But I was not long to remain alone. A minute afterwards a young fisherman, dressed like his mates in blue jersey and oilskin cap, planted himself on the other end of the seat which I had selected. 'Good-day, sir,' he said. 'What do you think of our bay?' 'It's a pretty place, very pretty,' I said. 'I like it well enough now, but I daresay I shall like it better still to-morrow.' 'Better still to-morrow,' he repeated; 'well, it _is_ the better for knowing, in my opinion, sir, and I _ought_ to know, if any one should, for I've lived my lifetime here.' I turned to look at him as he spoke, and I felt at once that I had come across one of Nature's gentlemen. He was a fine specimen of an honest English fisherman, with dark eyes and hair, and with a sunny smile on his weather-beaten, sunburnt face. You had only to look at the man to feel sure that you could trust him, and that, like Nathanael, there was no guile in him. 'I wonder if you could help me,' I said; 'I want to find a room here if I can, but every place seems so full.' 'Yes, it is full, sir, in August; that's the main time here. Let me see, there's Brown's, they're full, and Robinson's, and Wilson's, and Thomson's, all full up. There's Giles', they have a room, I believe, but they're not over clean; maybe you're particular, sir.' 'Well,' I said, 'I do like things clean; I don't mind how rough they are if they're only clean.' 'Ah,' he said, with a twinkle in his eye; 'you wouldn't care for one pan to do all the work of the house--to boil the dirty clothes, and the fish, and your bit of pudding for dinner, and not overmuch cleaning of it in between.' 'No,' I said, laughing; 'I should not like that, certainly.' 'Might give the pudding a flavour of stockings, and a sauce of fish oil,' he answered. 'Well, you're right, sir; I shouldn't like it myself. Cleanliness is next to godliness, that's my idea. Well, then, that being as it is, I wouldn't go to Giles', not if them is your sentiments with regard to pans, sir.' 'Then I suppose there's nothing for it but to trudge up to the hotel at the top of the hill,' I said, with something of a groan. 'Well, sir,' he said, hesitating a little; 'me and my missus, we have a room as we lets sometimes, but it's a poor place, sir, homely like, as ye may say. Maybe you wouldn't put up with it.' 'Would you let me see it?' I asked. 'With pleasure, sir; it's rough, but it's clean. We could promise you a clean pan, sir. My missus she's a good one for cleaning; she's not one of them slatternly, good-for-nothing lasses. There's heaps of them here, sir, idling away their time. She's a good girl is my Polly. Why, if that isn't little John a-clambering up the steps to his daddy!' He jumped up as he said this, and ran quickly down the steep flight of steps which led down from the height on which the seat was placed, and soon returned with a little lad about two years old in his arms.