"Yes; but even Picardy is not England."

"My lord, man shoves his boat into the sea, but God and the
wind do the rest, and drive the boat where they please."

"You had, then, no intention of landing on our coasts?"

"Never."

"And what route were you steering?"

"We were returning from Ostend, where some mackerel had
already been seen, when a sharp wind from the south drove us
from our course; then, seeing that it was useless to
struggle against it, we let it drive us. It then became
necessary, not to lose our fish, which were good, to go and
sell them at the nearest English port, and that was
Newcastle. We were told the opportunity was good, as there
was an increase of population in the camp, an increase of
population in the city; both, we were told, were full of
gentlemen, very rich and very hungry. So we steered our
course towards Newcastle."

"And your companions, where are they?"

"Oh, my companions have remained on board; they are sailors
without the least instruction."

"Whilst you ---- " said Monk.