38 BRITANXY AND THE CHASE. 



tired to the somewhat congenial life of poaching. He 

 was a complete Robinson Crusoe. His hut was built by 

 himself^ and was filled with rods, guns, nets, and various 

 professional nicknacks ; and was tenanted by himself, 

 two or three wiry looking dogs, and a little niece wdio 

 cooked for him. At first he was rather surly with 

 me ; but, when he discovered that I was no " beak," he 

 becam.e civil and pleasant enough ; and frequently went 

 out with me to show me the country, every yard of which 

 he knew perfectly. He was shrewd and sensible ; but 

 had a strange ignorance about England. For instance, he 

 asked me whether England was part of France, and 

 whether it was in London ; and then, when I said no, he 

 asked what London w^as — a country, a town, or what ? 

 He could not imagine what an island was, by any means 

 whatever. But the ignorance about England, even in the 

 better classes, passes all belief, jet is easily explained. The 

 French travel little, and read less ; and knowledge is not 

 instinctive. A curious example of this was observed by a 

 friend, not a month ago, who himself told me the story. He 

 was discussing with a respectable merchant the question of 

 criminal punishments. The Frenchman praised the Englisli 

 system. " Here in France," said he, " we send them to the 

 dockyards, which is enormously expensive ; with the ad- 

 ditional evil of having, in the very heart of the country, a 

 band of men, the enemies of all property, who at any moment 

 may be turned loose upon us. We send a few to Algiers ; 

 but there they are equally expensive, and corrupt the rising- 

 colony also. No ! The English system is, after all, the 

 best." " But," said my friend, " the objections of expense 



