246 THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 



up in straw in a turf hut, in the naiddle 

 of a treacherous swamp. 



English gunpowder is one of the strictly- 

 prohibited articles at the French ports, 

 and great care and ingenuity must be 

 exercised to escape the vigilance of the 

 prying douanniers. To the bold adventu- 

 rous man, as Miss Laurelia Durable says, 

 the experiment is worth hazarding, for 

 I am positive that our powder shoots 

 stronger than the French, and it does not 

 foul so much as theirs. I have smuggled 

 several pounds of it in my time within 

 the double lining to my trunk, and it is 

 the best plan I can hit upon for doing a 

 bit of contraband. 



Of all our own manufacturers at home 

 I prefer Curtis and Harvey's : I think it 

 the strongest, and it is decidedly more 

 equable in the grain. Pigou's ranks next 

 in my estimation. The firm of Pigou, 

 Andrews, and Wilks has been established 



