THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 311 



closing these remarks, I cannot do better 

 than quote the words of one of our most 

 popular writers'^ (for they are singularly 

 applicable at this moment), who says — 



'' France, with all thy faults, I love thee 

 still ! No man should travel from his 

 cradle to his grave without paying thee a 

 visit by the way ; and with a disposition 

 prone to enjoyment it lightens the journey 

 amazingly. The French are a kind people, 

 and it must be his fault who cannot live 

 happily with them. 



'* Pity it is, possessing as they do, what- 

 ever c^n contribute to the felicity of a 

 people in a state of peace, that war should 

 be indispensable in order to render their 

 idea of happiness complete — la gloire and 

 la guerre form the eternal burden of their 

 song ; as if the chief business of life were 

 to destroy life. They would fight to- 



* From '* Sketches and Recollections" by John 

 Poole, Esq. 



