for a considerable time, some 
 bits of bread and onions, fried in butter or fat, are added to the 
 soup, and it is ready ; or they begin with the grease and onions, 
 then add the cabbage and water, and when it has boiled for a 
 good while they throw in the slices of bread, and serve. If the 
 peasantry look dirty in their persons, they are never so in their 
 cookery or their beds ; in these departments they are scrupu- 
 lously clean. Then- bed and table linen is coarse, but very nice, 
 and they have a great quantity of it ; for here, as in Scotland, 
 they consider a large quantity of hnen as a mark of respecta- 
 bility and wealth." 
 
 " Well," said Hope, " that knowledge must always be a 
 great comfort to a stranger visiting the country ; for a man may 
 bear a great deal of untidiness out of doors and will put up with 
 very humble fare when he is sure that that fare is clean, and 
 that he will have a good bed on which to stretch his limbs at 
 night. I like their fire-place, too, for it reminds me of the com- 
 forts of the old English farm-house." As he spoke he pointed 
 to the right side of the room where the fire-place was built, pro- 
 jecting into the room, with a settle on either side of the fire, 
 which burnt under the large open chimney. The fire was small, 
 of wood burning on dogs, with a large heap of ashes ranged round 
 it. " They could not cook much dinner at such a fire as that," 
 said Hope. 
 
80 CHAECOAL STOVES. 
 
 " I beg your pardon," said Cross, " for there you are wrong ; 
 you would be astonished to see the number of dishes they can 
 cook at that little fire, with the assistance of the charcoal stoves, 
 which you see in the dresser." 
 
 " Charcoal stoves 1" said Hope ; " I don't see any." 
 
 " Look here," said Cross ; and they went to the long table 
 against the wall in front of one of the windows. They there 
 saw four holes, six inches square, lined with brick, and having 
 a small iron grating at the bottom ; some Dutch tiles were let 
 into the table around the holes. 
 
 " Do you call those stoves ? " asked Hope. 
 
 " Faith do I," answered Cross, " and each of them will 
 dress you a dish fit for a king. These holes are tilled with 
 charcoal, and a pan placed over them, standing on a low trivet, 
 so that a very small quantity of fuel gives ample heat to dress 
 most excellent dishes. I assure you our countrywomen might 
 take useful lessons from the women here in economy of fuel in 
 their kitchens. Let us look at what they can do with these 
 small holes in a table, and that small fire. 
 
 " First then, these stoves will give you four entrees for your 
 first course, and as many for your second ; then on the fire they 
 hang the pot for the soup, which is kept warm in the hot ashes ; 
 when it is taken off, vegetables and fish take its place ; in the 
 front they can roast as well as we can with our large coal fires ; 
 and then they have also a contrivance which I would fain see 
 introduced into the Irish and Scottish cottages, where peat is 
 burnt, for peat embers would be as good as the wood embers 
 used here. The contrivance I allude to is this, it is called a 
 ' four de campagne.' " 
 
 Cross pointed to a circular iron box, which looked like a 
 bushel measure, standing -nith the mouth downwards, and 
 having a projecting rim about four inches broad, fixed on to the 
 bottom. 
 
 " AVhat is the use of that ]" asked Hope. 
 
 " Why, it makes a very good substitute for an oven ; it will 
 
FOUK DE CAZMPAGXE. 81 
 
 bake rolls, tarts, and pies reraarkably -well. The dish is put 
 down on a trivet, which is placed on the hot stones close to the 
 fire ; this ' four' is then put over it, the hot embers are piled 
 around it, and the top is also filled to the upper part of the rini 
 with embers. "NATiatever is placed inside is baked nearly as 
 well as in an oven. They are very cheap, being made of thin sheet 
 ii-on ; and if our people had them, and would learn to use them, 
 they would be of great use. Many a nice httle dish might a 
 wife prepare to greet her husband's return after a hard day's 
 work, and with no trouble, for, once put in order, they require 
 very httle looking after ; and they will cook best exactly the 
 sort of dishes which are within the reach of a Highland peasant, 
 such as fish pies, bacon and potatoes, or eggs, fish, butter, and 
 potatoes, beat into a pudding." 
 
 " If these things will do all you say," answered Hope, " you 
 are quite right, and if we understand out-of-doors work better 
 than the French, I see we may learn a great deal from their 
 indoor habits ; but here is a regular girdle, like what the Irish 
 and Scottish peasants use for making oat cakes." 
 
 " You are right," said Cross, " and they use it for nearly the 
 same purpose. They do not make oat cakes, it is true ; but 
 they make a sort of scones of the flour of the buckwheat, which 
 are called , gallets ; they are made exactly like oat cakes, and 
 when you taste them you will allow they are very good." 
 
 " "Well, as you command the commissariat, if you produce 
 them as part of your stores, I shall devour, and report my 
 opinion ; in the meantime, let us see the rest of the house." 
 
 On the same side of the room as the door by which they 
 entered rose a steep wooden stair. It began and wound round 
 to the same side as the fireplace, and under this staircase was 
 a third bed, as clean as the other two. Tliey mounted the steps 
 and entered the upper room through a door at the top. This 
 apartment was the same size as the lower room, and had a second 
 staircase to ascend to the upper storey. It resembled the kitchen, 
 with this difference, that the stau'case out of the second room 
 
 G 
 
82 SHOOTIXG. 
 
 was Md from view "by -wooden panels, while in the kitchen it 
 was open, having only a hand-rail. A portion of this upper room 
 was also cut off by a wooden partition, which concealed three 
 bed-places which exactly resembled three state-rooms in a steam- 
 boat. The furniture was primitive enough, but the room looked 
 gay with the scarlet and white curtains that hung round the 
 windows, and the beds, like the others, were beautifully clean. 
 This, however, was the whole accommodation of the best house 
 in the village ; for the upper flat was only a granary and store- 
 room, and was full of lumber, and casks containing various kinds 
 of grain. 
 
 " For a family," said Hope, " this is no great things, but in 
 a sporting country two or three men might get on famously. Is 
 there any shooting here 1 " 
 
 " Shooting you can hardly call it, for everybody carries a gun. 
 If you or I were to shoot a sparrow in the hedge, we should 
 forthwith be asked to produce our porte d'armes ; but they are 
 not so strict with each other. Every one, therefore, shoots, and 
 of course the game cannot be plentiful. Still there are a sprink- 
 ling of hares and partridges ; and in the beginning of the season 
 you may always pick up a few brace of birds. In the winter, I 
 hear there are always woodcocks and snipes, and quantities of 
 shore-birds, such as curlews and dottrel. There are ducks in 
 the streams, and there are large flocks of widgeon on the Mare 
 de Bouillon. Of the winter shooting I can only speak from 
 hearsay, for the roads here are then quite impassable. If you 
 have seen enough of the house, we may as well take a look at 
 the ruin of an old castle on the hiU. There is not much to see 
 in the ruin itself, but the view from it is worth looking at ; and 
 the castle they say was once a stronghold of the Montgomeries." 
 Hope expressed his willingness to go wherever he was led ; 
 so they started up a Kttle steep track to the shoulder of the 
 hill, Avhere they found very smaU. remains of what had once 
 been a place of strength, and had been the home of the mighty 
 dead. The building greatly resembled in structure some of the 
 
 I 
 
A CASTLE OF THE MONTGOMERIES. 83 
 
 old forts in the AVest Highlands of Scotland. There were the 
 ruins of the same sort of square tower, forming one quarter of a 
 quadrangle of lower buildings ; but little remained, and that 
 little would soon vanish, for all the walls were too much under- 
 mined to continue long standing. The situation must have 
 been chosen before the use of artillery was known, for as a place 
 of strength it Avould be useless in modern days, being com- 
 manded by higher ground on three sides ; but these heights 
 added greatly to its comfort and beauty as a residence, for, in 
 the way of comfort, they sheltered it from all winds but the 
 south, and being covered with walnut, chestnut, and oak trees, 
 their rich and varied foliage tended greatly to increase its beauty. 
 Below the hill lay the village buried in its gardens and orchards, 
 and further off stretched the rich and wooded plain through 
 which they had passed ; while on the right was the sea, with 
 Mont St. Michel rising against the blue horizon, and the shore 
 of Brittany in the extreme distance. The view was certainly 
 lovely. 
 
 Hope showed his admiration by exclaiming, "What a 
 paradise of a place might a man make here with taste and 
 money ! " 
 
 While they were thus standing and gazing before them, a 
 hoopoe lit on a green knoll, the debris of a portion of the fallen 
 ruin ; he was close to them, and as he spread his crest in the 
 sun, the colour's showed bright on the beautiful little bird. 
 
 " Bless me !" said Hope, " there is a hoopoe ! I never saw 
 one alive before." 
 
 " They are common enough in this country," answered Cross ; 
 " and if you listen you may hear the note of another very pretty 
 bird that is uncommon in England — I mean the oriole ; there 
 are great numbers of them here. Their note in the earlier part 
 of the year is most pleasing ; I like it better than that of almost 
 any other bird, though it has not the charm of the nightingale, 
 which sings when all else is still. The nest of both birds is 
 curious. I have never seen it mentioned in any book of natural 
 
84 ORIOLES AND HOOPOES. 
 
 history, Ijut I have remarked that the hoopoe lines its nest with 
 the nastiest filth, and the smell is abominable. The instinct 
 that dictates this I cannot explain, unless the fermentation of the 
 fi.lth keeps up the warmth in the eggs when the bird is olf the 
 nest. Everybody knows that if you clean out your pigeon- 
 house you will have no young pigeons, but a hoopoe requires 
 something nastier still than its own dung with which to line 
 its nest." 
 
 " Your remark," said Hope, " is curious ; seeing these pretty 
 birds and watching their habits, gives a further charm to such 
 a place as this." 
 
 " I agree fully in your remark," answered Cross ; " for a 
 lover of natural history may find amusement in almost any place, 
 and. the study of nature's works is so absorbing, that if once 
 begun, it will make many an hour pass lightly that otherwise 
 might hang heavUy on our hands. Birds, beasts, and insects 
 too, are most abundant and most varied in such places as this, 
 for the beauty which wood, hill, and water give to our eyes, 
 affords the shelter and food necessary for the support of animal 
 life. But I see troops of people wending to the shore. We 
 are come to look at the fishing, not to prose about natural 
 history, so if you have seen enough of the view, let us go down 
 and see what the fishermen are about — first securing our 
 quarters for the night. The horse must now be rested, and it 
 ■will not take us long to reach Carolles." 
 
CHAPTEE IV. 
 
 STEAJS'D FISHING, ETC. 
 
 From tlie height where they stood, the line of road leading to the 
 shore was partially visible. It wound along the bottom of the 
 hiU, edged with a fringe of fruit-trees, through the spaces of 
 which, groups of men, women, and children were seen all hasten- 
 ing in the same direction. All carried baskets on their left 
 shoulders, and many bore nets which were rolled round poles 
 about eight or nine feet long. 
 
 " Come along," said Cross, '' the tide is far enough out now ; 
 and if you make haste you will see all the different modes of fish- 
 ing on the shore." He led the way as he spoke, directing his 
 course down a steep path, which passed through a bank of 
 dwarf whin to the road below. Just as they entered the whin 
 cover, a covey of twenty-three partridges rose at their feet ; the 
 young birds were well grown, but still they were of such an 
 age that it was impossible for a sportsman to mistake the old 
 birds — of these there were two, and twenty-one young ones. 
 
 " Bless my heart," said Hope, " there is a fine covey ! it is the 
 largest I ever saw; if the birds breed in that fashion in this 
 country, they ought to have the finest shooting in the world." 
 
 " Ought is a very fine word," answered Cross ; " but where 
 every man carries a gun, and where, in spite of the laws to the 
 contrary. Little or no respect is paid to close-time, it is quite im- 
 possible for game to be plentiful; if the ground was at all pre- 
 served, it might easily be so, for these large coveys are by no 
 means rare. Last year, very near this place, I found one that 
 had twenty-four birds, being one more than that we have just 
 seen. The great quantity of buckwheat which is grown here is 
 
86 SIBERI. 
 
 the only tiling that prevents the total extermination of game ; for 
 the people are furious at any person going through this crop. It 
 is always sown late, and is never cut till the middle or end of 
 September; consequently, the birds, who have the instinct to 
 know where they are safe, always take to the fields of buckwheat 
 the moment they are sprung, and their persecutors dare not fol- 
 low them there. A certain number thus escape and supply 
 breeding birds for next year. I believe it is this same buckwheat, 
 or sarrasin, as it is here called, which renders them so prolific ; 
 for, in harvesting this grain, a great deal is shaken and falls to 
 the ground, which gives considerable feeding during the autumn 
 and winter. There is also another variety of buckwheat which 
 is grown here ; the peasants call it Siberi, being a contraction of 
 Siberian buckwheat. This they grow for the feeding of their 
 poultry and pigs, and excellent food it seems to be, for the fowls 
 lay an immense quantity of eggs ; and I believe it is from this 
 feeding that the poultry acquires the flavour which I have heard 
 you praise so much. This grain gives food to game very early in 
 the year; I have remarked that in the corn-fields its grains are 
 perfectly formed and full by the first week in May ; and I own 
 I have often felt astonished that in our own country, where we 
 think ourselves so learned in the art of rearing game, this Sibe- 
 rian buckwheat has never been introduced; if it has been I have 
 never seen it." 
 
 " What is its peculiar advantage 1 " asked Hope. 
 
 " ^^Tiy," answered Cross, " I have already told you that the 
 grain is fit for food in the first week in May — very shortly after 
 they have sown their oats and barley — these are the crops that 
 are generally sown after buckwheat, or this Siberi. A few grains 
 of buckwheat always spring up the second year ; but in a crop 
 after Siberi, Siberi still seems to be the only crop sown, so great 
 is the quantity that comes up. However severe the winter, it 
 appears never to injure the vegetative powers of this hardy grain ; 
 indeed, where once sown, it becomes a perfect weed and sticks 
 in the ground with as much pertinacity as wild mustard. As 
 
a:\iateue fisher:mex. 87 
 
 poultry and game seem to prefer it to any other food, and as it is 
 always either growing, or lying on the fields, I think it would be 
 invaluable to our game preservers." 
 
 " Well," said Hope, " it is not a bad wrinkle, and I thank you 
 for the hint. I will take a parcel of the seed with me, and en- 
 lighten my sporting friends when I go home. But whom have 
 we here ? I did not know that your fishermen wore such smart 
 black moustaches." 
 
 This remark was made as they reached the road ; for while 
 Cross had been lecturing on the merits of Siberi, they had con- 
 tinued their progress down the hill, and when Hope declared his 
 intention of enlightening his sporting friends in England on the 
 subject, they had arrived at the hedge that lined one side of the 
 way. About twenty yards from the place where they stood, 
 Cross saw five men advancing from the town. They were all 
 dressed very much alike, namely, in blue trousers and jackets. 
 Two of the party wore old straw hats, that looked as if they had 
 been stolen from some scarecrow ; the other three had on foraging 
 caps, that had certainly seen good service ; none of the party wore 
 stockings ; some had wooden sabots, the others, shoes to'match the 
 hats and caps. Each of them carried a good-sized basket fixed 
 on the left shoulder, and these were roughly but very closely 
 plaited. The man who led the way had on his right shoulder a 
 net with very small meshes, which was twisted round two poles 
 about eight feet long, and at the end of each of these poles was 
 fixed the curved end of a sheep's horn, the outer side of which 
 was poUshed quite smooth. The remaining four followed in 
 pairs ; they too had nets and poles, but only one net and one 
 pair of poles to each couple. The ends of the poles rested on 
 their shoulders, and a considerable quantity of net was rolled 
 roimd the centre, the weight of which was divided between the 
 two ; the ends of these poles were also covered with a bit of horn, 
 and as they walked the clink of a chain could be heard, keeping 
 time to the sound of their steps, and mingling with their laughter 
 and conversation. The mouths of all were garnished with fierce 
 
88 AN INTKODUCTION. 
 
 black moustaches, and cigars in full smoke. Ten seconds brought 
 this party in line with the gap in the hedge where Cross and 
 Hope were standing. An instantaneous halt took place, and a 
 shout from the whole voices at once of, "Ah, my dear Cross ! 
 here you are ! how happy I am to see you. When did you 
 arrive 1 " 
 
 Cross returned the greeting of his friends, and told them that 
 he was showing the country to his friend Hope, whom he begged 
 to make known to them, and whose great object, he mentioned, 
 was, among other sights, to see the mode of fisliing practised in 
 N'ormandy. 
 
 " Then, pray come with us," said the gentleman who was 
 leading when they came in sight, " pray, come with us ; we are 
 going to fish ; you will bring us good fortune and shall share our 
 spoil." 
 
 Cross explained that they must first return to the village, to 
 give directions about their conveyance, and secure quarters 
 at CaroUes, where they meant to stay if they could find apart- 
 ments. 
 
 " Don't let that prevent your joining us," said the gentleman 
 who wore the worst of the two shocking bad hats; "I am at 
 CaroUes, and if a double-bedded room will serve you, there is 
 the best in the town now vacant, for our friends Adolph and 
 George Eene have this moment told me that they must return 
 to Eennes, and have charged me to arrange with our landlord, 
 and intimate their departure. My servant will be here in a 
 second, and I will make him secure the room for you, and your 
 boy can drive him there if that will suit you." Cross looked at 
 Hope, and receiving a nod of assent, he at once accepted the pro- 
 posal, and then more formally presented his friend to the party. 
 Hope was somewhat surprised to find that the wearers of the 
 straw hats were gentlemen of the best families in Xormandy; 
 and of the other three, two were officers in a cavalry regiment, 
 and the third a gentleman whom he had often heard mentioned 
 as one of the most agreeable people in the district. Four of them 
 
BOUQUETS AXD CHEATIETTES. 89 
 
 "were quartered, in the village ; the other, as we have already men- 
 tioned, was at Carolles ; they were there to take the baths, as 
 they said, meaning thereby, swimming for an hour while the tide 
 was in, and wading ia pursuit of prawns and small soles for two 
 or three hours whenever the tide was out. 
 
 As the iMarquis de had promised, his servant joined 
 
 them almost immediately; he received the joint instructions of 
 his master and Cross, and when he turned to execute them, the 
 whole party started for the shore. 
 
 Hope took his place by the side of the Marquis de , 
 
 and Cross walked in front with the Baron de . Hope, 
 
 while he talked with the ]Marquis, had his eye fixed on the coil 
 of net that wound round the poles, the ends of which were rest- 
 ing on the shoulders of the Marquis and his companion, one of 
 the cavalry officers ; the chnking of the chaia caught his ear 
 again, and on looking he saw that a considerable quantity was 
 twisted in the net, and a number of looj)s hung on either side 
 of the pole, which was shaken b}' the motion of the bearers, and 
 one loop, striking against the other, caused the sound which he 
 heard. 
 
 " What do you expect to catch to-day 1 " asked Hope of the 
 Marquis. 
 
 " The same as usual," he replied ; " bouquets, chevrettes, 
 crabs, and soles." 
 
 " "V\Tiat are bouquets and chevrettes 1 " asked Hope. 
 
 The Marquis spoke a little English, so he answered, " Bou- 
 quets are what you call prawns ; chevrettes are shrimps ; in 
 Paris and in most parts of France, prawns are called sahcoques, 
 and shrimps crevettes, but here they bear the names of bouquets 
 and chevrettes ; crabs and soles of course you know." 
 
 "And is it with the same net that you catch all these 
 varieties?" 
 
 " yes, the same net will catch them all. We have a 
 great variety of nets, but all work for the same end. For 
 example, you see my friend has one different from ours — every 
 
90 H.AJXD-XETS. 
 
 one to Ms taste. He likes to have a net that he can manage 
 himself, for he likes to work round the rocks, as he says the 
 prawns are largest there, and I like to fish with the one we are 
 carrying, because I know we always catch more than he does, 
 and I am very sceptical as to his getting the largest ; and beside 
 the two which you see, the women have nets like those which 
 I saw for catching shrimps in England. There is also another 
 sort which has two poles ; they are joined in the centre with an 
 iron pin, and open and shut Kke a pair of scissors ; a net is fixed 
 to one of the ends of this cross, and when they wish to use it, 
 these scissors are opened so as to stretch the net quite tight, 
 and a cross bar is fixed, which keeps it in that position ; this 
 done, the women push the net before them in the same way 
 that they do in your country." 
 
 " What difference is there between the net you now describe 
 and the one which Monsieur le Baron is carrying 1 I see it has 
 two poles." 
 
 "Why, this — the poles are not joined, and the net is much 
 wider ; it requires a good deal of strength to keep them well 
 open, and then they are about eight feet wide. They are kept 
 open when on the flat sand, but when going through narrow 
 places in the rocks, the fisherman has the power of contracting 
 the width to suit the size of the channel through which he 
 wishes to pass." 
 
 " And the horns fixed on to the ends of the poles, of what 
 use are they?" 
 
 " K the points of the poles were left bare, they would be 
 constantly catching against every small stone, or sticking in the 
 sand ; these curved horns slip smoothly along the bottom, and 
 prevent a great deal of hard labour." 
 
 " And what sort of net have you got ? it seems a great deal 
 larger." 
 
 " Oh, mine is the net ! for, although it is hard work to use 
 it, still it catches so much more that the extra labour is well paid 
 for. This net is ten yards wide. My friend takes one pole and I 
 
HAND-NETS. 91 
 
 tlie other, and we march along, sweeping ten yards at once, in- 
 stead of eight feet." 
 
 " And what is the use of that chain which, is hanging in 
 festoons below the pole ] " 
 
 " Oh, the chain ] I should hardly have thought you need 
 inquire. Soles, shrimps, and prawns all sink themselves into 
 the sand, and they require to he scratched, to make them jump ; 
 with a long net like this, they would lie still and allow the net 
 to pass over them, we should catch hardly anything mthout the 
 chain, but it scratches the sand, and everything that is started 
 falls back, and we are sure to find it in the bag which trails 
 behind." 
 
 " But why these festoons 1" 
 
 " The festoons are everytliing. In the first place, they help 
 to make the bag which holds the fish ; in the second, if the chain 
 was straight, a good deal of the fish would pass below it, which 
 they cannot do when it hangs in loops ; and last of all, it pre- 
 vents the net from rolling. You must be aware that, in shal- 
 low water, in dragging a net which has the common rope and 
 lead to sink it, the net rolls, and you lose all your fish ; but 
 when it is fixed to a small chain, and is arranged in loops, or 
 festoons, as you call it, the net never rolls ; indeed it is quite 
 impossible for it to do so." 
 
 " But how do you contrive to preserve the form of these 
 loops, for they must become straight as you drag it along 1" 
 
 " Not at all. The net is made wider before it is finished 
 than when it is set in. For instance, this net and chain are 
 fourteen yards long when straight, but we can only sweep ten 
 yards with it, now that it is finished. I will describe the way 
 in which it is arranged for use. A net fourteen yards long, 
 having a purse in the centre, is fixed to a small chain, also 
 fourteen yards long : you then take a strong cord, or small rope, 
 and stretch it very tight, and mark it off with thirty marks, each 
 mark exactly a foot apart. The centre of the chain is then fixed 
 to the centre of this cord ; this done, you measure two feet of 
 
92 CEAB-HUXTEP.S. 
 
 the chain on either side, and fix the places so measured to the 
 fijst one-foot mark on either side of the centre. This of coxirse 
 makes a bow or loop in the chain one foot wide and six inches 
 deep ; you then continue working on, measuring a certain quan- 
 tity of chain, and fixing each bit, as it is measured, to one of the 
 marks on the cord, till the whole is fastened. I ought to tell 
 you that the quantity of chain measured is lessened each time ; 
 for instance, the two centre loops are two feet, those next them 
 are twenty-two inches, the third twenty, the fourth nineteen, 
 and so on, gradually diminishing an inch each loop till the whole 
 is finished. The cord and the chain are then made fast to the 
 bottom of the poles as you see, and the ends of the net are also 
 stretched, and attached to them ; and then the top Hue is fas- 
 tened three feet from the bottom, and you have a net ten yards 
 long, fit for work. All this you will see when we begin to Avork, 
 and will understand the process much better by one glimpse 
 than by a day's explanation." 
 
 " I think I understand it," said Hope, " but I shall be all 
 the wiser when I see the nets in operation." 
 
 At this moment a number of yoimg girls ran past them ; they 
 were laughing merrily, though their clothing was of the lightest. 
 All of them had the universal baskets fixed on their left 
 shoulders ; some of them held in their hands forked sticks, some 
 a long iron crook, some hand-nets in the shape of a racket, and 
 some had nothing at all but nature's weapons. 
 
 "^Vhat are these?" asked Hope, "and where are they 
 going]" 
 
 " Fishers going to fish, like ourselves," answered the Mar- 
 quis. 
 
 " And what do they expect to catch 1 " said Hope. 
 "Those strong girls with the forked sticks are the boldest 
 fishers here ; they go farther out than any of us ; they are going 
 in search of oysters, which they find in the beds of sea-grass. 
 They wade up to their waists, and raise the oysters very dex- 
 terously with those sticks. The younger girls with the hand- 
 
COCKLE-PICKEES. 93 
 
 nets are going in search of prawns, and sometimes tliey take a 
 great many. Wlien the tide goes out, there are a number of 
 cracks and holes in the rocks, which remain full of water. 
 Some of these are of considerable depth, and these gMs wade 
 through them, and scrape the sides and bottoms with those small 
 nets : if there is a prawn in the hole, they are sure to catch him. 
 Though either you or I would not get a dozen in a day, these 
 monkeys will half fill their baskets before the tide turns." 
 
 " And these with the iron crooks, what are they 1 " 
 
 " They are crab-hunters : they, like the girls with the hand- 
 nets, search the holes in the rocks ; they either know the holes 
 well, or have much better eyes than I have ; for you will see 
 them presently dragging the crabs and spider-crabs from their 
 hiding-holes with great success ; and if you like to try your 
 hand at it, I will back any one of them to catch a score for 
 every one you take." 
 
 " And these little things 1 are they going to fish, or do they 
 only go to carry what the others take 1 " 
 
 "0 no ; they do not carry for others ; they are going on 
 their own account, and will have as good a back-load as any of 
 the others. They are cockle-pickers, and even in that there is 
 a great art, for, till you are taught, you would not find one, 
 though these little brats may be filling their baskets all round 
 you." 
 
 " I Icnow that trade," said Hope ; " I have learned to know 
 a cockle's eye from practising in Scotland, and I don't think they 
 would beat me much there. Have you any razor-fish on this 
 coast? for I have been taught how to see them too, which is a 
 more cUfificult accomplishment." 
 
 " I have never seen any of them taken," said the Marquis, 
 " although I am sure there must be plenty, for the coast is 
 covered mth their shells." 
 
 " Well, I will try my hand at it some day, if I stay here ; 
 and if I succeed," said Hope, " I shall be able to teach these 
 poor little girls a new mode of filHng their baskets." 
 
94 THE STEAM). 
 
 Thus talking, they reached the strand, and began picking 
 their way towards the rocky point that stretched a good way 
 out to sea. 
 
 '•'"VVe are in capital time," said the Marquis, "for the point is 
 not dry yet, and we shall have the first of this ground, though 
 they have been at Avork for an hour to the westward." 
 
 The promontory along which they were moving rose to a 
 considerable height, and fi'oni the base of the cliff low rocks 
 projected for some distance into the sandy waste ; to the south- 
 ward, the strand was exposed for a great distance, showing how 
 far the tide had already fallen, and groups of figures could be 
 seen scattered along the shining surface of the wet sand. The 
 figures were clearly defined even up to the base of the rock 
 where Mont St. Michel lifts his lofty aged head. Although 
 those in the distance seemed mere specks, yet in the bright 
 sunlight and on the glittering expanse they were so clearly 
 marked that Cross declared he could distinguish the universal 
 basket on their shoulders, and could tell who were using nets 
 and who were gathering oysters. 
 
 The whole party stepped briskly along the sand skirting the 
 projecting rocks, till they came nearly to the point of the pro- 
 montory; and there the waves still rippled against the rocks, so 
 that it was necessary either to mount these or to take to the 
 water and wade. 
 
 " There is no use, gentlemen, in getting wet just now," said 
 the Marquis. " as you have no nets to keep you in exercise ; the 
 water is still pretty deep at the point, so I advise you to go 
 along the rocks — there is a view worth seeing when you get to 
 the end. You can look at that, and we will join you on the 
 other side and show you what we get, for we will not lift the 
 nets till we come to you." 
 
 " I must have a look at your nets and see you start," said 
 Hope, " and then we Avill follow your advice." 
 
 The Baron took his net from his shoulders, unwound it, and 
 opened it to its full width. His elbows he placed against his 
 
THE BAEOx's xt:t, 95 
 
 sides, and grasped the poles about three feet from the upper end, 
 sunk his hands on a level -with his hips, holding the net tightly 
 stretched and open, while the upper end of the poles nearly met 
 behind him. He was ready in a moment, and marched into the 
 water, pushing his net before him, and keeping as close as he 
 could to the heel of the projecting rocks. The Marquis and 
 his companion also unwound their net, so that Hope saw it 
 exactly as it had been described ; each took a pole and ad- 
 vanced into the water, pushing the pole before them, and by 
 leaning in opposite directions, keeping the net stretched to its 
 utmost extent. Hope had kept his eye on the proceedings of 
 the Marquis, and had not observed what the other two gentle- 
 men were doing, but he now saw them trudging into the water 
 in exactly the same manner as the Marquis and his friend, and 
 was aware that there was no difference in the mode of proceed- 
 ing. The Baron, with his single net, as we have already said, 
 kept close to the heel of the rocks ; the others kept further out, 
 the JSIarquis and his friend taking the outside, and in two 
 minutes they were all toiling along up to their waists in the 
 water. 
 
 "WTien they were once started. Cross and Hope mounted the 
 rocks and proceeded in the same direction. 
 
 There was a good deal of short seaware growing, which was 
 very slippery, so that they were obliged to pick their steps and 
 tread only on the bare spaces. By attention to this it was very 
 easy to walk, although the surface was very rugged and broken, 
 for the bare rocks looked like a continuation of immense sponges, 
 which slightly broke under their feet as they walked, giving 
 them so firm a hold that to slip was impossible if they avoided 
 the seaware. 
 
 "AThat rum-looking rocks!" said Hope. " I wish I had a 
 hannner ; I should like to take a bit home and examine it more 
 closely, for it is like ^Madrepore or coral rocks." 
 
 " IS^ever mind the rocks just now," said Cross ; " you can 
 get a bit of that at any time, and it would not be fair to detain 
 
96 CATCHING A CEAB. 
 
 our friends, as they liave promised not to empty their nets till 
 we join tliem." 
 
 Hope walked on, still keeping his eyes on the rocks at his 
 feet, till he was roused by a merry shout of laughter close to 
 him. They had just passed over a ridge rather higher than any 
 they had yet seen, and had come unexpectedly on some of the 
 party of girls who had passed them on the road. These were 
 the crab-hunters, and the girls with the hand-nets. 
 
 "WTien Hope looked up he saw that the rocks were now 
 flatter, but ^veve broken up by crevices of various depths, from 
 ten to fifty yards long and of UTegular breadth, rarely, however, 
 exceeding six feet. In these crevices the girls were wading ; 
 some whisking their little nets rapidly along the bottom or 
 weed-befringed sides, tossing whatever they caught into their 
 baskets ; while others were moving along more slowly, carefully 
 lifting the weed, and poking their iron hook into every hole. 
 When Hope had raised his eyes, he saw that the laugh had been 
 created at the expense of one of these crab-fishers, who had been 
 so much occupied in searching a spht in the rock that she had 
 forgotten that she was standing at the edge of a very deep hole, 
 into wliich she had slipped. She was laughing with the rest, 
 though up to her arms in the water. " It is nothing, it is no- 
 thuag," she said ; " see what a fine one I have got ; and these 
 gentlemen, I am sure, will buy it : it is a real good one, and so 
 heavy." She stretched out her hand, in which she held the 
 large spider-crab which she had just taken, and which had made 
 her forget the deep pool. 
 
 "We will come back to you presently," said Cross, "and 
 perhaps buy your crabs, but we have not time just now ;" then 
 calling to Hope, he continued, " we must get on or they wiU be 
 round the point before us." 
 
 Cross led the way, and Hope followed. Half a minute more 
 spent in walking brought them to the point, and when they had 
 clambered up a steep ledge the view opened upon them. On 
 this side, as on the other, they saw an immense expanse of wet 
 
THE FIRST. HAUL. OV 
 
 shining sand ; but here several masses of flat red-looking rocks 
 broke the sameness of the view, and several hundred men, wo- 
 men, and children, were seen, either wading in the distant blue 
 water, or scattered over the rocks or on the sand. In the far 
 west were the rocks of Chausey ; and in front was another pro- 
 montory, on which stood the town of Granville — the spire of the 
 church, the barracks, and the houses in the old town forming a 
 broken sky-line — while the masts of the ships in the harbour 
 could be distinctly seen cutting against the houses in the lower 
 part of the town. The sea was dotted with the white sails of 
 many of the three-masted luggers which the fishermen of Gran- 
 ville use for trawling. The day was so bright and beautiful that 
 even an uglier scene would have seemed fair ; and now there was 
 so much life and movement, that Hope would fain have paused 
 to look and admire for a while a panorama that gave him so 
 much pleasure ; but Cross hailed him again, and pointed to their 
 friends, who were nearly round the point ; so on they went as 
 fast as the nature of the ground would permit them, and arrived 
 at the edge of the water just as the fishermen reached the land. 
 
 " Very good," said the Baron, examining his net ; " I have 
 some famous ones ; there is nothing like the single net when it 
 is well handled." 
 
 "Capital! capital!" said the Marquis, who had shortened 
 the net, and who was now looking into the bag which he 
 carried in his hand. " Bah ! don't talk of your single net — 
 look here I" 
 
 " And look here," said the other couple, who were shaking 
 the contents of their bag into the flat portion of the net. 
 
 Hope and Cross did look, and saw that in each net there 
 was a considerable quantity of prawns, shrimps, soles, and a few 
 crabs. Many of the prawns were extremely large, and the 
 shrimps were very fine. The crabs were rather larger than a 
 man's fist ; the soles were all small, none being larger than a 
 man's hand, and many not half that size, but there were a great 
 many of them. 
 
 H 
 
98 THE r.VLLIXG TIDE. 
 
 " Mine are decidedly the iinest," said the Baron, who looked 
 somewhat vexed at discovering that the double-handed nets had 
 certainly caught four times as much as he had. 
 
 " Never mind who has the best," said the Marquis ; " let us 
 sort the fish and be off ; we shall have both good and plenty if 
 we do not waste our time." 
 
 " Yes, yes," cried the rest ; " we shall have a capital day ; so 
 to work." 
 
 The best of the soles were selected and emptied into one 
 basket, the crabs were put into another, and then the prawns 
 and shi'imps were thrown together into the other empty ones. 
 The Baron insisted on keeping his own apart, to prove that he 
 had caught the finest. A handful or two of wet sea-weed was 
 thrown into each basket, aud the gentlemen prepared to start 
 again. The Baron was first, and walked oft'; the Marquis 
 stopped for a moment to pick up the soles that were too small 
 for use to throw them into the sea again. 
 
 " My friend is a little vexed," he said, " because I cannot 
 convince him that ten yards will fish more ground than eight 
 feet ; but though he is an obstinate droll, he fishes well, so we 
 won't tease him." 
 
 While the nets were being emptied all eyes had been fixed 
 on them, and Hope had not thought of the tide, but now that 
 the Marquis turned to renew the fishing, he saw with astonish- 
 ment that it had fallen so rapidly that they were now upwards 
 of three hundred yards from the water, although five minutes 
 before they had stood absolutely in it when the nets were lifted. 
 
 " The tide falls fast here," said Hope. 
 
 "And it rises faster," replied the Marquis, " which we must 
 remember, for when it turns we can fish no more. So adieu 
 for the present," 
 
 The Marquis and his friend walked straight out to sea. 
 Cross and Hope took their way towards one of the masses of 
 rock round which a number of men and boys were busily 
 engaged in digging in the sand. 
 
Li\j^90^s AXD L^Cx^^'ORMS. 99 
 
 " Are tliose people gathering bait 1" asked Hope. 
 
 " Some of them are," answered Cross ; " those, for instance, 
 whom YOU see on the dry ridges of sand ; but the greater part of 
 them are seekmg sand-eels, or lancons as they are here named ; 
 they are excellent eating, and we will buy some. There are 
 two sorts of lugworm that they hud in the sand, one of which 
 is much more prized by the fishermen than the other. The one 
 they value I have not remarked on our coasts, though it may be 
 there ; it is larger than the common lug, and has a large lump 
 in the middle. When they dig them up, the fisherman tears 
 off the tail and squeezes the inside out. The worm then looks 
 like a naiTow strip of raw beef ; the fishermen tell me that the 
 brills and bass take this bait, but that only flounders and plaice 
 take the common lugworm. "\Te will look at them, and you 
 will see how they find and distinguish the two sorts ; but, first 
 of all, let us watch them catching the sand-eels. I daresay you 
 have often seen them caught on our coast ; there, as you must 
 know, they are taken by drawing a blunt sickle through the 
 sand at "the edge of the sea ; here, at night, these girls catch 
 them also much in that way, only they use a two-pronged fork 
 instead of a sickle. In the day-time, however, they catch them 
 by digging circular trenches in the wettest parts of the strand, 
 as you will see." 
 
 "We have forgotten the crab-hunters," said Hope. "I 
 should like to have seen more of their way of working. I wish 
 to see all the different modes of fishing, and all the varieties of 
 fish they catch,'"' 
 
 " Well, you have a good deal yet before you, but you need 
 not be afraid of not seeing both the hand-nets and crab-hunters 
 at work ; they will be out here soon, for they are sure to come 
 here as soon as they have searched all the crevices where we 
 left them, and these rocks before us are more productive, as they 
 are further out to sea, and the crevices are more numerous. 
 If you look behind, you ^vill see the girls are nearly at the end 
 of the rock where we came down to the strand ; when they 
 
100 DIGGING FOE SAXD-EELS. 
 
 get there, they will follow in the line we are now going, and 
 you will liaA'e plenty of time to see them at work." 
 
 Hope agreed to be guided, and they stepped out towards 
 the diggers. He was surprised, as they walked, to find that the 
 distance was so great ; the people apparently were quite close to 
 them, yet it took several minutes' sharp walking to reach the 
 spot where they were at work, so decei\dng was the flat wet 
 surface over which they moved. T\Tien they did reach the 
 place, they found a number of people — men, women, and boys — 
 all engaged exactly in the same way. Each held in his hand a 
 spade about six inches wide and ten deep, with a long straight 
 handle ; the blade of the spade was a good deal bent, so as to 
 prevent the sand from slipping off. The two friends stationed 
 themselves beside an old woman with a good-natured face. She 
 wore very short petticoats, and showed a pair of uncommonly 
 stout legs, and as she dug they soon saw that she had arms to 
 match. The sand, where they joined her, was very wet, and 
 small streams filtered from the rock, making some places more 
 soft than others. These were the spots which Avere especially 
 selected, and the mode of operating was by beginning on the 
 side nearest the sea, and throwing out a narrow trench, two or 
 tliree spadesful wide, forming a ring about six feet in diameter ; 
 this she did with great rapidity, and every now and then a little 
 bright speck would be seen in the sand she threw out, upon 
 which she pounced like hghtning, and then flimg the httle 
 silver wriggling thing into the basket, which for this sport was 
 not worn on the shoulder, but was generally placed in the 
 middle of the circle being made. "When one circle was com- 
 pleted, another was commenced immediately before it ; when 
 that was finished like the first, a third was begun, and ended 
 exactly in the same way. The old lady then went back to the 
 place she had begun upon, and turned over the whole of the 
 sand which had remained undisturbed in the centre of the rings, 
 and she took a considerable quantity. She worked with great 
 speed, and was certainly in capital condition, for she neither 
 
BARGAINING. .', i ';';''; tj(^l;" 
 
 drew a long breath, nor seemed the least heated by the 
 exertion. 
 
 Hope asked her why she dug the rings, and then came back 
 again. 
 
 " My good gentleman," she said, " the langons are sometimes 
 deep, and then we don't get them, but when we make this ring 
 it fills with water, and they come nearer the surface ; so when 
 we dig again we turn them out and till our baskets. Will you 
 buy mine 1 you shall have them cheap." 
 
 " How much," said Cross, " do you ask ] " 
 
 " Whatever the good gentleman pleases," she replied. 
 
 " Oh, nonsense, Marie," said Cross ; " any price is no price ; 
 tell us what you expect, and perhaps we shall buy." 
 
 The old woman looked at Cross ; she seemed to think he 
 was an old hand, so after a pause she said, " Will the gentleman 
 give me a sou the dozen 1" 
 
 " That is more than they are worth, you know, Marie, but 
 if you keep them for us, we will give you a sou the dozen for all 
 you catch to-day." 
 
 " I will keep them," said the old lady, " and thank you." 
 
 " Shall we go and watch them dig for lugworms 1 " said 
 Cross ; " we shall just have time to see them and then retui'n to 
 meet the crab-hunters, who, you may observe, are now comiug 
 here, as I said they would." 
 
 " Allons ! marche !" said Hope ; " but tell me, do you know 
 that old lady with the stout legs 1 for you called her Marie." 
 
 " ISTot I," replied Cross ; " but nine-tenths of these old 
 bodies are called Marie, and are dedicated to the Virgin. The 
 others have very fine names, such as Euphrosyne, Angela, or 
 Seraphine. I made a dash at jSIarie, and was right." 
 
 " Poor old Marie ! I think you drove a hard bargain with 
 her. A sou a dozen is surely not much, especially as you tell 
 me that fish is dear here." 
 
 " She is very well off at a sou the dozen ; it is double the 
 \ price she would get from any one else, for though it is true that 
 
102 - BASS. 
 
 any large fish is sold very dear in comparison with other things 
 in the country, yet small fish are cheap ; you may get half a 
 basketful of sardines for five sous, and they will ask you five 
 francs for a bass of six or seven pounds weight. It is a 
 curious thing for a people that understand good eating, but 
 they seem to prefer a coarse fish, if he be large, to those delicate 
 little things. I believe the cooks are such lazy brutes that 
 they don't like the trouble of cleaning such small things, and so 
 spoil them in dressing, to disgust their masters. The girls with 
 the hand-nets will very likely get some of these sardines, and 
 if they do, we will take them home, and you shall say if they 
 are not equal to, if not better than, whitebait." 
 
 " I never tasted a bass," said Hope ; " is it a good fish 1" 
 " Yes," replied Cross, " it is at least not a bad fish, and if you 
 are anxious to taste one, we may easily gratify you. The tide is 
 now very nearly low enough for the people to examine their nets 
 and lines, and they are pretty sure to have some bass or bar as 
 they call them, and you may get a tolerably good one for a franc 
 and a half, or two francs ; but here we are on the dry sand. Now, 
 look; that boy is digging for the common lug; you see he is 
 digging straight on in a place where the casts are aiumerous. We 
 need not look at him, but here comes this old fellow, who, you 
 see, is only digging every here and there. He is looking for the 
 sort of lug I described to you. If you remark there are hardly 
 any castings where we now are, and the holes are in pairs from 
 one to two feet apart; these are made by the worm which they 
 prize ; each worm has two holes, and it seems as if they enter by 
 one and go out by the other, for they are always found between 
 these two holes. There appear to be a good many here, so I will 
 hail the old fellow and you shall see." 
 
 Cross called to the old man — "There are a number here." 
 The old man came towards them. " Thank you, sir," he said, 
 " this looks well." He immediately stuck his spade into a hole, 
 and a small quantity of sand and Avater w^as raised in another 
 hole about two feet distant. "There is one here!" he ex- 
 
THE TKEE-MELL. 103 
 
 claimed, and began to dig in the line between the two, opening 
 deeper as he got towards the centre; when there, lie dabbed 
 down his hand and drew forth an ugly-looking animal, about ten 
 inches long, the half of which was of a dark muddy red, and 
 twice the thickness of the other, which was of a dirty yellow 
 colour. They had not long to examine it, for in an instant tlie 
 old fellow tore off the yellow part, squeezed a quantity of nasty- 
 looking stuff out of the big end, threw it into his basket, and 
 then began at another hole with, the same result. 
 
 "What are you going to do with these 1" asked Hope. 
 " We are going to bait our lines ; and it is nearly time to 
 start, for here comes my wife and son, and if we do not look 
 sharp, some one may take our fish." 
 
 " Have you any lines set just now 1" asked Hope. 
 " Yes, and nets too, and we are going to set more. You see 
 my wife and son with their burden ; they have my best tree- 
 mell and some lines. My little boy and myself have fresh bait 
 to put on the hooks that we set yesterday, for to-morrow is the 
 great maree." 
 
 " His best tree-mell ! what does he mean 1" asked Hope. 
 " Surely you must know," answered Cross, "the tree-mell is 
 our trammell, or flue-net ; we must have learnt this mode of net- 
 making from the French, for trammell is evidently the trois- 
 mailles, or three meshes, which exactly describes the net." 
 
 " You are right," said Hope, " the large meshes in the strong 
 nets, which form the two walls, with the fine net of small meshes 
 Avhich hangs between them, are certainly three meshes. Live 
 and learn ; and to-day I have had a lesson, for I now know that 
 the English trammell is the Xorman tree-mell. But how do 
 they set their nets and lines, for I see no boat ?" 
 
 " They don't require a boat, and, indeed, I don't believe there 
 is such a thing on any part of the coast between Granville and 
 Pontorson, for I never saw one. The fishermen choose a place 
 on the sand, generally where the castings of the lugworms are 
 most numerous, or where the ground is marked by the Avater-runs, 
 
104 NETS AND LINES. 
 
 and there tliey spread their nets or set their lines ; this they do 
 when the tide is at the lowest, and there they leave them till the 
 tide goes out again. They then go to them, mihook any fish that 
 have taken the bait, rebait the lines, and again leave them. The 
 nets are set in the same way, similarly left and examined. They 
 have three days once a fortnight that the ebb is very great, and 
 during these three days these people work very hard ; for they 
 come along these dreary sands and examine their nets and lines 
 both now and during the night tide, when they have to rebait 
 their lines, pick and clear the nets from weeds and dirt, and 
 smooth them out if they are at all entangled ; and all this in a 
 very short space of time, for they dare not remain on the shore 
 Avlien the tide turns, especially at night, for often the wave comes 
 — that is to say the tide — in with such a sudden rush that if it 
 were to overtake them, they must inevitably be dro^vned. A\^ien 
 you talk of a boat j'ou foi'get the great rise and fall of the tide 
 here ; and I must remind you that the nets which these people 
 set now on the dry sand will have seven fathom of water over 
 them when the tide is full." 
 
 " That is true," said Hope ; " I had forgotten the greatness 
 of the tides. I shoidd like to go out and see what these people 
 have caught." 
 
 " AVe had better put that ofi" till to-morrow," said Cross, " as 
 you wish to see the crab-catching. The highest tide is to-morrow, 
 and the nets catch most at these tides, for the fish are most on the 
 move then ; whereas the first day of the high tides is always best 
 for crabs, as they do not move about so fast. The girls do not 
 seek them much during the neap tides, so that they have ten or 
 twelve days to accumulate in the holes. My advice, therefore, is 
 that we see what the girls are about to-day, and to-morrow we can 
 observe the nets and lines." 
 
 " So be it," said Hope ; " but just let me have one look at the 
 net before we start, for the old woman and the man are quite close 
 to us." 
 
 This was true : a tall elderly woman, showing the remams of 
 
A GEAXVILLAISE FISHWIFE. 105 
 
 great beauty, and wearingthe picturesque Granville cap, wasAvithin 
 a few yards, of them ; she was carrying one end of a long hand- 
 barrow, on which a quantity of net was piled so high that it com- 
 pletely hid a fine handsome lad who was bearing the other end. 
 When they came up to the old man they put the barrow down 
 on the sand and began to rub their hands. 
 
 " That must be heavy," said Hope, addressing the woman, who 
 had bowed very gracefully to the two strangers. 
 
 " no, gentlemen," she replied, " it is not heavy now, for it 
 is dry, and we have always hope that it is to bring us something 
 to buy bread, which makes it feel light ; but when the grand 
 maree is over, and we have to take it to the shore, if we are dis- 
 ajipointed in our hopes and catch little, then, indeed, we remem- 
 ber that it is wet and heavy, for our hearts are heavy too, and 
 we know that we are poor, and shall be ill oif till the next grand 
 maree." 
 
 "Had you any luck with the morning tide?" asked Cross. 
 
 " Yes, sir, we did very well, and I sold them all, except one 
 nice bar and a brill, which the boy has in his basket ; as we did 
 so Avell, I can sell them very cheap." 
 
 " Let us see them," said Cross ; then speaking in English to 
 Hope : — 
 
 " You wished to taste a bar, we may as well let this old lady 
 cheat us as anybody else." 
 
 The young man took the basket from his shoulder ; it was 
 much larger than those usually carried, and was cpiite full of little 
 bundles of straw ; each bundle was about four inches long, and 
 two in diameter ; they were twisted very neatly round with a 
 single straw, so that they were quite hard and firm ; there were 
 at least a hundred of them in the basket. The young man emp- 
 tied them out on the sand, and below lay a bass about four pounds 
 Aveight, and a very fine brill. 
 
 "There, gentlemen!" said the woman, "I can let you have 
 these beautiful fish for five francs — you will nut often get such a 
 bargain." 
 
106 BAEGAINING. 
 
 "Bargain do you call it?" said Cross; "where did j^ou leave 
 your conscience, madam 1 do you think it rains francs, that we 
 can give you five francs for two wretched things like those V 
 
 "Wretched do you call them?" answered the lady, raising 
 her voice ; and sticking her finger into the gills of the fish she 
 plunged them into the water that had filtered into one of the 
 holes her husband had dug in seeking for worms. " Look at 
 them ! and if you have any sense you must allow that you never 
 saw better." 
 
 " Then since they are so beautiful, you had better keep them," 
 said Cross ; " let us go." 
 
 " Ah, sir," said the woman, lowering her voice ; " look at them 
 again, you will see you are mistaken ; the fish are beautiful, and 
 if you look you will make me an offer." 
 
 "Well," said Cross, " as it is the first day of the tide I will 
 be generous ; I will give you three francs for the fish, provided 
 you send them to Carolles for me." 
 
 " Give them to the gentleman," interposed the old man, " and 
 let us go ; we shall have some one robbing our nets." 
 
 "Who allowed you to speak?" said the woman to her hus- 
 band, and putting her arms a-kimbo ; "if you are to interfere you 
 may sell the fish yourself, for I shall go home." 
 
 The husband looked penitent and said not another word. 
 
 " Make it three and a half," said the woman, turning again 
 to Cross, " and you shall have them." 
 
 " 'Not a liard beyond three francs," said Cross, and began to 
 w^alk away. 
 
 " Stoj) ! stop !" said the woman, "here comes the little boy ; 
 give him five sous for carrying them and you shall have them." 
 
 Cross turned and produced his purse ; he counted out the 
 three francs and gave them to the old lady, who immediately tied 
 them in the corner of the handkerchief which she wore round 
 her neck. 
 
 " I have given away the fish," she said, smiling ; " but you 
 will give me a better price another time." 
 
CUTTLE-FISH BAIT. 107 
 
 " Yes, a fairer," returned Cross ; " for I cannot afford to give 
 such extravagant prices every day." 
 
 The woman laughed and shook her fist at Cross. " Here," 
 she said to a boy who ran up, "take these fish to Carolles; the 
 gentleman will tell you where, and he will give you five sous. 
 Take care that you show them to me when I come home ; no 
 cider, remember, unless these good gentlemen give you a cup for 
 being q\uck." 
 
 The boy, who seemed in great spirits, nodded and answered, 
 " Yes, mother ; and see here," he continued, holding up a bas- 
 ket, " see what 'Phrosyne has given me — is she not good ] there 
 is enough for to-day and to-morrow." 
 
 The Avoman looked in the basket, and then clapped her 
 hands. " She is indeed good," she said ; " this is a lucky day." 
 
 Hope looked in the basket also ; he saw a large mass of dirty, 
 black-looking jelly lying at the bottom of the basket, and two 
 or three dozen of very small sand-eels. 
 
 " "What nasty-looking stuff is that they are clapping their 
 hands about?" he asked. 
 
 Cross looked also ; " It is a lot of small cuttle-fish," he said ; 
 " ihej make the best bait in the world for catcliing other fish ; 
 one of the girls with the hand-nets has caught them, I suppose, 
 and has given them to the boy, AVill you show the sepias to 
 this gentleman?" The boy put down his hand and raised it 
 half full of the black stuff ; this he took to the hole full of water, 
 where he rubbed and squeezed it for a few seconds. "When 
 Hope looked again he saw that the boy was holding up six or 
 seven transparent-looking fish about as long as his finger ; the 
 body of the fish was like an elongated transparent bag, the eyes 
 were very large, and in front of them protruded a bunch of 
 feelers from half an inch to an inch long, which were also semi- 
 transparent. When the boy dipped them again into the watei-, 
 Hope saw that they had a sort of silvery lustre that shone very 
 brightly. He at once recognised them as the same fish whicli 
 he had seen in such quantities at Naples, and which are so much 
 
108 GRAIS~\'ILLE AVOMEN. 
 
 valued on our own coast as bait for cod-fishing. He had never 
 before seen them so small, and he took one into his hand to 
 examine it ; he could not feel the bone "which he had always 
 seen in the large ones. 
 
 " Good-day, gentlemen," said the woman ; " we are fortunate 
 to get them, for if any fish come in, we are sure to have good 
 luck to-night." She stooped to Uft the end of her barrow, and 
 the young man, who had replaced the little bundles of straw in 
 hid basket, lifted the other ; while the boy emptied the much- 
 prized bait into the old man's basket, who marched away with 
 his %vife and eldest son, leaving the Kttle boy to wash his basket 
 and the fish, and to carry them where he might be directed. 
 These directions Cross gave him, and then led the way towards 
 the rocks. 
 
 " ^\T3at a handsome old woman that was," said Hope, " and 
 what a soft voice she had, even when she was scolding you and 
 her husband. All her motions were very graceful, but her voice 
 struck me as so very different from the harsh utterance of the gene- 
 rality of the peasant women I have heard speaking in this country." 
 
 " I believe," said Cross, " that her voice was peculiarly 
 musical, but I do not know if it would have struck you forcibly 
 anywhere else. It was the contrast that made it so evident, 
 after listening, as you have lately, to the harsh strained voices of 
 the K^orman peasant women. This old lady is evidently a Gran- 
 ville woman, and her graceful carriage, handsome face, and black 
 eyes, mark her Spanish origin, or, if not Spanish, at all events 
 show that they come from some other blood than the very ordi- 
 nary-looking people that Uve around them ; they never steal, 
 these Granvillites, and are so far honest ; but they are such 
 rogues in making a bargain, that I beHeve, if they are not 
 Spanish, they must be one of the lost tribes of Israel." 
 
 " Talking of bargains," said Hope, " I felt half ashamed when 
 you were having such a wrangle with the poor woman, and 
 abusing her fish so shamefully. Half-a-crown for such fine fish 
 was surely not much." 
 
^VlY^ES AND HUSBANDS. 109 
 
 " I agree witli J'ou," said Cross, " they were not dear, as fish 
 sell here ; yet still I gave more than I might have got them 
 for. A Granville woman always asks more than twice what she 
 will take ; and as for wrangling, my dear fellow, I always like 
 to be respected by the people of the country where I may 
 chance to live. If I had been weak enough to give that worthy 
 lady the five francs she asked, she would have pocketed my 
 money and held me in utter contempt ; as it is, she has gone 
 away with a sort of respect for me, and had I beat her down to 
 two francs, instead of three, she would have made me a curtsey 
 whenever she saw me." 
 
 Hope laughed. " A^^lat a snap she gave her husband for 
 telling her to give us the fish ! she seems to have broken him in 
 pretty well." 
 
 " Not more than other Granville women do ; they all keep 
 their husbands in tremendous order ; they say, and, from what 
 I have seen, I believe it is true, that no Granville man dare call 
 his soul his own in his wife's presence." 
 
 " The same thing is said of most fishing villages," said Hope, 
 "for the wife holds the purse, and therefore thinks herself 
 authorised to keep her husband, as well as the house, in order." 
 
 " Yes, but," said Cross, " in Granville this authority is not 
 confined to the fishermen ; it is a place of considerable com- 
 merce, and the shopkeepers' wives keep as tight a sovereignty 
 as the fisherwomen. All the porters there are of the fair sex, 
 and if a man were to ofi'er to carry your trunk, these gentle 
 creatures would throw him over the quay." 
 
 " After such a description," said Hope, " in spite of their 
 beauty, I should rather prefer choosing a wiie elsewhere. But, 
 by the by, I forgot to ask you what is the use of these little 
 bundles of straw that the son had in his basket?" 
 
 " Those are the sinks," auswered Cross, " with which the 
 lines and nets are kept in their places." 
 
 "Sinks?" said Hope, "straw for sinks! that is something 
 new." 
 
liO STRAW ANCIIOES. 
 
 " I was wrong to call them sinks," said Cross, " for in fact 
 they are a sort of anchors. There are string loops fixed at every 
 yard along the bottom of the nets, and at every two or three 
 fathom of the lines ; into each of these loops one of those 
 straw bundles is fixed ; a hole is then made in the sand, six 
 inches deep ; the straw is pushed into the hole, and with a 
 tramp of the heel the straw is covered, by which arrangement 
 both nets and lines are so firmly fixed in their place, that neither 
 fish nor sea can move them." 
 
 " It is a capital plan," said Hope, " but can only be of use on 
 a coast like this, where the rise and fall of the tide is so great." 
 
 " I am not so sure of that," said Cross ; " there are a great 
 many places on the coast of Britain where the sea goes out a 
 long way, and where, I am sure, the same thing might be done 
 with advantage, especially at the mouths of small rivers, where 
 salmon and sea-trout frequent. You may make the net take any 
 shape you like with these straw anchors, which is not easily 
 done with leads or stones. When we go to see how they are 
 set to-morrow you had better look carefully at the way it is done, 
 and we must also see the fisheries which are made with stones, 
 and which are the most productive mode of fishing on the coast. 
 But here we are at the rocks ; and all the girls seem so busy, I 
 suspect they must have good success, so you will see them in all 
 their glory," 
 
CHAPTEE V. 
 
 AN ESCAPF. 
 
 The rocks up wliicli they now scrambled rose like an island in 
 the plain of sand, and resembled the mass over which they had 
 already passed. The general surface, however, seemed flatter as 
 they first looked over it ; but as they advanced, Hope saw that 
 the crevices were more numerous and longer. The rocks were 
 also more covered with marine plants ; but, wherever they were 
 bare, they showed the same sort of spongy-looking texture 
 which had attracted his attention at the promontory. Here and 
 there a point rose higher than the general surface, and these 
 points, when examined, proved to be masses of bastard clay- 
 slate. One point especially rose considerably higher than any 
 of the rest, and looked of a lighter colour than the surrounding 
 mass. 
 
 The girls were scattered about, two of them generally wading 
 together in the same hole, one moving rapidly, drawing her little 
 hand-net first on one side and then on the other ; while the 
 second was proceeding more slowly, lifting up the sea-weed and 
 carefully searching under every stone and in every hole with her 
 iron hook. When the two friends reached the first pair, Hope 
 recognised in one of them the same little girl who had fallen into 
 the water when they had first seen them. 
 
 " I am glad you are come," she said, " for you will buy my 
 crabs ; and I have got some very fine ones. Shall I show them 
 to you?" 
 
 " Let me see them," said Hope. 
 
 The little girl stepped out of the water, took off her basket. 
 
112 SPIDER CRABS. 
 
 which, seemed very heavy, and placed it on the rock beside the 
 two friends. 
 
 " I only said perhaps I would buy them," said Hope. 
 
 " Ah, but the other gentleman -looked as if he would," said 
 the little girl ; " and when you see them you cannot help want- 
 ing them, they are so good." As she spoke she sat down and 
 spread out her petticoat, into which she dropped six or eight 
 crabs which she picked out of the basket. Almost the whole of 
 these were the spider crabs, with one or two of the common 
 crab among them ; the largest was about twice the size of a 
 man's fist. 
 
 " Let me look at one of these brutes," said Hope ; " they are 
 very ugly." 
 
 "Yes, but they are very good," said the little girl; "just 
 feel how heavy this one is," and she handed up one of the 
 largest of the spider crabs. 
 
 Hope looked at it. A common crab is no beauty, but the 
 one he held in his hand was a hideous animal ; the body was 
 very much tliicker than the common crab ; the claws were very 
 small, and the legs were covered with a sort of spines and a 
 quantity of small marine j)lants. The back shell was also 
 covered with the same sorts of plants, some of which were two 
 inches long. Hope put it down in a small water-hole, where it 
 lay tolerably still, and then looked like a stone or a bit of the 
 surrounding rock covered with sea-weed, for the weed floated 
 away from it when it was in the water, and no unaccustomed 
 eye could have guessed that it was a living creature. 
 
 " They must have precious sharp eyes to distinguish that 
 animal in these deep holes," said Hope, " or, when seen, to know 
 that it is a crab, and not a bit of the rock." 
 
 " They have uncommonly sharp eyes," answered Cross, " but 
 they do not trust altogether to their eyes. If you take the 
 hook from the girl and touch that fellow under the belly, you 
 will see that he will resent your interference, and grasp the 
 weapon, holding it so tight that you may lift him out of the 
 
THE DISPOSITION OF SPIDEK CRABS, 113 
 
 water. That is tlie way in which, they are taken, for in general 
 they are lying in holes where even our friend's pretty black eyes 
 would never see them. A poke with the ii-on rod, however, 
 finds them out, and their irritability of temper proves their de- 
 struction ; for they grasp the iron and hold on till they are re- 
 moved by the fisher, and sent to recover themselves, or fight it 
 out with a dozen or two of companions in a basket." 
 
 Hope took the hook from the little giil and tried the pro- 
 cess. He put the hook under the crab, which immediately 
 seized it ; he then raised and held it out to the little girl, who 
 looked up as she stretched out her hand to seize the animal by 
 the back. 
 
 " She certainly has very pretty eyes," said Hope, " and they 
 look soft and gentle though they are so dark." 
 
 " She is no doubt a Granvillaise," said Cross ; " and soft as 
 her eyes may look, I will warrant, when she is old enough to be 
 married, that she will keep her husband in as tight order as 
 the handsome old dragon we met just now." 
 
 " Well, she does not seem as if she would," said Hope, 
 " and she looks and moves so gracefully, I could hardly believe 
 she had spent her young life in picking cockles, or hauling up 
 crabs with an iron rod. But though she is so pretty and grace- 
 ful, I am sure her game does not resemble her, for I cannot 
 conceive anything more ugly or ungraceful than a spider crab : 
 are they good to eat ? I should doubt it, for my part, and think 
 he must have been a brave man, or dreadfully hungry, who was 
 induced to eat the first." 
 
 " I have heard your last remark made," said Cross, " about 
 oysters, lobsters, and many other good tilings. Ugly as these 
 creatures are, they are very good to eat. The people of the 
 country prefer them to the common sort. Tou must have eaten 
 partan-pie in Scotland, and the Scotch must have learnt that 
 dish from their allies the French, for that is one of the ways of 
 dressing them here. Another is to mix the meat after it is 
 boiled with fine herbs, oil, and vinegar, and serve it cold in the 
 
 I 
 
114 A GOOD BAEGAIN. 
 
 shell. You shall try both these ways if you choose to buy this 
 girl's basket, and while you are making your bargain I will go 
 and see what the other girl is doing up in the corner of that 
 crevice. I suspect she has got a shoal of what they call sar- 
 dines, and if so, I will get some to let you taste them." 
 
 Cross walked away, and Hope made the little girl empty 
 out her basket ; she had about sixty crabs of both sorts, and 
 all sizes. Hope selected two dozen of the finest, and asked 
 the price. 
 
 The little girl looked at him with soft pleading eyes, and 
 answered, " They are very fine, the gentleman will give me two 
 francs." 
 
 " Two francs," said Hope to himself, " two francs are equal 
 to twenty pence — twenty pence for twenty-four crabs ! less than 
 a penny apiece ; that surely is not dear, and Cross cannot laugh 
 at me, so I will give it ;" then addressing the girl he said, " if 
 I give you two francs you will take them to CaroUes for me." 
 
 " 0, yes," replied the girl, her eyes sparkHng and a smile 
 playing round her mouth, " give me the two francs and I will 
 take them home for you." 
 
 " But if I give you the money now, perhaps you will not 
 take them," said Hope, thinking himself very sharp. 
 
 " Oh," said the girl, " who would ever suspect me of being 
 so dishonest 1 If you do not like to trust me, I will wait till 
 you come to the house, and you can see them before you pay me." 
 
 " No, no," said Hope, " I will trust you ; there is the money, 
 and you may take the crabs home when yon like; for if you 
 are a rogue your face belies you." 
 
 " I will take them directly," said the girl, " and thank you ; 
 but see, the other gentleman is beckoning to you." 
 
 Hope looked and saw Cross waving to him : so he walked 
 towards him, leaving the little girl to replace her crabs in the 
 basket. Hope felt rather proud of his bargain, and thought to 
 himself that Cross had been unjust toAvards the Granvillaise — 
 if the little girl was one — for she had asked a very moderate 
 
THE WAYS OF CUTTLE-FISH. 115 
 
 price for her wares, and had agreed to carry them home into the 
 bargain, and that without the slightest wrangle. AVhen he got 
 near Cross, he asked what he had got to show. 
 
 " There are a great lot of these cuttles here," answered Cross, 
 " and it may interest you to see them make use of the provision 
 which nature has given them for their defence. I have sent 
 the girl to drive them up to this end, and when she begins to 
 use her net, you will see how, in a moment, they will make the 
 water as black as ink, by ejecting the sepia from their ink-bags : 
 they move very slowly in the water, and every fish, even the 
 very prawns, attack them : this power of hiding themselves by 
 darkening the waters seems their only protection against so 
 many enemies, and they are richly gifted with this weapon of 
 defence. You will see after they are taken and well washed 
 that they are quite empty and transparent — yet if you put them 
 back and leave them undisturbed in the sea for ten minutes, you 
 will find that they are again charged, as full as ever, with this 
 black fluid. I have thought when I saw the experiment tried, 
 that it might be a source of great profit to a paint-maker, if he 
 could discover the chemical compound of a fish's stomach, that 
 can so rapidly convert sea-water into this pitchy ink." 
 
 The girl was walking very slowly towards them, holding her 
 net in both her hands, and striking it gently on the top of the 
 water. 
 
 " Here they are," said Cross ; " do you see them ]" 
 
 Hope looked. He observed a number of shining objects 
 moving in the water with a sort of little jerk. He told the girl 
 to stand still, and then he saw indistinctly the shape of the 
 cuttle-fish ; when the girl advanced, he agaia saw them move 
 with a jerk, but he could not distinguish whether they moved 
 ■with their head or tail foremost : he thought it was the latter, 
 but he found it impossible to say which ; for when they moved 
 they threw out a small jet of the black Hquid, that darkened 
 the water so much, they were quite obscured. 
 
 The girl now came forward and made two rapid sweeps of 
 
116 NETTING CUTTLE-FISH. 
 
 the narrow corner with her net : after each sweep she emptied 
 her net on the back, and lifted each time two or three large 
 handsful of the nasty jelly -looking stuff, which they had before 
 seen in the boy's basket. The water was as black as ink. 
 
 " They will not move now," said the girl ; " and I shall get 
 them all." She then again swept her net several times deeper 
 and slower through the water, emptying a good quantity at each 
 sweep on to the first heap ; at last the net came up empty. 
 
 " I think we have them all now. "Would you like me to 
 waah them ]" 
 
 " Do, if you please," said Cross, " and then we can count 
 them. As they have got no sardines to-day, I will try to buy 
 them, for I can tell you they are very good, and the Christians 
 here Hke to eat them quite as well as the fish do. This girl 
 tells me she never before saw so many taken in one day as they 
 have caught now ; the fishermen prize them so highly for bait, 
 that it is not always fair to buy them for eating ; but to-day we 
 shall not injure the fishermen, as they have more than will bait 
 all their hooks ten times over ; and strange to say, they never 
 think of salting them. I am quite sure, if they did salt them, 
 that they would be quite as good for bait, after a night's soak- 
 ing, as the fresh ones ; but tliis they never do, whether from 
 carelessness or the high price of salt, I cannot say." 
 
 " Are they really such good bait '? " asked Hope ; " or is it 
 only fancy in the fishermen ] " 
 
 " j^o, no ; there is no fancy in it, they seem to attract be- 
 yond any other bait. There are holes in these rocks where 
 small lobsters hide, and perhaps there may be one now. I will 
 make the girl try, if she has brought her sniggle with her, and 
 you will see him come out and follow one of these cuttles into 
 the net." 
 
 Cross bought the whole lot for ten sous, and offered the giil 
 ten sous more if she would try to catch a lobster, for he saw 
 that she had a sniggle-stick stuck into the string of her petticoat 
 In England, when boys go sniggling eels, they take a straight 
 
SNIGGLING LOBSTEES. 11 7 
 
 switch witli a sharp point, on to which the end of a lohworm is 
 stuck, and instead of a hook they put on a worsted needle firmlj' 
 fastened in the centre ; but on the coast of iformandy they use 
 a long narrow hook, the shank of which, when baited, they 
 stick into a hole on the point of a staffer stick than that used 
 with us. To prevent the line from catching they also bore a 
 hole through this stick about two inches from the point ; 
 through this hole the line is cbawn and held tight in the hand 
 while they are fishing, which is a much better arrangement 
 than ours, for the line is never entangled in the weeds, roots, 
 or rocks, and when you do hook a fish you have far more power 
 to draw him from his haunt. 
 
 The girl at once agreed to try aU the lobster holes she knew, 
 and immediately produced her line and stick ; she took the 
 largest and brightest cuttle-fish she could find and baited her 
 hook. 
 
 " You must carry these sepias for us," said Cross. 
 
 " They will blacken my bouquets," said the gii-1 ; " but never 
 mind, I can wash them again, and I will put some weed to keep 
 them separate." 
 
 " They can blacken nothing now," said Hope ; " they are as 
 bright as silver, and seem all dead." 
 
 " Xo, no, they are not dead," answered Cross, " they are not so 
 easily killed ; and, dead or alive, they wiH not be ten minutes in 
 that basket tiU they are as black as ever ; but after the next wash- 
 ing, I hope they may keep bright, and we wiU taste them, for 
 when well fried they are excellent, and they resemble in taste, but 
 are better than, the most delicate tendons de veau ; by the by, did 
 you buy any crabs, and what did you pay for them ?" 
 
 " yes," said Hope ; " I bought two dozen, and very reason- 
 able I found the Httle girl; she asked two francs, and I gave them 
 at once." 
 
 Cross burst out laughing. " Well done, little GranviUaise ! " 
 he exclaimed. 
 
 "What are you laughing at ]" asked Hope, rather piqued. 
 
118 SNIGGLING PEA\\T^S. 
 
 "Why, to be honest," said Cross, "at the way that little 
 monkey has done you ; and I will be bound she enjoyed the joke 
 and has laughed much more heartUy than I have ; she would 
 gladly have sold you all she had in the basket for one franc, and 
 you have given her two for the half of it," 
 
 " Never mind," said Hope; " she is welcome to the extra franc 
 and the half of the fish, for I doubt, with all the other things we 
 have got, if we shall be able to eat even a quarter of the two 
 dozen crabs she has taken home." 
 
 " You are right," said Cross ; " too much crab is heavy food, 
 so we shall scarcely get through your two dozen, and you must 
 forgive my laughing, only remember that you must not trust 
 pretty pleading eyes in the head of a Granvillaise, be she woman 
 or be she child, unless you are prepared to pay for looking at her 
 eyes, instead of for the fish she has to sell you. But come along, 
 the girl is on before us." 
 
 They found the girl at the end of one of the deepest crevices ; 
 her arm was plunged up to the shoulder in the water, and when 
 they looked down they could see that she was poking the end of 
 her stick into a narrow split in the rock. 
 
 " There is something here," she said; " I think it is a lobster; 
 but he is shy, and I have not seen him yet, and he does not pull 
 hard." She drew the stick gently back, and they saw something 
 follow the bait. 
 
 " What was that V asked Hope. 
 
 " Only prawns," said the girl, " but they are very large, so we 
 will have them ;" she plunged the other arm into the water and 
 held the net close to the bottom ; she then again pushed the bait 
 into the hole and drew it out very slowly. 
 
 Hope could now see four very large prawns following the 
 cuttle and giving it a strong jerk by seizing hold of the feelers ; 
 the girl continued to draw back the bait till it was over the net, 
 which she suddenly raised, and the whole four were safe in the 
 bag. " There," she said, " they are worth the trouble, for they 
 are enormous." 
 
SNIGGLING EELS. 119 
 
 And so they were, for Cross declared they were the largest he 
 had ever seen. Though he knew that the largest were generally 
 found thus hid, like lobsters, in the deep narrow cracks of the 
 rocks, still he had never seen any so large as the four just taken. 
 
 "I had no notion that a prawn would take a bait in that 
 way," said Hope. 
 
 " It is only on a coast like this that you can see it done," said 
 Cross ; " but you must be aware that they take bait, if you only 
 remember that along the south coast of England the fine prawns 
 are not caught with nets, as they are here, but with flat baskets, 
 which are baited with fish-heads, and set like lobster-pots." 
 
 " True, true," said Hope ; " but never having seen them fol- 
 lo-Rdng a bait before, I had forgotten that they must eat as well 
 as everything else. Are there any more holes," he said, address- 
 ing the girl, "where you expect to find a lobster ]" 
 
 " yes," she replied, " plenty ; but lobsters are scarce at 
 this season ; we find a great many more in the spring." 
 
 At the next hole which they tried the bait was pulled from 
 the stick and drawn back into the hole with great force. 
 
 " It is an eel," she said, " and I have him." She held the lin e 
 tight in one hand and the stick in the other, and pulled steadily, 
 and with considerable force, for a second or two ; all at once both 
 hands were raised, and an eel of considerable size was wriggling 
 in the air at the end of the stick. 
 
 The girl wrapped the line quickly round the stick, pulled out 
 a coarse knife, cut out the hook, and popped the eel into her bas- 
 ket, all in ten seconds. It was then that Hope saw the merit of 
 passing the line through the hole in the end of the stick, for, by 
 drawing the hne tight, the eel had no power of moving or en- 
 tangling the line by twisting himself round it. 
 
 " A French sniggle is certainly the best," said Hope ; " and 
 if I were young enough to go back to Eton, or to care for sniggling 
 eels, I should certainly follow the French plan." 
 
 The two friends followed the girl, while she tried several 
 other holes. A second eel was taken, and a few more large 
 
120 SAND-EELS. 
 
 prawns. At the last place wMch the girl declared to be likely 
 for a lobster they did get one. It was very small, and was 
 caught exactly in the same way as she had taken the prawns. 
 The bait was drawn slowly back, till the lobster came above the 
 net ; which was then quickly raised, and the lobster was flap- 
 ping his tail in the bottom of it. This Cross bought, and, to- 
 gether with the large prawns and cuttles, it was put into the 
 basket of the old lady with the stout legs, who had been 
 employed to dig sand-eels. She was then approaching, after 
 just finishing her da/s work, having tried the wet places along 
 the whole length of the rocks, and with great apparent success, 
 for her basket was one-third full. 
 
 *' How many have you ]" said Cross, when he saw her. 
 
 " Without counting, give me two francs," said she, " and I 
 will take them home." 
 
 Cross looked at the basket. " At a sou a dozen, you are 
 not unreasonable. I did not calculate, however, on getting so 
 many, or on paying two francs for sand-eels ; but, as I made the 
 bargain, I must take them. We can give away what we do not 
 want, and they are capital for breakfast." It was therefore 
 agreed that she should take them, with the lobster, cuttle-fish, 
 etc., to Carolles. All these, as we have already said, were put 
 into her basket, and away she marched, looking highly pleased 
 with her day's work. The cuttles, as Cross had foretold, were 
 as black as ever, and underwent another washing and squeezing 
 before they joined company with the brilliant little sand-eels. 
 
 The spot where this transaction took place was the outer 
 end of the mass of rock. The hand-nets and crab-hooks were 
 still busily employed behind them ; immediately below, several 
 little children were engaged knocking something ojff the rock ; 
 a number more were seen scattered over the expanse of sands 
 that stretched between the two friends and the sea ; in the 
 water marched troops of prawn-fishers ; and still further out 
 they saw the heads and shoulders of the oyster-catchers ; while 
 here and there on the sand a man or a woman could be seen 
 
LDIPET-GATHEKEES. 121 
 
 with, a dog following. These dogs did not attract Hope's notice 
 at the time, and Cross made no allusion to them. 
 
 ""Wliat are those little things picking off the rocks V asked 
 Hope. " Are they periwinkles ? " 
 
 "1^0," answered Cross, "it is not periwinkles they are 
 gathering, but limpets. "WTien I told you all these little things 
 were going after cockles, I was wrong ; I forgot the limpets. 
 The people here never use periwinkles, but the poor people 
 consider hmpets to be very nutritious food. They stew them 
 with some butter or grease, and put them into their soup. 
 Taste differs in different countries; for with us, limpets are only 
 used for bait, and the people eat periwinkles. Here, periwinkles 
 are never looked at, and limpets are prized as good food for 
 man. I rather suspect the French are right, and that, if our 
 people were better cooks, they would find that limpets do not 
 deserve to be despised by our poor. Our friend the ]Slarquis is 
 a great gourmand, and a capital cook. If you remind me, we 
 will consult him on this head, as his opinion may be relied on ; 
 and we need not wait long to ask the question, since, if I am 
 not mistaken, I see him coming with his friend, for I see two 
 people carrj'ing a double-handed net between them." 
 
 " Till they reach us," said Hope, " let us look at the limpets 
 these brats are gathering ; they may be of a different sort from 
 ours, and thus be better eating." 
 
 "1 think they are exactly the same," said Cross ; "but, as 
 you look more minutely at these things than I do, you may 
 perhaps see some difference that has not struck me." 
 
 They went towards the chikben, each of whom had a square- 
 pointed knife with a thick back ; some had, in addition, small 
 wooden hammers, others only a stone in their right hands. 
 The edge of the knife was applied always on one side and never 
 on the top of the shell ; a httle sharp tap was given, either with 
 the hammer or the stone, and the fish fell at once. Hope 
 examined the contents of one of the baskets ; the greater part 
 of the hmpets were exactly like those on the British coast, but 
 
122 A XOBLE GASTRONOMIC AETIST. 
 
 some had mucli smoother shells, which were marked with bright 
 coloured rings, some purple, some red, some yellow; all the 
 children, however, agreed in aflfirmiag that those smart fish were 
 exactly the same in quality as their sombre brethren, and that 
 all were excellent in soup. 
 
 "While they were talking and examiuing the basket, the 
 Marquis and his friend had been approaching them ; he hailed 
 them when about fifty yards off, asking them how they got on 
 and whether they were amused. The two friends then advanced 
 towards him, asking what sport he had had. 
 
 " Capital," said the Marquis ; " I shall be ruined in buying 
 baskets to send them to my friends, for when we have chosen 
 the best for ourselves, I have enough for twenty others." 
 
 Cross whispered to his companion, "We shall share the 
 best, as he never neglects number one." The two friends then 
 examined the basket, which contained a prodigious quantity. 
 
 Both offered their congratulations on his good sport. 
 
 " It is wonderful," said the Marquis, " and I almost wish it 
 was not so good, for my back wall be broken before I get home, 
 and I am rather anxious to be there ; for, since I am to have 
 the honour of dining with you, I should not like that our land- 
 lord gave you a bad dinner, so I shall give him a little advice 
 myself. I like to keep my hand in practice in that fine art, for 
 if things grow much worse here I have some thoughts of ofi'er- 
 ing myself to some of your grand seigneurs, who, I hear, pay for 
 a good cook at a rate not unworthy the notice of a poor French 
 marquis." 
 
 Cross laughed at the joke ; Hope took what was said for 
 gospel, for he did not know, as Cross did, that the Marquis 
 was a legitimist and as proud of his rank and old blood as any 
 Welshman ; indeed, being a Breton, he had Welsh blood in his 
 veins ; but the intention of assisting the cook Cross knew was 
 no joke, and he was therefore well aware that they would have 
 as good a dinner as the provisions of the place could afford. 
 
 "Mr. Hope and myseK," he said, "feel grateful for the 
 
LIMPETS. 123 
 
 interest you take in our nourishment ; and, since you are going 
 to our quarters, will you allow me to recommend to your notice 
 the fish we have sent home, in hopes that you will give the 
 proper orders to the cook 1" 
 
 " With the greatest pleasure," said the Marquis, " Pray, 
 what have you sent 1 " 
 
 Cross enumerated the various sorts, and mentioned that his 
 friend had never tasted cuttle-fish. 
 
 "Ah, then, I will see to them myself," said the Marquis, 
 " and I hope he will not be disappointed ; but with so much 
 before us I will lose no time." 
 
 " Before you go," said Hope, " will you have the kindness 
 to tell me if limpets are good to eat 1" 
 
 " For want of better," said the Marquis, " they allow them- 
 selves to be eaten : they are a little hard, and require time and 
 attention; but with this they are nutritious, and by no means 
 to be despised by a person who is a judge; and they should suit 
 the English taste, for they are improved by being a little 
 peppery." 
 
 Hope thanked the Marquis, adding that he wished to 
 enlighten his countrymen on some points of good eating, Avhich 
 they had hitherto neglected, among others limpets and cuttle- 
 fish; and since he had heard his opinion on limpets, knowing 
 him to be such good authority, he should take the earliest oppor- 
 tunity of correcting the ignorance which had hitherto been 
 displayed in Britain by overlooking such an article of nutri- 
 ment. 
 
 The ]\Iarquis gave a bow and a smile. " If you take the 
 merits of limpets on mere report, I hope to allow you to judge 
 for yourself regarding cuttle, and have no doubt as to the result." 
 He then marched off. The water, while he was standing, had 
 dripped into his sabots, from wliich it squirted as he walked. 
 With his old ragged straw-hat, sand-besprinkled blue flannel 
 trousers, and wooden sabots, he looked as little like a marquis 
 of ancient lineage as well could be. 
 
124: THE EEL-HOrXD. 
 
 " He may be a great man and a good cook," said Hope, 
 " but lie looks as little like either as anything I ever saw." 
 
 " Wait till yon see liis dinner and liimself to-night, and you 
 will change your opinion," said Cross ; " in the meantune, if you 
 wish to try if you can find cockles as well here as in Scotland, 
 we had better be off." 
 
 They turned to walk towards the children who were far out 
 on the sand, and as they did so, they saw close to them an old 
 woman, followed by a dog. The old woman carried the usual 
 basket on her left shoulder, and on the other a pickaxe with a 
 very long handle. The dog was white, with long hair and a 
 bushy tail, twisted up with a double turn, which he carried on 
 one side of his back ; he had a long, sharp, foxy-looking face, 
 with bright black eyes, and his ears stood very erect, and were 
 pointed. 
 
 " Here is something worth your seeing," said Cross ; " I had 
 forgotten this sort of fishing, and as 1 am sure you will think it 
 more interesting than cockle-picking, Ave will follow this old 
 lady, and see what sport she gets. 1 know the dog; it is one 
 of the best on the coast." 
 
 "The dog!" said Hope. "What has a dog to do with fish- 
 ing?" 
 
 "Everything," said Cross, "in this sort of fishing, as you 
 vnR see if you follow." 
 
 "But tell me," said Hope, "what are they going to fish 
 for?" 
 
 " Eels," replied Cross ; " and by the blue colour of the dog^s 
 face, and the weight of the old lady's basket, they have had very 
 good success already." 
 
 Hope stepped out and overtook the old woman ; he asked 
 permission to see what she had in her basket. 
 
 " Willingly, my good gentleman," said she ; and lifting up 
 the sea-ware, he saw that the basket was half full of conger-eels, 
 about as long as his arm. 
 
 " And does your dog catch those eels 1 " asked Hope. 
 
CONGER-HUNTING. 125 
 
 "0 no, sir; the dog finds them," she answered, "and I 
 catch them. If you like to come on a little, there is a very- 
 good place near this, and you shall see how it is done." 
 
 " By all means let us go," said Hope ; " fishing for eels with 
 a dog and a pickaxe is something new, and quite beyond the 
 common." 
 
 The old woman led the way along the outer edge of the 
 rocks, till she came to a place where the sand ran for a con- 
 siderable distance into the body of the rocks, which rose rather 
 steeply on either side of this sandy estuary. The sand, how- 
 ever, was not smooth, for in all directions little mounds rose up, 
 breaking the level. 
 
 " Go and seek, good dog Trompette," said the old lady, when 
 she had entered this creek. 
 
 The dog started off, hunting in all directions. In a quarter 
 of a minute he stopped at one of the little lumps, and began to 
 scratch and whine like a terrier at a rat-hole. 
 
 " See ! he has one," said the woman, as she ran towards the 
 dog, brandishing her pickaxe. "Wlien she reached the place, 
 she looked which way the hole ran, and then began tearing up 
 the sand, which rose in lumps at every blow. After eight or 
 ten strokes out tumbled a conger-eel about the same size as 
 those in her basket ; the dog and his mistress made a dash at 
 it ; the biped got it ; the woman flung it with great force on 
 the hard sand, and then quietly put it in her basket with the 
 rest of her load, shouting, " Seek again, Trompette." 
 
 Trompette obeyed, and in this way, within five minutes 
 after entering the creek, the dog found, and the mistress dug 
 up and basketted, three of those eels. After this there was an 
 interlude, the dog still hunting, and the old lady remaining 
 stationary, with Cross and Hope beside her. 
 
 " He is a capital dog that of yours, madame ; you call him 
 Trompette, I think V said Hope. 
 
 " Yes, sir ; his father was called Trompette, and all his 
 puppies were called Trompette after him. The father got the 
 
126 LA FAJVIILLE TEOMPETTE. 
 
 name "because his tail was twisted like a trumpet ; and you see 
 my dog's tail twists like one too." 
 
 " And are there any young Trompettes 1" asked Cross. 
 
 " yes ; a great many," replied the woman. " I have got 
 two, and I call them both Trompette," 
 
 " Well," said Hope, in English, " if there are different gene- 
 rations of Pepper and Mustard on the borders of Scotland, I see 
 there are Trompettes of all ages on the shores of I^ormandy. 
 And pray, madame," he continued, addressing the old ladj'-, 
 "have you much dilhculty in breaking these dogs to hunt 
 eelsl" 
 
 " ISTone at all ; we take a young dog out with an old one 
 once or twice, and we let them worry the eel, or perhaps eat 
 one, and then they will hunt quite well ; but some of them 
 have finer noses than others, and of course these are the best." 
 
 "And is this talent confined to the famille Trompette, or 
 are there other dogs that do the same 1 " 
 
 " Other dogs are taught," said the old lady, " but my dog's 
 family do it at once." 
 
 "And in what sort of ground do you hunt for these eels 1" 
 
 " In ground like this," she said, lifting up a lump of the 
 sand with her pickaxe. 
 
 As she did so, Hope saw that there was something curious 
 in the sand ; it was, in fact, exactly hke the rocks over which 
 they had been walking, only quite soft. 
 
 " Ha," said he, " I must have a look at this. Here, madame, 
 you have shown me something new to-day, and take this to 
 drink in return for the pleasure you have given me." He gave 
 her a franc, and she, after returning a volume of thanks, began 
 to walk away. 
 
 Hope called after her, " Before you go, just knock me off a 
 bit of that rock, if you please." 
 
 She did as she was asked, and then continued her way, fol- 
 lowed by her dog, to renew her search in the next creek in the 
 rocks. 
 
PIPE-MAKEES. 127 
 
 " "Well," exclaimed Hope, " this eel-hunting with a dog is 
 the funniest sight I ever saw, and well Avorth coming aU the 
 distance to see ; and now let me have a look at the ground where 
 they find them, for it seems equally curious." 
 
 On examination, they perceived that the whole ground was 
 composed of small tuhes, laid side by side, exactly like honey- 
 comb ; the tubes seemed to be composed of some glutinous sub- 
 stance in which shell-sand Avas sticking. 
 
 " I should like to get a sight of the insect that makes these 
 tubes; it must be something like those which form the coral 
 rocks." 
 
 He sought in vain, however, in the mass before him; the 
 insect was deeper down in the sand, and they had nothing with 
 which to dig deeper. 
 
 " Come to the place where the eels were found," said Hope; 
 "the hole is deeper there, and I have little doubt that the congers 
 are in search of these pipe-makers when they bury themselves 
 in the sand." 
 
 They went to the spot where the last eel had been found ; 
 it was close by the place where the old woman had knocked 
 off a good number of bits of the rock ; and here they were more 
 fortunate, for in the very first sandy lump which he broke, 
 Hope saw twenty or thirty long worm-looking creatures draw 
 themselves back into their holes. The whole lump was soon 
 detached from the rock, and the object of his search was before 
 him. 
 
 The creatures were worm-like ; the lower half, or tail, being 
 considerably thinner than the upper haK ; this upper half had 
 rings on it, that at first looked like legs ; at the head there was 
 a slight increase of size, and the end, or mouth, was somewhat 
 like a lamprey's ; the colour was a pale yellowish-brown. 
 
 "I have seen a good deal that is new to me to-day," said 
 
 Hope ; " these among the rest. Each of these pipes seems to 
 
 contain an insect, and if so, what countless myriads must there 
 
 ' be on this coast ; and how little would we think, in casting a 
 
128 EOCK-MAXING INSECTS. 
 
 glance on this vast plain of sand, that it was teeming with life 
 so varied and innumerable ! If I do not mistake, the rocks are 
 living too, for almost all we have passed over to-day look like 
 indurated masses of the same formation as this sand. I will 
 soon see, by looking at what the old lady has knocked ojff for me, 
 whether I am right in this supposition ; at all events I feel con- 
 vinced that the conger-eels bury themselves in search of these 
 insects. If I were near the basket again, I would cut one open 
 to examine what it has in its stomach." 
 
 The broken rock was quite close ; a few steps brought them 
 to it, and the first glance proved that Hope was right ; the rock, 
 like the sand, was composed of tubes, lying closely joined to- 
 gether. At one place where the pickaxe had struck, a very 
 large fragment had been broken off; the softer spongy sub- 
 stance had split and fallen, showing that it was a superstructure . 
 raised on a foundation of clay slate. The mass that had fallen 
 had peeled from this harder rock, and enabled the friends accu- 
 rately to examine the formation, and they could plainly see that 
 the tubes were continuous for several feet. The surface of the 
 mass exactly resembled a large sponge, swelling into lumps or 
 sinking into hollows ; but on more minute examination, the ends 
 of the tube, which in a sponge would be soft, were here formed 
 of smaU. particles of silex and broken shell, stuck together by 
 some glutinous substance. 
 
 " It looks," said Hope, " as if these creatures, on leavuig 
 their holes, got covered with this sand, and scraped themselves 
 clean on the edge when they went back." 
 
 " Yes it does," replied Cross ; " and with the sand they must 
 leave some of the slime from their bodies, for the edge, which 
 is quite soft, is sticky to the touch." 
 
 " So it is," said Hope ; " and I suppose it hardens by exposure, 
 and thus forms these rocks ; let us try to get hold of some of the 
 insects again, and feel if they are sticky or slimy." 
 
 A lump of the rock was broken, and like the sand it was 
 found to be swarming with the same insects. Those in the rock, 
 
THE RISING TIDE. 129 
 
 however, were rather darker in colour and smaller than those 
 they had examined on the flat sand ; and they were confirmed in 
 their idea as to the formation of the rock, by finding that a 
 glutinous substance issued from them when they were rubbed 
 between their fingers. 
 
 Hope and Cross remained some time quite absorbed in ex- 
 amining the form of the rock and the creatures within it. Hope 
 was in the act of breaking off some small bits to carry home with 
 him, when Cross suddenly gave a loud shout, calling out — " The 
 Lord have mercy on us ! I forgot the tide, and here it comes !" 
 
 Hope turned towards the sea and saw a stream of water 
 running at a rapid pace, and covering the sandy creek where the 
 eels had been found. Xot aware of the danger, he said quite 
 quietly — " Faith, so it does ; I suppose we had better be off." 
 
 " If we can," said Cross ; " by crossing the rock we may yet 
 be ia time." He looked rather pale as he spoke, and Hope 
 seeing his alarm hastened to follow liim ; for the moment Cross 
 ceased speaking he scrambled up the rocks, and began walking 
 as rapidly as he could across them towards the nearest shore ; 
 but the pace was necessarily slow, for the roughness in some 
 parts, and the slipperiness in others, obliged them to pick their 
 steps ; the numberless crevices, "which had been a source of 
 amusement an houi' before, now served still further to retard 
 their progress, for they were forced to make many a detour to 
 get past them. At last they reached the highest point, and 
 could see before them. 
 
 " Thank God I" said Cross, " the sand is not yet covered, but 
 we must run for it." 
 
 The sand was in fact still visible, but small lines of blue 
 water could be seen marking and breaking the surface. 
 
 They hastened on, Hope looking at these lines, which seemed 
 rapidly to increase in breadth ; but he was soon obHged to keep 
 his eyes on the ground, for in looking up he had placed his foot 
 on a bunch of weed, shpped, fell, and got a severe shake, be- 
 sides cutting his hands. 
 
 K 
 
130 THE wave! 
 
 In three minutes more, however, they were at the edge of the 
 sand, but when they reached it, they saw that the sand was now 
 in stripes, the water in sheets. 
 
 " We shall do yet," said Cross, " for, thank God ! here is a 
 girl before us." He began to run rapidly, and HojDe followed. 
 
 They proceeded thus for about two hundred yards, when 
 they saw the little girl (the same from whom Hope had bought 
 the crabs) coming hastily towards them. She reached them 
 before they had advanced many more paces, and as she ran she 
 called out something which they could not at first understand, 
 for she was so much out of breath. 
 
 When she was close to them, they could distinguish that 
 she said, " The wave ! the wave ! it is coming ; turn, turn, and 
 run, or we are lost !" 
 
 They did turn, and they saw, far out to sea, a large wave , 
 rolling towards the shore. Blown as they were, they yet in- 
 creased their speed, as they retraced their steps towards the rocks 
 they had just left. 
 
 The little girl passed them and led the way ; the two friends 
 strained every nerve to keep pace with her, for, as they neared 
 the rock, the wave still rolled towards them ; the sand became 
 gradually covered, and the last ten steps were up to their knees 
 in water, but they were on the rock. 
 
 " Quick ! quick ! " said the girl ; " there is the passage to 
 cross, and if the second wave comes we shall be too late." 
 
 She ran on for a hundred yards till she came to a crack in 
 the rock, six or seven feet wide, along which the water was 
 rushing like a mill-sluice. 
 
 " We are lost," said the girl ; " I cannot cross, it will carry 
 me away." 
 
 " Is it deep ? " asked Cross. 
 
 " Not very," she said, " but it is too strong." 
 
 Cross lifted the girl in his arms ; he was a strong big man ; 
 he plunged into the stream, which was up to his waist. With 
 a few strides he was across, and set the girl down ; he then held 
 
THE SECOND \YATE,. 131 
 
 on by the rock, and stretched out his hand to Hope, who was 
 following like an experienced wader, taking very short steps, 
 and with his legs well stretched out, to prevent being swept 
 away by the force of the water ; Hope grasped the hand thus 
 held out to him, and in another second the two friends were 
 standing by the girl, 
 
 " That is tremendous," said Hope ; " if I had not seen it I 
 never would have believed it." 
 
 " It is indeed," said Cross ; " and in winter or in blowing 
 weather, the tide-wave comes in with far greater force than this 
 we have just seen." 
 
 " Come on, come on," cried the girl. " Holy Yirgin ! we 
 were nearly lost." 
 
 The Httle girl again led the way to the high point of lighter 
 coloured rock which Hope had remarked in the morning. 
 "UTien they had reached it, she said, ""We are safe now ;" and 
 she pulled from her breast a string of beads with a crucifix, and 
 began to tell the beads. The two friends looked on in silence ; 
 perhaps they too were returning thanks to heaven, although 
 they held no beads in their hands. 
 
 After a few minutes thus spent, the girl looked up and 
 smUed to Cross. " Thank you," said she, " for lifting me over ; 
 I could not have crossed by mj^self ; and," she continued, " the 
 second wave has come, and it is all water now." 
 
 The friends looked ; all around them was the wide sea ; the}'' 
 were on an island which each moment became less ; and this 
 island was three quarters of a mile from the shore. 
 
 " I am afraid, sir, you will be cold," said the little girl. " We 
 are quite safe here, for this point is always above water except 
 in a storm ; but we shall have to remain here for three or four 
 hours before we can go to the shore." 
 
 " Cold or hot," said Cross, " we may be thankful we are here. 
 But what made you forget the tide, for you must know the coast 
 so weU ?" 
 
 " I did not forget it," she said, " but I feared you would be 
 
132 A GOOD EETUEX FOR A FAIR PRICE. 
 
 drowned as you are strangers ; and I tbouglit I should be in 
 time to tell you, but I was too late, and the wave came." 
 
 " And did you risk your life to save us ] " said Hope, the 
 tears starting into bis eyes. 
 
 " I thought at any rate I should get here," she replied. 
 " As you are strangers you would not know that it is always dry 
 here, and on the strand you would be lost ; so I came to help 
 you, for the gentleman was kind, and gave me a good price for 
 my crabs ; so I hoped I should be in time to warn you, but I 
 ■was very nearly too late." 
 
 Hope took the little girl in his arms and kissed her. " ^tfever 
 say a word against a Granvillaise again as long as you live," he 
 said to Cross, "for this child shows that they are brave and 
 generous. If they drive a hard bargain you see they are grate- 
 ful, instead of laughing at their customers ; and for this Kttle 
 creature's sake I shall love and respect them even if they do 
 bully their husbands ;" — then speaking in French to the girl he 
 continued, " We owe you our lives, you brave Uttle creature ; so 
 I thank you in the meantime, and hope to do more hereafter. 
 But how came you to know we were here 1" 
 
 " I took your crabs to the inn, and the bourgeois gave me 
 some bread for the rest that I had in my basket. As I came 
 back I met Angela on the hill. She was tired, and she asked 
 me to carry some of her oysters ; and while I was dividing them 
 between her basket and mine I saw you below. I knew it must 
 be you, for only strangers would stay so long out here at spring 
 tides. I ran away at once, and forgot that I had her oysters, and 
 that the bread for my mother was on the grass. I remembered 
 the oysters when I had run a good way. They are heavy, and 
 I wished I had left them, for I could not run so fast with them 
 on my back." 
 
 " She is a brave little thing," said Cross, " and shows she has 
 presence of mind to see, and promptitude to act. She shall 
 have all the money in my pocket." 
 
 " And in mine too/' said Hope, " but it is not much, and we 
 
ANGELA'S OYSTERS. 133 
 
 must do sometliing more for her. I wonder what she would 
 most like in the world." 
 
 " Ask her," said Cross. 
 
 Hope did so. 
 
 " To have a dress," she said, " to wear when I go to mass, 
 just hke the one Angela's sister had on last Sunday, with a 
 beautiful silver crucifix like hers." 
 
 " You shall have it," said both Hope and Cross together ; 
 " but I wish," continued Hope in Enghsh, " she had asked 
 something else than dress." 
 
 " Though she is a little heroine," said Cross, " still she is 
 French, and therefore a slave to finery ; and, heaven knows, she 
 is lightly enough clothed just now to make her covet something 
 better to wear. Poor thing, she must be very cold." He asked 
 her. 
 
 " Yes," she replied, " I am a little cold ; for I am hungry." 
 
 " And I have left my sandwich-box in the carriage," said 
 Hope ; " another proof, if any were wanting, that no one should 
 ever move without the commissariat. Poor little thing, she 
 will have long to wait, and, to say the truth, I feel that a good 
 breakfast will not last all day." 
 
 " Have you got your flask ? " asked Cross. 
 
 •' Yes, by the by, I have got that," answered Hope ; and he 
 produced it from his pocket. 
 
 " We shall do very well then," said Cross, " for I have got 
 haK-a-dozen Jersey biscuits, which fortunately are in my breast 
 pockets, and therefore dry ; we shall take the liberty of making 
 free with IVIiss Angela's oysters, which, with a drop of your 
 brandy to wash them down, will stop a gap till the tide turns. 
 Have you got your knife 1" he asked of the little girl. 
 
 "Yes, sir," she said, and held up a coarse square-headed 
 clasp-knife covered with rust ; as well it might be, for it was 
 hanging to her side by a string, and had been trailing for many 
 a day in the sea. 
 
 " Count Angela's oysters, then," said Cross, " that we may pay 
 
13-4 A SUPPER ON THE EOCKS. 
 
 lier for them when we get on shore ; for we will eat them, and 
 you shall have a share." 
 
 The little thing laughed amazingly, and seemed to think the 
 plan a capital joke ; she emptied the hasket on the rock, opened 
 her knife and an oyster in a moment, and handed it to Cross, 
 who in return gave her two biscuits, and the same to Hope. 
 
 The girl smiled as she hit one of the good solid captain's 
 biscuits, and then held up another oyster ready opened to 
 Hope. 
 
 " Eat that one yourself," he said. " I will take the rest." 
 She did as she \vas bid, laughing right merrily as she said — 
 " Poor Angela ! she did not think she was gi\ing us our supper 
 when she asked me to carry her oysters." 
 
 Hope then took his share, Cross followed, and the little girl 
 was again desired to take her turn and swallow another of the 
 oysters, which she opened as fast as they could eat. This con- 
 tinued for several rounds, the girl always laughing heartily when 
 she was desired to take her turn, apparently thinking that every 
 fresh oyster was a new and excellent joke. 
 
 " ISTow," said Cross, " a small drop of your bottle, just to 
 keep these fellows warm, and then to work agaiu. Much as I 
 like oysters, I never knew how good they were till to-day." 
 
 Hope produced his flask, and offered the httle girl the 
 first sip. 
 
 She put her lips to the cup and then returned it. " It is 
 too strong," she said ; " if it was cider I would have drunk it 
 and been grateful, but for this I must only thank you, for I 
 cannot drink it." 
 
 Hope and Cross pressed her in vain even to taste it again, 
 but she refused. As they had no objections to the strength, 
 they practised what they preached, and swallowed a good modi- 
 cum to their great iaward comfort, and then resumed their attack 
 on the biscuits and oysters, never stopping again tUl all were 
 finished. Another sip from the flask completed the feast. 
 
 " There," exclaimed Cross, " there is an end of that ; we have 
 
THE TIDE KISING. 135 
 
 passed, in my estimation, a very pleasant ten minutes, "but they 
 are the only agreeable ones "we shall spend for some time, if they 
 are not the last ; the water is narrowing our territory every 
 moment, and if the tide rises much more, we shall have to swim 
 for it yet." 
 
 The girl, though he spoke in English, understood by his eye 
 that he was speaking of the tide. 
 
 " There is no fear," she said ; " for even if the water reaches 
 us, it has no force now, and the points are always dry." 
 
 '•' Cold comfort," said Hope, looking at the small sharp- 
 pointed rocks that rose about a couple of feet above where they 
 were sitting ; they were just high enough to afford a shght 
 shelter from the wind, which they now felt to be cold enough. 
 Their island, however, was still about twenty yards across ; the 
 tide was rising more slowly, but it was rising. The food and 
 Ijrandy had warmed the men, but the httle girl looked very 
 cold ; she was trying to give another turn to a ragged black silk 
 handkerchief which she wore round her neck. The two francs 
 which Hope had paid her, which had excited her gratitude and 
 saved their lives, were tied in one corner ; so worn was the 
 handkerchief, however, that the colour of the metal could be 
 seen through the silk. 
 
 " Here," said Hope, " put this round your neck ; " and he 
 produced from his pocket a gaudy, scarlet, silk pocket-handker- 
 chief with a black edge. 
 
 " no, sir," she said ; " it is so handsome, I am afraid it 
 win be spoiled." 
 
 " !N'o, it will not," said Cross, " the gentleman gives it to you ; 
 so you will take care of it ;" then speaking in English, he said 
 to Hope, "as the corner of their handkerchief is always their 
 purse, we may as well club what money we have to furnish the 
 one you have given her ; the idea of her riches will do more to 
 warm her than dry clothes and a fire." 
 
 "I have not above twenty francs in my pocket," said Hope, 
 " but to those she is heartily welcome." 
 
136 THE GKANVILLAISE PURSE. 
 
 "And I have not so many," said Cross ; "here is all I have, 
 just seventeen francs ; but join them with what you have, and 
 tie them whole in the corner of your handkerchief, then put it 
 round her neck, and I will warrant that she will he as warm as 
 a toast, and think herself a second Eothschild." 
 
 The money was clubbed — it proved to be forty francs — and 
 was tied as Cross recommended in the corner of her handkerchief. 
 The girl watched the proceeding, and when Hope passed it round 
 her neck, she blushed with delight, kissed both their hands, re- 
 peating several times, " How beautiful ! how generous, how kind 
 you are to give me so much !" and after looking at her treasures 
 for a while she said, " How jealous Angela will be, and how 
 happy my mother." 
 
 " We must not let Angela be jealous," said Cross, " for she 
 is to tell us where her sister got her smart dress ; this gentle- 
 man and I have promised that you shall have one like it ; so you 
 must bring Angela to see us to-morrow, that we may give her a 
 handkerchief also in payment for the oysters, and then she will 
 help us to get the dress we have promised." 
 
 "0 happy day! happy day !" she said, clapping her hands; 
 " Angela will be so pleased." 
 
 " If we ever get ashore," said Hope, for a wave at that moment 
 rolled past, and the water began to run along the little platform 
 they were sitting upon ; they all rose and mounted on the rocky 
 points, where they clustered, supporting each other. Another 
 wave came, it appeared only like a ripple, but when they looked 
 down the water was a foot deep where they had previously been 
 seated. There was silence for a while ; another wave came — 
 the water was within six inches of their feet. 
 
 " It is a terrible high tide," said the girl, " but if we hold 
 together, we shall not be washed away." 
 
 " That is true," said Cross ; " and as we are wet already we 
 need not much care." 
 
 Hope's face was towards the shore. " There are a great many 
 people clustering on the point," he said ; " it is always a comfort 
 
THE TIDE TUENED. 137 
 
 to know that out fellow-beings take an interest in us, and I sup- 
 pose those people are watching us." 
 
 The little girl turned to look ; a faint sound of a cheer was 
 heard, and they could see the people on shore waving their hats 
 and handkerchiefs. 
 
 " They think the tide has turned," she said, " and they are 
 shouting to cheer us." 
 
 She was right; the tide had turned. Another wave cams 
 and wet their feet ; but when it had passed, the water had fallen, 
 and in five minutes more the platform was again dry ! 
 
CHAPTEE VI. 
 
 THE EBB TIDE AND A LATE DINNER. 
 
 "When the bare surface of tlie rock was seen, the whole party 
 gladly descended from the point round which they had been 
 chnging so uncomfortably during the last quarter of an hour. 
 
 " Grace h Dieu ! " exclaimed the little girl ; " I was frightened ; 
 were not you?" 
 
 " The time seemed very long," said Cross ; " and, to own the 
 truth, I was calculating how long I could have kept my feet on 
 that slippery ledge if the water rose much higher." 
 
 " And I," said Hope, " am glad to be again standing on this 
 flat surface, wet though it be. We never know the full value of 
 anything till we have lost it ; and, as a case in point, I little 
 thought, twenty minutes ago, that I should be glad to be stand- 
 ing here still And stand we must, for, cold as it is, we should 
 not mend our position by settling down in the puddles which 
 the sea has left." 
 
 The light began to fail, and they kept their eyes turned to- 
 wards the shore. All their hopes were fixed in that direction ; 
 for although the white sails of the fishing-boats could be seen 
 to seawards returning to port, they knew that they were hasten- 
 ing to seek the shelter of the mole at Granville, and that there 
 was no chance of any assistance on that side. Five minutes after 
 they had reached the platform, they saw the large group of people 
 disperse from the high point where they had been collected. A 
 few now only remained on this elevated station ; the rest were 
 collected in smaller groups, each group being at some little dis- 
 tance from the other. 
 
riSH-MAEKET. 139 
 
 " They are gone to the market now," said the little girl. " I 
 am sure they have been thinldng of us, for they are very late. 
 Old ]\Iarie de Coutance will be very cross, for she is always in 
 such a hurry to be off before it is dark." 
 
 ""VMiat market do you mean?" asked Hope, "and who is 
 Marie de Coutance ?" 
 
 " There are people from the different towns who come here 
 to buy what we catch ; three of them are called Marie, and so, 
 to distinguish them, they are called after the town they come 
 from. Marie de Coutance comes from Coutance ; she is always 
 cross, and always in a hurry, for she has a long way to go ; but 
 she gives good prices, so she has many who sell to her. You 
 see she has plenty near her now ; that is her station, the farthest 
 to the left." 
 
 " How do you know her station at this distance ?" asked 
 Hope. 
 
 " Because every one always goes to the same place. The 
 station next to her belongs to Mons. Aufoe. "We call him 
 Aufoe de Paris, although he comes from Granville ; for he buys 
 all the prawns he can get, and sends them to Paris ; and the 
 people like him, as he always gives the same price, and will take 
 all you have without any trouble ; so a great many go to him, as 
 you may see, for he has the largest party at his station ; and 
 you can see beside him his two horses with the large panniers. 
 Whatever he buys just now, will be boiled and sent off to Paris 
 by the diligence to-morrow morning." 
 
 " There is a good deal of method in that arrangement," said 
 Cross. 
 
 "There is indeed," replied Hope; "and it explains to me 
 what I did not before understand — I mean the way in which 
 all the fish are disposed of ; for the quantity must be very great, 
 if the hundreds we have seen fishing to-day only caught a very 
 small portion each. It proves the truth of the assertion, that 
 demand creates supply. If the same organised market could be 
 established in the west of Ireland, or even in Scotland, there 
 
140 A GUEST TO SUPPER. 
 
 would not be so great a complaint against the indolence of the 
 people as now ; for were there a few Mons. Aufoes de Londres 
 or de Dublin scattered in their fishing-stations, the people would 
 rush to the sea, as they do here, and in time they would learn 
 to extract and spread the riches which now lie untouched and 
 unsought for in her fruitful bosom." 
 
 " Why," said Cross, " we have the same sort of people, and 
 on a much larger scale ; what do we call our fishcurers who buy 
 thousands of pounds' worth of herrings every year from our 
 fishermen?" 
 
 " I call them very useful people in their way," said Hope, 
 " and they prove the truth of what I have said ; they buy 
 herrings, and the herring-fishing is fostered, but there are no 
 people to buy and send off to market the shoals of fish which 
 might be caught and sold fresh, for the consumption of our 
 large towns. What employment would be given, what wealth 
 could be gained, by the capture and sale of the myriads of fish 
 which hang on the coasts of Britain, more especially on the west 
 coasts of Ireland and Scotland !" 
 
 " I daresay you are right," said Cross, " but I have never 
 thought much on the subject ; I have been more taken up in 
 observing the different modes of catching those I have found 
 best to eat ; and see there is one of your friends, a spider crab ; 
 he has come out with the tide, and is now employed in scraping 
 our oyster shells." 
 
 Hope looked where Cross was pointing. In eating their 
 oysters the shells had been thrown into a hollow in the rock ; 
 this now stood full of water about six inches deep, and on the 
 centre of the heap of white shells lay something like a bunch of 
 small sea-weed. 
 
 " It is a crab," said Hope, " for I saw him move, and we 
 may pass away the time by watching his movements." 
 
 " You must keep very still then," said Cross, " for if we 
 move he will not." 
 
 They remained very quiet, and after a while, they observed 
 
THE T\'AYS OF SPIDER CRABS. 141 
 
 the animal slip very slowly from one shell to the other, evidently 
 eating any small remnants of fish that remained. 
 
 " I wonder what they live on in general," said Hope, " for 
 it is not often, I suspect, that people come out here to eat 
 oysters." 
 
 " I imagine," replied Cross, " that they catch fish for them- 
 selves, for I once saw one who had a live fish in his claws. I 
 cannot help thinking that nature has given them this covering 
 of sea- ware on their shell as much to aid them in the pursuit of 
 their prey as to protect them from enemies. Their motions are 
 so slow that they could never catch anything so nimble as a fish, 
 unless the fish went to them ; it is for this reason that I think 
 their covering is given to aid them in procuring their food. 
 There are a vast number of fish who hide themselves under 
 stones — such as sea-loach, bullheads, and rock-fish or sea-perch ; 
 all these go under every stone they pass 3 now, if you are de- 
 ceived in thinking this crab a stone or a bunch of sea-weed, w^e 
 may well suppose that a fish may make the same mistake. If 
 they did so, and ran under him as they do under other stones, 
 they would find themselves, as the Yankees say, in a very un- 
 handsome fix ; for the crab has only to grasp as he does the iron 
 hook, and it is all up with poor fishy, whatever sort he may be ; 
 besides which the crab may be able to snap up some of the in- 
 sects that make these rocks, and serve them right, since looking 
 at them nearly converted us into food for fishes. If we had been 
 drowned, I have no doubt some of these beauties would have 
 found us out and had a taste of us ; practically answering your 
 question as to what they live on by eating a bit of you." 
 
 " What a horrid idea !/' said Hope ; "the very thought of 
 being eaten by a brute like that makes me colder than ever." 
 
 " Phoo ! nonsense," said Cross ; " w^hat would it signify 1 
 How go the lines ] 
 
 ' A good fat priest is a dainty meal, 
 And 111 have my share with the pike and the eel.' 
 
 I suppose any stout gentleman would do as well as a priest : 
 
142 A STOEY ABOUT EELS. 
 
 and for pike read crab, and the lines will do ; and wlay should 
 they not try how you tasted ] You have been making very 
 anxious inquiries regarding their flesh, and as they cannot speak, 
 it would be quite fair that they should put the question prac- 
 tically ; but thanks to our little friend here, they have been 
 balked for this time." 
 
 " You are a horrid fellow," said Hope, " and you have quite 
 prevented my having any wish to taste these creatures." 
 
 " You are very dainty," replied Cross ; " I only wish I had a 
 few well dressed, and I would make an example of them ; for, 
 to say the truth, in spite of our oysters I feel horridly hungry. 
 I could even eat a dish of eels, which I never very much liked, 
 for I was told a story that quite put me off touching them." 
 
 "And what might that be?" said Hope ; "it must be some- 
 thing very bad." 
 
 " Why," said Cross, " the story of the widow and her 
 drowned husband." 
 
 " I never heard it," said Hope. 
 
 " Oh, you dear innocent creature ! What a pleasure it is to 
 find a grown gentleman who does not know one's old stories ! " 
 
 " I can afford you that pleasure," said Hope, " for I am fully 
 grown and never heard it ; so pray tell it to me." 
 
 " Why, you must know then," said Cross, " that there once 
 lived a man and a wife who were not on the best terms. One 
 fine morning the man Avas missing, and nothing could be heard 
 of him for a fortnight. The Avife pretended to be in great dis- 
 tress, so much so that when his body was at last found in a fish- 
 pond near the house, no one liked to tell her, more especially as 
 the finding was accompanied with what they thought would 
 shock her dreadfully ; namely, that when the poor fellow was 
 pulled out of the water a great quantity of eels fell on the grass 
 from his body ; the fact was he was full of them ! 
 
 " At last a friend undertook to break the intelligence, and 
 receive the widow's instructions. This he did, not omitting to 
 mention the eels. The story told, he asked what were her 
 
■WAITING FOR THE EBB. 143 
 
 wishes, as lie was anxious, together with the rest of her friends, 
 to ohey her orders. 
 
 " The widow removed her handkerchief from her eyes, and 
 murmured out, * Send home the eels and set him again — I am 
 very fond of eels.' " 
 
 " You nasty fellow," said Hoije, " I am half frozen already, 
 and your story makes my flesh creep ; I am fast losing what 
 httle warmth I had." 
 
 " I am sorry I told it then," said Cross, " for I am as cold as 
 a frog myself, and have been talking nonsense to pass the time 
 and to try to make us forget where we are. Since my stories 
 make you colder, let us move about a bit ; our territory is be- 
 coming larger ; quite enough to have a short race. I will give 
 you ten yards and run you a hundred." 
 
 " That would have done very well in the morning," said 
 Hope, " but I am much too stiff for anything of the sort just 
 now ; you forget that your younger blood does not cool as fast 
 as mine, for I have twenty years the start of you." 
 
 " Well, let us walk then ; take my arm and we will make 
 the round of our island ; it will be something to do and keep us 
 in motion." 
 
 " We must not forget our httle friend here," said Hope, 
 " although she is as quiet as a mouse, and never complains." 
 
 " We vail ask her to come with us," said Cross, " but as I 
 told you, she has forgot cold and hunger ; she is admiring your 
 silk handkerchief and the five-franc pieces in the corner — she is 
 building castles in the air, and thinking how she shall expend 
 her riches ; but we may as well disturb her dreams and make 
 her join our walk, for she will be able to tell us when it -will be 
 safe to start from our present kingdom — Marie," he called. 
 
 " Did you call me ?" said the girl, starting from her reverie; 
 " my name is not Marie, I am Matilde." 
 
 " And a very pretty name," said Cross ; " will you come with 
 us and tell us how much longer we must stay here V 
 
 " Willingly," she rephed ; " but there is not much use yet, 
 
144 LIGHTS. 
 
 for when the tide turns it goes out quickly for a little and then 
 stops a while ; after which it falls very fast. The hack wave has 
 not come yet, and till then we must not think of moving." 
 
 " To prevent being benumbed we must follow my first plan 
 then," said Cross, " and make the tour of our island." 
 
 He took Hope's arm and they began their walk, but it was 
 no easy job, for it was now nearly dark, and they stumbled and 
 slipped at every step. Cross insisted on going on, and dragged 
 Hope with him ; after groping and stumbling for a considerable 
 time they found themselves again on their old platform. Hope 
 was bored to death, tired, and out of breath; but they were no 
 longer cold, and they had got over a good portion of their time. 
 They could no longer distingniish what was on the shore, but the 
 line of the high promontory could be seen against the sky. 
 
 " Surely those are lights," said Hope. The little girl called 
 out at the same moment, " See ! there are lanterns — they are 
 coming to guide us," 
 
 Sure enough three lights could be seen coming down the hill ; 
 they stopped at the shore. 
 
 " Shall we look now," said Matilde, " if we can venture ?" 
 
 " But how will you be able to know in the dark," asked 
 Hope, " whether we can venture or not ?" 
 
 " K the passage where the gentleman carried me over is dry," 
 said Matilde, " it will be safe to go ; bixt not till then." 
 
 " Let us see then how it is," said Hope, " for I shall not be 
 sorry to leave our present quarters ; I own I never found time 
 pass so slowly before." 
 
 It was now quite dark, and they stumbled more than ever in 
 walking to the creek in the rocks which Matilde called the pas- 
 sage ; when they reached it, there was still a good deal of water 
 running rapidly through, but it was not up to their knees in 
 depth, and was running in the contrary direction to that in which 
 it was raging when they passed it in the morning ; so they 
 waded through and continued their course over the remainder of 
 the rock, which they knew they had to pass before reaching the 
 
MADAME LE MOINE. 145 
 
 broad extent of sand which lay between them and the shore. 
 Fear and daylight had made these rocks seem shorter than they 
 now found them ; and they had several more slips and tumbles 
 to undergo before they reached the outer edge ; when they got 
 there the sand was not visible, but they had the pleasure of per- 
 ceiving that the lights were advancing towards them. 
 
 "In for a penny, in for a pound," said Cross; "we are so 
 wet we may as well walk at once ; the water cannot be deep 
 now." He slid into the water, which was but little above his 
 knees ; the rest followed, and they began their way rejoicing, 
 stepping out towards the advancing lights ; at each minute the 
 water became more shallow, and when they joined the party 
 who were carrying the lanterns, they were once more on dry 
 ground. The party consisted of an old woman, a tall handsome 
 girl, and a young man, each carrying a lantern ; several other 
 young men and girls were following. When the party from the 
 rock came within range of the light, the old woman ran forward, 
 embraced Matilde tenderly, then put down her lantern, cried 
 violently, and ended by scolding her like a pickpocket. 
 
 Matilde bore these various paroxysms with great patience ; 
 we suppose she was used to them, but when the scolding had 
 continued a moderate time she said — 
 
 " The gentlemen are wet, do not keep them waiting, mother ; 
 see how generous they have been to me ; " and she put the two 
 ends of her handkerchief with the contents into her mother's 
 hand, who immediately ceased scolding, and began to bless her 
 child and the two gentlemen. 
 
 The party then continued their course towards the shore, the 
 young man leading the way. The tall girl fell back ; she took 
 off a coarse woollen shawl which she wore, and placed it on 
 Matilda's shoulders. " Poor little one, you must be cold," she said. 
 
 " O Angela ! how kind of you to come, and I not to see 
 you," said Matilde, as she put her arms round her neck, and 
 then she burst out laughing — " We have eaten all your oysters, 
 and they were so good." 
 
 L 
 
146 ANGELA. 
 
 " You are -u'elcorQe, little one," returned her companion, 
 " although. I did not eat your bread ; I gave it to your mother." 
 
 " You are always good to me," said Matilde ; " and these 
 gentlemen have been so kind, they have given me all this money 
 and this beautiful shawl ; and listen," she whispered, " they have 
 promised to give you one like it, to pay for your oysters, and to 
 buy me a dress hke your sister's." 
 
 " They are very good to think of me," said Angela ; " but 
 you saved them, and I am glad they are gi'ateful, for you deserve 
 it at their hands." 
 
 " Is that your friend Angela?" said Hope ; " ask her to come 
 to us this evening, we wish to speak to her. "When you have 
 got some dry clothes, you must come and get something to eat, 
 and bring her and your mother with you. I hope," he con- 
 tinued to Cross, "we shall be able to get something for them 
 when they come." 
 
 " Xo fear of that," said Cross, " with the Marquis to act as 
 caterer we shall not want ; but, poor man, what a state he will 
 be in ; no cook can foi'give the person who is too late, and when 
 a man is to eat, as well as to superintend the cooking of the 
 dinner, to keep him waiting is a double crime. I suspect we 
 shall find him in a very bad humour," 
 
 " AVe cannot help it," said Hope, " so we must do our best 
 to soothe him when we meet. If eating what he has prepared 
 will please him, I shall succeed, for I feel dreadfully Avolfish. 
 I wish I had my feet in a pail of hot water and his dinner before 
 me, and I would astonish him." 
 
 " You propose two things in one sentence," said Cross, " not 
 easily done — first, to get a foot-pail and hot water ; secondly^ to 
 astonish the Marquis. But nothing is impossible, they say, to a 
 willing hand. I will do my best to get you a foot-bath, and you 
 must try what you can do yourself to eat up to our friend ; for 
 if you do you may astonish him." 
 
 This was the last thing like conversation that passed between 
 any of the party till they reached their quarters, for as Cross 
 
THE MAKQUrs'S "WELCOME. 147 
 
 ceased to speak tliey arrived at the beach ; the ascent was heavy- 
 through the loose sand, for they had to clamher up the steep 
 face of the rocky point, and then to vralk along a narrow path 
 and a bad road for half a mile, before reaching their door. 
 
 Stilf with remaining wet for so many hours, Hope saw the 
 lights of the village with great satisfaction. At the first turn 
 they came on a house better lighted than any other. At the 
 door stood the Marquis in black trousers, silk stockings, a smart 
 silk waistcoat, a white neckcloth with very large bows, but a 
 linen coat like that of an English under-butler in the morning 
 when about to clean his plate. He held a white a^jron in his 
 hand, which he began to tie round his waist the moment the 
 Englishmen and their party came in sight. He was in a com- 
 miserative, not in an angxy mood, which they learnt by his first 
 exclamation. 
 
 " Here you are at last, and alive, grace a Dieu ! What you 
 must have suffered from hunger ; you must be famished ! 
 Dinner late, and you three hours later. I thought of you while 
 I ate my little morsel, and the thought was so painful, I could 
 not enjoy anything ; but now that you are here I feel my force 
 restored, and I hope I shall be able to do justice to the supper, 
 with which I trust you will be pleased ; for the news of your 
 situation arrived here in time to enable me to prevent the pans 
 being put to the fire, and the moment I heard the tide had 
 turned, and that you were safe, I made them put our roast in 
 order, and you see the fours are burning bright, and the casse- 
 roles are ready to be put down in a moment. How long will 
 you be, that we may make our calculations ?" 
 
 AVhile the Marquis was thus running on, Hope and Cross 
 had followed him into the apartment which, in fact, was both 
 the kitchen and dining-room of the little inn. It was beauti- 
 fully clean, and coming out of the dark, the light from the fire, 
 lamps, and candles, made it so bright, it was a moment before 
 they could see. When their eyes became accustomed to the 
 brilliancy, which they did while the iMarquis was speaking, they 
 
148 THE DIKING-KOOM. 
 
 saw the taljle spread on one side of the fireplace ; the cloth was 
 covered with several dishes, on which were piled pears of various 
 sorts, blue plums and greengages, apricots, two large pyramids 
 of prawns, and a huge melon. Bound the fire were a number 
 of pots and pans, deep sunk in hot embers ; before it was a long 
 semicircular tin case, something between a plate- warmer and a 
 Dutch oven ; this case surrounded a spit, which was turning 
 merrily. All the little charcoal stoves were glowing bright ; 
 beside them stood some covered stew-pans and a frying-pan, and 
 at a little distance on either side were two of the beehive-looking 
 baskets. All this they saw at a glance, so that when the Mar- 
 quis inquired when they could be ready, Cross answered, " In a 
 quarter of an hour or twenty minutes." 
 
 " Then let us say twenty minutes, and be exact," said the 
 ]\Iarquis, " and in that time all wiU. be in order." He opened a 
 little trap-door in the top of the tin case, and showed a small 
 leg of mutton which had just been put down, lifted the baskets 
 and exhibited the fish, prepared for putting in the pots and 
 frying-pans, and pointed to the various other preparations which 
 were standing round the stoves. We forgot to mention that, in 
 addition to the many articles that were around and in front of 
 the fire, there hung above it one of the very large brass pans, 
 which they had seen used for making the cabbage soup. Their 
 attention was drawn to this by a question which Hope asked — 
 namely, whether there would be enough to give something to eat 
 to the little girl who had saved them, together with her mother 
 and friend 1 
 
 " The soup is excellent," said the Marquis, " and we shall 
 have plenty left from our dinner." 
 
 Cross looked into the large pan. 
 
 " Not that," said the Marquis, " but this," pointing to one of 
 the pots that Avas by the side of the fire ; " and I advise you to 
 take a small cup while you are dressing — it wiU warm you, and 
 prevent you being detained from the more solid nourishment 
 which I hope to offer you when you are dressed." 
 
THE BED-KOOM. 149 
 
 " Yery good advice," said Cross ; " so away you go and get 
 your wet things off. I will be after you in a niinutp, but I must 
 see what I can do for your foot-bath." 
 
 Hope willingly followed this advice ; the warm room and the 
 sight of the fire had made him feel even more chilly than when 
 he was in the air. He followed the hostess, who led the way 
 out of the house and up an outside stair into a large double- 
 bedded room. There was a fire on the hearth, and the boy who 
 had driven them was in attendance to offer his services — !N'.B., 
 a most extraordinary instance of attention, for it is rare to find a 
 Xorman boy volunteer anything that "will give liim trouble. 
 
 The hostess offered to dry his feet, and produced a bundle of 
 coarse white towels. 
 
 This service Hope refused with thanks, but expressed his 
 great wish to have some hot water. 
 
 The hostess replied that she would see what could be done, 
 took a small ewer out of another vessel that looked like a pie 
 dish, and left the room. The said ewer and pie dish were the 
 onl}' preparations which the room afforded for washing. 
 
 Hope bade the boy unstrap and open his portmanteau, while 
 he began to drag off the wet garments which were sticking to 
 him. He was uncomfortable, and rather sulky at being disap- 
 pointed in finding no means of washing off the clammy feeling 
 of the salt water. At this moment the door opened, and Cross 
 and the ^Marquis's servant made their appearance, carrying be- 
 tween them the identical large brass pan that had been hanging 
 above the fire in the kitchen. In the other hand Cross bore a 
 second pan of the same sort, only smaller, and behind him came 
 the hostess with a bucket of cold water. She was laughing im- 
 moderately, and repeating, "They are a queer set these English 
 lords." 
 
 Cross made her a number of fine speeches, and begged her to 
 go to the Marquis, who would be in despair at her absence ; 
 then poured a share of the hot water into the lesser pan, added 
 cold till the heat wa? reduced to a bearable temperature, placed 
 
150 FISHEEMAN, ARTISTE, AKD GENTLE^LVN. 
 
 the large pan before Hope, and tlie lesser in front of another 
 chair, and told hini there was a bath fit for a king, and to make 
 the most of it. 
 
 Hope roared with laughing, but in half a minute he was 
 robed in his dressing-gown and sighing with the comfort of hav- 
 ing his feet in this new-fangled foot-pail, which comfort was by- 
 no means reduced by the re-entrance of the Marquis's boy Avith 
 two cups of excellent soup. 
 
 Cross did not allow his companion to luxuriate for any time 
 in his comforts ; he urged haste, and so effectually that the 
 twenty minutes were very little exceeded when they again entered 
 the kitchen and dining-hall. 
 
 The Marquis was in all his glory. When they entered he 
 vanished for a moment, and then returned in a coat of the last 
 Paris cut, looking and acting the ]\Iarquis of the old school to 
 perfection, as he begged the friends to place themselves at table. 
 Hope, as he looked at him, saw that Cross had been right, for 
 he no longer recognised the ragged fisherman or the professed 
 cook in the highbred-looking gentleman before him. They had 
 brought doT\Ti with them a couple of bottles of the wine which 
 Hope had stowed away in the seat of the carriage — one of cham- 
 pagne and one of sauterne — which they placed on the table. 
 
 " Ah ! you have foresight, I see," said the Marquis ; " this 
 white wine is an addition. I have been able to procure you a 
 bottle of Spanish wine, which you English like, and also a couple 
 of bottles of very superior Bordeaux from my friend the cure. 
 He is an excellent judge, and I can trust to his taste ; — but here 
 comes our roast." 
 
 " Ai-e we to have none of the fish ?" asked Hope in a wliisper. 
 " Yes, by and by," answered Cross, in the same tone ; " but 
 you must eat according to the plan of our Amphitrion to-day ; 
 if you don't like it, we will alter it to-morrow." 
 
 This whispered conversation was not heard or noticed by the 
 IMarquis, for he was employed in cutting the melon into slices, 
 and his boy was placing on the table the plumpest but smallest 
 
EOAST MUTTON AND MELON. 151 
 
 leg of mutton Hope had ever seen. The melon being cut up, 
 the Marquis performed the same ceremony on the mutton, which 
 the boy carried round to each of the party, who helped himself 
 as he Hked ; the melon was then presented in like manner ; 
 Cross took a goodly slice, but Hope refused, 
 
 " My dear sir, you are wrong," said the Marquis ; " I assure 
 you the melon is a very good one, or perhaps you do not Uke to 
 eat it with your roast ? I have before met some of your country- 
 men who have the bad prejudice of not Hking melon with their 
 meat, and prefer to eat it with sugar at dessert ; if you have this 
 unfortunate predilection, my dear sir, let me pray you to give it 
 up ; melon after dinner is a villanous nutriment, it lies in a cold 
 lump and never digests, but when eaten with your roast it gives 
 zest to your food and adds strength and freshness to your 
 stomach, preparing an excellent foundation for the rest of your 
 meal," 
 
 Hope caught Cross's eye, so he helped himself to a slice of 
 the reje"cted melon, followed the example of the JNIarquis by 
 sprinkling it over with salt and pepper, and was surprised, on 
 trying the mixture, to find that roast mutton and melon were 
 very good together. 
 
 Cross, who remarked that the Marquis had given rather a 
 contemptuous glance at Hope, thought it right to make an 
 apology for his friend, 
 
 " My friend Mr. Hope," he said, " has not been long in this 
 country, and, I grieve to say, for a man who is well instructed in 
 other matters, he is sadly deficient in his duty to himself at table ; 
 but, as he is willing to learn, I hope, my dear Marquis, you will 
 kindly give him your advice, and, in asking this favour at your 
 hands, I am aware I do him a great service," 
 
 " It will give me very great pleasure," said the Marquis ; 
 " and I am glad to see that Mr. Hope already appreciates the only 
 way of eating a melon ; but now let us have our fish," 
 
 " My friend," said Hope, " has told you how ignorant I am ; 
 indeed, many of my countrymen are in the same state, for we 
 
152 BASS AND SHKIMP SAUCE, 
 
 begin with fish, then taste an entree, and end with the roast ; we 
 think that fish is apt to taste insipid after meat." 
 
 " You make a great mistake, my dear sir, by your arrange- 
 ment ; you reserve your palate for the strong food to the last, 
 eating your choicest plats when the stomach is voracious, and you 
 swallow the best exertions of your cook so quickly that you 
 neither do justice to him nor to yourself. Now, by beginning 
 with a small bit of roast, you imbibe the solid nutriment at a 
 moment when you can best bear this coarser viand ; your fish 
 follows, to fire the palate with its mild and delicate juices, and 
 prepare you fully to feel and appreciate the exertions and talents 
 of your cook." While he sp)oke he was cutting up the bass, 
 wrhich was served plain-boiled. " Let me call your attention to 
 a sauce of shrimps which has been prepared, and which I can re- 
 commend to your notice ; it is more peppery than we generally 
 like ; however, pepper in this case is not only excusable but 
 laudable, as you will find." 
 
 Hope and Cross helped themselves to a portion of the fish, 
 and to the sauce, and obtained a smile of approbation by prais- 
 ing it loudly ; the sauce was a comjjound of pounded shrimps 
 stewed into a sort of paste. 
 
 The brill was carried round after the bass, and while they 
 were eating it the sputtering sound of the frying-pan could be 
 heard ; the Marquis rose from the table and went to the mistress 
 of the house, who was busy at one of the little stoves ; some 
 instructions Avere given and he returned. 
 
 " Let us," he said, " take a small glass of this Spanish wine, 
 and then I must beg you to try the cuttle-fish ; I have taken 
 them under my own special care, and I am anxious they should 
 please you, for I can answer that the eyes were properly ex- 
 tracted, and every fish has been well hammered." 
 " Hammered ! " said Hope ; " is that necessary 1 " 
 " Not perhajis with these young ones ; but even with them 
 it does no harm ; a few good taps with a hammer insure tbat 
 there shall be no little hardness to uive trouble in mastication." 
 
THE MARQUIS ON FRYING. 153 
 
 Tlie Spaiiisli wine, as it was called, was handed round. It 
 was hot, bad IMadeira, but the friends had too much good tact 
 to say what they thought of it, so they washed the fiery taste 
 from their mouths with a tumbler of the weak claret and water, 
 which Hope had already learnt it was etiquette to drink. 
 
 A dish was now brought forward ; it was divided in the 
 centre by a slice of toast ; on one side of the toast was a mass 
 of cuttle-fish stewed with a white sauce ; on the other a pile of 
 them beautifully fried ; they were of a clear even colour, with- 
 out the slightest appearance of grease. 
 
 The Englishmen helped themselves. Hope did not like the 
 stewed portion, but both agreed that nothing in the shape of 
 fish could be better than those that were fried ; they said so, — 
 and Hope remarked on the total want of grease. 
 
 " Ah, my dear friends, I see that you are by no means so 
 ignorant as you are pleased to say. You can judge of good 
 frying. It is a great art, too often sadly neglected. Frying is, 
 in fact, boiling in oleaginous matter ; but if there be too Kttle 
 liquid in your pan, only half your object is boiled ; the other is 
 warmed into a greasy mass of half-done viand, by the drops 
 that are thro^vn up and fall on the upper surface, there remain- 
 ing to displease the eye and disgust the palate. To fry, the 
 object must be totally immersed at once in the heated mass of 
 liquid oleaginous matter ; for the rule is the same whether you 
 use lard, butter, or olive-oil. The first and greatest care of the 
 good cook is to see that there be plenty of liquid in the pan ; 
 the second, that the liquid be of a proper temperament, and 
 nothing, in fact, is easier if proper attention be paid to what 
 you are about, and a fault-like negligence is inexcusable in so 
 momentous a matter. Having seen that a proper quantity of 
 oil, butter, or lard, as the case may be, is put into your pan, 
 place it on the fire and let it heat till you have obtained the 
 proper temperature. To learn when this has arrived, have 
 ready several small sticks of bread, and dip them from time to 
 .ime in the liquid. AVheu the heat is enough, you will see 
 
154 matilde's fkiends, 
 
 that the "bread, on being held for a feT^ seconds, becomes of a 
 clear brown colour. When you have a small object to fry, 
 now is your time ; plunge it in and lift the pan a little above 
 the fire, for the heat must not be allowed to increase, or your 
 object becomes too dark in colour — it is burnt in short. AVhen 
 your object is large, then you must allow the colour of the 
 bread, when you withdraw it, to be more strongly pronounced ; 
 for the immersion of a large object — a sole for instance — will re- 
 duce the temperature to the proper tone, and at that you must 
 regulate it, neither allowing it to be too hot nor too cold. B}^ 
 attending to this you will always find the colour clear and brigbt, 
 and not in the slightest degree greasy in appearance. You should 
 always take care, too, that the egg for your pane should be very 
 thinly and evenly laid on ; to insure this, the white only should 
 be used and beaten for a long time, and when spread it should 
 be allowed to dry for a little before adding your bread-crumbs 
 or flour. For myself, I always prefer %yhat I have used to-day, 
 namely, the flour of the haricot-bean very finely ground." 
 
 Hope listened, and kept his countenance wonderfully during 
 this lecture on frying. Cross did still better, for he produced a 
 pencil, and pretended to take notes of the marked passages ; 
 when it was ended, they both returned thanks to the Marquis, 
 The entrees were then called for, and another glass of wine was 
 handed round ; while this was being drunk, the door opened, 
 and the party whom Hope had invited entered — Angela led. 
 
 " Will you allow them to come to our table V said Hope, 
 addressing the Marquis. 
 
 " By all means, ask them," he replied ; " but I doubt if they 
 will come, for they are modest, even the men are not presuming ; 
 in the interior, they would come without being invited." 
 
 Hope and Cross both rose and pressed the party to join 
 their table ; but they declined, and seated themselves at another 
 nearer the door, where the two Englishmen insisted on seeing 
 them served with soup and the remains of their mutton and 
 fish, before they seated themselves again at their table. The 
 
DUCK AXD OLIVES. 155 
 
 Marquis was put out -u-hen they came back, which Cross 
 saw. 
 
 " I am afraid," he said, " we have been indiscreet in asking 
 these people to dine here, but I hope you will forgive the con- 
 sumption of the mutton, which certainly would make a capital 
 hash for breakfast, for that little girl saved our lives, and the 
 other two are her mother and friend." 
 
 " They are welcome to the mutton," said the Marquis, " for 
 I hate a hash even of the best materials ; fortunately, when I 
 knew you were to be here for a day or two, I saw the sheep 
 from which that gigot was cut, and I bought the whole animal 
 — at least, I made the host do so, which is the same thing. 
 I was not thinking of the mutton, we shall be able to spare that, 
 but our two plats will be ruined by the delay, and that is 
 mortifying." 
 
 The Englishmen sat down and renewed their apologies, till 
 a dish of cotelettes was produced, which was replaced by a duck 
 stuffed with olives. The Marquis recovered his good humour, 
 for he declared both excellent ; and the friends, to please him, 
 ate of each, though they thought the duck and olives detest- 
 able. They were strong in hopes that they had then done 
 enough, but the tin case before the fire was opened, and three 
 quails rolled in bacon and vine-leaves made their appearance, 
 and they were bound each to consume his bird, nor did they 
 find it a difficult task ; for, as Hope said, a man must be very 
 far gone when he cannot eat a quail that has been roasted in a 
 greatcoat of bacon. But this finished them, and the Marquis 
 had to discuss alone three plates of dressed vegetables and a 
 salad, which were produced in succession, and he ended with a 
 compote of all sorts of fruit boiled in syrup, and a pot of straw- 
 berry jam. 
 
 This concluded the serious part of the dinner; dressed crab 
 and the pyramids of prawns were then put do^^^a, and the 
 Englishmen felt bound to taste of them as part of the day's 
 sport ; and in spite of all thej^ had done before, thej^ found 
 
156 TO BED. 
 
 them excellent. During dinner, thongli we liave not mentioned 
 it, both claret and sauterne made the round of the table. When 
 the sweets appeared, the champagne was opened, and at the 
 dessert the cure's claret was discussed with very little difficulty 
 and no remark. It was first rate, and proved that in trusting 
 to him the Marquis had not leant on a broken reed. Matilde 
 and her party had eaten their dinner very quietly ; a bottle of 
 Avine and some cider had been sent them, a little of which they 
 drank, and during the time the Marquis was finishing off his 
 salad, the two friends had spoken to them ; but in s^jite of 
 "liberte, egalite," they were shy and respectful, and as soon as 
 they had finished eating, they rose, curtseyed, and left the 
 room. As they were going, Cross told Matilde to return the 
 next morning at ten, that they might arrange about her dress, 
 and pay Angela for her oysters. 
 
 When the claret was finished, cups of excellent coffee were 
 handed round, Avith the usual little glass of old brandy, and then 
 the Marquis proposed cards. Both the friends hated play, so 
 they begged to be excused on the score of fatigue after their 
 long day. The Marquis looked vexed, but said that he too was 
 so tired, that without a little lansquenet or ecarte he could not 
 keep his eyes open ; so in half an hour they all adjourned to 
 their rooms. 
 
 " I don't think I shall sleep much," said Hope ; " or if I do I 
 am sure of the nightmare ; such roughing as this would give 
 any man a fit of apoplexy in a fortnight." 
 
 " You are not far wrong ; but everybody who comes here 
 has not the Marquis for caterer and cook. Had we been alone, 
 there would have been no fear of your getting a surfeit ; but as 
 it is, he has shown that the material is in the country, and when 
 aided by native talent, a man may live in a fishing village on 
 the coast of iNormandy." 
 
 "When do we breakfast 1" asked Hope, as he stepped into 
 bed. 
 
 " You may get a cup of coffee and a bit of bread quietly here, 
 
ONE GOOD TURN DESERVES ANOTHER. 157 
 
 whenever you like ; but if you wish to avoid giving deadly 
 offence to our friend, you must hold yourself prepared to eat as 
 much breakfast as you did dinner to-day ; and that not until 
 twelve o'clock." 
 
 " Well, good-night," said Hope ; and in spite of his fears 
 of the nightmare, in five minutes he was as fast as the seven 
 sleepers. The beds were a perfect model of cleanliness and 
 comfort. 
 
 Notwithstanding their fatigue, they were awake at an early 
 hour, and talked for some little time as to what they could do that 
 would be of more permanent advantage to Matilde than a dress. 
 Cross proposed that he should get up and consult the master of 
 the inn, who was an honest man, and knew all the people in 
 the country, while Hope lay still and got a cup of coffee in his 
 bed. The long time he had sat wet told more on him than on 
 his younger companion, and he was not sorry to avail himself 
 of the proposal. The tide would be later to-day, and they could 
 not see the nets, lines, or stone fislieries till nearly two o'clock. 
 The girl was not to come till ten, so till then he determined 
 to lie still and read. Cross got up and dressed. An old tub 
 had taken the place of the brass pan, and enabled him to make 
 his ablutions with something like comfort. 
 
 Shortly before the hour Hope had fixed for rising. Cross 
 returned with the landlady bearing a cup of coffee. When she 
 had put the room in order and refilled the tub, which seemed to 
 amuse her amazingly, she departed, and Cross then reported that 
 he had found out that the small garden that lay close to the 
 house where Matilde's mother lived, was for sale, and could be 
 bought for a hundred and fifty francs — six pounds English — 
 that the purchase was a great bargain, and would be quite a 
 fortune to their little friend. Hope said he would wilhngly 
 join in the purchase, so, while he was dressing, Cross again 
 started to try and conclude the bargain, that everything might 
 be arranged if possible by the time the girl and her mother came. 
 The landlord undertook to be the agent, and the landlady to 
 
158 MATILDE A PEOPEIETOR. 
 
 give them their breakfast, and keep them engaged till Cross 
 came back, should any delay take place ; but he succeeded. 
 The owner was more anxious to sell than they to buy. The 
 papers were all in order, and signed with a rapidity unknown to 
 Norman transactions ; and by a quarter past ten, Cross, Hope, the 
 landlord of the inn, and a notary, were standing in front of the 
 inn, with everything settled to enable them to give, possession 
 of the diminutive property, which would make the brave little 
 girl a proprietor. As Cross had taken all the trouble, Hope in- 
 sisted that he should also have the pleasure of being spokesman, 
 reserving to himself the giving of another of his silk handker- 
 chiefs, and a five-franc piece to Angela, w-ho was to be employed 
 to buy the dress they had promised to little ^latilde. 
 
 "When the old woman and the two girls arrived, all was done 
 as they had arranged ; the dress was to be procured, cross and 
 all, for fifty francs, and then Cross presented the deeds in his 
 own and his friend's name, making a short laudatory speech in 
 honour of their Httle friend's bravery and presence of mind. 
 
 At first she did not understand what had been done ; she 
 only knew that she had received praise and some bits of paper ; 
 she therefore smiled and blushed ; but when it was explained to 
 her that she was a landed proprietor — that the garden she had 
 hitherto assisted to till was now her own, and that her mother 
 must now pay rent to her and no one else, then indeed, she be- 
 came wild with delight — she laughed, wept, danced, and clapped 
 her hands — asked every one if it was not too v onderful to be 
 true, and darting off", she seized the hands of her benefactors and 
 pressed them alternately to her lips, saying over and over. again, 
 " How good ! how generous ! how magnificent you have been to 
 me !" 
 
 Hope had not been long enough on the Continent to relish 
 having his hand kissed — he withdrew it from her grasp, stooped 
 down, and pressed his hps to her forehead. Cross took the 
 hand-kissing more as a matter of course ; but he too embraced 
 the little girl as Hope had done, and then gave his hand to her 
 
THE LUXURY OF GIVING PLEASURE. 159 
 
 mother, wlio first kissed lier own, as a Highland peasant does, 
 and then pressed alternately the hands of the two English- 
 men. 
 
 Angela did the same, saymg as she did so, " You are good 
 and generous ; but Matilde deserves it." As for the mother, all 
 her volubility was gone ; she only once said, " May Heaven 
 bless you both." 
 
 A crowd began to gather ; it is wonderful how news flies in 
 a small place. Hope hated a public scene ; more especially as 
 he felt his heart shockingly soft, and was half inclined to weep. 
 " Come away," he said to Cross, " tell them to get their break- 
 fast, and to make the notary explain anything they may wish to 
 know ; let us be off at any rate. I should like to go as far as 
 the headland, and see our last night's post from thence." Hope 
 turned away, and Cross did as he was requested, and followed 
 the moment after. The two friends walked gently on for some 
 little time in silence. 
 
 " Well, Cross," said Hope, breaking this silence, " my worm- 
 hunting got us into a scrape, and has cost us five pounds apiece. 
 I do not regret it, and I hope you do not either ; for, oh ! what 
 a pleasure it is to make others so happy at so small a cost ; for 
 to me the sight of that little girl's delight was worth five times 
 the money." 
 
 " And to me also," said Cross ; " and yet if one thinks of it, 
 it ought to make us sad and ashamed ; for what sums have I 
 wasted in folly that might have made hundreds as happy as she 
 is now !" 
 
 " Don't let us thmk of that," said Hope ; " my present 
 pleasure is too great to allow me to look back on so sad a 
 remembrance ; let the lesson be a guide for the future, not a 
 punishment for the past." 
 
 They had cleared the village, and were then ascending the 
 hill leading to the headland. Eather a handsome pointer and a 
 little mongrel galloped past them, and a sharp whistle sounded 
 behind ; on turning to see who it was, they recognised their 
 
160 A TRAP FOR WHEAT-EARS. 
 
 Lmdlord, gun in hand, who was following them at a great pace. 
 They paused till he joined them. 
 
 " You are going shooting," said Cross, when he came up ; 
 '' what do you expect to find?" 
 
 " I may perhaps get a partridge or a hare, and I know 
 where there are some quails ; at all events, I have promised to 
 get a dish of white-tails (wheat-ears) for the Marquis, as he con- 
 siders them worthy of being put before you, and he thinks you 
 have never tasted them." 
 
 " He is wrong there," said Hope, " for we have eaten them 
 often ; but in our country they are much more often caught 
 than shot." 
 
 " I should like to know how that is done," said the host ; " for, 
 to tell you the truth, when powder and shot are so dear, I do 
 not much like expending it on such small game, — you never can 
 get more than one at a shot," 
 
 " It is easily shown," said Hope ; " and I never saw a better 
 place to try for them than this hill ; there are so many lumps 
 of square slaty stones lying about, that you can never be at a 
 loss for a falL" 
 
 A peg and perch were cut from a dwarf bush, and with a 
 knife a hole was soon formed in the short turf, and then the 
 trap so well known on the Downs in the south of England was 
 set ; the landlord made another at a short distance, under Hope's 
 tuition, and they continued their walk, the sportsman abstaining 
 from firing, though the birds were numerous, at the recommen- 
 dation of Hope, who told him that he might shoot there on his 
 return, when he came to look at the traps, if nothing was caught. 
 
 The two friends then directed their course to the point, and 
 the landlord turned to the right, towards a hollow that ran more 
 to the northward, the sides of which were covered with scrubby 
 heath and dwarf whin, while the tops of the banks were sown 
 with corn and buckwheat. 
 
 When they reached the point, the view was most extensive, 
 too much so for beauty ; it was the same they had seen from the 
 
CURLEWS, 161 
 
 lower ledge of the same point the day before, and, though in- 
 teresting from its extent and variety, still, from the height where 
 they stood, it was too map-Uke to be altogether pleasing. Having 
 glanced around, the eyes of both fixed on the rock where they 
 had passed the disagreeable hours of the previous evening. 
 
 " Our kingdom was mighty small," said Hope. 
 
 " And it has got some other bipeds to reign over it to-day," 
 said Cross. " Do you see what a flock of birds are sitting 
 where we did yesterday ]" 
 
 " I do," said Hope ; " they look like curlews." 
 
 " And so I believe they are," said Cross. " I have not seen 
 them here myself before, but I have heard that they come down 
 here in large flocks at this time of the year, and remain all the 
 winter." 
 
 " And where can they come from ?" said Hope ; " there are 
 no hills or moors for them to breed on that I know of near here." 
 
 " But there are plenty in Brittany," replied Cross ; " and I 
 have heard that they breed there. I believe it, because I have 
 myself seen large quantities of young broods on the great flat 
 near Dole. The sands there differ from those here, for they are 
 so quick that it is most dangerous to walk on them, and the 
 shore is a swamp. Early in August the young curlews go there, 
 and we may easily suppose that from thence they spread along 
 the coast as they gain strength of wing ; or one flock may drive 
 away another to seek more distant quarters, and so oblige them 
 to leave the flats at Dole and to come here ; added to which, I 
 suspect our friends the worms, that made us stay so long where 
 they now sit, may have some attraction for their long bills, as 
 well as for you." 
 
 " I think," said Hope, " it is the middle or latter end of 
 August before the curlews come dovm on our shores, and, by 
 what you say, they must be a fortnight or three weeks earlier in 
 this country." 
 
 " Just about it," said Cross ; " but I think that all birds that 
 are natives and bred in this country are about a fortnight in ad- 
 
 M 
 
162 MIGKATOKY BIEDS. 
 
 vance of us — except tlie birds of passage, and tliey arrive almost 
 on the same day liere that they do with us — both those which 
 come to breed and those Avhich come to hibernate. Of the first 
 of these I may mention the nightingale and the landrail, whose 
 voices may be heard ahnost on the same day that they are in 
 England. This very spring I received a letter from a friend, in 
 which it was said, ' There is a nightingale now singing under the 
 window ; it is the first time we have heard him this year.' 
 Now on the very day this letter was written, I was fishing up 
 the river at Ducie. In coming home late I heard a nightingale, 
 and remarked to a friend who was with me that I heard him 
 for the first time that year ; — clearly showing that they must 
 arrive at the same time in the two countries ; and the same rule 
 applies to the winter birds ; one instance of which I may tell 
 you, for it is very marked. I had the means of observing very 
 narrowly the arrival of the brent-geese — oie-cravant as they call 
 them here. It was in a bay in Scotland where I used to watch 
 them ; and for five successive years the first flock was seen on 
 the 16th of September. Well, last year, on the 18th of Sep- 
 tember, I went out in one of the trawling-boats, and took the 
 gun with me. AYe sailed through a flock of these birds and 
 put them up. I shot one, so that there could be no mistake. It 
 was lean and evidently tired ; for it sat so close as to allow me 
 to get within shot of it, proving that it was lately arrived ; but, 
 from the number in the flock, it was not the first. In the flock 
 I mention there Avere at least two hundred birds. Xow, in all 
 the first flocks that I have seen arrive there never were more 
 than twenty birds, who seemed to be the advanced guard 
 of the great mass that came a few days later ; and, supposing 
 that the same thing happens in France and in Scotland, I should 
 say that the first oie-cravant arrives on the same day here that 
 the brent-goose does in the bays of Ireland and Scotland." 
 
 " That is curious," said Hope, " and as I am anxious to see 
 their method of trawhng on this coast, if you will go with me 
 we will choose the 18th of September, for I should like 
 
A CHIEN DE CHASSE. 163 
 
 much to prove if these birds are as regiihar in their arrival here, 
 as you have found them in Scotland." 
 
 Tlie feathered bipeds had absorbed so much of the attenti(ju 
 of the friends, that they had taken little notice of a large party of 
 bathers who had been swimming below them. The sound of 
 voices advancing up the hill now drew their observation to the 
 path, where a number of people came in sight : among these was 
 the Marquis. After an exchange of greeting, the Marquis pulled 
 out his watch, and urged the Englishmen to remember that they 
 had only half-an-hour to wait till breakfast would be served, and 
 also reminded them that any delay or want of punctuality after 
 bathing was a downright vice. They consequently turned to- 
 wards the village, but as they had plenty of time they walked 
 slowly, and made a slight detour to see what their host was about, 
 having heard his gun several times. On reaching the edge of the 
 hollow, they saw the pointer standing at a dead point. The 
 sportsman was hastening up the bank towards the dog, but be- 
 fore he came within shot, the mongrel that was with him dashed 
 forward and sprung a bevy of seven quails. The birds passed 
 close by the two friends, and flew straight to the clump of brush- 
 wood and whin, where Hope had cut the pegs for the traps. 
 There they lit ; the friends marked them to an inch ; and when 
 the sportsman had mounted the hill, they showed him exactly 
 where they were, and the whole three took their way towards the 
 spot. 
 
 " What makes you take such a brute as that out with you 1" 
 asked Hope, as he pointed to the mongrel. From the curl of his 
 tail he certainly had in his blood a cross of the famille Trompette, 
 and as a hunter of eels he might have distinguished himself; 
 but springing birds before a pointer, as he had just done, seemed 
 to Hope's EngUsh notion of sporting a decided proof that he 
 ought only to be allowed to hunt when a pickaxe, and not a gun, 
 was in the hands of the sportsman. Eut this did not accord 
 with the pot-hunting ideas of our Norman chasseur, for in an- 
 swer to Hope's query he replied — 
 
164 QUAILS. 
 
 " He is no brute, he is an incomparable cbien de cbasse, as 
 you will allow, wben I show you that this very day he has 
 caught me two landrails. Those birds, which are so good to eat, 
 are very provoking, for they run away, and you can never see 
 them to get a shot at them ; but when my good little Favourite 
 is with me they find themselves in a bad position, for if they fly 
 I shoot them, and if they run he snaps them up, and either way 
 they go into my bag. And then for a hare, if I have the good 
 luck to find one, and do not l^ill him at once, you may believe 
 me, that animal will chase him so long and so well, that he is 
 forced to double. 1£ he returns, as he is sure to do, on his own 
 steps, I have him again, and I am certain not to miss twice. 
 We have not found a hare to-day, but we put up two landrails 
 in the bottom, and, thanks to him, they are now in my bag, and 
 you will eat them for dinner. I have been very successful too, 
 for I have shot three white- tails and a quail, so you will not 
 want for game if I do not get any more to-day." 
 
 Hope was hardly able to resist bursting out into a roar of 
 laughter at this description of a good sporting dog. Cross was 
 not so much amused, as he had been longer in the country, and 
 the merit of running a hare for half a day was not new to him ; 
 but when they were close to the spot where the quails had 
 alighted, he suggested the propriety of tying up Favourite till 
 they had been found by the pointer. 
 
 To this proposal mine host agreed, and owing to that ar- 
 rangement the quails were sprung in detail, and out of five fair 
 shots three birds were killed ; the remaining four flew to a field 
 of buckwheat, where they were safe from further pursuit for that 
 day. 
 
 When they had started all the quails, they were close to the 
 first trap. Hope saw that the fall was down, and pointed it out 
 to the landlord, who ran up and gave a shout of pleasure, ex- 
 claiming, " It is something quite astonishing ; by ouj? Lady, here 
 is one !" 
 
 Cross and Hope, who followed more slowly, came up to him, 
 
CATCHING WHEATEAES. 165 
 
 and sure enougli there lay a wheatear. The stone in falling had 
 caught him by the head, and the bird was dead. The landlord 
 was in a great state of excitement, declaring that it was 
 astonishing, marvellous, and that Hope Avas a man of great 
 talent. 
 
 " I am glad you are pleased," said Hope, " but we are in 
 haste ; so set the trap yourself that I may see that you know 
 how to do it ; then we will examine the other and go home to 
 breakfast. "We must not keep the Marquis waiting." 
 
 " True, true," said mine host ; " he would be in a sad state, 
 for he would not know that I have learnt how to secure him a 
 dish of white-tails at any time." 
 
 The trap was set, and they went to the second. It too was 
 down, and the bird was alive within it. Hope showed his pupil 
 how to take it out, and then with Cross they walked rapidly to 
 their inn. 
 
 As they walked. Cross asked if it was not extraordinary 
 luck to catch two birds in so short a time. 
 
 " 1^0," answered Hope ; " the birds here are very numerous, 
 and I have always found that the fresh-made traps catch the 
 best. When I was a boy, I used to amuse myself often at this 
 sport, and the new-made traps were always the most successful." 
 
 " But what induces the birds to go in ? " asked Cross, " for you 
 put no bait." 
 
 " Why," replied Hope, " I suspect that wheat-ears, like your 
 sea-loach and sea-perch, have an inquisitive turn of mind, and 
 like to look under every stone they pass ; or perhaps, as they 
 live on insects, the new-turned soil may lead them to examine it 
 for food, and I am guided in the last supposition by finding that 
 the fresh traps catch the most." 
 
 " That seems probable," said Cross, " and I have learnt 
 something to-day, as well as our landlord. But I am surprised 
 that he did not already know this mode of saving Ms powder and 
 shot, for the French are a very ingenious people." 
 
 " Yes ; but what is more surprising," said Hope, " is, that 
 
166 GENEKOSITY UNDERSTOOD. 
 
 this most simple of all traps was unknown in Italy. When I 
 was there some years ago I taught it to a man at Terracina, who 
 was even more delighted with the lesson than my pupil of to-day, 
 I don't think the people in this country trouble themselves much 
 with trapping birds ; whereas in Italy no bird can put his foot 
 down without the chance of finding himself fast by the leg in a 
 horse-hair noose. My astonishment, when in Italy, was to see 
 so many birds ; for what with nets, nooses, and bird-lime, it is 
 quite marvellous that any escape. But here we are, and what a 
 crowd ! " 
 
 Sure enough, v/hen they reached the house, half the village 
 was standing in front of the door. The news of Matilde's good 
 fortune was known. 
 
 As they came forward a lane was opened for the two friends 
 to pass. All hats were off, and when they had entered the 
 house the murmur of voices and the clapping of hands resounded : 
 they seldom cheer in France. 
 
 " Good, good !" said the Marquis ; " quite punctual, and they 
 are ready to serve ; but we must send the good people away, for 
 the most succulent meats cease to be nourishing if one is dis- 
 turbed while eating." 
 
 He stepped to the door, bowed profoundly to the crowd, re- 
 peating exactly the same sentiment, 
 
 " My brave people," he said, " the gentlemen whose conduct 
 you are pleased to admire are going to breakfast. The best of 
 food is no longer nutritious if it is not eaten in tranquillity ; 
 this is a point of consequence ; be considerate ; be French ; and 
 retire till they have finished their meal." 
 
 The matter of eating is a serious affair in France. The Mar- 
 quis's statement was of great force with his auditors, for they 
 immediately dispersed, and the two Englishmen obeyed the call 
 of the successful orator by j)lacing themselves at table. 
 
CHAPTEE VII. 
 
 STOXEWALL FISHING. 
 
 A Frexch breakfast was new to Hope. Cross was quite at 
 home, for he had partaken of many : the first of these, there- 
 fore, only remarked that the table had no tablecloth, but other- 
 wise that it was spread much as it had been for the late dinner 
 of the night before. In the centre stood various fruits : there 
 was no melon, but the apricots, plums, and pears were exactly 
 the same. There were also piles of prawns and crabs dressed 
 cold, as Cross had described them. In addition to aU this, there 
 were rolls, slices of bread and toast, and a large lump of butter. 
 The toast attracted Cross's notice, and he complimented the 
 ^Marquis on his attention in having ordered it. 
 
 " You see," said the Marquis, " that I understand the English 
 taste. I know you cannot breakfast Avithout your roasted bread, 
 so I ordered it. For myself, I never inconvenience myself by 
 eating it. It is dry food, and requires a great deal to make it 
 tolerable. But here are our oysters." 
 
 Half a dozen, ready opened, were offered to each person, and 
 Hope bolted his nearly as fast as the Marquis. He had deter- 
 mined to follow the lead of so able a guide, at all events as far 
 as he was able. A plateful of eggs followed the oysters. The 
 Marquis took two ; Hope contented himseK with one. This was 
 washed down with a little claret, largely diluted with water, and 
 then a dish of cotelettes was handed round. The same propor- 
 tions were continued by the two Englishmen ; that is to say, 
 they helped themselves to one cotelette, the Frenchman to two. 
 In the next dish were the sand-eels, fried according to the rules 
 
168 A FRENCH BEEAKFAST. 
 
 SO clearly laid down by the Marquis, and of these Hope ate quite 
 as many as his leader — indeed so amply, that when two roast 
 chickens were put on the table, he could only venture on a very 
 moderate portion, as he kept a small corner of his appetite for 
 the crabs and prawns. These followed the chickens ; then came 
 a dish of fried potatoes, and after them two pots of preserves. 
 Of all these the Marquis ate, helping himself to several spoonsful 
 of the preserve, which he swallowed without bread. Some ex- 
 cellent bottled cider was produced, and drunk after the sweets ; 
 then the fruit and white wine, a sort of vin de Grave ; and the 
 breakfast at last concluded with coffee, and the usual glass of 
 brandy. Hope found that breakfast was a matter of busmess, 
 not of necessity. There was no hurry ; everything was done 
 deliberately, with a short pause between each dish, which pause 
 was invariably filled up by a few remarks made by the Marquis on- 
 the merits of the last plat. He was eloquent in praise of the cote- 
 lettes ; they Avere made out of the same little sheep whose leg had 
 graced the table on the night before, and the ]\Iarquis enlarged on 
 the merit of feeding sheep on salt marshes, adducing in proof the 
 present cotelettes as an example. The eels also were praised, but 
 the chickens were not so tender as they ought to have been. Alto- 
 gether, however, his meal seemed to please him ; and when he 
 had concluded, and they rose from their long sitting, he declared 
 that a man might contrive to live for a short time in a fishing 
 village in Normandy, as the sea-air was excellent for the appetite ; 
 and, for the sake of obtaining one for his dinner, he should forth- 
 with go and catch a few prawns. 
 
 Hope was anxious to see the remaining modes of fishing, so, 
 when the Marquis went off to get his net, he started with Cross 
 for the sands. 
 
 " This sort of morning dinner may be very well now and 
 then," said Hope, " but it would bore me to death if it took 
 jjlace every day. It is such an endless affair ; so many things, 
 and such a long pause between each dish, with notes and anno- 
 tations on them by the Marquis by the way of sauce ; why, we 
 
ITS ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES. 169 
 
 were an hour and a quarter at table, and I could have eaten all 
 I wanted comfortablj' in a fifth part of the time," 
 
 " I don't doubt it," answered Cross ; " and an American would 
 do it in haK the time you could ; but if you consulted the Marquis 
 on this subject, he would tell you that you do ill, and the Ame- 
 rican worse. The French gourmand eats slowly on principle, 
 and they are not so far wTong ; for, by thus taking their time 
 over their meals, thej"" never feel uncomfortable, in spite of the 
 quantity they eat. For instance, if the ]\Iarquis had put his 
 huge breakfast iuto his stomach in ten or fifteen minutes, do you 
 think he could have started off at the rate of four miles an hour, 
 as he did just now ? Or, to come nearer home, could you breast 
 this hill, at the pace we are now going, without being blown ?" 
 
 " Very likely not," said Hope ; " but to tell you the truth, I 
 still persist in. thinking our arrangement the best, for I prefer 
 being obliged to walk a little slower at first starting to being 
 bored for an hour longer than is necessary in eating my breakfast ; 
 and, since I have begun finding fault, there are two things that 
 go strangely against the grain with me in the table arrangements 
 of a people who consider themselves the most refined nation on 
 the earth. First, having no tablecloth at breakfast, and this 
 not from any want of linen, for I see that all the women here 
 make as much fuss about having a large stock of that article as 
 the old ladies do in Scotland. The want of a tablecloth at 
 breakfast is a custom, and a very nasty one ; and, what is still 
 worse, never changing your fork — meat or fish, you must always 
 keep your fork, which is never changed till they begin eating 
 sweet things. I own I think this abominable." 
 
 " I agree with you," said Cross, " that having no tablecloth 
 is not a nice custom, but every country has its own ways ; as for 
 not changing the forks, it is in fact a piece of refinement on their 
 part, and, in conjunction with their dinners, could hardly be 
 avoided. They have always a great many more dishes than we 
 have, a guest is expected to taste them all, the people are not 
 rich enough to have two dozen silver forks for every one at table. 
 
170 THE landloed's chasse. , 
 
 and, as they like to eat witli a silver fork, it is much better to 
 have your own than to give you that of another person wiped or 
 washed, which must be done if forks were changed with every fresh 
 dish that is handed round, and of which you are expected to eat." 
 
 " There is reason in what you say," answered Hope, laughing ; 
 " and I confess myself to be a little John Bullish in growling 
 because everything is not exactly as we see it in England, where 
 we are now growing very pampered and apt to give ourselves airs, 
 although it is not so very long since our fine ladies brought their 
 own knives to dinner and ate with their fingers." 
 
 Thus talking they reached the steep path leading to the sea. 
 At the top they met their landlord, who was in great delight ; 
 he had made a number of traps, and two more birds had been 
 caught. He was there, waiting to beg them not to tell the 
 secret to any one else, for he considered the knowledge such a, 
 treasure that he did not wish to share it with any one. 
 
 Hope made no answer to his request, but congratulated him 
 on his success. "Hang the fellow !" he said, when he was half 
 down the hill ; " I am sorry I taught him, since he is so selfish." 
 
 " Phoo, nonsense," said Cross ; " he is not worse than liis 
 neighbours. He keeps the inn and has to jirovide for our friend 
 the Marquis and such-like, so to him the lesson is invaluable, 
 while to others it is only the price they can get for what they 
 catch ; and, if all of them took to trapping, they would soon 
 clear the coast. But here is Matilde's mother ; she is waiting 
 for us apparently." 
 
 She was so, for as soon as they approached her she joined 
 them. She had on her shoulder one of the lesser prawn-nets 
 with the cross poles. 
 
 " I am waiting for you," she said, " and you are just in time ; 
 it is my day for the fishing. Matilde told me you wished to see 
 how we take the fish, so I sent her on, and waited to have the 
 pleasure of showing you myself" 
 
 " A thousand thanks," said Hope ; " I do wish to see it, and 
 may I ask what you mean by your day at the fishing ?" 
 
MADAME LE MOINE'S FISHERY. l7l 
 
 " The fislieiy," answered Madame le Moine — for tliat was the 
 okl lady's name — " the fishery was made a great many years ago, 
 and my father and his father before him had the right to fish it. 
 When my father died my sister's husband and mine had some 
 words about the right (they are both dead now — Heaven rest their 
 souls !),but from words they came to blows, and it might have been 
 serious if my sister and myseK had not arrived in the nick of time. 
 AYe soon settled them, the foolish fellows, and sent them home 
 to wait till wo came ; and then my sister and I arranged that we 
 should have the fishing every other day and pay between us the 
 expense of retaining the walls when the sea makes them fall ; and 
 there has never been a word of dispute since. Yesterday was her 
 day and to-day is mine ; to-morrow it will be hers again, so this 
 tide she has two good days, but next tide, perhaps, I shall have 
 the two best days and she only one, so the arrangement is very 
 fair, and we are quite satisfied." 
 
 "But does no one else dispute the right with youl" asked 
 Cross. 
 
 " A year ago, some people did dispute our right, and one of 
 them went and fished the fishery in spite of us ; but we took 
 her before the Juge de Paix, and proved that we had always built 
 up the walls every spring, and that our fathers had done so before 
 us ; so the trespasser was fined, and no one has troubled us since." 
 "Is yours the only fishery V asked Hope. 
 " no, there are a great many more along the coast." 
 " And are they considered property too ? " 
 " Y^es, all of them ; and since my dispute was settled, no one 
 has interfered with any of those proprietors, who are known to 
 have held the right of fishing from their fathers." 
 
 " Lucky for them," said Cross, " that Barbes and Easpail 
 did not get their way, or there woidd have been a general parti- 
 tion at sea, as well as on land." 
 
 " Are these fisheries very productive 1 " asked Hope. 
 " Sometimes they are very good ; but that is not often. I 
 have had some excellent days ; once I got six large carts full of 
 
172 THE FISHERY. 
 
 herrings, and last year I caiiglit two of great mackerel ; but 
 often we got very little. When tlie spring tides come, however, 
 we always find somethmg Avliich holies to buy us bread when 
 the tides are small, for then we cannot fish." 
 
 " Do you know," again asked Hope, " how long these 
 fisheries have been made, or who invented them 1 " 
 
 " no, we do not know how they were made ; but some of 
 them are older than others, and I have heard my father say that 
 they were here when a people they call Eomans and the French 
 used to fight." 
 
 Thus discussing the antiquity of the fisheries, they advanced 
 towards the one they were going to see. It was a very rude 
 structure, being merely a long semicircular hne of stones heaped on 
 the sand, and stretching from one mass of rock to another ; this 
 wall, or rather mound of stones, was about four feet high at the 
 ends nearest the shore, gradually increasing both in height and 
 breadth as it reached the centre ; there it was ten feet high, and 
 about six feet broad on the top. The inside was built nearly 
 perpendicular ; the outside had a long slope, for the mound was 
 nearly twenty feet broad at the bottom. On the inside there 
 was something like regularity in the building ; but the outside 
 was merely composed of large blocks of stone tumbled carelessly 
 together. Along the outside line there were apparently lumps 
 of rocks rising from the sand and abutting against the structure ; 
 these, however, proved, when examined, to be only masses of 
 spongy-looking substance formed by the same insect that had 
 built on the rocks. Some of these masses had been broken in 
 repairing the fishery, in different places ; they were fully five 
 feet thick, measuring from the sand, thereby showing that these 
 insects must either work very fast, or that the fishery must be 
 very old. Nearly in the centre there was an opening in the 
 curved line of the building ; and on either side of this opening, 
 a better built wall projected about ten yards towards the sea. 
 The space between these walls was rather more than four feet 
 wide. At the end next the sea a strong wooden frame was 
 
THE TOr OF THE DYKE. l7o 
 
 erected, and in the frame was fixed a sluice very neatly but 
 strongly made of wicker-work. "\^Tien the jiarty reached the 
 end of the mound nearest the land, they were obhged to mount 
 on the top of it and walk along its uneven and yet slippery 
 surface, towards the sluice, or killing-place. It was not an 
 easy job, for the stones were all covered with short sea- ware of 
 various sorts, but among these laver greatly preponderated. Any 
 one who has ever tried to walk on rocks where laver grows will 
 at once understand that there was some difficulty in progressing 
 fully three hundred yards along a mound of loose stones, 
 covered with this and other such marine herbs ; but difficult as 
 it was, they preferred this road to wading through the water. 
 Hope did not like remaining the whole day wet, and the top of 
 the dyke was the only dry road ; for, within the building, the 
 sea was dammed up, and looked like a very large pond ; while, 
 on the outside, the water was escaping through the apertures 
 between the stones, spouting out in every direction, and running 
 in rills towards the retiring sea. They did not hurry themselves, 
 for the old lady, when she saw the state of the tide, had told 
 them that nothing could be done for a quarter of an hour ; they 
 moved, therefore, gently along, picking their steps and pausing 
 occasionally to look at the heaps of shells, and cuttle-fish bones, 
 that lay scattered along the outside of their path. "When they 
 had nearly reached the end of their journey, they saw a large 
 shoal of small fish dash out of the water, which was as clear as 
 crystal, and about five feet deep. "When their attention was 
 dra^m by the splash which the fish made in dashing out of the 
 water, they looked at the spot and saw that it appeared bright 
 green, from the shoal of Httle fish that were crowding together. 
 
 " "We shall get something to-day," said Madame le Moine ; 
 " these must have been mackerel that were chasing the sar- 
 dines." 
 
 Close to the edge, and on one side of the sluice, sat little 
 Matnde ; her friend Angela was on the other; by Angela sat the 
 same young man who had carried one of the lanterns the night 
 
1^4: LOVE ON THE STEAND. 
 
 before. Angela held in her hand a net like Madame le Moine's : 
 the young man had two short poles, with very strong iron hooks at 
 the end, and close by Matilde lay a small bundle of nets with 
 corks to it. 
 
 Madame le Moine called to them, " Have you seen anything 
 to-day?" 
 
 " Yes, yes ; we shall do well to-day," answered Angela ; 
 " there are mackerel, hole-fish (gar-fish), and a great many lan- 
 §ons (sand-eels) ; they will make poor work with the spade 
 to-da}^, for the langons have not taken the sand this tide." 
 
 " That is good," said the old lady ; " what fortune you good 
 gentlemen bring us ; and Frederic is there, I see, so we shall get 
 those wicked beasts that are pulling down the fishery." 
 
 " Who is Frederic V asked Cross. 
 
 " He is a good young man, a relation of mine, and he has 
 come to help us to take the two minaurs that are destroying us." 
 
 " What is a minaur ? " asked Hope. 
 
 " You will see him," said Madame le Moine, " when we pull 
 him out. He is an accursed beast, and there are two of them ; 
 but we cannot get them till the water falls." 
 
 "And is Frederic come to help you or Angela?" asked 
 Cross. 
 
 The old woman looked at him and laughed. " You have 
 found that out already, have you? Well, young men have 
 sharp eyes when a pretty girl is in the way ;" then lowering her 
 voice, she continued — " you are right ; Frederic is Angela's pre- 
 tender ; and they were to be married when he came back from 
 Newfoundland this autumn, but this 'maudite' Eevolution pre- 
 vented the fleet from sailing, and they must wait for a year, for 
 they are not rich enough to marry now. Poor things ! they gain 
 what gives them bread, but they cannot furnish a house by 
 catching oysters, or working in a trawl-boat ; but they are good 
 and prudent, and they will wait. The fleet will sail in the 
 spring, and then Frederic will gain good wages ; for he is to be 
 an ofiicer next voyage ; and in the meantime he is not idle, 
 
MACKEEEL. l75 
 
 except when he comes to pay us a visit for a day or two ; and as 
 he Avas here, I have asked him to come and help us to take these 
 minaurs and mend the dyke. "We are not strong enough to do it 
 ourselves, and as we must pay somebody to assist us, I am glad 
 to choose Frederic, who will not work less hard when Angela is 
 with him." 
 
 This little confidence was delivered with great volubihty. If 
 a Frenchwoman were a hundred years old, she would always take 
 an interest in love, for when past the age of love herseK, there 
 are still the loves of others to engage her attention and sympathy. 
 
 The two friends could not help looking at the couple. The 
 young man was a very handsome dark youth, and looked like a 
 smart sailor. He wore a dress like that of our sailors, which 
 showed his strong well-made figure to advantage. Angela, as 
 we have already said, was a very handsome girl. She was rather 
 pale in general, hut when she saw the eyes of the two friends 
 fixed on her, while Madame le Moine was speaking, she probably 
 suspected what was being told, for her beauty was greatly in- 
 creased by the bright blush that crossed her face. 
 
 " Change the subject, and look another way," said Hope ; 
 " the poor girl hears what the old lady is saying, and it frets her, 
 for she is blushing." 
 
 The small fish helped this intention, for they again made a 
 dash out of the water. This time the friends saw a shoal of 
 larger fish swimming rapidly below the small ones. A part of 
 them seemed to enter the outlet towards the sluice. 
 
 " See them ; they are mackerel," said JMatilde. 
 
 The gentlemen hurried forward ; Angela stepped down on a 
 sort of landing-place ; she held her net by the upper end of the 
 handles, and plunged it in the water, then swept it towards the 
 sluice. As soon as the bottom of the net touched the sluice, she 
 gave the net a shake and raised it. The friends were then quite 
 close, and they could see that she had taken a quantity of fish 
 of some sort, which were springing and glancing in the bag. 
 
 The two girls had removed the baskets from their shoulders — 
 
176 PEESEEVING THE SEA. 
 
 they were lying on the stones beside Matilde — to empty the net. 
 Angela held it across the stream ; Matilde took it, and, in her 
 turn, held it up to Hope and Cross, that they might see what 
 was taken. They looked, and saw forty or fifty mackerel, 
 about the size of small herrings. 
 
 " What beautiful little fish they are," said Hope ; '' can 
 anything be more brilliant than the striped colours on their 
 backs, contrasted with the silvery white of their bellies ! " 
 
 " And as they say in the North," continued Cross, " I will 
 warrant them to be as good as they are bonny. It does not 
 require a French Marquis to make these fellows eatable, as you 
 will allow at dinner to-day." 
 
 " Faith, then, they must be very good, for they are very 
 beautiful," said Hope. " Just look at the colour ; how it flashes 
 and changes between emerald green and sapphire blue ! They 
 look more like a mass of precious stones than live fish." 
 
 " They are not hving," said Cross, " they are dying ; they 
 live a very short time out of the water, and as they die this 
 change of colour takes places. A mackerel is always a pretty 
 fish, but no one can have an idea of their beauty who has not 
 seen them caught ; so many of them together certainly adds to 
 the effect, and I can tell you, these little ones, for eating, are 
 as superior to the full-grown ones as it is possible for anything 
 to be — in no way are they so good as plain boiled in sea water ; 
 we must try and get a panful to let you taste them in full per- 
 fection. I have a friend at court here, and I will try and get 
 half a gallon of sea water up to our inn." 
 
 " Try to get some sea water 1" said Hope ; " one would think 
 that you were in the centre of Europe, instead of on the shores 
 of the Atlantic ! what is there to hinder your getting as much 
 as you please 1 " 
 
 " Why, as I have no taste for picking oakum, or being shut 
 up in Mont St. IVIichel, or some less picturesque jail, I should 
 not like to be caught carrying sea water myself; and I should 
 not Hke to bribe any one else to run the risk." 
 
PKOTECTION AND REVOLUTION. l77 
 
 " AMiat nonsense you talk," answered Hope ; " sent to jail 
 for carrying sea- water 1 " 
 
 " ISTo less," said Cross ; " don't you know that the duty on 
 salt is enormous in France ; so high that every art is employed 
 to get hold of it ; amongst others, if they were allowed, every 
 man near the sea would make his own salt, by evaporating the 
 water. To prevent this, all the salt-works swarm vfith. excise 
 officers, and the coast has guards and spies in every direction, who 
 are ready to pounce on any one who attempts to carry off a single 
 hottleful." 
 
 " Well, that is oppression ! " exclaimed Hope ; " and you 
 really mean to say, that they would not allow you to carry off 
 as much sea- water as would boil us a dish of fish 1 " 
 
 " I told you," answered Cross, " that I have a friend at court 
 here ; he can say — ' How do you do,' and ' god-dam,' and thinks 
 he can speak EngHsh. I have won his friendship by pretending 
 to believe that he can. If he is on guard, and if I pledge my 
 word ^ throw away the water as soon as our fish is boiled, he will 
 let us have a gallon out of affection for us, who speak the same 
 language that he does ; but if he caught me taking it without 
 leave, or without this promise, his friendship would not prevent 
 his sending us to Granville, under the escort of half-a-dozen 
 gentlemen with green coats, long muskets, and ' Douanier' cut 
 out on a brass plate on their caps." 
 
 "That bangs Banagher !" said Hope; "and if people are 
 governed by such a law as that, I don't wonder that they kick up 
 a row now and then." 
 
 " They are coming in now, gentlemen," said Matilde ; " if you 
 Avill sit down you will not frighten them, and there is my petti- 
 coat to sit on ; I brought two to-day, for it was so cold last night." 
 
 " I beg your pardon," said Hope (who took the hint that he 
 was scaring the fish) ; " but why should we make a cushion of 
 your petticoat, and spoil it 1 " 
 
 " You will not spoil it, so pray use it," said the little girl. 
 
 The friends thanked her and sat down. 
 
 N 
 
178 GAK-FISH. 
 
 AVhile tliey had "been talking, tlie water had not ceased to 
 flow, not only through the sluice, but through the crevices in 
 the dyke ; the pond was therefore much reduced in size, and had 
 fallen so much that it was not more than three feet deep. Ma- 
 dame le Moine had not crossed the sluice, and had walked for a 
 considerahle distance along the dyke on the other side, Angela 
 was standing a httle lower than when she made the first sweep ; 
 her net was leaning against the side of the wall, one end resting 
 on a stone, the other she held in her hand. 
 
 " Look out ! look out !" called the old woman ; " there is a 
 fine lot of them." 
 
 The friends saw the wave which a body of fish made in mov- 
 ing through the water; however, they did not enter the narrow 
 neck, but turned along the side of the dyke in the direction in 
 which the party had arrived. 
 
 " Eun, Matilde," said Angela; "turn them." 
 
 Matilde did as she was bid ; putting off her sabots, she ran 
 quickly along the slippery stones, returning slowly, waving hei 
 arms in the air. 
 
 "Look, Angela," exclaimed both Cross and Hope at the same 
 moment, for they caught sight below them of the large shoal 
 entering the narrow. On the surface of the Avater they saw more 
 than a hundred gar-fish dashing on with their shining green backs 
 and long noses, and below them again was visible the glancing oi 
 ten times that number of other fish, also pressing forward in the 
 same direction. 
 
 Angela remained quite still, leaning back against the wall for a 
 moment; then she dashed her net into the water, made hex 
 sweep, and raised it absolutely full of fish. 
 
 " I^ot bad," she said ; " there are always some that get away ; 
 but there were not many this time. Help me, Frederic, for they 
 are very heavy." 
 
 Frederic lifted the net and held it up, while Hope and Cross 
 each took a basket and ran to cross the sluice by the wooden 
 frame. When they came up to Frederic, they found that the 
 
DEMOISELLES AND GAR-FISIL l79 
 
 net had taken all the gar-fish, and almost the whole of the shoal 
 of mackerel. 
 
 " Empty the net, quick," said Angela ; " the rest of the 
 mackerel miss their friends. They have come again, and are 
 rubbing their noses against the sluice." 
 
 The net was turned over, leaving the fish to kick their last 
 among the stones, and was given to Angela, who repeated the 
 same sweep she had before made, and this time not one of the 
 remaining mackerel was missed. There were also six or eight 
 very bright gray fish that looked like enormous dace. 
 
 " That is a beautiful sight," said Hope, as he again looked at 
 the shining mass of changing colour, " and the mixture of other 
 fish rather adds to their beauty. The gar-fish I know ; but 
 what is the name of that other fish 1 it is not a mullet." 
 
 " What do you call these 1" asked Cross, pointing to the 
 gray-looking fish, and speaking in French. 
 
 " Demoiselles," answered Angela. 
 
 " Yes, demoiselles ; I remember," said Cross, " that is the 
 name they go by here ; but how are they called in the rest 'of 
 France, or what is their scientific or English name, I cannot tell 
 you. Sometimes they catch great shoals of them when they are 
 about the quarter the size of these. I have seen great quantities 
 of them in the markets early in the year." 
 
 *' And are they a good fish V asked Hope. 
 
 " Faith, I cannot say, for I have never eaten them ; but 
 these girls can tell you, or, rather, here comes ]\Iadame le jNIoine ; 
 she is an older, and therefore perhaps a better judge." 
 
 Hope put the question to the old lady. 
 
 " "We poor people think them very good : but those who 
 are rich enough to buy better, do not eat them ; they have too 
 many bones for people who are rich enough to like to eat their 
 dinner without trouble." 
 
 " These," she continued, picking up a gar-fish, " are very 
 good indeed ; but I have seen people who even found fault 
 with them as being too dry ; and others again do not lil-ce to 
 
180 SEATH AND LYTHE. 
 
 see their green bones ; some people are so fanciful, and because 
 gar-fish have green bones, they think they must live upon 
 copper." 
 
 " Are gar-fish common on this coast V asked Hope. 
 
 " yes," answered Madame le ]\Ioine ; " Ave sometimes get 
 a good many of them, and very large ones ; but they are much 
 more common on the coast of Brittany." 
 
 " I know that," said Cross, " for they catch quantities off St. 
 Malo, and farther down, A\'ilh a white fly. They fish for them 
 very much in the same manner as they catch seath and lythe on 
 the coasts of Scotland." 
 
 " "Which is not bad fun," said Hope, " on a summer evening. 
 Have they any of those fish on these coasts 1" 
 
 " They have lythe, and call them by the same name. I 
 will bet a trifle that we shall find one or two in the nets we are 
 to see presently. But for the family of the stainlochs, I have 
 never seen any of them. It was some time before I knew that 
 stainloch, gray-fish, seath, cudding, and poddly, were all one 
 fish at diSerent ages ; and, knowing it now, I can tell you that 
 hereabouts I have never seen any of the tribe." 
 
 " The water is low enough now," said jNIadame le Moine. 
 " Xow we have got the mackerel, there is no fear of these 
 lancons taking the sand ; therefore we may as well drive them. 
 And there are also a good many mullets, which the gentlemen 
 may like to see, so let us put in the net, for they are much too 
 cunning to drive, or to be taken with the hand-net." 
 
 Cross and Hope began to move with the rest of the party, but 
 Madame le Moine stopped them. 
 
 " Stay where you are," she said ; " you will see better here 
 than by moving ; and there you will see the place where those 
 maudite minaurs are lying. Just look what a quantity of my 
 wall they have pulled down." 
 
 The friends looked where the old woman pointed ; they saw 
 several tons of stones lying a yard or two from the main wall, 
 which at that place looked very ruinous and tumble-down. 
 
THE TEOIS-MAILLES. 181 
 
 " You don't mean," said Hope, " that a fish pulled that wall 
 down?" 
 
 " I do say so," replied she ; " and it is the truth. You shall 
 see what an accursed beast he is, and what strength he has. Do 
 3'ou observe those two yellow marks on the sand ? Well, there 
 is one at each of these places, for these are their holes. The 
 one nearest us has the half of my cHp in him, that I broke 
 trying to haul him out last spring tide. But Frederic has 
 brought two proper good ones, and a pickaxe ; so that, with the 
 help of the Virgin, we will have them out to-day. But first we 
 must clean the fishery, and if you stay, you will see everytliing ; 
 or, if you would like to catch the lancons, you shall have the 
 net when we drive them to the sluice." 
 
 Hope and Cross agreed to be guided by the old lady. 
 They sat down on a large stone, while the rest of the party 
 shouldered the nets, and slid down the dyke into the water. 
 Frederic carried the net with the corks ; Angela and the old 
 woman had each a pole-net ; and little MatUde held one of the 
 poles with the iron hooks, which she called by the same name 
 as the salmon-fisher in Scotland gives to his landing-hook — 
 namely, a clip. The one Matilde carried was exactly of the 
 same form as those used by the northern sabuon-fisher, but was 
 six times as strong, looking more like a short boat-hook, without 
 the spike, than a clip. But a clip it was called. Once fairly in 
 the water, the old lady led the way, keeping close to the side of 
 the wall, the others following, till they reached the shallowest 
 part of the water. There they spread out, and walked back- 
 wards and forwards, beating the water with the nets and poles. 
 This they continued to do till they had traversed the larger half 
 of the pond, and the water was then nearly up to their knees. 
 Frederic then lowered the net which he carried into the water. 
 It was a trois-maiUes, about twenty yards long, and light, for 
 though the meshes were very small, it was made of such fine 
 thread that it could not be heavy. Angela took the other end 
 of this net, fu'st giving the pole-net to Matilde, and they walked 
 
182 MULLET. 
 
 on, Frederic and Angela drawing the trois-mailles, Madame le 
 Moine and Matilde on either side of tliem, both striking the 
 water lightly with the poles of their nets, holding them by the 
 centre, so as to make the whole pole touch the water at once. 
 They came on quickly, till the ends of the trois-mailles touched 
 the dyke on each side of the sluice. 
 
 While they were thus advancing, a fish sprang over the net. 
 The moment it did so Angela and Frederic lifted the corks out 
 of the water. A number of other fish sprang, but the net being 
 lifted a foot above the water, they struck against it, and failed 
 in their leap. 
 
 " Well done, my children," said Madame le Moine ; " they 
 are safe enough, the cunning rogues ; they are done for !" 
 
 The glistening of the fish, and the shaking of the corks, 
 showed that they were firmly fixed. 
 
 " There are some good mullet," said Cross : " they are well 
 bagged, and they shake the net so much that nothing else will 
 try to run back." 
 
 " I thought they were mullet," said Hope, " for I have seen 
 them play the same trick of jumping over the net in Scotland ; 
 the fishermen there call them merry-fish. I have been told that 
 if they miss their first spring they never try it a second time, 
 and, to cheat them, Scotch fishermen draw two nets, one after 
 the other, so that if a lot get over the first net they are sure 
 to have them in the second. They are very numerous in the 
 muddy boys all round Britain. I have seen some very good 
 hauls taken myself, and a friend of mine told me he had 
 assisted in the taking upwards of fourteen hundi'ed at one 
 sweep of a net." 
 
 " In the south of France," said Cross, " they would have 
 liked such a haul ; for there they boil them down to make the 
 soup of a sort of water zoutchee, which they call bouillabaise ; 
 but for myself, a little of them goes a long way. Even when 
 dressed en fillet, with a rich sauce, by as good a cook as our 
 friend the Marquis, they have always a sort of leathery texture 
 
NETTIXG LAXCOXS. 183 
 
 which I do not like ; but some people are very foud of 
 them." 
 
 " "Water zoiitchee is a very good thing,'"' said Hope. " I 
 would like very well to taste their bouillabaise, to see if a French- 
 man can improve on a Dutch dish." 
 
 " AVell, it is not unlikely that you may do so to-day, for it is 
 a favourite dish of the ^Marquis, and I saw all the soles and the 
 rest of the fish we sent home yesterday in the act of going into 
 a pot-au-feu, with sundry bundles of herbs. This, I am sure, is 
 destined to be converted either into white-fish soup or bouilla- 
 baise." 
 
 " Are the lancons at the sluice ?" asked Madame le Moine. 
 
 Cross and Hope had been watching the people, and had not 
 looked towards the sluice for some time ; but on hearing this 
 question they turned their eyes in that direction, and saw hun- 
 dreds of little fish with their heads against the Avicker-work, 
 and a great many more dashing up and down in the narrow 
 space between the walls. They answered the question by 
 describing what they saw. 
 
 " Take my net, then," said the old lady ; and stepping across 
 the trois-mailles, she handed it up to Hope, who took it, and 
 stepped down on to the slope where Angela had stood when she 
 took the mackerel. 
 
 He grasped the ends as he had seen her do, plunged it into 
 the water, and tried to sweep it round as she had done, but he 
 found that it was not such an easy job. The net twisted to one 
 side as he was trying to give it the true scientific shake, and 
 when he lifted it there were only three sand-eels in the bag. 
 
 "Confound the thing!" he said; "that gM must be as 
 strong as a horse, for she moved the net with all the ease and 
 grace of an opera-dancer, and here I have used all my strength 
 and knocked the skin off three of my knuckles, and after all 
 have only got a fish in exchange for each sample of my skin 
 that I have left on these wretched stones." 
 
 The misfortunes of our friends, says the French cynic, are 
 
184 SKILL BETTER THAN STRENGTH. 
 
 always pleasing to us. Being in France, Cross seemed to agree 
 with the sentiment, for he only laughed at Hope's misfortune. 
 " Let me try," he said ; " it is knack, and not strength, that is 
 required." 
 
 Hope gave him the net, and mounted again on to the top of 
 the dyke, where he employed himself in comforting his bleeding 
 fingers. 
 
 Cross took the net and the place which Hope had resigned ; 
 he got up the attitude, and tried to imitate Angela's graceful 
 sweep ; but the result was almost as great a failure as Hope's, 
 for when he raised the net he had only caught five. It was 
 Hope's turn to laugh, and he did so, and when Cross turned to 
 the party, who were beating the water beside the net, he had the 
 mortification to see that they too were enjoying a comfortable 
 laugh. 
 
 " Everything requires practice," said Madame le Moine ; 
 "you caimot expect to learn a trade in a minute. Have the 
 goodness," she said, addressing herseK to Hope, "to give m3 
 the net ; I will show you the safe way for old women and 
 beginners ; but you cannot do it without getting wet." 
 
 Hope gave her the net ; she held it by the centre, and laid 
 the length of the pole gently on the water, walking slowly to- 
 wards the narrows. The friends watched the water ; first came 
 the whole lot of sand-eels rushing against the sluice, and then 
 behind them the water was perfectly green, from the colour of 
 the backs of thousands of the little fish they had first seen, and 
 which they had heard called sardines. 
 
 Once within the narrow space between the two walls, the 
 old lady turned the net and walked on with it, pushing it be- 
 fore her, as if she was fishing for praAvns ; when she reached 
 the end, she gave the same scientific shake, and raised it filled 
 Avith almost the whole of the shoals of both sand-eels and 
 sardines. 
 
 ""Well done, madame !" exclaimed Hope, as he stooped to 
 look at this fi^h. 
 
SAEDINES. 185 
 
 " Yes, Tve have done very well to-day," said the old dame, 
 " and you have brought us our good fortune ; so, thanks to our 
 Lady and you, we shall not want for many a day. Come on, 
 my children, let us make an end, and then we. have only to 
 settle matters with those ugly minaurs." 
 
 Angela and Frederic drew the net on, till the two ends met ; 
 they then kicked the bottom line into a bunch with their feet, 
 then gathered the corks with their hands, and lifted up the 
 whole in a mass to Madame le Moine and Matilde, who had 
 scrambled on to the top of the wall to receive it. There were 
 eight mullet, three or four more demoiselles, one little brill, and 
 several small soles and brown-backed flounders, 
 
 " I am surprised," said Hope, " not to see more of the small 
 soles, since they catch so many of them with the prawn nets 3" 
 this remark was made in French to the old lady. 
 
 " It is not surprising," she replied, " if you consider where 
 this fishery is ; flat fish hardly ever go on the rocks, and never 
 cross the walls. All we get here, therefore, are only those which 
 go near the shore, and forget their Avay back again when the 
 tide turns. K they are inside the rocks, they come straight 
 out and ^we get them ; but in general, they follow the great 
 stream, which runs round, and not over the rocks. There are 
 some fisheries beyond Granville that are buOt on the open sand, 
 with no rocks near, and in them they catch a great many, and 
 very fine flat fish; but they do not get as many mackerel or 
 herrings as we do." 
 
 " And these," said Hope, holding up a handful of the Httle 
 fish that had just been caught ; " j'ou call these sardines : are 
 they the same as they catch in Italy, under that name, or are 
 they only young herrings 1 " 
 
 " I don't know anything about it," answered the old Avoman ; 
 " we always call them sardines." 
 
 " Do you know, Cross 1 " asked Hope, speaking in English. 
 " 1^0, I do not," replied Cross, " for I never saw sardines 
 before, except salted. I am no great naturalist ; what little I 
 
186 Gr.O-WTH OF FISH. 
 
 know, I liave learnt more from obseryation than teacliing ; "but I 
 think these fish are full grown, for the females have roes. I 
 have also seen them cured, and they were quite as good as any 
 Sicilian sardines ; and if we can only persuade our landlady to 
 clean them, you shall try how they eat fresh. I will take home 
 a basket of them and salt them slightly, to use for spinning 
 for perch in the Mare de Eouillon. I had capital sport there 
 with them once, and got some splendid perch." 
 
 " And I," said Hope, " cannot tell either what they are. I 
 have seen and eaten thousands of sardines, both salt and fresh ; 
 but when I was in Italy I thought more of fun and dancing than 
 of natural history. It is pretty certain that these are fidl of 
 roe, but I doubt much if that be any rule to mark the differ- 
 ence between young and full-grown fish, for I have seen trout 
 caught to stock a lake which were not longer than my finger 
 when they were tiu'ned in, yet were quite full of spawn. I 
 fished the same lake a few years after, and caught these trout 
 there, weighing three pounds apiece. I am sure they were the 
 same fish as those that were turned in, for none others were 
 ever put there ; yet these fish which had grown to such a size 
 were full of roe when they were not longer than my finger." 
 
 " That may be true enough," said Cross, " for the growth of 
 fish is little known or understood ; I have seen trout turned 
 into a large piece of artificial water which were caught in a 
 stream not far from it ; in that stream (and I have fished it for 
 miles) I never saw a trout that would weigh four ounces, and 
 yet in the artificial pond I have caught them myself as large as 
 those you mention. I made most particular inquiries, and can 
 therefore say with confidence that every trout in the artificial 
 water came from the stream where they were always small" 
 
 While the friends were thus discussing the sardines, the 
 girls and Frederic had been arranging the fish in the baskets 
 and clearing the nets ; the trois-mailles were laid on the stones 
 to dry, and the pole-nets were stuck up, so as to let the wind 
 blow through them. Angela and Madame le Moine each took 
 
THE minaur's den. 187 
 
 one of tlie clips, Frederic took the pickaxe, and the whole party 
 slid again into the water. Cross and Hope went to the place 
 on the dyke, nearest to the spot that had been sho^^ii them as 
 holding the miuaurs, 
 
 Frederic began first by scraping a considerable hole in the 
 sand with the pickaxe : he then took one of the clips, tlirust 
 it into the whole, and gave it a violent jerk ; it was drawn 
 deeper into the sand after this jerk. 
 
 " That's into him !" he exclaimed, and he gave the end of 
 the clip into ]\Iadame le IMoine's hand ; little Matilde took 
 hold of it also. 
 
 Frederic then took the other clip from Angela, and did the 
 same with it as he had done with the first, returning the staff 
 to Angela, when he felt that it was fast. 
 " jSTow haul away," he cried. 
 
 The three women pulled with all their force ; somethmg 
 Avliite was seen, and then the water became black. 
 
 Frederic put down his pickaxe, and jerked violently ; some- 
 thin"- like a large eel appeared above the water, and Frederic 
 nearly fell back from the force of his jerk. 
 
 " There is one of his arms," he said ; and he gave another 
 blow with his pickaxe. After a number of jerks another 
 arm showed above the water. 
 
 " Pull steady and let the water clear a little," said Frederic ; 
 and he put out his hand to help Angela. The water running 
 rapidly towards the sluice soon became clear. Hope and Cross, 
 as they looked doAvn from the more elevated station where they 
 were standing, soon saw the state of matters below ; they coiild 
 distinguish two white substances that were twisting in the water 
 like two large eels ; several more could be partially seen half 
 hid under the sand or large stones. The chps were fastened 
 ill a bag that looked like a man's cotton night-cap, for it was 
 much the same shape, size, and colour. The colour, though 
 white, was semi-transparent, and shone more brightly than a 
 cotton night-cap would have done. It was evident that the eel- 
 
188 THE KILL. 
 
 looking branches wliich sprang from this hag were firmly fixed 
 to the stones under which they were hid, for many of the stones 
 had been moved from their places by the strain which the party 
 were giving to the cHps. When the water became clear, Frederic 
 hooked his pickaxe into one of the half-hid branches, reneM'ed 
 the jerks he had given to the other tAvo with the same success, 
 for after shaking one of the large stones violently, something 
 seemed to give way, and another ai-m was twisting in the water. 
 The like process was repeated several times, always with the 
 same result ; at last, bag, arms, and all, appeared above the 
 water, falling down into a lump ; one arm only remained below 
 water, and that was fixed to a stone of about two or three 
 hundred-weight, which, in spite of its size, was dragged out of 
 its bed in the sand by the united strength of the old woman 
 and the two girls. Frederic hooked his pickaxe round this re- 
 maining arm, gave the usual jerks, it gave way, and a long mass 
 of nasty-looking stuff was hfted in the air. 
 
 " Well done ! " said Madame le Moine ; " the ugly beast, we 
 have settled him. He will pull down no more of the fishery, 
 nor swallow any more of my fish. Hook tlie other, Frederic, 
 while I put this one beside these gentlemen." 
 
 Saying this, one of the clips was unhooked from the creature 
 and given to Frederic, and the old woman clambered up the 
 dyke, holding the other in her hand, fast fixed in the fish ; 
 when she was fairly up, she threw her burden with force on the 
 stones and withdrew the clip. " Is he not an ugly beast 1 " she 
 said, addressing the two friends. 
 
 " He is indeed," said Hope, who now could see it in all its 
 deformity. It looked like an enormous cuttle-fish. It had the 
 same form — the bag-looking body, the two huge eyes, and the 
 bunch of feelers springing from them ; these feelers, however, 
 were far larger and longer than those of any cuttle-fish he had 
 ever seen before ; they were fully as long as a man's arm, and 
 were covered on one side, from one end to the other, with lumps 
 rather bigger than a hazel-nut. As they examined it, and began 
 
THE UGLY BEAST. 189 
 
 to stretch out these feelers to look at his size when spread out, 
 they observed a strong muscular action in them all, and the 
 lumps began to open and shut like so many mouths — opening 
 to the size of a shilling, and then again contracting till they 
 looked hke warts. 
 
 "How disgustingly ugly and revolting it is!" said Hope ; 
 " and if all those mouths eat, I don't wonder the old lady is glad 
 to get him out of her fishery. How would you like, Cross, to 
 have that brute clinging round you, sucking you in with all those 
 leech-looking mouths 1 " 
 
 " I don't beheve they eat with those beastly-looking valves," 
 said Cross ; " they use them for clinging to the stones, or perhaps 
 for grasping their prey ; but we will ask the old lady." 
 
 They put the question, and she confirmed what Cross had 
 said. "Yes," she answered, "they fasten themselves on the 
 stones, and tremendous strength they must have, to be able to 
 draw those large stones out of this wall, with such a weight rest- 
 ing above ; you may suppose, when you saw how firmly they 
 grasp, that no fish could get away, if once seized hold of by 
 them." 
 
 "And do they eat fish ?" asked Hope. 
 
 " Xothing comes amiss to them ; they would eat a man if he 
 came in their way. I have seen oysters, shells and all, in them ; 
 and in one, I found a large crab : oh, they are a^-ful brutes ; I hate 
 the sight of them." 
 
 " Perhaps they are not strictly pretty," said Cross; "but they 
 are interesting, as people say of young ladies. One fine calm sunny 
 day I organized a minaur-hunt with a fisher-girl at Gran^-ille, and 
 we started when the tide ebbed, armed with crook and knife. 
 After a scramble over the rocks, and a long search, my guide 
 pointed to a small pile of empty limpets, and freshly broken crab 
 shells and claws, at the bottom of a shallow rock-pool which glit- 
 tered in the sun, with an endless play of bright colours, but was 
 unusually bare of living creatures. ' Behold, the minaur is here,' 
 she said ; and forthwith began to beat the cover, while I looked 
 
190 A EOCK TOOL. 
 
 out for the game. The girl poked about with her crook under 
 the sea-weed, at the deepest side of the pool, in the shadow of a 
 bit of rock ; but I observed that she kept her feet out of the 
 water. Presently she cried out — ' There are two ;' and out they 
 came, sailing over the bright shell-sand at the bottom, where I 
 could see them as plaiuly as I see you. They looked like two 
 small haggis-bags with the strings loose, or a couple of animated 
 turnips, darting root-foremost through the water ; but they were 
 complete, active, living creatures of sound understanding, in spite 
 of their looks. Each squirted a small black cloud of sepia to- 
 wards the danger, and then swam rapidly away from it behind 
 the screen, jerking backwards by filling the bag with Avater and 
 squeezing it out again. The pool was small, speed was of no avail, 
 and they seemed to know it ; for they stopped suddenly near the 
 shallow edge and disappeared. First the bag sat down and shrunk 
 up, and then the long arms, which had trailed after it while 
 swimming, spread out like a branching star, jiloughed up the 
 sand, dragged in stones and shells, buried the bag, and then, hav- 
 ing stuck themselves all over with loose rubbish, by means of 
 these glands the arms too wriggled out of sight, and nothing re- 
 mained above ground but the open mouth of the bag, and bright 
 eyes looking keenly up at the foe. The bulb had taken root, 
 but it was watching, not vegetating ; for any sudden movement 
 of ours was followed by a start, or some slight quiver amongst 
 the shells as the creature shrunk deeper into his hole. My bare- 
 footed mermaiden stirred them up with her crook, and we Avatched 
 them for a long time, till I came to the conclusion that they were 
 very sagacious fierce little monsters, well able to take care of them- 
 selves, enormously strong, and with great appetites. If any big 
 fish had pursued at first, he could hardly haA'^e got through the 
 cloud till the cuttle had planted himself firmly ; and then he Avas 
 more than a match for anything of his own size. 
 
 "At last we put them into an earthen jar, for I wanted to 
 keep them alive, but they would not be quiet. They kicked, and 
 twined, and i=.truggled ; the long arms Avere thrust out like an 
 
A DEVELOrMENT THEOKY. 191 
 
 elephant's trunk from his cage, and curled about, and stuck to 
 everything within reach ; and so the arms dragged the bag out 
 and dropped it with a flop upon the rock so often, that, in despair, 
 I condemned my pets to death. They were executed on the spot, 
 with a rusty knife, by the girl, I have often thought of their 
 rigid, powerful, cold, sticky, clinging grasp upon my hand — 
 especially when swimmuig near these rocks — and the thought 
 was unpleasant, I can assure you. 
 
 " The fisher-girls dread them, and no wonder. As we walked 
 home my companion told me that her hand was once grasped and 
 held tight by a large minaur, when she was groping in a hole 
 for crabs. The tide was rising, and she could neither free her 
 arm nor drag the cuttle from his fortress. She had no weapons ; 
 he was too tough to break by a steady pull, and he held on. She 
 thought her last hour was come, and screamed for help. Fortu- 
 nately a fisherman was within hail, who came to her and slew the 
 brute ; but she had a very narrow escape, for the water was up 
 to her waist before she got free." 
 
 " I hare heard a similar story about a Highlander and a lob- 
 ster," said Hope. 
 
 " The Granville story is true," said Cross, " for I took the 
 trouble to ask the fish-wives about it, and they confirmed the 
 girl's account of the matter ; and the lobster story may be true 
 also. I wonder," he added, with a sly look, " what the author 
 of the ' Vestiges' w'ould say about a minaur. Perhaps he 
 might argue that the first of the race was an uprooted bulb 
 washed into the sea, and that our friend the Marquis Avas 
 ' developed' from this type. Eoth are muscular provision-bags, 
 armed with organs for filling them, and wit to use the means 
 provided. The minaur was strongly attached to Marie when 
 he sought her hand, and his thoughts must be in his inside, for 
 all the head he has is there." 
 
 " Stuff and nonsense," said Hope. " Men alone are cooks, 
 and the Marquis is a distinguished cook and a man ; one of the 
 Breton branch of the old Macadam family. The minaur is of 
 
192 MADAME LE MOINE ON CUTTLE-FISH. 
 
 still older descent than lie, and can point to tlie tombs of his 
 ancestors amongst the old "Welsh rocks ; but we have nothing 
 to do "vrith such speculations at present." 
 
 " Does anybody eat minaurs, Madame 1 " he added in French. 
 
 " Yes," she answered ; " in the spring they are sometimes 
 eaten ; but then they take more hammering and cooking than 
 they are worth : but at this season they are so hard, that if you 
 hammered them for one liaK the day, and stewed them for the 
 other half, they would still eat like a mouthful of fiddle-strings ; 
 but if you get them down, they tell me they are very nourishing, 
 and that they are wonderful restorers of old men who have been 
 rakes in their youth. They are a good bait for catching big 
 cod, and they have one great advantage : if you once get the 
 bait on to a hook, no fish can get it off again, so that one bait 
 will last for a week." 
 
 " Just what I told you," said Cross, turning to Hope ; " and it 
 is a great pity that they do not salt them down for this purpose. 
 I will have a talk to Frederic about it as soon as they have 
 hauled out the other." 
 
 The same process was pursued in taking the second monster 
 as the first ; it was smaller, however, and did not give so much 
 trouble, When fairly landed beside its companion on the dyke. 
 Cross desired the old lady to leave a number of the mackerel 
 and sardines at the inn, and, strange to say, he had considerable 
 trouble in persuading her to receive payment for them. He then 
 asked Frederic to go with them, to show them where the nets and 
 lines of their yesterday's acquaintance were set, and they pro- 
 ceeded at a rapid pace across the sand, in the direction to which 
 he pointed. As they walked. Cross spoke to him on the sub- 
 ject of salting minaurs and cuttle-fish. 
 
 Frederic was an intelligent fellow. He seemed to think 
 that this idea might prove of value to his countrymen, for if 
 there were any demand, a great many might be taken in a year. 
 But he said that he had not thought on the subject, as he never 
 had anything to do with catching the fish he brought back to 
 
NET-FISHING. 193 
 
 France, their trade 'beiiig merely that of buj^ing them in the 
 country and briiiging them home. But in the course of their 
 conversation he mentioned a circumstance which interested his 
 hearers. He told them that he had once seen one of these 
 creatirres four times larger than the one they had taken that 
 day ; that when he found this fish lying on the shore he was 
 walking with a ISTorwegian sailor, who had then told him that, 
 large as that one was, he had seen one for larger on the coast of 
 jS"orway — the feelers were nine feet long and as thick as his leg ; 
 and that he again had heard from his father that there were 
 monsters of the same sort in the sea that grasped ships and took 
 them under water ; — in short, that minaurs and krakens were 
 the same fish, only that on the coast of France they never came 
 to their full growth as they did on the coast of Xorway. 
 
 As they walked fast, they were not long in coming up to 
 the party they had agreed to meet. They found the old man, 
 his two sons, and his wife, standing by the side of a very long 
 net ; it was shallow, and was lying with the corks towards the 
 sea, firmly anchored to the sand by the bottom line. AVe have 
 been so uncourteous as to mention the lady last, but, like the 
 chief personage in a state procession, she soon showed that she, 
 at all events, considered herself the leader. 
 
 " Here you are at last," she exclaimed ; " I was almost afraid 
 you had forgotten to come. My husband talked of emptying 
 the net and not waiting ; but I gave it to him. I sent him and 
 the boys to bait the lines and clean the other nets, but this one 
 I have kept for you to look at, because it has done very well ; 
 indeed, altogether it has been a great tide, and I am glad of it, 
 for you will see what our nets can do, and taste our best fish. 
 It is not often we get so man}" ; the tre-mailles (trois-mailles) 
 has done wonders — just look at it." 
 
 The two friends saw numbers of white specks and lumps 
 along the line of the net, but they were so much rolled up they 
 could not distinguish what they were ; but the}' now followed 
 in the wake of the old lady, who assumed her character of com- 
 
 
 
194 NET-FISHING ON SAND. 
 
 manding officer, issuing lier orders, which "were promptly and 
 quietly obeyed. The husband and eldest son took their places, 
 one at the corlc, the other at the bottom line. The sand was 
 perfectly smooth below the net, showing no mark of the holes 
 that had been dug to sink the straw anchors beneath it. The 
 action of the water had made them quite flat ; all that could be 
 seen ^vas about an inch of cord, holding the bottom of the net 
 firmly in its place. The father and son moved along, sorting 
 the middle fine-meshed net, and smoothing it between the two 
 outer nets, or walls. When they found the net all the corks 
 were towards the sea, being so drawn by the ebbing tide ; this 
 was carefully reversed, the corks being laid towards the shore ; 
 and the reason of this proceeding was explained by saying that 
 it was done to prevent any chance of the nets being entangled 
 when the sudden rush of the tide came on ; for then the corks 
 would be carried before it till the straw holders held them, and 
 ia passing over the net the corks might catch and so entangle it. 
 As the two fishermen moved along they came to the specks and 
 lumps that had been seen from the end. There were fish of 
 all sorts and sizes ; every fish, whether large or small, had made 
 a bag for itself by drawing a portion of the fine middle net 
 through one of the large meshes in either of the outside walls. 
 We say either, for it was quite evident that the fish had been 
 caught in coming towards the shore, as well as in returning — 
 which fact was easily seen by observing that they had made bags 
 on both sides of the net. Hope was astonished to find the 
 variety of fish that one net had taken, and Cross was still more 
 so, for he had often seen the nets drawn before, and never with 
 such good success. There were two sorts of skate, the common 
 skate and the thornback ; some very large gar-fish ; a few very 
 fine mackerel ; a quantity of soles, some of which were large ; two 
 or three demoiselles ; one turbot,not large, but very thick and firm ; 
 five or six vexy fine brills ; and a number of plaice and flounders. 
 In the net these were all, but the Knes had caught a great 
 number of skate ; no difference was made in the varieties ; all 
 
A FALL IN THE FISmiARKET. 195 
 
 were called raes. They had tliree bass, some conger-eels, and 
 two lytlie that would weigh about seven pounds each. Hope 
 was glad to see these, for he at once knew them to be the same 
 fish which are caught in such quantities on the coasts of Scot- 
 land, where they bear the same name. 
 
 " We must have the turbot, and also the large soles, for our 
 bouillabaise," said Cross ; and he prepared himself for a wrangle 
 with the old lady ; but the price she asked was so very mode- 
 rate that he gave it at once. He felt somewhat ashamed at 
 such unwonted moderation, and his surprise was expressed in 
 his face. 
 
 " I could not ask you more than they were worth," said she, 
 laughing, as she looked at Cross. " I heard what good gentlemen 
 you are, and how generous you have been to little Matilde. H 
 I were not so poor, I wished to give them to you ; but vath 
 these boys and my husband, whom I must feed and clothe, I 
 cannot afford to give my fish for nothing ; but I have done 
 next thing to it, for I have sold them for the same price that 
 Marie de Coutance would pay for them." 
 
 " I thank you," said Cross ; " and as we kept you waiting so 
 long, you must take a franc apiece from my friend and me, to 
 drink little Matilde's health." 
 
 She made a most graceful curtsey, and rolled her money in 
 the corner of her handkerchief, promising to lose no time in 
 sending the fish to the inn ; and we may as well mention now, 
 that when the friends arrived there, they found not only the fish 
 they had paid for, but also the large mackerel and gar-fish : so 
 generosity breeds after its kind. 
 
 " The tide has turned," said the lady, " so we must not lose 
 time. Frederic, you must help to carry home our fish, for the 
 raes are too heavy for the boy." 
 
 Frederic was breaking in for a Granville husband, or he was 
 very good-natured, for he at once obeyed the imperious order, 
 and shouldering the heavy basket, they all took their way for 
 the shore. 
 
196 THE MAEQnS HAS BAD SPOET. 
 
 We cannot say that Hope was exactly friglitenecl, but there 
 ■was undoubtedly a certain uncomfortable remembrance of the 
 night before that made him feel rather unwilling to take a longer 
 line than that chosen by the fishers ; and when Cross explained 
 that he wished to go to the rocky point to try and get permis- 
 sion to have some salt water, Hope agreed, though he certainly 
 stepped out faster than he had ever before done in walking on 
 the sand. 
 
 All the fishers were wending their way for the same end, and 
 among the number they did not particularly remark two who 
 were walking slowly before them ; but on overtaking them, they 
 discovered that one was the Marquis, the other his confederate 
 prawn-fisher. Dressed like all the other fishermen, with their 
 baskets on their backs, they had not distiaguished them from 
 the rest, for the ^Marquis did not wear his straw hat, and the 
 gold band on the captain's cap had not caught their attention ; 
 but when they came in a line with them, they at once recognised 
 the features of the one and the moustaches of the other. 
 
 The Marquis was in very bad humour, for he had had bad 
 sport ; and the Baron's net, near the rocks, had been more suc- 
 cessful than his had been on the open sand. The same efflux of 
 tide that had prevented the lancons from taking the sand, had 
 swept the prawus out to sea from the open shore, and very few 
 had been caught, except close under the shelter of the rocks. 
 He must therefore eat prawns that had been twenty-four hours 
 out of the water ; added to the fact that the Baron had bragged 
 awfully, these misfortunes had made him very sulky; but his good 
 humour returned when he heard the excellent pro%dsion that had 
 been made for dinner ; and at the mention of the bouillabaise, 
 he was again all smiles, and declared the willing pleasure he 
 should have in taking care that the turbot should be properly 
 cooked, and the soles converted into one of his favourite dishes. 
 "I have brought my friend," he said, as he stepped out 
 before them, " who knows what is good, and he will make our 
 fourth for a rubber this evening." 
 
CAKDS. 197 
 
 "Hang the fellow!" whispered Hope. "I hate playing 
 cards all night ; and I suppose these two Frenchnien mean to 
 rook us." 
 
 " We must be good-natured," replied Cross, in the same low 
 tone. " The jNIarquis is wretched without his cards at night ; 
 and if they do win, it is only paying him for his services, which 
 are well worth all it will cost us should we lose every game. 
 Since the Eevolution they play for very low stakes — the ques- 
 tion now being whether the points are five-and-twenty or fifty." 
 
 " Five-and-twenty francs ! " said Hope ; " that is a pound ! 
 They will not catch me playing for such high stakes." 
 
 " "Who said it was francs, my dear fellow 1 — five-and-twenty 
 or fifty centimes, I ought to have said — twopence halfj^enny or 
 fivepence — that is all you will be asked to risk. So you may 
 save your virtuous indignation against gambhng for a future 
 occasion." 
 
 " If that is all, I do not mind boring myself for an hour or 
 two by playing cards, if it will amuse our good-natured French 
 friend." 
 
 The latter part of this conversation took place while they 
 were crossing the rocky point where they had first seen little 
 Matilde fall into the water in catching her spider-crab ; they 
 were then close under the extreme point, where the rocks rose 
 more perpendicularly. Hope was rather startled by hearing a 
 voice call out close above them — 
 
 "Who goes there ? How you do 1 stand fast ! god-dam !" 
 
 " sir, there you are, speaking English as well as ever," 
 said Cross, in French ; " I was just looking for you." 
 
 " yes, very good !" rephed the voice ; and then, being 
 at the end of his English, he resumed his native tongue, declar- 
 ing himself delighted to see Cross. 
 
 Hope was duly presented, and then Cross mentioned his 
 wish for permission to have some sea-water to boil some fish, 
 as his friend was a great gourmand. 
 
 The promise was exacted that the water should be tlu'own 
 
198 SMUGGLING. 
 
 away after the fisli were cooked ; and then the man in authority 
 promised to send one of his men with a greybeard of salt water. 
 After a proper exchange of thanks and compliments, Hope and 
 Cross took their way up a steep path in the rocks, and the 
 Douanier returned to a sort of hole where he had been sitting. 
 Against the back of this hole rested a musket ; the bottom had 
 an armful or two of straw spread over it. 
 
 " That must be cold quarters on a winter night," said Hope, 
 " if they have to stay there to look after sea- water at all seasons 
 of the year." 
 
 " Yet so it is," answered Cross ; " winter and summer these 
 poor devils have to watch along the coast ; and if some of oiu- 
 Hampshire or Sussex fellows could speak French, I think they 
 would soon give the Government a practical lesson against high 
 duties and bad management. These people are ill-paid ; they 
 are on duty for twelve hours at a time, and their share of a 
 seizure is so small that I am only astonished any duty is ever 
 paid at all on tea, tobacco, salt, gunpowder, needles, earthen- 
 ware, or Enghsh woollen and cotton goods. At home, under 
 such duties and such protection, I suspect a ten-pound note 
 and a dark night would greatly lessen the revenue." 
 
 " You talk so con amore of smuggling," said Hope, " you 
 seem to have a taste for the pursuit." 
 
 " If I were not born a gentleman," said Cross, " I am afraid 
 I might have had a turn that way. There is a sort of romantic 
 danger about it that gives to smugghng the same sort of zest 
 that a keen sportsman must feel in tiger-hunting — that is to 
 say, not in the peddling way of sneaking a pound of tea through 
 the custom-house by hiding it in your pocket or your trunk. 
 That, in my idea, is like hunting rabbits with a ferret. My 
 fancy would be running cargoes on a Avild night on a well- 
 guarded coast; for that bears more resemblance to hunting 
 tigers — you have the excitement of danger and the triumph of 
 success, which must give the same sort of feeling as winning a 
 battle." 
 
SMUGGLING. 199 
 
 "I am ashamed of you," said Hope ; "I rather suspect the 
 feelings of a smuggler must be more like those of a successful 
 gambler than a victorious general." 
 
 " Do you think so ? well, perhaps you are right ; and I should 
 never make a smuggler, for I have lived for some years among 
 people here who are awful gamblers, and have never yet taken 
 to the trade. But here comes the man with the sea- water : 
 we must step out to see that it is taken care of, and give the 
 messenger something to drink." 
 
CHAPTEE VIII. 
 
 AN EVENING AT MONSIEUH PINEL'S. 
 
 It would be only an idle repetition to describe the dinner of this 
 day. It greatly resembled the supper of the night before ; the 
 dishes varied in the cooking, though not much in the materials ; 
 there were some additions, it is true — namely, the bouillabaise, 
 and some bacon dressed according to a receipt of the Marquis. 
 The first of these was, as we have already said, nothing more nor 
 less than a very rich variety of water zoutchee ; the latter was a 
 piece of well-cured and well-smoked bacon, which, after being 
 stuck full of cloves, had first been immersed in red wine for six 
 or seven hours, and was then thickly pane'd and baked brown 
 in the four de campagne. It was served with the chickens, 
 which on this clay were stewed in a white sauce, instead of being 
 roasted. The two Englishmen took a note of this method of 
 dressing bacon, as they found it excellent ; but we do not allude 
 to the dish out of sympathy with their improved perception of 
 good things, but because, at a later hour of the night, this said 
 bit of bacon led the observation of the friends to a curious fact 
 in natural history. But when Frenchmen dine, the subject is too 
 serious to allow of digression ; so we postpone for a while the 
 description of their discovery. 
 
 On this day there were two Frenchmen at dinner instead of 
 one, both of whom were well and deeply read in the philosophie 
 des gourmands. The proceedings therefore were far more me- 
 thodical and slow than on the previous evening ; there were long 
 pauses between each dish, and a greater delay at table afterwards. 
 But these pauses were not wearying, neither was the sederunt 
 
THE INFEKNAL MACHINE. 201 
 
 over tlie dessert ; for while tlie Frenclimen ate, they talked, and 
 talked Avell, on subjects that amused their more taciturn com- 
 panions. The soldier was, like the Marquis, a complete royalist, 
 detesting all republics. He narrated many interesting anecdotes 
 regarding the late royal family, and spoke highly of their personal 
 courage, as a proof of which, among other instances, he described 
 the conduct of Louis Philippe when Fieschi fired at him with his 
 infernal machine. This he could do accurately, for he had stood 
 within ten paces of the king when the shot went off. He related 
 the manner in which the various persons fell. The report, he 
 said, was not loud, although so many barrels were discharged at 
 once, but rather sounded as if a musket or two had been fired at 
 some distance off, and this, he supposed, arose from the Venetian 
 blind, which deadened the noise, or drove it back into the room 
 from whence the shot was fired ; for it seemed by his account 
 that the balls passed through a blind before striking any other 
 object. "I heard," he said, "this deadened report, and at the 
 same moment I felt something graze my arm, and immediately 
 a little girl, who was standing behind me, fell forward and struck 
 the street with her face. I heard a cry, and saw many more fall- 
 ing and fallen. I stooped to raise the girl, but she was dead ; a 
 ball had passed through her heart. Poor thing ! she was young 
 and very pretty, but I could do nothing for her — she was gone 
 for ever ! So I laid her down again. "When I looked up, I saw 
 the king's horse plunging violently, for it was badly wounded. 
 Several of his court were trying to persuade the king to turn 
 back, but this he would not do. I heard him give the word 
 ' Forward' with a cool and determined voice — so much so, that 
 all argument ceased, and the cortege advanced. I did not pro- 
 ceed with them, for my attention was rivetted on the convulsed 
 faces of the wounded, who were being carried away for assistance, 
 and I did not like to leave the body of the little girl, who had 
 fallen by my side so instantaneously struck by death. A few 
 seconds before she had been laughing and enjoying the gay scene ; 
 but she would laugh and smile no more, I believe," he con- 
 
202 THE VICTIMS AND THE BYSTANDER. 
 
 tinned, " I am as brave as another. I have seen my comrades 
 fall by my side from the balls of an enemy, and have thought 
 little of it. There was then strife and excitement ; there was 
 war. I was anxious to destroy the Hves of my country's enemies, 
 and willing to hazard my own. Those about me were actuated 
 by the same feelings, and when they fell, I said, ' Fortune of war,' 
 and all was over ; but in the moment of peace and gaiety it is a 
 different thing. To see a man fall in battle is notliing ; to stand 
 by the side of a fair young girl, who has come forth to seek plea- 
 sure and has met with death, gives a shock not easily told. I 
 am not ashamed to own that I was greatly affected. The people 
 began to bring the dead and lay them in a row close to the spot 
 where I was standing. I would let no one else touch my little 
 girl ; I lifted her myself, and laid her with the rest, and stood 
 at her head till Louis Philippe returned. When he did so, he 
 paused before the line of bodies, and saluted each with his sword. 
 It was I who returned the salutation for the little girl, and as I 
 did so, I marked well the king's eye and expression ; it was sad, 
 but there was no trace of fear, E"o, no, I tell you (and he raised 
 his voice) ; let them say what they wUl, our royal blood is brave. 
 They may make a mistake ; they may want moral courage in a 
 great crisis ; but no man can say with truth that they are defi- 
 cient in personal bravery. If you want another instance, I can 
 give it you. People are not now afraid of the cholera, but in '32, 
 whenever the pestilence broke out, wives left their husbands, and 
 mothers their children. The very doctors were flying from the 
 hospitals ; yet in that moment of universal panic the king re- 
 stored their courage by going through the hospitals himself, and 
 speaking to the sick and dying. This, in my opinion, showed 
 greater nerve than riding calmly through the streets after ar 
 escape from assassination ; for I know that I would rathei 
 face a battery of guns loaded with grape, than walk through £ 
 pest-house." 
 
 " I remember," said Hope, "the sensation which this attempi 
 of Fieschi's made in London. We had exhibitions and model' 
 
THE GUILLOTINE. 203 
 
 of the infernal macliine, and wax models of the heads of Fieschi 
 and his friends, which were wonderfully well done. Every little 
 trifle was copied : the wound on Fieschi's head, and the mark on 
 the noses of all, were accurately portrayed. The showman told 
 us that this mark on the nose was invariably found on the faces 
 of aU criminals who suffered by the guillotine ; but I never heard 
 why it should be so." 
 
 " The explanation is very simple," said the Marquis. " The 
 culprit is iixed to a frame that slides towards the place where the 
 knife falls. "When the moment of execution arrives, this frame 
 is let down, the culprit remaining fastened to it with his face to- 
 wards the floor of the scaffold. Then the frame is pushed forward, 
 and as the criminal Kes, his head has to pass over the semicircular 
 groove on which his neck is to be secured. As he passes over, 
 his nose always strikes the edge, which leaves the mark you saw. 
 It is the only pain he suffers, for in half a second his head is in 
 the basket." 
 
 " That is an accurate description," said the Captain; " but this 
 gentleman gave a wrong name to Fieschi's fellow-conspirators 
 when he called them his friends. There is not a doubt that they 
 intended to kill him as well as the king. Several of the plugs in 
 the breeches of the muskets were made so as to be sure to fire 
 backwards. It was one of these that wounded Fieschi. He stood 
 a little on one side when he fired, and was only wounded. Had 
 he stood exactly behind, he must have been shot dead. Fieschi 
 himself was convinced of this evil intention on their part, or he 
 never would have given up the names of the others. This I know 
 to be the fact, for he told me so with his own lips." 
 
 The arrival of a fresh dish stopped all further conversation on 
 this topic. After the discussion of the plat and its merits, a new 
 subject was started. 
 
 " You English," observed the Marquis, " ahvays converse on 
 politics. Hitherto the French, as a nation, have done so very 
 little ; but now all the world talk ; even the very gamins in the 
 street speak of governing the country, and finding out the defects 
 
204 STATE ECONOMY. 
 
 of our rulers. I remember the time wlien every man though 
 himself fit to hS a general, and canvassed every hattle that wa 
 fought, and every military movement that was made. Now, the; 
 all begin to think themselves qualified to be prime ministers, anc 
 talk of public men and public measures as they used to do o 
 generals and battles." 
 
 " And what are the grievances they principally complain of ] ■ 
 asked Hope. 
 
 "Every district has its own," answered the Marquis. " In this 
 for instance, the people are fond of their money. Economy, tax 
 ation, and finance, are therefore the themes they dwell upon." 
 
 " Yes, a set of fools," said the Captain. " What do you thin] 
 a farmer had the absurdity to tell me the other day 1 Why, h 
 said that two hundred thousand soldiers were quite enough t 
 protect France, and that three hundred thousand ought to b 
 forthwith disbanded. Did you ever hear of anything so absurd 
 Yet I assure you the fellow said so ; and what most astonishe 
 me was, to hear anything so ridiculous come out of the mouth c 
 a man who had before spoken very sensibly," 
 
 " Yfhat had he said ?" asked the Marquis. 
 
 " Why," replied the Captain, " he had been saying that th 
 industrious part of the popidation were eaten up by the useles 
 quantity of civil employes, and he enumerated a good many c 
 them that might, I allow, be very well dispensed with. I n 
 member one in particular — the Minister of Public Worship. H 
 is undoubtedly very useless, for the women could certainly go t 
 church without our paying a large sum to a minister to loo 
 after their worship. Let the priests do that, and save the salar 
 to the country. I am sure in Paris none of our acquaintance 
 ever think of going to church, and it is very much the sam 
 here." 
 
 " Why, my dear friend," said the Marquis, " I go to churc 
 very often, and I have seen you there also." 
 
 " True, my dear fellow, I used to go, but I have left it oi 
 for I have some religion, and I was afraid I should lose whc 
 
THE MARQUIS PEESEXTS HIMSELF AT CHUKCH. 205 
 
 little I had by going to mass only to see you looking about at th.e 
 women, and not listening to the priest." 
 
 " iSTo, no, my friend," said the Marquis ; " you do me injus- 
 tice, for I go to mass here occasionalh', and, generally speaking, 
 all the "svomen in Xormandy are so plain that no man of taste 
 would look at them twice. I present myself in church, and if I 
 don't listen much, at all events I hear the sound of the priest's 
 voice and the choir." 
 
 " What would our friends in Scotland say to such a method 
 pf performmg our religious duties V whispered Cross. 
 
 " AVhy, they would wonder," returned Hope, " that the 
 earth did not open and swallow them ; yet, strange to say, I 
 once heard a worthy presbyterian Highland laird make a speech 
 greatly resembling that which the IMarquis has just made. jNIy 
 friend always went to church, at least once every Sunday, but 
 in the hot summer weather, instead of entering the church, he 
 alwaj'S remained outside. Being asked his reason for this pro- 
 ceeding, he answered that the church was very warm and stuffy ; 
 whereas, by staying in the churchyard, he could smell the 
 flowers, feel the caller air, and hear the birds sing, while at 
 the same time he got a soiigJi of the gospel through the church- 
 door." 
 
 These latter remarks and answers had been made in English, 
 and spoken rapidly, so that they did not attract the attention of 
 the Frenchmen, who were fully taken up with their own con- 
 versation and the sight of another dish, which was travelling 
 from the stove to the table. AVhile it was being devoured 
 there was a pause, and for a time no one spoke ; but the 
 same reflections, as was afterwards confessed, passed through 
 the minds of the two friends ; nameh', that although religion was 
 at a very low ebb in France, yet there were many who perfectly 
 understood the rule of " every one for himself and God for us 
 all." The soldier considered folly that which the farmer and 
 the civihan deemed wisdom, and vice versa, as each was swayed 
 by interest. 
 
206 BOUILLABAISE, 
 
 " With, interests so opposed, it will require a wise head and 
 a strong arm to restore prosperity to this fine country," said 
 Cross, when, at a later period, they compared their thoughts. 
 
 The longest dinner must have an end. The tables were at 
 last cleared, after a long sederunt ; cards were produced, and the 
 four were soon established at whist. The stakes were five sous 
 a fish, or, what certainly sounds better than either, twopence- 
 halfpenny, or five sous ; they played for twenty-five centimes. 
 The Frenchmen were by way of being good players ; they were 
 undoubtedly in constant practice. The Englishmen seldom 
 played ; yet such was the course of luck, that soon after eleven 
 o'clock, when the party broke up, the Frenchmen were in verj 
 bad humour, being losers of thirty points. " You remember the 
 Scotch proverb," said Hope, " ' The deil's good to beginners,' " 
 
 As they were passing through the house door to mount then 
 own outside stair. Cross stopped. " I remember, by the by,' 
 said he, " you doubted the strength of the jelly which could b( 
 made by boiling fish and fish-bones under pressure. Th( 
 remains of our bouillabaise will now be cold. Come into th( 
 larder and see how firm it becomes, and you will appreciat( 
 the use of confining the steam in the pot by laying a weigh 
 on the Hd." 
 
 " I should like well enough to see that," answered Hope 
 So they turned back to ask permission of the landlady to ente 
 her larder. 
 
 " Certainly, certainly," said she ; " here is a light. Th^ 
 door at the end leads into the larder." She opened a bad 
 door, and pointed down a short passage made of wood, leaninj 
 against the house, and leading to a detached building. 
 
 Cross took the light, and led the way. There were tw 
 doors on one side, and one in front ; and when they came t( 
 the second. Cross opened it and walked in. He had fairl; 
 entered before he perceived that he was in a small bedroom 
 not in a larder, and that the apartment was occupied. A mai 
 was sitting at a table, with his back towards the door. On th 
 
AN INSURGENT. 207 
 
 table were the remains of a supper, and a small lantern, which, 
 threw a faint light over the room. The man had been leaning 
 his head on his hand, perhaps asleep ; but when the door opened, 
 and he heard the sound of footsteps, he sprang up evidently in 
 alarm. As he arose, he held a pocket-handkerchief to his face, 
 so that his features could not be seen. He wore a peasant's 
 blouse, and both it and his lower garments were covered with 
 mud. 
 
 " AYhat may you please to want?" said -the man, after a 
 moment's pause, during which he had accurately surveyed 
 Cross, 
 
 " I beg your pardon," answered the latter ; " I thought 
 this was the larder." 
 
 The man recognised the accent of an Englishman, and 
 seemed reassured, for he removed the handkerchief from his 
 face as he replied, " The gentleman is mistaken ; this is my 
 room, not the larder." 
 
 Cross, while he spoke, was standing within the room ; 
 Hope was still in the passage. Cross carried the candle, so 
 that both the stranger and himself were in light ; while Hope 
 remained in the dark shadow of the door : he could thus see 
 them, but the stranger could not distinguish him. 
 
 Cross apologised for his intrusion, and was in the act of 
 closing the door, when the landlady rushed bustling into the 
 passage. 
 
 " Oh, mon Dieu ! " she cried, " that is not the larder. It is 
 in front of you, at the end. How foolish he is ! Could he 
 not have the sense to bolt his door 1 " 
 
 She followed close on the steps of the two friends, as they 
 walked into an apartment, built of wood, which opened at the 
 end of the passage, and closed the door behind her as soon as 
 they were all entered. 
 
 " You are so generous, you English," she said, " I am sure 
 you will not betray the poor gentleman or me. I was mad not 
 to show you the way, and he was worse not to fasten his door." 
 
208 THE LARDEE. 
 
 "Don't alarm yourself," answered botli the friends together; 
 " we shall never mention that we have seen any one here." 
 
 "Not even to the gentlemen with whom you dined 1" said 
 the landlady, looking anxiously in their faces. 
 
 " To no one, be assured," replied Hope ; " for though we 
 suspect him to be an ouvrier who has been concerned in the 
 late outbreak at Paris, we shall not betray either liim or you." 
 
 " He has been foolish, I am afraid," said the landlady, " but 
 why or how I know not, for he is not an ouvrier, but a gentle- 
 man, who was once rich and liberal. My brother was servant 
 in his house, so I could not refuse him shelter when he was in 
 danger." 
 
 "And believe me," said Cross, "we respect your feelings. 
 !N'o one shall know from us that we have perceived any one in 
 your house ; so set your mind at ease, and show us what we 
 came to see, namely, the cold soup from the bouillabaise." 
 
 The landlady produced a jar, in which stood a clear and 
 very firm jelly. She was still slightly nervous, but in answer 
 to questions put to her, she explained that this jelly would 
 serve for another time by the addition of a little water ; that it 
 turned sour and bad if allowed to cool often ; but when kept 
 hot, and water added, it would be equally good for a long time. 
 It was while Cross was talking to the woman, that Hope cast 
 his eye round this apartment, half pantry, half dairy. The 
 room, or rather shed, was divided into two parts by a canvas 
 screen. On one side were ranged the milk vessels, on the other, 
 cold meat and vegetables. A small c[uantity of raw meat hung 
 from the roof. The milk vessels were as unlike those in an 
 English dairy as possible ; for instead of being large and flat, 
 they were tall and round, looking like brown English beer-jugs 
 without handles. Close to Hope was placed the remainder of 
 the piece of bacon Avhich they had thought so good at dinner. 
 This caught his eye, for he thought he saw something move 
 upon it, and when he stepped forward to ascertain what it could 
 be, he was thunderstruck by perceiving an immense bright 
 
A CAENIYOEOUS SNAIL. 209 
 
 orange slug, having some small black spots on the back, which 
 was busily engaged in devouring the bacon, in which it had 
 already made a considerable hole. 
 
 " Hang it. Cross, look at this ; here is something that will 
 astonish you ! a carnivorous snail ! and not only eating meat, 
 but salt meat. Why, I have always thought that a pinch of 
 salt would kill any of the snail tribe ; yet here is a fellow that 
 has eaten a pretty good hole in this bacon, and is still going on 
 with his meal." 
 
 "0 the villanous beast!" cried the landlady, as she seized 
 a wooden fork and jerked the slug on the earthen floor, where 
 she crushed it with her sabot. 
 
 Hope made a dash to save its life, but was too late. " I am 
 sorry you killed it," he said ; " I should like to have kept it." 
 
 " Keep that vile creature ! " exclaimed the landlady. " They 
 are the plague of my life. I find them here constantly ; some- 
 times eating the meat, and sometimes the bread. It was only 
 two days ago that I found two of them eating a loaf of English 
 bread that I had brought from Granville for Monsieur le Mar- 
 quis ; and how they get in, I cannot conceive, unless they come 
 out of the ground." 
 
 " Most probably they do," said Cross ; " for though the 
 earth is hard and dry in the centre of the floor, it is quite soft 
 round the edges, and I see several holes through which these 
 creatures might come." 
 
 "Have you ever seen them eating meat before?" asked 
 Hope. 
 
 " Xo, I have not," answered Cross ; " but I have seen them 
 eating filth on the road-side, and I have heard that they attack 
 the fat of meat, especially when it has been paned as this 
 bacon is." 
 
 "But salt meat!" said Hope; "to eat that is to me doubly 
 surprising." 
 
 " I doubt," returned Cross, " if there is any salt left in this 
 meat. "What between soaking in water and simmering for so 
 
 P 
 
210 SNAILS AND SNAIL SOUP. 
 
 many hours in wine, I suspect the salt must be all extracted ; 
 and we are not the first to discover that snails are carnivorous." 
 
 " I am aware," said Hope, " that the garden snail, the Helix 
 aspersa, eats insects in its native state, and meat in confinement. 
 I know also that the Kensington slug devours worms and grubs ; 
 but I never had the slightest idea that these large sleek-looking 
 fellows ate anything but vegetables." 
 
 " I rather suspect," answered Cross, " that these orange- 
 coloured slugs are a difi"erent variety from any we have in Eng- 
 land. Works on natural history are not to be got here, and I 
 have never met any of the natives who care the least about such 
 studies. Observation is therefore all we have to trust to, unless 
 you are in correspondence with any of your learned friends in 
 Paris, who may help to enlighten us. Our friend the Marquis 
 may be able to tell us if they are ever used as food. You 
 know there is a variety of snail that is eaten both here and 
 in Germany ; and I think I have been told that they make a 
 sort of soup of slugs which is given to people in consump- 
 tion." 
 
 " Yes," said Hope, " I know that to be a fact. I have 
 heard of the same thing being done in England ; and it is said 
 that soup made of the common black slug is one of the lightest 
 and most nutritious kinds of food that can be given to an invalid. 
 I have the means of knowing that slugs are very nutritious." 
 
 "How so?" asked Cross. "Have you ever tasted them 
 yourself?" 
 
 " Not exactly," answered Hope ; " but I know that they 
 were eaten to a great extent by an Irishwoman and her family. 
 The circumstance is rather curious, and I will tell you about it. 
 You may remember that my family lived for two years in Kent, 
 near Sydenham. There was a large common near our house, 
 greatly frequented by gypsies and tramps ; in a gravel-pit on 
 this common, an Irishman and his family thought proper to 
 squat. They built a hovel against the side of the gravel-pit, in 
 which they lived ; and the man earned large wages as a gravel- 
 
WIDOW SCUDDEK. 211 
 
 digger. One unfortunate day, however, when the poor man was 
 employed in cutting down a bank, the fall came before it was 
 expected, and he was smothered. The widow and children still 
 continued to live in the hut, and it was remarked that, although 
 she had no visible means of earning her livelihood, both she 
 and her children were more fat and rosy than any labourer's 
 family in the parish. Now, several hen-roosts had been robbed 
 and a great many sheep stolen in the neighbourhood. Suspicion 
 fell on Widow Scudder, and a warrant was granted to search her 
 house. I chanced to be walking on the common when these 
 myrmidons of the law had completed their search, and I met 
 them returning to the village. One of them had the poor widow 
 in custody, and two others were carrying a good-sized cask on a 
 hand-barrow ; the children were following their mother, all 
 weeping most bitterly. I was but a lad at the time, but I had 
 taken an interest in this poor woman, as I had heard of her 
 husband's death, and she had once given me a viper which she 
 had killed on the common. She had shown me the folding 
 teeth and the poison-bag at the root of the fangs ; and this 
 viper formed a very conspicuous feature in my boy's museum, 
 where it hung in a bottle of spirits of wine, with its mouth open 
 to show the fangs. I could do httle in her behalf, excepting to 
 use my tongue ; but this I did exert to the best of my ability, 
 remonstrating with the men, and asking what the poor woman 
 had done that they should make a prisoner of her. ' One of the 
 constables knew me, and so far condescended to sink his dignity 
 as to inform me that they had plain proof that Widow Scudder 
 was the person who had stolen all the sheep, for that they had 
 found this cask Avhich they were carrying full of the salted meat, 
 which she had minced into little morsels. I looked to the 
 poor widow to learn what she said to this accusation. ' Oh, 
 darling, spake for me and the children,' she said ; ' it's not 
 mutton, though it's their meat and mine, and has kept death 
 from our door this bitter winter ! ' ' What is it then, mother 1 ' 
 asked one of the constables. ' That's nothing to you, you 
 
212 SALTED SNAILS. 
 
 false-hearted blackguard,' roared the widow. ' The curse of 
 the Lord fall ou you and yours, that would lay a hand on a 
 poor lone woman that never did hurt to you or your be- 
 longings.' 
 
 " I tried to persuade her to tell what was in the cask, but 
 she refused to speak before ' them blackguards,' as she called 
 the constables ; and as no arguments could influence her, she 
 was taken before the magistrate, who was fortunately a very 
 kind-hearted man. I went with her. Mr. B. spoke mildly to 
 the woman ; he examined the cask, which was half-full, 
 declared the contents were not mutton, and then asked the 
 widow to reveal to him what they were, as this information was 
 the best way to clear her from all suspicion. ' Send them fellows 
 away, and I will tell your honour,' replied the widow. The 
 constables were dismissed. I, as her friend, was allowed to 
 remain. She then told the magistrate that the cask contained 
 nothing more or less than salted slugs. She had seen them 
 given to a young man in Ireland supposed to be in a consump- 
 tion, who had recovered his health, and got quite fat on this 
 food, and in consequence she had thought that what was so good 
 for him might be good for her children. She first tried them 
 fresh, and finding that her children throve, she then took to 
 salting them. Her mode was to drop the slugs into boiling 
 water, and afterwards lay them with salt in a cask. She and 
 her children had thus prepared two casks full, which had sup- 
 ported them all during the whole winter, and the cask then in 
 the room contained the remainder of her store. She besought 
 the magistrate not to reveal her confession to the constables, 
 which he promised not to do, and he kept his word ; but he 
 told the story to a few of the gentry in the neighbourhood, who 
 joined him in a subscription, which enabled the widow in future 
 to have some bread to eat with her slugs. I too kept her 
 secret till she left the country ; but I have never forgotten that 
 no one need starve where there are plenty of black slugs to be 
 got." 
 
VENDEAN DIET. 213 
 
 " I think," said Cross, " that I must be very far gone before 
 I could eat a black slug. I am quite sure I would rather die 
 than eat one of these orange ones, after what we see they feed 
 on." 
 
 " Well," replied Hope, " I agree with you, and yet I am 
 aware it is prejudice. We eat periwinkles, and think them very 
 good, and they are nothing more nor less than sea-snails ; and 
 we have eaten this very day those spider-crabs, which are cer- 
 tainly more disgusting to look at, and quite as foul feeders. I 
 wonder if an orange slug would eat a man as well as a bit of 
 bacon ! You know your friends the crabs would make no ob- 
 jections to such food." 
 
 This conversation had been carried on by the two gentlemen 
 in English, the landlady looking on with curious eyes while 
 they were speaking, as she did not understand a Avord of what 
 they were saying. At last she showed what was passing in her 
 mind by asking — 
 
 " Are you talking of the poor gentleman ? Pray speak low if 
 you are ; for some one may hear you in the yard, and under- 
 stand you, although I do not." 
 
 " no," said Hope, " all the world might hear us without 
 danger ; we are only speaking of snails, and wondering if they 
 are good as food. Can you tell us if the people about here ever 
 eat themi" 
 
 " Yes," she answered ; " they are sometimes used here, but 
 only as a medicine. In La Vendee, and some other parts of 
 France, they are eaten (the Lord defend me) from taste. When 
 my husband was on service in the army he was a sous officier, 
 and was caterer for their mess. Among the sous-officiers there 
 was a sergeant who belonged to La Vendee with whom he had 
 a quarrel, and they fought with sabres. Their dispute was about 
 snails, for this man would always bring a capful of these crea- 
 tures, which he cooked and ate at the table with my husband, 
 though it made him sick to see them. AVell, my husband 
 desired him to give up such nasty tastes, which interference he 
 
214 CONSITMPTION CURED. 
 
 took nmch. amiss, so they fonglit, and gave each, other some very 
 pretty "blows with the edge, and then they were good friends 
 again ; only the Vendean agreed to eat his snails at another 
 mess. After this yon would hardly believe that it was my 
 husband whom I first saw cooking snails ; yet so it was. A girl 
 who was in our house as servant had a very bad illness of the 
 chest ; she was constantly spitting blood, and all the doctors 
 said she must die. We were very sorry, for she was a good girl 
 and pleased us, when my husband remembered that he had 
 heard of such wonders being done for illnesses of the chest by 
 soup au Limnsin ; so he set to work to prepare some for the 
 poor girl as he had seen it made by the sergeant in La Vendee. 
 He gave it to her, and she had faith, for she got better. She 
 then learnt to cook it for herself, and took it twice a day, and 
 she got quite w^ell and fat, and now she is married and has two 
 fine boys." 
 
 " Just your Irish widow over again," said Cross. 
 
 " Very like the way she learnt to eat snails, certainly," 
 answered Hope. "And pray, madame," he continued to the 
 landlady, " can you tell us the manner in which they are 
 cooked?" 
 
 " With pleasure," she replied ; " but you are not surely going 
 to try them?" 
 
 " Not at present," said Hope ; " while we have the honour 
 of living with you we are quite contented with what you pro- 
 vide ; but there is no knowing what may happen, and it is 
 always wise to take a lesson when we can." 
 
 " Very true, sir," said the landlady, who had curtsied low to 
 Hope's implied compliment on her cookery. " There are two 
 ways of cooking them. The snails with the shells are used in 
 the winter, for the slugs are not then to be found. These snails 
 with shells are found under ground at the foot of a wall, or in 
 holes in the walls. Those with stripes on them are not used, 
 because they have a bad taste and smell, but only those which 
 are of one colour. These are put for a minute into boiling 
 
HOW TO COOK SNAILS. 215 
 
 water, and tlien they come out of the shell quite easily. A little 
 bit of hard matter is taken from the head, and after\Yards they 
 are stewed for a long time in milk. This is the winter soup, for 
 at that season those snails are easily found and have no sHme ; 
 but in summer they use the slugs, and prepare them much in 
 the same way, only with this difference, that the slugs are 
 plunged into boiling water to kill them, and then they are 
 washed in cold water, when a great deal of nasty slime comes 
 off, after which they are stewed in water for a long time, and 
 milk and seasoning added ; or they are stewed in milk in the 
 same way as the snails with shells." 
 
 " Thank you, madame," said Hope ; " and now we may go to 
 bed, and let you go too. You may sleep soundly and without 
 fear, for we shall never say one word to any person of the 
 stranger to whom you are giving shelter." 
 
 The good woman thanked them and conducted them to the 
 foot of their outside stair, Avhere she handed a lantern to Cross, 
 and bade them good-night, 
 
 " Well," said Cross, when they had entered their room, 
 " that lady's receipt interested me, for her treatment of slugs was 
 exactly similar to that followed by your Irish widow. The 
 striped snails which she describes as being rejected are, I sup- 
 pose, the Helix Xemoralis, or carnivorous snails of Sowerby. 
 But what a fright she was in, poor woman, when she saw us in 
 that man's room. I have a great fancy that he is one of the 
 insurgents of Paris who has escaped, and has come down here to 
 hide himself." 
 
 " And I am pretty sure that he is one," said Hope ; "I have 
 seen him before, and not many weeks ago." 
 
 "Ah!" exclaimed Cross, "pray tell me about him. Was 
 his one of the faces you saw grinning over a barricade 1" 
 
 " ISTo," replied Hope ; " I never saw him at a barricade — 
 though I have no doubt he was behind some of them — but I 
 will tell you my story, and you shall judge. I was going into 
 the Jardin des Plantes a few weeks ago with one of my learned 
 
216 A STOEY OF THE EEVOLUTION. 
 
 friends, Monsieur G , whose father is a banker. As we en- 
 tered one of the walks we saw two good-looking young men 
 sitting on one of the benches. 
 
 " They were dressed in rather shabby-genteel clothes. After 
 we had passed, one of them, the very man now down stairs, 
 followed us, and touched my friend on the shoulder. He stopped, 
 and the intruder, addressing him by name, requested him to 
 pause and speak with him. From the look he cast on me I saw 
 I was not wanted, so I walked on, and waited for nearly a 
 
 quarter of an hour before Monsieur G again joined me. 
 
 When he did so, the first words he said were, ' How painful it 
 is to be obliged to say ' no ' when one would wish to say ' yes.' 
 Did you ever find yourself in such a position V I told him that 
 few men reached my time of life without meeting with such an 
 event. 'I am not as old as you are,' he said, 'and this has 
 happened to me to-day for the first time. You saw those young 
 men ; they are my juniors, it is true, yet we were at coUege to- 
 gether, and I protected the one who stopped me just now. I 
 had a great liking for him, for he was full of talent, of good 
 family, and not ill-oif for money ; but he was very wild, and 
 would never follow my advice. His present companion, Pierre 
 
 B , I knew less and liked less, for he was quite as wild, 
 
 without the talent of my friend, Jules F . With Pierre 
 
 there was no reasoning ; he was as obstinate as an Austrian, 
 
 and this obstinacy Jules P mistook for firmness, and allowed 
 
 a man far his inferior in ability to lead him by the nose into 
 all sorts of scrapes. After vainly endeavouring to draw Jules 
 into steadier courses, I gave him up, and we ceased to be the in- 
 timate friends we had been, though I still met him in society, 
 where he was running a reckless course of gambling, extrava- 
 gance, and dissipation, spoiled by the admiration of the world, 
 who helped him to his destruction by applauding his wit and 
 never checking his vices. About two years ago, I heard he was 
 rained ; then I learnt that he had got some situation under go- 
 vernment, and had gone to live in the country. Shortly after 
 
A EECRUIT. 217 
 
 this I received a letter from him, asking me to assist him with 
 a loan to establish him in his new situation, and telling me he 
 was resolved to turn over a new leaf, as he deeply regretted not 
 having followed my advice. I lent him the sum he requested, 
 and he has repaid me nearly the whole amount, as he transmitted 
 every quarter a portion of liis salary. It unfortunately happened 
 that the other young man whom we have just passed, Pierre 
 
 B , was also ap^Dointed to a situation in the same district 
 
 where Jules F was placed, and I heard that they had got 
 
 into several scrapes together before the Eevolution. The in- 
 terest of Jules saved him from dismissal ; but with the Eevolu- 
 tion came a change. Men in power, new men especially, always 
 want to provide for their own friends and followers. Those who 
 replaced the king were only too glad to take advantage of the 
 
 faults of Jules F and his companion. They were summarily 
 
 dismissed to make room for others, and I learn from him that 
 they are both now absolutely m want of the necessaries of life. 
 When Jules stopped me a minute ago, it was to show me a letter 
 in which an editor of one of the papers offers him a situation, 
 provided he will lodge five thousand francs in the concern as 
 security for his good behaviour. He asked me to advance him 
 this sum, or to persuade my father to do so. My father, I know, 
 will not, and I cannot lend it. I was therefore obliged to say 
 that painful word ' no,' and most painful I found it to do so ; 
 but I had no remedy. All the money I had in my pocket I lent 
 him — some two hundred francs — and if he keeps clear of the 
 gaming-table, that may give him food till he finds something to 
 do ; but that, alas ! just now, is most difficult, for distress is 
 universal, and who knows whether I may not in a week be as 
 much in want of a few francs as he is to-day ?' 
 
 " I told my friend Monsieur G ," continued Hope, " not 
 
 to distress himself ; but he was low and out of spirits during 
 the remainder of our walk, and when we separated he was still 
 depressed. A few days before the last outbreak I was again 
 walking with this gentleman, when, at the corner of a street, 
 
218 COMMUNISTES THE OUTBEEAK. 
 
 we came upon a considerable number of blackguard-looking men, 
 like the flash mob of Paris. I saw one of these tr^'ing to avoid 
 us, and in another I recognised the elder of the two men whom 
 
 I had seen in the Jardin des Plantes, whom ]\Ionsieur G 
 
 had named as Pierre B . He stared daringly at us from the 
 
 centre of this group. "We proceeded for about a hundred yards 
 
 in silence, when Monsieur G said, * I had an anticipation 
 
 that tliis would be the case. That young man is gone, l^othing 
 can save him now.' I asked for an explanation of these remarks, 
 and he told me that he had been making inquiries about the 
 
 young man Jules F , to whom he had given the two hundred 
 
 francs, as his father had offered to take him as a clerk in his 
 bank till something better turned up ; but he learnt that his 
 
 exertions would now be of no avail, as Jules F had taken 
 
 his place in one of the clubs, and was already one of the most 
 admired orators and leaders in the communist department of the 
 Ateliers Nationaux. ' I did not believe it,' he continued, ' but 
 I have just seen that it is too true. Jules had the grace to try 
 and conceal himself, but I saw him in that group, many of whom 
 I know to be leaders of the very refuse of this city.' 
 
 "Well, the outbreak took place. I need not say anything 
 about that. On the second day after it was put down I went 
 
 to call on Monsieur G , and we set off together to look at 
 
 some of the districts where the fighting had been the hottest. 
 We were returning home again when we perceived a large crowd 
 advancing towards us. There were a number of regular troops, 
 and a considerable body of the Garde Mobile, guarding about a 
 hundred prisoners ; and these again were followed by a crowd. 
 We drew on one side to let them pass. As they came up we 
 could distinguish their faces. In the front marched a prisoner 
 whose bearing struck me forcibly. He had on neither hat nor 
 coat ; his face was black with powder, and he was evidently 
 wounded, for his shirt was stained with blood ; yet his hands 
 were tied behind him. As he advanced he held his head very 
 high ; looking now up at the windows, now at the people in the 
 
THE PEISOXEKS THE PUESUIT. 219 
 
 street, "R'itli the most daring bravado. The rest of the prisoners 
 seemed so much depressed and wan that this man's conduct was 
 the more striking. I owti I did not recognise him, for his face 
 ■was so begrimed with black that I could not distinguish his 
 
 features. Monsieur G , however, when they came near, 
 
 got behind me and held down his head. ' It is as I expected,' 
 he said in a low voice ; ' tell me when they are passed, and look 
 for me, if you can see my poor friend Jules, for if he is not 
 among them he has fallen ! ' Upon hearing this, I again looked 
 at the leading prisoner, and then I knew him to be Pierre 
 
 B , the elder of the two men whom I had seen first in the 
 
 Jardin des Plantes, and afterwards with the party in the street. 
 I fixed my eyes on all the other prisoners as they passed ; Jules 
 
 r was not among them. This I told to Monsieur G 
 
 when they were all gone by. ' Then he has fallen ! ' he exclaimed : 
 ' and perhaps it is as well ; better to die at once on the field, 
 than perish on the scaffold, or pine away life in the Bagne!' 
 He begged me, however, to follow the prisoners, which we did ; 
 and we saw them all taken to their quarters. Here Monsieur 
 
 G began to catechise one of the Garde Mobile, who gave 
 
 us a graphic description of a hunt they had had after the &yvag 
 insurgents, and for those who were hiding themselves in some of 
 the woods round Paris. The horrors that had been committed 
 by the insurgents on all the Garde Mobile who had fallen into 
 their hands were universallj'" known by the survivors of that 
 corps, and they had been panting for revenge. By the descrip- 
 tion which this man gave us, they seemed to have glutted 
 themselves pretty well vriih the blood of their adversaries ; for, 
 by his account, their hunt had been a sort of battue, where men 
 were the game, and not rabbits. '"When we had placed our 
 posts,' said the Garde Mobile, ' at one end of the wood, to catch 
 any stragglers, we spread out, completely surrounding the other 
 three sides ; then the bugle sounded, and we advanced. Oh, it 
 was grand sport to see them stepping from among the trees, and 
 starting out of their lairs. The moment we got a glimpse of 
 
220 NOCTURNAL COCK-CROWING. 
 
 one, if he ran, plon ! down he came ; if he stood still, we tied 
 his hands and drove him on ; and indeed I am not sure that a 
 few of ns did not take a sitting shot now and then. It was I 
 who dropped that fine fellow with his nose in the air ; he was 
 mighty big when he got into the streets ; but he sung very 
 small when he came to himself, and found his elbows fast in my 
 cord.' 
 
 " Monsieur G called me away, quite convinced that 
 
 Jules F was dead, and, truth to tell, so Avas I ; and I was 
 
 therefore not a little astonished to-night when I looked over 
 your shoulder in the passage and recognised him still ahve. 
 
 For Monsieur G 's sake I will try and do something for 
 
 this unfortunate young man. At all events I may be able to 
 communicate with his friends, though he dare not do so himself. 
 In the meanwhile, let us to bed." 
 
 As the two friends had been undressing during the time that 
 Hope was speaking, it did not take them many minutes to con- 
 clude their preparations, and both stepped into bed at nearly 
 the same time. Silence followed, as far as words were concerned, 
 yet neither slept, and each heard the other turning and sighing, 
 by Avhich the other knew that his companion was awake. This 
 had lasted nearly half-an-hour, when Hope sat ujd in his bed 
 and said softly — 
 
 "Are you awake. Cross]" 
 
 " Yes," answered he ; " I am restless, and cannot sleep." 
 
 "And so am I," said Hope; "I hear a child crying Miat 
 annoys me terribly and makes me nervous. Listen ! don't you 
 hear it 1 there again ! " 
 
 A sound was heard very distinctly, and then Cross laughed. 
 
 " That is not a child crying," he said ; " it is a number of 
 young cocks in coops in the yard below who are trying to crow." 
 
 "Cocks crowing !" exclaimed Hope, "impossible ! why it is 
 barely midnight ; there is no moon, and it is as dark as Erebus." 
 
 " All true," answered Cross ; " nevertheless, what you hear 
 is nothing more nor less than cocks crowing. Open the window 
 
CUEE FOR CONSUMrTIOX. 221 
 
 if you doubt me, and listen ; you will hear the same sounds 
 coming from every yard in the village." 
 
 Hope jumped out of bed, groped his way to the window, 
 opened it, and leaned out. 
 
 "By Jove! you're right," he exclaimed; "I hear cocks 
 crowing distinctly all around me, both near and at a distance. 
 It is very extraordinary, for the night is so dark I cannot see my 
 hand a foot from my face." 
 
 " It struck me also as very singular when I first came here," 
 said Cross, " but now I am used to it and forget to think, that it 
 is unusual, for every cock in this country crows half the night. 
 I suspect they must dream, and do it while they sleep, for, dark 
 or light, it is the same — the cocks are always crowing. I sup- 
 pose the garrulity of the men descends to the feathered as well 
 as to the unfeathered bipeds of the land. I have been told, 
 however, that in the "West Indies both dogs and poultry are 
 mute during the day, but make up for their silence in daylight 
 by barking and crowing all night." 
 
 " I have never met with this before," said Hope ; " or, if I 
 have, it never struck me. I am glad, however, I have heard it, 
 for it has changed the current of my thoughts, and I may now go 
 to bed again and try to sleep." 
 
 He shut the window and groped his way back to bed. 
 " Xeither am I sorry that you disturbed my thoughts," said 
 Cross. " Our conversation about the cures wrought by eating 
 snails called up some sad remembrances. I have been thinking 
 that, had I thought of trying it, it might have saved my poor 
 sister as effectually as it did the maid of an inn. With such 
 well-authenticated cases, I wonder the remedy is not oftener 
 tried. If the relations of an invalid were afraid of disgusting 
 the sufferer by telling her that she was eating snail-soup, they 
 might give it without letting her know how it was made, and 
 mark the effect. They say it has no disagreeable taste, and looks 
 like a white soup. A little parsley in summer, or celery in 
 winter, might disguise it, even if there was any peculiar flavour." 
 
222 GOOD NIGHT. 
 
 " I have heard," said Hope, " that the cure has often heeii 
 tried, and with great success, among the lower classes in Britain. 
 The receipt is too simple, or the fare too disgusting, to he adopted 
 by the upper classes ; but, do you know, since I have been told 
 the way the soup is made, my own disgust is greatly diminished. 
 My horror Avas always at the idea of the slime, but when con- 
 vinced that this is got rid of by scalding and washing in cold 
 water, I should not have any objections to trying it, were I ill 
 and anxious to get well. Being, however, in good health, I own 
 I should not like to eat snail-soup as a luxury, or to fight for my 
 dish like the Vendean sergeant whom our hostess told us of, I 
 was very much interested certainly by our discovery of to-night, 
 namely, of a carnivorous slug ; but I was not kept awake by 
 thinking of snails or slugs : the sight of that man down stairs 
 recalled to my remembrance the scenes I had witnessed in Paris, 
 and I was wondering to myself how many unfortunate peojjh 
 had been led by want to take a part in those deeds of blood, 
 Then followed the question, A^^ience came that want "? and ] 
 thought of this young man reduced to his present position of ar 
 outcast by that accursed love of gambling which is the bane oi 
 this country. One reflection called up another, and broughl 
 back the nervous, feverish sensation that oppressed me before ] 
 left Paris. But now, thanks to those midnight crowers and the 
 breath of fresh air which I got at the window, the feeling is 
 gone and my eyes are heavy ; so, let us, as Eichard says, ' once 
 more try to sleep it unto morning ' — good-night." 
 
 "Good-night" answered Cross. 
 
 The cocks in the yard continued to crow, but no one hearc 
 them ; certainly not the friends, for in two minutes it woulc 
 have required a trumpet to awaken them. 
 
CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 A NOEMAN BREAKFAST AND A STROLL. 
 
 The moruing was well advanced when they woke, but although 
 the sun was high, the room still remained sombre and dark. 
 Hope was the first to raise ; he went to the window and threw 
 back the curtains, meaning to look out ; this, however, he found 
 to be impossible, for a dense white fog was drifting slowly past 
 the windows, and was so thick that it prevented his seeing any- 
 thing twenty yards distant. 
 
 " Hallo, Cross ! " he exclaimed, " look, here's a fog as dark 
 as any I ever saw in London in December ; is not such a thing 
 extraordinary at this season of the year?" 
 
 " no," replied Cross, " fogs are very common here. Ee- 
 member we are on one side of the Channel and England on the 
 other. With easterly winds the fogs which gather in the 
 Channel fall on the English coast ; with west and north-west 
 winds they are drifted on to this coast. They gather in their 
 passage from the ocean, first on the Channel Islands, and then 
 pass on here, where they seem to accumulate and become more 
 dense, being as it were dammed up in the large bay which is 
 formed by the Norman coast and the long point of Brittan3^ 
 Eog, as you know, thickens above wet ground." 
 
 " And yet," said Hope, " those two Frenchmen were joking 
 us about English fogs, and asking on how many days in the 
 year we saw the sun in Scotland." 
 
 " That is ignorance and prejudice," said Cross. " Fogs are 
 rare in Paris, and it is the fashion for Frenchmen to talk of 
 Enghsh fogs, and to boast of the clear sky of la belle France. 
 
224 FISHING IN FOG. 
 
 I never take the trouble of contradicting them, for no power on 
 earth could ever persuade a Frenchman to believe that there is 
 more ugly country in la belle France than in any other part in 
 Europe ; or that the fogs on the coast of Normandy are as fre- 
 quent and as dense as they are in any part of England ; — nay, 
 more, that in Brittany they are even more frequent and more 
 dense, not to mention that more rain falls there than even at 
 Manchester in England, or at Greenock in Scotland, which are 
 supposed to be the two most rainy spots in the United King- 
 dom. Yet so it is." 
 
 While Cross was speaking he had got out of bed, put on his 
 dressing-gown, and reached the window. The density of the 
 fog struck even him ; for he continued — " I have rarely seen 
 such a fog so early in the year. I suspect there must have been 
 a gale of wind out at sea, which has caused it, and this will ex- 
 plain the very high tide which so nearly washed us off the rock 
 the night before last. But I hear voices in the street, showing 
 that the world is awake ; so we may as well dress, although we 
 can do very little in the way of sport to-day. We must content 
 ourselves, I suspect, with a stroll round the country, and make 
 our arrangements for going to try what we may catch in the 
 Mare de Bouillon to-morrow. There will be no use in going to- 
 day, for I never saw fish rise in a foggy day. I have had good 
 sport in a bright sun and in heavy rain, but never in a dry fog." 
 
 " I have had very good sport with bait in foggy days," said 
 Hope, " and once I had a remarkable day in the river Colun 
 by fishing with the live Mayfly during a very dense fog. The 
 morning was very bright, but about ten o'clock a thick fog came 
 on. While the day had been bright I had caught two or three 
 very good trout. The fly was rising very thick and the trout 
 were in full feed, but the moment the fog came on both trout 
 and flies ceased to show themselves. I changed my flies, and 
 tried every sort in my book, but not a fish would move. I was 
 just going to give up in despair, when I saw an old fellow 
 watching me whom I knew to be a regular poacher. I hailed 
 
A poachee's wkinkle. 225 
 
 him, and after talking with him for a few minutes, I gave him 
 half-a-crown to drink, and began to wind up my line. ' I think 
 I could give you a wrinkle,' he said, ' that would make you stay 
 by the river.' I asked him to explain himself, and promised to 
 add another half-crown to the first if he told me anything that 
 would make it worth my while to stop at the river, instead of 
 going to kick my heels at my inn. ' Were not the fly rising 
 plaguy thick this morning 1 ' said he, grinning. I told him that 
 they had been, and the trout also, but that since the fog had 
 come on neither fish nor fly had shown themselves. ' And don't 
 you guess why ? ' he asked. I answered that I supposed they 
 were frightened by the sudden change in the weather. ' Not 
 a bit,' he said ; * the fish be a-feeding below, and they don't 
 requhe to rise to the surface. The Mayfly be a-coming out of 
 their cases just now as fast as ever : when the sun is bright them 
 creturs is up and away in a jiffy ; but when the day is dark, any 
 as does come out of his case either crawls up the reeds at the 
 side, or if they does rise in the stream, they gets on but slowly, 
 and the fish nabs them afore they reach the surface, as I will 
 soon show you.' He went to the bank, where there were a 
 number of flags growing in the water, and showed me a vast 
 quantity of Mayflies clustered round the stalks close to the edge 
 of the water. He collected several of these, and I saw that 
 their wings were quite soft and puckered. He then asked per- 
 mission to arrange my line for me, to which I agreed. So he 
 set to work while I watched his proceedings. First he took off 
 my flies, and put on in their place two small bait-hooks, the one 
 about a foot above the other. Then he took two large split shot 
 out of his own pocket, and fastened them on the casting-line, 
 three feet above the upper hook. The two hooks were then 
 baited by running them through the tails of a couple of the May- 
 flies he had gathered from the flags. This done, he declared all 
 was ready. We then went to the head of a weir, where the 
 stream was very deep, but there was a rush of water through 
 two or three places where the sluice-boards were drawn. He 
 
 Q 
 
226 FISHING AND POACHING. 
 
 bade me cast my line across one of these sujall rapids, allow ii 
 to sink for a minute, and then draw it gently towards me througl 
 the rush. I did as he directed me, and no sooner had the lin( 
 reached the rush than I felt the dash of a strong fish. ' Tha' 
 be a good one,' said the old rascal, ' and when you lands hin 
 you owes me half-a- crown.' I did laud a very fine trout, paic 
 my debt, and continued this newly-learnt practice, catching mor( 
 trout that day than ever I caught before or since in the samt 
 river." 
 
 " Eegular poaching," said Cross. " I wonder you are no 
 ashamed to acknowledge such deeds." 
 
 " I difi"er from you," returned Hope, " in calling it poaching 
 I thought it then, and I still think it, a very scientific mode o 
 fishmg. Angling, after all, is the art of deceiving fish by pre 
 tending to feed them, in order that they may ultimately feed you 
 Skill consists in finding out the food that is the most tempt 
 ing, and placing it before the fish as near as possible in the wa;; 
 that nature would present it ; and I cannot think it mor^ 
 poaching to play a fly below water than on the surface. B; 
 what I knew before, and by what my old man taught me, I cai 
 show you that on a fine day the natural fly lights gently on th' 
 water. You imitate this by throwing a fly as lightly as yoi 
 can, or by allowing the wind to blow it to the spot where yoi 
 see a trout rising. On a windy day the natural fly is blown oi 
 to the water, and struggles on the surface to escape drowning 
 This you imitate by drawing your artificial fly, and giving it a 
 much as possible the action of the drowning reality. ISTeither o 
 these plans you call poaching ; why, then, should you give tha 
 name to my old man's method 1 He showed me, and I felt h 
 was right, that a Mayfly changes from its pupa state into a pei 
 feet creature, choosing a bright sunny day for the transformatior 
 If the day be bright and warm, he rises at once from the bottoi 
 and takes his flight, to fulfil his one day's destiny ; but if th 
 weather changes, when these creatures have begun to cast thei 
 skin, they have no power of resuming their greatcoat with th 
 
THE MAYFLY. 227 
 
 change of atmosphere. They must go on ; but they are weak. 
 Deprived of the sun's rays, they cannot rush into life with the 
 same speed and force. They struggle slowly to the surface, and, 
 before they reach it, the fish, who has been previously dashing 
 after the flying game, snaps them up with greater ease, and 
 swallows them below water. My old man taught me to imitate 
 these struggles ; for when the lure is thrown across the stream, 
 it sinks. As you draw it gently towards you, the weight of the 
 shot keeps the upper part very steady ; but when the force of 
 the water catches the loose end to which your flies are fixed it 
 makes it wave about in the stream, giving exactly the motion of 
 a weak fly struggling into life and light. The fish are deceived 
 by the cunning of man, who thus acts to them as Satan does to 
 us. A fish is wiled to his own destruction by a fly ; the devil 
 baits his hook with gold or a pretty face." 
 
 " T\"hat do you think of ambition or a French cook?" said 
 Cross ; " the last is the bait I should try for our friend the 
 Marquis.'"' 
 
 " You are right," answered Hope, laughing ; " and a pack of 
 cards might do for the Captain. I am glad you have made me 
 laugh, for I feel rather prosy and low. I have been dreaming 
 all night of that poor devil down stairs, and I must see him as 
 soon as possible. So let us dress ; you must kindly keep the 
 people engaged while I slip away to him." 
 
 This arrangement was agreed to, and their toilet proceeded 
 with all possible despatch. "When dressed, they went down to- 
 gether to the door of the inn, where a considerable party was 
 congregated. There were also two horses ^vith panniers on their 
 backs. By one of these stood a man they had not seen before ; 
 by the other was collected a group of fisherwomen. Hope did 
 not pause to speak to either of these parties, but passed quietly 
 into the kitchen, where only the landlady was to be found, en- 
 gaged in arranging her implements for cookery. Hope whispered 
 to her for a minute ; she looked round, and perceiving no one 
 but Cross, who was standing at the front door, she led the way 
 
228 GUENET. 
 
 to the other, through which she had gone the night hefore, fol- 
 lowed by Hope. The door was opened, and the moment after, 
 it closed behind them both. Cross retained his place till she 
 returned to the kitchen, and then advanced towards the group of 
 fisherwomen. It was evident he had not been observed before, 
 for when he was close to the party Marie hailed him. 
 
 "Ah !" she exclaimed, "here comes one of the good gentle- 
 men ; he will buy some of our fish. Look here, what beautiful 
 gurnet ! and think of our misfortune. AYe drew almost all the 
 nets last night, and this morning the only one we had left set 
 was full of these splendid fish. AVe have not had such a shoal 
 on the coast for years, and only one net out ! So you must 
 give me a good price, or I shall break my heart." 
 
 To prevent such a catastrophe. Cross bought some of her 
 fish, and sent them into the house. They certainly answered 
 the description of " beautiful," as far as colour went, for they 
 were brilliantly red, "nith the blue, green, and purple tints 
 which shoot over them as they die. The red gurnet is a leaner- 
 lookmg fish than the gray gurnet that is taken on the coast of 
 Scotland, which makes the disproportionate size of the head the 
 more striking. Still, the angular cut of the head, and the shape 
 of the fins, give it a grotesque appearance that is by no means 
 displeasing to the eye. Cross followed his fish to the door, and 
 as soon as the landlady saw them she exclaimed — 
 
 " AVhat made you buy any more 1 but it is my fault. I 
 forgot to tell you that Matilde left a large basket of fish for you. 
 They have had a great take at the fishery, and are gone off up 
 the country with two carts to sell what they have got. ]\Iatilde 
 and Angela came here before they started, and left some of the 
 best for you two gentlemen ; and I am ashamed that I forgot to 
 tell you about them. The Marquis has been here, and has cut 
 off their heads, and given directions for dressing them ; so you 
 had better take back these and recover your money." 
 
 " iSTever mind," replied Cross ; " put these with the others, 
 and cut off their heads also, if it be necessary and right. I 
 
MAREOTS. 229 
 
 suspect that will he an easier job than getting back money from 
 Marie." 
 
 " I believe it A\'ill," said the landlady, laughing ; " and when 
 their heads are off, a gurnet is not a large fish." 
 
 " And why do you cut oft' their heads ] " asked Cross. 
 
 " The Marquis will explain that better than I can," she an- 
 swered. " He says it is to get rid of the oil ; and I say, because 
 there is nothing to eat on the head ; and it takes a great deal of 
 room in the pan, wasting the sauce for no use. But the Marquis 
 is not far from the door, and if you ask him, he will tell you 
 himself what he told me this morning about oil." 
 
 Cross went in search of the Marquis, whom he found stand- 
 ing near the man with the second horse, the panniers on whose 
 back were filled, not with fish, but with a quantity of guillemots, 
 commonly called marrots or sea-crows in Scotland. The present 
 owner of the load honoured them with the name of Canards 
 aoirs. The Marquis was in the act of driving a bargain for a 
 dozen of these birds. The owner was asking three sous apiece ; 
 the Marquis was offering a franc for the dozen. 
 
 "Don't buy those birds," said Cross ; "they are carrion. It 
 is impossible to eat them." 
 
 "Do you hear what this gentleman says ]" asked the Mar- 
 quis, addressing the owner of the birds ; " you had better take 
 what I offer. I said I would give you a franc, so I will not 
 draw back." 
 
 The man cast a look of fury at Cross, packed up his property, 
 and pretended to move off ; but after vanishing in the fog, as no 
 one called after him, he was no sooner out of sight than the 
 sound of his horse's steps was heard returning ; and when he 
 again came into view, he had the twelve birds in his hand, 
 which he presented to the Marquis, and demanded his 
 franc. 
 
 " I knew I should get them," said the Marquis, " for I heard 
 that a prodigious quantity had been taken in the stake nets at 
 Mont St. Michel." 
 
230 HOW TO COOK SEA-BIRDS. 
 
 " I wish you joy of your purchase," returned Cross ; " but, 
 for my part, I would not give a sou for the horse-load." 
 
 " My dear friend," said the Marquis, " forgive my observing 
 that you display sad ignorance in saying so, and greatly neglect 
 the bounty of nature. Ignorance in the culinary art is a. great 
 loss to many a clever man ; for instance, these birds, which you 
 are pleased to despise, will, if properly treated, produce a salmi 
 equal to woodcock, superior to hare. In the hands of an igno- 
 ramus, I allow, they are not good eating ; but take away the 
 whole back, cut up the remainder of your bird, place it in a 
 casserole, and give it five minutes of the fire, empty your casse- 
 role into a pan of boiling water, in which you must allow your 
 viand to remain for a single minute, then remove it, replace it 
 in a fresh casserole, and proceed as you would with a salmi of 
 woodcock. The result is a dish which you shall this day taste, 
 and which I am much mistaken in your judgment if you do not 
 pronounce superior." 
 
 Cross expressed his gratitude for the lesson. 
 
 "Ah, my dear friend," said the Marquis, "I see you are 
 worthy of a hint on these subjects ; but how many good things 
 do we see thrown away and murdered from the want of a 
 little attention to trifles. Kow, for instance, many of the duck 
 tribe in spring are sent to table not fit to be eaten, from neglect- 
 ing to cut away the back of the birds. From this neglect an 
 admirable viand is presented rancid to the taste and offensive to 
 the smeU : simply cut away the lower half of the back, and you 
 at once get rid of the portion of the bird that contains the oil 
 which melts before the fire and pollutes your food. Let me, my 
 dear sir, impress strongly on your mind, that in almost all aquatic 
 birds, especially towards the spring, you should invariably cut 
 away the lower half of the back, not only before it is put to the 
 fire, but immediately that you obtain them. I trust that if you 
 remember this advice, I also shaU leave a favourable impression 
 on your memory, for there are situations and times when such 
 knowledge merits gratitude." 
 
guenet's head torches. 231 
 
 Cross again declared his gratitude, and as there was no one 
 near to make him laugh, he was extremely eloquent in his thanks. 
 He had hardly concluded his peroration when he saw Hope 
 coming to join them. They exchanged a glance, and then Cross 
 asked the Marquis why he cut off the heads of the gurnet before 
 cooking them. 
 
 "That is a similar case with that of the aquatic birds," 
 answered the Marquis. " The head of the gurnet is charged 
 with an oily matter which is somewhat rancid ; it taints the rest 
 of the flesh in dressing, and thus a valuable frequenter of our 
 coasts does not meet -with the admiration it deserves. 
 
 " You astonish me," said Cross, " for we say in our country 
 that all the meat on a gurnet's head is poison. This is said in 
 jest, for there is nothing but bones in a gurnet's head." 
 
 " Yery true ; but those bones are charged with the oil of 
 which I complain, and which makes your proverb a truth and 
 no jest ; for this oil, if it does not poison, at all events greatly 
 deteriorates the rest of the animal." 
 
 " You are quite correct, sir," said Hope, " in what you say 
 about the quantity of oil in the heads of these fish. The High- 
 land poachers know it, and take advantage of the knowledge. 
 They always cut off the heads of the gurnets which they catch, 
 and pack them in very dry peat-dust. Late in the autumn, 
 when they go to poach the rivers with leister and blaze, they 
 arrange half-a-dozen of these heads in their hand-grating. All 
 the crevices of the heads are by this time filled with the peat- 
 dust, and a considerable quantity adheres to the outside, the 
 whole of which has become saturated with oil — the heads being 
 placed with the mouths upwards, and a small quantity of tow 
 placed in each mouth. When they reach the stream where they 
 are to leister the salmon the tow is lighted, the fire immediately 
 communicates with the lips of the fi^h, and a beautiful clear light 
 is emitted, which continues to burn for a considerable time. 
 Sometimes also a single head, thus prepared and dried, is fixed 
 at the end of a stick, and is used as a torch when a poacher 
 
232 SPAWXIXG SALMON. 
 
 goes leistering single-handed. "Wlien the hand-grate is used, it 
 requires two people — one who carries the light, the other who 
 works the leister ; but Avith a torch, a man can carry the light in 
 one hand and use his leister with the other." 
 
 " I beg your pardon," said the Marquis, " but I do not under- 
 stand what you have been describing. I hear you say that the 
 gurnets' heads, when dried, will burn either as fire or a torch, 
 and I am sure you are right ; but I do not understand what you 
 mean by a leister, nor catching fish with a blaze." 
 
 "It is I who should beg pardon," said Hope, " for using a 
 word which is not translatable into French, and for speaking ol 
 a mode of fishing which is perhaps not known in this country. 
 A leister is a sort of three-pronged spear which is very much 
 used by poachers in the upper parts of the rivers in Scotland foi 
 taking the salmon at the time they are spawning, during the 
 night. The salmon leave the deep pools, and come for the pur- 
 pose of depositing their spawn on the gravelly shallows , where 
 the stream runs rapidly. The poachers know this ; so they wade 
 on to these shallows with a light and a spear. When the light 
 is thrown on the water every pebble at the bottom can be seen, 
 and when it falls on the fish they seem to be dazzled or charmed 
 by the rays, for they lie still and allow their enemy to come close 
 to them. The common process ia the Highlands of Scotland is 
 this : — When the poachers have reached the shallow at the head 
 of some deep pool which they know the salmon frequent, one 
 man holds the light high and casts the rays over every part of it, 
 From the bank the fish may not at first be seen, but spots oi 
 gravel are clearly visible, which are of a lighter colour than the 
 general surface of the bottom. This variety of colour the people 
 know to be caused by the male salmon, who digs holes of con- 
 siderable depth, throwing out the gravel on either side. Or 
 these heaps he rests, rubbing the gravel quite bright with his 
 belly, while the female deposits her spawn in the hole which he 
 has dug. Whenever this is effected she swinis slowly away. 
 The male then deposits his spawn on the eggs, and immediatelji 
 
LEISTERING SALMON. 233 
 
 throws back the gravel he has before dug out, thus burying the 
 spawn, and covering it with from six to twelve inches of gravel ; 
 and here it remains till the warmer air of spring brings it to life, 
 when all that the larvae of the dragon-fly do not eat crawl 
 through the gravel, and are known as parr. Before the actual 
 deposit of spawn takes place there is a great deal of flirtation and 
 toying between the fish. When the male begins to dig the hole 
 the female remains beside him, resting on one or other of the 
 banks he is throwing up. Suddenly she will dart oflf and rush 
 back into the deep pool ; the male immediately pursues her, and 
 they are then of course lost to sight ; but in a few minutes they 
 return swimming close together. The female resumes her place 
 on one of the heaps, and the male recommences digging, till the 
 female thinks proper to make another start into the pool. This 
 alternate digging, flight, and pursuit goes on for hours, till at last 
 the female, instead of taking her position in one of the heaps of 
 gravel, goes into the trench which the male has dug, and then 
 the male takes his place on one of the heaps, where he remains 
 till the female has spawned ; then he follows, as I have already 
 told you. I have given you this explanation, somewhat out of 
 place perhaps, for the purpose of making you understand why 
 the poachers, before entering the water, hold up the light to 
 mark the bright spots in the gravel. These being well noted, 
 the poachers enter the water, wading towards the nearest spot, 
 always choosing the one furthest down the stream, lest in wad- 
 ing they should disturb the lower fish by setting the gravel or 
 sand in motion. When they come within spear-length of the 
 fish, the person who carries the Hght keeps it very steady, while 
 the one who is to work the leister or spear takes his aim. The 
 rule is to calculate the depth of the water, and if it be eighteen 
 inches deep he aims that distance lower than where the fish 
 appears to be. If the water is two feet deep, he aims two feet 
 below the fish. The spearman thus unknowingl}'^ allows for the 
 refraction, and aims truly at the fish instead of over him ; he 
 then dashes his spear forward, and the fish is struck. AYith a 
 
234 BL.A.CK-FISHERS. 
 
 large salmon there is sometirues a violent struggle between him 
 and the spearman, even after the prongs are through him, 
 before he j'ields himself up and receives the coup de grace. 
 When fairly mastered and basketed the poacher still keeps his 
 place. If it should be the female that is struck, at the first 
 plunge and struggle the male dashes into the pool, but in less 
 than two minutes he will again return to look for his bride, 
 when he is pretty certain to share her fate, as her slayers are in 
 wait for him, and as soon as he is disposed of they move off to 
 the next bright spot, where they are sure to find another pair. 
 The great desideratum for this sport is a bright clear light ; and 
 I have been told by some old hands at the work that the gurnets' 
 heads, prepared as I have described, are at once the best, the 
 cheapest, and the most lasting. The next best light is obtained 
 from the knots of bog-pine, which are dug out of the peat-mosses 
 and carefully dried for use." 
 
 " Monsieur describes the process so well," said Cross, turning 
 to the Marquis ; " that I could almost persuade myself that he 
 has practised the occupation of hlad: -fisher himself. Black- 
 fisher (he continued) is the name given to the poachers who kill 
 salmon when they are out of season." 
 
 " I hope not," said the Marquis ; " for to kill those fine fish 
 when they are quite unfit to be eaten would be a great loss." 
 
 " It is not altogether a loss," said Hope ; " although I allow 
 it is a great shame to kill them at that season ; for in killing 
 one fish you destroy thousands. But when I was a boy I never 
 thought of this. I only knew that it was immense fun ; and 
 many a hundred fish I have killed, and seen killed, in this way. 
 I am ashamed now to confess that I once leistered thirty-two 
 large salmon in one night. A good deal of what I have told 
 you, however, I have learned suice I was older and wiser ; and 
 when I knew that this sort of sport had absolutely nearly 
 destroyed the breed of salmon from some of the smaller rivers, I 
 then gave up the use of the leister ; but I was curious to learn 
 the habits of these fish, and I still used a light to watch them. 
 
KiprER, 235 
 
 ]\rany a cold Octo"ber niglit have I spent on the banks or in the 
 water of some of our Highland rivers, observing the proceedings 
 of the fish. It is from these vigils that I am now able to speak 
 so decidedly about their proceedings when spawning." 
 
 " But, mon Dieu ! " reiterated the Marquis ; " what a pity to 
 kill these fine creatures when they are not fit to be eaten !" 
 
 " There our friend Cross is wrong," said Hope ; " for although, 
 as an article of food, a salmon out of season is a very inferior 
 creature, still, for the poor they are not to be despised. They 
 are not, in general, used fresh, but are sometimes pickled with 
 vinegar, or more frequently kippered ; that is to say, they are 
 cured with salt, sugar, and spice, and then dried in the smoke, 
 Avhich makes a very savoury morsel, a small bit of which will 
 give zest and flavour to a large dish of potatoes." 
 
 " Ah ! I remember I have tasted this kipper," said the Mar- 
 quis, " and found it by no means bad. It was soaked in fresh 
 water, torn to pieces with two forks, fried dry, and served in a 
 napkin with the cheese. From my remembrance of that plat, 
 I should have no objections to stick a salmon myself. I assure 
 5'ou I find your description valuable, and beg to thank you ; but 
 you must forgive me if I run away just now, for I have some 
 birds that I must look after myself, as I have promised Mons. 
 Cross that he shall taste them properly dressed. And besides 
 the interest I take in your nourishment, I have a relation who is 
 to breakfast with us this morning, who is a judge of what is 
 good, so I should regret if he was disappointed when he came 
 to visit me ; therefore, with your permission, I will say adieu for 
 the present." 
 
 The Marquis walked off" to the kitchen, and the two friends 
 remained. 
 
 " He has got a lot of marrots and beheaded gurnets that he 
 is going to cook. He tells me that what we consider carrion at 
 home is, by his magic touch, to be converted into something as 
 good as woodcocks and better than hare." 
 
 "And I have little doubt he will keep his word/' said 
 
236 HUNTING INSUKGENTS. 
 
 Hope ; " for a Frencliman will live in luxury where our people 
 would starve, merely from knowing how to make the most of 
 what falls in his -way. I confess I wish that our peasant women 
 in Scotland knew something more of cookery than merely boil- 
 ing a potato. Certainly our friend the Marquis errs quite as much 
 in the one way as our Highland wives do in the other ; still, if 
 he can show us how to convert marrots into good food, the lesson 
 is worth learning, for what myriads of them have I seen on the 
 coasts of Scotland which might benefit our poor, instead of 
 merely destroying the herring fry. So let us go and see how he 
 gets on, and try to teach his method to some of the people at 
 home." 
 
 " TeU me first," said Cross, " what you did with your insur- 
 gent." 
 
 " Oh, poor fellow ! I gave him some little money, and have 
 taken charge of a letter for him. I have promised also to pro- 
 cure him a passport to enable him to get over to Jersey ; it 
 seems that he has some relation there to whom he wishes to go 
 whenever he receives an answer to his letter." 
 
 " And how did he escape the hunt which your Garde Mobile 
 described ?" 
 
 " He tells me that he was in the Avood with the rest ; but 
 instead of rising to run away when he heard the troops advancing, 
 he lay flat down in a sort of ditch, and drew the grass and weeds 
 over him. One of the Garde Mobile marched by within a yard 
 without discovering him. He got up and ran back. He told 
 me the number of people who were shot in the wood was verji 
 great, for that he had seen at least a hundred in the line he took, 
 He began to tell me the escapes and sufferings he went througt 
 from that time tiU he reached his present hiding-place ; but ] 
 could not stay to Ksten to him lest my absence might be dis* 
 covered, and lead to inquiries. But I shall try to find some 
 opportunity of hearing his adventures, for they seemed interest- 
 ing, and narrating them may serve to lighten the poor fellow's 
 confinement." 
 
A LESSOX IN COOKEET. 237 
 
 " His adventures would amuse me very much," said Cross ; 
 " so try and let me be present when he relates them ; but in the 
 meanwhile, if we are to have a lesson in cookery, we may as well 
 go and join the Marquis, ^liile we look at what he is doing 
 we can ask him about snails, whether he thinks them eatable, 
 and his mode of preparing them for table. I have no doubt 
 he has some way ; for a man that can make marrots good will 
 not leave neglected these creatures, since it seems they are eaten 
 in that part of the country from which he comes. I forgot, by 
 the by, to point out to you that catching marrots so early in the 
 year is another sign, in addition to the fog and high tide, that 
 there must have been a heavy gale oiit at sea. I know that a 
 considerable quantity of sea-fowl are taken near Mont St. 
 Michel every year, but generally this takes place in October 
 and I^ovember. I never heard of their being seen here so early 
 in the autumn." 
 
 The two friends proceeded to the kitchen, where they found 
 the Marquis dressed in his linen jacket and wearing an apron. 
 Cross asked for an explanation of the mode of cooking the mar- 
 rots, which the ]\Iarquis gave at length, but the Enghshman 
 found that he had little talent for this sublime art ; and all he 
 learnt was that the birds were cut up, partly dressed, then 
 scalded in boiling water. The only description he could give 
 of the after-proceedings was, that the bits of birds, with butter, 
 gravy, red wine, and a very small quantity of herbs — he believed 
 chives and rocamboles — were put into a flat pan, and were set 
 on the charcoal stove to simmer to maturity. Perhaps the 
 niceties were forgotten from listening to a dissertation on the 
 merits of snails ; for the moment they were mentioned the 
 Marquis broke out into a strain of most eloquent laudation, and 
 he seemed quite to take an affection for Cross for having named 
 them. 
 
 " Ah, my dear friend !" said he, "I see that you are worthy 
 to be a Frenchman ; you have none of the absurd prejudices of 
 your countrymen, who pretend to turn up their noses at this 
 
238 COOKING SNAILS AND CHOOSING THEM. 
 
 excellent article of nourishment. What a pity it is not winter, 
 and I would myself dress some for you ; unhappily at present 
 they are out of season — that is to say, those that have shells, 
 which alone are worthy the notice of a man of taste. Slugs are 
 very nourishing in soup, but I have no great affection for them. 
 But the garden-snail is most excellent. There are many ways 
 of dressing them, and if it was the season I would take them 
 in hand for you myself ; but as it is, we must wait, for now ihey 
 might not please you. All I can say is, that you will find them 
 not only good, but most highly nutritious. I have heard that 
 in England you have a Dr. Saloman who makes a wine to renew 
 the vigour of your old gentlemen. Well, send your old gentle- 
 men to me, and with a plat of snails such as I can give them, 
 in a month they will think themselves boys again." 
 
 " But could you not," said Cross, looking as grave as a judge, 
 in spite of a most painful inclination to laugh ; " could you not 
 mention one of the ways of dressing these valuable creatures 
 which hitherto I have neglected?" 
 
 " Even in the simplest way they are good," replied the Mar- 
 quis. " Scald them, to get them from their shells,'and then fry 
 them with a few crumbs of bread and a little seasoning — pepper, 
 salt, and a pinch of fine herbs — they will not disappoint you ; or 
 they are excellent stewed either with a white or brown sauce ; 
 in short, they are one of those things which you can hardly 
 spoil. In choosing your viands, you should select those that 
 are of a dark brown in the shell, heavy and well closed at the 
 mouth ; these are in the best condition, and of course are the 
 best ; for you may meet with lean snails as well as with lean 
 mutton, and then you are naturally disappointed, for everytliing 
 thin has an inclination to be hard." 
 
 Cross kept his gravity, not only during tliis part of the 
 conversation, but during a great deal more that was said both 
 on snails and slugs. Hope stood it very well for some time, 
 but the glances which Cross cast at him from time to time made 
 him feel so much inclined to misbehave, that at last he stole 
 
A NEW DISH. 239 
 
 away, and did not return till he saw the Comte M enter 
 
 the house ; he then followed, and was introduced in due form. 
 Cross was evidently in the highest possible favour ; for not only 
 was he presented to the Comte, with the greatest empressement, 
 but also during breakfast the Marquis insisted on his sitting 
 next to him, when he selected the bits, both of fish and flesh, 
 which he thought most choice, and presented them to him for 
 his eating. 
 
 Both Hope and Cross allowed that a marrot was an excellent 
 bird when cooked by a French Marquis ; what it might be 
 under the hands of a Highland wife remained another question. 
 The gurnets also were pronounced undeniable, whether from 
 the loss of their heads or the Marquis's sauce, we do not say. 
 Any further notice of the breakfast were useless, at least as to a 
 description of what was produced and eaten ; but we must 
 allude slightly to the new guest, as he was the cause of some 
 amusement. He was a gay little fellow, about sixty-five years 
 of age, but he looked much younger, and was so sprightly that 
 Cross whispered to Hope, " I suppose the Marquis must have 
 fed his relative upon snails, he is so young for his age ! If I 
 was sure of the fact, I certainly might make my fortune by 
 keeping a table-d'hote for old gentlemen ; egad, I'll ask him." 
 
 " Do," said Hope. 
 
 "Your friend the Marquis," said Cross, looking extremely 
 grave, " has been explaining to us that snails are a highly nu- 
 tritious food. Do you agree with him 1 " 
 
 " Undoubtedly," answered the Comte ; " they are admirable, 
 and I am very fond of them ; but I have eaten in Martinique 
 another creature which I conceive to be fully better. I had 
 some little prejudices about them at first, which fortunately I 
 overcame, and found them excellent. The creature is not very 
 tempting in the raw state, being in fact a large white maggot 
 which the blacks gather from the palm trees ; but when dressed 
 it is very superior. You, my dear nephew," continued he, ad- 
 dressing the Marquis, " not having been in the West Indies, 
 
240 A EIVAL AETIST. 
 
 have never met with, this dish ; it is one that I am sure you 
 ■would approve of. I have never tasted the Beche de mer, 
 which is nothing else than a sea-slug dried. I had a great wish 
 to partake of them, hut was always disappointed. I am told 
 they are highly restorative, and are justly valued by the wealthy 
 Chinese." 
 
 " I regret, indeed," said the Marquis, " that I have not tasted 
 them ; but we have a great deal in this coxantry, if we make the 
 most of it." 
 
 '• Indeed we have," replied the Comte ; " and talent is dailj'' 
 discovering some new mode of presenting these in a more tempt- 
 ing form. For instance, what could be better than that lobster 
 a la broche which I tasted the other day 1" 
 
 " Cochonnerie ! " exclaimed the IMarquis, growing quite red 
 in the face. 
 
 The Comte turned at the sound of his nephew's voice, 
 looked at him for a moment, and then said, raising his voice — 
 
 " I am ashamed of you, and I pronounce that it was ex- 
 cellent." 
 
 "And I," said the Marquis, " that it was Cochonnerie." 
 
 " You make me blush for you," rejoined the Comte ; " you 
 have no magnanimity, no heroism. Tou did yourseK a great 
 injustice in not tasting it ; and now, by abusing that plat, you 
 are unjust to my good friend who prepared it. I allow he was 
 wrong in his opinion of your pigeons ; but you ought to have 
 more heroism, more magnanimity, than to revenge yourself on 
 his error in judgment by condemning his lobster a la broche, 
 which every one else allowed to be excellent." 
 
 " Bah ! " said the Marquis, " how could any man pretend to 
 be a cook, or a judge of what was good, who sent away those 
 pigeons which I had prepared with my own hands 1 Anything 
 he could send up could not fail to be bad ; therefore I continue 
 to say that your friendship for that misguided person has led 
 you astray, for I rej)eat that his lobster a la broche was 
 Cochonnerie." 
 
cochonot:eie. 241 
 
 " But tow obstinate you are ! " interrupted the Comte, now 
 quite in a rage. " You would not taste the fish ; I did, and I 
 hope to obtain the receipt, which is still a secret. I only know 
 at present that this creature being fixed on the spit, is placed 
 before the fire, where he is basted continually with a sauce, the 
 ingredients of which are as yet unknown to me." 
 
 " CocHONNERiE !" exclaimed the Marquis, which word he 
 continued to repeat at the end of every sentence that the Comte 
 uttered. He, however, took no notice of the interruption, but 
 went on with his description, turning his back as much as 
 possible on his nephew, and addressing his speech in tiorn to 
 the rest of the party. 
 
 " As the heat touches the animal, the shell slightly opens, 
 and through these cracks the rich sauce enters, and amalgamates 
 with the " 
 
 " Cochonnerie I " 
 " flesh within the shelL As the -process advances, the flesh 
 dilates, and these cracks become wider. To prevent which, 
 or perhaps to prevent the" 
 
 " Cochonnerie !" 
 " plat from being too rich, a choporline of champagne is poured 
 over it. The wine flows into the dripping-pan, where it is 
 weU mixed with the first" 
 
 " Cochonnerie ! " 
 sauce : and the process of constantly basting is still kept up 
 till the animal is thoroughly" 
 
 " Cochonnerie !" 
 " done, when it is served as hot as possible, the sauce being 
 strained and sent with it, although this is hardly necessary, for 
 the great beauty of the dish is, that the sauce and the fish are 
 so intimately amalgamated within the shell that it requires no 
 addition whatever, being" 
 
 " Cochonnerie ! Cochonnerie !" roared the Marquis ; 
 "juicy, savoury, and, in spite of my nephew, super-excellent," 
 screamed the Count. 
 
 S 
 
242 A gourmand's pic-nic. 
 
 " CocHONNERiE ! COCHONNERIE ! COCHOIS'NERIE ! '^ 
 shouted the Marquis, bounding in his seat. 
 
 This last interruption, which was louder than any of the 
 former, drove the little old gentleman quite furious. A violent 
 altercation began, and was growing so loud that in a very little 
 while the uncle and nephew would have come to blows, had no1 
 the rest of the party interfered. 
 
 The Captain whispered to each alternately to remember thai 
 foreigners were present, but Hope was the most successful bj 
 saying, that in cases of taste there was no disputing, and thai 
 the best way was to name a third party to act as referee, since ii 
 was quite possible that a man might be ignorant in all matters 
 of flesh or fowl, and yet have some knowledge regarding fish anc 
 Crustacea. 
 
 The uncle was the first to recover his good humour. H< 
 related more at length the story of the dinner, where the quarre 
 had originally taken place. It had been a sort of pic-nic o 
 gourmands, where each had ordered some dish of which h( 
 thought highly. The Marquis had produced what he considerec 
 a masterpiece, being some preparation of pigeons ; this tin 
 lobster-admirer had only tasted, and then sent away his plate 
 which the Marquis had considered to be such an insult that h( 
 would not even look at the lobster, and very nearly called ou 
 his best friend for praising it ; indeed, he would have done so 
 had not a third party soothed him with the assurance, tha 
 though the Comte had praised the lobster, he had certainb 
 helped himself twice to the pigeons. 
 
 " Two of a trade can never agree," whispered Cross. Afte 
 a while, the Comte quite recovered his former gaiety. 
 
 " What an unfortunate fellow I am ! " said he. "Ko one oi 
 earth hates emeutes and quarrels more than I do, and yet if ther 
 is a dispute in the country I am sure to get into it, and thougl 
 all the world should be at peace, some one is certain to fall ou 
 with me. Here now is this ungrateful nephew of mine (whoii 
 I mean to make my heir ; if he behaves well), he must need 
 
A MAN OF PEACE. 243 
 
 quarrel with me, because I happen to like roasted lobster. The 
 fact is, I am the fruit of an emeute, and into them I shall fall as 
 long as I live. As I came into the world through one, I know 
 that I shall go out of it by one." 
 
 The hint about the succession worked marvels ; the IMarquis's 
 face resumed its smiles, and he begged his uncle to tell the 
 history of his early life, as he knew that this was what he took 
 the greatest pleasure in recounting. The Captain had heard 
 the story before, but he joined the two Englishmen in request- 
 ing the Comte to relate his pet story, to which he was nothing 
 loath, and began — 
 
 " You must know that about seventy years ago there was a 
 very bad harvest in France, which fell particularly hard on that 
 part of the country where my grandmother's property was 
 situated. The peasants, instead of blaming heaven for the un- 
 prosperous season, thought proper to abuse the landed pro- 
 prietors and rich householders, and in consequence got up an 
 emeute to revenge themselves on these innocent parties. This 
 Emeute became so serious that they were obliged to send for 
 troops to put it down. Among those ordered on this service 
 was one of the regiments of guards, the officers of which 
 were men of the highest rank and fashion. Well, when the 
 news arrived that this regiment was coming, a meeting of the 
 proprietors was called to arrange how the officers were to be 
 lodged, as it was considered quite impossible to allow such men 
 to be billeted hke ordinary soldiers. This question was soon 
 settled by every one declaring that he would be delighted to 
 quarter an officer. But out of this sprung another difficulty ; 
 namely, who was to have the honour of lodging the Colonel. 
 The Colonel was my excellent father, and I may say what I 
 have heard of him, namely, that in addition to being rich and 
 high-born, he was one of the handsomest and most agree- 
 able men about the country. There was no wonder, therefore, 
 that all the ladies were anxious to have him ; but the question 
 stni ran, who was to succeed 1 At last it was proposed to settle 
 
244 A TEUE STORY. 
 
 the matter by doigt mouille* My grandmother's was the 
 fortunate name. In short, she hooked the Colonel, and accord- 
 ingly he came to her house, where my mother saw him, and 
 what is more, he saw her, and became hooked a second time, 
 for they were married soon after, and as I am the produce of 
 that marriage, I am not far wrong in saying that I am the fruit 
 of an emeute, which fatality was proved very early in life, for I 
 was quite young when the great Eevolution broke out. My poor 
 father was soon made an end of; they cut off his head among 
 the first. My grandmother, my mother, my aunt, my sister, and 
 myself, were sent to prison, and there we lay for some time. 
 Then our j^rison was changed, and we were put into another 
 where there Avas an immense number of prisoners. I believe 
 they forgot us owing to this alteration, for every day we saw 
 from fifteen to thirty of our companions led out to execution, 
 and as the windows of our prison looked out upon the Place, 
 we could hear the sound of the guillotine as the knife fell. 
 Young as I was, like those older than myself I became callous 
 to the fear of death. Indeed, our lives were so wretched that 
 they were not worth preserving. I can remember now that all 
 the clothing I had on was a shirt and part of an old shawl of 
 my mother's. My poor sister was dressed in the same way. 
 My mother was a very clever woman ; she never asked for any 
 of the prison allowance of food, and I believe it was this pre- 
 caution that saved us, since our names were thus forgotten. For 
 food, all we had for many a long day was merely cakes made of 
 buckwheat, or black bread, which was supplied by an excellent 
 creature who used to split our firewood when we were prosperous. 
 At last, however, when they had cut off the heads of almost 
 every one in our prison, an order arrived to send a special list 
 
 * Do-igt mouilU is a method of drawing lots, sometliing like hide the 
 horse. The two hands are held up ; one finger is marked by wetting, or 
 by fixing on it a bit of paper. One of the party then turns his back, and 
 another touches one of the fingers and asks, " For whom is this ?" When- 
 ever tlie marked finger is touched the name given iu answer wins the 
 prize. 
 
PEACE RESTOEED. 245 
 
 of the names of any that might still remain. This brought 
 us to remembrance, and a second order came down for our 
 immediate execution. We were to suffer next morning. About 
 nine o'clock that night my grandmother and her two daughters 
 were at prayers ; my sister and myself were looking on. My 
 only remembrance of that night is, that I was more than usually 
 cold and hungry. Suddenly a noise was heard of shouting in 
 the streets, but that was nothing uncommon. Next, a noise 
 within the prison, ending in a shout of joy, which was very un- 
 common. Then the jailor entered, and told us that Eobespierre 
 was dead. The next morning we were free, and took up our 
 quarters in the woodcutter's house, where we staid for some 
 time. Almost the whole of our estates had been confiscated. 
 They were gone ; but one small property remained in this 
 country, which ultimately my grandmother recovered. It is now 
 mine, and if this my good-for-nothing nephew behaves himself, 
 it will be his when I die. But to go on : the same fortune 
 which sent me to prison when I was a child sticks to me now. 
 Wherever there is an gmeute there I am sure to be, whether it 
 be in Paris, Lyons, or anywhere else. If anybody is in a bad 
 humour and wants to pick a quarrel, he is sure to single me out 
 and vent his ill-temper on me, who only pray for peace and 
 quiet, a breath of air, a bit of dinner — well cooked if possible 
 — and a clean bed. But even this, you see, I cannot enjoy in 
 peace, for here is tliis fellow, who quarrels with me simply 
 because I approve of lobster a la broche." 
 
 The Marquis was now quite subdued ; so much so, that had 
 a roast lobster been placed on the table by his rival he would 
 have eaten the one and shaken hands with the other ; but as 
 this could not be, he contented himself with ample apologies to 
 his uncle, and the breakfast concluded by their embracing each 
 other. Since we shall see no more of the Comte, we now take 
 leave of him, as did the Englishmen when they went out to 
 walk. When they returned he was gone, and as the Marquis 
 was somewhat ashamed of the scene in the morning, very httle 
 was said about him. 
 
246 IVIARKOTS AKD GUKXETS. 
 
 When the friends left the house they found that the fog was 
 nearly gone ; the sun was still somewhat obscured, but an occa- 
 sional glimpse of brighter light proved that he was soon likely 
 to be the victor by dispelling any of the vapour that yet hung 
 upon the land. Cross proposed that they should direct their 
 steps towards the high ground to the southward, as from thence 
 they could obtain a very extensive view of the country, which 
 would not now be concealed by the fog. To this proposal Hope 
 agreed, and they started in that direction. As they walked 
 they talked over the events of the morning, and were able to 
 enjoy unrestrained a hearty laugh at the scenes they had wit- 
 nessed during breakfast. They then canvassed the merits of the 
 niarrots, and Hope again observed that something could be made 
 out of the hint which might prove advantageous to the peasantry 
 in Scotland. 
 
 " The sauce is a matter of luxury," said he, " but getting rid 
 of the rancid oil by merely cutting away the back, and scalding 
 off the remaining fat by plunging it into boihng water, is a pro- 
 cess so simple that it might easily be learnt and practised by any 
 one." He declared his intention of trying to make the process 
 known. After talking of these birds for some time, the conver- 
 sation turned to fish. Gurnets were first spoken of, and men- 
 tioning the oil contained in their heads led back to salmon and 
 salmon-poaching. 
 
 " By the by," said Cross, after they had been awhile 
 engaged on this subject, " you said this morning that all the 
 salmon spawn that was left by the larvae of the dragon-fly 
 crawled through the ground as parr. "What did you mean by 
 the dragon-fly destroying the spawn 1 " 
 
 " Exactly what I said," answered Hope. " I believe a 
 dragon-fly to be the greatest and most destructive enemy to fish 
 — more especially to salmon. I know that a pair of these 
 insects will do more harm to a river than a dozen otters, a flight 
 of herons, or a shoal of trout." 
 • " How so 1" asked Cross. 
 
DRAGOX-FLIES A^T) SALMON SPAWX. 247 
 
 " By the number of eggs they lay. You may have often seen 
 a dragon-fly in autumn resting on some weed that overhangs the 
 ■water, beating its wings in an extraordinary manner. "When you 
 see this, you may know that she is laying her eggs ; these eggs 
 soon become larvae, and more voracious vrretches there are not 
 in existence. They will eat every living thing, but their favour 
 ite food is the spawn of fish, more especially that of salmon. 
 They seem to scent it out, and dig their way through the sand 
 and gravel tUl they reach it. Fortunately the season is somewhat 
 advanced before they have strength to accomplish this task, for 
 if they could get near the spawn early in the winter, not a grain 
 of it would ever come to life ; and such is their voracity that they 
 wiU eat three or four times their own weight in a day. I have 
 proved this by giving them that quantity of salmon spawn when 
 I had them in confinement in a glass vessel, and they would eat 
 the whole in a day. I have also given them a parr as long as my 
 finger, and in twenty-four hours there was nothing left but the 
 bones." 
 
 ""UTiat are these creatures like?" asked Cross. "I never 
 saw any of them." 
 
 " They are the most hideous of all larvae ; and what is 
 singular, in the pupa state they eat quite as much as when 
 larvce. It is difiacult to describe them ; they are of a good size, 
 something like a deformed shrimp, with a larger head, over 
 which it folds a double set of jaws that form a kind of mask. 
 At one period of the larva state they are so transparent in water 
 that you can see the food passing along a tube in their bodies, 
 which moves in a continuous stream through them as they eat. 
 AVhen they change into pupae they become darker in colour, and 
 are no longer transparent. The larvae have lumps on the 
 shoulder ; these lumps are larger in the pupae, being the embryo 
 wings. The larvae move very rapidly, the pupae move slowly, but 
 are quite as voracious. The larva rushes at his prey at once ; the 
 pupa throws out the double mask-like jaws, which are now much 
 elongated and resemble two claws, draws himself to his prey. 
 
248 DEAGON-FLIES AND SALMON SPAWN. 
 
 and devours it. I liave no doutt we shall find some dragon-flies 
 in this state on the weeds in the Mare de Bouillon. Here it will 
 be more difficult to show you the larvae, but in the salmon rivers 
 in the west of Scotland, if any one can point out to you a bed oi 
 salmon spawn, you have only to dig it up and you are quite sure 
 to find two or three of these creatures either in the spawn or in 
 the gravel close by. The destruction they create must be some- 
 thing incalculable. I suppose you have seen salmon spawn in 
 all its stages, and are aware that as it comes to life the egg swells 
 very much, and then a little head appears at one end and a tail 
 at the other ; the egg gradually lengthens out and becomes the 
 body. I have taken them in this state, and have put them in a 
 glass globe where I kept my young dragon-fly. 'No sooner are 
 they in the water than the wretch rushes at them, seizes them, 
 and in five minutes they have passed through him. l^ow, one 
 pair of dragon-flies will generate an immensity of these young 
 demons, every one of which seeks for the spawn of the salmon, 
 and if they find it they will eat at the rate of one hundred salmon 
 in twenty-four hours. Judge, then, if I am not right in think- 
 ing that these insects are the worst enemies that fish can have, 
 I have already said that in the larva state they are peculiarly 
 destructive to salmon, but they attack in like manner the spawn 
 of trout or grayling ; in short, of every fish down to that of a 
 gudgeon or minnow, if they deposit their spawTi in sand oi 
 gravel. The pupae do not confine themselves to the ground j 
 when they have reached that state, they gradually leave the 
 ground and crawl up the weeds, and there devour the spawn oi 
 those fish which deposit their eggs on the leaves and stalks oi 
 aquatic plants. They are horrid brutes, and I do my best to 
 kUl them whenever I meet with any. Many a charge of powder 
 and shot have I sent after them, and thought the ammunition 
 Avell spent. I have heard a great deal of nonsense talked about 
 the quantity of salmon-roe which is destroyed by trout. This is 
 folly ; a trout will snap up a pea or two of spawn if he chance 
 to find any, but tliis does no harm, for these peas are only some 
 
PROTECTION FROM MIDGES. 249 
 
 portions of the mass which the male fish has failed to bury ; they 
 are useless, as they would never come to life, and I would make 
 the trout heartily welcome to them. But these brutes of dragon- 
 flies crawl into the beds where the spaAvn has survived the winter, 
 and commence their work of destruction just at the moment that 
 the young fish are about to enter into active life. Take my word 
 for it, if you wish to increase the fish, either in pond or river, 
 kill every dragon-fly you see." 
 
 " It is a pity," said Cross, " that what you say is not more 
 generally known. I shall certainly in future kill every one I 
 can find. They are very numerous here. I have amused my- 
 self by collecting as many varieties as possible, and I can testify 
 that the common great-headed kind does not lose his appetite in 
 his perfect state. I caught one last year in a butterfly net, and 
 held him by the wings to watch his motions ; while in this po- 
 sition I held a small fly to his mouth, which he snapped up in 
 a second. This struck me as so odd that I got a friend that was 
 with me to catch a number more flies, and of those he ate eight, 
 one after another. 'Not to spoil them as specimens, I always 
 kill them by holding a feather, dipped in turpentine, to the 
 mouth ; this they seize, and drink up the turpentine, which of 
 course kills them, as it does every other insect, in a moment." 
 
 " I believe," said Hope, " it is the speediest mode of inflict- 
 ing death on any insect, and I know that to rub a drop on your 
 ears and brow is a way of giving comfort to man, if it gives 
 death to insects. Many a brother of the angle has confessed 
 this to me when I have given him a drop from my bottle, and 
 shown him that rubbing it on his face will protect him from the 
 attacks of those Httle torments, the midges. It is singular how 
 little this is known. Many a man has been driven from the 
 river-side after enduring martyrdom, when a single drop of tur- 
 pentine would have protected him as effectually as a coat of 
 mail, and allowed him to enjoy in peace a good day's fishing." 
 
 "That is true," said Cross. "An old friend of mine took 
 it into his head to travel tlirough Sweden last summer, and was 
 
250 DISTILLING TAE. 
 
 almost devoured by mosquitoes in the marshy forest tracts in the 
 north. He told me that the natives who distil ' Stockholm tar' 
 in these districts, and live in the wilds felling timber for great 
 part of the summer, smear their hands and faces with a substance 
 made from the pine which smelt of turpentine, and is called 
 pitch-oil. The woodmen and workmen, and those who work 
 the rafts of timber and floats of tar-barrels down the great rivers 
 to the Gulf of Bothnia, look like chimney-sweeps or smiths with 
 their leathern aprons and black faces, and each man carries at 
 his belt a small horn filled with this dark-coloured fluid, with 
 which he smears his skin wherever a mosquito can get at it. It 
 would be impossible for men to work in these regions without 
 some protection, for the big mosquitoes are more numerous and 
 vicious than Highland midges, and draw blood ; and the sand- 
 flies, though smaller, take the bit out. Even peasant girls wear 
 veils. My friend said that his own face was covered with red 
 marks, and he counted fifty-two bites on one hand. But for 
 spare diet he would have had a fever. Serious illness has been 
 caused by these bites ; but pitch-oil is as good as armour, and 
 might surely be made a cosmetic." 
 
 " You mentioned distilling tar," said Hope ; " did your friend 
 tell you how it was done 1 I am always glad to pick up a 
 wrinkle." 
 
 " He told me what he had seen," replied Cross. " A tract is 
 selected in a pine forest, and the trees in it are barked all round 
 and hacked with an axe near the root. They cease to grow 
 leaves, and are half-killed ; and next year they are felled and 
 chopped up into short logs. A piece of ground is then chosen, 
 generally on the top of the bank of a rivulet, and a clay floor 
 sloping towards a centre is laid down. On this the logs are 
 piled up till a large mound is made ; this is covered with earth 
 and turf, and when all is ready it is set on fire. The burning 
 goes on for a long time, and is carefully regulated, and the tar 
 which distils from the pine flows from a duct which joins the 
 centre of the clay floor. It is caught in barrels, and these, when 
 
EOSIK-GATHERIXG IN FRANCE. 251 
 
 fall, are rolled to the nearest river, and floated down as great 
 rafts. It must be curious to meet eight or ten tar-barrels fas- 
 tened together, and rolling after a ponj^, led by a rough man 
 with a dark streaky face, all covered with pitch-oil." 
 
 " They gather rosin in France," said Hope, " but on a dif- 
 ferent plan. At Arcachon, south of Bordeaux, and on the 
 sandy coast lower down, great pine forests grow on the dunes. 
 These yield turpentine, but the trees are not cut down. A per- 
 pendicular groove is cut deep into the wood, and the wound 
 bleeds rosin ; the gum trickles down, and is caught in a bit of 
 bark and hardens, and when the time comes the sticky harvest 
 is gathered. AVhen a wound heals, another is made ; and so it 
 goes on year by year till an old tree becomes a fluted column for 
 a height of twenty feet. The pines do not appear to suffer from 
 this milking process, and the rosin is used in manufacturing 
 turpentine." 
 
 " What a deal of work it takes to save fishermen from 
 midges," said Cross gravely. 
 
 Thus conversing, they reached the top of the hill, where 
 they paused to take breath and look about them. 
 
CHAPTEE X. 
 
 LOST ON THE GEE^T:. 
 
 After drawing a few long breaths, the friends began to look 
 about them. They were standing on a small open space on 
 which masses of granite might be seen protruding through the 
 green turf, which was composed of a short close herbage largely 
 intermingled with wild thyme. From the sides of the granite 
 rocks grew straggling bushes of whin, like advanced guards to a 
 thick cover of the same shrub which covered the lower side of 
 the hill, and which concealed the ground to the west. To the 
 south, the whin was seen g^o^ving as under cover among the oak 
 and chestnut coppice which grew in that direction, forming a 
 foreground to the larger timber which they had formerly seen 
 and admired around the old castle of St. Jean de Thomas. To 
 the north was the more scattered underwood through which they 
 had passed to their present station, and on the east was a conti- 
 nuation of the same sort of woodland ; but there it was fronted 
 by a number of white and black thorn bushes, forming a kind of 
 thicket not easily passed through. From their elevated position 
 the view was very extensive, as they were able from the spot on 
 which they stood to overlook the trees on all sides. Hope gave 
 one general glance around, but that was all, for his attention was 
 immediately rivetted on the south-westerly point of view by the 
 very singular appearance which there caught his eye. 
 
 The sun had fairly mastered the fog, and was now shining 
 brightly, obscured only now and then by puffs of vapour which 
 occasionally floated by from the sea in small detached clouds. 
 "When Hope, therefore, turned towards the south-west to look at 
 
CLOUD SCENERY. 253 
 
 Mont St. Michel, he was greatly struck by seeing nothing but 
 the highest point of the building with the telegraph, the arms of 
 which were then at work. This seemed to spring out of a plain 
 of white cloud, the surface of which glistened in the sun's rays, 
 looking more like silvery moonbeams on a placid lake than any- 
 thing he had before seen in daylight. The portion of the build- 
 ing that was visible, and the arms of the telegraph, told hard and 
 sharp against this shining plain, and were so distinctly seen that 
 they looked close to them, although many miles of wooded plain 
 and sand intervened between them and the fortress. After look- 
 ing attentively for a minute at this singular appearance, he turned 
 to Cross, who was examining with great earnestness the thicket 
 of thorns on the other side. 
 
 " Bless me, man," said Hope, " what are you looking at there 1 
 turn your eyes this way and tell me if you ever saw anything like 
 this before V 
 
 Cross immediately turned, and he too looked for some seconds 
 before he spoke. 
 
 " "Well," repeated Hope ; " did you ever see anything like 
 that before r' 
 
 " Yes," answered Cross, " many a time ; but never perhaps so 
 strongly marked as just now." 
 
 " And how do you account for it ?" asked Hope. 
 
 " It is the sea fog," replied Cross. " You must surely have 
 seen something like it at home, when from the top of a moun- 
 tain you have looked down in sunshine on a veil of mist or 
 cloud hanging mid-way up the side. Don't you remember the 
 lines — 
 
 ' Though round his breast the rolling clouds are spread, 
 Eternal sunshine settles on his head ? ' " 
 
 " To be sure I do," said Hope ; " but your quotation is hardly 
 apropos ; for Mont St. Michel, though a very respectable rock, 
 is scarcely entitled to the dignity of a mountain ; and these 
 clouds do not roll, but lie like a quiet white sheet with all the 
 apparent density of the waters of a lake. Indeed, my first im- 
 
254 FOGS AND FOG THEORIES. 
 
 pression, when it caught my eye, was that the place had been 
 submerged. I have often seen what you allude to in Scotland ; 
 but the cloud, or fog-bank, on which you looked down seemed 
 gray, and you could partly see into it, and, as your poet says, it 
 'rolled' along, while this seems perfectly dense and stagnant." 
 
 " That is true," said Cross ; " in looking at it from this dis- 
 tance it seems perfectly still ; yet I suspect, if we were standing 
 by the telegraph and looking down on the fog (for fog it is), we 
 should see much the same effect as you describe, but with this 
 difference, that in no part of Scotland did I ever see fogs so dense 
 as those which frequently rest on this coast, especially on the 
 Greve. But this fact, as I told you this morning, is a subject 
 we may talk over among ourselves, when no Frenchman is by 
 to hear us. Were any of them present it would be only waste 
 of breath to tell them, for they would never believe such an 
 assertion, or allow a comparison between savage Scotland and la 
 belle France. I told you this morning that these fogs drift from 
 the ocean, and seem to be dammed up between the coasts of 
 Normandy and Brittany. Now, the Greve is exactly in the 
 elbow of this great bay, where the fog is the most condensed ; 
 and it strikes me that the vast plain of wet sand which is laid 
 bare at low water adds to these moist vapours ; perhaps more so 
 from the body of warm fresh water which flows into it from the 
 two rivers See and Selune. Professor Johnston has explained 
 this by showing how you may account for the phenomenon so 
 often seen in mountainous countries. I mean that a shower 
 passing along a hill-side is always darker and heavier as it passes 
 over particular places ; and on going to the places where tliis in- 
 crease of darkness is observed, you will invariably find some 
 small fresh-water loch or wet boggy land, the moist surface of 
 which serves to surcharge the air and attract a greater discharge 
 from the clouds as they pass over them. This is exactly the case 
 on the Greve ; for both rain and fog fall heavier and thicker 
 there than on the surrounding land, and I aui very sure that the 
 mist, which was thick enough with us this morning, was ten 
 
DANGER, 255 
 
 times worse down there ; so that the sun's rays have not yet been 
 able to expand the air above the rivers and wet land. As I have 
 seldom seen a thicker mist than we had this morning, so I think 
 that I never observed the strange effect of overlooking a cloud so 
 strongly marked. It is these fogs which render the Greve so 
 very dangerous to the peasantry, who, while taking short cuts 
 across it, are often lost. Thej' are first caught in one of these 
 fogs, then lose their way and wander into the quicksands, where 
 they are swallowed up, leaving no trace behind them. A quick- 
 sand is worse than the greedy sea, for the sea sometimes ' gives 
 back its dead,' but a quicksand never. I can tell you, looking at 
 this sight makes my blood curdle, for it calls back the remem- 
 brance of the narrow escape I had last year, when four of us were 
 saved by God's mercy from that fate." 
 
 " Ah !" said Hope, " I should like to hear how this happened 
 You seem in luck on this coast, for, by what you say, you have 
 escaped smothering in the sand as well as drowning in the tide. 
 I hope it was not an old fool like myself that led you into this 
 ~ :rape by looking for worms when he ought to have been striding 
 way for 'terra firma.'" 
 
 " In truth, my dear fellow, you make me blush," said Cross, 
 ■• by calling yourself an old fool and taking to yourself the blame 
 ■ I our adventure on the rocks, when in reahty the whole fault 
 lay with me. You did not know anything about the rapid rise 
 of the tide, and I did ; therefore. Tor that cold sederunt I alone 
 am to blame ; but of the greater danger on the Greve I am inno- 
 cent. The hazard arose from the rattle of that young Irishman 
 we met the other day, and our safety was owing to his presence 
 of mind and sharp eyes." 
 
 " Your greater danger ! " exclaimed Hope ; " you do not 
 mean to say that you were worse off in that bay than we were 
 the other night, when we were holding on to a few inches of 
 rock and the waves washing our shoes ? If so, you must have 
 been, as a Yankee would say, in a considerable unhandsome fix." 
 
 " And I assure you," said Cross, " I thought myself a thou- 
 
 1 
 
256 MONT ST. MICHEL. 
 
 sand times worse off. On the rock I never felt any fear after 
 little Matilde took us there, but on the Greve I went through 
 all the stages, from the cold perspiration of good honest fear to 
 the quiet resignation of despair ; and then felt again what I have 
 heard described as the sensation of a condemned criminal who 
 is reprieved at the gallows' foot : namely, a sickening feeling — 
 first came joy and thankfulness for present safety, and then a 
 more lively throbbing of fear and nervous agitation in remember- 
 ing the past danger than I had felt when I had given myself up 
 for lost, and had taken leave, in my own mind, of life and this 
 world, I can only tell you, that in spite of shame and exertion 
 to hide my feelings, I should have fainted if I had not got a good 
 pull at a bottle of brandy when we reached the carriage, and even 
 the Irishman, who had shown the greatest presence of mind, and 
 kept us all up by his jokes during the height of our danger, was 
 as much in want of the brandy as myself. As for the other two, 
 they lay down with the guide the moment we were off the sand. 
 They had been rather tipsy when we started from the rock, and 
 when we went to get them into the carriage the wine or the fright 
 had so floored them that we were obliged to help them into their 
 places." 
 
 " You must tell me the whole adventure," said Hope. 
 
 " Well, I will, if it will amuse you," replied Cross ; " but the 
 ~ description of this sort of scene never gives any idea of the reality ; 
 however, since you wish it, here goes. Everybody knows about 
 Mont St. Michel, for volumes have been written about it, and of 
 course everybody who is near it goes to see it and to learn some 
 fresh fable on the spot. If you should meet a priest and choose 
 him for your guide, he will tell you lies by the score about the 
 archangel Michael ; if a soldier, he will be equally eloquent and 
 false in relating the lickings that the French garrison have given 
 to the English ; and if you should fall in with a savant, he will 
 cram you with archaeology ; if a geologist, he will talk of sub- 
 merged land ; if a peasant, he will spin you a yarn about the 
 knight who left the rock in a forest, and found it an island in a 
 
THE GUIDE. 257 
 
 quicksand. This, of course, you must bear with patience, and 
 you may do so with ease, for the place is well worth being seen, 
 in spite of its present use. The most splendid halls and apart- 
 ments are cut up and subdivided into what, before this last re- 
 volution, were the prisons and workshops of the greatest ragga- 
 muffins in France. There is no use talking about these or the 
 place ; suffice it to say, I was asked to join a party going to see 
 all these wonders, and I agreed to go. "We provided ourselves 
 with a hamper containing something to eat, and a few bottles of 
 wine, and started in a hired carriage to make a day of it. Paddy, 
 who was one of the party, kept us laughing all the drive ; and 
 after we got to the rock, he still kept up his jokes with a sort of 
 half gentleman, half guide, with whom he scraped acquaintance 
 on leaving the carriage. I knoAv not what this man was, whether 
 priest, soldier, or savant, but he was well stocked with every 
 variety of marvels usually related by each of these professionals. 
 He firmly believed in the visits of the archangel, and that the 
 two large guns which are shown as trophies were taken from the 
 English by his countrymen, and not by the tide, although in all 
 other points he gave credit to the power and danger of a spring 
 tide on the Greve. Alter going over every part of the building, 
 from the entrance gate to the telegraph, we returned to the Uttle 
 dirty inn where our hamper had been deposited. Paddy in- 
 vited our guide to join our party, and amused himseK and us 
 by plying his guest with wine, while he led him on to tell one 
 marvellous story after another. After exhausting his stock of 
 saintly and soldierly anecdotes, he persuaded him to describe the 
 many losses and escapes which had taken place at different times 
 on the sands. These were well told, and bore the stamp of truth ; 
 so much so, that we forgot the loss of time, "WTaen we had been 
 standing by the telegraph we had observed that the sea was 
 foggy ; but as the day was so bright and fine, we thought nothing 
 about a fog out at sea, till, in the middle of one of our guide's 
 best stories, our coachman came in to announce that the tide had 
 turned, and that as the fog was coming on, he wished to start 
 
 S 
 
258 A TEUE FOG STOEY. 
 
 immediately. "We suggested half-an-hour's delay, "but coachy 
 was imperative for an immediate departure, finishing by declaring 
 that if we were unwilling to start then, he would go alone, and 
 wait for us on the mainland; so that we might take o\u time and 
 walk there, which, he added, we could do with safety, as we were 
 not likely to lose the way on foot, although he might do so in 
 driving, should the fog become much thicker. Some of us were 
 for starting at once, but Paddy would not hear of such a pro- 
 ceeding till we had emptied the bottles and heard our guide's 
 narratives to an end. His jokes and determination overruled our 
 wiser scruples. The coachman was told to go or stay, as he 
 chose. His choice was to go, and our glasses were barely filled 
 to do honour to some toast which Paddy proposed when we 
 heard the sound of the horse's feet clattering down the steep 
 pavement. This was all one to Paddy ; our guide was requested 
 to go on with his story, and he was nothing loth, as each tale 
 of peril ensured two glasses of champagne, which, he swallowed 
 like mother's milk. It was evident that he had the true Nor- 
 man taste for good liquor, and plenty of it. 
 
 " The story he was telling when we were disturbed by the 
 arrival of our coachman was one of a man that had been lost on 
 the sands during a fog. Suddenly the day had cleared up be- 
 fore a rapidly-advancing tide, when he found himself about half- 
 a-mile to the west of the Mount. Had he been acquainted with, 
 the sands, he would have known that he ought to make a circuit 
 to avoid a branch of the river ; but it seems he was not aware of 
 this danger, for he ran straight to the rock till he was stopped 
 by the deep water. He then turned and ran along the stream, 
 sometimes one way, sometimes another, having seemingly lost 
 his head. He was plainly seen from the rock, and the people 
 who saw him shouted and waved to direct him which way to 
 go ; but he neither saw nor heard them. At last two or three 
 of the fishermen ran down to help him, but they had a consider- 
 able distance to go before they could reach the place ; and when 
 they did get near him, the tide was advancing so rapidly that 
 
THE GOVEENOR AND HIS WIFE. 259 
 
 tliey were obliged to turn to save tlieir own lives. The poor 
 man then ran to a mound of sand which stood like an island 
 surrounded by water. The fishermen w^ere obliged to make the 
 best of their way back to the rock, and from thence they saw 
 the water rise around the unfortunate man they had gone forth 
 to save. There was no boat ; inch by inch the water rose, till at 
 length he was borne away. They saw him overwhelmed in the 
 waves, and it was the last that was ever seen of him, for his 
 body was never found. It was supposed that it had been swal- 
 lowed up in some of the quicksands. 
 
 " The fellow told this story well ; much better than I can re- 
 peat it. He had a good deal of gesticulation and action, acting 
 the different parts of the fishermen and the sufferer : shouting 
 for the one, and running up and down the room and acting de- 
 spair in imitation of the other. We forgot the coachman and the 
 carriage ; the bottle Avent round, and as usual Paddy took care 
 that his new friend should not be forgotten. In return for this 
 the said friend began a new story, or rather an old one, for I 
 think his next was the account of a governor being nearly lost, 
 but fortunately saved by his wife." 
 
 " You may call it an old story," said Hope, " but it is new 
 to me ; so let me hear it." 
 
 " "Why," said Cross, " the adventure is told in every one of 
 the many accounts which have been published about the Mount ; 
 and I saw you reading one of the best the other day." 
 
 " The fact is," answered Hope, " I was not reading, I was 
 only looking at the pictures, as the children say ; and as I did 
 not read the tale, you may as well tell it to me." 
 
 " This is the story," replied Cross. " The Commandant of 
 .the Fort left it one day to go somewhere on the mainland, pro- 
 mising his wife to be back by a certain hour. One of these 
 fogs came on, and as the husband did not arrive, his wife sent 
 out the drummers to form a line, with directions to beat the 
 drums as loudly as they could. It appeared that the husband 
 had lost his way in returning, and was moving towards the 
 
260 A SHIP SWALLOWED UP. 
 
 greatest danger, when tlie roll of tlie drums struck liis ear. He 
 turned, and guided by tlie sound reached the first drummer. 
 With this drummer was his own faithful servant, who had also 
 gone out to search for him, and who had taken with him two 
 large glass lanterns, with two wax candles lighted in each ; in 
 short, a couple of those lanterns which you see carried before 
 the belles of the small Xorman towns every evening when they 
 go out to visit. The fog was then so thick that no one could 
 see a yard before him ; and to prove this fact the story goes on 
 to say that the Commandant thanked his servant for coming 
 out to meet him, and then blew him up as a stupid fellow for not 
 bringing a light with him. Of course he was thunderstruck when 
 he found that the man had a lantern in each hand. The history 
 goes no further ; but it may be quoted as a rare instance of con- 
 jugal affection, as well as in proof of the density of I^orman fogs. 
 Our friend, when he related the adventure, told ns with a grin 
 that the Commandant and liis wife had been very lately married. 
 
 " At the end of this anecdote of course there was more wine ; 
 then followed another story ; then more wine ; till, instead of half- 
 an-hour, we had passed upwards of an hour in listening and 
 drinking. The last history we heard in the room was that of a 
 vessel that had struck on the sand on some occasion when a gale 
 of wind and a fog had combined to mislead the sailors. The 
 crew were saved at low water, but the ship and cargo gradually 
 sank down into the sand. If I remember the story rightly, I 
 think it was on the fourth or fifth day after she struck that 
 nothing was to be seen of her but the truck of her mainmast, 
 and the next day that also had disappeared. 
 
 " As the storj^ ended, the bottles were found to be emptj'. I 
 remember Paddy's last joke was bowing most respectfully to 
 the narrator, and calling him a confounded liar, in English, 
 which the honest man mistook for a comj^liment, as he did not 
 understand a word of our language. Our bill was paid, and, as 
 usual, we were called on to buy a number of the little articles 
 cut out of some hard foreign nut which are the work of the 
 
OUT OX THE GEi:VE. 261 
 
 prisoners. Paddy gave the word to move by saying, 'Shove 
 ahead, old fellow, and show us the way ; whether the sand 
 swallowed the ship or not, you have swallowed our wine, and 
 we have swallowed your bouncers, and we want a little exercise 
 to digest them. So, en avant.' 
 
 " Down stairs we went, the guide leading, and I confess I 
 felt rather a gasp when we got into the street and found it as 
 dark as it was this morning. But our guide was quite comfort- 
 able ; telling us to keep close to him and there was no fear, for 
 that he could go the road blindfold, he knew it so well. 
 
 " We were soon on the sand, but the air apparently had an 
 effect on our guide not quite to be desired, for he was evidently 
 tipsy, and having already favoured us with so many stories, he 
 then began to volunteer a song. His voice was bad, and his 
 theme anything but decent. Paddy then ordered him to keep 
 his eyes about him, and, by way of return, sang a capital comic 
 Irish ditty. The rest of us marched on in silence, except that ' 
 every now and then I asked our guide if he was quite sure he 
 was in the right road. He always answered with confidence 
 that we were. After a while, we came to a run of water, through 
 which we waded ankle-deep. When we had passed this, and 
 once more trod on dry sand, it struck me that it was lighter in 
 colour than what I had before remarked. AVhen passing in the 
 morning I remembered that we had driven through several very 
 shallow puddles of water ; but as my impression and recollection 
 of these puddles was that they would hardl}" cover the sole of 
 the shoe, instead of being up to the ankle, I hailed our guide, 
 and asked him more strictly than before if he was certain he was 
 leading us right, drawing his attention to the last piece of water 
 we had waded through and to the colour of the sand. 
 
 " The guide insisted he was right, and explained the deep- 
 ness of the water by saying that the tide had turned, and 
 asserted that the density of the fog deceived my eyes, for that 
 the sand was exactly of the same colour as that over which we 
 had been walking since we left the rock. 
 
262 AT FAULT. 
 
 " This I felt migM "be true, for the fog was so dark that I 
 could hardly distinguish the features of the speaker, though he 
 ■was not six yards from me ; so I told him to move on. He did 
 so, hut I ohserved that he often looked about him ; and after 
 another five minutes, he first slackened his pace, and then stopped. 
 
 " ' Have any of you gentlemen seen a bush V asked he. 
 
 " Paddy told him that he was a spalpeen, and that we had 
 seen no bush since we left the mistletoe that was hanging above 
 the inn door of the cabaret, at the Mount. 
 
 " ' I am certain the fellow has lost his way,' said I ; and, to 
 confess the truth, I first got hot, and then broke out into a cold 
 perspiration. The remembrance of all the stories we had been 
 listening to rushed back on my mind with a most disagreeable 
 distinctness, 
 
 " Paddy went up to the unfortunate guide, who was as white 
 as a sheet, and taxed him with having lost his way. The poor 
 devil confessed the fact, but declared that he could not be far 
 wrong, and that he was sure he should find his track in a minute. 
 
 " On we moved again, the guide turning a httle to the left. 
 Paddy pulled out his cigar-case and a bunch of allumettes fixed 
 on touch-paper. These were bad, and would not light. Paddy 
 tried several before he got one to kindle ; those that would not 
 light he threw away, and these, in the end, were one great 
 cause of our being saved. 
 
 " "We walked on, our guide moving very slowly, and we not a 
 yard behind him. One of the disastrous tales he had related to 
 us in the morning, which I lavrf forgotten to mention, was, that a 
 marriage party were once crossing the sands ; the bride and bride- 
 groom were about ten yards in front of the rest of the party, when 
 suddenly the happy pair vanished from their sight. They had 
 shpped into one of the spring quicksands, and were engulfed in a 
 moment, and of course never seen again. I know not why, but 
 this s!:ory was constantly recurring to my mind. I had thought it a 
 most improbable fiction when I heard it, and yet somehow or other 
 it then always came back on me, and I dwelt on it more than on 
 
BREAKIXG SANDS. 
 
 '263) 
 
 any other he had told us. We had been "walking at a slow pace 
 for more than ten minutes, this story still running in my head, 
 when of a sudden I saw the guide slowly sinking before me. 
 The poor devil screeched for help ; without thinking, I rushed 
 forward, seized him by the collar, and threw him on his back a 
 yard beliind me. At the same moment I felt as if something 
 gave a crack below my feet, and I felt myself slowl}^ going down ! 
 I own my heart leaped into my mouth ; I had never felt any- 
 thing like it. I have broken through many a bog, mauj' a ^^ 
 tremhling eye and tcell-liead in the Highlands of Scotland, and 
 once or twice I have found that disagreeable and nervous 
 enough ; but it is nothing to the horror of sinking into a quick- 
 sand. The sensation to me was as if a slight crust had broken 
 under my feet, through which they sank, and then something 
 seemed to suck or drag me down, leaving me not the slightest 
 power to assist myself. I did my best to raise one leg, but to 
 no purpose ; the other only went deeper and faster down. In a 
 few seconds I was buried halfway up my thighs, and sinking 
 faster. I shouted for help ! In a moment I felt Paddy's iron 
 grasp on my collar. The guide was a little man ; it had required 
 no great strength to draw him out ; but with me it was a dif- 
 ferent matter ; a tall, heavy man, like myself, required no ordi- 
 nary strength to lift. Fortunately, he who came to my assistance 
 was as strong as a horse, but it took his utmost exertion to raise 
 me. I felt two tremendous tugs, and then, oh happy sensation ! 
 I found myself rolling on the hard sand beside the guide, who 
 was on his knees crossing liimseK with great devotion. It was 
 true I was without the collar of my coat ; at least it was so torn 
 that a bit of red cloth, which had been inserted as stiffening, 
 was hanging out, and in my fall had wound round my face. 
 This I pulled oft' and threw on the sand. 
 
 " "We took no long time to think or feel where we then stood, 
 for Paddy sprang back himself, and called on us all to do the 
 same. ' The ground is breaking under us," he cried ; ' come 
 back, come back !' Our two friends, who were on their legs. 
 
/ 
 
 [264 TEEACHEEOUS GEOUND. 
 
 / obeyed his call, and we who were on the ground were not long 
 in following their example, for we could see the sand as it were 
 cracking and flowing towards the spot where we had so nearly- 
 sunk, which now looked as if the sand was rising out of it ; as 
 you may have observed sand heaving in a strong spring. We 
 went back for about a hundred yards, and then paused, as the 
 sand was there quite hard, and so dry that it retained the marks 
 of our feet. This, I must tell you, had not been generally the 
 case, for in the greater part of oi;r walk the moment we Hfted 
 our feet the impression first filled with water, then the sand 
 seemed to slide into it, and all trace was obliterated. 
 
 " Our two friends had as yet made but few remarks. I be- 
 lieve the wine in their heads had lelt little room for thought, 
 and up to that moment they had appeared unconscious of our 
 being in any danger ; but then, of a sudden, they seemed to be 
 aware of our position, and to remember some of the stories we 
 had heard of the crust breaking under unfortunate wanderers on 
 the Greve, who immediately vanished into the lx)ttomless abyss. 
 Of this I am certain, that they both became very much alarmed, 
 and one of them betrayed what was passing in his mind by 
 asking the guide if we were not on the top of one of the caldrons 
 which he had described in the mornhig as being bottomless, and 
 having only a thin crust of clay and sand resting on their sur- 
 face. The guide had become so frightened that he was quite 
 stupified and unable to give any answer ; but Paddy replied that 
 he believed, if we were not on the top of one of those caldrons, 
 we had been on the edge of one, for he had felt the ground 
 yield beneath him very like ice cracking, and that it Avas then 
 he had himself sprung back, and called to us to do the same. 
 
 "Our two friends became extremely frightened, and I honestly 
 confess I was so too. Paddy was no fool, and therefore, I am 
 sure, he shared our alarm ; but he concealed the fear he must 
 have felt, and cut some joke about the appearance of our guide. 
 If fear is infectious, certainly courage is also ; for Paddy's cool- 
 ness gave me hope. I beheve it was I who first tried to rouse 
 
THE GUIDE SUPEKSEDED. 265 ' 
 
 our guide. Paddy soon aided my endeavours, but it took some 
 time before we could get him to give any rational account of 
 where he thought we were. By dint of repeated questions we at 
 last made out that he imagined we had gone too far to the left, 
 and that we should then be near one or other of the rivers, as it 
 was always close to the rivers that the danger was the greatest. 
 Further questioning and drawing plans on the sand at length 
 gave us to understand where our guide supposed us to be. 
 
 " Paddy, having acquired this information, insisted upon being 
 our guide, for he said that by going to the right for a certain 
 time, and then again easing off to the left, we should be sure to 
 reach firm ground somewhere ; and at all events, by bearing in 
 that direction, if we went wrong we should walk into the sea, 
 and drowning was a cleaner death than being smothered in sand. 
 
 " I thought his reasoning good, and did not oppose the pro- 
 posal, but I suggested that we should all tie our handkerchiefs 
 together, one end of which was to be fixed to his arm, and that 
 I, as the strongest of the party, should walk behind Paddy and 
 hold the other end, so that if he got into another quicksand I 
 should be able to haul him out. The guide was now cpute use- 
 less from fear; so our two friends undertook to bring him along 
 between them, keeping close behind me. This, I must tell you, 
 was absolutely necessary, for the fog was now so dense you could 
 not see two yards before you. 
 
 " Our line was soon formed, and we started. After proceed- 
 ing for some distance, Paddy stopped to hold, as he said, a council 
 of war. His suggestion was, that we ought then to turn again to 
 the left, and if the guide was right we must hit the land some- 
 where. We, as councillors, agreed, and the guide, who had 
 partially recovered himself, jomed in our opinion. I must tell 
 you that in this walk we had been obliged to cross sundry strings 
 of water, several of which took us up to the mid-leg. It was 
 these bits of water that revived our guide, for he said they were 
 the marks that showed we were going right. 
 
 " This news gave us fresh spirits, and we moved on at a 
 

 266 AY.ILKIXG IX A CIECLE. 
 
 quicker pace and -with lighter hearts, for we had again hope ; but 
 hope died gradually away, for after walking for a quarter of an 
 hour, no land was to be found. Paddy shouted, ' Hurrah, boys ! 
 never say die, and never cry strike while there's a shot in the 
 locker !' and on he marched for some minutes longer. Suddenly 
 I heard him exclaim, 'All right! here's somebody's toggery.' 
 He turned a little on one side and picked up something, what I 
 could not distinguish till I stepped up to him, when — conceive 
 my horror ! — it was the lining of my collar which I had thrown 
 away haK an hour before. The fact was only too plain ; we had 
 been walking in a circle, and were on the same spot where Paddy 
 had undertaken the duty of guide, and consequently within five 
 yards of the quicksand into which both the guide and myself 
 had so nearly gone down ! 
 
 " It is quite impossible to describe accurately the sensation 
 which this discovery created on the different individuals of the 
 party. I can only tell you what I felt myself, and how the others 
 acted. Our first movement, by one consent, was to rush from 
 the place where we stood, and then our guide threw himself on 
 the sand, began to bemoan himself, and to call on the saints for 
 aid and protection. Our two friends said nothing, but both were 
 very pale. Paddy ground his teeth and lit a fresh cigar. The 
 effect on my nerves was singular. For some time before I had felt 
 considerable agitation and anxiety; then I was convinced we had 
 no chance. I knew that the tide was rising, and that before 
 long we must be overwhelmed by the sea. I thought death in- 
 evitable, but the conviction made me perfectlj^ calm, so that I 
 looked about me, and was quite able to observe all that my com- 
 panions did. 
 
 "Xot a word was spoken for a minute or two by any of our 
 party ; the guide alone continued to moan, to wring his hands, 
 and call on the saints. He was so fluent with his list that I am 
 confident at some time or other he had been in some way con- 
 nected with the priesthood. At last Paddy broke the silence by 
 telUng him to hold his blethers and let a gentleman speak. Then 
 
EUXNIXG A TRAIL. (^OP 
 
 he turned to lis and said, ' Well, boys, let's be moving ; there's 
 no good in standing still to be drowned ; so at it again, and 
 better luck this time !' 
 
 "He was beginning to move, when he again stopped and 
 pulled a bundle of old letters out of his pocket, which he began 
 to tear into little pieces. ' Dropping a bit of this as we walk 
 along,' said he, ' may help to guide our eyes and keep us straight, 
 if we spread out as far apart as we can, still keeping one another 
 in view.' He asked me to go last, and call to him whenever he 
 was swerving from a straight line, as the morsels of paper he 
 would drop might, he thought, be seen even better than the 
 figures before me. I at once agreed to take the place assigned 
 me, and we were about to start for the second time when he again 
 paused. ' Surely,' said he, ' some marks of our footsteps must 
 still remain, and if we can trace them back, we shall be able to 
 find out the spot where we first went wrong, especially if we can 
 get that howling idiot to listen to reason.' He spoke to the 
 guide, but the latter was quite incoherent from fear, and after a 
 vain endeavour to recall him to his senses, he gave up the attempt. 
 ' We must trust to Heaven and to ourselves,' said he ; and turn- 
 ing to our friends, he asked them to take care of the poor man, 
 and requested me to stand still, and answer him if he called out. 
 He then walked in the direction where the lining of the collar of 
 my coat had been found ; he was out of sight in a moment, but 
 I saw that he had dropped some morsels of paper to guide him 
 in returning. After a second, I heard his voice hailing cheerfully, 
 and calUug on us to join him. We followed the line of scraj)s 
 of paper, and were soon at his side. He told us that he could 
 see the track we had come, and that he felt sure he could take 
 us back on our former footsteps. I examined what he pointed 
 out, and certainly thought there were marks, but so faint, I never 
 should have discovered them if his sharper eyes had not first 
 seen and pointed them out. I own I placed no confidence in 
 them even then, but I agreed to the proposal he had previously 
 made of taking the rearguard, and trying to direct a straight 
 
268 FINDING THE TEACK. 
 
 line by keeping one of my companions and the bits of paper in 
 one. We started, Paddy first, then went one of our friends 
 leading the guide, the second followed, and I brought up the 
 rear, keeping my friend in view ; but to do this, I could not allow 
 him to be more than three or four steps in advance of me. Thus 
 we marched on for several minutes without a sound being uttered 
 by any of the party; for even our guide had ceased to moan 
 aloud. I suspect we were all thinking, and thinking seriously. 
 On a sudden, this silence was broken by a cheerful shout from 
 our leader. ' Hurrah ! never say die ! there's life in a mussel!' 
 said he ; ' all right, and no mistake.' These were the words I 
 heard ; we all sprang forward, and a dozen steps brought me to 
 his side. When I joined him, he was holding in his hand one 
 of the allumettes which had failed to kindle, and which he had 
 thrown away ; this he had found lying on the sand, and it con- 
 vinced us all that, so far at least, we had retraced our steps cor- 
 rectly. The guide was then again questioned — and, to say the 
 truth, Paddy did not accost him with very gentle words, some 
 /of which, such as spalpeen, he might not understand, but pol- 
 troon and bete, together with a good shaking, seemed to rouse 
 him, for by degrees he became more communicative, and gave us 
 to understand that he was quite confident he had been in the 
 right road till we entered the water, and that there, he now felt 
 convinced, he had gone too much to the left. After clearly mak- 
 ing this out, Paddy gave the word to start, but this time he 
 himself took charge of the guide ; the rest of us resumed our 
 former positions. I soon saw by the bits of paper that we were 
 leaning to the left, and I shouted to say so. I was answered, 
 'AH right; I am doing it on purpose; but now keep me straight.' 
 Thus we proceeded for some little time. I had again resumed my 
 thoughts — not very lively ones, as you may suppose — when a 
 fresh shout struck my ear, this time from the voice of the guide, 
 I was soon by the side of my friends, who had rushed forward on 
 hearing the cr}' ; they were all standing by a sheet of water. 
 Paddy stooped down and tasted it — it was salt ! ' We've done 
 
THE "WAVE. 269 
 
 our best,' lie said ; ' but I fear it's all up with us.' Our guide 
 was tearing his hair ; hope had revived in him for a while, and 
 then again despair completely overwhelmed him — indeed, he 
 seemed quite to have lost his reason. Paddy also appeared to 
 have entirely given up hope ; he Avas perfectly calm in manner, 
 but very pale ; our two companions were the same. One of them 
 said in a clear voice, ' The Lord have mercy upon us,' to which 
 we all with one accord responded, ' Amen.' As we uttered the 
 word a hollow sound was distinctly heard ; it was the same 
 sort of moan which the sea gives, and which you heard the other 
 night just as we got on the rock : you then saw the manner in 
 which the tide, as it rises, comes gently on for a while, and after- 
 wards rushes up in one great wave. There could be no doubt 
 that the sound we then heard was the roll of this fearful wave, 
 and if we had been uncertain about it our guide would soon 
 have enlightened us, for he redoubled his cries for mercy, and 
 shouted, ' The wave, the wave ! we are drowned ! we are gone ! ' " 
 " And what did you do 1 " exclaimed Hope. 
 " As I have told you," answered Cross, " I had given up all 
 expectation of safety some time before. I was therefore calm 
 and quite collected. I don't say this by way of boasting, but 
 simply because it was the case. I felt that death was inevitable, 
 and mine was the calmness of resignation to a certain fate which 
 I could not avert. Fear is most painful while there remains 
 any uncertainty ; when doubt ceases, fear in a great measure 
 ceases also, and resignation takes its place. A man of courage 
 may meet death calmly when he can do nought to avert his 
 doom, for he knows that some day or other he must face that 
 dread conqueror. The struggle between courage and fear is only 
 agonising beyond endurance at the moment when despair is 
 crusliing hope. I am sure it was so with me ; I do not deny 
 that I felt that struggle painfully, and I think the feeling was 
 the same with us all. I looked at every countenance, and am 
 confident that, though they were calm, each was preparing for 
 certain death. AVe were all standing close together. I know 
 
270 sa"\t:d, 
 
 not who made tlie first movement, but we all pressed each other's 
 hands in silence. AYe did the same to the guide, which hac 
 the effect of setting him howling again. Through the noise h( 
 made we again heard the same hollow sound repeated, and W( 
 saw the water rising beside us, and running in an increasec 
 stream past us ; there was an air of wind also that came fron 
 the same quarter. Paddy said '"Whisht!' and turning to th( 
 guide, went on, ' God bless you, you poor creature, can't yoi 
 hold your tongue and drown quietly ! I'm tired of your noise 
 If it was not for you we might perhaps guess where we are h} 
 listening to the sea ! ' 
 
 " As he uttered these words a strong breath of air strucl 
 upon our right cheeks. We were then all facing the water 
 Thfe breeze increased ; and in an instant the fog seemed to b( 
 lifted up, so that we could see for more than a hundred yards al 
 around us, and we perceived that, within ten yards of where w( 
 stood, a broken bush was firmly planted in the sand ; whilst ii 
 the water, not fifty yards from us, was the top of another whicl 
 could be clearly seen. Paddy shook the guide with no genth 
 hand as he pointed to them — ' Do you see those, jou spalpeen ? 
 said he; 'and now can you tell where we are?' The mai 
 looked for a moment, then sprang high from the ground, shout 
 ing, ' Saved ! saved ! ' In another second he was into the stream 
 wading as fast as he could move towards the more distant bush 
 The water was nearly up to his hips. We followed him witlioui 
 exactly knowing why. We passed the bush, continuing to wad( 
 in the same line, and in two minutes more were again on drj 
 sand : the marks of wheels, horses' and men's feet, were there 
 visibly imprinted on a more muddy strand. A very few yards 
 further a third bush was in sight. AVe were once more on th( 
 road ; we were indeed safe ! 
 
 " I must now confess my folly. Up to that moment I had 
 been calm, but then a revulsion came over my spirits. I fell 
 my ears ring ; a hot flush came over my face ; tears came intc 
 my eyes, and both my feet and hands had a tingling sensatior 
 
A EEVULSION OF FEELING. 27l 
 
 that deprived me of power ; wliile my knees shook so much that 
 I could scarcely walk. I was quite unable to see what my 
 companions did. I heard Paddy's voice cheering on the guide, 
 and mechanically I followed the sound. Fortunately we had 
 not far to go. In less than live minutes we were treading on 
 earth and stone instead of sand ; in another minute we were 
 beside the carriage. I clung to the side of it, and then I felt 
 such an utter prostration of strength that, if I had not got hold 
 of a bottle of brandy which was in the pocket, and swallowed a 
 great gulp of the contents, I should have fainted. 
 
 " I do not think Paddy was much better than myself. He 
 had shown great courage and presence of mind during the whole 
 trial, but I think the reprieve from certain death had almost as 
 great an effect on his iron nerves as on mine. He took a longer 
 pull at the brandy than I did, and then pressed my hand, saying, 
 as he raised his hat, ' Saved by God's mercy, my boy ! and we 
 may praise His name. If it had not been for that hole in the 
 blanket we were gone coons !' 
 
 " After a while we looked round for the rest of the party, 
 and, as I have already told you, found the three lying on the 
 ground close to the sand. We administered a dose of the same 
 comfort we had ourselves swallowed. The guide, who had be- 
 trayed the greatest cowardice during the danger, was the soonest 
 recovered ; he swallowed a goodly dose of the cordial, crossed 
 himself, returned thanks to the Virgin and St. Michael, and then 
 cut a caper, quite himself again. Our two friends were stupified, 
 and what they drank seemed to make them worse ; so we helped 
 them into the carriage, and after slipping a couple of five-franc 
 pieces into our guide's hand, which he willingly pocketed, we 
 got into the carriage ourselves. He clambered up beside the 
 coachman, and there, no doubt, he related our adventures, and 
 made himself the hero and saviour of the party. This much I 
 know, his voice never ceased for one moment from the time he 
 mounted the box till we paused to set him down at a cabaret, 
 about two miles on the road home ; and the coachman congratu- 
 
272 A SCOTCH MIST. 
 
 lated us on our good fortune in having had such a man with us 
 as a guide, for otherwise we must have perished ! It was not 
 Avorth our while to tell what a useless, cowardly fellow he had 
 shown himself. 
 
 " We were half-way home before any of us spoke much, but 
 then by degrees we began to talk over our adventures. I think 
 the chief subject was the curious but well-known fact that people 
 always have an inclination to walk in a circle instead of a straight 
 line, either in the dark or with the eyes blindfolded ; and since 
 that time I have seen some very good fun and a considerable 
 deal of money lost and won in bets as to whether a person could 
 walk straight forward for a hundred yards with his eyes blind- 
 folded ; or better still, to see two people start together to try, for 
 a wager, which could go the straightest." 
 
 Hope thanked Cross for his story, and allowed that the 
 position he had then been in was far more critical than that in 
 which they had been placed when surrounded by the water on 
 the rock. 
 
 " I do not wonder," said he, " that you were alarmed, for the 
 danger was truly frightful, and there certainly is something very 
 appalling in being lost in a mist. I know that in such a situa- 
 tion everybody is oppressed with a feeling of dread which 
 cannot be understood by those who have not undergone the 
 trial ; nor could any one who has not been so placed conceive 
 the complete confusion of memory which attacks the coolest. 
 People who have Kved all their Kves on a mountain-side may 
 tell you that they know every stone and bush of heather within 
 five miles of them, and yet will find themselves lost when 
 almost close to their own homes. This I know to be true," he 
 continued, " for I once wandered for several hours on a moor, 
 every inch of which I thought I knew, and I was in company 
 with a gamekeeper and a herd who had spent the greatest part 
 of their lives within a mile of the place where we first went 
 astray. They were as much puzzled as myself. AVe were re- 
 turning home from shooting, when, just as it was growing dark. 
 
A FOG OX THE HILL. 273 
 
 a tliick fog came on. The keeper proposed that we should leave 
 the track we were in to take a shorter cut over the shoulder of 
 a hill, to which I at once agreed, as I knew that the line he 
 suggested was shorter than the road we were follo^ving. We 
 stepped out, and I remember at first that I only thought the 
 hill rather longer and steeper than usual, but this I accounted 
 for by recollecting I was somewhat tired, and when that is the 
 case every one thinks a hill longer and steeper than when he is 
 fresh. Xow I know that years have the same effect as fatigue ; 
 for I feel that as I grow older I find every mountain-side longer 
 and more difficult to climb than I did twenty years ago. After 
 walking for some time the hill seemed to get higher instead of 
 becoming level and then falling off and descending. The long 
 and short of it was, we were lost ; not one of us had a notion 
 where we were. The ground was so marked in character, and 
 we all knew the countrj^ so thoroughly, that I own when I found 
 we had lost our way, I was haK inclined to agree with the herd 
 and think myself bewitched. "Well, we wandered about for 
 several hours without being able to make out where we were, 
 till at last I was so tired I could go no longer ; so I desired the 
 men to pull a lot of heather, and fairly made up my mind to 
 sleep on the hill. We tried to make a fire, but the heather was 
 wet and green, and we got little more than smoke for our pains. 
 At ten o'clock we were still working away in this vain attempt 
 when the moon arose. The fog was then gone, and to our 
 astonishment we found ourselves not a quarter of a mile from 
 the herd's house, and at least four miles from the place where 
 we imagined ourselves to be. The Kne we thought we had been 
 taking was to the south-west, but we discovered that we had 
 gone exactly north-east, and to this hour I cannot understand 
 how we wandered so far out of our course. The herd was 
 afraid of fairies and -uitches, but no one else had the slightest 
 fear, nor indeed was there any cause for alarm, as the worst that 
 could befall us was a night on the hill ; and yet the effect of the 
 mist was so confounding that three men, all skilled from our 
 
 T 
 
274 A LONDON FOG. 
 
 habits in local memory, had strayed thus ridiculously out of our 
 way, and this not in a strange country, but on ground that we 
 had known all our lives. The dwellers in towns would never 
 believe such a story, or if they did they would raise their hands 
 and eyes, and say, ' What fools ! ' " 
 
 " A dweller in a country town might do so, but no inhabit- 
 ant of London could think so with truth," answered Cross, 
 " for I knew an honest Cockney who was nearly drowned by 
 falling into the Thames at Hungerford market, when he imagined 
 he was entering Hanover Square, which is quite as extraordinary 
 as your wanderings on a Highland hill or ours on the Greve." 
 
 " That's true enough," said Hope ; " and now you remind me 
 of it, I have heard no end of queer stories relating to the adven- 
 tures that have happened to people in a London fog ; and these 
 I can well believe, for nothing but Egyptian darkness could sur- 
 pass two fogs I myself witnessed in that city. It was darkness 
 that was absolutely felt." 
 
 While this conversation had been going on the two friends 
 had seated themselves on one of the granite boulders. During 
 the last minute Cross had risen from his seat, and though he 
 still conversed, his attention was evidently fixed on something 
 behind them. HojDe rose also, and observed that Cross was 
 again staring into the thicket on which his eyes had been so 
 earnestly fixed when Hope first called his attention to the effect 
 of the mist around Mont St. Michel. 
 
 "What the deuce are you looking at ? " asked he ; " it must be 
 very attractive, to turn your thoughts and your eyes from what 
 has so much interested me." 
 
 " And so it is," replied Cross. " There is a nest of shrikes 
 among those bushes. Don't you hear them screaming 1 It is so 
 very late in the season to find a nest of them just flown that I 
 was very much taken up by the discovery, and I am now looking 
 if I can get a sight of them : I was engaged in the same way 
 when you first called to me. I have been trying all this season 
 to get a young shrike, as I wish very much to tame one, and 
 
SHKIKES. 27o 
 
 teacli it to ha-^'k small birds. Butcher-birds are common enough 
 in this country, but I have never been fortunate enough, to get a 
 young one caught, and in despair I had given up all hopes of 
 getting one for tliis year, when I heard those old birds scream- 
 ing, and as there are young ones answering them, I am sure they 
 may yet be taken. The old butcher-birds drive off their young 
 the moment they are of an age to take care of themselves, but 
 as these are still protecting their brood, I am certain that the 
 young birds cannot be strong enough to fly far ; therefore, if you 
 ■will help me, I may yet be able to catch one." 
 
 " With all my heart," said Hope. " Show me the birds, and 
 I will do my best ; but I am afraid you will find me a very bad 
 assistant, as I am rather too fat and stiff for running after any- 
 thing that has wings or fonr legs. I remember when I was a 
 boy that we often tried to rear these butcher-birds, and used to 
 amuse ourselves by giving them large beetles, and watching the 
 way they fixed them against the wires of the cage, and then tore 
 them to pieces. You need not have come to France to seek for 
 them, for there are numbers that breed all round Windsor — at 
 least there were when I was a boy at Eton." 
 
 " You are thinking of the lesser butcher-bird," answered 
 Cross ; " what the French call the ecorcheur ; there are plenty 
 of them in this country also. I have found several of their 
 nests, and could have got as many young birds of that sort as I 
 chose to take, but this is not what I am looking after. The 
 birds you now hear are very scarce in England ; they are the 
 great shrike, or butcher-bird, called by the French the pie 
 grieche grise. It was once as much the fashion in France for 
 the noble ladies to keep their pie grieches as it was for their lords 
 to keep falcons. With the first they pursued their chasse au vol 
 by hunting small birds in their gardens, while with falcons the 
 sport was more fatiguing, for ^viih. them, as you know, they 
 hunted herons, following the chase on horseback. Charles IX. 
 was very fond both of falconry and of seeing the pie grieche 
 attack the thrushes and blackbirds in his garden, and is said to 
 
276 TOODLING SHEIKES. 
 
 have enjoyed this smaller game as much as he did. hunting 
 Huguenots or hanging heretics. I once saw a curious old manu- 
 script giving an account of the manner of educating the pie 
 grieche, and conducting this sport. It was reading tliis work, 
 which was written during Charles IX. 's reign, that made me so 
 anxious to get some young birds, to try if I could train them in 
 the manner there described ; and as you have promised to help 
 me, do not let us lose any more time. The only way to succeed 
 is to fix on one of the young birds and chase it tdl it is ex- 
 hausted, and so tired that we can lay hold of it." 
 
 Hope laughed, but agreed. " I hope no one will see us 
 ' toodUng,' " he said, " or they will think us mad ; two men, each 
 well on for six feet high, hunting an unfortunate bird by shying 
 stones and shouting to keep him on the wing, till he is no longer 
 able to fly at all ; but here goes, though I have not done such a 
 thing for forty years." 
 
 Away they went, and had any one been near to Avatch the 
 operation, they would doubtless have been highly amused. The 
 two rushed into the thicket together, and having fixed on one of 
 the young birds, they commenced the chase. Cross's longer and 
 younger legs gave him the start, and on he dashed, Hope follow- 
 ing, and then only an occasional glimpse of them could be seen 
 from the open ground, but a listener might have heard their 
 voices as they called to each other ; first. Cross shouting, " Look 
 out Hope ! I've turned him," then a crash among the bushes, and 
 an answer from Hope of, " He is going to you now. I've driven 
 him back again ;" and so on. After a quarter of an hour of such 
 sounds, mixed with shouts and the rattling of sticks and stones 
 among the branches, Cross gave a cheer, and appeared again in 
 the open space, holding his hat in his hand with his neckcloth 
 tied over it ; Hope came crawling out shortly after with face 
 and hands scratched and bleeding, his coat torn in several places, 
 ajid sti'eaming with perspiration. 
 
 Cross was much in the same state, but in high glee. 
 " Hurrah, my boy ! " he exclaimed ; " I've got one, and if we 
 
HAED WORK. 277 
 
 carry on, we may get the rest ; there are certainly two 
 more." 
 
 " Xo, I thank yon," replied Hope ; " I have done enough for 
 to-da}". ]\Iake the most of the one you have got, for he ought 
 to be valuable, seeing he has ruined two coats, not to mention 
 the skm I have sacrificed in his capture. The fact is, I am done 
 up, and could not take such another run to save my life." He 
 sat dowTi on a stone and wiped his face. 
 
 Cross looked, and saw that he had no chance of persuading 
 his friend to begin again, for crawling under one bush and 
 squeezing through another is not an exercise that can be followed 
 long by any man who has passed twenty years of age, more 
 especially if the bushes chance to be covered with thorns, as 
 they were in the present instance ; and this even Cross felt, in 
 spite of his desire to possess himself of the rest of the young 
 shrikes. 
 
 " I believe you are right," said he ; " this is no work for 
 grown gentlemen ; but if you do not mind going a little out of 
 your way, as soon as you are rested, we may call at a farm-house 
 not far from this, and try if we can get some boys to help me in 
 catching another of these birds, and at the farm I may also pro- 
 cure something to make a better cage than my hat in which to 
 confine my present captive." 
 
 " There is more sense in that proposal," answered Hope. " I 
 ■tt'ish I was a boy, and active enough to help you, but as it is, 
 we must seek younger aid ; so come along to your farm-house at 
 once." 
 
 Cross was only too glad to begin the walk. The capture of 
 the one bird had made him the more eager to get the others ; so 
 they took their way, returning through the wood along the same 
 path by which they had come. "When clear of the wood, all re- 
 membrance of mists, and perUs from mists, was fairly forgotten ; 
 nothing was talked of but hawking, rearing hawks, and taming 
 pie grieches, on wliich subject Cross was both eloquent and 
 amusing, being well read in all the works written upon it, quot- 
 
278 NOKMAN FAEM-HOUSE. 
 
 ing from many, especially from Campbell on Falconry, and from 
 the manuscrij)t on the reclaiming of pie grieches which he had 
 lately seen, and which had so strongly excited his fancy as to 
 give him the desire to possess some of the birds on which he 
 might try his skill in rearing. 
 
 The walk was not long, and they reached the farm in less 
 than a quarter of an hour. Like most of the farm-houses in 
 Normandy, there were ranges of 01-built out-houses, irregularly 
 planned, standing about the principal dwelling, with no sort of 
 order or method. The whole crop, including hay, being always 
 stored in barns instead of in stacks, the farmer had built fresh 
 houses as his farm and crop increased. An old chateau seemed 
 to have been the chief quarry from whence the stones had been 
 taken to erect these new buildings. Of the chateau, one old 
 tower, with its steep roof and pepperbox corners, was still stand- 
 ing — the site being about a hundred yards in the rear of the pre- 
 sent dwelling-house. At one side of this tower were the remains 
 of the ruined walls of a large building ; on the other, a number of 
 low thatched buildings, above the roof of which a thick smoke 
 was rising ; and the sound of voices laughing and talking could 
 be heard in the same direction. 
 
 There was no one in the farm-house or in any of the build- 
 ings near it, so, after calling in vain at each, the two friends bent 
 their steps towards the old tower, the lower storey of which they 
 found was used as a stable and byre, for in it were standing two 
 horses and four working oxen ; such a number in one man's pos- 
 session marked him as wealthy in his station. The upper storeys 
 served as barns, and were then half full of hay and straw. The 
 roof was evidently a pigeon-house, and a considerable number of 
 those birds were resting on the high ridge. !N"o person was to be 
 seen, so they turned to pass round the broken walls of the 
 chateau, and seek the parties whose voices were now much more 
 clearly heard. It was impossible to tell what was said, for there 
 seemed to be about a dozen different voices, both male and 
 female, all talking together. 
 
SINGEING A PIG. 279 
 
 " This "way," said Cross, as lie directed liis steps round the 
 ruin. " We shall find the whole boiling of them here, and they 
 are certainly settling something which they think of importance, 
 for they are all talking at once — everybody speaking and no one 
 listening, the invariable method of conducting a discussion in 
 JS'ormandy. I wish they had chosen some other day for their 
 debate, for I am afraid I shall not be able to bribe a single boy 
 to come and help me, though I can distinguish the young whelps' 
 voices trying to out-scream the older men and women." 
 
 " I think they are fighting," said Hope. " There is a woman's 
 voice that sounds most harsh and disagreeable ; she seems to be 
 in an awful rage." 
 
 " K'ot a bit of it," answered Cross ; " it is only a friendly dis- 
 cussion, I recognise the voice you mean ; it is that of the 
 mistress of the farm, a worthy old lady, and a great friend of 
 mine." 
 
 The chateau must have been a large building when in its 
 glory, for it took some minutes to walk round all the remains of 
 ruined walls ; but at last the final corner was passed, and they 
 came to a sort of enclosed yard in the rear of the tower, in the 
 centre of which was a fire, with damp straw for fuel, that was 
 blazing and smoking when they came in sight. Above this fire 
 was formed a sort of triangle made by setting up a long pole and 
 the trams of one of the country carts, and from this dangled the 
 carcass of an immense long-sided pig. A dozen men, women, 
 and boys, were employed around this arrangement, all roaring 
 and giving orders, which no one seemed to obey. 
 
 " What are they doing there 1" asked Hope. 
 
 " Singeing a pig," answered Cross ; " and as the animal is as 
 black as my hat, the job, I suspect, is nearly done, and I may 
 perhaps get the bo3'S. But as the method of salting bacon among 
 the common people in this country is rather curious, I advise you 
 to stop and look at it while I return to seek after my butcher- 
 birds. I will wait for you, or join you at the end of the wood." 
 
 Cross then joined the party. Hat he had none, but he 
 
280 ECONOMY IN SALT. 
 
 bowed profoundly to tlie old lady whose voice liad been heard 
 the loudest. He made his wishes known, asked for the loan of 
 a cage, for permission that two or three of the boys should assist 
 him, and that she would show Hope her method of curing bacon. 
 To everything she consented with a good-natured smile, and as 
 the appearance of the strangers had caused a sudden silence, her 
 directions were listened to. The boys were sent off with Cross, 
 her husband was ordered to lower the pig, and she assured Hope 
 she should consider herself much honoured by his observing the 
 manner in which she cured her bacon. 
 
 While the old lady and Hope were making civil speeches to 
 each other, the pig was carried to a bank about ten yards distant 
 by the husband and the rest of the party, and as soon as Cross 
 and the boys departed the old lady led Hope to join this party. 
 There he found that the pig was laid on his back by the side of 
 a hole that looked very like a grave. 
 
 " What is that hole for ?" asked Hope. 
 
 " To put the pig into," answered the lady. 
 
 " Are you going to bury it '? " he again asked. 
 
 " Assuredly ; it would not take the salt in any other way," 
 she replied. 
 
 "Why not cut it up and cure it in a salting tubl" he in- 
 quired. 
 
 " Ah ! my good gentleman," she said, " you forget how dear 
 salt is. We should be ruined with your salt tubs. That may do 
 very well for rich people or town gourmands, but country people 
 must be economical. We can cure a pig in our way with less 
 than a quarter of the salt they use in the towns, which is a 
 serious consideration. Added to which, we may kill our animals 
 whenever they are fat, whereas with your tubs, you must wait 
 till the weather is cold before you can make bacon ; for, as you 
 see, we are now only in September, and our pig is fat, so we kill 
 it. In the towns they would wait till the end of November, and 
 thus undergo the expense of feeding an animal for nearly three 
 months longer than we do ; so that, what between extra food and 
 
THE PIG BURIED. 281 
 
 the additional quantity of salt, their bacou costs them five sous 
 a pound more than ours." 
 
 " I shall like very much to see how you proceed/' said Hope. 
 
 " That is soon done," replied the old lady ; and she issued 
 her orders, upon which every one followed her example, and 
 began to roar forth their own directions, so that it was quite im- 
 possible to understand what any one said. Nevertheless, while 
 they talked they worked, and Hope was able to see, though he 
 could not comprehend the orders given. A bucket was produced 
 with a quantity of salt and saltpetre mixed in it ; every one took 
 a handful of this ; the pig was laid on a piece of coarse canvas, 
 and the outside was rubbed with the mixture. The mouth, 
 throat, and ears were then filled with the salt, and firmly tied up 
 with string. A quantity was then put into the stomach, and it 
 was also bound up with cord. The remainder of the salt was 
 afterwards spread pretty evenly over the outside of the carcass, 
 and the canvas was fastened over all ; which done, the whole 
 animal was lowered into the grave, and the earth was thrown in, 
 till the trench was filled up. Some bundles of straw were sjjread 
 like thatch over the top, and the job was done. 
 
 " How loug do you leave the animal there V asked Hope. 
 
 " About six weeks," was the reply. 
 
 " And do you do nothing else to it 1 " he inquired. 
 
 " yes ; when we take it out it is hung in the barn till the 
 bad smell goes off; then it is cut up. Some of the pieces are 
 hung in the kitchen to dry, and some are put into the chimney, 
 where it dries faster, and the wood-smoke gives it a good flavour." 
 
 " Highly primitive," said Hope, as he made liis bow ; " but," 
 thought he to himself, " I will eat no more country cured bacon, 
 now I know the way it is made." He then expressed his thanks, 
 and was going away, but the farmer and his wife insisted so 
 positively that he should taste their cider that he was obliged 
 to yield, and he returned with them to the house. 
 
 A table was spread in a moment, with everything beautifully 
 clean ; and Hope was struck by observing a similarity between 
 
282 noeila:^ hospitality. 
 
 the IS'orman and the Scottish housewife which Cross had 
 formerly mentioned ; for here, as in Scotland, the old lady had 
 a goodly stock of household linen, and was proud of her store. , 
 She was washing her hands while her daughter was preparing 
 the table, hut she called Hope's attention to the piles of sheets, 
 napkins, and table-cloths which were ranged in her walnut 
 press ; not that they put any cloth on the table, but a napkin 
 Avas laid in every plate. 
 
 Bread, butter, galettes of buckwheat, fruit of several kinds, 
 lettuce, and lait egoutte (a preparation of sour milk), were set 
 on the board ; jugs of cider were afterwards put down, and last 
 of all the landlord produced two stone bottles. 
 
 Hope was kindly pressed to eat, and he did his best to 
 please his entertainers by tasting of everything, even to the lait 
 egoutte. The bottles were the last produced, and were the last 
 opened ; but Hope allowed that " finis coronat opus," for never 
 before had he tasted such cider. The draught cider in the jug 
 was excellent, but that in bottle was nectar. He delighted his 
 host and hostess by saying so, and was persuaded, as he took his 
 leave, to drink a third tumbler, which was administered Hke 
 " deoch an dorus" in the Highlands, with very muchthe same 
 effect, for when he joined Cross at the end of the wood his eyes 
 were dancing in his head, and the questions he put regarding 
 the success of the hunt were not quite as clearly expressed as 
 they would have been an hour before. 
 
 As for Cross, he was rather sulky, for though he had suc- 
 ceeded in getting two young birds, one of them had been killed 
 outright, and the other was in a bad way, his young assistants 
 having shown their skill by knocking them down with stones, 
 as the shortest way of catching them. The healthy bird first 
 taken, and the invalid, were safe in a wicker cage, and one of 
 the lads was in waiting to go with them and carry it to their inn. 
 
 As they walked back to the village Cross growled out the 
 history of his chasse au pie grieche, and could not refrain from 
 adding a few curses on French boys in general, and his late 
 
NOEiLiN BACOX. 283 
 
 assistants in particular ; after which he recovered his good 
 humour, and began to question Hope as to what he had seen. 
 He laughed heartUy at the confession which his companion was 
 obliged to make as an excuse for his confused answers ; but 
 after a while Hope found his head and speech grow clearer, for 
 bottled cider is like champagne in its effects. It answers the 
 Irishman's description, who said that champagne had but one 
 ftmlt, though that was a serious one, for when a man thought 
 himseK comfortably drunk on that liquor, he had the mortifica- 
 tion to find himself sober again in half an hour. 
 
 "When Hope had somewhat recovered, he, in his turn, began 
 to catechise Cross, and to ask if the process of salting pigs which 
 he had just witnessed was common in the country, and was sur- 
 prised to hear that the practice was universal in almost aU the 
 farm-houses. "It is one of the consequences of the high price 
 of salt," said Cross ; " and it is astonishing the shifts the 
 people undergo to save the use of that article." 
 
 " T\"ell," said Hope, " I don't think I shall ever be able to 
 eat any more bacon in this country j the idea of eating a bit of 
 that black brute after he has been buried for sLs weeks gives 
 me what the Scotch call ' a regular scunner! " 
 
 " That is prejudice and nonsense," replied Cross ; " you have 
 eaten bacon so prepared several times, and thought it excellent. 
 Seeing the process begun is nothing ; if you had seen it dug up 
 again I should not be so much surprised : then, I own, it is 
 rather disgusting, for the smell is abominable. When it is first 
 lifted out of the ground the odour is enough to knock you down, 
 but after hanging in the air for a couple of days, that goes off. 
 The animal is then cut up as the farmer's wife told you ; a very 
 little fi'esh salt is rubbed on to the pieces ; the flitches are hung 
 to the beams of the kitchen, and the hams and head are put up 
 the chimney, where the pyrolignous acid of the wood-smoke 
 soon finishes the curing. 1 confess I prefer our own method, 
 but we might still take a lesson from what you have seen to- 
 day, for what the old lady remarked to you is true enough. "We 
 
284 NOEMAN CIDEE. 
 
 always wait for cold weather to begin our operations ; here, 
 whenever the pig is fat enough he is killed. A great many of 
 their animals are fatted at this season, for during the summer 
 they have large quantities of damaged fruit, and vegetables run- 
 ning to seed, with the refuse of their kitchen and dairy ; and to 
 this must be added the sittings of the buckwheat, and Siberian 
 buckwheat, which, when mixed with damaged fruit and butter- 
 milk, fattens their pigs astonishingly. The word astonisliingJij 
 I use advisedly, for a worse breed of pigs is not to be found on 
 the face of the earth than the slouch-eared, long-legged, and 
 flat-sided brutes they keep in this country. When these get 
 fat on the feeding they have to give, what might not be done if 
 any one were to introduce some of our improved kinds ! From 
 what I have seen, I am sure they might feed three animals on 
 the quantity now given to one. But this is not the point I 
 wished to speak of. The plan of burying might be applied to 
 the tubs as well as to the carcass. It is by thus placing their 
 animal two or three feet under ground that they keep it cool, 
 and enable it to absorb the salt. If our housewives would pay 
 more attention to the placing of their salt tubs, we might be 
 able, if we chose it, to cure either beef or pork all the year 
 round." 
 
 " Very likely," said Hope ; " but I certainly shall not think 
 it worth while to quote French curing as a model. The cider I 
 tasted to-day is another thing ; how is that made?" 
 
 " A^'ery much as it is with us," answered Cross. " To make 
 the best, the spoiled apples are carefully picked from the mass, 
 which, after having lain in a heap for some time, are taken to 
 the mill to make common cider. The apples are thrown on the 
 ground and left there in large heaps exposed to -wind and rain 
 during a month or five weeks, by which, of course, a great deal 
 of saccharine matter is lost, and to save trouble no selection is 
 made, all sorts of apples being thrown together. But to make 
 the quality of cider you tasted to-day, the best apples are first 
 selected ; they are then thatched or laid in a heap under an open 
 
THE FINEST QUALITY. 285 
 
 slied, and there left for a month to sweat, and hefore the mass is 
 taken to the mill all the bad apples are carefully picked out. 
 The mills in this country, as you know, are very primitive : a 
 large circular stone trough receives the apples ; a stone roller is 
 made to pass over and crush them. From the trough the fruit 
 thus bruised is thrown on to the press, which is equally primitive. 
 There is a strong floor of timber having a ledge six inches high 
 round it, with pipes at one or two places. On this floor a straw 
 mat is laid, and on the mat a quantity of the bruised fruit is 
 thrown with wooden scoops ; another mat is then placed on the 
 fruit, then more fruit on the second mat ; then a third mat ; and 
 so on, alternate mats and layers of fruit till they have ten or 
 twelve layers. A frame of wood is then brought down on the 
 top of all ; to this frame is fixed a lever, which lever is brought 
 under a screw ; whenever this screw is turned it presses down 
 the end of the lever and gives a tremendous squeeze to the heap 
 of mats and fruit. 'The press, in short, is like an enormous pair 
 of nut-crackers, and the screw acts the part of a man's hand. In 
 giving the pressure with a pair of nut-crackers, the hand gives 
 the pressure and the nut is broken ; in a Korman cider-press the 
 screw gives the squeeze and the juice flows through the mats. 
 The pulp remains behind, the mats acting as a sort of filter. 
 The juice, as it runs out, is retained by the ledge, and from 
 thence runs ofi" through one of the pipes into large receiving 
 vessels. The use of having two pipes is this. When they wish 
 to have very fine cider for bottling, the juice that runs off at the 
 first sHght pressure is led away by one pipe and is reserved as 
 extra good. As the screw continues to turn, the pressure in- 
 creases ; then the first pipe is stopped, and the juice is made to 
 flow thi'ough a second pipe into another receiver : this is of in- 
 ferior quality, and is kept by itself. The after-process is much 
 the same as with all fermented liquors ; only with the finest 
 quality, which is to be bottled, after the first fermentation and 
 fining has taken place, it is run into a fresh cask, where a small 
 quantity of the best brandy is sometimes added ; there it stands 
 
286 N0EMA2«" DEISXIXG CUPS. 
 
 for some weeks, and is then jDut into "bottles. It was some of 
 this that you tasted to-day, and excellent it is, as I know by 
 experience. The draught cider in the farms, where attention is 
 paid to the manufacture, is quite different from the sour stuff 
 which you buy at the cabarets in the towns, and no wonder, 
 for it is better from the first, and water is not added to it. 'V\Tiat 
 you get in. the towns is in general ill-made stuff, and that is 
 largely diluted, and to my taste like bad vinegar. But habit is 
 second nature ; the natives think it very good, for on this 
 liquor, or apple brandy, most of the men, and women too, get 
 drunk every market-day. If it is nasty, it is cheap ; so that in 
 ordinary seasons a person may get very tolerably drunk for 
 twopence." 
 
 " I never understood till to-day," said Hope, " how any one 
 could get drunk on cider, but now I find it is very heady stuff, 
 for I am sure the same quantity of strong ale would not have 
 made me so giddy as I felt when I joined you ; but till to-day 
 I never had an idea how excellent cider might be, as I neither 
 fancied the liquor I have formerly tasted nor the earthen- 
 ware cups." 
 
 " I thought you more a citizen of the world," said Cross, 
 laughing, " than to fin.d fault with a mere matter of form, though 
 I have heard that Lord Byron, who drank out of a skull, was 
 unA\'illing to eat a good dinner served up in Xorman drinking- 
 cups. However, here we are at the village, and as to-day's is 
 the last dinner we shall eat dressed and inspected by a Marquis, 
 I advise you to make the most of it, for to-morrow we must cater 
 for ourselves, or trust to the discretion of a Granville host." 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 A STOEY OF THE EEVOLUTIOX OF 1848. 
 
 T\'hen they reached the inn the Marquis was at his post, namely, 
 beside the charcoal stoves. The Count was gone. Cross took 
 possession of his birds, and as the invalid had considerably re- 
 covered from the blow of the stone that had secured him, the 
 boy was weU paid and dismissed. "Wliile Cross was preparing 
 some bits of raw meat to feed his captives, the landlady whis- 
 pered to Hope that the gentleman in her back-room wished to 
 see him, and suggested that he could slip out as if he was going 
 to the larder and see what he wanted. Hope did as he was 
 requested ; Cross saw him go, but made no remark, till in a few 
 minutes he observed his friend again enter the kitchen, and in 
 passing through make a signal that he should follow him. 
 
 "When in their own room Hope told his companion that he 
 
 had seen Jules F , and had promised to go to him again 
 
 whenever the Marquis was gone to bed ; that the poor fellow 
 was very low, and seemed anxious to tell liis adventures, as an 
 excuse, he believed, for getting some one to talk to. " To 
 gratify him," continued Hope, " I have promised to go myself, 
 and proposed bringing you with me, to which Jules has gladly 
 assented." It was therefore arranged that the party should break 
 up as early as possible without exciting suspicion, and that they 
 should return to the back-room as soon as their companions had 
 retired for the night. 
 
 Their toilette was made, and they went back to their French 
 friends. Dinner passed as on the previous days, and they began 
 their rubber. The Captain was very talkative, having drunk 
 
288 THE FEENCH CAPTAIN'S CONTEMPT FOE TEADE. 
 
 fully more -wine than usual, and as they say in vino Veritas, the 
 worthy soldier showed a feeling unfortunately too common 
 among the French families who claim a noble descent, namely, 
 a sovereign contempt for mercantile pursuits, and for all who 
 follow them. A reduced noble will not object to holding a 
 place which no gentleman in England would like to hold, 
 namely, that of a common custom-house officer, with a salary of 
 eighty pounds a year ; but he would think he demeaned himself 
 by entering into trade. Of this the Captain gave a strong proof 
 that evening. 
 
 While the party were playing at cards, by some chance the 
 name of a gentleman was mentioned who had passed through 
 Normandy, and had become known and liked by many of the 
 best families in the country. The Marquis asked if either of the 
 Englishmen knew him. 
 
 Hope answered that he was well acquainted with him, and 
 also with his brother, Lord . 
 
 " He is the brother of a peer, is he V said the Marquis ; " I 
 did not know that ; I knew he was of a good family in your 
 country. I also heard that he was rich ; that he was well-bred 
 and an excellent fellow, we all found out for ourselves," 
 
 " Yes," replied Hope ; " he is an excellent fellow, and uni- 
 versally popular ; and he has great merit, for his means were 
 originally small ; but by attention to business he has now 
 realised a large fortune, and has been the principal means 
 of raising the mercantile house of which he is a partner to its 
 present high standing." 
 
 " What !" broke out the Captain ; " do you mean to say that 
 an English noble, the brother of a peer, would demean himself 
 by becoming a shopkeeper ?" 
 
 " ISTot exactly a shopkeeper," said Hope ; " but a merchant, 
 which we consider a highly honourable position ; a station, in 
 short, which no man of understanding in our country would 
 despise." 
 
 " I beg your pardon," returned the Captain ; " I mean no 
 
GOING INTO A BANK. 289 
 
 disrespect to your nation, for I know you have very strange 
 notions on such, subjects ; but for me, I would rather cut^ faggots 
 than follow trade. Why, I had a cousin who demeaned himself 
 by going into a bank, which, in my opinion, is only another sort 
 of shop-keeping. In a bank they sell money, while in other 
 shops they sell ribbons, cloths, or anything else that people 
 want and that money will buy. Well, my cousin entered this 
 bank. The head of it was his uncle by the mother's side ; for 
 his father had made a mes-alliance, which was partly excusable, 
 for the lady was charming, and her father, who was a banker, 
 gave her a large portion. When the father died, his son suc- 
 ceeded ; and as I tell you, my cousin went into the concern in 
 some situation or other. His mother's blood preponderated in 
 the fellow's veins, for he had a great taste for trade. He devoted 
 himself to trade, and praised commerce as loudly as any English- 
 man could do. With all this, he was a very good fellow ; and 
 when I was in Paris I saAV a good deal of him. The old fellow, 
 his uncle, kept a very good table, and I went every now and 
 then to dine with him. We became intimate, and after some 
 time my cousin, who lived with his uncle, would invite me 
 without any notice to take my chance of a dinner ; to the credit 
 of the old gentleman, I am bound to say, I never found a bad 
 one. 
 
 " Well, upon one of these occasions there was no one at 
 table but the old gentleman, my cousin, and myself. I was 
 then on such terms that they did not mind talking of their 
 matters before me ; indeed I never paid any attention in general 
 to one word they said, for if I once heard the words scrip, stock, 
 or bill mentioned, I closed my ears, and devoted my entire atten- 
 tion to the table. On the occasion to which I allude, however, 
 it so happened that I did hear the commencement and end of 
 the conversation that took my cousin out of this mesquin profes- 
 sion, and prevented my eating any more of the old gentleman's 
 dindon truffee. The first of these consequences was an advan- 
 tage to the honour of our house and name ; the last was, I own, 
 
 U 
 
290 THE COST OF A MONEY-BAG. 
 
 rather a disagreeable loss to me. The conversation began by 
 the old gentleman asking if my cousin had paid the fifty 
 thousand francs ; — if the man had called himself, or who had 
 called to draw the money? I do not remember the whole 
 answer ; but the money had been paid. 
 
 " The old gentleman then asked if the sum had been paid in 
 bills or cash ; and if in cash, whether in gold or silver. 
 
 " The answer was, that forty thousand had been paid in gold, 
 and ten in silver. 
 
 " * You charged him the full price for the gold ? ' the old 
 gentleman asked. 
 
 " ]\Iy cousin said he had, and mentioned the amount down 
 to a centime. 
 
 '"Did he take it away in one bag or in two?' asked the 
 banker. 
 
 "' In two,' said my cousin. 
 
 "'And who furnished the bags ]' 
 
 "' He brought one with him, and I furnished the other,' re- 
 plied my cousin. 
 
 "' Have you a memorandum with you V asked the old man. 
 
 "'Yes,' said my cousin; and he handed over a small note- 
 book which he took from his pocket. 
 
 " This the old man narrowly examined, making observations 
 as he went along, such as ' All right, all right, not bad ;' but 
 when he came to the bottom of the page he said, ' Did you not 
 tell me we had provided a bag V 
 
 '" Yes,' replied my cousin. 
 
 '" I do not see the three sous marked,' said the banker. 
 
 " ' Xo ; they are not charged,' said my cousin. 
 
 "' Paid in cash, I suppose V asked the uncle. 
 
 *"jS"o, sir,' said my cousin, 'they are neither charged in the 
 note nor did he pay cash. In a transaction which has been so 
 profitable to the bank I thought we might spare a bag ; seeing 
 that a bag does not cost us one sou, though we charge three to 
 our casual customers.' 
 
PAYMENT IN SPINACH. 291 
 
 "' "WTiat !' exclaimed tlie old man, ' do you mean to say that 
 this is the way you attend to the interests of the firm ? Have I 
 placed you in a situation of trust and confidence to be thus de- 
 ceived and robbed of my just profits 1 It is scandalous, and I 
 am ashamed of you.' 
 
 " My cousin apologised, and said that really, under the cir- 
 cumstances, he thought the bank might Avell stand the loss. 
 This made the old banker the more angry ; he said my cousin 
 would never make a man of business, and that allowing him to 
 be thus robbed was as bad as robbing him. 
 
 " i\Iy cousin could keep his temper no longer — indeed I 
 wonder he kept it so long ; but when he was called a robber, the 
 noble blood in his veins drowned the mercantile puddle that was 
 mixed with it ; he broke out on his uncle and told him some 
 plain truths, calling him and his trade mesquin and sordid. 
 Upon which the old boy seized the dish nearest to him. It 
 happened to be spinach, with a white sauce. This he hurled 
 at my cousin's head with such a good aim that the whole con- 
 tents of the plate covered his face like a green plaster. You may 
 well suppose the indignation which seized my cousin after such 
 an insult. His noble Breton blood was evidently raised ; 
 whether it rushed into his face or not I could not tell, for the 
 spinach completely masked it ; but I am sure it must have done 
 so, for the green seemed to smoke, as if it was undergoing a re- 
 chaufment on a stove. My cousin sprang from his chair, and 
 I expected to see the old man exterminated, but a second thought 
 seemed to strike him ; he paused, clasped his two hands together, 
 and rushed from the room. I followed him to his OAvn apart- 
 ment ; he never said a word, nor did he seem to hear a syllable 
 of what I said to him. He washed his face and changed his 
 clothes in silence ; and to tell you the truth, I had great difficulty 
 in preventing myself from laughing outright at the sight of a 
 human face served with a compote of spinach, and as he washed 
 it, it became more absurd. At every handful of water the green 
 became brighter ; so to prevent misbehaving, I looked out of the 
 
292 FAEE-W-ELL TO TEADE. 
 
 window till I heard the scratching of a pen ; then I turned. 
 My cousin was "OTiting ; it Avas only two or three lines that he 
 wrote, which he folded up, put on his hat, and dashed down stairs. 
 At the door of the house he gave the paper he had written to 
 the porter, with orders that it should immediately be delivered 
 to the banker, and in the next instant he was in the street and 
 I was close at his heels. It was then that he spoke for the first 
 time. ' Adieu for ever,' he said ; ' we can never meet again. 
 Thank God I did not kill him on the spot !' 
 
 " "We walked about for some time, and by degrees my cousin 
 was able to hear and to speak. The sum and amount of our 
 conversation was, that he could not kill his mother's brother, 
 but that he would never see him again, 
 
 " I applauded his resolution, and thus ended all connection 
 of our family with trade ; and much I rejoiced at the termina- 
 tion, for how can any gentleman endure such ignominy 1 A 
 banker, you say, is the prince of tradesmen, and it may be so ; 
 for a kingdom of blind people, a man with one eye might be 
 king. Here was an old fellow who, if all tales were true, had 
 a fortune of nearly a million, who insulted the younger branch 
 of a noble Breton house and his own nephew, about a wretched 
 bag worth a sou, and of which he wanted to make a profit by 
 cheating a customer and selling it at three sous. Yes, yes ; 
 trade is mesquin — at least," he continued, turning to the English- 
 men, " in the ej'es of a French gentleman — and I trust you will 
 forgive me if you differ from me in opinion, for every country 
 has its usages, and every gentleman has his own tastes. Mine, 
 certainly, do not run towards commerce." 
 
 The two Englishmen laughed at the anecdote. Hope re- 
 marked that the scene must have been very ridiculous, but that 
 it was hardly fair to condemn commerce and commercial men 
 because you met with a banker who was an oddity and had a S 
 bad temper, or was a miser. 
 
 " But the man Avas no miser," said the Captain ; " he bore 
 the character of being very liberal, and ten minutes before he 
 
A NATION OF SHOPKEEPERS. 293 
 
 quarrelled with liis nephew about three sous he had helped me 
 to some slices of a dindon truffee which must have cost him 
 thirty francs." 
 
 " Yes," observed Cross ; " such a character is to be found 
 now and then in all grades of society. I have heard of men in 
 our own country who would quarrel about an overcharge of a 
 sixpence and give away a thousand pounds directly after." 
 
 " And I will be bound," said the Captain, " that these people 
 were commercial." 
 
 " By no means," replied Cross ; " one of the people to whom I 
 allude is a member of one of the oldest families in our country." 
 
 " Contagion," said the Captain ; " you have so many shop- 
 keepers in England that the air must be tainted. Why, I see 
 in the extracts from your newspapers, which are republished in 
 ours, that there are a set of fellows who are attacking everything 
 that is great and noble in your land. Your nobility, your landed 
 proprietors — nay, even your army and navy — are constantly abused 
 by people who, they tell me, are printers and spinners of cotton, 
 and you bear it. If any cotton-spinning fellow in France were 
 to venture to say of the French army what they say of yours, his 
 life would not be worth an hour's purchase ; for one, I know I 
 would go a thousand leagues to pick a quarrel with him, and 
 run him through the body, and I would wash my sword well 
 after I had killed the fellow to free it from so foul a stain. Bah ! 
 bah ! I should like to see any man in France say that no man 
 was honest unless he was a printer or a dealer in greasy cotton." 
 
 Cross was looking a little fierce at this speech, Hope, how- 
 ever, touched him before he spoke, and then answered — 
 
 " I do not think any one has ever said so in England." 
 
 " !Not directly, perhaps," replied the Captain ; " but what 
 is worse, they have implied it, and so clearly, that no man can 
 mistake their meaning ; though, like assassins, they do not fire 
 openly ; but they call your landed proprietors and nobles robbers 
 of the poor and defrauders of the nation, because there is some 
 law about corn that prevents these manufacturers from reducing 
 
294 THE "LEAGUE." 
 
 the wages of tlieir own workmen ; and tliey call yonr soldiers 
 and sailors I don't know what, because they use guns and swords 
 to defend the honour of your country, instead of blankets and 
 cotton thread, which these fellows are ready to sell, and which, 
 if you would buy them, would put more money in their own 
 pockets." 
 
 This last sally was too much for the friends ; they fairly 
 roared with laughter. 
 
 " "\A^iat would the leaders of the League, say," exclaimed 
 Hope, " if they could hear the estimation in which this gentle- 
 man holds their exertions 1 yet, strange to say, absurdly as he 
 states the case, there is some truth in what he says regarding 
 the way in which these free traders abuse every one who is not, 
 like themselves, connected with commerce, I have heard the 
 remark made before, and I am sure it has gone far to retard many 
 good measures," 
 
 "Hang your banlvcr and his spinach!" said the Marquis; 
 " you have revoked, and we have lost the rubber. There is no 
 use playing whist when people choose to talk ; so Ave may as 
 well retire." 
 
 Leave was taken, adieus were said, and the party broke up. 
 All retired to their rooms — the Frenchmen to sleep, the EngHsh- 
 men to watch till the house was quiet. 
 
 In half an hour they returned. The door was ajar, and the 
 landlady in waiting, so that they were able to pass through the 
 kitchen without noise ; and in the next minute they entered 
 Jules' apartment. 
 
 He rose to receive them, and as he closed the door behind 
 them, he thanked them warmly for coming to see him. 
 
 "It is sadly triste," he said, "to sit here for hours and days 
 without seeing a human face except that of my kind protectress. 
 To reconcile myself to my present confinement, I am obhged to 
 remember how much more agreeable her face is than the one I 
 should see if I were taken, which reminds me that from hence I 
 have some chance of escape ; from a prison I should have none. 
 
THE INSURGEXT'S STORY. 295 
 
 The only change from a prison would be to the Bagne either at 
 Cherbourg or Brest ; but when I have comforted myself with 
 these thoughts, I have plenty of time to think of other things. 
 I have looked back on my past life, and oh ! how I wish I could 
 live it over again. I should not then dispute the advice of my 
 best friends, and follow the lead of every fool whose only merit 
 was that he was a greater mauvais sujet than his companions, 
 and was as unlike as possible, either in words or deeds, to my 
 father." 
 
 " That last reason," said Hope, " is rather a curious one for 
 the son of such a father to give. I have always heard yours 
 spoken of with the highest respect." 
 
 " And I believe he deserved all the good that has been said 
 of him," answered Jules ; " but he was too good ; he could make 
 no allowance for faults in others, more especially ia his son. 
 He was severe and harsh to me beyond what I could bear. 
 From him I only heard censure, never praise ; while everybody 
 else flattered and spoiled me. My mother and my nurse began 
 when I was a child ; and as I grew older, the women, when I 
 entered their society, laughed at my jokes and applauded my 
 wit. Some of my bon mots were repeated to my father. He 
 thought them too free and libertine, and he forbade my entering 
 society at alL He forced on me the driest studies, and kept me 
 chained to my desk, till I loathed both it and him. Well, he 
 died, and I rejoiced at my freedom. I rushed into dissipation, 
 and I tell you that I always loved the example best which dif- 
 fered the most from that which had been given by the father 
 who had taught me to think him a tyrant. I feel now that his 
 advice was good, but ill-administered ; and may my example 
 teach you, if ever you have children, to moderate your censure, 
 even of what is wrong, and mix with it some praise, even if not 
 well-deserved. My father never praised me ; but his censure 
 was unmeasured. That I deserved reproof I know, but he over- 
 whelmed me with more than I deserved ; so I thought the whole 
 unjust, and became what I am. Censure may be good ; but like 
 
296 WHILE TIIEKE IS LIFE THERE IS HOPE. 
 
 water to the man that is perishing with thirst, it must be given 
 in moderation, or it does more harm than good. I once saw a 
 number of men lying dead and dying by the side of a small 
 stream in Brittany. I asked what was the matter with them, and 
 I was told they had come ashore from a vessel that had run short 
 of water. The officer in command had allowed them to drink 
 at discretion, and they had killed themselves by the quantity 
 they had taken. Well, as I sit here and look back at my past 
 life, every horror I have ever witnessed comes back on me with 
 redoubled force, and among the rest this scene of pain and 
 suiFering strongly impresses me. I cannot help thinking that I 
 have perished from drinldng too freely from pleasure's cup ; but it 
 was the total deprivation enforced by my father that gave the 
 thirst, and like these poor fellows I was maddened by too much 
 restraint, and when freed from the bonds that held me, I rushed 
 into the other extreme, and drank to my own destruction the 
 moment that I found myself free to taste of pleasure's stream, for 
 then it flowed uncontrolled before me — and see how it has 
 ended !" 
 
 " Never look back," said Cross ; " except as a warning for 
 the future. You have youth, and, with energy, the end may be 
 very different from what you expect." 
 
 " With life before you, you should never despair," said Hope. 
 " You told me that you had given yourself up for lost when the 
 troops surrounded you in the wood, and yet you escaped them. 
 Tell us what happened to you, and how you got here. The same 
 Providence that saved you then may raise you again to the posi- 
 tion from which you have fallen." 
 
 "Ah, what a thing it is to have a friend!" exclaimed Jules, 
 as he smiled and gave himself a shake. The change was extra- 
 ordinary. The elasticity of his character at once showed itself ; 
 for from those few words of comfort, he seemed to throw off 
 the despondency that was oppressing him. His countenance 
 brightened up, and he continued — 
 
 " You are right ; you are a true friend. While there is life 
 
THE " RED " CAFE. 297 
 
 tliere is liope, cond fortune may smile on me when least expected, 
 for she has done so before. You wish to hear my adventures 1 
 They are not worth listening to, but such as they are you shall 
 know them. You remember the day I first saw you with 
 :\Ionsieur G , in the Jardin des Plantes ? "Well, that gene- 
 rous friend lent me a small sum of money, but refused to lend 
 me a larger that would^ have given me employment. I beheve, 
 now, that he spoke the truth when he said he could not do more ; 
 but at the time Pierre led me on, and urged me to think that 
 he could have helped me, but would not. By talking to me, he 
 excited my indignation against the man I now believe to be my 
 best friend, and urged me to take a step he would the most have 
 disapproved of I heard afterwards what he had done for me 
 with his father, but at the moment I beheved him to be stingy 
 and unkind, and I allowed Pierre to lead me where he chose. 
 
 " Monsieur G had lent me two hundred francs. TTith 
 
 these in our pockets (for I gave the half to Pierre) we directed 
 our steps to a house kept by a man named Sabroan. This man 
 had several establishments in Paris, all of them disreputable. 
 He had lodging-houses of various sorts, bilHard-rooms, apart- 
 juents where secret gambling was carried on ; and last, but not 
 least, a cafe, where there was a double entrance from two differ- 
 ent streets, and divided into two sets of receiving-rooms. One 
 of these apartments was appropriated to the reception of all the 
 notorious characters of Paris ; the other was frequented by wild 
 young fellows like myself, when we went on any expedition 
 which we wished to keep secret ; and among other amusements, we 
 had the power of seeing the people who frequented the back apart- 
 ments, and by looking through a small concealed windoAV we had 
 the power of watching the proceedings of any notorious charac- 
 ters who might chance to be there ; and thus, unseen ourselves, 
 we could see these men, and women too, in all their glory. 
 
 " This man Sabroan I had known in my wildest days. I 
 had lost large sums at his gaming-table ; I had also spent much 
 money in his house in suppers and other orgies ; and as one of 
 
298 SABKOAN. 
 
 his best customers I had free entrance to the room whence the 
 back apartments could be surveyed. Pierre proposed that we 
 should go to this man's house, to which I agreed, and off we 
 went. I must tell you that we were nearly famished with hun- 
 ger, for we had hardly tasted food for several days. We had 
 now money in our pockets, and we resolved to make up for past 
 privations. We ordered dinner. Sabroan, who knew every- 
 thing, had heard of our distress ; he insisted on pre-payment, 
 which certainly was the rule of the house, but as it had never 
 been mentioned to me before, I was indignant, and wished to 
 leave the place, but Pierre objected, and as he had produced a 
 handful of the five-franc pieces I had just given him, Sabroan 
 apologised so humbly that I yielded the point, and agreed to 
 remain. My ravenous hunger did more to soothe my pride than 
 either our landlord's excuses or Pierre's persuasions. Sabroan 
 seemed to have taken a second thought, and overwhelmed us with 
 his attentions. He sent us an excellent dinner with the least 
 possible delay, and when the dessert was served, he brought up 
 a couple of bottles of his best wine, and asked permission to join 
 us. He had often done so before when we had any mischief in 
 hand, so I could scarcely refuse him now. To do him justice, 
 he was a very clever fellow, and although I then thought him a 
 great rascal, I have now no right to say a word against him, for 
 it was he who saved me on that occasion. He was very enter- 
 taining, relating many curious anecdotes of scenes that had taken 
 place in his house. He did not drink much wine himself, but 
 pressed us to do so, and as the wine mounted into our heads, he 
 gradually began to speak of politics. He alluded to our dis- 
 missal, cursed the authorities, in which we joined, and then 
 abused the rich bankers, whose grasping avarice, he said, left 
 better men than themselves to pine in want while they were 
 rolling in affluence. How he touched on this latter subject I 
 know not ; he could not have known of Monsieur G 's re- 
 fusal of a loan. He knew, however, of our dismissal from office, 
 and I doubt not, from our changed appearance, he guessed that 
 
A CLTJB, 299 
 
 my wealthy friends had shown me the cold shoulder. Whatever 
 had guided him, he had made a good shot ; he had touched the 
 chord still vibrating in my brain, and bitterly did we join in the 
 cry he had raised. He then talked of the pleasure of revenge ; 
 and when he saw we were in the right tune, he mentioned his 
 secret window, and told us that from thence we might see and 
 hear a party of men who were then in discussion on the best 
 means of gaining the same end we had in view. 
 
 " Suffice it to say that he persuaded us to see and listen to 
 these men through the secret window. Heated with wine, we 
 listened with pleasure to proposals made by men whom we knew 
 by name, but never expected to see in such a place. They had 
 the power of great eloquence, and though they have kept aloof 
 in the day of trial, and therefore I despise them, yet when I 
 then heard them I was charmed by the powerful language that 
 gave promise of raising those who listened to wealth and power, 
 or of dragging the rich to the same state as ourselves. 
 
 " While our enthusiasm was at the highest, after one of these 
 speeches, Sabroan proposed that I should meet the men whom 
 he had just heard. We were introduced, and the result of that 
 introduction was, that I undertook to take a lead in several of 
 the clubs, and promised to address a great meeting the next 
 night. We separated then. Sabroan still stuck to us ; he pro- 
 posed that we should adjourn to his gaming-house to meet some 
 of the parties who were to act with me the ensuing day, I 
 went, and was fairly committed, for I took the oaths they pre- 
 scribed and learned their secrets. When told in plain words 
 what their object was, I was horridly startled, but I had gone 
 too far to draw back, and my brain was on fire with agitation 
 and with wine. As a distraction, I rushed to the gammg-table. 
 Fortune befriended me, and when in the gray of the morning I 
 returned to our lodgings, I was the winner of several thousand 
 francs. Pierre had left me in the course of the evening, and I 
 had not seen him for some hours. He came in a few minutes 
 after me, but he had lost every farthing I had given him. I 
 
300 A LEADER OF THE " EEDS." 
 
 told liim of my success. I gave him a thousand francs, and 
 then we went to bed. I awoke late ; then the scenes of the 
 j)ast day came over me like a had dream. I was greatly de- 
 pressed. Pierre, on the contrary, was in high spirits. He 
 rallied me on my despondency, and told me, what I felt to he 
 true, that I must proceed, for I could not draw back. During 
 the course of the morning I went to the house of the only per- 
 son in the Avorld who, I believe, really loved me ; — it was my 
 old nurse. In her hands I deposited fifteen hundred francs, 
 begging her to take care of them for me till I asked for them. 
 I also gave her two hundred and eighty francs to repay Monsieur 
 
 G , and then I rejoined Pierre at Sabroan's house. There 
 
 we again dined, and, to drown care, I again drank freely, and, 
 thus excited, at nine o'clock I joined the men I had met at the 
 gambling-house the night before. They, like myself, were to be 
 speakers at the meeting, and they conducted me to the place of 
 assembly. 
 
 " When it came to my turn to speak I rose. I have enjoyed 
 in society the credit of having the power of language. I hardly 
 know what I said, but my words pleased my auditors. I 
 warmed as I went on, and sat down amid a storm of applause, 
 and the declared leader of some hundreds of the greatest black- 
 guards in Paris. I left the place ashamed and humbled by my 
 own success, and, as a distraction, once more rushed to the same 
 gaming-table. I was again successful, rising the winner of a 
 very considerable sum. I had again to supply Pierre, for he 
 had lost every farthing of the sum I had given him the night 
 before, and then we went to bed. I was too feverish to sleep, 
 and in the morning too ill to rise, and for the next day or two 
 I kept my room. As soon as I was well enough I a second 
 time took a portion of my winnings to my old nurse, and then 
 
 I found that I had omitted to give her G 's address. I 
 
 did so then, and when I left her house I fell in with Pierre and 
 a number of the men who had been present at the meeting 
 where I had spoken. I heard from them — these were their 
 
THE BAEPJCADES. 301 
 
 words — that my name was in every man's mouth, for that my 
 eloquence and sound sentiments had justly raised me to the 
 front place among the leaders of the ultra party — the party — 
 their party ! When I looked at the men I felt ashamed of 
 their praise, and felt a greater revulsion than ever against the 
 steps I had taken. I was now in a condition, without any 
 man's assistance, to obtain the situation I formerly had in view ; 
 but I could not take it — I was committed beyond redemption. 
 While these thoughts were passing through my mind, and 
 while I was surrounded by the companions I felt to be anything 
 
 but respectable, I saw you and Monsieur G close to us. 
 
 I tried to conceal myself, but I was convinced he saw me ; and 
 though I felt shame at the moment, I think that meeting 
 hardened me in my position. Had he spoken to me, I could 
 have struggled to be free, but as it was, I thought he passed by 
 me with scorn ; so I rushed still deeper into the mire. I at- 
 tended the clubs, where I spoke every night ; and when the day 
 for the outbreak arrived I took the command of the men I had 
 been in the habit of addressing, and we fought together at the 
 barricades assigned to us. Before the outbreak I constantly met 
 the men who were the prime movers of the revolution. Every 
 evening there was an assembly of these men, who came in the 
 dusk to Sabroan's cafl. There I joiued them. They praised, 
 applauded, and urged me on in my course. I admired their 
 eloquence and the fine sentiments they expressed so often and 
 so well, tUl in the end I thought I was wrong in having any 
 scruples. I thought they were true patriots, and admired them 
 as much then as I now despise them, for in the hour of danger 
 they were nowhere to be seen ; and now I hear that they are safe 
 while we are exiles, and I know that we were but the tools they 
 wished to wield for the advancement of their own interest, and 
 not the prosperity of their coimtry. I have sworn never to 
 divulge their names, and I shall keep my oath. I wish I could 
 forget that I had ever known them. 
 
 " When the fighting first began I fought with all my soul. 
 
302 FLIGHT. 
 
 for I tliouglit the combat fair and legitimate ; but as tbe battle 
 continued I saw dreadful atrocities committed, and I wished to 
 withdraw, but I found that I had no choice. I was a prisoner in 
 the hands of the demons whom I was supposed to command, and 
 then I felt the disgrace of the position in which I had placed 
 mj'self, and wished to die. I never fired another shot, but while 
 the feeling of loathing was on me, I exposed myself on the top 
 of the barricade in so reckless a manner that it is a mu'acle that 
 I escaped the shower of balls that rattled round me. This act 
 of desperation had one good effect ; it again raised me in the 
 estimation of the miscreants with whom I was associated, and 
 gave me the power to control them and prevent their murder- 
 ing the prisoners that fell into our hands. The remembrance of 
 that power has been my great, my onl}" comfort, when I look 
 back on those three days. 
 
 "AVell, as you must know, at last they brought cannon 
 against us ; why they had refrained so long I cannot understand, 
 for the moment that was brought against us our posts were un- 
 tenable. The men who cared not for musketry fled like sheep 
 before artillery. I was carried away by the crowd tUl we reached 
 the country, and then the love of life returned. I fled to save it, 
 and took up my abode in a wood which at first had but few fugi- 
 tives concealed in it, but these rapidly increased till it was full. 
 I had determined to seek some other place of shelter, and was 
 waiting for night to conceal my departure, when I heard the 
 sound of bugles and the tap of the drum. I knew we were sur- 
 rounded, but at the moment I was standing by the edge of a 
 sort of ditch, the sides of which were covered with rank vegeta- 
 tion. I laid myself down in it, and drew the weeds over me. 
 Pierre did the same ; he was not ten yards from me. As the 
 troops advanced, I lay perfectly still, but I could hear and partly 
 see ; and from what I witnessed, I can say that the Garde Mo- 
 bile came on as if they were at a partie de chasse. Every man 
 as he was discovered was fired at ; if he Avas missed, he 
 M-as taken prisoner ; but he was always fired at first. I 
 
ESCAPED GAME. 303 
 
 do not think that Pierre was seen as he lay. I imagine that 
 he took fright and started from his lair, for I saw him run and 
 then fall to the shot of a Garde Mobile, who was not ten yards 
 from me. After firing, this feUow stopped to load his musket. 
 'My eyes were fixed on Pierre, and so were his, for when Pierre 
 began to move and attempted to rise, the man rushed forward 
 and bound his elbows with one of several bits of rope which he 
 carried, and then he drove him on with his bayonet. It was 
 the last I saw of Pierre. I could do him no good, and by show- 
 ing myself I knew I should only convert myself into a target 
 for one of those gamins to fire at ; so I lay stUl till I heard the 
 drums beating the recall a long way in advance of me. I then 
 rose and ran back in the line on which the troops had advanced ; 
 it was well marked, for it Avas thickly stre^-n with the dead and 
 dying. When clear of the wood I ran on as fast as I could, 
 hiding behind everything that coidd conceal my motions, tiU at 
 last I reached the open country. Here there was nothing to 
 conceal me, and I knew that if I attempted to cross this I 
 might be seen from a great distance. The only cover near me 
 was a pit, the edges of which were lined with brambles ; into 
 this I crawled, and through the leaves I saw several parties, both 
 on foot and horseback, scouring the country in search of flying 
 insurgents. I was dreadfully exhausted, both from fatigue and 
 hunger, and I believe I slept for some hours — how long I know 
 not — but my sleep must have been light, for I was wakened by 
 the sound of voices close to me. I heard every word that was 
 said, though I could only distinguish the speakers indistinctly, 
 for it was growing dusk ; but I saw enough to know that these 
 were two parties that had met, one of infantry, another of 
 cavalry. They were all saying that they were so much fatigued 
 that it was impossible to continue the search, and that they 
 must return to Paris. The officer in command of the cavalry 
 then declared that there was no use in seeking the country to the 
 west, for that he had scoured it for ten miles, and had not seen 
 a soul ; but that then both men and horses were so much 
 
304 THE PATEOL. 
 
 exhausted tliey could do no more. After some further 
 couversation, the word was given to march, and to my joy I saw 
 them move off, I lay still for half an hour, and by that time it 
 was nearly dark. My sleep had refreshed me, but I was dread- 
 fully hungry, and felt greatly exhausted when I tried to move, 
 for I had eaten nothing for two days except some sorrel and the 
 leaves of the brambles, which, while I lay in concealment, I had 
 chewed and partly swallowed. I pushed on, however, as best I 
 might, following the direction the officer had pointed out as 
 that which he had searched without seeing any one. After con- 
 tinuing this course for about two hours, I could go no further. 
 I felt so faint that I was obliged to lie down, but as I lay I saw 
 something tliat looked like a cover, and I crawled towards it. 
 When I reached it I found it was a field of early rye, which 
 was stni green, but the ears were fully formed. I pulled some, 
 and found that the grains, when pressed, gave out a thick milky 
 juice, and I immediately began to suck and bite them. Some 
 of the beard got into my mouth and nearly choked me, and to 
 obviate this, I rolled a number of the ears in my pocket-hand- 
 kerchief, and sucked the juice through the cambric. Poor as 
 this food was, it did me good, for I agaia found strength to move 
 on. Hitherto I had avoided every house, but now I resolved to 
 approach one that I saw near me. There was a light burning 
 in one of the rooms, so I stole softly to the window and looked 
 through. A candle was burning on the table, and by the side 
 of it sat a soldier fast asleep. There must have been more of 
 them in the house, for when this sight met my eye, and my dis- 
 appointment was such that an involuntary groan escaped me, 
 the cry of 'qui vive !' from some one I did not see reminded me 
 of my folly, I started back, and ran round the end of the house 
 as fast as my weary limbs would carry me. I found myself in 
 a small garden, where I immediately lay down, I was hardly 
 ensconced among some tall plants when I heard the door open, 
 and the same voice that had before spoken again called out the 
 challenge. Of course there was no reply ; he went round the 
 
THE KUINOUS CHATEAU. 305 
 
 building, passing througli the garden, and then returned to the 
 house, "where for some minutes I heard the sound of voices, and 
 then all was again still. I now found that I was lying in a bed 
 rif artichokes, on which the young flowers were forming, I 
 pulled a number of them and put tbem in my pockets, and as I 
 was stealing softly away, I could just distinguish that I was 
 passing a bed of lettuce ; two or three of these I also took, and 
 then crawled through the fence at the back of the garden, and 
 moved on for another hour, eating the raw lettuce as I went. 
 It is quite incredible how much this restored me. Still, I was 
 obliged to rest, so I sat down and began upon my artichokes, 
 which being quite young and soft, I was able to devour bodily. 
 I ate all in my pockets, and the dreadful craving of my appetite 
 was stayed. I knew that if the marks of my footsteps were seen 
 in the garden I should be pursued in the morning, and feeling 
 that I was still too near the cottages, I again got up to increase 
 my distance. I walked as long as I coiild, and rested for a while ; 
 then resumed my march, then rested again ; and thus, walking 
 and resting, I continued till the morning was fast breaking. 
 Through the faint light I saw that I was then close to some en- 
 closures, and as I turned the corner of a ruined wall I found 
 myself in front of a deserted chateau. It was in such a state of 
 dilapidation that I did not think it could be inhabited, so I stole 
 softly towards it, thinking that I might find some corner in 
 which to hide myself during the day, and that at night I could 
 continue my way. I went softly up to the house. The grass 
 grooving up to the door convinced me that it was uninhabited. 
 However, the door was fastened with a padlock, and all the 
 lower windows were closed with strong outside shutters. I 
 passed round to the back,, and here a number of ruined offices 
 were standing round a sort of court. !N'one of these were shut. 
 Indeed few of them had either doors or windows. I entered 
 the first, on which a door was hanging by one hinge. It had 
 been the stable, for part of the stalls were still in existence, and 
 in the corner of it stood a ladder leading up to a loft. To this 
 
 X 
 
303 WOLTES WORRY EACH OTHER. 
 
 I directed my steps, and mounting as quietly as I could I peeped 
 into a long empty room. The roof was broken in several places, 
 but in one corner lay a quantity of half-rotten straw and some 
 broken implements of agriculture. On this I fixed as my rest- 
 ing-place. Some of the straw I arranged as a bed, and with the 
 remainder and a broken harrow I made a sort of wall, which, 
 when I lay down, would completely hide me should any one 
 look into the loft. These arrangements being made, I stole 
 down the ladder and cautiously examined all the other out- 
 buildings. I opened a door that was in the garden wall ; the 
 garden was uncultivated, and the general look of the whole place 
 convinced me that there was no one there, and that I was safe 
 for the time. I therefore returned to the loft, crawled into the 
 bed I had prepared, and, worn out with exhaustion, in two 
 minutes I was in most profound sleep. I had not long enjoyed 
 this blessed oblivion when I was roused in the most disagreeable 
 way, for at the same moment that I heard the sound of several 
 voices, I felt the weight of one man kneeling on my chest, and 
 I felt another binding my arms with a cord. The sounds that 
 struck my ear were all to the same tune, and that was to cut my 
 throat, for that I was an accursed spy. There is a strength in 
 despau' that few men know they possess. I exerted it on this 
 occasion. With one tremendous jerk I threw off the man from 
 my chest, and freed my arms from the grasp of the other. My 
 wall of straw, together with the broken harrow, had been thrown 
 down. I saw an old spade with a long handle within my reach. 
 I seized it, sprang upon my feet, and stood on the defensive, like 
 a stag at bay, with my back resting against the wall. I then 
 discovered that the men who were attacking me were some of 
 those I had constantly met at the gaming-table and at the club. 
 The two who had been the most active in the assault were men 
 who had been the heroes of the club before I had joined it. 
 They had always shown a great dislike to me. I think they 
 were jealous of the success of my speeches. These were the 
 two who were trying to bind me when I woke ; and now that 
 
THE HUXTEES. 307 
 
 I liad thrown them off, the blood was in their eyes with rage. 
 These left me no time to look about me. Both made a rush 
 upon me at the same moment, while the other renewed the 
 cries of ' Cut his throat ! blow his brains out, the accursed spy ! ' 
 As these men sprang at me, the one at my side tripped over the 
 harrow and fell. The one in front of me I drove back with the 
 spade ; but the cries of the rest redoubled. They were all form- 
 ing a ring to attack me at once, when another person entered 
 on the scene. I did not see whence he came, but he dashed 
 into the ring, crying, * Silence, on your lives ! there is a troop of 
 cavalry advancing on the house. If they hear you, we are lost !" 
 "When I heard this voice I took another look at the speaker. It 
 was Sabroan. I immediately addressed him, asking why I was 
 thus assaulted. When Sabroan heard my question he came to 
 my side. ' Are you wolves,' he said, ' that you eat one another 1 
 I am this man's friend — I am his guarantee ; — but fly, for the 
 supporters of the tyrants are upon us ! ' 
 
 " As he spoke Ave could hear the sound of horses' feet rattling 
 on the paved court. The "whole of my late assailants ran to the 
 farther end of the loft, and clambered through a hole in the wall 
 that I had not before observed. Sabroan followed, and led me 
 in the same direction. He mounted himself, and gave me his 
 hand to assist me in doing the same. He then filled up the 
 hole by removing a prop and alloAAing a portion of the false roof 
 to cover it. The hght was then so faint that I could not for 
 some time see where I was, or who was with me, but I could 
 hear the breathing of several people, and I had no doubt that 
 my late assailants were still with us. The sound of the horses' 
 feet was so clearly heard that it was very certain that some of 
 the troops "were in the yard. With us the most profound silence 
 reigned. The very breath was hushed, but I heard the throbbing 
 of my o"wn heart, it seemed to beat so loudly ; for there is some- 
 thing very agitating in this sudden change from violent excite- 
 ment to such profound quiet. However, this quiet did not last 
 long, at least on the outside of the house, for we soon heard the 
 
308 HOUNTDS AT PAULT. 
 
 sound of fresli horses galloping into the yard, and the voice of 
 the officer in command, "svho was giving orders and asking 
 questions. The first sentence "we distinguished was, ' Have you 
 surrounded the whole buildings V ' Yes, sii",' was the reply. 
 
 " ' Did you see any traces of people being here ?' 
 
 " * I think not, sir. All the doors and windows of the house 
 are fastened, and it is evident they have not been opened for 
 long ; but we saw some traces of footmarks in the lane.' 
 
 " ' Those may have been made by the three fellows we have 
 just taken. Have you searched the sheds V 
 
 " ' Xo, sir, not yet ; we waited for your orders.' 
 
 " "\Ye heard the order given for some of the men to dismount. 
 ' And take your pistols with you,' said the officer in command. 
 ' If you see any of these fellows, settle them at once ; it will 
 save trouble.' 
 
 " In another minute the sounds of steps and the clink 
 of swords were heard in the stable below. * Here's a ladder,' 
 said one. ' "Well, up you go, and I will follow,' said a second. 
 A shout from these two soon brought several of the other 
 searchers to their aid, and then the voice of the same officer 
 asked ' "What is iti' 
 
 " ' Some one has slept here last night, for we have found his 
 lair,' answered a voice which seemed to speak through a hole in 
 the roof. 
 
 " ' AYait till I come then,' said the officer. 
 
 " There was silence for a few seconds, and then we again heard 
 the officer's voice, which rose above the hum of the others. 
 
 " ' AYhoever he was, he is not here now. It is most probably 
 the nest of the fellows we have caught ; the old woman told us 
 she saw them coming from this direction. Look well round to 
 see that there is no hiding-place, and then forward : we must not 
 waste time.' 
 
 " Several footsteps resounded on the rotten floor, and we 
 could hear the men striking the walls with the hilts of their 
 swords. They came to the hole through which we had passed ; 
 
THE NEST IS COLD. 309 
 
 involuntarily I raised tlie spade that I liad brouglit with me. 
 Sabroan laid his hand gently on my arm. My eyes had become 
 accustomed to the darkness. I saw the blade of a sword pass 
 two or three times through the mass of thatch that masked our 
 place of entr}', and then the voice of a man, apparently the 
 corporal, called out, ' To horse, to horse ; there is no one here.' 
 The steps moved off, and then a general sigh of rehef was 
 breathed from every corner of our hiding-place. 
 
 " I looked round, and was now able to perceive the men 
 crouching in different attitudes round the walls of a loft, larger 
 than the one in which I had made my bed. AH were intently 
 listening to the sounds of the troops who were filing out of the 
 yard, and from this position no one moved for many minutes. 
 At last some said, ' They are off, and we must not stay here any 
 longer.' 
 
 " Sabroan ordered silence, and directed a boy whom he called 
 Louis to take off his shoes and go and look out, to see that no 
 one remained lurking about. He himself lifted the false roof 
 that had saved us, and peeped into the other loft ; he then 
 raised a small trap in the floor and looked into the barn below. 
 ' There is Pot-de-vin's wife poking about the yard,' he said ; ' I 
 have my suspicions of her ; so beware how you answer if she 
 calls.' 
 
 There was a low growl of curses from those in hiding, and 
 then again silence for nearly a quarter of an hour, for no one gave 
 the slightest answer to various signals which were made by a 
 woman's voice, who called out in the different offices below ; nay, 
 she even took the trouble of mounting the ladder in the outer 
 loft, and there renewed the same cry of ' Whist, friends, you are 
 safe ; you may come out, it is only I.' 
 
 " As I have already told you, no one replied to these calls ; 
 all lay stiU for a quarter of an hour, and then, on a sudden, I saw 
 that the boy Louis had returned. 
 
 " * Gare Wolf,' he said, ' it is lucky you did not answer Pot- 
 de-vin. I watched her go round the end of the garden wall and 
 
310 SPIES. 
 
 speak to four of the soldiers who remained tlieir in hiding. They 
 are gone now, and so is she ; but 'Avare trap, she is a spy.' 
 
 " There was another volley of curses, and two men sprang on 
 their feet ; they were the same who were attacking me. 
 
 " ' Curses on her ! she shall rue it,' said one. 
 
 " * Death to all spies,' exclaimed the other, and I could see 
 his eyes gleam as he advanced towards me. 
 
 " Sahroan asked whom he called a spy, 
 
 "'The scoundrel heside you,' he answered ; 'it was he who 
 brought the troops upon us, and he shall die. I say he is a spy 
 and an aristocrat. Do I say well, or ill, my comrades V 
 
 " 'And I say that he is neither a spy nor an aristocrat, but 
 an honest lad and a brave comrade, and no one shall touch a hair 
 of his head,' answered Sabroan. 
 
 " There was a long discussion as to what I was, but as almost 
 all the party sided with Sabroan, the man who had shown him- 
 self so bitter against me was obliged to yield, though I saw that 
 he only hated me the more. Sabroan, after this discussion was 
 over, desired the men to move on, for that it was time to see 
 what they had to eat. The men went to the further end of the 
 loft, to a smaller room which had a sort of press in the corner ; 
 this was movable like a door, and behind it was a small staircase 
 which we ascended, and found ourselves in the roof of the chateau, 
 which, like many others, as you may know, was arranged as a 
 large store-room, with a number of casks placed round the sides, 
 and at one end were shelves for storing fruit. The stair by which 
 we had mounted was the private entrance used by the proprietors 
 for bringing in the various stores and grain, which were after- 
 wards stowed in the now empty casks. There was another door 
 at the opposite side of the room which opened on a staircase 
 communicating with the interior of the chateau. This place was 
 perfectly well hghted by a number of small windows in the roof 
 and by slits in the wall, through which a very extensive view 
 could be obtained of the country on all sides. I was the last who 
 entered this grenier, and when I did so I found that some of the 
 
THE GRENIEE. 311 
 
 men were placed at several of these openings, looking earnestly 
 through them. The lad whom Sabroan had called Louis spoke 
 to him as we came in. ' They are fairly off/ he said, ' and we 
 may consider ourselves safe. Some infantry were coming this 
 way, but they spoke to Pot-de-vin, and now they are turned in 
 another direction.' 
 
 " ' Well then, let us have something to eat,' said Sabroan, to 
 my great joy, for I felt very faint. Two lettuces and a few raw 
 artichokes was all I had eaten for two days. On Sabroan's speak- 
 ing, several of the men began to busy themselves ; a grate full of 
 charcoal was pulled out of one cask, a pot full of half-made cab- 
 bage soup out of another ; a frying-pan, some lard, several loaves 
 of bread, and some cheese, were also produced from other hiding- 
 places, together with a large packet of the same sort of young 
 artichokes that I had eaten the night before. The sight of food 
 made me feel so faint, that I am sure I could not have lasted 
 many minutes, had not Sabroan observed my state, and given me 
 a cup of wine and a large slice of bread. I cannot tell you how 
 grateful I felt towards this man ; I can never think ill of him 
 again, for whatever he may have done, he twice saved my life 
 that morning. The bread and wine quite set me up till the other 
 articles of food were prepared, and these I thought delicious, 
 though you may not think much of our bill of fare — cabbage soup, 
 young onions and artichokes cut up and fried in hog's lard, some 
 bread, cheese, and lettuce, was all we had ; but never in my life 
 before did I taste anything I thought so good. There was plenty 
 of common wine and cider to wash down our meal, and of this 
 many of our party drank to excess ; but what took place during 
 the greater part of the day is unknown to me, for no sooner had 
 I eaten than I crawled behind some of the casks and slept a sleep 
 like death. 
 
 " It must have been late in the day when I awoke. I sat up 
 and looked around for some moments before I could remember 
 where I was ; but as my senses returned, memory returned also, 
 and I looked to see what had become of the rest of the men. 
 
312 - CO^'SULTATION. 
 
 Sabroan and the boy Louis -n-ere sitting by the side of the door 
 by which we had entered ; they were whispering together, but 
 so low, it was impossible to hear one word they said. The rest 
 of the men were stretched on the floor at the other end of the 
 place fast asleep. I moved softly, and stood up. Sabroan's back 
 was towards me, but Louis saw me and touched him ; he turned 
 round, laid his finger on his lips, and beckoned to me. I walked 
 as softly as I could towards him, and sat down beside him ; he 
 then continued to whisper to the boy. From their conversation 
 I discovered that the men had drunk tiU they were intoxicated, 
 and that the boy had overheard them settle that they would 
 murder Pot-de-vin and his wife for being spies ; and as none of 
 them had any money, they had also agreed to rob some houses 
 in the neighbourhood, and afterwards to divide the spoil and 
 separate. Sabroan had been called an old woman, and was not 
 to be let into the secret, as he might object, lest his house should 
 be burnt. By inquiries, I found out that the chateau in which 
 we were was Sabroan's ; he had won it from the old proprietor, 
 who had ruined himself by play, and had finally parted with this 
 last remnant of his property. Sabroan had been in possession of 
 it nearly two years, during which time it had been shut up, as he 
 had only visited it twice with the boy Louis, who was in his ser- 
 vice, and who knew every corner of the chateau, being the son 
 of the confidential servant of the pre\T.ous proprietor. Sabroan 
 told me he had destined this place as a resort for any secret orgy, 
 and had sent down some wine and cider, intending to despatch 
 other supplies, but had neglected to do so till the defeat of the 
 insurgents occurred, when he thought of it as a place of safety, 
 and led the men then assembled to hide in it. They had entered 
 the house by the way I had myself come, which was the reason 
 no marks were seen around the building. Three of the party 
 had taken fright and had left them before daylight that morning ; 
 and those must have been the men who were seen and taken 
 prisoners by the troops. •' And they Avill teU no tales,' said 
 Louis, when he came to that part of the story ; ' for I am certain 
 they were shot before the troops galloped off.' 
 
PLANS. 313 
 
 " I also learnt, that as I approached the house, some of the 
 men Avho were on guard, watching from the windows, had seen 
 me, and had closely observed my after proceedings ; and when 
 they saw me enter the stable, they had stolen down to seize me, 
 thinking me a spy ; but on finding me asleep, they had recog- 
 nised me, and would have taken me to their more secure hiding- 
 place if the two men had not denounced me as an aristocrat and 
 a police spy, who had pretended to join their meetings in order 
 afterwards to give information against them. Had it not been 
 for the timely arrival of Sabroan I should certainly have been 
 murdered, and he cautioned me to be on my guard against my 
 two fierce opponents, for that they detested me, not only because 
 I had outshone them as an orator, but also because it was from 
 them that I had won a great part of the money I had gained at 
 play. 
 
 " I told you," continued Jules, after a slight pause, " that I 
 had placed a considerable portion of my winnings in the hands 
 of my nurse ; a part I had also given to Pierre, but I still had 
 nearly a thousand francs on my person. Five hundred of these 
 were sewn up in the waistband of my trousers ; the rest was in 
 my neckcloth : this I told to Sabroan. * That is good,' he said, 
 ' and will help to rid us of these fellows who frighten me. Do 
 not say a word about what you have got sewn up — that will 
 make a purse for ourselves ; but the remainder you must divide 
 among them, and when they go out to forage to-night, they will 
 commit some drollery which will make this place too hot to hold 
 us ; they will not come back, and we must be off ; but we will 
 take a route they are not likely to think of, and by that time,' 
 he added, * I hope the troops will think more of sleep than of 
 hunting us.' 
 
 " I agreed to everything he proposed, and having settled his 
 plans, we began to busy ourselves in cooking the remains of our 
 provisions. The noise we made gradually roused the sleepers. 
 We ate our meal, and when it was finished Sabroan addressed 
 them. He said, ' You called my friend a spy ; well, I prove that 
 
314 REVENGE. 
 
 lie is a good communist ; he has nearly five liiindred francs, 
 which he wishes to divide amongst us. Some of you must go 
 out to forage, for we have nothing left to eat. Let those that 
 like take the money and buy us a good store, and bring it back 
 for the common good. Who will go ] ' All wished to go ; so 
 Sabroan proposed that the money should be divided into three 
 parts, and that three parties should be formed, and in that way 
 one would be pretty sure to escape, if anything happened to the 
 others. The men jumped at the trap he set for them ; they 
 whispered together for some time, and then made their parties, 
 scrupulously leaving us out of their arrangements. Sabroan 
 pretended to object to this at first, but allowed himseK to be 
 overruled, and at last it was agreed that three parties were to 
 start in different directions, and that we were to remain to keep 
 guard in the house. 
 
 " As soon as it was dark they started. Sabroan then put 
 everything away, and in ten minutes after they were gone, we 
 too departed. He knew the country well, and took his line at 
 once, Louis and I follomng close at his heels. After walking 
 for about half an hour, we came near some enclosures. Here 
 Sabroan proceeded with great caution, and bade us tread lightly. 
 On a sudden we heard some loud shrieks ; there were not many, 
 but they sounded like those of some one in despair or in mortal 
 agony. 
 
 " ' I was sure of it,' exclaimed Sabroan ; ' quick, quick, let us 
 be off, or they may see us.' He began to run and we kept close 
 to him. He continued this rapid pace till I was well-nigh ex- 
 hausted, and then he began to walk. I asked what had alarmed 
 him. The only answer he gave me was, ' That was Pot-de-vin's 
 house. Poor devil ! he has paid for his wife's peeping.' 
 
 " ' And your friends have done it,' I said. 
 
 " * Our companions were all there,' he replied ; ' some may 
 have worked and some watched, but I have no doubt the deed is 
 done.' 
 
 " ' That is too horrible,' I exclaimed. 
 
KIVER SMUGGLERS. 315 
 
 " ' They do not think so/ answered he. ' Pot-de-vin and his 
 wife were spies of the police, and rich. Our companions have 
 found toth money and revenge at one blow, and although I 
 would not have done it myself, I can hardly blame them — but 
 no talking ; we are not far from the river now, and we may find 
 more listeners than we think for, or would wish to meet ; so 
 silence, and tread as lightly as you can.' 
 
 " In a few minutes I could see the water shining before us ; 
 we were on the banks of the Seine. "We skirted the shore, 
 keeping about two hundred yards from the river, and advanced 
 quickly, but silently, for rather more than a mile. Sabroan 
 then stood still and bade us lie down and keep perfectly silent, 
 answering no signal, till we heard a clap of the bands, followed 
 by three low whistles, and he requested me during his absence 
 to cut out some of my louis, as we should then be obliged to 
 use them. He left us, and I immediately did as he wished with 
 the money which I had concealed in the waistband of my 
 trousers. A portion I put in my pocket, the rest I tied up in 
 my neckcloth. I then lay down by the side of Louis, and began 
 to question him as to where Sabroan had gone. He was a most 
 intelligent boy. He told me that he could not answer my 
 questions positively, but that he felt very sure Sabroan was gone 
 to the house of some of the smugglers who lived on the banks 
 of the river, and who introduced great quantities of contraband 
 goods into Paris, by having secret places in their boats and 
 barges ; and as he knew that Sabroan assisted these men in dis- 
 posing of the goods they smuggled, he was confident he had gone 
 to one of their bouses. Louis was right in his conjecture, for 
 in about an hour we heard Sabroan's signal, and we joined him. 
 He led us into the back room of a small house close to the river- 
 side, wliere I saw the clothes I now wear lying on a table ; a 
 strong powerful-looking man was standing beside them. Sabroan 
 bade this man bring the things he had ordered, and directed me 
 to change my clothes as quickly as possible. I took off my coat, 
 and the man left the room. The moment the door was shut 
 
316 EIVEE POLICE. 
 
 Sabroan whispered, ' Where is the money'?' I gave him all I 
 had in my pocket, and pointed to my neckcloth. He nodded, 
 and said aloud, ' Dress quick.' I did as he bid me, and was 
 drawing on these boots when the man returned. He brought 
 with him three bottles and three packets of sailors' biscuits. 
 Sabroan paid for them with my money, and divided them equally 
 amongst us, telling me to stow them away in my pockets and 
 take care of them, as I might find it dangerous to get any more 
 food for some time to come. Then turning to the man, he said, 
 ' It is well understood ; you are to have my friend's clothes and 
 one hundred francs for those he now wears, and you are to take 
 us to Eigot's in your boat.' ' Yes, yes,' replied the man ; ' it is 
 well understood ; show me the money, and my boat and myself 
 are ready.' Sabroan produced the five louis, and the man 
 without another word lifted my clothes from the floor, examined 
 them, threw them on the bed, and led the way to the door. 
 There he told us to pass him, and as soon as he had given a 
 signal to some one in the house he again took the lead, directing 
 us to a small creek where a boat was fastened. This we entered ; 
 the boatman took the oars and began to pull stoutly down the 
 river. I observed that we frequently crossed to different sides 
 of the river, and that on difi"erent occasions our boatman pulled 
 his oars with great caution, and the cause of this I discovered 
 by suddenly hearing a loud challenge and then a musket-shot 
 from some sentinel on the side we had just left. The boatman 
 had desired us to He down in the bottom of the boat before 
 reaching this place. The moment the shot was fired he started 
 up and poured forth a stream of argot and abuse the like of 
 which I had never heard before. A loud laugh from several 
 persons, and a cry of ' Oh ! it is you, you old good-for-nothing ! 
 Why did you not hail as you passed 1 ' showed me that we had 
 just passed some post of river poKce, and I presumed that the 
 frequent crossing of the river was to avoid others of the same 
 character. The boatman resumed his oars, but continued to 
 pour forth the same volley of abuse and slang, till the laughter 
 
THE EErrCxEE. 3l7 
 
 of the people on shore sounded faint in the distance. 'That's 
 the last of them/ said the boatman, 'and the devil take that 
 fellow, and send him to sleep with a pickaxe for his bed-maker, 
 for nothing else \nR ever make him drowsy. Curse him, he 
 never sleeps himself or allows his men to do so ; though the 
 most of them on the other stations might beat a marmot, for 
 they could sleep through the summer as weU as the winter ! ' 
 In a few minutes we entered a small stream on the southern 
 bank of the river, and rowed the boat into a little dock where 
 another boat was anchored. There we landed, and after a short 
 time we were admitted into Eigot's house. Here we had a full 
 meal ; — the last I had for fourteen days was in that house. 
 Sabroan gave me a little lard in a bladder to add to my stock of 
 provisions, and twice during my after wanderings I got some 
 eggs, and these were the only occasions on which I slept in a 
 bed till I reached this house ; — but I am forestalling. "VMien 
 our meal was ended, Sabroan said, 'We must separate;' and 
 asked if I would divide my money. I agreed, and having given 
 a third part to him and the same to the boy, we took leave of 
 each other, and began our journey, each taking his own line. 
 As I have already said, I wandered forward for fourteen days, 
 sleeping in sheds or in the open fields, except twice, when, 
 pressed by hunger, I entered two small cabarets. The price the 
 people made me pay for my shelter and for the provisions they 
 gave me greatly exhausted my small stock of money, and taught 
 me also that they knew I was a fugitive. At last I reached this 
 village. Worn out and wretched, I determined to take my 
 chance. I knew that the sister of my old servant lived near 
 here. I entered this house to ask where she could be found, 
 and you may judge my joy and relief when I beheld the excel- 
 lent creature who has since concealed and tended me. For your 
 kindness," continued Jules, turning to Hope, " I must be for 
 ever grateful. If my old nurse is alive, I have enough to keep 
 me for years, for now I know the value of the money I formerly 
 squandered, and am not likely to fall again into the same folly. 
 
318 GOOD-XIGHT. 
 
 I shall, if she lives, be able to repay the sum you have so gene- 
 rously advanced ; if not, I must remain your debtor till better 
 times come." 
 
 " Cheer up," said Cross ; " I hope those better times may 
 not be far off, and I do not see why you fear that the old lady, 
 your nurse, is dead." 
 
 " Alas ! I fear it is so. She was very old, and may have died 
 a natural death ; or she may have fallen by some chance ball ; 
 or have been terrified to death ; for the fighting was severe in 
 the street where she Lived. Some accident, I am sure, must have 
 befallen her, or she would have paid my debt to ^Monsieur 
 
 G ; and if she had, he would have mentioned it when he 
 
 saw you after the struggle was over." 
 
 Both the friends felt that there was so much truth in these 
 words that they thought poor Jules' chance of getting back his 
 money a very poor one. They tried, however, to cheer him by 
 talking more hopefully than they felt, and pushed round the 
 bottle the while ; but in vain ; neither words nor wine seemed 
 to have any effect. A fit of despondency had come over him not 
 to be overcome. After pursuing their endeavours for some time 
 the friends became silent, and then Jules said — 
 
 " Good-night, good-night. You must not lose your rest in 
 trying to comfort a poor devil like me. A few days will bring 
 an answer to my letter, and whatever that answer be, while I 
 Uve I shall remember with gratitude the sympathy you have 
 shown for one who so little deserves kindness from any one. 
 Good-night." 
 
 Cross and Hope pressed the hands he held out, and slipping 
 softly through the kitchen, hurried to their beds. Cross was 
 rather inclined to talk over what they had heard, but Hope 
 stopped him, saying — 
 
 " We shall have plenty of time for discussion to-morrow ; 
 so, in the meantime, sleep and do not talk, since you say we 
 must start at day-dawn." 
 
CHAPTEE XIL 
 
 THE MAKE DE BOUILLON. 
 
 Silence reigned in their room, and the friends disposed them- 
 selves to sleep as soundly as they could during the few hours 
 that remained till daylight. For a while a confusion of misty 
 dreams floated about both. Hope could not for some time avoid 
 starting up, fancyiiig that he was sinking in a quicksand, for the 
 story he had heard from Cross haunted him with disagreeable 
 freshness, and in his dreamy fancy he was an actor in the scenes 
 he had heard described ; while with Cross it was Jules' story 
 that returned on his brain, and mixed up with it was a confused 
 jumble of the Captain's indignation against merchants and mer- 
 cantile pursuits. He had seen several members of the League, 
 and in his dreams he thought he was present in front of a bar- 
 ricade, on which were placed Jules and those gentlemen, while 
 a number of people were firing at them, all of whom bore a 
 striking resemblance to the Captain; but sounder sleep soon 
 banished these idle visions, and the entrance of their little at- 
 tendant to call them was unheard, till he had thrown open the 
 curtains and knocked over a chair or two to let them know he 
 was there, and that it was time for them to rise. When dress- 
 ing, they talked over their dreams, each relating his own ; and 
 they were getting into a very learned disquisition on dreams in 
 general, when the boy again made his appearance with coffee 
 and the provisions they had ordered to be prepared for the day. 
 While they were discussing their breakfast the carriage was 
 brought round and packed, so that when they descended to the 
 
320 FISHIlfG EODS FOE ONE. 
 
 street, they liad only to take leave of their hostess and clamber 
 into their places. 
 
 The landlord was up and in waiting at the door, and a lad 
 was holding a horse all ready saddled for an expedition. The 
 saddle was one of those huge masses of leather in general use 
 among the Norman farmers, having a square ill-shaped demi- 
 pique for the rider to sit on, with a large flap behind, covering 
 the horse to the ver}' tail, which flap is used as a pillion when 
 the wife goes to market, and, on other occasions, serves as a 
 resting-place for sacks of corn when the owner ■s\ashes to convey 
 them either to the mill or for sale. 
 
 The landlord himself was dressed for a day's sport ; that is to 
 say, he had a pair of leather gaiters buckled over his trousers, 
 and wore a black velvet hunting-cap ; this last he dofted to the 
 friends when they were seated in their conveyance, and inform- 
 ing them that he proposed joining their fishing party, as he 
 thought he might be of use, he asked permission to put his 
 fishing-rods on to the top of the carriage. The two friends made 
 him heartily welcome to put his tackle into the inside if he 
 chose, to which he answered, that his rods would do very well 
 on the top, and they might crowd the gentlemen if he tried to 
 put them inside. He then vanished into the house, returning 
 in a minute with a bundle that looked like a large baker's faggot ; 
 with this he clambered up behind, and they felt the carriage 
 shake as the burthen plumped on to the top ; the sound of a 
 cord was heard for a minute as it grated in being fixed to the 
 iron rim, and then mine host jumped down, took off his cap, 
 said his thousand thanks, and bade the boy drive on. 
 
 " Fishing-rod ! " said Hope to the boy ; " does the man call 
 that a fishing-rod 1 I have seen a bullock's liver tied up in a 
 bundle of sticks like that, and set in the German rivers to catch 
 cray-fish. Are there many of those fish here V 
 
 " I do not think there are many," rephed the boy ; " but if 
 there are, Monsieur Pinel will be able to catch them, for he is a 
 fine fisherman." 
 
A FIXE FISHERMAX. 321 
 
 " But for what purpose are all those sticks ? " asked Hope. 
 
 "His fisliing-rods," answered the boy. "Monsieur Pinel 
 has a fine assortment of tackle." 
 
 Hope looked round at Cross, who was laughing. " It is 
 not a fishing-rod," said the latter, " that we have the honour to 
 be carrying for our friend, but five-and-twenty or thirty rods, all 
 of which Avill be put into operation at once. Did you never see 
 a Cockney fishing with half a dozen gudgeon-rods in a punt ? 
 Well, your Xorman fisher is a regular Cockney. Has object is 
 not sport but fish, and he calculates by rule of three. Thus, if 
 one rod and line will catch one fish, how many fish will thirty 
 rods and lines catch ; and catching the most fish is considered 
 the sign of being the best fisherman ; therefore, he who has the 
 most tackle must (according to this calculation) be the best 
 sportsman. But this you will see when we reach the Mare de 
 Bouillon." 
 
 " With all my heart," said Hope, " I always like to see the 
 manner in which people conduct the same sport in different 
 countries, so I shall watch our companion's proceedings." 
 
 As he spoke, Monsieur Pinel came trotting up to them. He 
 had on his back one of the baskets which are used by the shore- 
 fishers. This was nearly full of bits of wood, round which lines 
 were wound. These rattled and danced about as he trotted, 
 making a considerable clatter. As he came alongside, the little 
 horse in their gig, who was very fresh after his three days' rest, 
 became either frightened by the noise, or unwilling to allow the 
 other animal to pass him, so he set off" at a gallop, unfortunately 
 just at the moment they were entering on a part of the road, or 
 rather track, worse, if possible, than anything they had gone through 
 on their first journey. After dashing through holes and ruts 
 for about a mile, without breaking down, the boy, in endeavour- 
 ing to avoid a hole larger and deeper than any they had yet 
 seen, went too much to one side ; the wheel struck the bank, 
 ran along it for a second, and then crash came the gig on its 
 broadside. The boy ht on his legs Hke a cat, and ran to the 
 
 Y 
 
322 EMPTYING A CAERIAGE, 
 
 horse's head, who, fortunately, seemed satisfied with the mis- 
 chief he had done, for he stood quite still, neither attempting to 
 kick nor run away. 
 
 Cross was undermost, and was not the least the worse for 
 the tumble. J^ot so Hope, however. The shock had thrown 
 him forward with a great jerk, striking his right arm and 
 shoulder violently against the hood. He said nothing about it 
 at first, but after crawhng out, and once more on his legs in the 
 road, he felt so much pain that he was obliged to sit down on 
 the bank, feeling sick, and for a moment almost faint — so much 
 so, that Cross became alarmed at seeing him look so pale ; but 
 after resting for a minute, the violence of the pain moderated, 
 and raising his arm sufiiciently to ascertain that no bones were 
 broken, Hope declared it was nothing, but asked for some water. 
 
 Cross started off to look for some in the direction their 
 driver pointed out, and whilst he was gone, the boy kept up a 
 continued stream of curses on his own horse, on Monsieur Pinel, 
 on Monsieur Pinel's horse, and on the roads ; but, as an extra- 
 ordinary instance of forbearance, it is only fair to say that, 
 though he poured forth on all these every term of abuse in the 
 French language, he never once either struck or kicked his 
 horse. It is doubtful if any other driver in Xormandy would 
 have so abstained. 
 
 Monsieur Pinel saw the accident from a distance, and had 
 the good sense to come gently forward, so as not again to 
 startle the horse. He joined them just as Cross returned with 
 the cup of his flask full of water, after drinking which Hope 
 declared himself better ; " but," added he, " I fear my day's 
 fishing is spoilt, for my right arm is so stifi" I shall never be 
 able to throw a line ; however, as I have my left arm and the 
 use of my eyes, I can see what you do when we get to the water ; 
 and in the meantime, I can hold the horses, if you will try and 
 put the gig on its wheels again." 
 
 There was not much difficulty in getting Blacky out of his 
 harness ; he was placed under Hope's charge. IMonsieur Pinel 
 
SOYEZ SAGE. 323 
 
 tied his horse to a tree, and both of them stood as quietly as if 
 there was no such thing as a runaway in France. Pinel, Cross, 
 and the boy set to work with good will, and in two minutes the 
 carriage was up and packed again, not one bit the worse for its 
 overthrow ; indeed, if anything, the side that had been on the 
 ground looked rather better than the other, for the scrape on 
 the wet mud had scratched off some of the dirt with which it 
 had been begrimed. 
 
 " There is nothing like a French carriage for a French road," 
 said Cross. " A smart English turn-out would have been smashed 
 to bits by such a crash ; but this old rattle-trap, as you see, is 
 not a bit the worse, so we may as well pop the little rascal into 
 the shafts again and be off." 
 
 Blacky was soon harnessed ; very little was broken, for 
 everything fitted so loosely that the shaft had passed over his 
 back, and the saddle had twisted under his belly as the carriage 
 upset. Two or three bits of string made everything right again. 
 The boy announced that all was ready, and pledged himself for 
 Blacky's future good conduct. Good or bad, Hope was obliged 
 to get in, for he did not feel able to undertake a walk to the 
 lake. Monsieur Pinel held the horse's head ; Cross helped 
 Hope to mount, and then jumped in himself, the hoj standing 
 by, repeating the same sentence over and over again, namely, 
 " Soyez sage ! sac-r-r-r-e — b-r-r-r-i-gand !" 
 
 "We do not pretend to say that the horse understood this 
 admonition, but he started as quiet as a lamb, and they pro- 
 ceeded at a foot's pace, to avoid shaking Hope more than could 
 be helped, and as they went on Hope felt less pain, and began 
 to converse as gaily as ever. 
 
 " Our landlord is a civil fellow," said he, " and his wife 
 seems to be an excellent creature. I have heard it asserted 
 that your Norman peasant is a selfish animal, who never gives 
 anything for nothing, and that their gratitude, like that of a 
 political leader, is only shown in return for a lively expectation 
 of services to come ; but our good hostess has proved that she, 
 
324 SELFISHNESS, 
 
 at least, is free from sucli charges ; she can have little expecta- 
 tion of future benefit from poor Jules, yet has she resigned her 
 own safety, and given her property, in gratitude for services and 
 kindness shown to her brother." 
 
 "Yes," said Cross; "she proves the injustice of sweeping 
 accusations. I hope there are many more like her in this 
 district. It is hardly fair to bring such a general charge against 
 a people, but I am sorry to say there are too many instances of 
 gross selfishness to be found, not only among the peasantry, but 
 also amongst the better class. I have too often, to my great 
 disgust, heard those who ought to know better answer, ' But 
 what good will that do me V when a request for some assistance 
 or favour has been made to them by parties whom they call 
 their friends. The love of self, I know, is too common a fault 
 all over the world ; but certainly there are few places where yoii 
 will find such an unblushing avowal of it as I have heard in 
 this fair district of ^Normandy. There are exceptions, many I 
 hope, to this sweeping imputation ; still, most uncompromising 
 selfishness is the glaring fault of the country, I cannot help 
 thinking that the perpetual ballot for the conscription has a 
 great deal to do in teaching the young men to consider the 
 golden rule for their guidance to be, ' Every man for himself, 
 and God for us all ;' at least, nine-tenths of them follow it." 
 
 Hope laughed. " Bravo, Cross !" he said ; " you began by 
 trying to be good-natured and liberal, and you end by clinching 
 the nail that others have driven. I have a great respect for 
 your opinion, because I know you are honest ; and the long and 
 the short of what you tell me is, that all Normans are not selfish 
 and ungrateful, but that you think nine-tenths of them are." 
 
 When Hope laughed, the boy looked round. 
 
 " I see you have forgiven poor Blacky and me. It was not 
 his fault, poor beast. If that accursed chestnut of Pinel's had 
 kej)t out of the way he would have gone as cj^uiet as a lamb ; 
 and then these roads — the commune should be prosecuted ; 
 those holes are enough to spoil any horse's temj^er." 
 
LOYE OF APrKOBATION. 325 
 
 " Xever mind, my little fellow," said Hope ; " nobody blames 
 you. I quite agree that the roads are enough to try the temper 
 of Job, so that no horse should be found fault with if he loses 
 patience." Then speaking in English to Cross, he continued, 
 " What passion guides this little jSTorman 1 Is it affection for 
 his horse or love for himself that makes him plead his excuse 
 with such an anxious face." 
 
 " Both, perhaps," answered Cross, " Avith love of approbation 
 added ; for though I think the selfishness of the people here 
 makes them do many mean and paltry actions, yet they are 
 brave and, generally speaking, kind-hearted and affectionate. 
 The love of approbation, also, is strongly marked amongst the 
 French. Many a man, for instance, who would neither lend 
 his horse nor give five francs to oblige a friend, would risk his 
 life to save him if he fell into the river, more especially if 
 there were a good many eyes to see what he did. I do not say 
 that they are very constant in their affections, but while they 
 do love it is with their whole hearts, and they wiU fight like 
 devils in defence of a lover or a friend ; anything, in short, but 
 open their purse-strings. However, our little friend here is not 
 a Xorman. If you call him one he will tell you he is from 
 Brittany, and no ]S'orman, and will thank God and the Virgin 
 on that account. The neighbouring districts know the foibles 
 of the Xormans ; for instance, if you are making a bargain with 
 a Breton, he wlU. take care to tell you the place of his birth, 
 with a look that says as plain as look can speak, ' I am from 
 Brittany, and therefore to be trusted.' But here we are in sight 
 of the Mare de Bouillon. If you are still in pain, you can 
 just see it, and then we can contmue our road to GranviUe, 
 and postpone our fishing for another day." 
 
 " Xever mind me," answered Hope 3 " if I cannot fish myself, 
 I can, at all events, see what you and our host can do. I dare- 
 say I can get a httle vinegar to rub my arm, and then I shall be 
 quite fit for our day's amusement, which I should not like tc 
 postpone, as on another day I may not have an opportunity of 
 
326 MONSiEUE pinel's rods. 
 
 seeing how a rrencliman contrives to use five-and-twenty or thirty 
 rods at the same time." 
 
 " As you like," answered Cross. " And as the hoy will 
 be close at h^and, we can go at any moment should you wish 
 it." 
 
 In a quarter of an hour the boy pulled up at a house close 
 to the lake. Some vinegar was procured, and while Cross as- 
 sisted his friend to bind his shoulder and arm with handkerchiefs 
 soaked in the acid, Monsieur Pinel shouldered his faggot-looking 
 bundle of rods and went off with the man of the house to pre- 
 pare the boat and begin his own operations. The friends followed 
 in ten minutes, and although Hope was unable to use his arm, 
 he felt greatly relieved by the cold applications. While Cross 
 was arranging his own rod, Hope watched Monsieur Pinel's pro- 
 ceedings. This last had already put together about a dozen of 
 his rods. They were of all lengths, from six feet long to sixteen, 
 all equally rude in their construction — some jointed by splicing, 
 some with sheet-iron. By the side lay two of a better make ; 
 these were fitted with rings, and had small brass reels fixed on 
 the butts. 
 
 Monsieur Pinel continued to put his rods together, till the 
 greater part were in order ; he then tied them together and was 
 about to move when Hope proposed to accompany him. 
 
 " I shall he back in an hour," said Pinel, " and then if you 
 mil do me the honour to come, I may be able to show you some- 
 thing ; but just now, as the boat is ready, you will be more 
 amused there than -wath me. I shall leave these (pointing to his 
 good rods and to some half-dozen of the rough ones, not yet put 
 together) till I come back, and I shall be obliged if you will look 
 this way now and then to see that no person takes them." 
 
 " Very well," said Cross. " Call us when you come back ;" 
 then turning to Hope, he said in English, " Let him go ; you will 
 see all you want to see by and by." 
 
 JNIonsieur Pinel walked off with a bundle of rods on each 
 shoulder and his basket on his back. 
 
spiNxixG. 327 
 
 " Norman to the "backbone ! " exclaimed Cross, as soon as he 
 was off. " He is afraid if you go with him that you will get a 
 share of some of the river. As soon as he has got rods baited, 
 and set in all the best places, he will come and let you see what 
 he is about." 
 
 " I would give five pounds to beat him, the selfish rascal," 
 said Hope. 
 
 "And perhaps we may do so," answered Cross; "none of 
 these fellows know anything about spinning. I have got some 
 of the sardines and some beautiful spinning-tackle, and as the 
 day is so bright, we have a better chance of getting sport with 
 them than with the fly ; at all events, let us try. There are 
 some very fine perch in the water, and I have often observed 
 that the hotter and brighter the day, the better the perch bite, 
 provided you lead your line well, and spin deep. But don't let 
 us loose time. If you could hold a rod over the stern of the 
 boat, I will make this fellow pull us quietly along, and so give 
 you a chance by trailing." 
 
 " I will try at all events ; but I am so spiteful at that fellow 
 I should not like him to learn how to spin, and if this man sees 
 us, he will tell him." 
 
 " He is a stupid fellow, and I don't think he has the sense 
 to understand what we are about ; at any rate there are no such 
 things as swivels in France, and without them no one can spin." 
 
 The rods were arranged, and they moved down to the boat. 
 The Mare de Bouillon was a large piece of water, with banks of 
 weeds surrounding the greater part of it. 
 
 " "Where is the river ?" asked Hope. 
 
 " There," replied Cross, pointing to the end of the lake, 
 towards which Piuel had walked, " but it is more like a broad 
 ditch than a river, and it is so closely lined with bushes on both 
 sides that it is quite impossible to cast a fly. There are a good 
 many fair trout in it, but there is no way of fishing for them 
 except with bait, as you will see by and by when you go with 
 Monsieur Pinel. If we had a little more wiad we might pick 
 
328 FISHING A MATCH. 
 
 up a good basketful in the lake ; but as it is, let us see what we 
 can do with our sardines." 
 
 They got into the boat, and Cross directed the man to pull 
 towards the river. He arranged Hope's rod as soon as they 
 were under weigh, and began himself to cast on either side of 
 the boat. He had not made above half a dozen casts before he 
 called out "I have one!" and at the same moment Hope felt 
 that he also had a fish. Cross soon hauled up a fine perch, but 
 Hope was only able to hold up his rod and wait till Cross came 
 to help him to land the perch which he also had hooked, and in 
 his haste he entangled his own line, so that it took some time to 
 put on a fresh bait and get it again in order. 
 
 " Confound the roads and that little beast for running away," 
 said Hope. " I must give up all attempts at sport, for I can do 
 nothing myself, and I only prevent you from beating Pinel ; so 
 do your best and let me look on." 
 
 Cross remonstrated, but Hope stuck to his point, and insisted 
 that no more time should be lost ; " for," said he, " I shall have 
 quite as much pleasure in watching you, and it will be all the 
 more glorious if you, with one rod, can beat that selfish fellow, 
 with his whole bundle." Cross yielded, and resumed his work. 
 There was some delay before he was again successful ; but then 
 he took two or three perch as fast as he could pull them out, 
 and then again there was another long pause before he felt 
 another bite. 
 
 " Make the fellow turn back," said Hope, " and stick to the 
 two places where you have been successful. You know that 
 perch swim in shoals, especially in this warm weather, when 
 they get into the deepest holes ; and if I remember right, it is 
 old Isaac Walton who says ' that, like the wicked of this world, 
 they do not mind seeing their companions carried off before their 
 eyes ;' and he is right, for I have often proved it." 
 
 Orders were given to turn, and the plan Avas successful, for 
 every time they passed the two places where the first fish were 
 taken, they were quite sui-e to catch one or two more, and Cross 
 
MONSIEUK PINEL's PLAN. 329 
 
 had upwards of a dozen very fine perch, in his hasket before Mon- 
 sieur Pinel came back, 
 
 " Put me on shore," said Hope ; " don't say a word about 
 what you have caught, and mind you do your best not to allow 
 that !N"orman to beat you." 
 
 Cross laughed and replied, " I think you are growing some- 
 what Norman yourself by being so anxious to keep all the sport 
 to ourselves." 
 
 " Not a bit," answered HojDe ; " I am only spiteful. If that 
 fellow had not monopolised the whole river, I would have en- 
 joyed his success as much as yours ; but as it is, I must own, I 
 would see him hanged before I would give him a line or a 
 lesson ; so put me on shore." 
 
 The boat touched the land, and getting out, he walked 
 towards their companion, who was baiting one of his good rods ; 
 the remainder of the rough ones were put together and lying in 
 a bundle. 
 
 " Come along," said Monsieur Pinel, " and you shall see 
 what I have done. I was afraid you would find out one of my 
 favourite places, so I put no rod there at first ; but now that I 
 have got a fair start, I don't mind your seeing it." He walked 
 into the weeds and threw his Hue into the water. " There," 
 continued he, " that is a famous place for bream ; I have three 
 hooks on that line, and when we come back, I shall have a fish 
 on each, and by this time I hope some of my other lines have 
 done something — so now, forward." 
 
 " Well, he is honest in his selfishness, at all events," thought 
 Hope, as he followed his guide, feeling less angry with him than 
 he had been five minutes before. 
 
 They soon came to the burn, which exactly answered Cross's 
 description of it. It was narrow and sluggish wherever the 
 water was deep ; but every now and then there was a bit where 
 the stream ran more rapidly over a shallow. Both sides were 
 lined with trees or bushes, through which, in most places, you 
 were obliged to force your way to reach the edge of the water ; 
 
330 THE BEST PLACES. 
 
 here and there there "was a break for a small space, and these 
 were the places which Monsieur Pinel now honestly confessed 
 he wished to keep to himself " There are others," he said, 
 " that I know of which you would not so easily find out ; but all 
 these opens are good for trout, and I was afraid, if you came witli 
 me at first, j'ou would have taken some of them and caught more 
 fish than I, for I know you Englishmen are fine fishermen." 
 
 " And perhaps you will be beat yet," said Hope. 
 
 " I do not think so," answered Pinel. " Your friend has 
 only one rod, and when I have set these I shall have thirt}^ rods 
 and fifty hooks set in all the best places. Here, for instance," 
 continued he, stopping and umvinding a short line from one of 
 the boards in his basket — " here is a place you would never 
 think of, and I always get some perch here. I like catching 
 them better than trout at this season, and when we come to 
 count what Ave have each got, I shall consider one perch better 
 than two fish of any other sort." 
 
 " You will, will you V replied Hope. " I shall remind you 
 of this when the counting begins." 
 
 The line was baited ^vith. worms ; Pinel pushed through tbe 
 bushes and dropped it into the water. In the same way he 
 baited and set his other rods, and then they came to the first of 
 those which he had set on his previous trip up the stream. It 
 was in one of the opens, and when puUed out it had a good 
 trout fast on the hook. 
 
 " Ha ! ha ! " said Pinel, " that is the third I have got ; your 
 friend has not much chance," The hook vras re-baited and again 
 set, and in like manner all the other rods were examined, both 
 in going up and returning down the stream. Two or three more 
 trout, and six or eight bream, were basketed — Pinel ha-ha-ing 
 most triumphantly as each was pulled out. When he came to 
 the hole where he expected to get perch, he crowed doubly loud, 
 for there he found that two small ones had taken his bait, but 
 on reaching the pet place for bream he was horribly disgusted to 
 find that his baits were gone, but no fish. 
 
FISHING FOR BEEAM. 331 
 
 " I shall stop here for half an hour," he said, " and then ex- 
 amine my rods again ; and as I am quite a sportsman I don't 
 wish to take an unfair advantage of a stranger ; pray tell your 
 friend that at that place (pointing with his finger) there is a 
 cajjital hole for bream ; nobody can fish it from the shore." 
 
 " If they could, you would not have told him," said 
 Hope. 
 
 " Well, perhaps not," answered Pinel ; " at all events, I 
 would have put a line there. "N^Tien one has a name for being 
 the best fisherman in the country, one does not wish any other 
 person to catch as many fish as one does one's-self ; but it is ver^'' 
 strange that all my baits are gone and not a fish caught." 
 
 Hope looked at the hooks as Pinel was baiting them, and did 
 not think it at all strange ; the hooks Avere four times too big to 
 enter the mouth of a bream, unless it was a great deal larger 
 than any he had yet seen taken ; but although in much better 
 humour with him, he did not tell his discovery, for a thought 
 had struck liim, and he hurried away to call Cross. 
 
 " "What sport?" said he, as soon as he was again in the 
 boat. 
 
 " Very fair," answered Cross ; " I have got six-and-twenty 
 perch and one very small jack, but I think I have caught every 
 fish, for I have not had a run for this last ten minutes ; so we 
 must try round and find a fresh place." 
 
 " JS'o, no," exclaimed Hope, " come and torment that French- 
 man a bit. He has got a pet place for bream, but he is fishing 
 for them with large perch-hooks, and Avill not get one in an 
 hour." 
 
 " Hang bream ! " said Cross, " nasty, stringy, bony fish, that 
 even a hungry pike will not eat. I am not fond of bait-fishing 
 of any kind, and bobbing for bream with a Avorm is worse than 
 fishing with a punt and rake for gudgeons." 
 
 " Stuff and nonsense !" said Hope. " I have no patience 
 with you fellows who turn up your noses at everything but fly- 
 fishing and salmon. Why, I have had many a pleasant day's 
 
332 THE " PATEEN03TEE." 
 
 fishing ■with, a paternoster* in the "West India docks, sitting all 
 the while on a sugar hogshead, with my feet on a mahogany log, 
 and as I watched my hne, baited with live shrimps, I could 
 cast my eye and my thoughts now and then towards Lovegrove's 
 and know that my wine was in ice, and that I was sure of 
 getting plenty of fish there, if the docks were unpropitious ; and 
 I am bound to say that the finest perch I ever saw in my life I 
 caught in those same docks. But that is nothing to the pur- 
 pose just now ; you are fond of raising fish, and I want to give 
 you an opportunity of getting a rise out of a Gorman, who will 
 give as much sport as a salmon. I have in my book a pater- 
 noster with beautiful small hooks tied on pig's bristles ; now, 
 though I cannot use my arm to throw, I cau put my rod in 
 order and bait my pater; and when all is ready we will pull the 
 boat up to Pinel, and I shall have some fun watching his face if 
 you have any luck, and I think you ^ri\l, for I see him raising 
 his rod every minute." 
 
 " I am ashamed of you !" said Cross. 
 
 " Gammon !" exclaimed Hope ; " ashamed, or not ashamed, 
 you must do it ; so, Hke a good fellow, don't shake your head, for 
 I am sure it \vi]l be capital fun ! What do you think the 
 fellow told me a minute ago 1 He said that, having a character 
 to lose, he did not wish any one to catch so many fish as he did ! " 
 
 " AVell, you old baby," said Cross, " I suppose we must do 
 as you wish; so arrange your tackle." 
 
 * For those who have never seen a paternoster, it may he as well to 
 explain that it is a line. The best are made of twisted gut, at the end of 
 which a plummet of lead is fixed. On the line itself small bits of bone or 
 ivory, in the shape of glass bugles, are placed between two knots in such 
 a way that they retain their places, but can twist round. These are fixed 
 at from three to six inches apart, and on each of them is fastened a hook, 
 tied either on pig's bristles or very strong stiff gut. By this arrangement 
 the bait stands out three or four inches from the main line. "When baited 
 with small line bait they are able to move round and round the line, 
 which is kept perpendicular by a large float. TThen worms or grubs are 
 used they stand out all round. It is a poaching and deadly way of fishing 
 in still water. 
 
RIVAL FISHERMEN. 333 
 
 Hope Avas not long in knotting tlie paternoster, float and all, 
 on to liis line. They had plenty of bait, for Cross, although he 
 pretended to despise such sport, had not failed to provide both 
 worms and gentles. The six hooks were baited, and they pulled 
 slowly towards Pinel, stopping about twenty yards in front of 
 him. 
 
 " I am afraid you Avill do nothing, gentlemen," said he, 
 " for though the fish are biting every moment they will not 
 take hold." 
 
 " Show him the difference. Cross," said Hope ; " if you get 
 hold of one, don't pull up till you catch two or tliree — then 
 astonish him." 
 
 Cross did as he was asked. The float, by good luck, was exactly 
 right. In half a minute he had three fast, and pulled them out. 
 Pinel swore, and Hope laughed. 
 
 " If I could only get my line out a little further," said 
 Pinel. 
 
 " Pull a little nearer the shore," said Hope to the boatman ; 
 " and you. Cross, like a good fellow, put your line close to his. 
 Look how he is grinding his teeth ! You never had a better 
 rise in your life than we shall have in five minutes ; so fire 
 away !" 
 
 Cross called his friend an old baby, but did as he was asked, 
 and at every moment he pulled out two or three bream. " IS'^asty 
 brutes !" he said : " I cannot bear to touch them ; and what a 
 child you are to like to torment that poor devil. I will tell him 
 to change his hooks." 
 
 " If you do I will never forgive you," sfiid Hope ; " his face is 
 worth any money. If you catch two or three more he will boil 
 over, and then I shall be content." 
 
 Cross did not care for the sport of catching wretched little 
 bream, and he thought tormenting Pinel childish, but he could 
 not help being amused at the contortions Pinel made every time 
 he hauled up his line with two or three bright little fish hanging 
 to his hooks ; nor could he resist joining in the loud roar of 
 
334 THE WORM IN THE BREAM'S GILLS. 
 
 laughter in which Hope indulged when at last Pinel gave a 
 tremendous jerk to his rod, broke it in two, threw down the 
 bits, danced, swore, and finally kicked his hunting-cap into the 
 water. As soon as he had recovered, he ran off, leaving his 
 broken rod behind him, 
 
 " Now I am content," said Hope ; and he shouted to Pinel 
 to come back ; but the discomfited fisherman either did not or 
 would not hear, for he continued his way without turning liis 
 head. 
 
 " Never mind him," said Cross. " If he finds fish on his 
 other lines, he Avill soon recover his good humour, for the 
 Normans are a good-natured people ; and though as hot as 
 cayenne when provoked, if you give them a little time or cut a 
 joke, they cool again as quickly as they warm ; and to tell you 
 the truth, I am tired of catching these creatures ; so let us try 
 round the lake for nobler sport." He resumed his own rod, 
 ordered the man to pull on, and began again to spin his sardines. 
 " aiy the way," continued he, after taking a few casts, " did you 
 ever see the double worm, a sort of Siamese twins, that stick to 
 the gills of the bream ? if not, examine one of those fish ; you 
 will be sure to find some, and they are very curious-looking 
 creatures." 
 
 " I have heard of, but have never seen them," said Hope, as 
 he lifted one of the bream. " Ah ! here they are," he exclaimed, 
 as soon as he had opened the gills ; " and now, as you are 
 a reasoner, can you account for them, or give as good an ex- 
 planation of these parasites as of the worms and sea-lice that 
 torment the salmon 1 " 
 
 " Indeed I cannot," replied Cross. " A bream is not the 
 fish to excite my curiosity, and I never have watched them 
 sufficiently to discover the use of these curious-looking creatures. 
 I have examined them with a microscope, and they are certainly 
 most extraordinary ; and at this season and in this water they 
 are always to be found in the bream ; but I have not fished for 
 them at all times of the year, so as to find out if they are always 
 
THE whiting's GILLS. 335 
 
 on their gills, or only to be found at times ; and witliout know- 
 ing this fact, it is difficult to speculate on the use which nature 
 may assign them. That they are of some use, there can be no 
 doubt, for nature creates nothing without an end and a purpose ; 
 and in these, her lower works, I suspect that the attacks of these 
 insects, hke those in the salmon, have something to do with 
 the propagation of the fish. Several naturalists have observed 
 these double worms on the bream, but I do not remember to 
 have seen them mentioned as being found on any other fish ; so 
 I may here remark that I have three or four times seen exactly 
 the same shaped worm in the gills of whiting. The creature was 
 of the same double form, joined in the middle like a capital H, 
 only in the whiting it was of a redder colour, and four times as 
 large as those j^ou are now looking at." 
 
 " I shall examine the gills of every fish I catch in future," 
 said Hope ; " these inquiries give a further zest to a pleasant 
 sport, and these creatures are indeed very curious." He put a 
 little water in the hollow of his hand, and allowed some of Ae 
 worms to float in the water, the better to examine their form. 
 Cross in the meantime continued to fish, and soon disturbed 
 Hope's entomological studies by hooking a good trout. 
 
 It were useless to enumerate each fish that was taken. They 
 rowed gently round the lake, and several trout, perch, and small 
 pike were caught. In passing the weeds, some wild ducks were 
 started, and Hope declared that the sight made him quite young 
 again, for it recalled the remembrance of liis early fishing days, 
 when, as a boy, and on a Highland loch, he had been accustomed 
 to see the ducks rise from the weeds, while the trout rose to his 
 flies. They also searched the weeds in hopes of fiaiding some 
 larvae of the dragon-flies not yet flown, but they were un- 
 successful. Thousands of these insects of all colours were 
 flying over the water, the weeds, and banks, and several of the 
 smaU blue variety were already laying their eggs. These they 
 watched, glistening in the sun, their glassy wings quivering like 
 little gleams of light, as they flapped them with the rapidity of 
 
336 THE LUNCHEON. 
 
 lightning, while they hung on some leaf above the "water, 
 making dragon-fly music, a sleepy sound between the hum of a 
 bee and the crackling of a dry leaf. 
 
 "When they returned to the landing-place, they found Pinel, 
 ■who waved his cap to them as they came up. He was in high 
 good humour. He had changed his rods, and as he was then 
 fishing with smaller hooks, he had a good heap of bream lying 
 behind him. But this was not altogether the cause of his re- 
 storation. He had also caught a large tench on one of his lines, 
 and several more perch and trout ; his bragging and exultation 
 were therefore nearl}' as amusing as his rage had been an hour 
 before. 
 
 Certain inward warnings had reminded both the friends that 
 they had breakfasted hglitly at day-dawn, and that nature ab- 
 horred a vacuum, more esj^ecially when there was a well-stored 
 basket close at hand. 
 
 " Let us land and eat." The order to pull ashore and an 
 invitation to Pinel to join them was given by both at the same 
 moment, and Cross added, " Do not show our sport till after 
 luncheon, for Pinel is so excited that if we have caught more 
 than he has we shall spoil his meal." Hope nodded assent, 
 and they jumped on shore. 
 
 A dry bank was chosen, and Pinel, who seemed to think he 
 was doing the honours of his own table-d'hote, ceased bragging 
 for a while, and made himself very useful in arranging the pro- 
 visions, and sending for water from a spring close by ; but no 
 sooner were their hands washed and they were fairly seated, 
 than he resumed his triumphant tone. 
 
 " Xot bad, that pie," said he ; '* indeed, far worse than this 
 would be good in the eyes of a thorough sportsman. You 
 English, they say, know something of sport, and indeed I have 
 myself seen that you, gentlemen, are very successful in catching 
 bream ; perhaps you know the satisfaction of taking a trout or 
 a perch 1 Did you ever catch a tench more than a pound 
 weight?" 
 
MAGPIES IN NORMANDY. 337 
 
 " yes," answered Hope, winking to Cross. " We have 
 done such a thing sometimes, and I could teach you how to 
 catch them, if you are fond of such sport ; but we do not in 
 general much care for taking any carp or tench." 
 
 " The gentleman is a little jealous," said Pinel, " and it is 
 not surprising, for I have done wonders. I dare say he would 
 have beat most people, but it is fair to say that I am famous 
 for my skill and success. If it was not that I do not like to 
 forfeit my fame as a fisherman, I almost wish he had been as 
 fortunate as myself." 
 
 In the same strain did the worthy Norman run on during 
 the whole time they were eating ; nor did he stop, even when 
 he had produced his pipe and stretched himself on the bank to 
 enjoy it at his ease. The man who had rowed them was then 
 summoned, and while he ate Hope proposed mounting a small 
 elevation that lay behind them, so as to obtain a better view of 
 the country before again entering the boat, to which Cross 
 agreed, and they left Pinel to finish his pipe and do the honours 
 of the remains of their pie to the boatman. 
 
 " What birds are those 1 " asked Hope. " They look like 
 magpies, but there is such a flock of them it cannot be." He 
 pointed as he spoke to a field about a quarter of a mile from the 
 little height they had just reached. 
 
 " Magpies they are," said Cross. " I have never seen such 
 a quantity of those birds anj^where as I have seen in this place. 
 I counted upAvards of fifty in that same field the last time I was 
 here, and there seems to be at least that number there now." 
 
 " It is very curious," remarked Hope. " Have the country 
 people the same superstition about them that they have in some 
 parts of England and in the Highlands of Scotland 1 Do they 
 consider them as birds of augury, and think that it is unfortu- 
 nate to kill them ? I do not wonder that game is scarce where 
 so many of these pirates are allowed to exist." 
 
 " There are two reasons, I believe, why they are never killed," 
 said Cross ; " first, they consider it very unlucky to kill them, 
 
 Z 
 
338 BIED AUGURY. 
 
 and secondly, their flesli is bitter and not good to eat. Your 
 Norman sportsman will never waste his powder and shot by 
 firing at any thing that is not eatable ; and the birds seem to 
 know their safety, for they are as tame as barn-door fowls, and 
 will hardly take the trouble of hopping out of your way. My 
 Scandinavian traveller tells me that they are as common and as 
 tame all over the l^orth. One morning he found six chattering 
 and dancing a war-dance round a salmon's head which he had 
 thrown away, and when he approached they only hopped a few 
 yards, and jerked their tails and chattered worse than ever. 
 There may be some old Iforse superstition about them which has 
 survived. I do not know if they have the same rhymes about 
 them here that we have in England, but I know that they con- 
 sider it fortunate to see an uneven number of them, and 
 unfortunate to see an even number. Let me see, how go the 
 
 lines ? — 
 
 ' One is sorrow, two is mirth, 
 Three's a wedding, foiu-'s a birth.'" 
 
 " Ay, that is the English edition, and put together for the 
 
 sake of the rhyme ; but our Highland belief agrees with the Xor- 
 
 man. We think that the uneven numbers are fortunate, and 
 
 the even unfortunate. In the Highlands the lines are — 
 
 ' One is joy, two is grief, 
 Three a wedding, four a death.' 
 
 And in the Highlands they go further, for they think that you 
 may calculate on the amount of joy or sorrow you are to meet 
 with by the way the birds fly. Eor instance, if one magpie 
 flies to the right, your good fortune is to be great ; if to the 
 left, it will be trifling. And again, if you see four magpies and 
 they go to the right, your sorrow will not be great ; if one flies 
 away and three remain, you will hear of a death and a legacy at 
 the same time. Now, as the ' land of the flood, the mountain, 
 and the mist,' is the true place for second sight and superstition, 
 I hold to the Highland version, and join with Eory 0']\Iore in 
 saying ' there's luck in odd numbers.' So, for the fun of the 
 
THE NUMBER FIVE. 6o\) 
 
 thing, let us try and count these birds. I will count all that go 
 to the right, and you all that go to the left." 
 
 " We can try at all events to number them," said Cross, " for 
 it requires some one to vouch for the fact of seeing fifty magpies 
 in the same field. So come along." 
 
 They continued to mount the gentle ascent, till they reached 
 the corner of the high bank that surrounded the field, up which 
 they clambered, and saw from thence the magpies sitting all over 
 the field, more like a flock of rooks than of any other birds. 
 Some few were close to the bank as they mounted, and they did 
 not take the trouble of flying above twenty yards before they lit 
 again, and then hopped gently along, giving a twist to their heads 
 and a sly glance at the intruders, who were engaged in trying to 
 count them. One made the number fifty-two, the other fifty- 
 thi-ee." 
 
 " Well, it is a very curious sight," said Hope, " and talking 
 of superstition makes one feel superstitious. Do you see that 
 there are five parties, of four in each party, that keep separate 
 from the rest and always together 1 I have five relations now in 
 Paris ; I hope I shall not hear of another ^meute, and that the 
 insurgents have put them all to death." 
 
 "Should you be very sorry 1" said Cross, laughing, as he 
 clapped his hands and shouted, which put up the whole flight. 
 
 " To be sure I should," answered Hope. 
 
 " Then it is not their death that these augurs foretell," said 
 Cross, " for the whole party are off to the right, which, according 
 to your rule, proves that if you hear of five deaths, you will not 
 care much about the people who die." 
 
 " I wonder," said Hope, " if magpies could be caught as a 
 French postillion once taught me to catch jays." 
 
 "How was thatf asked Cross; "jays are very numerous 
 here, and their wings are worth having." 
 
 " My instructor," said Hope, " told me that he got a living 
 jay and took him to a field near some wood, where he knew that 
 there were plenty of wild jays. He then cut a couple of forked 
 
340 HIT HIM A^TIEX HE'S DOWX. 
 
 sticks and fastened his decoy to the ground by pegging his 
 ■wings to the earth. It is not painful, but it certainly must be 
 -very disagreeable to be thus spread-eagled, and the jay begins 
 to scream and struggle when he is left alone. It seems to be 
 the disposition of jays to hit a friend when he is down, for if 
 there be one within hearing he is sure to attack the captive. 
 He generally contrives to hook his claws into the assailant, and 
 as the pegs hold him, so he holds the other till the sportsman 
 comes in as umpire. Then jay number two is laid on his back, 
 and the sport goes on till there are no more jays to be punished 
 for cruelty to their kind." 
 
 " Serve them right," said Cross ; " but jays are not singular 
 
 in this disposition. I once owned a family of terriers who lived 
 
 in perfect friendship with each other and with a couple of big 
 
 rough-haired deer-hounds, who generally took possession of the 
 
 warmest arm-chairs in the drawing-room. This liome pack did 
 
 great execution amongst the hares and rabbits when we went 
 
 out for a walk together in the woods. If one terrier started 
 
 anything, he forthwith set up a vehement yelping, which the 
 
 rest seemed to understand at once. Those who were behind 
 
 yelped and ran as if for dear life, but those who were before 
 
 crouched silently in the grass, while the long-legged hounds 
 
 bounded to the outside with open eyes and cocked ears, to be 
 
 ready for a fair race over the open. AYe once killed eight hares. 
 
 As long as there was anything to run down, they were all of one 
 
 mind, and when they came home they sat on the rug and blinked 
 
 at the fire with sleepy eyes in peace and contentment. But one 
 
 fine day one of the terriers trod in a trap, and yelped in a new 
 
 key. We all ran, but with different aims, and the first up was 
 
 the grandmother of the prisoner, who fell upon her and worried 
 
 her, and there was a battle royal. I laid an ash stick about 
 
 their ears, scattered them, freed the granddaughter, who was 
 
 not much hurt, and then we continued our walk without more 
 
 civil discord, and resumed offensive operations against the hares. 
 
 Men are not much better at times ; see how Frenchmen are now 
 
FISH baeo:metee. 341 
 
 worrying Frenchrhen in France. Ent now, if you have seen 
 enough of the magpies, let us go back, for I do not think we 
 shall have much more fishing. Look out to sea ; do you observe 
 how dark the sky is growing 1 I should not be surprised if we 
 had a gale of wind before long, for we may very probably get the 
 tail of the bad weather which they must have had out at sea, to 
 bring us such a fog as we had yesterday morning." 
 
 " It certainly looks like a change of weather," said Hope, 
 " and I feel the wind rising — all the better for your sport, for I 
 observe that there is a nice curl coming on the water ; so you 
 may yet do something with your flies." 
 
 "I do not think we shall do any good," answered Cross. 
 " You are an older sportsman than I am, and must have remarked 
 what I have often seen, that just before a gale, as the change is 
 coming on, no fish will move ; but let us try." 
 
 When they reached the lake-side they found Pinel looking 
 very cross. He had lit a second pipe, and was puffing away 
 with all his might as he stood by the side of the boat staring 
 at the fish which Cross had caught — the boatman was washing 
 them and laying them out in a row. 
 
 " Sacre ! mille tonnerre ! that is sport !" exclaimed Pinel ; 
 " and you said nothing about it." He then seemed to recover 
 his good humour, took ofi' his cap, made Cross a bow, and went 
 on, " You are my master, I must confess, but I do not think there 
 is another man in France could do as much, or one I would ask 
 to give me a lesson. "Will the gentleman show me how he 
 fishes?" 
 
 " Well, as he eats humble pie," said Hope, " if you will show 
 liini how you spin, I will give him my receipt for making a paste 
 that I believe to be the best in the world for catching tench and 
 cxrp." 
 
 " Just to prove to him that we are not selfish, and therefore 
 not like him," answered Cross — "so be it. Jump into the 
 boat, and take him with you to the stern. I will take the bow, 
 and while I spin you may write out your receipt. We have no 
 
342 INDICATIONS OF A GALE. 
 
 time to lose, for the sky is overcasting rapidly, and I am much 
 mistaken if we have not a dirty evening before us." 
 
 The boat was pushed off, and was pulled slowly to the upper 
 end of the lake, and then allowed to drift, broadside foremost, 
 along the edge of the weeds. The sky soon became completely 
 overcast, and the wind began to rise, coming down in gusty 
 squalls, raising a strong curl on the water. Nothing could look 
 more promising for fishing, and Cross tried his very best, first 
 with spinning- tackle and then with fly, but all in vain ; not a fish 
 would move ; and after persevering for nearly two hours, he pro- 
 posed leaving the lake. 
 
 " There is a storm coming," said he, " and a bad one ; so we 
 may as well wind up and be off before it breaks, for we have 
 two miles of worse road than any you have yet seen, over which 
 we must pass before we reach the main Granville road, and it is 
 as well to do it in daylight." 
 
 " It does look rather bad," repHed Hope, " so let us go : I 
 suppose it will be a mere summer squall, and be fine agaui to- 
 morrow," 
 
 " Worse than a squall, I'll answer for it," said Cross. " The 
 fog of yesterday foretells more than that, and the fish are still 
 better barometers. Nothing has moved since the change began, 
 which convinces me we shall have a severe storm. So, to land," 
 continued he, addressing the boatman ; " we shall be some time 
 packing up." 
 
 Hope had been writing out his promised receipt with a 
 pencil on a bit of paper, using his hat for a table. " Here," 
 called he to Pinel, " you are fond of catching tench ; here is a 
 receipt that you will find most deadly, and if one comes within 
 ten yards of this bait you are sure of him." 
 
 " Oh, that is delightful !" exclaimed Pinel ; " a tench is such 
 an excellent fish, and the skin is a delicious morsel. Monsieur 
 le Marquis would tell you that for bouillabaise there is nothing 
 to equal tench. He very nearly quarrelled seriously with a 
 gentleman, and has given up his acquaintance ever since, because 
 
A DEADLY BAIT. 343 
 
 he did not eat the skin of two brace of tench which he had sent 
 him as a present. Monsieur Montgomerie confessed, in my 
 hearing, that he had thrown away the skin, and I never saw the 
 Marquis so angry ; indeed I heard him muttering to himself 
 very often during the evening, and was tempted to listen to what 
 he was sajTiig. It was always the same sentence which he was 
 repeating over and over again, namely, * He did not eat the skin ! 
 He did not eat the skin ! ' which proves that it must be very 
 good, or so fine a judge would not have dwelt so much on the 
 fact of Monsieur Montgomerie's neglecting to eat it." 
 
 "Well," said Hope, laughing, "I shall remember this in 
 future. I am afraid I should have fallen into the same disgrace 
 as Monsieur Montgomerie if I had eaten tench in the presence 
 of the Marquis. But here is the receipt ; and as you say there 
 are very fine fish of that sort in this water, if you wish to please 
 the Marquis when next he comes to your house, bait your 
 ground a day or two before Avith a few handsful of small pills 
 of this paste, and then either angle or set your lines when you 
 wish to produce the fish. I will answer for it that you will 
 not be disappointed ; but as the writing is probably not very 
 legible, I may as well read what I have written." 
 
 He read, while Pinel looked over his shoulder : " First, 
 Take the hard roe of a salmon (if you cannot get salmon-roe, 
 the hard roe of any other fish will do, but that of the salmon 
 is best) ; to every table-spoonful of roe add a bit of butter the 
 size of a hazel nut, and put the whole before a gentle fire to 
 warm slowly. AVhen the heat is sufidcient to melt the butter, 
 the eggs of the roe become soft and burst, so that when the 
 mass is well beaten with a wooden spoon, it will become of the 
 consistency of pomatum. 
 
 " Secondly, For every spoonful of this roe pomatum add two 
 spoonsful of finely-ground flour (bean-flour is best); beat the 
 flour and the roe together, adding from time to time a drop or 
 two of honey, and work up the mass with the hands till you 
 have a firm paste of the consistency of baker's dough. A small 
 
344 SHAKE AND SHAEE. 
 
 quantity of finely-clipped wool may be Avorked into the paste to 
 give it greater tenacity on the hook ; but if the paste is well 
 made this is not necessary. It is the best paste ever tried fnr 
 carp or tench ; indeed no leather-mouthed fish can withstand 
 its temptations." 
 
 "There," said Hope, as he finished reading; "there is the 
 receipt, and you are the only person in France who possesses it." 
 
 "I am so grateful," answered Pinel, "and I give you a 
 thousand thanks. I hope you will never give it to any one else, 
 for I shall take care to keep it to myseK." 
 
 {-"ISTorman still," said Hope, as he exchanged a glance with 
 Cross, who was busily employed in packing up his tackle. 
 
 " Shall I take the fish up to the carriage ?" asked the boatman. 
 
 " Do so," replied Cross. 
 
 " You have such a quantity," said Pinel ; " what will you do 
 with all those fine perch 1 they will be spoilt before you can eat 
 them." 
 
 " That is true," answered Cross ; " and I suppose you would 
 like to have some 1 AVell, where is your basket 1 you are welcome 
 to the half." 
 
 Pin el's eyes glistened with pleasure ; his basket was taktn 
 off, and a full half of the day's sport was placed in it. 
 
 " They will be astonished when I get home." 
 
 " I will bet five francs he will say he caught them himself," 
 said Hope, in English. 
 
 " Of course he will," answered Cross, laughing. " I fear, in 
 our country, your fisherman often forgets what the keeper has 
 done when he produces and brags of his basket ; but come on — 
 it is getting late, and it will be dark before we are out of that 
 confounded lane." 
 
 " If the gentlemen will walk up the river with me," broke in 
 Pinel, " I will show them all the best places. I am so much 
 obliged to them that I will do for them what I would not do for 
 any one else ; there are two or three places for a night-line that 
 nobody knows of except myself." 
 
GLOW-WOEMS. 345 
 
 " It is too late, I fear," answered Cross. " You know the lane as 
 well as I do,and anotherupset in the dark wouldnotbe agreeable." 
 
 " Send on the boy with the carriage," suggested Pinel. " It 
 wiU be all the lighter, and you can join it at the cabaret in the 
 hollow, where I propose to stop to-night." 
 
 " jN"ot a bad plan," said Cross, " if you, Hope, are up to the 
 walk ; and to tell you the truth I recommend it, for the jolts will 
 not do your shoulder much good," 
 
 Hope declared himself quite able for the walk, so they packed 
 everything into the carriage, gave directions to the bo}', and 
 started. Their progress was slow, for they had to wait while 
 Pinel wound up some of his lines and set others, which were to 
 remain through the night and be lifted in the morning. The 
 evening closed rapidly in ; no rain fell, but the wind rose, and 
 the clouds were so black that it was quite dark long before they 
 reached the main road. They were also obhged to move slowly 
 on account of HojDe's helpless arm, which made him fear falling, 
 and they therefore walked cautiously along the sort of path by 
 the river-side. Hope, however, did not regret the delay, as he 
 was delighted with Avatching the great number of glow-worms 
 which were scattered in all directions up the Kttle valley, and 
 which seemed brighter than any of the same kind he had ever 
 seen before. On remarking this to Cross, he told him he had 
 made the same observation himself, never having seen glow- 
 worms so bright as in that part of Xormandy, and he pointed 
 out the faint gleam of the males as they flew away from the 
 females, when they passed. 
 
 " That is certainly very singular," said Hope, when Cross 
 pointed out a male that rose from the grass, on which the gleam 
 of hght showed brighter than any they had before observed. 
 " Fire-flies, of course, I have seen in millions at Xaples, and more 
 especially in the chestnut forests at Lucca Baths ; but I never 
 before saw the Hght on the male glow-worm. How do you 
 account for this being the case here more than in hotter 
 chmates 1" 
 
346 LUMINOUS CENTIPEDES. 
 
 " Glow-worms are carnivorous, and, like our friend the 
 Marquis, they think snails excellent ; at least I conclude so, for 
 in confinement snails are the only food I can get them to eat. 
 N'ow, as this country swarms with snails, glow-worms must have 
 fine feeding, and being strong, I suppose, makes their light the 
 brighter ; added to which, I have always observed that these 
 insects show a brighter ray before a storm ; and if we required 
 any further warning to get on, they now give it us, for I have 
 never seen them brighter than to-night; and see," he continued, 
 pointing to his feet, " here are a number of the luminous centi- 
 pedes, who are, if possible, brighter than the glow-worms, for 
 look, my shoes are quite covered with the shining liquid they 
 have cast on them." 
 
 Hope looked at a large heap of rotten leaves which Cross 
 had disturbed ; several patches of phosphorescent light were 
 flickering on the place, and the point of his friend's shoe was 
 brighter than the leaves. The winter gales had drifted great 
 quantities of dead leaves into the hollow where they were then 
 standing, and there they had lain and rotted during the spring 
 and summer. Hope began to kick at this mass, and at every 
 kick he disturbed one of these centipedes (the Scolopendra elec- 
 trica) ; the effect was most singular, for in a minute several yards of 
 this mass of rotten leaves looked like a bank of pale blue fire." 
 
 " What an old baby you are ! " exclaimed Cross. " You must 
 have seen these creatures before ; so do not dawdle any more ; 
 it is high time we were under cover, for it is growing darker 
 and more stormy every moment." 
 
 " Baby, do you call me ? " answered Hope ; " I can tell you 
 I consider my research to be highly scientific ; I only wish my 
 shoulder was not so painful, and I would stay here till the storm 
 burst to see how long this light would last. It is true I have 
 seen these insects often before, but almost always singly, and here 
 I have kicked up more than a score of them in half a minute. 
 The king of the Scolopendrse must give a court ball to-night to 
 have such a gathering ; for these centipedes are carnivorous, and 
 
THE STOKM. 347 
 
 they say in England pugnacious too, but there I never saw more 
 than one or two together in the same spot, while here the place 
 seems alive with them. Pray, how do you account for that ?" 
 
 " Why, warmth, moisture — not too much of either — and 
 plenty of food, I imagine, may lead them to congregate in such a 
 spot as this ; but now you make the remark, I think you are 
 right, and that they are more numerous and more gregarious 
 here than at home. I remember finding upwards of fifty of 
 them on one evening, by stirring up a bank of dead leaves that 
 had drifted along the outside of my garden hedge ; but we can 
 talk over this as well in the carriage as here, and seriously, we 
 ought to be off, if we don't wish to be drowned, for the storm, 
 when it does break, will be a snuffler." 
 
 This last appeal made Hope give up his examination. Tliey 
 moved off at a quicker pace, and did not again pause till they 
 reached the cabaret, where they found the boy waiting. They 
 took leave of their companion, clambered up into the carriage, 
 and in a minute more were ratthng along a broad excellent road 
 at Blacky's best pace. The thunder began to growl in the west 
 while they were still some distance from their journey's end ; 
 and as they advanced it came nearer and nearer, till just as they 
 entered the town, a heavy peal rolled close to them, large drops 
 of rain began to fall, and as they drove up to the inn the storm 
 burst in all its fury. The rain fell in torrents, the wind howled, 
 and peal upon peal of thunder made the very house shake. 
 There were few guests in the inn, so that in less than five 
 minutes their rooms were secured, and their portmanteaus placed 
 in them. Cross undertook the ordering of supper, and Hope 
 went to the window. The rain was falling in sheets, and the 
 water was rushing down the street like a torrent ; but he did 
 not stop to look long, for a flash of lightning that nearly blinded 
 him made him start back, and the roar of thunder which followed 
 instantaneously made his heart jump. " AVe are lucky to be 
 under cover," he exclaimed ; " and thank God I am not at sea 
 to-nisht." 
 
348 BED. 
 
 In spite of the quantity of cold pie tliey had eaten at the 
 lake, supper was not unwelcome. They consumed a good portion 
 of their own fish, with other articles of food, and went to bed, 
 where they soon fell fast asleep, although the wind howled" 
 round the house, shaking the crazy, ill-finished windows, in a 
 way that would have kept most people wakeful. A long day, 
 and but little sleep the night before, prevented the friends from 
 being very delicate, so that the wind and thunder roared un- 
 heard by them five minutes after they were in bed. 
 
CHAPTEE XIII. 
 
 THE MOLE AFTER A GALE. 
 
 The morning broke somewhat brighter ; the rain had ceased, 
 but the wind was still very high. 
 
 " We shall see the coast in all its glory this morning," said 
 Cross, when they met ; " and you may get a good look at the 
 lishing-boats, for they are all sure to be in the harbour to-day ; 
 at least, if you are able to go out, for I see you have your arm in 
 a shng." 
 
 " I can go out quite well," answered Hope ; " for I have no 
 pain, though my arm is as black as my hat, and so stiif I cannot 
 lift it ; but let us order breakfast, and then see what is to be 
 seen." 
 
 Breakfast over, they started for the port ; and as the day was 
 still threatening, they each threw a cloak over their shoulders 
 before they left the house. The streets were scoured by the 
 rush of water that had flowed along them. Hope remarked on 
 the fact, and found, from Cross, that these natural scourings 
 were a blessing to the town, which without them would be 
 neither clean nor sweet. As they turned into the main street 
 several groups of women were seen clustered together, gazing at 
 a straight canal-Kke river down which a great body of water 
 was pouring. Their large dark eyes, handsome faces, and white 
 oriental-looking caps, made these groups highly picturesque. 
 Hope paused to look at them. 
 
 ""What can have brought all these women together?" he 
 said. 
 
 " They are the servants and washerwomen of the town, but 
 
350 GEAXVILLE WASHERWOMEN. 
 
 tlieir occupation is gone for to-day. The rain of last night must 
 have been tremendous, for I never saw such a flood in this burn 
 before. Where you now see that mass of water rushing along 
 with such fury, there is in general a long quiet pool with a dam 
 at each end, and you may see many hundreds of women washing 
 the clothes and household linen of their masters and employers 
 in it ; but this to-day is impossible, for the place where they 
 usually kneel at their work is now two or three feet under water. 
 The grouping, as we now see it, is more picturesque ; but when 
 they are all at work the sight is very curious and striking to an 
 English eye, as we always connect washing clothes with the 
 adjuncts of a comfortable house, plenty of hot water, tubs, and 
 soap-suds ; but here, rain or fair, you see hundreds of women 
 kneeling in a row along the banks of that broad ditch, each 
 with a heavy mall pounding some unfortunate master's shirts 
 into ribands, or hammering his sheets and table-cloths into 
 holes by thumping them on a stone or lump of wood ; and that 
 operation they call washing. But this you can see at any time ; 
 so to-day we may as well move on to the port and look at the 
 sea in all its glory." 
 
 Hope said nothing, but walked on, while Cross led. One 
 broad street conducted to the harbour, which was crowded with 
 vessels and fishing-boats ; these were all aground, for the tide 
 was out, and many of them Avere leaning over in most pictur- 
 esque irregularity, the masts and yards crossing in all directions, 
 but the hulls taking no harm as they lay in the soft muddy bed 
 of the basin. On each side of the old quay numbers of boats 
 were ranged in order ; these were all standing on their keels, 
 being properly shored up and secured ; and along the mole, 
 nearly a quarter of a mile in length, larger fishing-boats and 
 trading- vessels of all sorts were similarly arranged. 
 
 " You will have a famous opportunity for examining the 
 fishing-boats," said Cross, "and I wish you would do so care- 
 fully. You will see them here of all sorts and sizes, from five 
 tons burthen up to fifty ; but all are decked, the smallest as 
 
HERRING FISHING. 351 
 
 well as the largest, and it is wonderful how very few lives are 
 lost on this coast. We never hear in this country, as with us 
 at home, of a whole fleet of boats being caught in a gale and the 
 half of them foundering in a heavy sea; and this I attribute to 
 the boats being all decked. Fain would I see the same practice 
 introduced on the coast of Scotland, as I am confident it would 
 prevent much of the dreadful suffering and misery which 
 periodically fall on our hardy fishermen. I shall never forget a 
 sight I once witnessed at . The day had been fine, and hun- 
 dreds of boats went off to the herring-fishing. There were four 
 or five men in each boat, with their trains of nets. I stood on 
 the little jetty in the afternoon to watch these boats take their 
 departure for the fishing-ground. The great shoal of fish was 
 on a bank from seven to nine miles off the coast ; and in this 
 direction all took their way, running before a gentle breeze, with 
 their many-coloured sails spread to the utmost, and lookmg like 
 a flight of butterflies as they faded in the distance. The air was 
 so soft and everything so beautiful that I lingered on the shore 
 till it was too dark to distinguish objects any longer, and then I 
 returned to the little inn where I had taken up my quarters. 
 Soon after I got there the wind began to moan slightly at inter- 
 vals. About ten o'clock I was thinking of turning in when I 
 was startled by a rattling peal of thunder, and in a few minutes 
 more it was blowing a whole gale, the rain coming down as 
 heavily as it did last night. I was listening to the war of the 
 elements when gradually the voices of men and women became 
 mingled with the roar of the wind. I rang the bell several 
 times without being attended to, and at last I took my hat and 
 ran down stairs to learn the cause of the commotion which was 
 every moment increasing in the street. At the door of the 
 house I met the landlord entering ; he was drenched to the 
 skin, as were also several tradesmen and curers who came 
 in immediately after him. In answer to my questions, I was 
 told that great alarm was felt for the herring-fishers, as, from 
 the quarter whence the gale was blowing, the boats would be 
 
352 THE PIER-HEAD. 
 
 obliged to beat into the harbour, and the entrance was very 
 dangerous, owing to reefs of rock which it would be difficult to 
 avoid in such a night. 
 
 " Several gallant fellows, masters of smacks, had volunteered 
 to go off in the lifeboat to carry lights to mark the end of the 
 reef and to do their best to guide and assist the fishermen. 
 The persons who had entered with the landlord had subscribed 
 a sum of money to purchase spirits to give to the people when 
 they came ashore, and for this they were then waiting. As soon 
 as they had received their jars of whisky they again took their 
 way to the shore. I joined them ; and oh, AA'hat a scene I beheld 
 when I reached the little jetty ! what a change was there ! A 
 few hours before all had been calm and beautiful ; now all was 
 turmoil, terror, and despair. On the end of the quay a large 
 bonfire had been made of old boats and herring-barrels. The 
 oil and tar in the wood made it burn bright and clear, and the 
 sparks were flying before the gale and casting a light for a long 
 distance. When I reached this place the lifeboat had just 
 pushed off ; there were five men in her, and they had a lantern 
 hoisted on a short pole in the bow. As they crossed the fire- 
 light I saw these five hardy fellows stript to their woollen 
 shu-ts, and, as they bent to their oars, it was a pleasure to look 
 at the cool determination of their countenances. A few strokes 
 removed them from my sight, and then I turned to examine the 
 faces of the crowd who had clustered to see the boat start. 
 There had been a faint cheer as she pushed off; and what a 
 study for a painter did I see 1 The greater part of that crowd 
 was composed of women, some young and handsome, some old 
 and decrepit ; some led weeping children by the hand, some 
 held infants in their arms ; all were drenched with rain, and all 
 were moved by one passion — that of intense anxiety and fear 
 for some loved one who was braving the dangers of the sea on 
 such a night. But, although one passion ruled all, how varied 
 was the expression which it gave to the different countenances ! 
 One stood ^^ith her face distorted by emotion, straining her eyes 
 
THE WATCHERS. 353 
 
 in looking seaward ; at her side another stood, the picture of 
 despair, and her looks were to heaven. One woman pressed her 
 infant to her breast, with her tears falling as fast as the rain ; 
 while close before me one old woman struck a boy whom she 
 held by the hand, and who was crying aloud by her side ; 
 ' TThisht ye,' she said as she struck him, ' keep yer greeting till 
 it's wanted ; Lord knows but ye may be a faitherless bairn afore 
 morning, and I a bairnless mither!' This incident seemed to 
 me a confirmation of the saying that all women are cross when 
 they are frightened. The woman's face was the image of terror ; 
 and she beat her grandson because he too was frightened ; and 
 how often may you see a woman rush from her door to snatch up 
 her child in the street and save it from being run over by some 
 passing cart or carriage, while, if the danger be imminent, in nine 
 cases out of ten the child gets a beating while the mother weeps." 
 
 " Tou are as bad as Pope," said Hope, " thus to interlard 
 your story with strictures on woman." 
 
 " You wrong me," repHed Cross. " I am no maligner of the 
 fairer half of creation ; I give you but a sketch from nature ; 
 but if it does not bore you, I must finish my story, for what I 
 saw has happened scores of times, and will happen again and 
 again, if our people do not learn to put a lid to the pot by deck- 
 ing their open boats." 
 
 " Pray go on," said Hope. " Tou were describing the looks 
 of the people when the hfeboat pushed of£" 
 
 " And I had plenty of time to do so," continued Cross ; 
 " and plenty of faces to examine, for I do not believe there was 
 a living soul in the village who was not on the shore that night ; 
 the very collie dogs were wandering about, following the young 
 things at whose feet they were accustomed to sleep. Sometimes 
 the fire on the quay burnt low, and then I could distinguish a 
 little ghmmerijig light pitching fearfully out at sea ; it was the 
 lantern in the hfeboat ; her gallant crew had reached the reef, 
 and were lying on their oars in the surf, to watch the boats as 
 they came in. 
 
 2 A 
 
354 ONE BOAT SAFE. 
 
 " I had been more than two hours on the shore when I heard 
 a faint shout, and observed a great commotion among the people. 
 I asked what it was. An old man to whom I spoke told me 
 that some of the boats were coming in. ' My eyes are too auld 
 to see myself,' said he ; ' but I hear those say so that have 
 keener eyesight.' The old man had been sitting down, wrapped 
 in his plaid, under the shelter of the parapet of the quay. I 
 too, for some while past, had sought the same cover, for though 
 I did not like to go home, I felt the wind bitterly cold as it 
 blew over my drenched clothes, and was glad to avail myself of 
 the warmth which the beacon fire and the low parapet afforded. 
 The old man, then, however, sprang up ; I did the same ; and we 
 went to the other side of the quay. Numbers of women were 
 pressing for the same point, and some of them looked nearly mad 
 with excitement. Several boats could now be seen, two of which 
 were close to the quay. I heard a scream, and a woman's voice 
 crying out, ' It's he ! it's he ! he's safe !' and in the next moment 
 I saw the old man dragging a young woman, who had fainted, 
 through the crowd, I lent my assistance, and together we 
 carried her under the shelter of the parapet. Some of the better 
 class joined us, bringing their whisky, which they presented as 
 a cure for every ill ; but some one said, ' It's Jemmy Ferguson's 
 wife, and he's safe, poor fellow. That's his boat just come in.' 
 The sound roused her, for she gave two or three gasps, and then 
 burst into hysterical weeping, which ceased, however, when a 
 tall handsome lad pushed through the crowd and took her in his 
 arms. He made no objections to the offered dram, and his wife 
 accepted some too from his hand. 'Keep your heart up, Mary,' 
 he said ; ' you will require it. I fear we are ruined, for we were 
 forced to leave the nets.' 'I care not,' she replied; 'jou are 
 safe, and I am thankful' A number of people then pressed 
 round Ferguson, and began to question him. His young wife 
 half lay on his breast as he answered them. They learnt that 
 there was a tremendous sea running outside the reef and on the 
 bank ; the lifeboat had guided them in, and would be the means 
 
THE BOATS OUTSIDE AND THE FKIEXDS OX SHORE. 355 
 
 of saving all who reached the mouth of the haiboirr ; but he 
 reported that, when they cut their nets, several boats had already 
 foundered, as the sea had got up so quickly that the waves had 
 broken into some of those where the men, having their nets half 
 drawn, had not time to cut them away, and they had foundered 
 as they lay. Some of the unfortujiate men had been picked up 
 by the other boats ; but * a hantle,' Jemmy said, ' must be 
 drowned.' Who they might be, he could not tell. He also 
 said that one boat had swamped close to them as they were 
 beating in ; that his boat had made two or three tacks over 
 the ground where she went down, but they had not seen any 
 one floating, so that he feared they all sank with the boat ! 
 The excitement that then took place was far too painful to be 
 ■n-itnessed ; to describe it would be impossible ; and as more 
 boats began to come in, each bringing worse news, the screams 
 of despair in some, and of hysterical joy in others, would have 
 melted a heart of stone. 1 know," continued Cross, " I could 
 not stand it, so I fairly turned tail and ran to my inn. Xot a 
 soul was in the house ; and after sitting a while to compose 
 myself, I became aware how cold and wet I was, so I changed 
 my clothes, and rolling myself in a blanket, lay down to recover 
 a little warmth. To sleep was impossible ; therefore when day 
 dawned I arose and again returned to the shore. The rain had 
 ceased, and the wind, though still high, had shifted more to the 
 northward, so that nearly all the boats which had lived through 
 the night had run into harbour. The people were no longer 
 near the quay, they were now crowding together at a rocky 
 point about haif a mile to the southward. Their occupation was 
 soon but too evident; two or three groups broke from the 
 general mass, and came towards the village. Each group was 
 the bearer of the body of some poor fellow who had gone on his 
 last long voyage. These were borne to a long shed used for 
 gutting herrings, and there they were laid out, side by side, 
 instead of being taken to their different homes. VTiiy, I knew 
 not, but so it was ; and the waiU of mothers and widows that I 
 
oo6 THE ADYAXTAGE OF A POT-LID. 
 
 heard around that shed was a sound I shall never forget if I 
 live a thousand years. Truly sings our Scottish bard 'when he 
 makes the fisherwoman say — 
 
 ' Buy my caller heriing ; 
 Thougli ye may ca' them \-ulgar faring, 
 "Wives and mothers, maist despairing, 
 
 Ca' them lives of men ; 
 
 and hves of men they cost that night, for thirty-two boats M-ere 
 lost, and ninety-one poor fellows perished. I saw sixty-three 
 laid out in the shed, and followed their bodies to the grave. 
 Some of the others were never seen again ; the rest were picked 
 up along the shore and among the rocks at different times during 
 the next fortnight. And this was not all, for numbers of the 
 fishermen were ruined by the loss of their nets ; some, it is true, 
 recovered theirs, and found them filled with fish ; but in most 
 cases the herring were much damaged and torn by tlie dog-fish 
 which had got among them. Amongst the fortunate few was 
 Ferguson's boat. He had made fast a large buoy before cutting 
 loose, and this had guided them in their search. But observe, 
 all this loss of life and property arose from the boats being 
 open ; for every boat that was lost either foundered at the nets, 
 or was swamped in the sea. Had they been decked, the men 
 could have hung on and taken their nets on board without the 
 fear of foundering. A few seas might break on board of them ; 
 but with a deck the boat would rise again as the sea rolled past ; 
 and with their nets on board, they might have beat back to their 
 own harbour, or run before the gale to some other. They could 
 have carried on much longer, seeing that with a deck a plank or 
 two under water is of no consequence, whereas, in an open boat 
 the helmsman is obliged to lulf up at every squall, deadening his 
 way ; or if water does come aboard, even though not enough to 
 swamp them, a moderate quantity spoils the sailing and the 
 buoyancy of the craft. JSTo, no ! give me a lid to the pot ; and 
 I wish I could only persuade our countrymen to be of my 
 opinion on this subject, and copy the Frenchmen." 
 
A NOKTH COUXTRYMAN IX NORMANDY. 357 
 
 " But in a calm," asked Hope ; " how do these Frenchmen 
 get along ? " 
 
 " Eemarkably well," answered Cross ; " in their larger boats 
 they have sweeps, in the smaller ones they have oars, and they 
 get along quite as well as our fellows do in the heavy wherries 
 on the west coast, or even in the lighter and better built luggers 
 on the east. But the best way is for you to come on board 
 some of them and judge for yourself. I am bound, however, to 
 say that these French boats are much more heaAdly manned than 
 ours. Here, they generally have nine men for a crew ; with us, 
 rarely more than five, and often not so manj^ ; so that a French 
 lugger with four sweeps, double-manned, and one to steer, can 
 shove their craft along at a great pace," 
 
 ^^liile Cross was relating the latter part of his story they 
 had been standing at the end of a slip where small craft were 
 loading and unloading their cargoes. It was exactly where the 
 old quay joined the mole, and no better place could be found for 
 making the examination which Cross proposed. They walked 
 down the incline towards some of the larger boats that were 
 Ijioig there, and in so doing they passed a man who was super- 
 intending the unloading of a smack which was charged with a 
 cargo of salt, and alongside of this vessel lay another of the same 
 size, into Avliich a number of carts were emptying loads of 
 bullock's horns. "A curious trade they seem to carry on here," 
 said Hope, " and not a very sweet one." 
 
 " But it is profitable, gentlemen," said the man to whom the 
 first seemed to belong. His accent proved at once that he was 
 an Englishman ; but both Hope and Cross took a second look at 
 the speaker to make sure that they were not mistaken, for he 
 wore a mustache, a blouse, and a pair of sabots. 
 
 " Are you an Englishman ] " asked Hope. 
 
 " Yes, sir," he said ; " I am a Northumberland man. You 
 are looking at my dress when you ask the question ; but you 
 
358 JAMES ALL.^'. 
 
 have heard the saying, ' when you are at Eome do as the Eomans 
 do ;' so now that I am in France I do as Frenchmen do. I have 
 married a Jersey woman, and own two or three of these craft, 
 with which I carry on a pretty brisk trade both here and at St. 
 Male. I am settled now, but I have seen a good deal of the 
 world, and tried my hand at many things. My first lucky haul 
 was buying herrings in the Xorth, and that makes me still like 
 to dabble a bit in fish." 
 
 " Have you ever tried your hand at fishing yourself ? " asked 
 Cross. 
 
 *'Ay, ay, sir, at every sort — from trawling to long lines. I 
 have tried curing too ; and to say the truth, the last trade is the 
 best, for a sharp fellow, with a little cash, can always get the 
 weather-gauge of the fishermen." 
 
 " Then you know," said Hope, " the different modes of 
 fishing practised here, and on the coasts at home. I should feel 
 greatly obhged if you would come down to one of these boats, 
 and show me in what they differ from ours in the north 
 country." 
 
 " "Willingly, sir. My name is James Allan ; and you have a 
 bit of a burr on your tongue as you speak that makes me suspect 
 you to come from the Xorth. Shrimps and north countrymen, 
 they say, aye stick together ; and although I am half a French- 
 man now, I have always a weak side to a countryman ; if I may 
 make so bold, I would ask your names, and whether I have 
 made a right guess in saying you hail from north of the Tyne?" 
 
 Hope told his own name and Cross's, and congratulated 
 Allan on the correctness of his ear, telling him that they were 
 both Scotchmen, and that the comparison he wished to make 
 Avas more as regarded the Scotch and French fishings than those 
 of the South. 
 
 " There is hardly any comparison to make," answered Allan, 
 " for there is no herring or cod and ling fishing on this coast, 
 — that is to say, none to speak of ; the great fishing here is trawl- 
 ing for flat fish and dredging for oysters. Some few boats 
 
TEA^YLING. 359 
 
 from here go as far as the Firth, of Forth to the hierring-fishiiig ; 
 they carry great heavy trains of nets with, them, but I suspect 
 they buy more than they catch. They have famous boats, strong 
 crews, and their nets are beautifully formed and fitted ; but, 
 after all, I do not think a Frenchman is a good fisherman. For 
 instance, their trawls are admirably made, better even than those 
 out of Torbay; but they never will stick to their own mode of 
 fishing, and in consequence it is astonishing how little they catch 
 in comparison with what the}' ought. When I was in a trawler 
 Ave always studied the run of the tide to an inch, and ran as 
 clear before it as we could ; we would have thought any man 
 mad who stood across the run of the tide when his trawl Avas 
 doAvn, and the reason is plain enough. "WTien you run fair with 
 the tide the traAAd knocks up the sand and mud at the bottom, 
 and the tide sweeps it along faster than the net ; this, as a 
 matter of course, makes a cloud in the Avater and hides the net ; 
 the fish, when they are started and frightened, run into this 
 cloud to hide themselves, and they are hard and fast in the bag 
 before they know Avhere they are. Whereas when you traAvl 
 even one point off the run of the tide, the cloud of sand and 
 mud going Avith the stream leaves a part of the net bare, which 
 the fish see, and they dash clear of it. Any man Avho pretends 
 to trawl ought to know this, yet the fishermen here will take no 
 advice. They persist in dragging up and down the run of the 
 banlis without paying the slightest attention to the tide ; and 
 as the greatest length of the banks is exactly across the general 
 run of the tide, the consequence of their plan is, that they take 
 mighty few fish, although, as I have already said, they have as 
 fine boats and nets as ever Avere put in the sea." 
 
 " And do the Scotch trawlers," asked Hope, " pay the same 
 attention to the tides that the south-country men do ? " 
 
 " In Scotland," answered Allan, " luore's the pity, very little 
 attention is paid to trawling ; indeed, almost all the trawl-boats, 
 especially on the Avest coast, are from England or from the south 
 of Ireland ; the Irishmen in the north are as bad as Scotchmen 
 
360 FRENCH TRAWLS A2fD BOATS. 
 
 aloout this mode of fishing ; and it is a thousand pities that 
 nothing is done to stir them np a hit. I once saw a trawl come 
 up after being down for an hour, and it was nearly full of turhot, 
 brill, and plaice. This was on a bank at the north end of 
 Rachlin. Our skipper put down the net for a trial ; but as we 
 were running at the time from Barra to Liverpool with a cargo 
 of live cod in the well, we had no time to waste, or, I am sure, 
 we could have filled our vessel by drifting over that bank for a 
 tide or two." 
 
 "And what is the difference in the nets 1" asked Hope. 
 
 " You can see," answered Allan ; and he pointed to a large 
 three-masted lugger by which they were standing. The bag of 
 the trawl was hoisted to the mainmast ; the beam lay along the 
 deck. There was little or no difference either in the net or the 
 beam from those used on the British coast ; but the bottom here 
 was of chain, and fitted in loops exactly as the double- handed 
 prawn-nets were, and this Allan pointed out, saying, " that it 
 was a very great improvement on the lead line in common use 
 with us ;" and he said that he believed this method was now 
 partially in use on the south coast in England, but that in 
 general the English fishermen still stick to the rope and lead. 
 
 Erom the net they proceeded to the examination of the boat. 
 The one they were then examining had three masts ; her rig was 
 a jib and three huge lug-sails. The hull was roughly built, but 
 Allan pointed out the excellence of her model. She was decked 
 all over, having, however, a large hatchway amidships, which 
 was always closed in bad weather, leaving only a small scuttle 
 open abaft, by which the men could go below. Allan pointed 
 out all the merits of the boat ; but then he could not help 
 having a wipe at her imperfections. "I wish you could just 
 see her jib," he said, " a beastly cut thing that would disgrace a 
 nigger; and then her lugs — they never dip them as we do ; they 
 are cut in such a fashion that if one is right, '"tother's wrong, 
 clapping against the mast in such a way, that on a wind I can 
 give them two points and a half, and beat them easy ; although, 
 
DECKED VERSUS OPEN BOATS. 361 
 
 ■when going free, they go two lengths for my one. I assure you, 
 gentlemen, it's a pity to see such nice bottoms so lubberly 
 handled." 
 
 " And yet," said Hope, " I hear that very few of them are 
 ever lost." 
 
 " True enough, sir," answered Allan ; " but for that you may 
 thank the boat as much as the men. The boats are first-rate in 
 a sea, and the people don't risk themselves more than is necessary. 
 If they do get caught in a gale like last night, they have always 
 cover to keep the sea out of them, and they reef as close as they 
 like, and run for here or the rocks of Chausey without any fear 
 of filling or swamping by the way." 
 
 " Ah I there is the very point I wanted to get to," said Hope. 
 " Do you think it an advantage or not that the fishing-boats on 
 our coast should be decked as these are ? " 
 
 "An advantage!" cried Allan; "to be sure I do. Just 
 look at all those craft lying out in the mud there. How many 
 of them would have got home, think you, in the gale of last night 
 if they had been open ? ^"liy, I stood at the end of the new 
 quay to see some of them round the head, and I can tell you 
 that the}' were taking in the green seas clean over all ; but then 
 they were up again like a bung. In the nasty cross sea that 
 was then running no boat could keep dry, and an open boat 
 would have filled and gone down in five minutes ; whereas these 
 fellows got their feet wet, and had to hold on now and then, 
 and there was the worst of it. If they have had anything like 
 this gale in the north, I suspect there will be bad news from 
 the herring-fishers, and I am much afraid it will be so. We 
 never have a snuffler here like that of last night and this morn- 
 ing without their catching it on the English and Scotch coasts ; 
 and when it comes in the height of the fishing season, then a lot 
 of poor fellows are sure to lose the number of their mess. Once 
 every three or four years they get caught, and then •RT.dows are 
 more plenty than fish." 
 
 " We are quite aware of that fact," said Hope, " but !Mr. 
 
362 FISHING-BOATS. 
 
 Cross here thinks that if our boats were decked like these 
 Frenchmen, these wholesale losses would he greatly lessened, 
 if not completely prevented." 
 
 " I quite agree with the gentleman," said Allan. " In all 
 the great losses that I have heard of it is by the foundering of 
 the boats that lives are lost. Some of them, certainly, get driven 
 ashore, and the boats are smashed, but then the men are saved. A 
 Frenchman is precious pig-headed, but I suspect our own people 
 have a touch of the same nature too, for they will stick to the 
 open boats. They say the boats are lighter and more handy, if 
 they have to take to the oars, when they have no deck ; and no 
 doubt they are right in that, for a deck must always weigh some- 
 thing, be it ever so light. Eut these Frenchmen shove along 
 very well with their oars, and the devil's in it if a Scotchman 
 cannot do as well as a Frenchman. It's prejudice and laziness 
 combined that make them stick to a plan that risks their lives 
 and properties far more than they need to do. I think the 
 gentleman quite right," continued Allan, " and he will do a good 
 turn to the men's wives and bairns if he will persuade the 
 husbands to take a leaf out of the Frenchman's book. If you 
 come along the old quay you will be able to see a lot of the 
 smaller boats ; they are not so big as our boats, and yet they are 
 all decked, and fitted exactly like the one we are now looking at 
 — deck, hatchway, and all. The decks, to be sure, are light and 
 thin enough, but they keep the sea out as well as if they were 
 stronger. 
 
 On the strength of this proposal, they scrambled along the 
 old quay, and found that what Allan had said was quite true. 
 They examined several of the boats, looked at the shape of the 
 oars, and the way in which the rowlocks were fitted on raised 
 stanchions, so as to enable the men to pull ; — the only difi'erence 
 between the larger and the lesser boats being that the largest 
 had three masts, three lug-sails and a jib, some of them carrying 
 a fourth lug as a topsail on the mainmast. The smaller had two 
 masts, two lugs ; and all carried the same ill-cut, triangular-look- 
 
GKANVILLE MOLE. 363 
 
 ing jib, on the unsightliness of which Allan was eloquently 
 abusive. 
 
 " Come to the end of the mole, gentlemen," said Allan ; " you 
 will get a good look at the. sort of sea thesa boats ran through 
 last night. I daresay the sea is as wild, and the coast wilder, 
 in the north ; but you will be able to judge of what these boats 
 can do by seeing what an ugly breaking jabble gets up when it 
 blows hard, and meets the tide running over the sandbanks, 
 which you meet everywhere along this coast. Harbours are not 
 very plenty on the east coast of Scotland, but they are still 
 scarcer here, and being all half-tide harbours, the boats are 
 sometimes obliged to stand off and on for hours before they dare 
 run in, and yet very few of them are ever lost." 
 
 As Hope was anxious to look at the sea outside of the mole, 
 they took their way along the splendid building. It was a 
 curious sight to look down from the great height on the vessels 
 below. The rise and fall of the tide being fortj^-four feet, and 
 it being dead low- water, they saw the whole height, upwards of 
 sixty feet, with a parapet to seaward seven feet high, the whole 
 built of large blocks of dressed granite. When they reached the 
 platform at the end, they mounted on the carriages of the heavy 
 guns that were placed there, and looked down on the angry 
 waters. It was still blowing very hard, and the spray dashed 
 in their faces as soon as they raised their heads above the parapet. 
 The sea itseK had a yellowish tint, that, as Cross said, would 
 make drowning peculiarly disagreeable ; and as they looked 
 down on the raging waves that curled and broke in quick suc- 
 cession below them, it gave a strong and disagreeable impression 
 of danger for those who were obliged to encounter it, and yet it 
 was exciting to watch, and wonder at the power that gave such 
 motion to the elements. They had stood for some time looking 
 and conversing with Allan on the greater or lesser danger of 
 navigating different parts of the ocean in different parts of the 
 world, Avhen their attention was drawn to a number of people 
 who were hurrying along the rocky promontory which lay behind 
 
364 A SHIP IX THE OFFING. 
 
 them. Men and women could be seen clustering on its higliest 
 ridge ; all were apparently looking at some object that was hid 
 from their ej'es by the point of land which trended out for some 
 distance to the westward. 
 
 " ^Tiat can be hapj)ening there?" said Hope, turning to 
 AUan. 
 
 " I suspect it must be some vessel," he answered, '•' that has 
 got crippled in the gale, and is coming in here. They must be 
 strangers on the coast, or they never would try to come in at this 
 time of tide, for if they do they are sure to take the ground on 
 some of the banks, and then nothing can save them." 
 
 " You are right," said Cross ; " is not that a vessel coming in 
 sight at the point ? " 
 
 " As sure as death it is," shouted Allan, as he sprang from 
 the gun-carriage, " and if she is not warned to haul her wind, and 
 stand for Chausey, every soul on board is doomed." 
 
 " But how can she be warned 1 " asked Hope. " Xo voice on 
 earth could be heard ten yards off in such a gale." 
 
 " A boat must go to her," said Allan ; " it is the only chance." 
 
 " But no boat could Kve in that sea," said Cross. 
 
 " A good boat could get out, sir," answered Allan ; " the 
 great danger would be in coming back ; but if the men got on 
 board the vessel and went ^vith her to Chausey they would be 
 safe enough. They may lose the boat, but better that, though, 
 than lose the men." 
 
 As he spoke, shouts were heard at the further end of the 
 mole, and a crowd was seen hurrpng towards them. As it ap- 
 proached, they saw that the leading man was an officer in the 
 French naval service, who was closely followed by a number of 
 smart active-looking lads, some of whom were evidently French 
 men-of-warsmen ; others were the fishermen and sailors belong- 
 ing to the vessels in the harbour. The crowd stopped when they 
 came to a part of the mole about a hundred yards from where the 
 friends were standing, and they heard the officer say, " Volunteers 
 to man the boat ! " A number of men started forward, and Allan 
 
YOLUNTEErvS FOE DANGEK. 3G5 
 
 ran towards them shouting that he for one was ready. Hope and 
 Cross followed more slowly. "When they joined the crowd the 
 officer had made his selection. He had chosen eight men out of 
 a great number of brave fellows who had come forward to volun- 
 teer their services. Allan was speaking to the officer as they 
 came up. " I am obliged to you," was the answer that he made, 
 " but this is a post of honour, and I must keej) it for my own 
 men. Xow, now, be quick," he said ; " there is not a moment 
 to lose." The men he had selected ran down a ladder made of 
 copper wire, which was fixed to the side of the building, and 
 jumped on board of a revenue cutter that was lying at the out- 
 side of the merchant vessels that lined the harbour. In another 
 minute they were stripped, and on board of an excellent boat. 
 The oars were out, and the men pulled gallantl}^ for the head of 
 the mole. ^Numbers of women came running up, and they 
 cheered the men as they gave way. The men raised their faces 
 to return the greeting, and as they did so Hope and Cross recog- 
 nised Frederic, who was pulling one of the oars. They joined 
 their voices to the shout, and then ran to take their former 
 places on the gun-carriage. As the boat rounded the mole, a 
 heavy breaking sea struck her, and for a moment they could 
 hardly see the men ; but she went ahead, and though she pitched 
 fearfully to each fresh wave, still she advanced. " She'll do," 
 said Allan ; " she's through the worst of it. She'll get the sea 
 fairer now that she's clear of the back surge. Thej^'re smart 
 fellows those, and they have a first-rate boat, if she had but a 
 sharp stern instead of that square one. There's no fear of them 
 going out, but there are too many eyes looking on, and I fear 
 they will try and come back for the sake of the brag ; and if they 
 do, the Lord have mercy on them !" 
 
 " They are fine brave fellows," said Hope, " and they go to 
 work lilve men who know what they are about. If there is real 
 danger, they never will be so foolish as to run an unnecessary 
 and useless risk." 
 
 " Look how many pairs of black eyes there are looking from 
 
366 THE DAXGER OF BLACK EYES. 
 
 under white caps," answered Allan ; " there is no knowing what 
 a sailor will not do for the sake of a petticoat ; our own people 
 are foolish enough when women are in the way, and the French 
 are ten times worse than we are. They are all young fellows in 
 the hoat, and I am sadly afraid they will come to some mishap by 
 trying to get hack, although I heard the officer warn them not 
 to do so. A Xorway skiff or a whale-boat might make it out, but 
 that square stern will never rise to a following breaking sea, and, 
 as sure as death, if they try it they will get pooped and swamp." 
 
 Hope and Cross, as they stood on the gun-carriage, grasped 
 it hard, and held their breath, as each sea struck the boat, the 
 white spray flying over the men. JS'umbers of women had 
 joined them, and hung clustering round the guns ; and many 
 more climbed on to the parapet, where they sat, careless of the 
 spraj^, which must have Avet them through. ISTumbers of men 
 were there also, and the crowd was increasing every moment. 
 Each party, as they arrived, and got a sight of the boat, gave a 
 cheer, to which the first comers replied; so that a sort of per- 
 petual running shout might be heard along the whole length of 
 the mole. A gun was now fired from the hill, and the people 
 on board the vessel seemed to have seen the boat pulling off to 
 them, for they lay to, and the minute after they were pitching 
 bows under, at a Cjuarter of a mile from the point. 
 
 " She's very deep," said Allan, " and she makes such bad 
 weather of it, she has either sprung a leak or shifted her cargo. 
 The wind's getting a bit more to the north, which is lucky for 
 her, or she would be pinched to make Chausey. After all, you 
 may see she's drifting to leeward hke a wash-tub." 
 
 The vessel was certainly in a very shattered-looking state, 
 but as she drifted she approached the boat, wliich was pulling 
 manfully towards her. As they advanced, the sea, though equally 
 heavy, did not break so much, and they advanced more rapidly, 
 so that, in half an hour from the time they rounded the mole, 
 hundreds of anxious eyes had the pleasure of seeing them round 
 to under the lee of the vessel. 
 
THE SQUAEE-STEEXED BOAT. 367 
 
 "Thank goodness!" said Allan, " tliey are wiser fellows 
 than I thought them ; they are going aboard ; they have got a 
 liae from the ship and are hauling up ; and there goes one 
 aboard — hurrah I'"' 
 
 This last exclamation was made as a man from the bow of 
 the boat sprang into the vessel. 
 
 " By all that's good ! " he said, " they're putting about, and 
 the sloop has let down her foresail, and is standing on." 
 
 The women, when they saw this manoeuvre, gave a loud 
 shout. 
 
 " Fools ! fools ! " said Allan ; " if you care for those men you 
 would hold your skirling, for it's a hundred chances to one if ever 
 you see them alive again." 
 
 Before the boat was a hundred yards clear of the shelter 
 of the sloop, it was observed that they had met with some 
 accident ; two of the oars were stowed, the four upper ones only 
 rowing. 
 
 " "What is it ? " asked Allan of a man who was standing on 
 the gun-carriage near them, and who had a telescope, through 
 which he was looking. 
 
 " A sea has broke into them," answered the man, " and ihej 
 are baling ; but they are getting on finely with the upper oars. 
 "Well done ! they cleared that one well." 
 
 '•' He knows what he is about, the lad that is steering," said 
 Allan ; " or that last breaker would have done for t'nem." lie 
 finished his speech with a groan, which was echoed by a 
 hundred voices that ran along the whole length of the mole. A 
 heavy sea had curled up just behind the boat, and had broken 
 as it reached it. Boat, men, and all, were hid for a quarter of a 
 minute in the white foam ; but then again a shout was heard, 
 for the boat reappeared. She was afloat, but that was alL Two 
 men only were ro^ving ; all the rest were baling with their caps. 
 The boat had changed its direction, and instead of pulling for 
 the head of the mole, they were now steering for a rocky point 
 which lay at the back of the quay nearer the shore. There was a 
 
368 SWAMPED. 
 
 heavy surf breaking on the rocks, hut still the sea was broken, 
 and there was one small creek among the black points where it 
 was possible the boat might be saved. 
 
 A number of people began to run along the mole towards 
 these rocks. Cross was among them. Hope and Allan were so 
 intensely attracted by the motions of the boat that they never 
 missed him. 
 
 " It is the wisest thing they could do," said Allan. " But 
 oh, I am wae for them ; if they get another breaker they are 
 gone." The words were hardly out of his mouth when a wave 
 curled high above them, and they were lost to sight. A groan 
 louder than before echoed along the quay, and this time it was 
 followed by no shout of joy. A babel of voices, crying, groan- 
 ing, and screaming, sounded instead ; for when the Avave had 
 passed, the boat was gone, and the heads of the struggling crew 
 alone were seen, as they struck out for the shore, or clung to the 
 iioating oars. The boat had been very rapidly driving before 
 the wind and waves, so that when the final catastrophe took 
 place, they were not many hundred yards from the shore ; but 
 before reaching it the heaviest breakers were to be passed, and 
 Hope felt that the men were gone. 
 
 " It is too painful to witness," he said, as he sprang from his 
 elevated position, and ran Avith the crowd towards the shore. 
 He was unable, however, to continue his pace for more than a 
 minute, for in jumping down he had struck his injured arm. 
 Such was his excitement, he did not feel any pain at the mo- 
 ment ; but after running a very short distance, he suddenly 
 became so sick and faint he was unable to move his limbs ; his 
 ej'es swam, his head turned, and, in spite of himself, he sank 
 down on some logs of wood that were piled against the parapet, 
 and there for some time he lay almost insensible. 
 
 And while he is there let us follow Cross. 
 "When he saw the boat upset he ran with aU his speed to the 
 end of the quay, where he turned sharp to the left through a break 
 in the parapet, which led down a steep incHne to the low rocks 
 
THE SrECTATOES, 3G9 
 
 "vrliich formed the back of tlie mole. He knew the place well, 
 for at these rocks boats were accustomed to take on board or 
 land passengers from the steamboats or packets when the tide 
 was so far out as to prevent these vessels from entering the 
 harbour. In ordinary weather there was a certain amount of 
 shelter at this place which rendered such a proceeding practi- 
 cable, although even in the finest weather it was a most disagree- 
 able and uncomfortable proceeding. The rocks were of the same 
 coralline formation as those which they had examined at St. 
 Jean de Thomas, rising in ridges and lumps hke huge sponges ; 
 between these ridges were the same sort of hollows as on other 
 parts of the coast, but instead of being filled with water, as thay 
 are on the open shore, here they were filled with soft stinking 
 mud, the refuse from the harbour, which, di'iftiug out with the 
 tide, is thrown back by the eddy caused by the mole. ITie rocks 
 themselves were partially covered with the same slimy substance 
 and Avith short green sea-ware, which rendered them extremely 
 slippery and difficult to walk on. "With naked feet, or even with 
 thin shoes, it was a service of danger to cross them ; for the soft 
 mud, yielding to the pressure of the foot, laid bare numberless 
 little sharp angles of the rock that cut like knives ; but it was 
 over these rocks that Cross took his way with undiminished 
 speed. He was not alone or first, for some way before him ran 
 a girl, who had thrown ofi' her gown, petticoat, and sabots, and 
 heedless of the pain she must have suffered from treading on 
 the rock, she rushed towards the mass that projected the furthest 
 into the sea. The breakers were striking heavil}- on this point, 
 casting high their spray, and then roUing back in masses of 
 white foam. Yet, imappalled by such a scene, the moment the 
 girl reached the edge she plunged headlong into the water, rose 
 again to the surface, and swam through the raging surf with a 
 strength that seemed alniost superhuman. Cross's eyes were 
 rivetted on this girl ; he forgot for a moment to look to his foot- 
 steps, and the consequence was a tremendous tumble. Before 
 he could rise, a number of female porters and some men over- 
 
 2 B 
 
370 A HEROINE. 
 
 took and passed him, taking no notice of his misfortune, for all 
 eyes were fixed on the sea and on the girl. 
 
 "When Cross rose with cut hands and knees, he continued 
 his way, limping, it is true, and therefore not so rapidly ; but all 
 thought of his own pain vanished in a moment when, on looking 
 to the sea, he saw the gallant girl returning to the point, 
 struggling stoutly with the raging Avater, and supporting a man 
 with one hand while she struck out with the other. In a 
 moment he was by the edge of the rock, in another he was in 
 the sea, and several men with him. He struck out, striving to 
 help the girl, but the waves were too strong for him ; one 
 heavier than the rest struck him before he had gone many yards, 
 and threw him back on the rocks. One of the Amazonian 
 porters seized him and pulled him out. " Stay where you are, 
 you fool ! you are not able for this work," was the civil address 
 he received from the lady as she dashed off to assist in pulling 
 out the girl and the man. There was a shout as they were 
 drawn on the rocks, and a murmur of voices saying, " He is not 
 dead." But then there was a cry of despair from one voice, and 
 high above the rest Cross heard the words, " It is not he." 
 There was a dash into the water, and the same girl was again 
 forcing her way through the surge as if with magic strength. 
 In less than a minute she had grasped a second body ; it was 
 clinging to a broken oar, which enabled her to raise the head as 
 she turned to the shore, and thus gave her some assistance. As 
 she proceeded, two of the young men joined her, and together 
 they were soon within reach of several men and women who 
 were holding on in a line as they stood up to their necks in the 
 water. All were soon on the rocks, where, by this time, a large 
 crowd had assembled. Some oars had been brought and a rope 
 twisted round them, to form stretchers. The first man who 
 landed had thrown off a great deal of the water he had swallowed; 
 he was groaning, but alive, and a number of hands soon placed 
 him on the rude bed prepared for him. The second man was 
 also disgorging the salt water, and his eyes opened for a moment ; 
 
ANGELA AND FEEDErJC. 571 
 
 but then they closed, and a livid hue as of death came over his 
 features. " Poor boy, he is gone, I fear," said one of the women ; 
 and a wild sliiiek was the response from a girl who tlirew her- 
 self on the body ; it was the same who had saved him — the 
 same gallant girl who had made such marvellous and successful 
 efforts in his behalf. " Lift up his heels, and let the water run 
 out of him," said a number of voices, and they were in the act 
 of executing their prescription when Cross ran forward. He had 
 recognised the girl and the man she had saved as Angela and 
 her betrothed Frederic. " For Heaven's sake do not lift his 
 legs," he said ; " you will kill him ; life is not yet extinct, but it 
 hangs by a thread. Angela, you know me ; keep up his head and 
 get him to a bed as fast as you can, and he may yet be saved." 
 
 There was a murmur of discontent at this interference of 
 Cross's, and some voices were heard saying " A bas les goddam." 
 One woman, however — the same who had assisted Cross and then 
 called him a fool — interfered on his side. " The Englishman is 
 right," she said, " and he is not a bad fellow — he did his best — 
 don't you see he is all wet ? He is rigbt, I say ; lift him on to 
 the stretcher, and keep his head up." " Oh, he is a good and a 
 kind gentleman," said Angela ; " do as he bids you." There was 
 a growl, but the order was obeyed. The stretcher was brought 
 forward ; coats, petticoats, and shawls were thrown upon it. 
 Poor inanimate Frederic was lifted up, and Cross and Angela 
 supported his head ; more clothes were thrown on him, and 
 Cross, as they advanced, picked up his cloak from the rock where 
 he bad thrown it, and laid it on the sufferer. 
 
 " Courage !" said Cross to Angela, as they began their march 
 at as rapid a pace as the ground would permit. " Let some one 
 run on and prepare a bed, and get as large a fire as you can." 
 Two or three started to obey this order ; the rest of the crowd 
 pressed round, each in turn lending a hand to carry the stretcher ; 
 and thus they left the rocks, mounted the incline, and reached 
 the break in the parapet that took them on to the quay, where 
 they were joined by Hope ; so we may as well return to him also. 
 
372 THE STEETCHEES. 
 
 '^Y^len he recovered, he found himself quite alone ; and after 
 looking about for a moment, he rallied sufficiently to be able to 
 move on. His motions, however, were slow ; and as he walked 
 to the end of the mole, he was obliged again to sit down to re- 
 cover from the giddiness which overcame him. This time he 
 sat down on a block of granite, a number of which were lying at 
 the extreme end of the parapet, exactly at the spot where the 
 narrow road led down to the rocks at the back of the quay. The 
 loud hum of voices soon drew his attention in that direction. 
 He saw a number of people advancing up the slope ; they were 
 bearing something on two oars. As they came near, he saw that 
 it was the body of a man that was lying on the oars, which were 
 used as a temporary stretcher. Some men walked on either side 
 supporting his head, and a considerable crowd followed, the 
 women moaning and wringing their hands. The man was alive, 
 but that was all that could be said for him. To Hope's inquiries, 
 the only answer he could get was that he was not dead yet. 
 This party had hardly passed when he saw another following 
 close behind. The crowd in this case was considerably larger 
 than the first, and they pressed so closely together, it was not 
 till they came to the narrow passage through the wall of the para- 
 pet that he saw that this party were surroundmg a second body, 
 on one side of which walked Cross, who was assisting a girl in 
 supporting the head of a man, who, to all appearance, was quite 
 dead. The eyes were closed, and the head lay without motion 
 on the shoulder of the girl who walked beside him. A second 
 look which he gave at the girl convinced him that he had seen 
 her before ; and as she came close to him he recognised Angela. 
 But there was such a look of despair in her face, it was painful 
 to look at. Her long black hair hung di-ipping wet over her 
 back and neck. Her feet were bare and streaming with blood, 
 and she had nothing on but her stays and shift, from which the 
 water was dripping as she passed. On the body lay Cross's 
 cloak, and under it were seen a number of men's jackets and 
 women's woollen shawls and petticoats. Hope ran forward to 
 
SAVED. 3 / 3 
 
 join this party. He took off his own cloak and threw it on 
 Angela's shoulders, who seemed quite unaware of what had been 
 done. She was bewildered with, grief, nor did Hope wonder, 
 for all was understood in a moment when he looked at the body 
 they were carrying ; and in the livid face he recognised the 
 handsome features of Frederic. As he looked, he saw a slight 
 motion in one of the hands, and a quiver in the lips. 
 
 " Keep up bis head," he said ; " and, quick, get him into the 
 first bed you can reach. In the meantime, let me open a vein." 
 He took from his pocket a case of lancets, bade the people stop 
 for a moment with a voice and manner so commanding that he 
 was obeyed. He immediately went to the body and opened the 
 temporal artery, which was filled and swollen so as to be seen 
 without difficulty. " l!^ow forward," he said, " as fast as you 
 can." At the first puncture of the artery, only a drop followed 
 the lancet, but as the people advanced, the blood began to flow 
 — first slowly, and then in little jets. Frederic began to gasp, 
 and then to disgorge water in considerable quantities. His eyes 
 opened, and he gazed around him for a moment, and then sank 
 back with a heavy groan. 
 
 This took place just as they entered a street behind the 
 custom-house. 
 
 " Cheer up, Angela," said Cross, " Thank God, he is safe. 
 See how freely he bleeds. With care, there is no fear of him." 
 
 Angela heard the words, though the greater part of the 
 crowd did not. Joy took the place of despair. It was too much 
 for the poor girl ; she gave a scream, and fell back into Cross's 
 arms in strong hysterics, at the very moment the bearers turned 
 into a door with their burden. Cross bore Angela in his arms, 
 entering the house close behind the stretcher ; and as soon as 
 he had entered, an old man shut the door, and barred it. 
 
 " We must keep the crowd out," he said, " or those women 
 will give the poor fellow no chance. Here, Marie, look after the 
 girl." 
 
 It was fortunate that the old man had barred the door, for a 
 
374 A STEEET EOW. 
 
 rusli was made at it, and loud shouts and execrations were heard 
 against the English. TThen Angela fell back into Cross's arms, 
 the cloak fell off, and showed her white dress covered with the 
 blood which had flowed from Frederic's temple. A spirit of 
 anger had grown among the ignorant crowd. They had been 
 contradicted and commanded by two Englishmen — people whom 
 they considered to be the cause of the misfortune that had be- 
 fallen them. They made no allowance for the braggadocio spirit 
 that had led their countrymen to try to return, contrary to the 
 advice of their own commanding officer and of common prudence ; 
 they only chose to remember that it was to save an EngHsh 
 vessel that the risk had been run. Five of their fellow-towns- 
 men had sunk before their eyes ; two had been landed, and these 
 two it was their good pleasure to think that the Englishmen on 
 shore had tried to murder. One of these offenders had pre- 
 vented their hoisting the half-drowned man up by the heels to 
 let the water run out of him ; and another had stuck a knife in 
 him — for such was the term they gave to Hope's use of the 
 lancet. One stirred up the other. Each moment the crowd 
 increased in the street, and nothing could be heard but howls 
 and execrations against England and Englishmen. The principal 
 leaders of this commotion were the female porters, who, in the 
 port of Granville, do all those laborious duties which in our 
 own country we generally see discharged by the strongest men. 
 They form a sort of association among themselves, and. Like our 
 navigators, allow none to join their body or ply their trade 
 without their special permission. If at any time a man should 
 presume to act, or offer his services to any new arrival, he is 
 threatened the first time ; if he transgresses again, he is 
 either thrown over the quay, rolled in the mud, or otherwise 
 ill-treated. In language and manners they greatly resemble 
 certain ladies who sell fish at Billingsgate market. But the por- 
 ters of Granville have one advantage over the fishwives of Billings- 
 gate, for among them may be seen many faces eminently hand- 
 some. These fair furies were the rulers of the storm that raged 
 
KEXi: IX GUAED. 375 
 
 in tlie street in front of the door where Frederic and Angela had 
 heen borne. One old woman, in particular, was in a frenzy of 
 excitement. She acted as a sort of fugleman to the members of 
 the society of porters. They echoed her cries, and from them it 
 passed on to the dense crowd that nearly filled the street. 
 
 " Open the door, Eene," was the constant cry, " or we will 
 knock it down. A has les Anglais ! turn out les sacr-r-r-e 
 goddam, till we tear them in pieces, the assassins." 
 
 Eene, the owner of the house, was an old pilot ; age and 
 hard service had sobered him down, and quieted his national ex- 
 citability. He stood at the back of his door, placing every now 
 and then a fresh prop against it, to resist the blows and pushes 
 which were made with the intention of forcing it open. 
 
 " The devil take me," he said, " but they are all gone mad ; 
 there will be no bearing these women soon ; they grow worse 
 and worse every day. But I must warn these Englishmen, or 
 they will break in in spite of me ; and if they get hold of them 
 in their present humour, ill avlII come of it. 
 
 The house, fortunately, had no lower windows to the street. 
 Rene's wife and daughter kept a sort of marine store. The 
 room to the front was the principal receptacle of the ropes, iron, 
 etc. etc., in which they dealt. The window had been built up 
 to give more room for storing these heavy articles, leaving only 
 a small grated aperture to give light and air to the place. The 
 back room was the kitchen, in which the old man slept ; and 
 above was the state-room and sleeping apartment of the daughter. 
 It was to this upper room that Angela had been taken by Eene's 
 daughter Marie, who took off her wet and blood-stained cover- 
 ings before she had recovered from her haK-fainting state. 
 Frederic had been carried into the kitchen, where he was stript 
 by the man who carried him, assisted by old ISIadame Eene and 
 by the same woman who had taken Cross's part. The bed had 
 been dragged on to the floor close to the fire, and on this Frederic 
 was laid. 
 
 Hope knelt by his side, keeping his finger on the artery to 
 
376 CUEED. 
 
 stop the noAv profuse bleeding, while as many as could reach 
 Frederic rubbed him with hot towels or bits of blanket which 
 the others heated at the fire. He had begun to groan almost 
 immediately after he was laid in bed, and after a while the 
 gasping of his breathing became more regular and less convulsed. 
 His eyes had opened several times, but without any return of 
 consciousness. 
 
 "I wish to goodness we could get a surgeon," said Hope, 
 looking up at Cross; "my arm is so painful, I can do nothing, 
 and it is absolutely necessary to put a stitch, in this artery, for I 
 cannot stop the bleeding without." 
 
 Cross opened the door, wishing himself to run in search, of 
 the aid Hope required ; but as soon as he was in the passage the 
 roar of voices and the blows on the door sounded so formidable 
 that he paused and looked towards the old man, who was stand- 
 ing guard at the back of his own door. "While in the kitchen 
 the sound had been partially deadened, and the attention of 
 every one had been so riveted on what they were doing that 
 little heed had been paid to the turmoil without ; but now Cross 
 was fully aware of the excitement in the street, as some of the 
 exclamations against his country were too loud and distinct not 
 to be heard. 
 
 " ^^^lat is the matter '? " he asked ; " and what is the meaning 
 of this disturbance 1 " 
 
 " Why, the devil's the matter," answered old Rene ; " for he 
 is the master at present, and he has got his own crew of those 
 she-devils with him. I wish to heaven you and your friend 
 were safely out of my house, for if they get in, there will be blood 
 shed ; I am afraid this old door won't stand much longer." 
 
 A tremendous clatter sounded on the door, which cracked 
 under the blow, several splinters starting into the passage. 
 
 "Confound them!" he said, "they have got stones now ; 
 you must up stairs into my girl's room, we can keep them out 
 of that for a bit." 
 
 Cross knew not exactly what to do ; he was pausing, in some 
 
THE DOCTOR. 377 
 
 anxiety, to consider how lie could get out to get a medical man, 
 when he felt some one touch him hehind ; he looked round ; it 
 was Allan. 
 
 "Eun, sir, for Heaven's sake," he said ; "they are bringing 
 up an old top-mast, and the door will be down in a minute." 
 
 "But the poor fellow will bleed to death," said Cross, "if 
 we do not get a doctor." 
 
 " We have got one," said Allan ; " there is no fear for him, 
 but there is for us — come." He caught Cross by the arm, and 
 pulled him into the kitchen, closing the door behind him. A 
 stranger was kneeling in the place where he had left Hope, and 
 by his side knelt Angela with her hands clasped on her breast, 
 and tears streaming down her cheeks. " He's safe, he's safe ; 
 he has spoken ; " and there followed an incoherent flow of 
 prayers, praises, and thanksgivings. But there was no time to 
 look or listen more ; another tremendous crack was heard against 
 the outer door — so loud, indeed, that every one in the room 
 started up. 
 
 " Fly for your lives," said Allan ; " I know these devils 
 better than you." He pushed Cross towards a second door 
 which was standing open, and Hope was in front of it. This 
 door led into a small court, into which Allan pushed the two 
 friends, shut the door behind him, and pointed to a short ladder 
 standing against the wall of the yard, underneath the window of 
 a shed belonging to the nest house. As the friends did not 
 move, he renewed his cries. " Up," he said, " if you do not wish 
 to be murdered, and to see me share your fate for helping you." 
 
 This was enough ; on they dashed, ran up the ladder, and in 
 a few seconds Allan was with them. He drew up the ladder, 
 and closed the wooden shutter of the window. 
 
 " I'm glad you are well out of that," he said, as soon as he 
 regained his breath. " They might be sorry for it afterwards ; 
 but had they got hold of us, they would have done for us all, 
 as sure as death." 
 
 "And what fori" asked Hope. 
 
378 EXEAGED FISHWIVES. 
 
 " Just because their blood's up. Those poor fellows wished 
 to make a sensation, as they call it, did a foolish and absurd act, 
 and have got themselves drowned ; and because this misfortune 
 happened when they went to help an English vessel, they will 
 knock the brains out of any Englishman they catch during the 
 next four or five hours. After that they will calm down again, 
 if they have nothing else to start them, but till then we must 
 keep out of sight if we ^vish to keep out of harm's way. I 
 know them well, and I can tell you there are not such a set 
 of devils on earth as these women, if they get their blood up." 
 
 " Hark ! " said Hope, as a shout, louder than any they had 
 heard reached them. It was followed by a dead silence ; and 
 then the voice of a woman was audible, as if making a speech. 
 The sound of the voice was clearly heard, but they could not 
 distinguish the words. 
 
 " It is big Phrosyne," said Allan, " the woman that has been 
 so useful. I know her voice ; she is one of themselves, and a sort 
 of leader. She'll do more good than a company of soldiers. 
 AYe can slip down from here, and get into the next house ; the 
 owner is a friend of mine. "We may get a peep from one of the 
 open windows, if you keep well out of sight, and then we shall 
 know what is going on." 
 
 The friends were only too glad to agree to this proposal, for 
 they felt both bored and ashamed of skulking in a hay-loft, 
 hiding from a danger of which they were ignorant. 
 
 "Come along," said Hope, "it is absurd to be bullied by a 
 pack of women ; come into the next house if you will, but no 
 peeping ; we will show ourselves at once, and see whether they 
 dare to touch us." 
 
 " I beg your pardon, sir," said Allan, " but I hope you will 
 be prudent. You agree "\\ith me in sajdng those poor fellows 
 lost their lives by bravado ; I hope you won't follow so bad an 
 example. jSTo mob is just ; men, when excited, are bad enough, 
 but Granville women are the worst of all." 
 
 Hope felt his cheeks tingle ; he blushed with shame, for he 
 
NEXT BOOK, 379 
 
 felt lie had met ■svitli a just reproof, tliough administered gently, 
 and by a man far below him in station. He held out his hand 
 to Allan, and said — 
 
 " You are right, and I am wrong. I am old enough to be 
 wiser, but years have not, and I fear never will, cool the hot 
 blood that runs in my veins, which makes me always kick at 
 anything like injustice ; but as you truly say there is no courage 
 in running into useless danger, so I will be as prudent as you 
 wish, and I see Mr. Cross quite agrees with you in thinking me 
 an old fooL" 
 
 " Xot a bit," said Cross. " jMr. Allan and I have been 
 longer among these people than you have, so we know them 
 better, and I quite agree with him in thinking that we had 
 better not show ourselves for some hours ; but that is no 
 reason why we should not see them. After such a gale the 
 outside shutters are sure to be closed in the upper rooms, and 
 we can look through the openings and see all that is going on 
 without the slightest chance of being seen ourselves. Come 
 away then, Hope. 'Mr. Allan, will you lead the way ?" 
 
 Allan did as he was asked. He went down a small trap 
 stair, through a cow-byi'e and a small yard, entered a house hy 
 the back door, and led the way up stairs to a good-sized room 
 on the second floor. Several people were in the room, but these 
 were not very clearly seen, as the room was nearly dark, the 
 only light which entered being admitted through two small 
 Venetian blinds which were fixed in the strong outside shutters, 
 which, as Cross had supposed, were closed and barred. 
 
 Allan went up to one of these people and spoke to him. 
 He immediately came up to the friends and bade them welcome. 
 He spoke to some young men who were standing at one of the 
 windows, who immediately withdrew, making room for the 
 friends to take their places. They held back, apologising for 
 deranging them, but the first person who had met them insisted 
 on their going forward. Hope and Cross expressed their 
 thanks, and took the offered places. 
 
380 "BIG PHEOSTXE." 
 
 The window at which they found themselves commanded a 
 complete view of all that was going forward, for there was a 
 slight turn in the street where the house stood, so that they 
 could see not only the whole length of the street, but the door 
 and windows of the house which they had lately left. The 
 street was filled with people immediately in front of the house. 
 The crowd was almost entirely composed of women. At a 
 greater distance were men, some dressed in the blouses of 
 countrymen, others in the round jackets of seamen. These last 
 were laughing and cheering on the women, but they took no 
 part themselves in the riot. Exactly in front of the door stood 
 two rows of women holding bits of rope in their hands, and 
 between these ranks lay the haK of a broken mast. The 
 shutters of the next house had been thrown open as well as the 
 windows, and at one of them stood the old pilot Eene and his 
 daughter, at the other the woman whom Allan had called " Big 
 Phrosyne." M. ^lenard, the master of their present refuge, told 
 them that the women holding the ropes had brought up the 
 mast slung between them, and were going to use it as a batter- 
 ing-ram against the door, when big Phrosyne had thrown open 
 the shutters and called to them to stop. Seeing her there, they 
 had done so, and for a moment were silent. She had then 
 made them a speech, telling them that one of the half-drowned 
 men was in the house, and that if they made a noise they would 
 kill him, whereas that if they were quiet there were hopes of 
 him. There was a sort of cheer upon hearing this announce- 
 ment, and a number of the people were beginning to go away, 
 when the old woman who had been so conspicuous from the 
 beginning stopped them, and insisted that the Englishmen 
 should be turned out that they might throw them over the quay. 
 Phrosyne told them there were no Englishmen in the house, 
 which the old fury said was a lie, and she became very violent ; 
 upon which several still wished to force the door, but the others 
 would not let them, so the party was divided. " Phrosyne," 
 said Monsieur Menard, "as you see, is mustering her forces from 
 
THE BATTEEIN({-EA]\r THE SOLDIERS. 381 
 
 tlie window, and you may observe the old woman bustling 
 about among the rest, setting them on for a rush. And I fear," 
 added their host, " that she will succeed, for the men are cheer- 
 ing them on from the sheer love of mischief. A message has 
 gone to the barracks, but if they are not sharp, the soldiers will 
 be too late." 
 
 As he sj)ol?;e, the cries were renewed of "A has les Anglais" 
 — "Mort aux Anglais" — "Give us the goddams, and we will 
 show them ros-beef ; turn them out, or we will take them." 
 
 At the same time a rush was made from the back of the 
 crowd, led on by the old woman, and the twenty or thirty girls 
 who were standing by the broken mast shortened the ropes and 
 lifted it from the ground. 
 
 "Shame ! shame !" shouted Phrosyne ; but the old woman 
 carried the day. One of the drowned men had been cast on shore, 
 and some of the people were bringing him up the street ; at this 
 sight the girls began to come forward with the mast, swinging it 
 backwards and forwards as they came. 
 
 " There will be the devil to pay now, and no pitch hot," 
 said Allan ; " I am right glad we are in snug quarters, for the 
 sight of that poor fellow's body has set them up again. Big 
 Phrosyne has lost her powder, and that old wretch has the best 
 of it." 
 
 A new sound, however, now struck the ear ; it was the rap- 
 tap, rap-tap-tap of a drum ; the men in the distance began to 
 move, and in the next moment a body of soldiers charged into 
 sight, driving the crowd before them "with their bayonets. 
 
 The men yielded quietly ; the women set up a screech of rage, 
 and sent a volley of stones at the men, to which they paid not 
 the least attention, but moved steadily forward, and drew up in 
 front of Rene's house. The officer cut some joke which caused a 
 roar of laughter, and in five minutes all was order. The crowd 
 began rapidly to disperse ; so that in ten minutes after the 
 soldiers appeared the street was comparatively empty. 
 
 " I suppose we may go now," said Hope, addressing Allan. 
 
382 FEEE TEADE AXD PEOTECTIOX. 
 
 Allan shook his head, and repeated Hope's proposal to the mas- 
 ter of the house. 
 
 " no, gentlemen," he said, " I hope jou will not attempt 
 to go. If you will do me the honour to remain here a little, I 
 will send out to ascertain when the streets are quiet. To tell 
 you the truth, I am not very anxious to show myself to-day, for 
 I am not over popular among the Granvillaise. I have a great 
 regard for your countrymen, for I find them excellent customers 
 and honest. I do not belong to the town, but have settled here 
 some years, and have been the means of scattering a great deal 
 of EngHsh money in the neighbourhood ; for I buy cattle, which 
 I send every week to Jersey ; eggs, wheat, and large quantities of 
 potatoes, which I send to England ; and I bring back coals, iron, 
 and good Enghsh gold, the gi'eatest part of which I spread through 
 the country, in payment to the farmers for the articles I buy. 
 This does a great deal of good to them ; and I might do good to 
 myseK if these ladies would let me alone, but this very year they 
 have cost me two thousand francs damages by throwing my 
 potatoes into the sea and turning my cattle adrift, because they 
 said that provisions were dear, and that I was the cause. Added 
 to which, I have been twice stoned the whole length of the street, 
 and once escaped as if by a miracle from being thrown over the 
 quay. "Whenever there is a disturbance in the town, if they see 
 me, I am sure to come in for a share of their displeasure ; so I 
 take good care now to keep out of their sight, and I venture to 
 advise you gentlemen to do the same. The wind is falling, and 
 the sky looks so dark that I suspect we shall have some rain. 
 If it comes down pretty heavy, you may go when you please, for 
 a good heavy shower quiets these ladies better than anything else. 
 But if it keeps dry, I recommend you to remain where you are 
 till dusk, and then my young man can lend you a couple of 
 blouses to disguise you as you go home." 
 
 " "We would like very much," said Hope, " to see how poor 
 Frederic is getting on. Can we not go out at your door and in 
 at Monsieur Eene's ]" 
 
LOVEKS. 383 
 
 *' N'ow that the soldiers are here, you can in safety ; but if 
 any one sees you coming out of my house, tliey are sure to do me 
 some damage for sheltering you. I would therefore request that 
 you would do me the favour of going by the way you came. Mr. 
 Allan took the doctor that road when he went to fetch you 
 away." 
 
 This was too reasonable a proposal to be objected to. Hope 
 and Cross expressed their thanks ; and, led by Allan, they took 
 their way down stairs, to clamber, by means of the ladder, again 
 into Eene's house. As they passed a door they looked into 
 a large shop. It was too dark to see the contents. Cross 
 asked Allan what Menard sold besides cattle and potatoes. 
 
 " He is a rich fellow," he answered, " and sells everything 
 from an anchor to a pocket-comb. If you want anything while 
 you are here, you will find him as reasonable as any one in the 
 country." 
 
 "And Ave certainly must buy something," said Hope, "whether 
 we want it or not, just to show our goodwill and gratitude for 
 his protection." 
 
 They mounted into the loft, lowered the ladder, and entered 
 Eene's kitchen. Frederic was sitting up in the bed, which still 
 lay on the floor. The surgeon was administering some hot soup 
 to his patient. Angela, Madame Eene, and her daughter, were 
 propping him up with pillows. The old man and big Phrosyne 
 were looking on. The other men were gone. 
 
 As soon as they were observed, Angela came up to them, 
 took their hands, one after the other, and pressed them to her 
 lips. " You, sir," she said, turning to Cross, " did your best to 
 save him — Phrosyne told me so ; and the doctor tells me, sir 
 (turning to Hope), that to your presence of mind he owes his 
 recovery. May Heaven bless you both. " The poor girl could 
 hardly speak, and tears ran fast down her cheeks as she strove to 
 do so. 
 
 Frederic tried to speak, but the doctor interfered. "No 
 speaking," he said ; " you must take this soup and a little com- 
 
384 A SLEEPING DRAUGHT. 
 
 posing draught I have sent for — then sleep. You will wake as 
 well as ever ; and Angela must do the same. She has done 
 more this day than would kill fifty girls. I have more fear for 
 her than you." 
 
 " I cannot leave him, sir ; I could not sleep," answered 
 Angela. 
 
 "But you must," said the doctor. "Here, Marie, take her 
 up stairs and put her to bed ; my bottle will do the rest and in- 
 sure obedience — and here it comes." The doctor poured out a 
 small modicum for Frederic and a much larger dose for Angela. 
 " Now drink to each other," he said ; " and do as I bid you." 
 
 " Do," said Hope, " it is better for both. Let me see you 
 take your draught, and we will go." 
 
 " It is pouring of rain," said the messenger. 
 
 " So much the better," said the doctor ; " you will find the 
 streets quiet ; although I hope by this time the people know 
 what Frederic owes to this gentleman's skill. I took good care 
 to tell the men before they went out, and they promised to go 
 all over the town to make it known ; for I was deeply grieved 
 to hear of their injustice towards you." 
 
 " Oh, never mind us," said Cross. " This poor fellow is safe, 
 and Angela must take care of herself; so I will add my voice 
 to the doctor's to ask her to take his prescription, and then we 
 will all go together. Angela swallowed her portion, Frederic 
 his, and then held out his arms to Angela. She forgot all eyes, 
 and threw herself into them. She arose, blushing scarlet, but 
 no one even smiled. Hope led her to the door, where Marie 
 was waiting for her. "That's a good girl," said Hope, in a 
 whisper ; " now take care of yourself. There is no fear for 
 Frederic ; the love of such a girl is worth all the doctor's stuff 
 in France." 
 
 Cross turned back to the doctor, and invited him to dine 
 with them at their hotel, to bring the news of his patients ; 
 " and come," he said, " half an hour before the dinner hour if 
 you can, for my friend has hurt himself, and though he pretends 
 
HIGH BKEEDES^G A2vD HIGH BIETH. 385 
 
 to know something of jour profession, I am a sad ignoramus, 
 and I should like to have your advice." 
 
 When they were fairly in the passage they saw that all the 
 props and barricades had been removed from the door ; it was 
 standing open, but sadly shattered. 
 
 " It is raining very heavily, gentlemen," said old Eene ; " so 
 you are quite safe ; but it may be as well to put on a couple of 
 blouses — they will help to keep you dry, and prevent your being 
 noticed." 
 
 This third allusion to the rain acting as a quietus on 
 the excitabihty of a French mob made the friends laugh, but 
 convinced them that there was some truth in it ; as the blouses 
 were there, however, they thought it as well to put them on. 
 Each shpped a douceur into the old man's hand as they donned 
 their coverings, mentionmg where they were staying, and ob- 
 serving that the door ought to be mended as soon as possible, 
 and the bill sent to them. 
 
 Allan walked home with them, and at the door he wished to 
 say good-bye ; but this they would not allow, and insisted that 
 he should have one glass of grog there, and join them and the 
 doctor at their late dinner. " "We do not part with a country- 
 man so easily," said Hope ; " so you must not refuse us." 
 
 " I am too much honoured to be so acknowledged," said 
 Allan, " not gladly to accept so flattering an invitation, more 
 especially from gentlemen so much above me in station." The 
 speech and the bow that accompanied it showed that if Allan 
 retained the honest integiity of his native land, he had profited 
 by his residence in France to acquire some of its graces. And 
 at dinner and during the evening he gave a marked example of 
 the fact that it does not require to be high born to be high bred. 
 
 Education and his intercourse with different nations had 
 given manner to this man born in a fisher's cottage ; modesty, 
 and his desire to please, now gave him the indescribable tone of 
 high breeding which all admire, yet very few possess. The 
 doctor was clever and amusing ; he came at the appointed time ; 
 
 2 G 
 
386 THE DOCTOE. 
 
 he prescribed for Hope's arm, ordering perfect quiet for a 
 couple of days. He was all bows and parade, talked well, 
 and told good professional anecdotes ; but how inferior was 
 he to the more lowly-born guest who sat at the same table ! 
 There is a manner in England, among a certain set of young men, 
 known under the slang denomination of flash. English flash is 
 bad enough ; but French is ten times worse ; and such was the 
 doctor's manner. There was the presumption, the loud voice, 
 the lay-down-the-law style, which makes an ill-bred Frenchman 
 the most offensive of living beings ; and although he was amus- 
 ing it was a relief when be made his bow. Allan smiled when 
 Cross observed, " ISTow the doctor's gone, some of us may get in 
 a word edgeways." Allan took his leave shortly after, and the 
 two friends were not sorry to retire to their rooms. 
 
 The next morning all signs of the storm were past. The 
 sun shone bright and clear; and when Cross opened his eyes, 
 the busy hum of voices was heard in the street. Cross rose 
 immediately ; but when he was dressed, he found that Hope 
 had passed a feverish night, and was too unwell to rise. The 
 doctor had promised to call early to see the one patient, and re- 
 jDort on the state of the others. He kept his word. He was 
 skilful in his profession, for Hope felt almost immediate relief 
 from his external and internal prescriptions ; and he brought 
 all the news which they were anxious to hear. Frederic was 
 almost perfectly well, no bad symptom remaining except a 
 partial loss of voice, with slight pain in the chest. He was ex- 
 tremely triumphant on this score, for the other poor fellow, who 
 was attended by a brother practitioner, was a great deal worse, 
 suffering from intense headache and almost total loss of voice. 
 The day before he had given Hope the credit due to his bold 
 practice of preventing apoplectic symptoms by opening the tem- 
 poral artery ; that morning he seemed totally to forget to whom 
 he was speaking, for he launched forth on the wisdom of such a 
 proceeding in all cases of drowning ; but he took all the merit 
 of the act to himself, Angela was well, except a great feeling of 
 
THE MAGPIES. 387 
 
 languor — " the natural consequence," said the doctor, " of the 
 great excitement she had undergone, and of the strong opiate I ad- 
 ministered ; but you must content yourselves, gentlemen," he con- 
 tinued, " with my report, for whatever interest you may take in 
 these young people, you must not think of going near the harbour 
 to-day. All the bodies of the poor fellows have been found, and 
 they are to be buried this afternoon ; the excitement is there- 
 fore very great. All round the harbour, and in the old town, I 
 regret to say, the same feeling of hatred exists against your 
 country, and all that belongs to it, that you witnessed yesterday. 
 It is as well, therefore, that Mr. Hope must keep his bed to- 
 day ; and I recommend you, sir " (turning to Cross), " not to go 
 out either, or if you must, do not go farther than the Cabane, if 
 you wish to avoid being insulted, or perhaps ill-treated." 
 
 "Well," said Cross, "that is no great punishment, and I 
 suppose this feeling will not last long." 
 
 " 0, no," answered the doctor ; " in a couple of days they 
 will have forgotten all about this misfortune. The funeral to- 
 day keeps it alive, but as soon as that is over, there will come 
 something else for them to think of. I will have the pleasure 
 to call to-morrow ; in the meantime I make my bow." 
 
 As soon as the doctor was gone, Hope said, " I was very 
 feverish last night, and you will hardly guess what my thoughts 
 were dwelling on." 
 
 " I suppose," answered Cross, " on some of the scenes you 
 witnessed yesterday." 
 
 " Xot exactly," said Hope ; " do you remember the nonsense 
 we were talking about the superstitions of the Highlanders, 
 Kormans, and Bretons, when we were looking at that congrega- 
 tion of magpies near the Mare de Bouillon 1" 
 
 " Yes, perfectly," answered Cross. 
 
 " "Well, then, all last night, when I was restless and tossing 
 about, the thought would come over me of the five parties of 
 four that we saw hopping about, and of what you said of them, 
 — namely, that we should hear of five deaths, but none that we 
 
388 THE AUGURY. 
 
 would care aLout ; and thinks I to myself ^ I shall hate to look 
 at magpies again, for this is enough to make a low-countryman 
 superstitious, and doubly to confirm all the nonsense in which, 
 as a Highlander, I am bound to believe." 
 
 " It is curious," said Cross, " and is just one of those acci- 
 dents that create the superstitions at which we laugh. Once 
 in a hundred or a thousand times some dream comes true, or 
 some birds show themselves as these have done. Such an event 
 is mentioned, is marvelled at, and superstition is created or con- 
 firmed, because these rare occurrences are mentioned and re- 
 membered ; but the nine hundred and ninety-nine cases which 
 come wrong are never talked of, and therefore never thought of. 
 If you or I Kve to be as old as Methuselah, we shall never see 
 such augury prove true again ; indeed, I doubt if anywhere in 
 the world except in Normandy we shall ever see so many mag- 
 pies together again. But now go to sleep if you can. After 
 breakfast, in spite of the doctor's warning, I shall go out as far 
 as the Cabane to see the newspapers, and I A\ill try to find you 
 something to read whenever you have had your nap." 
 
 " There is nothing else for it, I suppose," said Hope, as he 
 turned on his side : "you have destroyed my romance, so I may 
 as well sleep." 
 
 Hope remained so unwell during the next two days, he was 
 unable to leave the house. They received news of Frederic and 
 Angela from the doctor, but did not see them, as they had re- 
 moved to their own homes, which Cross did not know. They 
 heard, however, that they were quite recovered. On the evening 
 of the third day Hope and Cross took their way to the Cabane, 
 where they could read the papers and breathe the sea-air, while 
 they watched the bathers from the windows ; the Cabane being 
 a sort of half coffee-house, half club, built of wood against the 
 rocks close to the sea where all the people bathed. There were 
 in this building two good rooms ; in one were a number of 
 publications and newspapers, not to mention chess and card 
 tables ; the other was appropriated to the ladies in the morning 
 
A WEDDING INVITATION. 389 
 
 for music and "work, and in the evening it was used as an 
 assembly or ball-room. When the tide was high the ladies 
 bathed within twenty yards of the windows, dressing and un- 
 dressing in small portable canvas houses, and swimming ui their 
 blue dresses with the most perfect composure. Hope was much 
 amused watching them, and quite agreed with Cross in saying 
 that the French ladies had greatly the advantage of our country- 
 women in this respect. The most fastidious could not find fault 
 with their delicacy, for in their blue flannel blouses and trousers 
 they were perfectly dressed, and in a dress in which they could 
 learn to swim, of which power all seemed to have availed them- 
 selves, for there was not one in fifty who did not swim, and 
 swim well. 
 
 They loitered thus till it was time to return for dinner ; and 
 Hope felt quite himself again from enjoying both the amusement 
 and the fresh sea-breeze. As they passed through the rocky 
 passage which leads from the shore to the town they saw a 
 gaily-dressed group waiting in the road. As soon as they came 
 in sight, two of the party came forward to meet them. One of 
 these was Frederic ; the other was little Matilde, dressed so 
 gaily they did not at first recognise her. She had put on for 
 the first time the dress which the friends had ordered for her, 
 and was waiting to meet them as they came from the Cabane. 
 Having first called at the inn, she had learnt where they were. 
 
 " Angela is to be married to-morrow," said little Matilde, as 
 she came up to them ; " and she has sent me with Frederic to 
 say how much she would feel honoured if you would come to 
 the dance in the evening." 
 
 " And so shall I, gentlemen," said Frederic. " Your presence 
 will add one more to the great obligations I owe to you. I 
 believe I owe my life to your skill, and I would fain desire that 
 you should witness my happiness in joining my fate with the 
 brave girl who gave you the power to save me." 
 
 " And we shall be most happy to come," answered Hope ; 
 "but you must tell us where." 
 
390 ISLiNXEES, CUSTOMS, A^T) SUPEESTITI0N3. 
 
 " ^L ^Menard has lent us his store," said Frederic. " Any- 
 body can show it you." 
 
 "M. Menard, who lives next to Eene the pilot ?" 
 
 " Yes, sir." 
 
 " Thanks," said Cross, " You may rely on seeing us to- 
 morrow." They shook hands with Frederic, patted Matilde's 
 cheek, and went on. 
 
 " "We must go to M. ilenard's to-morrow to huy some pre- 
 sent for the bride ; for in this part of the country, when j)eople 
 in her station marry and give a dance, each guest brings an offer- 
 ing in his hand, which he presents to the nouvelle mariee — in 
 short, the custom is one which resembles very much the old- 
 fashioned penny-weddings of Scotland, where every friend 
 brought something towards establishing the young couple. You 
 and I must not be behind the rest of the guests, for, after her 
 conduct of yesterday, I am much mistaken if we do not find 
 a large assembly, each member of which will strain a point to 
 make as liberal a gift as he can afford." 
 
 " It is curious," said Hope, " to see so many of the same 
 customs and superstitions in this country as in Scotland ; for 
 although England and Xormandy are so closely allied, Scotland, 
 whatever it has to do Avith Xorsemen, has very little to do with 
 the ^Xormans ; and yet the habits and superstitions which I 
 observe resemble much more those of Scottish Highlanders than 
 of the EngKsh." 
 
 " You seem to forget," said Cross ; " it is true that the 
 Xormans never conquered Scotland, but many of our greatest 
 families married Xorman wives. France also was in close 
 alliance with Scotland when at war with England ; but I 
 suspect that the customs and superstitions which you have 
 remarked here do not come directly either from conquest, mar- 
 riage, or national alliance with Scotland, but have spread out of 
 Brittany. The Bretons are distinctly Celts ; their language, 
 habits, customs, fables, superstitions, songs, and dances, clearly 
 mark the race. It is not therefore surprising that you should 
 
 
A CHANOE. 391 
 
 find some of these customs here, and that you should ob- 
 serve their greater resemblance to the habits of the Higliland 
 Celt than to those of the English Saxon. The "Welsh, the 
 Irish, the Scottish Highlander, and the Breton are all Celts, and 
 all members of the same family. It is not therefore surprising 
 that at every step in Brittany you trace the family resemblance, 
 or that such close neighbours as the N'ormans should have, to a 
 certain degree, followed their example, or adopted some of their 
 customs. Whether the plan of the penny-wedding be originally 
 French or originally Celtic, I will not pretend to say — you find 
 it in both countries ; and you and I must try and find some- 
 thing worthy of the bride's acceptance to-morrow, both out of 
 respect for that brave girl and love for old Scotland." 
 
 " Most assuredly," said Hope ; " and what sort of things 
 should we get 1 " 
 
 "Let us dine as fast as we can," said Cross, "and go down 
 and consult Allan — he will know ; and if we cannot find him, 
 we can speak to Monsieur Menard." 
 
 The plan was agreed to. The friends dined, and took their 
 way immediately after to Menard's shop. Allan was on the 
 quay in the act of starting one of his smacks, whose cargo of 
 horns was completed, and which was about to sail for England ; 
 he at once came with them when he heard what they wanted. 
 In moving from the quay to M. Menard's shop they were fol- 
 lowed by several of the women who had been so furiously 
 enraged against them three days before ; but now they were all 
 smiles and good humour. Allan quietly whispered to one of the 
 women to go away, and not disturb the gentlemen, who were 
 going to bring a present for Angela. This news was quickly 
 communicated to the rest of the party, all which was unheard 
 by the two friends, who were talking together at the time ; they 
 were therefore both startled and surprised when they heard a 
 loud clapping of hands, and a shout of " Vivent les Anglais ! 
 vive Angela !" and on turning round they saw the party dis- 
 persing. 
 
392 ■UTDDIXG PPwESEXTS. 
 
 " Hang me, but they are a queer people 1 " said Hope ; " they 
 will cut your throat one day and cheer you the next." 
 
 '•'"We need not care," said Cross, " so long as we only meet 
 them on cheering days ; and as this is one of them, let us make 
 the most of our time." 
 
 On entering M. Menard's shop, they were cordially greeted 
 by the owner. After returning renewed thanks for the shelter 
 he had ajfforded them, they mentioned the object of their visit, 
 and held a council with him and Allan on what would be the 
 most desirable present to give to the bride. 
 
 " I know one thing, gentlemen," said Allan, " that Frederic 
 would like to have and that Angela might like to give him, but I 
 fear it is too expensive, and you might not A^-ish to spend so much 
 money." He pointed to a sextant which was lying in its box, with 
 the brass shining brightly on the dark counter. " He is now first 
 officer in a ship bound for Cadiz, and he can hardly sail without 
 either a quadrant or a sextant ; and unless Monsieur Menard 
 trusts him, he is too poor to pay for one till he comes back." 
 
 Hope asked the price. " There is no necessity for either 
 running in debt or sailing without one," he said, " for Angela 
 shall give him this one if you tell me it is good." 
 
 "I have a much better," said Monsieur Menard; "indeed, 
 a better never went out of France than one I can show you, and 
 you can have it for the same price I first asked ; for," said he, 
 laughing, "there is no dealing in IN'ormandy without bargaining; 
 and though not a Xorman myself, habit becomes second nature ; 
 so now I can never sell anything without asking at least one- 
 third more than I mean to take ; but as you gentlemen seem to 
 forget where you are, I must not take advantage of you. As 
 you are willing to spend a certain sum, you shall have your 
 money's worth — and here it is." He went to a drawer and pro- 
 duced an instrument in a brass-bound case. 
 
 " Thank you," said Hope ; " when I give a thing I like it 
 to be good, and I feel fortunate, I assure you, in falling into such 
 hands as vours." 
 
THE BED SILK UMBRELLA. 393 
 
 " He is an honour to tlie country," said Allan, as he slapped 
 Lis hands on the counter ; " and he shall have the first ofier of 
 every cargo I bring, in remembrance of what I have just seen." 
 
 " But I don't promise not to have a wrangle with you," said 
 Menard, " for you are half a Xorman." 
 
 " I am not afraid," said Allan, " and as a proof, let me have 
 six best checked shirts, and cloth to make a Sunday suit ; you 
 shall fix the price yourself." 
 
 " That's hardly fair, ^Mr. Allan," said Menard, " for I shall 
 be obliged to gave them at prime cost. But never mind, I'll 
 make up for loss on the next cargo of coals I buy from you." 
 
 "And what am I to have V said Cross ; "come, advise me, 
 Monsieur Menard ; I will spend the same sum as Mr. Hope." 
 
 M. Menard thought for a moment. " I have it," he said ; 
 and he pulled out a drawer, and after seai'ching for a moment, he 
 produced a large umbrella in a cotton case. The case was taken 
 ofi", and the umbrella opened. " There," he said ; " there is the 
 largest and the brightest red silk umbrella ever seen in Gran- 
 ville ; that will win Angela's heart, and break those of every 
 bride in the town for the next two years. I can sell it cheap, 
 for no one has been rich enough to buy it; so I have had it 
 some time, and if you must spend as much as your friend we 
 may make up the difference with a blue silk handkerchief for 
 Frederic, and some stockings for the bride." 
 
 Cross was quite delighted with the purchase. The price 
 was paid, and Monsieur Menard was requested to send the 
 things to their hotel. 
 
 " You had better leave them here, gentlemen," he said, 
 " You are going to the ball, I suppose, and so am I. As it is to 
 take place in my store, close to this, it may save you trouble if 
 you call for them here. And if you will permit me, I will go 
 with you, as I have a httle offering to make also." 
 
 The friends gladly accepted the proposal, as it obviated all 
 difficulty about finding their way. So they departed, leaving 
 their purchases behind them. 
 
394: A NORMAX ^YEDDIXCr. 
 
 Shortly after the appointed hour the two friends again 
 knocked at M. Menard's door. Allan and he were in waiting ; 
 their purchases were neatly packed up and ready for them, and 
 each took his own. 
 
 Monsieur Menard lifted a tolerably heavy basket and fol- 
 lowed ; less than a minute brought them to the store, Avhich 
 they entered. It was a large room with a boarded floor ; the 
 walls were originally bare ; but the stones were nearly hid with 
 wreaths of leaves, flowers, and moss, in the midst of which hung 
 some lamps and candles, by which the place was tolerably Kghted. 
 In one corner of the room was a table on which sat three fiddlers, 
 A man in the dress of a sailor was blomng an accompaniment on 
 a cornet-a-piston. All the musicians were hard at work when 
 the party entered, and the floor was covered with dancers. 
 
 " They are no great hand at it," said Hope, after watching 
 them for a while ; " I thought all French people danced like 
 ballet-masters." 
 
 " You are thinking of the grisettes of Paris," answered 
 Cross, •'' who certainly answer your description ; but in the 
 provinces, more especially in this part of the country, the 
 people are fully more ungraceful than the veriest bumpkins in 
 an English country village. The heavy wooden sabots they 
 wear give an ugly manner of moving the limbs, even when, on 
 an occasion like this, they exchange the sabot for the lighter 
 shoe." 
 
 " There are some among them," said Hope ; " who are grace- 
 ful enough." 
 
 " Yes," answered Cross ; " those are the fisher girls ; and 
 they have the same freedom of motion which you see among 
 the Highland lasses ; and for the same reason — namely, they 
 generally go bare-footed. But here comes the bride to bid us 
 welcome." 
 
 Angela came forward, followed by her sister, little Matilde, 
 and a few of her more intimate friends ; she did the honours 
 with a modest grace that was very taking. She led the party 
 
THE BEIDE AND HEE UMBRELLA. 395 
 
 to the upper end of the room near the musicians. On the oppo- 
 site corner a table Avas placed which was quite covered with the 
 presents which had been made to the bride. Monsieur Menard 
 presented his offering. There was a loud murmur of approbation 
 when his basket was opened ; it contained a large brass pot for 
 making soup, there were four stewpans, shining like silver, and 
 half a dozen iron spoons ; these were looked at, admired, and laid 
 on the table. Allan came next and presented his ofiFering ; there 
 was the same murmur of applause, the same examination, the 
 same thanks, and they were placed on the table with the rest. 
 
 Hope had watched the proceedings of liis two companions ; 
 so he now came forward and presented his gift with a little 
 speech very well turned. Angela's eyes filled with tears as she 
 said her thanks, and when the box was opened and the shining 
 brass of the instrument was seen, the murmur of applause was 
 followed by a clapping of hands, during which Frederic found 
 time to say, " You are too generous, sir, and I cannot sufficiently 
 thank you. Your present is most magnificent, and gives me 
 what I so much required, yet knew not where to get." Hope 
 shook him by the hand, and the sextant was laid on the table. 
 
 It was now Cross's turn. He too presented his gift, and 
 made a little speech. All eyes were turned on the cotton bag 
 which contained the umbrella, and when it was opened, and 
 the brilliant red silk was seen within, the murmurs of admira- 
 tion gradually increased till they ended in shouts of applause. 
 The women pressed forward, the umbrella was put up and held 
 for general inspection, amidst shouts of " Superbe ! magnifique ! " 
 and " Yivent les Anglais !" 
 
 " I knew that would please them," said Monsieur Menard to 
 Hope. " Every bride must have a red umbrella as part of her 
 turn-out. To have a silk one is a mark of distinction ; but to 
 have so large and so red a one has done what I told you it 
 would. It has made every woman in the room break the tenth 
 commandment. Your more valuable present filled Angela's eyes 
 with tears of gratitude, but look at her now — all smiles, and 
 
396 THE END. 
 
 Tier eyes beaming with triumph.. That umbrella has made her 
 the greatest woman in the district for the next two months, and 
 she knows it. You must content yourself by dancing second 
 with the bride, for if you took the lead you would forfeit your 
 present popularity among the women ; for with them the red 
 silk takes decided precedence of your brilliant sextant." 
 
 \Here ends the manuscript.'] 
 
NOTES. 
 
 THE SOLAN GOOSE, Page 36. 
 
 The following communications may be of interest to naturalists : 
 
 My Dear Sir, — On referring to " Yarrell's Bii-ds" for a con- 
 firmation of the statement regarding the solan goose, I did not find 
 any allusion to the bird's peculiar mode of hatching ; and as I have 
 watched these birds pretty closely for years, and have myself failed 
 to notice the singular position of the foot, I thought it right to refer 
 to the tacksman of the Bass, as the best possible aiithority. His 
 reply is so much to the point, and is, at the same time, such a con- 
 firmation of the author's remark, that I send you the letter. 
 
 Cantt Bay, November 26, 1862. 
 Sir, — In reply to your note, the Solan Goose sits with one foot on 
 the egg and takes one month to hatch ; then it takes three months 
 before the young can fly. Also, it disgorges its food while on the 
 nest at the approach of strangers coming too near ; then when left 
 alone picks it u]3 again. The Solan Goose egg is very good to eat. 
 The Queen gets a dish every year, and is very fond of them. Some 
 people like the young ones to eat and others do not; but there are 
 difterent ways of cooking them. Yours- respectfully — George 
 Adams. 
 
 It is somewhat strange, in a work of such a high reputation as 
 Yarrell's, to find it stated on the authority of Selby that the gannets 
 are so tame when sitting in their nests as to " allow themselves to 
 be stroked by the hand without resistance." Tame they certainly 
 are, but woe betide the hand that ventures to touch them. I should 
 not like to try it, as any time I have approached " the j^oultry yard" 
 on the south-west face of the Bass, in the month of Maj^, the old 
 birds then shot most wicked glances from their sharp eyes, and 
 snapped their long and strong beaks in a manner not to be mistaken ; 
 while a never-ending chorus of hoarse screams, something like Grog, 
 
398 NOTES. 
 
 Grog, issued from the throats of hundreds of angry and alarmed 
 sitters. One day an unfortunate rahbit, chased by a terrier, threw 
 himself upon the tender mercies of these birds. Tliey made short 
 work of him ; he was killed, and passed fi'om bill to bill in a 
 twinkling. 
 
 Sir Robert Sibbald, in his " History of Fife" (1710), was, as far 
 as I am aware, the first to notice the position of the foot ; he says, 
 " They put the sole of their foot upon it (the egg), and foment it so 
 till the young one be hatched." A century later this was confirmed 
 by Dr. Walker, Professor of Natural History in Edinburgh, who 
 mentions the fact in his "Essays on Natural History." 1808. Dr. 
 Fleming, the latest writer on the subject, appears to doubt the 
 accuracy of the observation, and thinks it " probable that the gannet 
 rests on the egg in the nest as other birds do ; but in preparing to 
 move, especially in retiring from an intruder, it does not hesitate to 
 set its foot on the egg, and hence it has been imaghied to embrace 
 it always throughout the whole process of incubation." * 
 
 D. D. 
 
 THE MIXAUE, Pages 187-190. 
 
 The following description of the Octopus fitlgaris is taken from 
 Verany's " Mollusques Mediterraneens." I am not quite certain, 
 however, that it represents the animal known on the coast of Nor- 
 mandy as The Minaur. 
 
 " The common Poulp is scattered throughout the Mediterranean, 
 " and is found on the coast of the Atlantic at the Canaries. Ac- 
 " cording to facts collected by M. D'Orbigny, it has been met with at 
 " Hayti, Cuba, Bahia, the Isle of France, East Indies, and in the Red 
 " Sea. It is caught on the rugged shores of Liguria in all seasons, but 
 " more plentifully in summer. Tliis cephalopod lives ahnost always 
 " amongst rocks, and generally hides itself in the holes and crevices, 
 " into which it jienetrates with great ease, its body being very supj^le 
 " and elastic. 
 
 " It is in these recesses that he lies watching for the animals on 
 " which he lives. As soon as he perceives them, he cautiously 
 " leaves his den, darts like an arrow on his -s-ictim, which he wraps 
 
 * The Bass Rock, 8vo, Ediu. 1S47. 
 
NOTES. 399 
 
 " himself about, clasps in his serpent-like arms, and fixes by means of 
 " liis suckers. When he darts on his prey, he starts witli his body 
 " in front. Wlien becomes near it he turns round, opens his arms, 
 " and fastens on it with such rapidity one has scarcely time to 
 " observe him. 
 
 " Sometimes he places himself upon a sandy ground at a short 
 " distance from rocks, and is careful to construct a hiding-place. 
 " For this purpose he brings together in the form of a circle a 
 " quantity of pebbles, which he carries by fixing them on his arms 
 " by means of his suckers. Then, having formed a sort of crater, he 
 " ensconces himself in it, and there waits patiently for some fish or 
 " crab to pass, which he skilfully seizes. I have several times had an 
 '• opportunity of verifying this fact in the roadstead of Villafranca. 
 
 " In summer the young poulps also come to the pebbly shores, 
 " and they are sometimes met with in muddy places, from which 
 " they are taken by the trawl, together with numbers of eledon. 
 " They are usually fished for with a line without a hook ; instead of 
 " which is substituted a piece of dog-fish, a bit of a cuttle-fish, a 
 " white fish, a bone, a piece of suet, or some attractive substance 
 " weighted with a small stone. The boatman, holding a line in each 
 " hand, draws them very slowly along the rocky bottom. Scarcely 
 " does the poulp see them but he darts upon the bait, and rolls it 
 " up in his arms ; the fisher, feeling the resistance, gently draws the 
 " line towards him, and finally brings it into a little net with a 
 " wooden handle, which he holds with the other hand, and catches 
 " him. 
 
 " They are also caught with a small olive branch fixed at the end 
 " of a rod, and fitted with a hook, which is drawn backwards and 
 " forwards before the openings of the holes and crevices of the rocks. 
 
 " Some very large ones are caught by the fishermen with the 
 " leister, or trident. When the young poulps spread themselves in 
 " summer over the pebbly coasts, they are caught by means of a line 
 " weighted with lead, and furnished with a cork fitted with several 
 " hooks, covered with jiieces of scarlet cloth twisted into thongs, 
 " which are thrown out as far as possible, and afterwards drawTi in 
 " very gently. The poulp darts eagerly at it ; the fisher, warned by 
 " the motion and the resistance, gives a sharp jerk, and almost always 
 " hooks the fish, and draws it quickly out. 
 
 " This fish furnishes at Nice an agreeable pastime for the fine 
 " summer evenings. The poulps live for some tiiue out of the water ; 
 " the fishermen are consequently obliged, in order not to lose them, 
 " to kill them immediately. This they do by biting their heads, or 
 " by sticking a knife into the big^ones. The common poulp is much 
 " more plentiful in the market of Nice than in that of Genoa. 
 
400 NOTES. 
 
 " When it is youag and little, it is a dainty morsel. If it is of a 
 " middling size — weighing less than a pound — its flesh, still tender, 
 " is much esteemed by the common people ; but if it is larger it 
 " decreases in value, because the flesh is tough. Those who buy it 
 " take the precaution of hammering it for some time with a stick, 
 " before cooking it ; others, especially the Greeks, are careful to drag 
 " it for some time upon a stone, holding it by the opening in the 
 " bodj^ — and this probaljly to break the fibres of the flesh. The 
 " flesh has a peculiar and rather marked taste, for wliicli reason that 
 " of the cuttle-fish, and especially of the common calamer, is pre- 
 " ferred to it, but it is more thought of than that of the eledon. At 
 " Naples shell-fish merchants of St. Lucia sell it cooked ; on the 
 " shores of Liguria it is prepared in difterent ways. 
 
 " The largest poulp that I have ever seen was about three yards 
 " long, and weighed nearly half a cwt, A skilful and very intelli- 
 " gent old fisherman came across it at the head of the jetty in the 
 " harbour of Nice, seized it with his ovm. hands, by leaning over his 
 " boat, turned it inside out, and mastered it at last, but not without 
 " a great deal of trouble, 
 
 " Pduljjs of thirty pounds weight are not rare at Nice, and those 
 " of twenty pounds are common. The action of the suckers of the 
 " poulp u23on the skin when they fasten on it, the serjjent-like 
 " movement of its arms, its muscular power, its hideous aspect, have, 
 " I think, caused the misdeeds of this cephalopod to be exaggerated, 
 " for it is stu^jid and incapable of injuring any one." 
 
 If the Octopus taken by the old fisherman in Nice harbour was 
 not torpid, he must have been a very good-natured member of the 
 family of which Madame le Moine's " ugly beast" was a formidable 
 representative. In Beale's History/ of the SiJerm Whale there is an 
 anecdote showing, on the authority of Sir Grenville Temple, what 
 happened in the Mediterranean. " A Sardinian captain bathing at 
 " Jerbeh felt one of his feet in the grasp of one of these animals ; 
 " on this, with his other foot he tried to disengage himself, but his 
 " limb was immediately seized by another of the monster's arms, 
 " He then, ■with his hands, endeavoured to free himself, but these 
 " also, in succession, were firmly grasped by the polyi^is, and the 
 " poor man was shortly after found drowned, with all his limbs 
 " strongly bound together by the twining arms of the fish ; and it 
 " is extraordinary that when this happened the water was scarcely 
 " four feet in dejith." * Another illustration is drawn from Mr, 
 Beale's own experience. He says : — " While upon the Bonin 
 " Islands, searching for shells on the rocks, which had just been left 
 
 * Bcalcs Natural History of the Sperm Whale, London, 1839, p, 65. 
 
NOTES. -iOl 
 
 " Ijy the receding sea-tide, I was much astonished at seeing at my 
 " feet a most extraordinary looking animal, crawling towards the 
 " surf, which had only just left it. I had never seen one like it 
 " under such circimistances before ; it therefore appeared the more 
 " remarkahle. It was creeping on its eight legs, which, from their 
 " soft and llexible nature, bent considerably under the weight of its 
 " body, so that it was lifted by the efforts of its tentacida only a 
 " small distance from the rocks. It appeared much alarmed at 
 " seeing me, and made every effort to escape, while I was not much 
 " in the humour to endeavour to capture so ugly a customer, whose 
 " appearance excited a feeling of disgust, not unmixed with fear. 
 " I, however, endeavoured to prevent its career by pressing on one of 
 " its legs with my foot, but although I made use of considerable 
 " force for that purpose, its strength was so great that it several 
 " times quickly liberated its member, in spite of all the eftbrts I 
 " could employ in this way on wet slipijery rocks. I now laid hold 
 " of one of the tentacles with my hand, and held it firmly, so that 
 " the limb aj)peared as if it would be torn asunder by oiu- united 
 " strength. I soon gave it a powerful jerk, wishing to disengage it 
 " from the rocks to which it clung so forcibly by its suckers, which 
 " it effectually resisted ; but the moruent after, the aj^parently enraged 
 " animal lifted its head, with its large eyes projecting from the middle 
 " of its body, and letting go its hold of the rocks, suddenly sprang 
 " upon my arm, which I had previously bared to my shoulder, for 
 " the p)urpose of thursting it into holes in the rocks to discover 
 " shells, and clung with its suckers to it with great j)Ower, endea- 
 " vouiing to get its beak, which I could now see between the roots 
 " of its arms, in a position to bite ! 
 
 " A sensation of horror pervaded my whole frame when I found 
 " tills monstrous animal had affixed itself so firmly upon my arm. 
 " Its cold slimy grasp was extremely sickening, and I immediately 
 " called aloud to the captain, who was also searching for shells at 
 " some distance, to come and release me from my disgusting 
 " assailant. He quickly arrived, and taking me down to the boat, 
 " during which time I was employed in keeping the beak away 
 " from my hand, quickly released me by destroj^ing my tormentor 
 " with the boat-knife, when I disengaged it by portions at a time. 
 " Tliis animal must have measured, across its expanded arms, about 
 " foirr feet, while its body was not larger than a large clenched 
 " hand. It was that species of sepia which is called by whalers 
 " ' rock-squid.' " * 
 
 Not to go back to the fables and exaggerations of the old mari- 
 
 * Beak's SjKriii JVhalc, 8vo, London, pp. 67, 68. 
 2 T) 
 
402 NOTES. 
 
 ners regardiug the Kraken — of wliicli, by the way, a very good ac- 
 covuit is given in vol. ii. Blackwood's Magazine, in a paper wi'itten 
 by the late James Wilson — there are various well-authenticated 
 cases of large cuttle-fish having been seen. One of the latest 
 (1862) was communicated by Dr. Spence of Lerwick to Dr. Allman, 
 Professor of Natural History in Edinburgh. The animal was 
 thrown ashore somewhere on the Shetlands, its body measiired 9 
 feet, and its arms were 16 feet in length. It is evident that a 
 cuttle-fish of this size would be a dangerous adversary for an im- 
 armed man, either in or out of the water. 
 
 The yoimg cuttles, I am told, are frequently eaten on the Firth 
 of Forth by the crews of the trawling sloops. 
 
 D.D. 
 
 Edinburgh, December 6, 1862. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 A has Ics Anglais.' 371, 381. 
 
 Adventure on the Greve, 256, ct seq. 
 
 Agricultural interests, neglect of, by 
 French government, 72. 
 
 Amateur fishermen, a party of, 87, 
 et seq. 
 
 Angela, 133, 145, 146, 154, et seq.; her 
 lover, 174, et seq.; heroic conduct 
 in a gale, 370, et seq., 383 ; mar- 
 riage, 389. 
 
 Angling adventure, 55, et seq. 
 
 Angling under difficulties, 32, 36. 
 
 Auguries, bird, 337, 338, 388. 
 
 Bacon, receipt for dressing, 200 ; 
 
 curing of, 279, 280, 283. 
 Bait, 103, 107, 108, 343, 344. 
 Bait-fishing, 21. 
 Banks and banking, 305, et seq. 
 Bar. See Bass. 
 Barricades, the, 301. 
 Bargain-making, 101, 106, 107, 108, 
 
 114, 117, 392, 393. 
 Barns, crops placed in, 73. 
 Bass, 99, 102, 103, 105. See Brills. 
 Bass sauce, 152. 
 Bathers, a party of, 163. 
 Bathing and bathing-dresses, 75, 76, 
 
 389. 
 Beche de mer, the, 241. 
 Beds and bedrooms, 79, 81, 149, 
 
 156. 
 Billingsgate fishwives, 374. 
 Birds, niigi'atory, 161, 162. 
 Birds of passage, 162. 
 Bird-catching in Italy, 42, 166. 
 Black-fishers, 234. 
 Blackguards, rencontres with, 33, 37, 
 
 51, 56. 
 Boats, French, 260. 
 Bouillabaise soup, 195, 200, 206. 
 Bouquets or prawns, 89. 
 
 Breakers, a boat among the, 367. 
 Breakfast, a French, its advantages 
 
 and disadvantages, 167-169. 
 Breakiug-in a husband, 106, 195, 
 
 196. 
 Breaking sands, 262. 
 Bream-fishing, 331, 334. 
 Brent-geese, 162. 
 Bretons and Normans, characteristics 
 
 of, 324, 325, 390, 391. 
 Brills and bass, 99, 105, 152, 194. 
 Buckwheat, 86. 
 Butcher-bii-ds, 274 ; hawking wath, 
 
 275. 
 Bui-iug fish, 22, 23. 
 
 Cabane, the, 388. 
 
 Cabbage-soup, 78, 79, 148. 
 
 Cabriolet, a French, 61. 
 
 Cancale Bay, 97. 
 
 Card-playing, 197, 288, 294. 
 
 Carolles, a ti'ip to, 59, ct seq. 
 
 Castle, an ancient, 83. 
 
 Caught by the tide, 129, et seq. 
 
 Centipedes, luminous, 346. 
 
 Champagne, 283. 
 
 Charcoal stoves, 79, 80, 148, 287. 
 
 Chasse aux Rouges, 302. 
 
 Chateau, a ruinous, 305. 
 
 Cheating in moderation, 23. 
 
 Cheers, French and English, 12. 
 
 Chevrettes, 89. 
 
 Chien de chasse, a, 163. 
 
 Chub-fishing, 20, 32, 37. 
 
 Clrarch-service in France and Italy, 
 
 17, 18. 
 Cider, 282, 284-286. 
 Circle, walking in a, 266, 272. 
 Cleanliness in bedding, 79, 81, 82, 
 
 156. 
 Clubs in Paris, 299. 
 Cloud scenery, 253. 
 
404 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Coclionnerie ! 240, 242. 
 Cockcliafers, 53, 54. 
 Cock-crowing, nocturnal, 220, 221. 
 Cockles and oysters, 19. 
 Cockle-pickers, 9-3. 
 Colour, change of, in fisli, 28, 29. 
 Commerce, French view of, 292-294. 
 Communistes, 218. 
 Cookery among the pea.santry, 79. 
 Cooking at the Marqiiis's, 148. 
 Conger-hunting, 124, 125. 
 Consumption, a cm-e foi-, 210, 214, 
 
 221. 
 Courtyard of a country-house, 76, 77. 
 Crabs, 89, 141 ; crab-hunters, 92, 96, 
 
 99, 112. 
 Crevettes, 89. 
 Cudding, the, 130. 
 Curing of bacon, 280, 281, 283, 284. 
 Curlews, 82, 161. 
 Cuttle-fish, 107, 115 ; habits of, 116, 
 
 189-191 ; stewed and fried, 153 ; 
 
 Madame le Moine on, 192. 
 
 Dace, 20. 
 
 Debate, a French, 278. 
 
 Demoiselles and gar-fish, 179, 180. 
 
 Development theory, a, 191. 
 
 Dindon truffee, 289, 293. 
 
 Dinner at a Marquis's, 147-157. 
 
 Doigt mouille, 244. 
 
 Dogs, use of, in catching conger-eels, 
 
 124, et seq. 
 Dottrel, 82. 
 Double worm, a parasite of the bream, 
 
 334, 335. 
 Dragon-flies, 247 ; larvre of, 248 ; 
 
 their destniction of salmon spawn, 
 
 247, 249 ; music of, 335. 
 Dreams, realisation of, 388. 
 Drinking-cups, Norman, 286. 
 Driving in a cabriolet, 62, 63. 
 Duck and olives, 155. 
 Ducks and cockchafers, 54. 
 Dyke, walk along the top of the, 
 
 173. 
 
 ECORCHEITES, 275. 
 
 Eel-hound, an, 124-127. 
 
 Eels, sniggling of, 119 ; a story about, 
 
 142. 
 femeute in Paris, 3 ; recruiting for an, 
 
 298. 
 " Emptying" of a carriage, 321. 
 
 English politics, French view of, 294. 
 Escape, an, 129-137. 
 
 Farmers and fanning, 67, 68, 73. 
 Farm-houses, Norman, 278, 279. 
 Fear a promoter of devotion, 3. 
 Fete-Dieu in Paris, 6, 7. 
 Fiend, an old, at the barricades, 25. 
 Fiesclii and the infernal machine, 
 
 202, et scq. 
 Fifty to two, 56. Sec 51, 52. 
 Findhorn, a spate in the, 65. 
 Fire-flies, 345. 
 Fish after roast, 152. 
 Fish barometers, 341, 342. 
 Fish, how to buy, 22, 23. 
 Fish-market, 139. 
 Fishing-boats, 350, 360-363. 
 Fishing expedition, 320. 
 Fishing in fog, 224. 
 Fisheries on the coast of Normandy, 
 
 171-173, 357, ct seq. 
 Five, the number, 339. 
 Fly, fishing with, 226. 
 Fog-bank, a, 253, 273. 
 Fog story, a, 258. 
 Fogs, Scotch, English, and French, 
 
 223, 224, 254, ct seq. 
 Food for game, SQ. 
 Foot-bath, enjoj-ing a, 150. 
 Foundlings, 2. 
 Fours de campagne, 81, 82, 148, 
 
 200. 
 Frederic, 174, et scq., 365, 371, 374, 
 
 375, 383. See Angela. 
 Frying, a lecture on, 153, 154. 
 Fuel, economy of, 80. 
 Funeral mass, a, 14. 
 
 Gale, boat in a, 365, ct seq. 
 
 Gallets, 81. 
 
 Gaming-table, the, 299. 
 
 Game, 82 ; food for, 86. 
 
 Gardening, 63. 
 
 Gar-fish. See Hole-fish. 
 
 Gastronomic artiste, a, 122. 
 
 Girls, crab-hunting and cockle-pick- 
 ing, 92, 93, 96, 111. 
 
 Glow-worms, 345. 
 
 Gourmand's, a, pic-uic, 242. 
 
 Granville, riot in, 374. 
 
 Gran\-ille, women of, 74, 105, 108, 
 109, et seq. ; how they " break in" 
 their husbands, 106, 109, 195 ; 
 
INDEX. 
 
 405 
 
 washerwomen of, 350 ; female 
 
 portei's of, 37 i. 
 Greve, the, 254, et scq. 
 Grey, Lord, and his Greek courier, 
 
 story of, 23. 
 Grilse, 27, 30 ; sometimes taken for 
 
 salmon, 30. 
 Growth of fish, 186. 
 Gudgeon, 57. 
 Guillotine, the, 203. 
 Gurnet, red, 19, 228, 235, 246 ; 
 
 dressing of, 229, 230, 231. 
 
 Hair-dressee's apprentice, the, 12, 
 13. 
 
 Hand-kissing, 158. 
 
 Hand-nets, described, 89, ct scq. ; 
 working of, 99, 172, ct scq. 
 
 Hawking with butcher-hii'ds, 275. 
 
 Head-gear of the Norman peasant- 
 women in the market, 19. 
 
 Herring-fishers in a gale, 351-357. 
 
 Highland road, a, 70. 
 
 Highlands of Scotland, salmon- 
 poachers in the, 232, 234. 
 
 Hole-fish, 174; netting of, 178. 
 
 Honey-combed sand, 127. Sec Sand- 
 worms. 
 
 Hoopoe, the, 83 ; its nest, 84. 
 
 Horses, 62, 63. 
 
 Hospitality, Norman, 282. 
 
 House, in search of a, 24 ; description 
 of a, in St. Jean de Thomas, 76, 
 et scq. 
 
 Hunting-caps and their wearers, 74. 
 
 Innkeeper, a Norman, 160. 
 Insurgent, an, in concealment, 207, 
 
 208, 227,236, 237, 287 ; his story, 
 
 294-318. 
 
 Jays, how to catch, 340. 
 Johnny Bull, a fresh-arrived, 19. 
 
 Jules F , 216, ct scq., 287, 295, 
 
 ct scq. 
 
 Kingfisher, the, and its nest, 38-44 ; 
 
 habits of, 45, 47 ; its cunning, 46 ; 
 
 unsuccessful attempt to dig a nest, 
 
 57, 58. 
 Kippered salmon, 235. 
 Kitchen, the, of a country house, 78, 
 
 79 ; of a Marquis, 148. 
 Kraken, the, 193. 
 
 Lait ecjoutte, 282. 
 
 Lan5ons, or sand-eels, searching for, 
 
 99, 174 ; netting of, 183. 
 Landrails, 164. 
 
 Larder, examination of a, 208. 
 Leister, description of, 232. 
 Lice, sea and river, 34, 35 ; effects of, 
 
 on salmon, 35. 
 Limpets, gathering of, 121 ; value of, 
 
 123. 
 Lines, fishing, 104. 
 Lobster, a kc brochc, 240-242. 
 Lobsters, sniggling of, 116, 117- 
 London fog, 274. 
 Lost on the Greve, 256, ct scq. 
 Love on the sti-and, 174. 
 Louis Philippe, FiescM's attempt to 
 
 shoot, 201, et scq. 
 Lugworm, the, 99. 
 Lythe, 180. 
 
 Mackerel chasing sardines, 173 ; 
 
 netting of, 175 ; change of colour 
 
 in, 176. 
 Magpies, 337-339, 387. 
 iVLare de Bouillon, the, 327. 
 Marie de Coutances, 139, 195. 
 Market, going to, 72. 
 Market-cart, a, 72. 
 Market-place, a, 18, et scq. 
 Marrots, 229, 230, 235, 246 ; cooking 
 
 of, 237, 239. 
 Matilde, the crab-hunter, caught by 
 
 the tide, 130, ct scq. ; her friends, 
 
 154-156 ; becomes a projirietor, 158; 
 
 at work in the strand, 174, ct seq.; 
 
 di'essed for Angela's marriage, 389. 
 May-fl}% the, 224, 227. 
 Merry-fish, the. See JluUets. 
 Midges, protection from, 249. 
 Migratory birds, 161, 162. 
 Minaurs, 174, 398, ct scq.; their 
 
 destructiveness, 181; dens of, 187; 
 
 draumig a minaur, 187, ct scq.; are 
 
 they eaten ? 192. 
 Mist, lost in a, 256-272. 
 Moine, IMadamo le, her fishery, 171 ; 
 
 at work in the strand, 174, et scq. 
 Montgomeries, an old castle of the, 
 
 83 
 Mont St. Michel, 66, 75, 83, 94, 253, 
 
 256. 
 Mosquitos, protection from, 250. 
 
406 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Mullets, 180, 182. 
 Music in church, 15, 16.' 
 
 National Guard, 10, 11. 
 Katural historj^ pursuits, 84. 
 Nature, a lover of, 27. 
 Nets, various kinds of, 87, 89, 104, 105 ; 
 
 netting in the strand, 173-199, 
 Normandv, fishing in, 20, 21, 27, 
 
 319, cfseq. 
 Northumbrian fisherman settled in 
 
 Jersey, 357, et seq. 
 Norway, magpies in, 337. 
 Numbers, odd and even, superstitious 
 
 rhymes connected with, 338. 
 
 OlE-CEAVAKT, the, 162. 
 
 Old Marie, 101. 
 
 One good turn deserves another, 157. 
 
 Oration, a pre-prandial, 166. 
 
 Orioles and hoopoes, 84 ; nests of, 84. 
 
 Oysters in June ! 22. 
 
 Par, the, of salmon, 233, 246. 
 
 Paris, dreadful news from, 1, 10 ; state 
 of, in 1848, 25, et seq.; an oiitbreak 
 in, 218. 
 
 Parian pie, 113. 
 
 Partridges, 82 ; a covey of, 85, 86. 
 
 Paste for catching tench and carp, 
 342,-343, 344. 
 
 " Paternoster," fishing with a, 332. 
 
 Peasantry, cooking among the, 79. 
 
 Penny-weddings, Scotch, 390. 
 
 Penitent, a, 6. 
 
 Perch-fishing, 328, et seq. 
 
 Perilous situation, a, 130, ct seq. 
 
 Peri'wiukles versus slugs, 213. 
 
 Phrosyne, 378, et seq. 
 
 Pig, singeing a, 279. 
 
 Pic-nic, a gourmand's, 242. 
 
 Pie grieche, the, 275, 277, 278. 
 
 Pine forests, 251. 
 
 Pittechoux, the, 55. 
 
 Pleasure, luxury of giving, 158, 159. 
 
 Poacher, wrinkle of a, 224-226. 
 
 Poddly, the, 180. 
 
 Politics, popular views of, 204 ; Eng- 
 lish politics, 294. 
 
 Prawns, 89 ; sniggling of, 118. 
 
 Procession, a French, 15. 
 
 Protection and revolution, 177. 
 
 Purse, a Granvillaise, 136. 
 
 Quails, 164; snaring of, in Italy, 49. 
 
 Quicksands, 255. 
 
 Quietus for a French mob, 385. 
 
 Raes, 195. 
 
 Earn, effects of, in Normandv, 32, 
 
 385. 
 Rattle-traps and carriages, 323. 
 Recruiting for an emeute, 298. 
 Red Republicans, 217, 297. 
 Religious duties, performance of, 205. 
 Rene, an old pilot, 375. 
 Reposoirs, 8. 
 
 Revolution, a story of the, 216-220. 
 Revolution of '91, 244, et seq. 
 Riot in Granville, 375, et seq. 
 River louse, the, 35. 
 River police, 316. 
 River smugglers, 315. 
 Roads in Normandy, 62, 69, 71, 268j 
 
 321. 
 Roast mutton and melon, 151. 
 Rock-making insects, 127, 128. 
 Rocks, on the, 111. 
 Rock pool, a, 190. 
 Roses and beetles, 53, 54. 
 Rosin-gathering, 251. 
 RoyaUst, a young, 66, 67. 
 
 Sabroax and his cafe, 298, et seq. 
 
 Saddles, Norman, 320. 
 
 Salmon, the sight of a, 20, 26 ; habits 
 of, 27, 28 ; fry of, 28, 29 ; grilse 
 sometimes taken for, 30 ; do sal- 
 mon eat ? 36, 37 ; catching of, with 
 leister and blaze, 232, 234 ; spawn- 
 ing of, 232, 233, 246, 248. 
 
 Salt monopoly, 177, 198, 280. 
 
 Sand-eels, digging for, 100, 101, 174, 
 184. 
 
 Sand-worms, 127, et seq. 
 
 Sardines, a shoal of, 114, 116, 184-186 ; 
 chased by mackerel, 173. 
 
 Sarrasin, 86. 
 
 Scotland, trawling in, 359. 
 
 Sea-birds, how to cook, 230. 
 
 Sea-loach, 141. 
 
 Sea-louse, the, 34, 334. 
 
 Sea-perch, 141. 
 
 Seasons, the, in France, 28. 
 
 Seath and lythe, 180. 
 
 Selfishness, Norman, 324, 344. 
 
 Sepias and their ink-bags, 107, 116. 
 See Cuttle-fish. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 407 
 
 Ship, a, swallowed up, 260. 
 Sliooting, 82. 
 
 Shopkeepers, a nation of, 293. 
 Shore-fishing, ditl'ereut modes of, 85, 
 
 et seq. 
 Shrikes, 274, 275. 
 Slu-imp sauce, 152. 
 Shrimps and prawns, 89, 97. 
 Siberi, 86. 
 Skate, 19, 194. 
 
 Skins of birds, and their uses, 43. 
 Slug soup, 210, 238. 
 Smuggler, retreat of a, 316. 
 Smuggling, 198, 199. 
 Snails, carnivorous, 209 ; salted, 212 ; 
 
 how to cook, 214, 237, 239 ; as 
 
 a cui'e for consumption, 210, 214, 
 
 221. 
 Sniggle, the French, 119. 
 Snipes, 82. 
 
 Soeurs de Cliarite, 6, ct seq. 
 Solan goose, the, 36, 397. 
 Soles, 89, 98. 
 Sough of the Gospel, 205. 
 " Soyez sage !" 323 
 Spider-crabs, 112, 113 ; habits of, 
 
 141, 142. 
 Spinach, pajTuent in, 291. 
 Spinning-tackle, 327. 
 Sporting-dog, a, 163, 164. 
 Sporting, French, accoimt uf, 70, 
 
 71. 
 Sportsmen, a party of, 87, et seq. 
 St. Gervais, 15. 
 St. Jean de Thomas, 75, 252. 
 Stag-beetles, 51. 
 Stainlocks, 180. 
 State economy, 204. 
 Stonewall fishing, 167. 
 Storm at sea, 364, et seq. 
 Strand-fishing, 85, 94, et seq. 
 Straw anchors, 109, 110. 
 Superstitious rhpnes, 338, 387. 
 Supper on the rocks, 134. 
 
 Table-cloth-s and forks, 169. 
 
 Tar, distilling of, 250. 
 
 Tench, 341, 342. 
 
 Test for ascertaining the difference 
 
 between the fry of salmon and of 
 the buU-ti-out, 29, 30. 
 
 Thornback, the, 194. 
 
 Tides on the NoiTuandy coast, 64, 
 98; "we must run for it," 129 ; a 
 perilous position, 136, 137 ; wait- 
 ing for the ebb, 143 ; friends at 
 last, 144. 
 
 Toodlmg slu-ikes, 276. 
 
 Torches, gurnet's head, 231. 
 
 Trade, contempt for, 288, 289, 292. 
 
 Trapping of birds, 165. 
 
 Trawling, method of, on the coast of 
 Normandy, 162, 359, 360. 
 
 Tree-mell (trois-maille), the, 103, 
 181, 193. 
 
 Trompette, the dog, 124, 126. 
 
 Trout, 32, 57 ; fry of, 29, 30. 
 
 Turpentine, 251. 
 
 Turtle-doves, 48. 
 
 Umbrella, the red, for a bride, 395. 
 
 Valhubert, the Place, scenes in, 
 
 5, et seq., 13. 
 Vendeau diet, 213. 
 Vessel "crippled" in a gale, 364, et 
 
 seq. 
 Village, the best house in a, described, 
 
 76-82. 
 Vivent Ics Anglais I 391. 
 
 Water-ouzels, 43. 
 
 Water-zou tehee, 195. 
 
 Wedding, a Norman, 394. 
 
 West India Docks, fishing in the, 
 332. 
 
 Wheat-ears (white-tails), a disli of, 
 160 ; trapping of, 160, 164, 165 ; 
 faUs for, 165. 
 
 'White-fish soup, 197. 
 
 Whitmg, tlie, 335. 
 
 Widgeon, flocks of, 82. 
 
 Widow Scudder, 211, ct seq. 
 
 Widow, the, and her drowned hus- 
 band, story of, 142. 
 
 Woodcocks, netting, 47. 
 
 Wood-pigeons, trapping of, in Italv, 
 48, 49. 
 
 Printed by R. Cl.vrk, Edinburgh. 
 
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