"And you thought rightly," said I. "The best shagreen is prepared in Turkey, Persia, and Tartary, from the skins of horses and asses. In these skins, the roughness is produced artificially; while the skin is newly flayed and still soft, hard grains of corn are spread on the under surface, and pressed into it as it dries. These grains are afterward removed, and the roughness imparted to the appearance of the skin remains indelibly; shagreen is useful in polishing joiners' work, and it is made in France from the rough skin of a hideous creature called the angel-fish."
"Angel-fish!" exclaimed Fritz; "what a name to give to anything 'hideous,' father!"
"There are bad angels as well as good ones," observed Ernest, in his dry, quiet way; "it is better to leave people to see for themselves which is meant."
By this time we were close in shore; and, lowering the sail, we soon had our craft, with the raft in tow, safely moored to the bank.
No one was in sight, not a sound to be heard, so with united voice we gave a loud cheery halloo, which after a while was answered in shrill tones, and the mother, with her two boys, came running from behind the rocks between us and the stream, each carrying a small bundle in a handkerchief, while little Franz held aloft a landing net.
Our return so soon was quite unexpected, and they anxiously inquired the reason, which we soon explained; and then the mysterious bundles were opened, and a great number of fine crawfish displayed; whose efforts to escape by scuttling away in every direction, directly they were placed in a heap on the ground, caused immense fun and laughter as the boys pursued and brought them back, only to find others scrambling off in a dozen different ways.
"Now, father, have we not done well to-day!" cried Jack, "did you ever see such splendid crawfish? Oh, there were thousands of them, and I am sure we have got two hundred here at least. Just look at their claws!"
"No doubt you were the discoverer of these fine crabs, eh, Jack?" said I.
"No! fancy young Franz being the lucky man!" answered he. "He and I went toward the stream while mother was busy, just to look for a good place for the bridge. Franz was picking up pebbles and alabasters, some because they were so pretty, some to strike sparks with in the dark, and some, he insisted, were 'gold.' 'Jack! Jack!' cried he presently, 'come and see the crabs on Fritz's jackal!' You know we threw it away there, and to be sure it was swarming with these creatures. Are you glad we have found them, father? Will they be good to eat?"
"Very excellent, my boy, and we may be thankful that food for our wants is thus provided day by day."