94 EXPERIENCES OF SPORT. 



Pearl fishing in Lower Brittany may sound 

 somewhat strange to my readers : I will there- 

 fore explain, in a few words, what this said pearl 

 fishing is. 



In the beautiful river which runs through the 

 Strangalla are countless fresh water mussels, 

 and many of these contain most beautiful pearls. 

 They are of a rose tint ; the larger they are, and 

 the more delicate the rose tint is, the greater 

 their value. The Bretons about Quimper set 

 great store on these, and I have seen many 

 very beautiful ornaments made of them, such as 

 ear-rings, bracelets, brooches, &c. If a lady has 

 found enough good ones to make herself a set of 

 ornaments she is looked on as rather a lucky 

 person, and envied accordingly. The way in 

 which the mussels are taken is very simple. 

 They go in large parties to the Strangalla. The 

 bottom of the river is a beautiful sand, and in 

 some parts gravel, but where these shell fish are 

 taken is in the sand, and they are always near the 

 edge of the stream. The ladies then loop up their 

 gowns (having on their little fancy Turkish trou- 

 sers), and put on a thin pair of slippers some go 

 bare footed they commence treading about the 



