A SAFE EXPLOSION. 89 



dropped. I was rather in a stew myself, as I had had four 

 pounds, and had got two pounds for a Freuch friend ; nor 

 was my alarm lessened by his telling me that a friend of 

 his, in the excise, had called on him the morning before, 

 who had not called for a long time, and asked to see his 

 little working room on some pretext. He showed him into 

 it, and over, conspicuous on a shelf, was seen a blue canis- 

 ter of " diamond powder," which I had got over for him 

 the week before. " Ilah ! hah ! my friend, and ycu have 

 got English powder, too ; where did you get it from ? " 

 But Frenchmen are supple, and not to be caught in a 

 corner. "I — English powder! my dear fellow, how can 

 you wrong me so as to f.mcy such a thing I — that box you 

 see there has been there for years, and I keep seeds in it.'' 

 This was a stopper, and the matter could not be further 

 pushed without a quarrel ; so the subject dropped, and 

 the exciseman soon taking his leave, my friend immedi- 

 ately poured out the powder into a French canister, and 

 filled it with garden seeds, according to order. On his 

 telling me the matter I immediately did the same with my 

 own, and stowed the English boxes away in a safe place. 



The season of 1851 was rather better than previous 

 years for woodcocks, but that species of bird had become 

 comparaticehj rare in Britanny. I'ormerly they were in 

 great numbers, and the sport must have been first-rate ; 

 for instance, I have heard upon good authority of eighty 

 being flushed in a da3\ Now, if you find ten or twelve, it 

 is very good, and you find generally less, which, though 

 more than in England, is not much for a good woodcock 

 country. Near Quimper, cocks sold for only Id, and 2d, 



