THE JERSEY COAST. 129 



"Yes," broke in his brother, who was just re- 

 covering from the spell first put upon him by our 

 athlete's continual offers to accommodate him in 

 any way he wished. " i r es, it will .be a dear blow 

 for you ; I saw you strike him." 



" No," said the lawyer, advancing for the first time 

 from behind the blind where he had been an unmoved 

 and impartial umpire of the fray, " you should not 

 say that ; your brother certainly struck first ; I saw 

 him distinctly." His manner was solemn, and con- 

 vincing, and conclusive, taken in connexion with 

 his perfect equanimity during the affair ; but, of 

 course, he was met by contradiction and protesta- 

 tion from the two brothers. This dispute would 

 have been endless, but at that moment a fine flock 

 of willets was descried advancing towards the 

 stools. 



" Down, down," every one shouted, and, true to 

 the bayman's instinct, friend and foe crowded down 

 on the sand together, waiting breathlessly the arri- 

 val of the birds. The latter came up handsomely, 

 were received with four barrels, and left several of 

 their number as keepsakes or peace-offerings ; for, 

 of course, anger was dissipated, and the defeated 

 enemy retired amid a few merry suggestions, and 

 the excellent advice that they had better not repeat 

 their joke. 



Such squabbles for it can be called nothing 



graver lower one's opinion of human kind, and it 



makes one ashamed to think that two men may hug 



and pull one another about, and roll on the sand for 



6* 



