t of sand-hills and plains and came upon the lighthouse,
one of the most important of the coast--a very powerful light that all
inward-bound boats are delighted to see. There are one or two villas
near on the top of the cliff, then the road turns sharply down to the
beach--a beautiful broad expanse of yellow sand, reaching very far out
that day as it was dead low tide.

In the distance we saw figures; couldn't distinguish what they were
doing, but supposed they were fishing for shrimps, which was what our
party meant to do. The auto was filled with nets, baskets, and clothes,
as well as luncheon baskets. The hotel--a very good, simple one--with a
broad piazza going all around it, was half-way down the cliff, and the
woman was very "complaisante" and helpful--said there were plenty of
shrimps, crabs, and lobsters and no one to fish. She and her husband had
been out at four o'clock that morning and had brought back "quatre
pintes" of shrimps. No one knew what she meant, but it was evidently a
measure of some kind. I suppose an English pint. She gave us a cabin
where the two young matrons dressed, or rather undressed, as they
reappeared in their bathing trousers--which stopped some little distance
above the knee--very short skirts, bare legs, "espadrilles" on their
feet, and large Panama hats to protect them from the sun. The men had
merely rolled up their trousers. They went out very far--I could just
make them out--they seemed a part of the sea and sky, moving objects
standing out against the horizon.

I made myself very comfortable with rugs and cushions under the cliff--I
had my book as I knew it would be a long operation. It was
enchanting--sitting there, such a beautiful afternoon. We saw the
English coast quite distinctly. There was not a sound--no bathing cabins
or tents, nobody on the shore, but a few fishermen were spreading nets
on poles to catch the fish as the tide came up. The sea was quite blue,
and as the afternoon lengthened there were lovely soft lights over
everything; such warm tints it might almost have been the Mediterranean
and the Riviera. A few fishing-boats passed in the distance, but there
was nothing to break the great stillness--not even the ripple of the
waves, as the sea was too far out. It was a curious sensation to be
sitting there quite alone--the blue sea at my feet and the cliff rising
straight up behind me.

The bay is small--two points jutting out on each side, completely
shutting i