ROUND THE BESOM BUOY.

clouds, like flocks of sheep straying upon the heavenly pastures. I was full of a delicious sense of freedom and power. I had timed my voyage with care; the last of the ebb was carrying me gently towards the 'Besom;' the first of the flood would float me quietly back again. I contented myself with an occasional stroke of the paddle, to keep my course; and the wind veering a point or two in my favour, I presently hoisted my sail, and skimmed joyously along.

As I cast my eyes towards the shore, I felt a certain inconvenience from the dazzling reflection of the sun in the water, as I could not make out two of the landing-marks-the monument and the look-out. But I had still the spire and windmill to guide me, and I should presently catch sight of the buoy itself. All of a sudden, from out of the glare of the sun's rays, I saw a glittering ripple glide forth quickly, advancing towards me. In the centre of the ripple was a black speck, that as it came nearer and nearer, assumed the appearance of a dog's head. A dog it was, sure enough; he was overhauling me rapidly, and presently I could hear his deep regular breathing as he clove his way through the waters.

At this moment the sail began to flap, the breeze died away to nothing, and I was left becalmed upon the sea. I struck my mast, and set to work to paddle with all my might, hoping to leave my unwelcome companion behind me. A few minutes' hard work convinced me that I had no chance in a trial of speed. I had better reserve my strength till it should be needed. As the dog approached, I saw that it was long Courthope's big Newfoundland; a dog that had a passion for pulling people out of the sea. He was evidently bent upon seizing me, and putting a stop to my voyage; his sharp teeth would penetrate my air-tight skin, the Iktheandron would collapse, and I should sink to the bottom like a stone.

The dog was close upon me now; he made directly for my shoulder, and rose half out of the water in his eagerness to clutch me; but a dexterous stroke of my paddle backed me out of his reach, and he missed his first spring. He quickly circled round, however, and attacked me on the other side; again I shot forward, and eluded him. The dog now seemed to appreciate my manœuvre. Instead of approaching me sideways, he began to swim in the line of my longest axis; and as he swam faster than I could paddle, and was ready to follow any lateral deviation I could make, I foresaw that another moment would bring him upon me. Indeed, I already heard his hoarse breath close to my ear, and I aimed a wild blow with my paddle in the direction of the sound. The dog eluded the blow, and seized the end of the paddle in his mouth. The effort overcame my equilibrium; I was obliged to let go the paddle, and rolled over and over, but righted at last, and, to my joy, I saw that the dog was swimming off with the paddle. He would take it to the shore, no doubt, and although I should be embarrassed by its loss, I could steer myself pretty well by my hands. But I was speedily undeceived as to the dog's intentions. Having swum with the paddle in his mouth to a considerable distance, far out of my reach, he abandoned it, and once more swam back to renew his attack upon me. Of the combat that ensued, only the sea-gulls were the

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witness; they screamed over our heads, anticipating, perhaps, a handsome feed upon the combatants; the contest soon came to an end; it was impossible to elude the vigilance and perseverance of Neptune. In a few moments, I felt that his sharp fangs had whistle of escaping air, I felt a great gurgling and closed upon my india-rubber skin, I heard the rush of water, but somehow I didn't sink; breakers went right over me, sweeping me from stem to stern, but I didn't go down; in another moment I felt that I was high and dry upon shore, the big dog pulling and dragging me out of the reach of the waves. And there he stood over me, wagging ing as pleased and as proud as if he had done me his handsome tail, and lifting his noble crest, lookthe greatest service in the world. But for myself, I shuddered and cried aloud when I saw where I was-for we had drifted on to the Besom sands.

It is a peculiarity of these sands, which are visible only from half-ebb to the following half-flood, that whilst during the rest of the ebb they are firm and dry, and afford an excellent footing; no sooner does the flood-tide begin to make, than the sands assume the consistency of puddle. Woe betide the unfortunate craft that gets ashore on these treacherous sands, which are neither land nor water, sea nor shore, where there is no footing and no swimming, where boats cannot live, and where the stoutest ship and bravest crew are inevitably irredeemably lost, sucked in by the viscid devouring pulp! On this slough of despair had I drifted during my contest with the dog; the sands were yet firm and dry, but the ebb had almost run out. In a few minutes, the flood would begin to make, the sand to quiver and turn to jelly.

There was only one thing to be done: to divest myself of the Iktheandron, and strike out in the costume of Adam for the shore. It was hardly possible that my strength would hold out, for I was not a strong swimmer, but that was the only chance. One of the equipments of the Iktheandron was a long sharp knife, kept in a waterproof sheath. With this I quickly cut the laces and fastenings of my armour, and in a few moments stood upon the sands, in the apparel in which I was born, ready to strike out for my life.

Neptune all this time had been watching me narrowly. He shewed unmistakably that he meant to follow me into the sea. Then I made up my mind that I would kill him. It seemed almost like murder to kill that brave intelligent dog, but I knew he would drown me if I didn't despatch him. I held my knife behind me in my right hand whilst I called the dog to me, speaking to him in a kind encouraging way. But he saw something in my eye that put him on his guard, and he would not come near me. The sand was already beginning to tremble under my feet. I felt a violent throe of fear and despair, that paralysed all my powers. The dog danced about me barking and howling, half in anger and half in sport. There in the distance gleamed the long low horizon, the white houses on the esplanade glittering in the sunshine, the sails of the windmills, the tall look-out stations shewing above them, white sails shewing afar off, the roar of the crowd like a faint whisper, the crack of the rifles in the travelling shooting-gallery, distinctly to be heard; everything full of life, and I doomed to die. I should be missed presently, and they would send a boat after me, but it would be too late. That black brute that was dancing about

for securing the intermediate strip of territory, the assisted by a body of French nobility. After an French, about three hundred and twenty years ago, investment of four months, and a loss of thirty began as a bold stroke of policy to take possession thousand men, Charles was forced to raise the of Metz, and the territory connected with it. The siege, January 1, 1553, all his attempts at the incident is as curious as it is discreditable. A capture of the place being effectually baffled. The mean advantage was taken of the war which broke seizure of the city and bishopric of Metz, as now out between the Emperor Charles V. and his briefly described, together with Toul and Verdun, Protestant subjects in North Germany. Although, was the first act of a series of aggressions made at the time, the Protestants of France were perse- by France upon Germany, with the object of cuted to the death, the French king, Henry II. extending her frontier to the much-coveted Rhine. (son of François Premier), with furtively ambitious designs, offered to defend the Protestants of Germany against their own emperor; and entered into an alliance, in 1551, with Maurice of Saxony and other princes, undertaking to send an army to their aid. As bases of operations, it was agreed that he might take temporary military possession of Toul, Verdun, and Metz, three bishoprics each with a portion of territory lying within the duchy of Lorraine, but held as distinct fiefs of the German Empire-such, in fact, being fragments of Lothair's kingdom, which fell to Germany, and had in no shape been incorporated with France. It was stipulated that, in occupying these places, the French were not to interfere with their old connection with the Empire.

What followed this confidence might form the subject of a romance. The French grievously, and, to speak plainly, in a most shameful manner, abused the trust put in them. All the stipulations went for nothing. In 1552, French troops took possession of Toul and Verdun, also of Nancy, the capital of Lorraine, treating the duchy, generally, as a conquered country. Seeing this sort of treatment, Metz shut her gates, and trusted to her fortifications. To procure an entrance and secure possession, there was a resort to stratagems, which afford a startling illustration of the tricks that French nobles at that time could be guilty of, in order to gain their ends. The French commander, the Constable Montmorency, begged to be allowed to pass through the town with a few attendants, while his army made a wide circuit on its route. The too credulous custodiers of the city opened the gates, and, to their dismay, the whole French forces rushed in, and began to rule in true despotic fashion. Montmorency, finding himself opposed by a patriotic party among the magistrates, got the better of them by an act of almost unexampled treachery. Affecting to be very ill, he took to his bed, was dying, and invited those magistrates who were obnoxious to him to come to be witnesses of his will. Deceived by these false representations, they unfortunately attended the summons. When they presented themselves in a spirit of condolence at the bed-side of Montmorency, he suddenly sprang upon the senior magistrate, and stabbed him with a dagger to the heart, while the guard despatched the rest.

Thus was Metz secured for France in a way which modern Frenchmen, we should imagine, could hardly think of without shame, if made properly aware of the facts, which they usually are not. If any of them read this, it will probably be the first time they have heard of the transaction. Although Montmorency had secured Metz by a piece of downright brigandage, that important fortress was not submissively relinquished by Germany. Furious at its loss, the Emperor Charles V. proceeded to besiege it with a large army. The defence was undertaken by the Duke of Guise,

The next haul which the French made on the left bank of the river was about a hundred years later, and was justifiable only on the principle of might making right. It took place in this wise. In the course of 1648, the Thirty Years' War in Germany terminated by the mutual exhaustion of the parties more immediately concernedRoman Catholics and Protestants. After the sufferings which had been inflicted, both were disposed for peace, which was secured by the treaty of Westphalia, 24th October 1648. In their professed zeal to help the Protestant states of Germany, the French had been allowed to obtain a temporary military occupation of the stretch of country from Strasburg to Coblentz. Now that the war was over, they refused to withdraw, unless Alsace was ceded as an idemnity for the expenses to which they had been put. The German emperor, with impaired powers, could do nothing but protest; and at last it was agreed that France should have a large part of that rich territory. The important free city of Strasburg, and a number of counties and abbacies holding directly from the emperor, were specially excepted; but with Metz, which had been secured by the stratagem of Montmorency, and the large section of Alsace now resigned to them, the French established such a footing on the left bank of the Rhine as to facilitate further acquisitions.

The opportunity for a fresh acquisition occurred at the close of the wars of Louis XIV. in Germany and Flanders. While a congress proposed by that monarch was sitting at Frankfort for the settlement of disputes between France and the German Empire, a body of French troops in Alsace, in the middle of the night, 28th to 29th September 1681, stole from a neighbouring wood, and occupied the approaches to Strasburg, and soon an army of forty thousand men surrounded the city. There were no means of defence; and under the threat of being immediately stormed and pillaged, the citizens were obliged to open their gates. Strasburg was captured. This virtually decided the fate of the country. The French acquisitions were sanctioned by the Peace of Ryswick, 1697, and Alsace was henceforth a French province, with the exception of a small part at its southern extremity, which was taken from Germany at the Revolution.

We thus see that Alsace, now recovered by Germany, had not been so much as two hundred years in possession of the French. The more aged of the exiles may have talked with old men who had begun life as Germans. As regards Lorraine, it is little more than a hundred years since it was incorporated with France. It has sometimes been erroneously stated that it came to Louis XV. as the reversionary dowry of his wife, Maria Lesczynski, daughter of Stanislaus, Duke of Lorraine, who held it as a fief of Germany. Lorraine was in reality a piece of territory extorted by France from

Germany at the adjustment of terms of peace, when concluding the war in reference to Poland. It was to be merged in France on the death of Stanislaus. That event occurred in 1766, since which time only the Lorrainers have been under French rule.

discontent what Venice was to Austria—a regular thorn in the side of Germany. Who can tell how this may be? In the circumstances, we may pity France, but unquestionably the nation, in a most heedless and wrongful manner, brought the loss of territory on itself.

HISSING.

W. C.

There, in simple phrase, is the whole story, which is little else than a history of robberies; the wrench back which has recently taken place, reminding us that even nationalities are not exempt HISSING, according to Milton, had the very worst from the visitation of an avenging Nemesis. may be quite true, that the inhabitants had When Satan returned to his compeers in guilt after It of beginnings. It was first heard in Pandemonium. his victory over our first parents, and related his

become so accustomed to consider themselves

terrible achievement:

Awhile he stood, expecting
Their universal shout and high applause
To fill his ear; when, contrary, he hears
On all sides, from innumerable tongues,
A dismal universal hiss, the sound
Of public scorn.

French, that their compulsory subjection to Germany, by the treaty of Frankfort, was deemed a cruelty too great to be borne. Their ancestors, in being made Frenchmen, felt precisely the same grievance. Long did the Metzers and other communities of the territories torn from the empire by France, utter the most doleful complaints of the way they had been cheated out of their German nationality-all such complaints being of course An assembly of churchmen ought, no doubt, to unavailing. As an instance of the treatment they be the exact reverse of an assembly of demons. received: An appeal of the leading citizens of Metz, That there is, however, some expectation of a addressed to the imperial council at Spires, was seized by Marshall Vieilleville, governor of Metz; certain amount of hissing in ecclesiastical gathertwo of those most actively concerned in the move-ings may be inferred from the precautionary charge ment were drowned, and the others compelled to beg for mercy on their knees. Frenchmen of the present day, of course, have no knowledge of such facts. They should, nevertheless, bear in mind that the recent bouleversement is only another turning of the tables, which may in a generation or two be forgotten. Prince Bismarck is not thought to be much given to irony. Some remarks he lately made in the German parliament partook of this character. In reply to several deputies from Alsace and Lorraine who complained of being forcibly incorporated with Germany, he dryly advised them to be quite at their ease, for in two hundred years the people of these districts of country would, no doubt, be delighted with the change that had taken place in their condition!

Hard case! as our young author suggests, to be subject to such a wholesale and sudden ruin of cherished feelings and habits, to the many thousands who were placed in the alternative to quit their interests, their business, their fields, the graves of their fathers, the homes inherited from childhood, and in which they hoped to die, or to lose the name of Frenchmen-to renounce their country and their flag. Who can tell us what bitter tears it cost to this unoffending and hitherto happy population, the necessity of making such sacrifices, and coming to a great decision.' Hard case, truly; and how many hard cases of the same sort, during the last hundred years, have occurred in Continental Europe from Finland to the shores of the Mediterranean. In 1860, Savoy and Nice were ceded to France, abstracting so much territory from Italy, the inhabitants being offered the same kind of option that was graciously presented in the case of Alsace and Lorraine. Who has ever made any moan for this high-handed proceeding? Doubtless, there is something peculiarly hard in Alsace and Lorraine being taken possession of in selfdefence by Germany, but such is the fortune of an unprovoked war, which leaves France minus the provinces which in former ages it appropriated to serve its own ambitious purposes. Mr Stevenson speaks of this lost land becoming through sheer

with which Archbishop Trench opened the Dublin Church Congress in 1868. 'Hissing,' remarked that scholarly prelate, 'is not a human utterance: it is objectionable, because it not only expresses dissent from the speech, but dislike to the speaker.' He begged the members of the Congress to say 'No, no!' with all the fervour they could command, and not to hiss, whenever they felt compelled to give an audible expression to their dissent. The poet who attributes the first hiss to the devils, has said that new presbyter is but old priest writ large. During the sitting of the Scottish Free Church Assembly in June 1873, some of the members indulged themselves so freely in hissing the speeches of those with whom they disagreed, that Dr Duff, the Moderator, told them they reminded him of Milton's hissing devils. The parallel was not exact, for Milton's devils were compelled to hiss against their will, while those gentlemen hissed, no doubt, out of hearty free will.

There has been some controversy as to the most ancient method of manifesting disapproval in public assemblies. Distinction must, however, be made between organised state assemblies and assemblies fortuitously gathered, such as mobs or theatre audiences. In the former, hissing has undoubtedly always been considered as more or less of a disorder; it has never been recognised as the dignified or legitimate way of shewing disagreement. Cicero often alludes to hissing (sibilus) as the form of salutation with which the Roman populace greeted those whom they disliked in the places of public concourse; they poured it forth equally upon the politicians and the entertainers who had lost their favour. Cælius, in one of his letters to Cicero, included amongst the Epistles of the latter, after speaking of the hissing of the vulgar, goes on to say that it is remarkable that Hortensius reached his great age without once incurring the shame of being hissed; or as it stands literally in the Latin: Hortensius arrived at old age untouched by a hiss.' Cicero asserts that the actor was hissed off (exsibilatur) by the keenly critical

HISSING.