260 A MONTH IN THE FORESTS OF FRANCE. 



he was seated, and rising at once, witli an exclamation 

 of surprise, he came to me, and two old friends shook 

 hands. " Oh, I see," said I to myself, " I won't 

 trouble my other friends ; it is so pretty to see such 

 connubial felicity. I never saw anything like it in 

 England in these gentlemen. France has worked a 

 reformation ! " 



My dinner being over, I repaired to my hotel ; 

 the head waiter, an excellent servant, showing me 

 his Crimean medal, and being sedulously attentive 

 to all my wishes. The next morning, the Friday 

 morning, in the evening of which the packet sailed 

 from Havre, I got up early to transact some business. 

 Having finished what I had to do, on arriving at the 

 Hotel Biron I found, from my not being aware of the 

 local distances of the places where I had to go from 

 each other, that if I intended to take the only train 

 that remained by which to catch the packet, time 

 was not left me in which to get my passport. At 

 this moment the gentleman who had introduced him- 

 self so kindly in the train came to call on me, and on 

 my stating the dilemma in which I felt myself, he 

 gave me a note to the Prefect of Police at Havre, 

 vouching for my authenticity, and, on due consulta- 

 tion, as the train got to Havre two hours before the 

 packet sailed, we settled there would be plenty of time 



