lains where the sheep are fed, many of which
extend two or three leagues in every direction, produce not so
much as a fir-tree, by climbing which, a man might see to any of
its extremities: and the consequence is, that the shepherds are
constantly in danger of losing their sheep, as one loses sight of
a vessel at sea, in the distance. To remedy this evil, they have
fallen upon a plan not more simple than ingenious; they all walk
on stilts, exactly similar to those with which our school-boys
amuse themselves; the only difference lying here, that whereas
the school-boys' stilts are with us seldom raised above ten or
twelve inches from the ground, those of the French peasants are
elevated to the height of six or eight feet.

When we first caught a glimpse of these figures, it was in the
dusk of the morning, and for awhile we were willing to persuade
ourselves that the haze had deceived us, by seeming to enlarge
bodies beyond their real dimensions. But when we looked at the
trees, we saw them in their own proper size, nor could we suppose
that the atmosphere would have an effect upon one object, which
it had not upon another; yet there appeared to be no other way of
accounting for the phenomenon, unless indeed this wild country
were the parent of a race of giants, for the men whom we saw
resembled moving towers rather than mortals. I need not observe
that our astonishment was very great; nor, in was it much
diminished when, on a nearer approach, we discovered the truth,
and witnessed the agility with which they moved, and the ease
with which, aided by the poles which each carried in his hand,
they would stoop to the ground, pick up the article, and stand
upright again. But if we admired the skill of one or two
individuals, our admiration rose to a still higher pitch when we
saw crowds of them together, all equally skilful; till they
informed us that the thing was not an amusement, but universally
practised for the purpose I have stated.

Besides this, I know of nothing in the customs of this isolated
people at all worthy of notice, unless, indeed, it be their
method of supplying themselves with lights. Being completely cut
off from the rest of the world, it is not in their power, except
when once or twice a-year they travel to the nearest towns with
their wool, to purchase candles; and as they have no notion how
these can be made, they substitute in their room a lamp, fed with
the turpentine extracted from the fir-