Page:Arabia, Egypt, India - A Narrative of Travel.djvu/24

6 his famous expedition with the Hajj to Mecca, and was staying with his family and writing a book. It was, therefore, interesting for us to stop a few days and visit all our old haunts, where we first met when we were young. The Church of St. Nicholas; Constantin, the fencing master, where "the Burton une-deux" is still taught, and which afterwards earned him his brevet de pointe. The present Cathedral, in the Haute Ville, was building: now, a magnificent, but slightly crooked and very badly proportioned, pile. Dear old Abbe Haffreingue was its author. He died happy in 1871, after devoting half of his eighty-six years to its erection ; and in gratitude to the English, who gave the greater part of the money, the statue of Our Lady, on the summit, has her face turned towards England.

Then the old ramparts where we first made acquaintance, and where he used to follow us when we were sent out to learn our lessons alfresco, and he used to chalk up, "May I speak to you?" and I used to chalk back, "No, mother will be angry"—and mother found it, and was angry. The Rue de I'Ecu, the Grande Rue, the Quai, the Pier, where we used to come on summer evenings and hear some Swiss strollers play on the guitar or fiddle, and sing little jodelling nothings, and thought it-heavenly. How lovely everything is when one is young ! And what a dear, picturesque old town it is, this capital of old Morinie,—the City of Julius Caesar in ancient times, and of the Blessed Virgin in the present day, with its background of dull brown clifi", broken by the broad valley of the river Eln, Elna, Elnboga, now Liane! How many happy boating excursions we used to make upon that river when we were all young and living.

And then I hunted out my little brother's grave, and planted fresh rose trees. I visited Caroline, the Queen of the Poissardes, who used to be a friend of my childhood, a great ally of my brothers and sisters and self She is still a beautiful and majestic creature in her costume. She reminded me of a promise I made her then, which I had long since forgotten, that if ever I went to Jerusalem I would bring her a rosary. I little dreamt then of marrying Richard Burton, who would be Consul of Damascus, and that I should ever go to Jerusalem ; but things come about