d the "Eagle," persecuted by him at the time of the
Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, and driven to take shelter at
Guernsey, had hung this picture on the wall to preserve the remembrance
of those facts. The spectator who had the patience to decipher a rude
handwriting in faded ink might have learnt the following facts, which
are but little known:--"29th October, 1685, Monsieur the Bishop of
Meaux, appeals to the king to destroy the temples of Morcef and
Nanteuil"--"2nd April, 1686, Arrest of Cochard, father and son, for
their religious opinions, at the request of Monsieur the Bishop of
Meaux. Released: the Cochards having recanted."--"28th October, 1699,
Monsieur the Bishop of Meaux sent to Mde. Pontchartrain a petition of
remonstrance, pointing out that it will be necessary to place the young
ladies named Chalandes and de Neuville, who are of the reformed
religion, in the House of the 'New Catholics' at Paris."--"7th July,
1703, the king's order executed as requested by Monsieur the Bishop of
Meaux, for shutting up in an asylum Baudouin and his wife, two bad
Catholics of Fublaines."

At the end of the hall, near the door of Mess Lethierry's room, was a
little corner with a wooden partition, which had been the Huguenot's
sanctum, and had become, thanks to its row of rails and a small hole to
pass paper or money through, the steamboat office; that is to say, the
office of the Durande, kept by Mess Lethierry in person. Upon the old
oaken reading-desk, where once rested the Holy Bible, lay a great ledger
with its alternate pages headed Dr. and Cr.

IX

THE MAN WHO DISCOVERED RANTAINE'S CHARACTER

As long as Mess Lethierry had been able to do duty, he had commanded the
Durande, and had had no other pilot or captain but himself; but a time
had come, as we have said, when he had been compelled to find a
successor. He had chosen for that purpose Sieur Clubin, of Torteval, a
taciturn man. Sieur Clubin had a character upon the coast for strict
probity. He became the _alter ego_, the double, of Mess Lethierry.

Sieur Clubin, although he had rather the look of a notary than of a
sailor, was a mariner of rare skill. He had all the talents which are
required to meet dangers of every kind. He was a skilful stower, a safe
man aloft, an able and careful boatswain, a powerful steersman, an
experienced pilot, and a bold captain. He was prudent, and he carried
his prudence sometimes to the point of daring, which is a great