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r Li~~~~~~~P WILLIAM AND ROBERT WEST Chapter I8 Every town has had its eccentric characters; but none, many Parisians believe, has ever had any to equal William and Robert West. William West, a man of humble family, was born in I818 near Pollockshaws, Scotland. When about twenty-five years old (accord- ing to tradition), he conceived a passion for the daughter of his employer, a proud and rich gentleman, and eloped with her. After the marriage, the happy couple waited for father to give them his blessing and a small income. But they waited in vain. Father disowned his daughter and said that she was free to starve with her William anywhere in the wide cold world. Since they were starving in Scotland, they boarded a leaky emigrant-boat and sailed hopefully for Canada. About i86o, they settled in Paris. At first William and his wife (her name was Jess) lived in a small house that stood behind the present Armouries; later they moved to another small house on the Ayr Road, overlooking Pen- mans' mill pond and the valley of Smith's Creek. Jess wove rag carpets on a crude loom; William helped with the weaving, mended clocks, and for a number of years tended the coal-oil street lamps in the Lower Town. They had thirteen children, only three of whom survived their parents. William first flashed into prominence when he began to compose ballads and recite them. His listeners enjoyed his recitations. And 241