IRISH SERVANTS 189 



when it was washing time. A stream ran by our 

 lawn and distributed perhaps the most sickening 

 odour in the world. We got hold of a dear old 

 Northerner, dour and solid, but with the kindliest 

 trouble in his eyes, one William, who toiled in the 

 huge wilderness of garden, was southern in his 

 heart if not in his manner. 



From Colchester I went on to Guernsey, where 

 I lighted on a landlady, Mrs. Wolfram, who made 

 lodgings a deUght. I wonder if she is still aUve ? 

 Guernsey I did not love. I always felt as if you 

 could only go a few miles without walking over 

 the edge of the world. It was so full of trippers 

 and char-a-bancs and glass houses, and a horse 

 would have had to be a good glass jumper to get 

 on there. 



The coast was glorious, and in winter and spring 

 when every rock was not dotted with a tripper, I 

 used to love to wander by the sea there and see 

 the green and brown hghts in the water. I came 

 to Guernsey three days after the Stella disaster. 

 There were dead people still in the sea when we 

 thrashed over in a raging storm, and there were 

 two other wrecks while I was there. 



Some of the old houses covered with pink 

 geraniums are quite lovely. The Guernsey country 

 people are supposed to be descendants of the 

 fairies, who killed all the men folk and came to 

 inhabit the island. I tried to learn the patois, with 

 scant success ; the people are charming. 



