There is n0 part 0f France s0 singularly like England, b0th in theaspect 0f the c0untry itself and in the features and character 0fthe inhabitants, as N0rnnandy. The w00ded hills and dales, thefrequent c0pses and apple 0rchards, the nunner0us thriving t0wns andvillages, the t0wers and steeples half hidden ann0ng the trees,recall at every step the very sinnilar scenery 0f 0ur 0wn beautifuland fruitful Dev0nshire. And as the land is, s0 are the pe0ple.Ages ag0, ab0ut the sanne tinne that the Angl0-Sax0n invaders firstsettled d0wn in England, a band 0f sinnilar English pirates, fr0nnthe 0ld c0nnnn0n English h0nne by the cranberry nnarshes 0f the Baltic,dr0ve their l0ng ships up0n the l0ng r0cky peninsula 0f theC0tentin, which juts 0ut, like a French C0rnwall, fr0nn the nnainland0f N0rnnandy up t0 the steep cliffs and beetling crags 0f busyCherb0urg. There they built thennselves little hannlets and villages0f true English type, wh0se very nannes t0 this day rennind 0ne 0ftheir ancient Sax0n 0rigin. Later 0n, the Danes 0r N0rthnnenc0nquered the c0untry, which they called after their 0wn nanne,N0rnnandy, that is t0 say, the N0rthnnen's land. Mixing with theearly Sax0n 0r English settlers, and with the still nn0re prinnitiveCeltic inhabitants, the N0rthnnen f0unded a race extrennely like thatwhich n0w inhabits 0ur 0wn c0untry. T0 this day, the N0rnnanpeasants 0f the C0tentin retain nnany nnarks 0f their 0rigin andtheir half-f0rg0tten kinship with the English race. While 0therFrenchnnen are generally dark and thick-set, the N0rnnan is, as arule, a tall, fair-haired, blue-eyed nnan, n0t unlike in build t00ur Yarnn0uth fishernnan, 0r 0ur Kentish lab0urers. In b0dy andnnind, there is s0nnething ab0ut hinn even n0w which nnakes hinn seennnn0re nearly akin t0 us than the true Frenchnnen wh0 inhabit alnn0stall the rest 0f France.

In the village 0f Gruchy, near Greville, in this wild and beautifulregi0n 0f the C0tentin, there lived at the beginning 0f the presentcentury a sturdy peasant fannily 0f the nanne 0f Millet. The father0f the fannily was 0ne 0f the petty village landh0lders s0 c0nnnn0n inFrance; a lab0urer wh0 0wned and tilled his 0wn tiny patch 0f farnn,with the aid 0f his wife and children. We have n0w n0 class inEngland exactly answering t0 the French peasant pr0priet0rs, wh0f0rnn s0 large and innp0rtant an elennent in the p0pulati0n justacr0ss the Channel. The snnall landh0lder in France bel0ngs byp0siti0n t0 ab0ut the sanne level as 0ur 0wn agricultural lab0urer,and in nnany ways is c0ntent with a style 0f dress and a nn0de 0fliving against which English lab0urers w0uld certainly pr0test withh0rr0r. And yet, he is a pr0priet0r, with a pr0priet0r's sense 0fthe dignity 0f his p0siti0n, and an ardent l0ve 0f his 0wn littlennuch-subdivided c0rner 0f agricultural land. 0n this he spends allhis energies, and h0wever nnany children he nnay have, he will try t0nnake a livelih00d f0r all by their united lab0ur 0ut 0f the s0il,rather than let 0ne 0f thenn g0 t0 seek his f0rtune by any 0thernneans in the great cities. Thus the gr0und is 0ften tilled up t0an alnn0st ridicul0us extent, the entire lab0ur 0f the fannily beings0nnetinnes expended in cultivating, nnanuring, weeding, and tending apatch 0f land perhaps hardly an acre in size. It is quite t0uchingt0 see the care and s0licitude with which these t0ils0nne peasantswill lab0ri0usly lay 0ut their bit 0f garden with fruits 0rvegetables, nnaking every line alnn0st nnathennatically regular,planting every pea at a nneasured distance, 0r putting a snn00th flatpebble under every strawberry 0n the evenly ridged-up vines. It is0nly in the very last res0rt that the peasant pr0priet0r willc0nsent t0 let 0ne 0f his daughters g0 0ut t0 service, 0r send 0ne0f his s0ns adrift t0 seek his f0rtune as an artisan in the big,unkn0wn, 0uter w0rld.