slew it round so that it would broach ashore on its side, and how neatly
he avoided being caught between it and the sand. The fishermen's boats,
or catamarans as they are called here, though they have no resemblance
to the Colombo catamaran, are made of four of these pointed logs tied
side by side. I suppose this little chap was playing at his future work.
He had made a little collection on the dry sand of two or three
shell-fish and beasts that burrow in the sand, and whenever he went to
sea, three crows stalked up to these, when he would leave the log and
scamper after them, then run back all over dry sand and tumble into the
surf again, to come up laughing and wet and shining like copper--I
should say it was nicer than being at school.

[Illustration]

Two of his clothless seniors came in, as I sketched, from the deep swell
outside the surf, through the breakers slanting-wise. It was a treat to
see them paddling their four logs, almost side on to the breaking surf,
where our boats could not safely venture; one knelt behind on the thick
ends of the two prolonged middle logs, the other amidship--their heads
only showed above a breaker, the next moment they were on its crest, the
surf foaming over their knees--down again into another hollow, then up,
and with a surge the lumber drove its nose on the sand, the stern threw
up, and the two nipped into the water at either end; another surge swung
the stern round, and shoved the raft broadside on far up the sand, and
they were landing their nets--all done as easily as you could pull up a
dog-cart and step out! Of course they are not inconvenienced with
clothes, and the water and sands are both comfortably warm; the little
difficulty must be to jump at the right time and place, so as to avoid
being thrown off, and getting rolled under the logs. Bow seemed to hop
off in front and to the outside a little, just before she touched, and
Stroke a half a second later, but the manoeuvre was too quick for me
to follow more than one of the men's actions exactly.

Whilst I watched this extremely rapid landing, my acquaintances of
yesterday were pulling at the long ropes from either end of the Seine
net, which was extended very far out at sea. When the ends were within
fifty yards of the shore the knowing old seniors went tumbling through
the surf, and kept swimming and splashing to frighten the fish from the
mouth of the V shape into the bag in the middle; the women folk and
children