THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 1 3 



during the long troubles of the Huguenot persecution, 

 the Channel Islands became the retreat of the routed 

 Protestants, who found a ready asylum, identical in lan- 

 guage as in faith ; and in later times, Royalists and 

 Republicans, Orleanists and Reds, have hailed the snug 

 haven of St. Helier's of Jersey as the paradise of exile, 

 from which their longing eyes can see the fair shores 

 of France — ' for ever distant, yet for ever near.' 



*' No taxes or imposts have ever been laid upon these 

 fortunate lands. No custom-house officials here prey 

 upon the friendless stranger. Their southern climate 

 and sea-girt situation ensure them a mild and genial 

 atmosphere even in the depth of winter ; and, where 

 the formation of the ground affords a shelter, the vege- 

 tation, watered by a thousand rills, attains an almost 

 tropical verdure. Their neighboring coasts and shoals 

 afford a boundless supply of fish;, the celebrated 

 Rochers de Cancale yield the most noted and delicious 

 oysters of the European gourmand, ignorant of the 

 superior dainty of the Shrewsbury and Saddlerock ; 

 while their unrivaled breed of cattle gives them an 

 opportunity of a market in every agricultural country 

 on the face of the elobe. The islanders have not been 

 slow to avail themselves of these advantages. Their 

 soil is so fertile that the cows only require the circuit 

 of their tether for food in the rich pasture, and the sea- 

 sons are never severe enough to require their house- 

 shelter. Their apples and pears are renowned in the 

 fruit-culture, and their wonderful crops of potatoes find 



