politics, I esteem only men inaccessible to
influences;" or, "I am for decency and good morals;" or, "The pyramid
must be replaced upon its base." His manner was rather cheerful and
cordial than otherwise. The expression of his mouth contradicted the
sense of his words. His nostrils had an odd way of distending
themselves. In the corners of his eyes he had a little network of
wrinkles, in which all sorts of dark thoughts seemed to meet together.
It was here alone that the secret of his physiognomy could be thoroughly
studied. His flat foot was a vulture's claw. His skull was low at the
top and large about the temples. His ill-shapen ear, bristled with hair,
seemed to say, "Beware of speaking to the animal in this cave."

One fine day, in Guernsey, Rantaine was suddenly missing.

Lethierry's partner had absconded, leaving the treasury of their
partnership empty.

In this treasury there was some money of Rantaine's, no doubt, but there
were also fifty thousand francs belonging to Lethierry.

By forty years of industry and probity as a coaster and ship carpenter,
Lethierry had saved one hundred thousand francs. Rantaine robbed him of
half the sum.

Half ruined, Lethierry did not lose heart, but began at once to think
how to repair his misfortune. A stout heart may be ruined in fortune,
but not in spirit. It was just about that time that people began to talk
of the new kind of boat to be moved by steam-engines. Lethierry
conceived the idea of trying Fulton's invention, so much disputed about;
and by one of these fire-boats to connect the Channel Islands with the
French coast. He staked his all upon this idea; he devoted to it the
wreck of his savings. Accordingly, six months after Rantaine's flight,
the astonished people of St. Sampson beheld, issuing from the port, a
vessel discharging huge volumes of smoke, and looking like a ship a-fire
at sea. This was the first steam-vessel to navigate the Channel.

This vessel, to which the people in their dislike and contempt for
novelty immediately gave the nickname of "Lethierry's Galley," was
announced as intended to maintain a constant communication between
Guernsey and St. Malo.

IV

CONTINUATION OF THE STORY OF UTOPIA

It may be well imagined that the new enterprise did not prosper much at
first. The owners of cutters passing between the Island of Guernsey and
the French coast were loud in their outcries. They denounced this attack
upon the Holy Scriptures an