46 GOLDEN DAYS 



sort of dictatorial veto on the majority of 

 the Breton rivers. After all, as Jean Pierre 

 says, Il-y-a toujours des endroits (even 

 in the country around Quimper and 

 Chateaulin), and these the fisherman will 

 discover only by exploring for himself. 

 Most of the fishing is free, and he can 

 wander up a stream for a whole day 

 without fear of riparian owners and their 

 water-bailiffs. He may meet occasionally 

 a miller or a farmer. The latter cannot 

 be compared to his brethren across the 

 Channel, but more nearly resembles the 

 Scotch crofter, except that he is often the 

 owner of his small farm and soil. He is 

 a good fellow, kindly, frugal, an indefatig- 

 able worker, and usually very poor. Yet 

 here appearances may be deceitful. It is 

 more than likely, although his home looks 

 indigent and bare, that he has a pile of 

 five-franc pieces in that old oak chest along 

 with Madame's goffered white collars and 

 the black- velvet dress she wears on pardon 

 days. 



We have spoken of the difficulty and 

 fatigue of this fishing, and here, for the 

 benefit of those who do not know Brittany, 



