Chapter 44

M. OUDIN ARRIVES--THE WEDDING DAY--DIVISION OF THE SPOIL--ALEC RETURNS TO JETHOU--WEDDING GIFTS--THE END.

Delays being dangerous, it was quickly decided that our wedding should take place on October 15th, my father's birthday. Among the invitations sent out was one to M. Oudin, of Paris, asking him to come and spend a fortnight with us, so that he could kill two birds with one stone, viz., be present at the wedding, and take with him the treasure we had found on his island.

On Michaelmas Day we received an acceptance of the invitation, and on Old Michaelmas Day, which is a time of some note in Norfolk, our visitor arrived.

M. Oudin was greatly pleased with our fresh-water Broads, and as he was fond of angling and shooting he was very interested and happy. We showed him the treasure, of which he made notes in his pocket book, but further he appeared to take little notice of the matter. From his arrival until the wedding day was a period of excitement, and everyone about the place seemed to regard it as a festival; and truly such it was, for every day fun of some kind was afoot, especially in the evening, for then King Misrule held his sway.

M. Oudin spent most of his daylight on the Broad or the adjoining river with Alec, in a small sailing skiff. These two, with rods, gun, and dog ("Begum"), used to bring in quite a good supply of fish and water-fowl, which they captured in the quiet spots a little from the house.

At length the wedding day arrived, and a bright happy day it proved, and everything went "as happy as the wedding bells," and _they_ rang merry peals till quite midnight.

Our whole village only contains about three hundred and fifty persons, so everyone who wished came to a meal spread upon long tables on the lawn, and from noon till midnight, dancing, singing, boating, etc., were in full swing. At ten p.m. a huge bonfire was lighted, which had not died out when our people arose the next day.

Before going to the church, M. Oudin requested an audience of Priscilla, father, mother, Alec, and myself, and a red-letter day it turned out to be for us. Briefly, M. Oudin's harangue was this:

"My dear friend Harry, but for your discovery of the articles here before us (the treasure), both by good luck and your great ingenuity, I should not now find myself the possessor of what must certainly be of considerable value. Now, if you have any special wish as to which of the articles you would like to possess, make your choice now, freely and without stint."

I stepped forward and selected some of the old arms, including the silver pistols, the three books, and four bags of doubloons. Then, turning the jewels out of the casket, I asked that this beautiful piece of workmanship might be mine also.

"Is that all, Harry?" said M. Oudin.

"All, and more, sir, than I have really any claim to."

"Good lad; I admire your moderation. Now, friend Alec, and what would you like to take away with you?"

"Well, sir, as the digging was mighty hard work, perhaps you would not mind my taking a bag of the money, for I think it would be of more service to me than anything else, as I can, by changing it, soon make it into such small dimensions as to fold comfortably within the tuck of my pocket book for future use."

"Very well, my lad, your request shall be granted. And you, my dear girl," turning to Priscilla, "what would you like as a memento of my visit, and as a remembrance of your bridegroom's sojourn on my island?"

Priscilla eyed the lace lovingly, and also the gems, but was puzzled in her mind to know how much of one or the other she might select without fear of encroaching on M. Oudin's generosity. M. Oudin quickly came to the rescue with, "Now, my dear, you and Mrs. Nilford divide the lace into three equal heaps, and I will tell you what we will decide upon."

After a time the three heaps were arranged upon the floor, and M. Oudin informed us that he should ask my father to place his foot upon one of the heaps as he (M. Oudin) stood just outside the door. My dad did so, and M. Oudin cried, "For Madam Nilford." Again my father touched a heap with his foot. This time he cried, "For my own dear self." Then bursting into the room he, with extravagant bows and apologies to Priscilla for leaving her out, wound up by gathering up the remaining heap of lace, and placing it at her feet. Then, taking her by the hand, he led her to the table with:

"Now, my dear child, let me pay a penalty for my omission in not calling out your name. With this sweet little hand, which is in another hour to be claimed by our friend here, grasp as many of these rough-skinned little gems as your hand will hold, and they shall be yours."

She grasped, but could only clutch fourteen or fifteen in her hand.

"Ah!" exclaimed our volatile guest, "you see you are not of a grasping nature. Come, Harry, try _your_ luck at a grasp."

I took a big grab and succeeded in retaining about forty, so that we had between us much more than half the precious stones. But this was not all, for he continued:

"Now, Harry, I will relieve you of the _whole_ of the doubloons, but at the same time I will ask you to put this in your pocket, as a settlement of what you might easily have taken for yourself, had you been anyone but the honest lad you are."

Here he handed me a cheque for a thousand pounds, which I sincerely thanked him for. Then turning to Alec he said:

"Young man, I believe it is your wish to live upon Jethou, and such being the case I shall allow you to retain possession so long as you choose to live there, and in addition to this, in lieu of the bag of doubloons you selected, and which I shall retain, I purpose giving you a sum of fifty pounds per annum, so long as you remain on Jethou."

We all thanked him again and again for his generosity; but he would hear nothing of thanks, as he said the goods belonged to me as much as to him, and in giving away the greater portion he was only acting in a just spirit, in which he declared generosity had no part. "Beside," said he, "I shall leave your hospitable roof with a good slice of the treasure trove, which, although found on my island, was (all but the lace) left by will 'to the lucky discoverer of Barbe Rouge's hoard.' All round, I trust we may say we are satisfied. And now to the church."

In the afternoon I and my bride left for Hastings. Next day M. Oudin, with his heavy packing case of doubloons, bade farewell to my parents to return to Paris, where he had a very large leather business, and was accounted a wealthy man, as his brother had left him his whole fortune.

Alec, in a few days, set out on his return to Jethou, compassing the distance as far as Dover in the "Happy Return," which I had presented to him, but could get no further in her, as a gale from the south-west set in, and further attempt at crossing would have been suicidal. He therefore waited a few days for a stone steamer to take both him and his boat to St. Sampson's Harbour, Guernsey, from which he crossed to his island home.

I may add that as a wedding gift my father presented me with two new fishing smacks, complete with trawl net, herring nets, and other gear. On my part, to Priscilla I handed over Walter Johnson's cheque for a hundred pounds, which was duly honoured by his father.

I think I have now spun my yarn to a finish, and if my readers have been interested in my narrative, I shall, with the sense of conveying pleasure to others, never regret the happy hours I myself spent while enjoying a Crusoe's life in the Channel Islands.

_L'ENVOI._

At St. Peter's Church, Guernsey, on New Year's Day, ALEXANDER DUCAS, of Jethou, to JEANETTE GRAVIOT, of Herm.

APPENDIX.

A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE CHANNEL ISLES.

To say that the Channel Islands are not known to the general public would be to say what is in these modern days of advertising untrue; but it may be doubted if they are so well known as they really deserve. They might very well be called the "Multum in Parvo Islands," for they contain a very great deal of beauty in a small space; in fact, it would be very difficult, if not quite impossible, to find another place of the same collective area with such a diversity of natural beauty. Hills, dales, bays, promontories, rocks, trees, lawns, dells, watercourses, and other natural features are here seen in every conceivable variety, and their beauties never pall upon one.

The extent of the islands is roughly as follows:--

____________________________________________________________________ | Name. | Length | Breadth. | Area. | Population. | | | Miles. | Miles. | Acres | | |-----------|---------|------------------|-----------|--------------| | Jersey | 12½ | 5 to 7 | 40,000 | 65,000 | | Guernsey | 9½ | 4½ | 15,500 | 35,000 | | Sark | 3 | 1½ at widest | 950 | 600 | | Alderney | 2 | ½ on average | 600 | 2,000 | | Herm | 1½ | ½ | 300 | 2,000 | | Jethou | 1/3 | ¼ | 50 | 1 family | |___________|_________|__________________|___________|______________|

Total area, 57,400 acres, or about 90 square miles. Total population, 102,620.

Everybody appears to agree as to the salubrity of the climate, which is remarkably equable throughout the year. Cool in summer, compared to the continental towns on the same degree of latitude, and much warmer in the winter. As a winter residence it is milder and less changeable than even our favoured Devonshire.

Quite a list of plants might here be appended to shew the degree of mildness experienced in the Channel Islands. Many of them, although of tropical growth, standing out of doors all the winter without taking harm. Dr. Greenhow, of Edinburgh, while staying in Jersey one winter, remarks in a letter to a friend dated January 21st, "I have now on a table before me in full bloom, the following flowers--narcissus, jonquils, stocks, wallflowers, rosemary, myrtle, polyanthus, mignonette, and hyacinths." To these the worthy doctor might have added several more, as the rose, violet, primrose, etc.

Snow is very rare, and usually the night frost is dispelled in a few hours by the warmth of the sun, and the general balminess of the air.

For health it is difficult to conceive a spot where a more pure air can be discovered, for beside the fact of each island having the benefit of a sea breeze from whichever quarter the wind may blow, there are no manufactories on the islands to poison the atmosphere with fumes deleterious to health, as in many of our large English towns--even those called country towns. On the score of climate and air, therefore, the Channel Isles will bear comparison with any English county; not only a _favourable_ comparison, but one that cannot be rivalled by them, even in the south.

In the matter of hours of sunshine the islands come out a long way ahead of even Devon and Cornwall, as statistics show that for every hundred hours these counties can boast of bright sunshine, the Channel Islands can show nearly one hundred and forty.

The cost of living on the islands is, taken altogether, less than in England; but in the matter of house rent, is somewhat higher. Meat of all kinds is a trifle dearer per pound than in England; but when it is taken into consideration that the Channel Islands' pound is about seventeen and three-quarter ounces of our avoirdupois weight, there is little, if any difference in the prices. Fruit and fish are remarkably good and cheap. The produce in the markets of Guernsey and Jersey are an unusual sight to visitors, for the fruit is placed for customers' inspection just as it is gathered, so that the plums, grapes, etc., retain their bloom and look a perfect picture. The fish is brought in straight from the sea, still retaining its iridescent hues, and there is no need to enquire further if they are fresh, as they, to put it metaphorically, speak for themselves. Coal has to be imported from England and Belgium, and is therefore somewhat expensive; but it must be remembered that the climate, being so mild, does not necessitate so much being consumed.

Wines and spirits are now, since the imposition of a Duty only a trifle lower in price than in England, but perhaps of inferior quality. Tobacco and cigars are ridiculously cheap, but not always nasty, because of their cheapness. Anyone content to smoke a cigar of fair quality may do so at a price about fifty per cent. less than in England; but if he is fastidious in his taste, and requires something superior, such as a genuine Havanna, he will look for it in vain. Strangely enough he can be obliged at most cigar dealers with Havanna cigars at Havanna prices, but as the Customs pass very few of the genuine cigars, it is a mystery where they all come from. Yet they say smuggling is a thing of the past! Or do the gentle tradesmen, to discourage smuggling, manufacture their own _Havannas_? Good tobacco, shag and bird's-eye, may be had at eighteen pence per pound.

There are several routes to the Islands, the chief being in connection with our large railways, and are undoubtedly the quickest and most comfortable. Those fond of the sea may make the trip from London by steamer any Saturday throughout the summer, a distance of nearly three hundred miles for about a sovereign for the return journey. Another route, for Cornish people, is from Falmouth. From Plymouth west of England residents can take passage by a comfortable steamer any Friday, which covers the distance to Jersey in about ten hours. The route from Southampton is a favourite one, as although not the shortest sea route, it is within such a small railway journey of London as to be reached in about a couple of hours. The distance by water by this route (one hundred and fifteen miles) does not apparently compare favourably with the eighty miles from Weymouth to Guernsey; but it must be remembered that the trip down the Southampton Water and along the shore of the Isle of Wight, till the Needles are passed, is all smooth sailing. The actual distance on the open sea is therefore not very much further than by the Weymouth route.

The steamers which, by the by, carry the mails to the Channel Isles, are very large and powerfully-built vessels, fitted with every modern appliance for the comfort of travellers. The London and South-Western Railway may also be congratulated on having just the right men for captains of their vessels. Men who, beside being capable navigators, are also alive to the comfort of those who are temporarily in their charge. Still, another route is by the Great Western Railway from Weymouth.

I would add a final word to those who are about to hie _abroad_ for a genial climate, for beautiful scenery, or to see something not to be seen elsewhere. Have they thought of the Channel Islands? If not, let them try a month there, and if they are not pleased, there is the French coast only twenty miles away. Should they not have gained all they expected in a visit, they will at least have acquired one thing, and that is a month's health.

MODERN TREASURE.

Although the spoil we discovered on Jethou was worth a very considerable amount, yet it appears quite insignificant beside some modern treasure which has been either sought after or found, as the following items, clipt from the London newspapers for July, 1891, will shew:--

"A Dalziel's telegram from Berlin reports that a large treasure of gold coins, of the size of twenty-mark pieces, has been found at Beuthen, in Silesia. Part of them bear the date 1508. There are reported to be a million coins in all."

"His Majesty King James II. of England certainly gave a good deal of trouble during his lifetime, and is now proving a nuisance indirectly in a very extraordinary way, one hundred and ninety years after his death. According to an ancient local legend, James, who died at Saint Germain-en-Laye, hid away somewhere in the neighbourhood of the monastery of Triel, the royal crown of England, the sceptre, and other baubles of a total value of some £2,000,000. For more than forty years past the owners of the estate on which are the ruins of the monastery, have sought for the regalia by digging long trenches in all directions, always starting from the building itself. This having become a serious danger to the neighbouring village, the mayor is taking steps to prevent any further delving by the seekers after hidden treasure."

Jarrold and Sons, Printers, Norwich, Yarmouth, and London.