KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



327 



After having seen that all things were 

 right, and having bought some flour, potatoes, 

 and eggs, (which last cost the huge sum 

 of five sous, or 2£d. the dozen), we again 

 embarked. Arriving on board we found the 

 vessel full of the " Douanes," a set of lubbers, 

 half sailors half soldiers, who had come to 

 inspect the ships papers. In England the 

 coast-guard board a vessel, in nine cases out 

 of ten, before she has let go her anchor ; and 

 frequently just as she enters the port. Here 

 we had remained above three hours, with our 

 ensign at our topmast head, waiting for these 

 gentry to make their appearance ; which, as 

 we were only half-a-mile from the town, we 

 thought was long enough ; so we dressed 

 and went on shore. 



After having inspected the papers, and the 

 "role d'equipage" (in which I of course was 

 not entered), the question was, "who and 

 what was I ?" Accordingly, a mass of 

 questions were addressed to me, to which I 

 replied that the captain was my uncle ; and 

 that my anxiety to see " la belle France" 

 had induced him to let me come with him. 

 This immediately set their inquiries at rest ; 

 and after the " petit gout," permission was 

 given us to go on shore, and no notice was 

 taken of our having done so before they had 

 examined the papers. Having finished our 

 tea, we manned the boat, and went ashore to 

 inspect the town. We soon reached the 

 landing-place, opposite to which was a long 

 bench : on this some seven or eight Douanes, 

 in full tog, were seated, enjoying the cool of 

 the evening ; when we landed they drew up 

 in a line, and made us a military salute, 

 which we returned by a bow, and left them 

 highly delighted at our returning their 

 salute. 



We now strolled through the town ; and 

 having seen all that was worth observation 

 (which by the way was not much), we 

 returned to our vessel. Next morning we 

 got under weigh, and kept a sharp look-out 

 for the boats of the fishermen, who, up and 

 down this part of the coast, are constantly 

 on the watch for the vessels belonging to the 

 captain. The wind falling light, we did not 

 make much progress ; for by tea time we 

 were only a few miles south of Couquet, a 

 little town about 12 miles to the southward 

 of Brest. Here we were boarded by three 

 boats, each having several score of Lobsters 

 for sale. These were neatly packed in 

 wicker baskets, with lids to them. In a few 

 minutes we were on deck to count the fish, 

 and deposit them in the well. 



This well is a most ingenious contrivance 

 for carrying the fish alive to England. It 

 consists of a large space in the hold of the 

 vessel, containing water ; and in this vessel 

 is capable of holding nearly 6000 Lobsters ; 

 is very strongly built, and thoroughly caulked 



to prevent the ingress of water from the well 

 to the interior of the vessel. The planks 

 forming the bottom of the vessel are bored 

 full of holes, about an inch in diameter, which 

 open into this well. By means of these, a 

 constant circulation of water from the sea to 

 the well is kept up. The top of this well is 

 covered with very stout oak-planks, and 

 forms (what is called) the " well-deck." From 

 this well-deck, a sort of truncated chimney 

 ascends to the deck above, and is covered 

 with a wooden grating. Through this 

 opening, the fish are put into the well, and 

 taken out, when necessary, by means of a 

 stout net (similar to a fisherman's landing- 

 net), fastened to a long pole. The well is 

 divided into a fore and after space, by means 

 of a strong partition of oak planking. This 

 serves to bind the sides of the vessel 

 together ; for the timbers do not reach to 

 the keel in any part of the well, as it 

 would be difficult to remove the fish without 

 beaching the vessel, which it is not always 

 desirable to do. 



As soon as w T e came on deck, we were 

 saluted with a host of compliments from the 

 assembled Frenchmen who had got their 

 baskets on deck, and were ready to deposit 

 their contents in the well. For several 

 minutes nothing could be heard but " le bon 

 capitaine," from all of them; mingled with 

 an indescribable gibberish spoken on this 

 part of the coast, a patois bearing a great 

 resemblance in sound to Welsh, though pos- 

 sibly it might puzzle u a professor" of that 

 language. After the fish were deposited in 

 the well and paid for, it was gently hinted 

 that they would like to drink " bon voyage" 

 to " le bon capitaine." Accordingly, a bottle 

 of brandy was brought on deck, together 

 with a small glass of the capacity of a 

 quarter of a pint. This was filled and handed 

 to them in succession ; including the moose 

 (as the little boy who goes in their boats is 

 called, though the crew facetiously named 

 him, the " mouse"). It was very edifying to 

 observe this little wretch (hardly more than 

 ten years of age, and no higher than one's 

 elbow) take the glass, and having wished us 

 "bon voyage," bolt its contents at a gulp, 

 though it nearly strangled him, making his 

 eyes water at a furious rate, and almost taking 

 away his breath. On recovering, he said 

 (looking at his glass, as if prepared for a 

 2nd edition) " very good !" On this, he was 

 ordered into the boat, and the rest following 

 him,we pursued our course to the southward, 

 and towards evening were off the " Point of 

 Penmarck," which, with its dangerous reefs 

 and rocks, was about three miles inside us. 



Looking towards the shore, I was struck 

 with the dazzling white of the different 

 beaches along this part of the coast, which I 

 found was owing to their being covered with 



