s of Mrs. Simons. I had the
assurance to offer them to her before my baggage changed masters. She
accepted greedily, and began to devour the bread and meat. To my great
astonishment, this act of gluttony scandalized our robbers, who murmured
among themselves the word "Schismatic:" The monk made half a dozen signs
of the cross, according to the rite of the Greek Church.

"You must have a watch," said the brigand: "put it with the rest."

I gave up my silver watch, a hereditary toy of the weight of four
ounces. The villains passed it from hand to hand, and thought it very
beautiful. I was in hopes that admiration, which makes men better, would
dispose them to restore me something, and I begged their chief to let me
have my tin box. He imposed silence upon me roughly. "At least," said I,
"give me back two crowns for my return to the city!" He answered with a
sardonic smile, "You will not have need of them."

The turn of Mrs. Simons had come. Before putting her hand in her pocket,
she warned our conquerors in the language of her fathers. The English is
one of those rare idioms which one can speak with a mouth full. "Reflect
well on what you are going to do," said she, in a menacing tone. "I am
an Englishwoman, and English subjects are inviolable in all the
countries of the world. What you will take from me will serve you
little, and will cost you dear. England will avenge me, and you will all
be hanged, to say the least. Now if you wish my money, you have only to
speak; but it will burn your fingers: it is English money!"

"What does she say?" asked the spokesman of the brigands.

Dimitri answered, "She says that she is English."

"So much the better! All the English are rich. Tell her to do as you
have done."

The poor lady emptied on the sand a purse, which contained twelve
sovereigns. As her watch was not in sight, and as they made no show of
searching us, she kept it. The clemency of the conquerors left her her
pocket-handkerchief.

Mary Ann threw down her watch, with a whole bunch of charms against the
evil eye. She cast before her, by a movement full of mute grace, a
shagreen bag, which she carried in her belt. The brigand opened it with
the eagerness of a custom-house officer. He drew from it a little
English dressing-case, a vial of English salts, a box of pastilles of
English mint, and a hundred and some odd francs in English money.

"Now," said the impatient beauty, "you can let us go: we have nothing
mo