OLD SAKXTA. 30.1 



the coast near Vazon and several people were drowned. The 

 corpse of a man, apparently the captain, was brought to the 

 house of the now deceased proprietor, whom I shall call X. 

 As nothing was afterwards found in the dead man's pockets, 

 and as X. suddenly became wealthy, it is surmised that he 

 may have taken possession of money or valuables of some kind 

 found on the body, and this to the detriment of the drowned 

 captain's relatives. Anyhow, it is said that X. died in the 

 room which is supposed to be haunted, and is believed to 

 resent, by the means related above, anyone occupying the 

 chamber in which he breathed his last. 



The Wizard of Goose Common. 



The following stories of the late Wizard Benez have been 

 kindly communicated to the compiler of these disjointed 

 narratives by Mr. J. S. Hocart, of the Vale. 



Les Landes, in the " Clos du Valle," was at one time 

 common land ; it was low, swampy ground, partly covered by 

 water in winter, and on it were kept large flocks of geese by 

 those living close at hand. The presence of geese in large 

 numbers caused the town people (who were in the habit of 

 coming there in parties in the latter part of the summer to 

 gather camomile) to call it the " Goose Common." It was 

 sold and enclosed in 1864. • 



On the left hand side of the main road going towards the 

 Golf Club on I'Ancresse Common is a low-thatched cottage, 

 in which there once resided a man of the name of Benez 

 (according to the " livre de perchage du Fief St. Michel au 

 Clos du Valle for 1754," the house was in possession of a 

 family of that name). This man Benez, it was said, could 

 transform himself into either a duck or a cat ; he was a 

 fisherman by trade, his partner being a young man named 

 Jacques Rihoy, a neighbour, who in his leisure was fond of 

 going out with his gun. At the back of Benez's house was a 

 large pond, known as " Le Clos au Jonc," where rush and reed 

 grew in abundance, a favourite spot for wild ducks. Jacques 

 liihoy noticed one morning in the pond a large duck not very 

 far off. Taking steady aim he fired, but it flew away 

 quietly, to his great astonishment, for he was sure that the 

 shot had struck the bird. That same afternoon, while in 

 the boat, Benez asked his partner what luck he had had in 

 the morning. Jacques told his tale and was laughed at. 

 Next morning the duck was again in the pond, nnd Jacques, 

 who had taken great care in loading his gun, fired at it, but 

 with the same result, the bird flying over his head crying 



