ws do not fight quite so well as we do, at lying
they'll beat us hollow, any day of the week. Never mind, Tom, we must
keep a sharp look-out, and there's no saying--keep your eyes open as we
go into the harbour--I never was here before, but I suspect it's nothing
better than a poor fishing town."

In a quarter of an hour the ship and privateer were both made fast to an
old stone pier which ran out from the town; but there were no other
vessels in the harbour except two small coasting _chasses marees_, and
about a dozen fishing-boats.

The harbour was formed by the mouth of a small river, which ran down
through a very narrow alluvial flat, backed by precipitous rocks. On
the right side of the river on entering, and on the level ground above
mentioned, which extended back perhaps two hundred yards, until it was
met by the rocky cliffs, was situated the village which, centuries back,
must have been the town of Lanion. It consisted of perhaps one hundred
to one hundred and twenty houses, few of them of any size, the major
portion with walls built of mud and whitewashed over. The only remains
of the former town were a stone-built market-place, the portion of the
Hotel de Ville in which the mayor resided, and the old church, which,
although perfect in its walls, was sadly dilapidated in the roof. It
had long been deserted, and a small chapel had been built in lieu of it,
in which the only cure of the place performed the service. The massive
stones of which the now neglected pier had once been built proved that
at one time considerable expense had been incurred in the formation of
this small harbour.

A battery mounting two guns at the end of the pier protected the mouth
of the harbour; and there was a guard of a sergeant and twelve invalids,
who were stationed there to man the guns upon the approach of an enemy.

It would be difficult to describe the confusion which took place as soon
as the two vessels were fairly alongside the wharf, and made fast with
hawsers to the massive iron rings which had for centuries been fixed in
the ponderous stones of which the pier was composed. There was the
mayor with his cocked hat on, but his leather apron still tied in front,
for he had been working at his calling; there was the sergeant of the
invalids, who, perhaps, was a greater man than the mayor, all beard and
mustachios, but so thin in his person, that he looked as if a stout
breeze would have blown him away; and there were