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next one goes from Cherbourg to . I should like to go to Cherbourg That is a famous great place for ks."

me!" said Florence with a sigh.
an immense great breakwater there.
he Digue."

hink I should like that route very
Florence.

us look at the next one," said [t goes by the way of the Channel

1 Florence, "let us look at that. I
great deal better than sea roads,
d diggs, and such things."
dren proceeded to examine the way
nel Islands.

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THE Channel Islands, as they are calle situated, as will be seen by the map, verj the coast of France, and yet they belong to land. Thus, as is the case with some pa Canada, while the government is English population and the prevailing language, a as the manners and customs, are French.

It would lead me to a long story if I w attempt to go back into the history of islands, and of the part of France whicl contiguous to them, and relate the circumst which have led to the islanders finding t selves, at this age of the world, under th minion of one power, while the territory o continent lying so near, is in the possessi another. The substance of it is, that in fo times, all the northern part of France-the tion, namely, which is called Normandy longed to England. Indeed the present ra English kings descended from a Norman reign, the famous William the Conqueror, med one kingdom. Wars, howtinually waged between England respect to this territory, and at ne lapse of many centuries the riven off from the continent altoey succeeded in retaining these ey have held them to the present

not think," said Florence, when
nad learned these facts in the his-
s which he had attended at his
hateau, explained the case to her,
re the table in the grand drawing
ouvre Hotel, with the atlas before
uld not think that the emperor
e English to have these islands so
They could almost shoot a can-
land, I should think. How far
a cannon ball, Grimkie ?"
I that with the newly invented
ow a sort of bolt, shaped some-
nble, pointed at the end, instead

do conside "And islands to "I wil

So sayi

piece of in such a

island of

thence to He mar

edge of

two pos

to the

he found

"The

non bal

“No. lie muc

and the

lish if t

away a

great n "A

yet have force enough, at the end of its fligh do considerable damage.

"And how far is it from the nearest of 1 islands to the French shores?" asked Floreı "I will see," said Grimkie.

So saying he took from his pocket book a s piece of paper, and laid it down upon the in such a manner that the edge of it touched island of Alderney in one part, and exte] thence to the nearest point on the adjacent sl He marked with his pencil the points or edge of the paper which corresponded with t two positions, and then transferring the p to the scale of miles in one corner of the r he found that the distance was about ten mi "Then it is too far," said Florence. "A non ball could not go so far as that." "No," said Grimkie, "but still the isla lie much too near the land to please the Fre and they would take them away from the H lish if they could. They have tried to take t away a great many times, and there have be great many wars about them.

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"And some very curious things have happe

nad been looking for Grimkie and oming into the great drawing room were there. When he saw them uch pleased, and advanced toward

ated out to him the situation of map, and said that he was just Florence a story of the way the from the French in some of the

a John, "I should like to hear it

in board. shore tha

permissic upon the

the island

in return

the best

board th

"The

was not

to proci island. stipulat shore wi

me of the Channel Islands," said the shores of it are formed of which extend all around it except ere there is a harbor. The French

any arn

"The

ered ag

y got possession of the island and ished to get it back again. But ay of attacking it except by landor, and there were forts and bat

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at no ship that was small enough

heavy,

prised

1 a little harbor could take. And

leaden

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