The Languedocian Sphex 



busily occupied at a spot where he sees no- 

 thing, will stop, overwhelm you with que- 

 ries, take you for some water-diviner, or 

 a graver suspicion this regard you as some 

 questionable character searching for buried 

 treasure and discovering by means of incanta- 

 tions where the old pots full of coin lie hid- 

 den! Should you still wear a Christian as- 

 pect in his eyes, he will approach you, look to 

 see what you are looking at and smile in a 

 manner that leaves no doubt as to his poor 

 opinion of people who spend their time in 

 watching Flies. You will be lucky indeed if 

 the troublesome visitor, with his tongue in his 

 cheek, walks off at last without disturbing 

 things and without repeating in his innocence 

 the disaster brought about by my two con- 

 scripts' boots. 



Should your inexplicable doings not puzzle 

 the passer-by, they will be sure to puzzle the 

 village keeper, that uncompromising repre- 

 sentative of the law in the ploughed acres. 

 He has long had his eye on you. He has so 

 often seen you wandering about, like a lost 

 soul, for no appreciable reason; he has so 

 often caught you rooting in the ground, or, 

 with infinite precautions, knocking down some 

 strip of wall in a sunken road, that in the end 

 141 



