mv Mtntet (Batmen 



times, a straggling line of bellying sails 

 drawing away with the stately grace of 

 wild fowl, each smack traihng behind it a 

 tow-line at the end of which bobs a dark 

 little boat wherefrom the oystermen will 

 let down their tongs to grapple the shells 

 in the muddy sea-floor. A twinge of 

 chilliness, a nipping edge on the air, sug- 

 gests frost; but there is none. All this 

 shivering does no more than brace one's 

 appetite for breakfast— that fragrant 

 morning function of our fat black cook, 

 who speaks gumbo French, and brews a 

 coffee delightful beyond praise. If you 

 are educated to the altitude of taste which 

 brooks a Bordelais steak piping hot and 

 overtopped with onion, garlic, red pepper, 

 and bacon-drip, move lively when the bell 

 rings, or you may have but a savory and 

 fragrant bone to pick for your share, 

 which would be a notable loss in our 

 climate, where trencher delights seem more 

 vivid than in colder surroundings. 



Speaking of mensal attractions, a part 

 of our garden, lying far in the rear, is 

 given over to an Italian master who knows 

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