42 THE WALKS ABROAD OF 



" Well, what I wanted to say" The door then 

 closed. 



"Who is this old sea- wolf?" asked Eene, some- 

 what surprised at seeing his uncle receive a common 

 sailor with so much familiarity. 



" A brave and noble-hearted man," replied Leon. 



This old sailor was indeed a brave man : on great 

 occasions he wore on his breast several medals, dearly 

 bought by his courageous acts. 



A cabin-boy from his cradle, like the other sailors 

 of this coast, and apprenticed amongst his father's 

 crew, his earliest memories were those of a fisher's boat, 

 where he slept amid the damp nets, the spare sails, or 

 the empty hampers. At sixteen years he was per- 

 fectly familiar with the navigation of his native 

 coasts, and when a little later he entered his country's 

 navy, the bluejacket had soon become a thorough 

 sailor. 



Such countries as Australia and China, seemingly 

 most likely to cause astonishment, had been seen by 

 the young sailor with an uninterested eye and without 

 any feeling of surprise. The old sailors, during their 

 yarns in port on Sundays, or on evenings at sea, while 

 the nets dragged slowly through the depths, had 

 spoken of such things and many others. His educa- 

 tion had begun and ended in the year of his con- 

 firmation. Naturally he had but little imagination. 

 Thus the many nations, black, yellow, or bronzed, he 



