CRUISE OF LA BELLE MARGUERITE 



There is a charm about the barren places of the 

 earth not easily described in words, a charm 

 that the artist attempts to transfer to canvas, 

 and one that appeals often times with especial 

 force to the naturalist. 



After an excellent dinner of broiled duck 

 in the salle a manger of "La Belle," for I must 

 not have the gentle reader imagine that I lived 

 only on air and view and philosophy, we turned 

 our prow again to the eastward, and sought 

 through the stormy sea for the place the 

 canards des roches, the curious many coloured 

 harlequin ducks, were said to frequent, a place 

 known in these parts as Watcheeshoo. On 

 peering over some rocks here we saw three of 

 these curious birds and watched them swim 

 and fly away. 



While I was toasting my toes on the little 

 10 x 1 6 inch stove at the entrance of the cuddy 

 that night, listening to the cooing of the eiders, 

 the gentle chiding laughter of the saddle-backs, 

 and to the roar of the surf on the outer side of 

 the island, while within was calm and peace- 

 ful, watching the sun go down in a golden 

 glory, and thinking of our luck in seeing the 

 harlequins, a canoe silently glided alongside. 

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