Page images
PDF
EPUB

"Then I don't want to go that way," said Florence.

"But we might wait at Havre till we had a good day," said Grimkie.

"But now," continued Grimkie," here are two other routes. Let us look at them before we decide. The next one goes from Cherbourg to Southampton. I should like to go to Cherbourg very much. That is a famous great place for ships and docks.”

66

“Oh, dear me !” said Florence with a sigh. "There is an immense great breakwater there. They call it the Digue."

"I don't think I should like that route very much," said Florence.

"Then, let us look at the next one," said Grimkie. "It goes by the way of the Channel Islands."

"Yes," said Florence, "let us look at that. I like islands a great deal better than sea roads, and docks, and diggs, and such things."

So the children proceeded to examine the way by the Channel Islands.

CHAPTER II

THE CHANNEL ISLANDS.

THE Channel Islands, as they are called, are situated, as will be seen by the map, very near the coast of France, and yet they belong to England. Thus, as is the case with some parts of Canada, while the government is English, the population and the prevailing language, as well as the manners and customs, are French.

It would lead me to a long story if I were to attempt to go back into the history of these islands, and of the part of France which lies contiguous to them, and relate the circumstances which have led to the islanders finding themselves, at this age of the world, under the dominion of one power, while the territory of the continent lying so near, is in the possession of another. The substance of it is, that in former times, all the northern part of France-the portion, namely, which is called Normandy- belonged to England. Indeed the present race of English kings descended from a Norman sovereign, the famous William the Conqueror, who

[ocr errors]

claimed the English throne as his right, invaded England with an army, and took possession of it by force. This was what is called in history the Norman Conquest. For many generations after that time England and Normandy-including many countries adjacent to Normandy — were united and formed one kingdom. Wars, however, were continually waged between England and France in respect to this territory, and at length after the lapse of many centuries the English were driven off from the continent altogether, but they succeeded in retaining these islands, and they have held them to the present day.

"I should not think," said Florence, when Grimkie, who had learned these facts in the historical lectures which he had attended at his school at the chateau, explained the case to her, as they sat before the table in the grand drawing room at the Louvre Hotel, with the atlas before them, I should not think that the emperor would allow the English to have these islands so near his shores. They could almost shoot a cannon ball to the land, I should think. How far can they shoot a cannon ball, Grimkie ?"

--

Grimkie said that with the newly invented guns which throw a sort of bolt, shaped somewhat like a thimble, pointed at the end, instead

of a ball, and which give it when i. leaves the gun, a sort of spinning motion by which it bores its way through the air with immense velocity, a missile could be sent six or seven miles, and yet have force enough, at the end of its flight, to do considerable damage.

"And how far is it from the nearest of these islands to the French shores ?" asked Florence. "I will see," said Grimkie.

So saying he took from his pocket book a small piece of paper, and laid it down upon the map in such a manner that the edge of it touched the island of Alderney in one part, and extended thence to the nearest point on the adjacent shore. He marked with his pencil the points on the edge of the paper which corresponded with these two positions, and then transferring the paper to the scale of miles in one corner of the map, he found that the distance was about ten miles. "Then it is too far," said Florence. "A cannon ball could not go so far as that.”

"No," said Grimkie, "but still the islands lie much too near the land to please the French, and they would take them away from the English if they could. They have tried to take them away a great many times, and there have been a great many wars about them.

"And some very curious things have happened

in those wars," added Grimkic. "Did you ever hear the story of the taking of Sark ?"

"No," said Florence, "what is the story ?" "Here is John looking for us," said Grimkie. "Let us wait till he comes, and then I will tell it to both of you."

John, who had been looking for Grimkie and Florence, was coming into the great drawing room to see if they were there. When he saw them he appeared much pleased, and advanced toward them.

Grimkie pointed out to him the situation of Sark, on the map, and said that he was just going to tell Florence a story of the way the English took it from the French in some of the old wars.

"Well," said John, "I should like to hear it too,"

"Sark is one of the Channel Islands," said Grimkie, “and the shores of it are formed of cliffs of rocks which extend all around it except in one place where there is a harbor. The French had in some way got possession of the island and the English wished to get it back again. But there was no way of attacking it except by landing at the harbor, and there were forts and batteries there that no ship that was small enough to get into such a little harbor could take. And

« PreviousContinue »