108 BKITANNY AND THE CHASE. 



to wash down the salt water by a dinner and a glass of 

 wine, and in one hour all traces of distress were wholly 

 effaced. Commend me to a Frenchman for elasticity. No 

 matter what assails him — pain, defeat, affliction, loss of 

 everything ; let it only pass, and give him a bowl of soup 

 and a pipe, and all is not only forgotten, but rejoiced in. 

 Napier says that in the Peninsula they forgot a defeat by 

 the next day, and I can easily believe it. 



I am sorry to remark two things in Britanny which will 

 considerably diminish its value as a sporting country ; and 

 those are, an increasing tendency to preserve game on the 

 part of proprietors, and an increasing jealousy of English- 

 men. The two are but cause and effect, the former spring- 

 ing from the latter ; and we have ourselves to blame for 

 what will curtail us of much of our pleasure. Previous to 

 the advent of our countrymen here of late years, a Breton 

 proprietor thought as little of preserving as he did of 

 Hebrew. Pie shot over everybody, and everybody shot 

 over him, and the balance was even at the year's end ; but 

 wdien John Bull came over, the matter was changed. John 

 is an awkward subject to deal with, and thinks everything 

 in foreign parts can be bought ; I believe even kicks have 

 their regular price with him ; and when he got into in- 

 evitable quarrels with sturdy Breton farmers, he generally 

 insulted them, often beat them, and always paid them 

 afterwards. In doing this he fell into at least two errors ; 

 and as all men dislike insults and cuffs, and like (Bretons 

 especially) money, the worthy natives put their heads 

 together and began to preserve. Then other Johns of the 

 "Milord" species came into the country right royally. 



