﻿THE SHEPHERDS OF LES BAS LANDES. 65 



dentiy endeavoring to persuade them to follow him, a new ray of 

 hope sprang up in their hearts. Mr. Hudson immediately followed 

 him, hoping, but hardly daring to expect, that he might find his 

 child. Carlo soon led him to the spot, and he discovered Anna ly- 

 ing upon the ground, and concluded that she had fainted, for he saw 

 signs of life. But how changed was her appearance ! The rosy 

 hue of her cheek had left it, and it was pale and pallid. Her laugh- 

 ing blue eyes were dull and sunken ; her jet-black hair was mat- 

 ted and covered with burs. Her frock had been torn by the brush, 

 and she indeed presented a pitiful aspect to the sight of her father. 

 But he took her in his arms arid carried her to the house, and laid 

 her upon a bed, feeling that the lost was indeed found. The proper 

 restoratives were applied, and her parents soon had the satisfaction 

 of seeing her recover from the fainting fit ; but it was many week." 

 ere she recovered from the effects of her excitement and exposure. 

 She ever after was an inseparable friend of Carlo, " for," said she 

 " he has once saved my life ; and ought I not to treat him kindly 

 to repay him for it ? ' : 



The story of Anna and her faithful dog has been handed down 

 to her descendants, and even now it is often rehearsed by them, to 

 some little group of auditors. 



The Shepherds of Les Bas Landes. 



IN the south-western part of France, bounded on the west by the 

 Atlantic Ocean, and on the south by the Pyrenees, a chain of high 

 mountains separating France from Spain, there is a large barren tract 

 of land, that, from the number of its heaths, has conferred the title 

 of Les Landes on the department to which it belongs. Being gener- 

 ally a level plain, intermixed with shrubs and swamps, it is naturally 

 described as being the most desolate and dreary portion of France- 

 A lew spots, like the oases of the African deserts, are to be found at 

 long intervals of space, and here only can rye be grown, the rest 

 being a dreary waste, dotted with heath, firs, or cork trees. The 



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