In and Out of Three Normandy Inns

ed like a bird-cage on a tiny scaffolding; bath-houses dumped on the beach; fishing-smacks drawn up along the shore like so

s Ville

d line of olives, hawthorns, laburnu

e view from

ood and evil has been known to be quite as short as that which lay between these two thoroughfares. It was only

h welcome; its eye had measured us before it had extended its hand. Before reaching the inn and the village, however, we

one that, from the first, evidently appealed to the French imaginat

or all the world is English, in French eyes,

rience of the world, of the cap with the short pipe in her mouth, ove

e copy of her own round face-a copy that was tied up in a shawl, very snug; it was a bundle that could not p

ne-what do you th

der figure, and on the yellow half-moon of hair framing her face. There was but one verdict concerning the blonde beauty; she was a creature made to be stared at. The staring was

stone wharves, diverting our gaze for a moment from the grotesque assortment of old houses that, before now, had looked down on so many naval engagements, and innocently to ask a brief question of a nautical gentleman, picturesquely attired in a

matist; business he rightly considers as only an entr'acte in life; the serious thing is the scene de theatre, wherever it takes place. Therefore it was that the black, shaky-looking houses, leaning over the quays, were now populous with frowsy heads and cotton nightcaps. The captains from the adja

ast act of the play. Even the dogs beneath the carts, as they sank, panting, to t

erful voice. And he named a price lower than the others had bid. He would tak

ve a long, slow wh

d, between his teeth

to deal-later on. But at his last words they smiled a smile of grim humor. Beneath the beards a whisper grew; whatever its import, it had the power to move

captain had swung his boat rou

au revoir e

voiced "bonjours." But the audience that had gathered to witness the closing of the bargain had melted away with the moment of its conclusion. Long ere this moment of our embarkation the wide stone street facing the water had become suddenly deserted. The curious-eyed heads and the cotton nightcaps had been swallowed up in the hollows of the dark, little windo

sautillant par-ci, par-là; Trala

egan to coil the loose ropes at once, as if the disappointments in life were only a necess

w it is like a knife-cut, deep and straight; and now like a ribbon that wavers and flutters, tying together the blue of the great ocean and the silver of the Seine. Close to the lips of the mighty mouth lie the two shores. In that fresh May sunshine Havre glittered and bristled, was aglow with a thousand t

o could have told that the win

eeded in his unabashed recital, succeeded a pained expression. We were not accepting the situation with the true phlegm of philosophers; he felt that he had just cause for protest. What possible difference

the poop, to clap hands to a blue-clad breast, an

e most gallant of men cannot control the caprice of the wind!" To which was added much abuse of the

e had lost a comedian of the first magnitude. Much, therefore, we felt, was to be condoned in one who doubtless felt so great a talent itching for express

ord of explanation. "See, mesdames, they c

between the two boats, a running up and down of a small yellow flag which we had thought amazingly becoming

are bathers, accustomed to the water-they will carry you-but as if you were feathers!" And he pointed to the four outstretched, firmly-muscled arms, as if to warrant their powers of endurance. Th

s like a child, to the least impressionable boatman

And at last it has come!" This she cried

r carrier as he plunged onward, ploughing

ompanies impossible flights described in dreams, through some unknown medium. The surging waters seemed struggling to submerge us both; the two thin, tanned legs of

ly, not in the least dampened by his strenuous plunging through the spirited sea. "It happens every day-all the aristocrats

ht, my feet are soakin

load at a secure height, above the dashing of the spray, he went on talking. "Yes, when the rich suffer a little it is not such a bad thing, it makes a pleasant change-cela leur distrait. For instance, there is the Princess de L--, there's her villa, close by, with green blinds. She makes l

as dropped as lightly on them as if it had been inde

theatrical salute. The infant mate was grinning like a gargoyle. They were both delightfully unconscious, apparently, of any eve

bagages,

ts bowing low, with a Frenchman's grace-this, on the Trouville sands, was