The Land of tJtt Winanishe 



Galloping up and down the short, rough 

 hills jolted us smartly, and a bag of angler's 

 valuables was missed some miles on our 

 way. Thereupon ensued a wordy war be- 

 tween the carter and the passenger whose 

 command of habitant French was most 

 nearly ^equal to the occasion. " It does 

 not do to offend the Bon Dieu," said the 

 carter solemnly ; "this has come of not 

 hearing mass before starting." His oppo- 

 nent maintained that the loss was due to 

 the most patent carelessness in tying. The 

 bystander was impressed by the frequently 

 recurring " Sacre bateau," probably an in- 

 vocation of the original "vessel of wrath ; " 

 but he was presently left with the luggage 

 while the disputants drove back to search 

 for the bag. When the returning vehicle 

 was visible through the mosquito-cloud, it 

 was evident that the search had been suc- 

 cessful ; and as it drew near, the conversa- 

 tion had softened down from an interchange 

 of " gros mots " to a discussion of respon- 

 sibility and criminal negligence. 



The vehicle reloaded, the discussion was 

 resumed ; and the carter, finding his legal 

 footing very insecure, as his adversary was 

 a man of law, shifted to moral grounds. 

 Turning his back upon his horse, whose 

 pace was an entirely safe one, he proposed 



49 



