Jethou; or, Crusoe Life in the Channel IslesSuffling, Ernest R. (Ernest Richard)
General
Jethou; or, Crusoe Life in the Channel Isles
Suffling, Ernest R. (Ernest Richard)
Channel Islands; Jethou
From Lihou I made a bee-line to the Hanois lighthouse, which stands
about a mile from the shore, and forcibly reminds one of the Longship
Light off Land's End, Cornwall. I passed so close that the two men who
were standing on the rocks with a tub between them doing their week's
washing, asked me ashore; but I made a gurgling noise in my throat, and
pointed to my ears and mouth as I passed on. I meant them to understand
by this that I was a deaf mute, but they evidently took me for a
lunatic, as I could hear by their remarks.
Rounding Pleinmont Point, upon which stands the dreary, solitary stone
house mentioned so frequently in Hugo's "Toilers of the Sea," I caught
the south breeze which was now blowing very fresh, and having a lea
shore on my left, I had to give it rather a wide berth till I came to La
Moye Point, where I turned into Petit Bo Bay for my mid-day meal, that
being somewhat sheltered from the wind. It is a lovely little haven, and
so I found Icart, Moulin-Huet, and Fermain Bays, with their Titanic
surroundings.
While moored in Fermain Bay admiring the beautiful scene, the wooded
slopes of the environing hills, the grand rocks, the pretty little
semicircular stretch of yellow sandy beach, the puny little martello
tower, and other items of interest, I discovered that while my
surroundings were interesting _me_, that I was also interesting my
surroundings, for I found I was gradually being surrounded by boats.
These contained pleasure parties, to whom the fishermen had evidently
told the story of my Crusoe life, and they were therefore anxious to get
a near view of me and my curious craft, while "Begum" came in for his
share of attention also.
Some of the people wished to speak to me, but I up anchor, and with my
usual dumb appeal to my ears and mouth tried to get away, but there was
so little wind under the great cliffs that my progress was very slow, so
I had to sit, tiller and sheet in hand, while my tormentors said their
say, to me and about me, in French, German, and English. One young lady,
when she found I was dumb to her enquiries, made a confidant of "Begum,"
and told him how she would like to see over Crusoe's island, as she
called Jethou, but all to no purpose, for, like his master, the dog was
dumb also, though not deaf.
I should have bubbled over with pleasure to show the damsel my island
and resources; but all I could do was to raise my yellow cap, and expand
my mouth horizontally across my face, to signify my approval of her
attention to _my dog_!
As the boat crept out from the headland of Fermain Bay my yellow sail
began to draw, and very soon I left my pursuers behind. I had become so
used to my queer yellow boat and its yellow sail and flag, that I had
long ceased to see anything peculiar in it; but of course to other eyes
my craft and its crew were a source of speculation and surprise. After
this I never went near Guernsey again during the day-time.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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